If You Only Had One Choice...

I've been giving serious thought to trees lately. Just a little pondering on which tree I'd choose if I had to recommend only one.

Which tree must YOU have and simply could not do without?

What's the most essential tree someone would have to have if they could only have one tree?  Also wondered just what I'd do if I could only take one of the thirty-some-odd trees that's currently in my yard with me to some far off land ~ just which one would I take?

Instantly, my thought was to choose one of the  lemon trees.  Of course a lemon tree!  I'm always reaching for a lemon for one reason or another.  Either to soothe my throat during cold spells, in the summer for a  refreshing dose of lemonade and every day for a little zest in the salad dressing or to make some other memorable dish.

Then I thought about my childhood and recalled how lemons were completely non-essential. I immediately got a sense of betrayal as  I wouldn't be who I am today without the fresh taste of  a sweet and juicy Washington Navel orange or an intensely flavorful and incredibly petite Satsuma tangerine.  How could I ever think of recommending a lemon over a tangerine or that incredibly giving tree that sat practically at my parents back door giving me fruit anytime and every time I desired?

That tree was planted at my birth and seemed to enjoy watching me grow up: providing shade during the summer, a hideaway from friends as we played hide-and-go-seek, giving the most bold flavor of orange juice that would run down my tiny little hands as I'd smash my face into half a circle, savoring every ounce juice. It provided leaves for my art projects and I recall being so enthralled how deep green and shiny the leaves were and the subsequent miracle of fruit it produced.  I'd hug the tree and marvel at how I couldn't get my arms around the circumference of it.  There was a gentleness about that green giant.  The bark seemed cool in the summer and always provided warmth in the winter.  My dog would chase me back and forth around that tree and it always seemed to enjoy those youthful trivialities.  That was the giving tree.

Our giving orange tree was partners with a Satsuma tangerine that produced the most deliciously perfect petite fruit imaginable. Peeling the fruit was always so much fun as it would produce this effervescence which would instantly roll up my nose and contained an intense fragrance of tangerine - which in case you've never had one - is totally different from that of an orange.

The tangerine tree was actually not part of my parents garden but originated in the garden of a neighbor on a completely different block, in the rear of the yard and was so large it cascaded over a massive fence and a privately enclosed gazebo type of structure which was on my parents property.  This tree would produce so many fruit they would fall on the top of the gazebo and then roll off the roof and onto the ground in a lattice enclosed patio.  And being the impatient little grub I was, once they started falling, I'd get my father's ladder, prop it against the gazebo, climb the structure and make my way to the end of the roof and have a picking party.  I'd pick as many as I could without breaking my neck and without ever figuring out how I was going to get those tangerines off the roof and back to that old ladder.  Lord only knows why I never broke a leg as that was not the sturdiest ladder in the world and its rickety structure only barely reached the top of the roof.

I'm making myself dizzy just reliving this.

I would be so overcome with the hunt for obtaining the fruit that I would forget how much I really wasn't much of a climber but the fruit was absolutely worth every bit of risk.  Year after year after year.  I'd abscond with tangerines and bring them from one part of the yard to the other part and sit and eat those tangerines under the big green giant where it provided comfort and a nice cool bit of shade out of the hot sun.

Yep, I'd have to recommend an orange tree.  That was my real life giving tree.  What a lucky little girl I was.


I'd really like to know what tree you couldn't do without.  Any fond memories or amazing tastes that are absolutely essential when you consider the type of fruit you would consider a must?

Anyone with children?  Have you shared the book The Giving Tree?  As simple as it is, it's a wonderful, delightful and almost spiritual little book that I not only recommend but purchase for everyone I know who has a child and does not have that book!  It's one of those must reads for any child.

Wonderful Sound of Water Features

I love water features in the garden.  Want to shut me up?  Just put me in front of a water feature like this fountain.

Black Kabouli Garbanzo Beans

This year was to be a bit of an adventure in the garden so I added to the seed collection by purchasing a series of unique items.  One such item was the Black Kabouli Garbanzo bean.  Now, I'm a relatively adventurous eater and really love international cuisine but the truth is I had no idea what on earth I was going to do with these beans once harvested.  They're still growing in the garden so thankfully, I do have a bit of time before I have to make a decision but at this point, I may be limited to some black hummus...and I'm not sure how that's going to come across at the dinner table.

