Did you know...

that I grew my own acorn squash this year? We've gotten 10 or so from two decent vines (I stashed several throughout the yard), and have given a half-dozen more to the animals that started helping themselves anyway. Actually, this year we had our biggest garden ever. Since May, here's what we've planted:

Acorn squash - good
Zucchini - good without being overwhelming
Butternut squash - small, haven't eaten any yet
Pattypan squash - fail; never produced
Basil - good
Cilantro - good
Parsley - good; I'll do much more next year
Rutabaga - greens look great; haven't tried digging any yet--likely too crowded to grow large
Kale, two kinds - good
Broccoli - surprisingly good; it was put in as an experiment for the little guy
Brussels sprouts - HUGE leaves, but nothing edible-sized yet
Green and wax beans - decent, after I replanted when the bunnies ate our first planting
Green onion - super cute! but we haven't eaten any
Beets - nice looking greens, but super-tiny roots; only three plants sprouted anyway
Tomatoes (three kinds) - the tiny grape-sized ones produced best, with a few Roma and even fewer Purple Cherokee
Raspberries - truly pathetic this year; I think we got three fruits total

WOW that's a ton of produce for someone who really isn't a gardener. I think I "weeded" twice this summer. We have a great spot in the backyard for a more organized garden next year, but we'll need a rototiller and about eight friends who want the crazy prolific lilies and irises back there first. 

Pesto!

This summer I decided to branch out a bit and try growing more than just green beans, since that turned out well last year. Part of this expanded gardening attempt means I now have several basil plants growing in my yard. And yes, they are growing! So much, in fact, that a friend was kind enough to harvest some for me while we were in CT (to keep it happy), and I still had enough to make a batch of pesto with the stuff that remained.

Well, I thought I did. But it would've been a small batch. Not quite enough for the company we were having for dinner. And when I went to my beloved Ken's Fruit Market (they have a website now! isn't it pretty?) to grab another bunch or two, they were out. ACK! My company was on its way, if not at my house already, and I had to decide what to do, quickly.

And thus, spinach-basil pesto was born. Thanks to most of a bag of spinach in my crisper and the end of a jar of Trader Joe's pesto genovese, my meager harvest turned into a giant delicious heap of green goodness. Even the little guy, once we convinced him to just try it already, enjoyed his.

We served this with a salad (I know, leafy green overkill much?) and yellow watermelon from the farmers' market. That was the juiciest melon I've ever had! I think it's called a "yellow doll" or something. The little guy needed a bit of convincing to try that, too (are all newly-turned-3-year-olds this picky?!) but then he couldn't get enough.

These photos are remarkably less staged than even my usuals, since I almost forgot to snap any before we sat down to eat.

I used Bridget's blog for inspiration, mostly regarding the toasting of the nuts/garlic and bruising of the basil, but the quantities I used were based on what I had available. The spinach helped mellow the bite of the garlic and peppiness of the basil, but it still had plenty of flavor. My nuts were walnuts; my oil was grapeseed. I added 8 ounces of cooked chicken to the pasta before stirring in the sauce to make it more filling. And, of course, the pasta I used was gluten-free.

As the Bean Sprouts: HARVEST!

OK so really I've been "harvesting" the beans here and there since they started springing up, but I finally had too many to keep up with eating fresh. I'm not about to pretend that I'm ready for adventures in canning/preserving, so I asked my sister--gardener extraordinaire--about blanching them.

Using some very simple instructions, I was able to save over 20 ounces of fresh, beautiful beans for future use.



What looks like a heap of dirty dishes is actually all you need for this simple process (I didn't use a metal colander inside the boiling pots).



I packaged my beans into 7-ounce portions, sucked the air out of each bag, and stashed them in the freezer. They'll be good up to 9 months from now, but somehow I don't think they'll last nearly that long. This was a super-easy process that I was able to complete while the little guy napped--I even ran out to pick some SUPER fresh beans to make sure my harvest was completely up to date.

As the Bean Sprouts: SUCCESS!

Check it out! Our beans are GROWING! After about 7 weeks since I planted them, we have big, beautiful, sweet green beans right in our own yard!



So far I guess my experiment is only about 25% successful, since only one of the four beds I planted has yielded anything, but the potted sprouts may yet become something edible. The other two beds--back by the raspberries and next to the tomatoes--are a complete wash.



