My garden

[dreamflower]

*sigh*

All of my leaf lettuce, that was growing so prettily, was bitter. So much for home grown salad. It got too hot for it. So I had to pull it all up. I'll try again in the fall.

I harvested the rest of my radishes. My beans are growing and out of all the carrot seeds I planted, about four or five have *finally* sprouted!

I have one very nice big pepper growing, almost big enough to harvest; my cukes are blooming, and I already have a few teensy little cukes forming on them.

A couple of my tomato plants have blooms.

And I have got so much sage...*rolls* eyes.

What on earth to do with a surplus of sage? That plant's the size of a bush...

Comments

[the-arc5.livejournal.com]

Yay for gardens, sad for lettuce... Sage? Haven't a clue. It's not an herb you use in surplus, or that's good for drying, really, like mint. Make a lot of lamb, maybe.

[dreamflower]

Well, I guess that I'll cut some of it back this weekend. I'll take some to church to give away again, dry some and freeze some.

[the-arc5.livejournal.com]

Heh... Looks like some other people have good ideas for your sage! This is why I don't garden. Well, that, and I have two black thumbs.

Speaking of nothing in particular, do we have plans for Thursday?

[dreamflower]

Speaking of nothing in particular, do we have plans for Thursday?

We can make some! I'd love to see you again!

[the-arc5.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! What'd you have in mind?

[dreamflower]

Are you up for coming over here? Or would you rather meet at the library in Stillwater? If you come here, I can feed you!!

[the-arc5.livejournal.com]

As if college students ever said no to offers of food! Email me time and directions, and I'm there. I can even visit dear Kiley while I'm at it!

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

On the sage: You can dry some. Bundle a few little branches togther with a rubber band, place the bundle upside down in a paper bag with a few holes cut in it, and hang the bag in a warm, well-ventilated room. Check the progress every week or so.

Oh, and you can freeze it, too. Wash, pat dry, and store the leaves in a freezer bag. Should keep in the freezer for up to a year.

Or flavored oils. Cover some sage with olive oil for a couple of weeks, and you'll have a nice sage flavored oil

You can use it to make an herbal tea, too. Supposed to be good for digestive problems and high blood sugar - and also supposed to help enhance memory.

[dreamflower]

Now that's a way to dry it I hadn't tried. Paper bags? I used to use the closet in my craft room when I lived in MS, but I don't have that kind of space here, so paper bags might be a good solution.

And I haven't tried freezing--that sounds good! Or the other ideas--thanks!

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

I checked with my office manager, Anne, this morning - she's an herbalist. She said that sage tea is also good for night sweats and hot flashes, and that sage tincture is good as a gargle for sore throats. She also said she usually only keeps a sage plant for three years or so, that after that it just gets really woody and harder to use - although she'll sometimes keep it for the flowers, which are really pretty.

Oh, and she's also made it into jelly and had that with pork chops.

[dreamflower]

I'll keep that in mind (about the three years) because this one's in its second year.

And jelly is a great idea! I've made rosemary jelly and mint jelly before! Could you ask her what she uses as a base? I used lemon juice with the rosemary, and apple cider vinegar with the mint...

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

I asked earlier - I've never made jelly myself, but the idea intrigued me. She said she uses apple cider vinegar. I googled a few recipes, and I've seen lemon juice used, too - and one recipe that called for Sauternes (a sweet French dessert wine).

[dreamflower]

I love to make jelly, and I haven't done it since I moved! It's such a simple process with purchased pectin, and jelly is sooo pretty--it makes a wonderful gift. I tend to like jellies better than jams or preserves.

Believe it or not, you can make a nice batch of jelly in less than an hour!

I've made herbal jellies and blueberry, strawberry and blackberry jelly from fresh picked or frozen berries, orange and grape jelly using frozen juice concentrate, and apple and pear conserve, and caramel apple jam. My only failure was an attempt at orange marmelade. The resultant sticky mass hardened into a dark brown brick!

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

Your Thanksgiving turkey dressing will thank you for that sage! :)

[dreamflower]

*grin*

My favorite thing to do is to make my own fresh sausage: I snip up fresh sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary and chives into fresh ground pork or turkey. A little salt and pepper--then either make patties, or cook it crumbled and make gravy.

Still, one can only use so much...

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Fry a few leaves quickly in a little olive oil as a garnish! I've had that before at a favorite restaurant and it's delicious.

[dreamflower]

Ooh! I've heard of that, but never tried it! That sounds neat!

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

I once had pumpkin gnocchi in a sage butter sauce, and it was really yummy.