Black Kabouli garbanzo seedlings before transplanting

These beans are said to have been cultivated near the fertile crescent over 6,000 years ago around.  This heirloom is brought to us from Afghanistan (by way of Seeds of Change for me).  They're noted as very drought tolerant plants and thus far have proven to be quite vigorous growers.  As with other garbanzos, these beans are high in protein.

The black seeds look almost like withered rocks.  Garbanzo beans, chickpeas and Egyptian peas are all the same.  They're said to range in a variety of colors from black, green, red and brown.  When doing a bit of research I was struck by the amount of nutrition packed inside of these little interesting legumes - rich with manganese, folate, fiber, tryptopha, protein, calcium, phosphorous and iron.

Are they one of the oldest cultivated beans?  Possibly as they were originally cultivated in the middle east but are now readily available in India and Ethiopia.


Plant Profile:  Black Kabouli Bean
Type:  Bush
Days to Maturity:  105
Preference:  Dry
Level of Difficulty:  Very Easy
Characteristics:  Clearly these plants are not fussy but probably would prefer dry soil.
Taste:  ?

Deck the Halls

You simply must watch this video.  A friend share it with me and it made me laugh so hard I absolutely had to share it further.

So many thanks to KLAATU42 in Nova Scotia, Canada for the great work.

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Freezing Temps & Seed Swap

To say that I'm bamboozled by the weather is truly an understatement.  For years it's been taken for granted and I've been able to enjoy gardening before going to work and after coming home from work without much, if any, thought.  I've been known to rearrange my schedule to leave work a bit early, choosing to not take lunch during the day but instead at the end of the day just so I'd have a teeny bit of time in the garden before the sun goes down.  All of this is until the earth shifted (or whatever it calls itself doing).

Let me set the scene for you - I garden in what was formerly known as 'sunny' Southern California where 'seasons' and changes in the climate are so not our reality we often pay to be part of a changing climate  by exporting ourselves to some other part of the country when the leaves are about to turn a different color.  That's because it's generally always pretty darn sunny here.

My gardens are only steps from the beach (not literally but it's not that far).  Okay, let's just say I'm minutes from the beach so while a bit of fog may roll in on occasion, it's really not a big deal because it typically burns off by the time you have a really hot cup of tea in hand; and, we still have been able to garden throughout the entire year with that little bit of inconvenience.

Now, I'm not boastful (at least not now) but I have felt incredibly privileged as a result.  Actually, let me be quite frank, it's one of the only reasons I live here.  There - I said it. And it's the truth.  The ridiculously high taxes and inept political environment is not at all favorable but it's tolerated because of the weather.  Seriously.

So, imagine my surprise when three days ago I awoke to temperatures so low there was frost on the ground, ice on the ground and crunchy ice tinged grass.  Frost I thought?  Oh boy...no more Garlic soup before bed for me again.  I figured I was dreaming but the bone chilling cold, upon opening the door, was not mistakable.  Something happened.  Gazing out the French door I looked up to see the roof of my neighbor's garage  and thought, "Holy cow poop - it is frost!!! My seedlings!!!!  My FISH!".  Luckily, all was well as neither the fish nor the seedlings seemed too fazed by the remarkable cold although the fish did seem to have a great deal to say as the majority were near the surface moving their mouths as if in protest when I ran out to check on them.  So I plugged in their heater and proceeded to place each tray of seedlings on a heat mat. This was done while scratching my head while I tried to understand if I was still really just sleep walking...a couple of weeks ago it was record breaking temps for heat and now I'm heating up the pond?  Heavens.

This has gone on for 3 days now with today finally hitting 70 degrees again.  But, it's still too cold!

I know, I know...shut up you're probably thinking.  I know...but it really is cold - at least to me.  And now, because I missing out on that little bit of gardening time, I'm beginning to feel a little trapped so I've got to do something relative to gardening.  So on my way home I thought about a post I read where someone else conducted a swap a 6-seed swap.  So, I'm going to do the same thing.  But, I think I'll modify it just slightly and make it 6 and 12 - 6 for large seeds like melons, pumpkins, beans and corn and 12 seeds for smaller seeds like tomato, fennel, cabbage, etc.  Interested in swapping?  If so, send me a message now!  If I have another day of little to no gardening time, I'm going to be forced to do the unthinkable like watch television or something old fashioned like that.