The fence area has by far the most seeds planted, which I suppose is good. It's a great location, and I'm glad we planted there.



Maybe by tomorrow I'll have enough to make a decent side dish for dinner. That is, if I can keep the little guy from eating all the ones he helps me pick!



On the way back into the house I snapped a pic of this guy--I have no recollection of planting sunflowers last year, so it was a surprise to see a volunteer (actually, two) springing up!

As the Bean Sprouts: Week 4?

I think this is either Week 4 or Week 5; I kind of lost track when I forgot to take pictures one Friday. The important thing is that we have progress! Thanks to the little guy and The H for watering these when we haven't gotten a good rain in awhile.

Bed #1: Neighbor's fence--looking good!



Bed #2: Potted--still hanging on. Kind of.



Bed #3: Raspberry patch--no beans here! Too accessible for rabbits?



My morning glories are starting to climb, though!



Bed #4: Back 40--well, there are a few sprouts...



AND my cute little tomato plant!



We've had quite a few little Romas off this plant, and a cherry or two from the one next to it (not pictured). Since I took these pictures, the plants by the neighbor's fence have taken off even more--we now have little white flowers and the leaves are getting bigger by the minute, it seems. You'll see in the next update!

As the Bean Sprouts: Week 2

Poor beans. They had to deal with a lot last week--massive downpours, undrained pots, brutal heat and humidity. Well, maybe they liked that last one, but the others weren't kind.

Here are the sprouts as they appeared two weeks after planting.

Bed 1: Neighbor's fence

These beans are the best-growing so far. I pulled out a few that weren't sprouting as much, to give the bigger ones more room.

Bed 2: Potted

Oh, my sweet, sad little flooded pot. I'm so sorry that I forgot to drill drainage holes in you. And I'm sorry that I forgot to move you to the back porch when Noah's Ark floated by in the storms.

Bed 3: Berry patch

Only one of the three seeds I planted here has grown to anything worth writing home about. The line of Morning Glory seeds I threw in the back is doing well, though. I think. This is the bed that shares space with my raspberry bushes, on which I found these:

Bed 4: Back 40

Oh THERE they are! I'd been watering the wrong area. Whoops. I planted two tomato plants from a friend back here as well. So far, still green. Woot!

Next update in two weeks.

As the Bean Sprouts: Week 1

This is the first weekly update (originally I'd said two weeks, but things moved faster than I expected) on my bean experiment. My mother-in-law noticed green sprouts coming up in Bed #1, by the neighbor's fence, on Tuesday night. I went out and took some pictures this morning.

By 8pm tonight, when the little guy and I got home from the bookstore, they were even larger, and more had sprung up. They've grown so quickly, it's almost as if we could watch them sprout. Amazing!

So far this is the bed with the most progress. The only other one (of the four) to show any promise yet is Bed #4, the one in the overgrown back garden.

Stay tuned for next Wednesday's riveting edition of "As the Bean Sprouts." :D I hope the vicious rain that is forecast tonight doesn't hurt them too badly... perhaps I will move Bed #3, the potted one, to the back porch tonight.

My bean experiment

I'm not a gardener. That is a fact. Green thumbs have I not. However, what I *do* have is the space to grow things (just not maintain them), and family members who just won't stop giving me living (or aspiring-to-be-living) things. Thus, I had a packet of green bean seeds--bush beans--to plant this summer. I was a little slow on the uptake and didn't get them into the ground until July, but my mom (who is a master gardener, true story) says they still have plenty of time to grow.

So, here we are. There are a LOT of seeds in one little packet, did you know that? And, unlike flower seeds, you're only supposed to plant one seed per hole. (Maybe flowers are like that, too. I wouldn't know.) I didn't want to just plant a handful of the plethora, so I began a little experiment. I planted beans in four different areas of my yard. Be proud.

1. By the neighbor's fence, partial sun.

2. In a pot on the front porch, full sun unless I move it. This is the only movable one.

3. Next to my raspberry bushes (how the heck those grew, I'll never know... they were all but dead when they went into the ground!), mostly sunny. I added the dregs of my potting soil bags to this spot.

4. In the back (yes, overgrown) garden bed, mostly sunny. The little guy, with help from my mom, put some back here.

It is my intention to take pictures of each location every two weeks and see how the beans are progressing. Hopefully at the end of the summer at least one of them will have something to show for all my beyond-my-comfort-zone work.

Do you have a garden this summer? What is growing in it?