Mustard Greens Recipe Search

I was fighting a battle with the garden squash bugs.  Each morning or evening I would cruise the pumpkin patch and squash the squash bugs along with any of their eggs.  My back had other ideas; so bending down to fight this war just wasn't happening.  With that, the squash bugs continued to breed like, well, bugs.  They took over and sucked the vines dry.

Squash bugs winning the battle AND the war.

Only a few pumpkins were salvaged while the rest met their doom in the green waste. The pumpkin patch needs to make way for more winter vegetables like the mustard that has just sprouted.

Squash bugs have been living the high life.

Four varieties of mustard have been sown in the old tomato bed. It's supposed to repel nematodes; so that's why I picked up some seed packs down at Floyd's.  The cashier made a "nummy" sound when she saw the picture of mustard greens on the packets.  I've never had mustard greens.  In fact, I haven't had much Southern food at all.  Fried chicken is about it. 

 

Chinese Gai Choi, Florida Broadleaf, Southern Giant Curled, and Tendergreen Mustard varieties look like they will be filling the bed for the winter.  At least, they can be chopped under for green manure. At most, I will use the baby greens in salads and try mustard greens - IF they grow to maturity and I find a decent recipe.  Mushy greens don't sound appealing to me; but I need to understand why the Floyd's cashier made the "nummy" sound.  I'm sure bacon must be involved.

I've been searching for recipes that look good.  Having personal recommendations of recipes is so much better though. If anyone has a mustard greens recipe to recommend, please share.

Pumpkin Brothers

Courtesty myoldpostcards on Flickr

The first car I drove was an old 1962 Plymouth Valient.  It was a two door mint green car with push button automatic transmission.  I could hardly wait to drive when I turned sixteen; driving that car was an embarrassment to me.  It was not cool.  It didn't have fat tires, a cool paint job, or a neato radio.  I drove it to school but parked far enough away to not be associated.  Yes.  I was a typical teenaged jerk. 


Push buttons on either side of the steering wheel.

Just a few years later (which seemed like an eternity), I had my very own VW.  It wasn't cool; but it was mine.  That 1968 Bug didn't have fat tires or a neato radio; but it did have a nice paint job.  I drove that car for about seven years.  Late one November night in 1985, I heard some noise out front. Two punks walking down the sidewalk aware goofing around with a giant pumpkin left over from Halloween that was destined for the dump.  I watched as that "trash" took that heavy pumpkin and smashed it onto the hood of my Bug.  In a flash, they were gone leaving behind my heavily dented car and a smashed giant pumpkin.  Those punks are still referred to as the Pumpkin Brothers.  Punks.

The pumpkin squashed the beetle back in 1985.  I hope 2012 will also be a winning year for pumpkins (rather, a pumpkin gardener) to squash beetles again - only this time it's the insect varity that is meant to suffer.

Slug Bug

1968 VW Beetle (Bug) courtesy "myoldpostcards" on Flickr

In the late 1970's I saved up my money made from being a summer lifeguard to go towards buying a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle aka Bug.  My parents supplemented the balance of the purchase.  It had a new rebuilt engine and was oxidized orange.  The original color was red as revealed in the interior.  I had a sand block and sandpaper and began to sand away the orange paint.  This is one job I will never do again; but because I didn't have the money, I exerted the energy and time that I had in abundance.  Once I finished with the super fine steel wool it was off to the paint shop to be painted red.  It looked great.  I pampered my bug by covering it when it wasn't in use.  Me and my dog Lucy would cruise all over the place but mostly enjoyed the pastures in the hills at the mouth of the Kern River Canyon.  We would provide many points for anyone playing "Beetle" or "Slug Bug". 

I never played the Slug Bug version growing up.  We played Beetle on long road trips from Bakersfield to San Ardo.  Bugs = 5 points.  Red bugs = 10.  Beetle Vans = 15 points.  Red beetle vans = 20 points.  Today, I play a similar game in the garden.  While working in the Pumpkin Patch, I pick, smash and squish Squash Bugs.  Those beastly pests are carrying on and reproducing like mad in the pumpkin patch.  Insects and eggs can be counted in the score.  I look forward to the cool fall morning when there will be no points scored.  So far, I'm holding my own with these fornicating beasts.

Courtesy North Carolina State University

I know they outnumber me by a huge margin; but I keep on fighting the fight in order to try to win a few pumpkins this fall.  Seeds of Jarrahdale Pumpkins left over from 2011 were planted July 3, 2012.  Germination occurred just 3 days later.  Today, I spied a plump little pumpkin forming during my morning game of Beetle.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

The plants seem healthy and vigorous with many blooms, tendrils, and healthy green leaves to provide shade to the rich soil in the raised bed.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin blooms

Pollinators of all kinds are enjoying the blooms of late summer.  Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies have been zooming in to sample the pollen.  It would be nice to have some fresh pumpkins to make pies at Thanksgiving.  I'll do my best to win the game of "Beetle".

Spinosad2…Good or Bad?

My local nursery GAVE me a bottle of Lawn & Garden Spray with Spinosad2 to try out on my squash bug infestation.  I can’t determine if this is a safe/good thing to use in my vegetable garden.  Just because something is marketed as “organic” doesn’t mean that I would like to use it on my food source. 

I haven’t used it yet.  The pumpkin vines were ripped out and bagged up to be hauled away.  I’ve stomped on, hand picked/squashed, and smashed any squash bug I find.  The survivors seem to migrate to the existing Butter Bush Squash. I’ve been checking morning, noon, and evening to remove any I find from the 4 vines.  So far so good.

But I would like to know if anyone has ever used this product and can recommend its use.  Until I learn more, I’ll just continue with my Squash Bug Stomp to control the wee beasties.

Pumpkin Eaters

They have started their invasion.  Squash bugs.  Creeps.  Pyrethrum can help control the buggers; but I simply ripped out the pumpkin vines and did the Garden Croc Stomp on as many of them as I could.  Pyrethrum may need to be applied because you know that I had to have missed one or two – million!  The garden continues to be overrun with pill bugs too.  Diatomaceous Earth is supposed to be a great, natural way to control these cousins to shrimp.  I’ve never used it and will learn more about it with a visit to my local nursery.  I blame heavy seedling loss to pill bugs.  They simply need to get under control to allow my lettuce to flourish this winter.These creeps have got to go.

Imagine my delight tomorrow when I say, “It’s October!”.