I'll post more information with an update on the details on each variety and how well they did in the garden this year in a separate post.  But if you're interested, don't hesitate to contact me and let me know which variety you're interested in and what you're offering for trade.  

1. Basil - Thai
2. Basil - Genovese
3. Basil - Fino Verde
4. Bean - Blue Coco
5. Bean - Royal Burgundy
6. Carrot - Parisian Market
7. Cat Grass - Oat Grass
8. Celery - California Giant
9. Coreopsis - Lance-Leaved
10. Cucumber - Straight Eight
11. Fennel - Bronze Fennel
12. Gaillardia - Sundance Bicolor
13. Lettuce - Continuity 
14. Lettuce - Outredgeous
15. Lettuce - Limestone
16. Onion - Mystery Bunching
17. Onion - Evergreen Bunching
18. Parsnip - Hamburg
19. Pepper - California Bell 
20. Pepper - Big Jim 
21. Pepper - Red Habanero
22. Stock - Double White & Appleblossom Mix
23. Sweet Pea - Lavender Mix
24. Sweet Pea - Burgundy with White Splotch
25. Tomato - Brandywine

More details forthcoming but until then, please feel free to drop me a quick email with your interests.  By the way, this swap is open to international gardening friends as well!

Mystery Onions...Will Be Eaten

In 2010 it didn't seem I could find a decent onion anywhere for purchase.  And of course, the ones I grew in the garden were never ready for the next fab meal.  It seems every supermarket onion was old, weak tasting or sprouting once you cut into it.

I managed to save seed from several of the onions that were left in the ground but I left the seed with the marker outside far too long because by the time I got ready to place them in a packet, I couldn't read the variety name.  Well, that was not going to stop me from planting them.

The seeds were placed in my stand-by soilless mix of perlite and peat moss and left on top of cafe table on the deck. Full sun and moisture exposure seemed to work well as they are extremely sturdy little seedlings considering they've only been sitting out for a few weeks.

Don't think I've ever been so excited to see onions!  These popped up almost over night and I was absolutely tickled.  Of course I wish I had a small clue what type and kind they are but what the heck...they will definitely get put to good use.

Oh and in the meantime, think I've started about 15 more varieties but this time I wrote the varietal name with a black Sharpie AND a pencil.  Don't think we'll be without an onion for a few years at this point.

Do You See What I See? Part 2

Okay, here's the second part to the I'm-walking-down-the-street-minding-my-own-business...and I notice in a neighbor's yard there's what appears to be a palm tree that has fallen onto the grass.  Palm trees are a dime a dozen in California so it really wasn't that big a deal...that is until I did a double take.

Do you see what I see?

Looks like some kind of palm...

It's actually a banana tree!  Fantastic idea.  

Wow, it was actually a banana tree (with a nice bunch of bananas too!).  I certainly hope they were able to harvest the bananas before those pesky squirrels found them!

Thought the inclusion of bananas into the landscape was brilliant.

French Fingerling Potato

Earlier I'd raved about how thrilled I was to obtain such a fine selection of potatoes which I planned to eat and plant.  Well, the Buttercream potatoes were simply outstanding.  Petite, round, creamy, buttery and sweet.  By far one of the best potatoes I'd ever had the pleasure to eat and that's saying a lot because potatoes and I are the best of friends.

For dinner the other night we had some of the French Fingerling potatoes and what a shock.  They were absolutely vile.  The more cream and butter added to the pot the stiffer and bitter they became.  More Parmesan maybe?  Not even the Parmesan worked.  Now, it could have been my cooking but there are few potatoes I can't eat, no matter how bad I muss up a recipe.  So off to do some research and what I found is that this particular potato is considered a 'dry' potato.  Dry?  It was like mortar.  Should be considered extremely dry by my standards.  Now to give them a bit of credit, they'd probably make outstanding chips.  Short of that, I can't imagine trying them for anything else.

I refuse to eat anymore of them so I'm going to dump them in the garden and plant them (especially since they're beginning to sprout anyway).  I'll get a bundle of them in several months and will try them as chips unless you know of something else they're good for?

Blue Coco Pole Beans

Blue Coco is by far my absolute favorite bean to grow in the garden.  This French heirloom dates back to around 1775 and is one of the most productive and cold tolerant bean plants I've ever seen.  Years ago when I first grew it I actually got tired of harvesting the beans and I allowed it to stay in the garden while I literally planted around it.  Well, those plants stayed in the garden from that June until the following spring when I finally just pulled them up.  Winters here are not severe but to last that long made it one of the hardiest and most rewarding beans I've ever grown.  And during that time, I didn't even water them much and they still outlasted any bean plant ever grown in the garden.