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Il Fornaio does a similar dish:

Cappellacci di Zucca
Ravioli filled with butternut squash and walnuts; tomato sauce, brown butter, parmesan and crispy sage

It's to die for delicious.

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

Oh, God, that sounds fantastic. *drools*

[songspinner9.livejournal.com]

Wanna trade it for my surplus of mint? :) Kidding...

That happened to my lettuce last year. Darn it.

[dreamflower]

My mint is growing very well also!

Yeah, weather was just too hot. I'll try some more in the fall.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I was talking to some organic farmer types in Trinidad and we were discussing the issue of bitter lettuce...but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was that they suggested you had to do to prevent that. I'm thinking it's caused by too much sun or was it watering it while the sun is on it? (like it's better to water them at night or something?) I totally can't remember!

[dreamflower]

It goes bitter quickly if it gets too hot. I had planted it among some other things that hopefully would have shaded it, but it didn't work out. *sigh*

The problem was, it was too cool to sprout the seeds when I planted them, and then too warm for the lettuce when it finally did sprout. It's not usually the done thing for lettuce, but I think I may try starting the seeds inside this fall.

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

I keep meaning to someday grow an herb garden, but so far I've only grown a little rosemary that died quickly and some chives. The chives did well---had them on baked potatoes!

But alas, no other herbs. As for sage---yes, you'll have some nice stuffing for that turkey this T-day.

[dreamflower]

I've been growing herbs for a few years. This year I have parsley, sage, mint, chives, rosemary, basil, oregano, chives, two kinds of thyme, and stevia. My curry plant died, and my dill never grew.

I started out with just chives on the kitchen window. I love them snipped into a lot of things: baked and mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, salads, scrambled eggs, etc.

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

I wish I had your green thumb!

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

Rosemary, according to my office manager (who's an herbalist) can be finicky. She says she manages to get it to do OK in the summer up here but in the winter? It doesn't like the cold outside and doesn't like the conditions inside and it dies on her every winter.

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I must have a black thumb where it's concerned, because it's hot here so much of the time.

I do so love the smell of growing rosemary, though. I may have to give it another go.

[shirebound]

Would I be able to grow beans on an apartment patio? Do they need a wide area to spread out and up, or would a bit pot-with-supports do it? If I get tomatoes off that plant this year, I'd like to try string beans next year.

[dreamflower]

What you need to do is to get a nice compact "bush" variety of bean, one that grows well in containers. Since my garden is containers, that's what I'm growing.

Check out:
http://www.burpee.com/category/id/101558.do?KickerID=100187&KICKER

This year, I'm growing "Tenderpod" and "Gold Mine", that you see described on that page. In the past, I've grown "Blue Lake", which is a good variety. I like the looks of that new one, "Heavyweight"--may try them next year!

You need a container about 16" to 20" in diameter--you can grow two plants in a container that size. I usually plant four seeds, and then pull two. If you have a container about 24" in diameter, you can grow three. Just remember to space them evenly, and don't crowd them.

The varieties I've mentioned have a good yield and you can probably get at least two harvests off each plant if you harvest them fairly young (that's when they're most tender anyway!)

I like to plant some, and then wait a couple of weeks and then plant another container, so that the harvest is staggered, and I have beans over a longer time period.

[shirebound]

Thanks for the advice! I adore raw string beans.

*munch munch*

[dreamflower]

*giggle* When my son was about three, we went to a pick your own farm to get beans, sweet corn, and a few other yummies. He was so cute--he was dirt from head to toe, except for his pink little right thumb that went in his mouth. And oh, he ate as many beans as he picked--dirt and all!

He never cared for cooked veggies, but he loved them raw.

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

My older sister once had a veritable vegatable garden all growing on the patio of her apartment in Houston. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peppers - there's a lot you can do on a patio.

I had basil growing and doing really well on an apartment patio in Tampa once - and then I went on the trauma service, hubby had to go out of town, and we got hit by a hurricane while I was on call. Only a Cat One, but enough to knock my basil pots over, darn it.

[shirebound]

Oh no, poor basil plants!

I'd like to try to grow all kinds of things. But first I want to see ONE red tomato on this plant. Baby steps...

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

I had plans for that basil, too, darn it.

I think maybe once I get more settled in a place of my own here, I may ask Anne (office manager/herbalist) what among my favorite herbs grows well here and for any tips on planting/growing.

[dreamflower]

Oh! And with growing in containers--be sure to use really good quality dirt! Spending a few dollars more for a name brand with moisture control and nutrients in it will pay off. Sometimes the really cheap dirt will have weed seeds and other undesirable things in it.

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

You have such a great garden. :)