I've planted out additional plants this month (November) so I can have an ample supply of beans for our holiday festivities.  They're quite delicious and  tend to be eaten up rather quickly.

Flowers are produced from tall dark green leaves which have a tinge of purple with purple veins  and purple stalks and produce long purple, flattish pods.  They are very flavorful and don't become woody and pithy unless you pick them just before the pods start producing beans.  The color of the beans are coco or chocolate making them ever more distinctive.  Highly recommend this bean.

Plant Profile:  Blue Coco Bean

Type:  Pole

Days to Maturity:  59

Preference:  None observed

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Characteristics:  Purple pods, green leaves with purple stalks and speckled purple throughout the leaves, chocolate colored beans, very ornamental 

Taste:  Delicious

Do You See What I See?

I'm walking down the street, minding my own business and I see movement near my left foot.  Then suddenly something crossed my path and some furry brown blur circled the tree to my right and the scurried up the tree to a rather large, tall branch (as if I was going to follow it up).

Do you see what I see?

Do you see it?

There's just nothing quite like a know-it-all squirrel.

Schweitzer's Mescher Bibb Lettuce

Lettuce is one of those plants I absolutely love for its simplicity to grow and its vast production.  One of the many new additions to this year's garden and seed collection is Schweitzer's Mescher Bibb Lettuce.  It's an Austrian heirloom that is said to have made its way to the US sometime in the early 1900's but is dated as far back as the 1700s.

It's supposed to grow well in cold weather so I've started a small batch to plant out in November. Growing in the form of a small round ball, one of its unique characteristics is that it has a red edges on the leaves.  Looking closely at the leaves of my seedlings, you can catch a slight glimpse of a red tinge forming.

Unfortunately, there's little information available beyond these small details.  Anyone with additional information is welcomed to provide additional details.


Plant Profile:  Schweitzer's Mescher Bibb Lettuce
Type:  Bibb
Days to Maturity:  50
Preference:  Cold climate
Level of Difficulty:  Easy
Characteristics:  Lime green leaves with red tinge
Taste:  ?

Rare Site - Clear View of the Mountains

Rarely is the day so clear you can see the mountains while driving.  This was such an amazing moment I had to quickly snap the photo while sitting at a red light.

mountains above Beverly Hills

Nothing quite like a good strong wind to take away the smog.

Walk around the Neighborhood

Unique garden gate

Part of neighbor's front orchard

From neighbor's front orchard

Love the way creeping fig creeps.

Up close this bush is stunning.

Halloween in the Garden

Several of the neighbors spooked out their gardens:

These guys were hanging from a tree waiting for their next victim.

Clever - a pumpkin princess (or maybe she's the queen?)!

Potatoes!

Much to my dismay, I missed out on being able order a nice variety of potatoes, onions and garlic this year.  By the time I actually got around to even thinking about it, all I could find were OUT OF STOCK references.

Certainly wasn't as if I needed to order any more of these items but what gardener can resist adding to the garden when an opportunity presents itself?

Well, amazingly, I went into my local green grocer and found a boat-load of fine potatoes to eat AND plant!  Yeah, I know I really shouldn't plant the ones from the supermarket but it's an organic grocer and I'm going to try it!

For all of $5 per variety (some were actually only $2.99 for a 3 pound bag) I purchased several pounds of

Russian Banana Fingerling
Buttercream
Golden
French Fingerling
Ruby Crescent Fingerling

That was nearly 20 pounds of potatoes!  Shipping costs alone for a quarter of what I purchased would have cost me nearly double of what I paid for one meal of each variety.

Looking forward to eating, planting and harvesting these gems.

I Hate Goodbyes

So, I've not written on the blog for quite some time...went away because so much changed in such a little amount of time.  Well, one significant change happened and as a result I was unable to bring myself back.

This blog was always written with my sidekick by my side.  We'd go outside, reflect on the garden, smell a flower or two, pull a stalk, sniff, munch and reflect...gaze at each other fondly and make our way around the yard in amazement at all the incredible changes...that is until my sidekick was taken from me a few months ago.

He was my 14 year old baby boy - a rare combination of a rather large breed and a short breed of canine which resulted in the happiest golden haired, golden eyed "love puppy" imaginable - all 123 pounds of him.

Sigh.

Maybe I'll write more some other time but it hurts far too much to think about it as the garden and the blog are simply not the same without him physically being here.

It was the ritual to venture into the garden together, especially since we both loved it so very much and then at the end of the day take note of what heirloom caught my attention.  When it came time to type, there he sat, gazing up at me with love and enthusiasm as if he knew exactly what I was writing.  Sometimes if I wrote during the day, he'd sit beside me in my office and position himself in the middle of the threshold of the door watching the birds and eventually galloping toward the squirrels in an effort to rid their presence from his kingdom.

He loved his yard and really seemed to love and take immense glory in each day and I'm very lucky to have had the opportunity to share this planet with my big 'love puppy'.  To say he's greatly missed is an understatement as I've walked through the house so often and cried hysterically begging  for just one more day.  I'd requested that for a couple of years and was granted that wish until just a few months ago...I, we, were lucky and I was absolutely ever-so-grateful.  But, if given an opportunity...I'd really like just one more day.

Sure as hell ain't easy disconnecting from the ritual but I'm better for having him all those wonderful years.  Never a dull moment and always a smile in his eyes.  If it's absolutely necessary I'll say goodbye but I'd really just like one more day...

Heirloom Beans in Markets

Is it my imagination or is it difficult to find heirloom beans in the market? I've been trying to find Adzuki bean for the past two weeks in order to make a particular recipe.  I figured my typical organic natural foods market would carry it since that's where we'd generally pick them up. They weren't there.  I then went to a national natural food market and they didn't have any.  So off to a couple of gourmet markets.  They didn't have any.  What a surprise!  I guess once I finally find them I'll need to buy a few extra to plant so I can save my own seed.

We've started several beans in the garden but with the scarcity of quality heirloom beans I'm thinking of starting more to save.  

Do you know of a source to purchase heirloom beans for bulk purchase for recipes?

Fennel & Caterpillars

Bronze fennel grows like an invasive weed in my garden.  If it wasn't such an incredibly beautiful plant, I might consider radical removal.  Luckily, it has other uses and benefits beyond the culinary endeavor. I'm told it's quite delicious although I can never bring myself to consuming it since the taste of anise is expressly forbidden in my stomach.  But, it does make a perfect filler for flower arrangements.  Here's a rather surprising discovery, butterflies seem to love this plant.  While yanking out bulb after bulb I began noticing some of the most colorful caterpillars co-habitating on the leaves.  They were a florescent yellow, green and black. Some were red, black and white.  Others were a bright green, white and black.  It was a delightful discovery.

While I had a trashcan full of fennel, I gently placed those leaves with caterpillars aside in the garden so they could continue their transformation.

Always Reliable - Re-Seeders!

No matter how radical my gardening from one year to the next, these reliable gems always reseed themselves someplace in the garden.

Oregon Snow Pea Harvest

Saturday was a splendid day to be in the garden after a couple of days of really intense rainfall. It felt like Christmas. The sun was out a tad before 6am and as I peaked through the shutters to see if there were clouds, I sprang out of bed as if I'd surely find a puppy under a Christmas tree.  After the customary morning duties, I practically ran outside so I could get started on my garden chores - and of course - place some plants in the ground in addition to starting more seeds.

The part of the country I live in is extremely fortunate because we're at least lucky enough to be able to go out and garden, unlike many how are blanketed with snow and don't have any electricity as a result. Realizing this gift was synonymous with puppies under a tree, I worked vigorously for hours:

1.  Completely weeded a portion of the vegetable garden.
2.  Planted several varieties of broccoli, lettuce, onion, leek, fennel, beet, pea, shallots and dill.
3.  Mulched pathways to vegetable garden with Cypress needles (making that portion of the garden smell like a spa).
4.  Harvested a nice bundle of snow peas, lettuce, celery and fennel.
5.  Cleared an area for the squash and the potatoes.
6.  Harvested worm juice for fruit trees.
7.  Composted vegetation from today's clean out.
8.  Found a sleeping lizard under a couple of pots - returned the pots so he could continue his rest.

It's scheduled to rain again over the next couple of days so the seedlings should enjoy the magical elixir. The Oregon Snow Peas thoroughly enjoyed the past rain and provided us with bounty of 50 pods in one harvest today.