λ ≃ 400nm-700nm (with a few gaps)Art, meet gardening, meet science.
Fresh picked from the jLAmode garden.
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Garden
Mmmm... fried food.
Prepare mashed potatoes with a nice savoury spice: onion powder, dill, green onion, parsley, smoked paprika and salt.
Pick full and large flowers that open easily. This has to be done early in the morning as the flowers tend to wilt in the sun. Be sure to pick the "male" flowers as they are the easiest to work with. It's easy to tell the difference - the female flowers have small squashes attached.
Pipe in the potato mix:
Coat with a flour-water batter. I used buckwheat so that it's gluten free.
Fry ~375F until golden brown. Buckwheat is a darker grain, so these are fairly brown.
Drain on kitchen roll (paper towels):
Serve while still hot - otherwise they go soggy.
Fresh from the spring garden, carrots, beets and greens.
Start by cleaning and peeling the produce.
Place in a lined baking dish, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 175C (350F) until fork tender.
Depending on taste, serve warm, or allow to cool before plating with fresh greens and goat's cheese.
Tomato seedlings:
More seedlings:
I'm trying no-till gardening for the second year. It did well for potatoes last year, so I'll do it again. This year I'm using more lawn space for the garden, so I set out cardboard and sprinkled it with soil.
Cover with mulch:
Repeat:
Onion sets, peeking out:
Garlic, still growing from the fall planting:
Roses:
The same things are still growing in the garden, but a recent bit of warm weather has brought some new progress. While most people are out Christmas shopping, I'm in the garden. Mixed carrots: it's much of a melange, but they've all got a sweet, crisp flavour. Recent rain and some fertilization have caused the noticeable hair-like roots. They're growing big, all the same.
Three kales, freshly mulched and growing well:
Black/Italian/Dino
Russian
Curly Blue
Broccoli - just getting started. Even if it doesn't fully mature, the greens are perfect in stir-fry.
It's autumn and the muscadines are ripe! These grapes are a Southern tradition - their flavour isn't quite grape, or pineapple, or peach; rather a combination.
They have different hues: bronze and burgundy
The flavour varies slightly between the two colours, but it's amazing all the same.
Unlike most grapes, the skin isn't generally eaten, rather the chewy fruit is squeezed out and the seeds removed.
To keep food growing through the winter, a shelter is needed. I built the cold frame out of two halved 2"x10"x10' treated planks.
Align the boards and drill pilot holes:
Screw the ends together:
Add a stabilizer, if you like. This just helps keep the structure square during transport:
A prefect square frame. Position in your garden and line with cardboard.
I added fill dirt and potting mix (about 2 inches of each):
Now it's ready for a cover (glass, poly, blanket, etc.) to keep out the bitter cold. It only needs to be covered when the temperature is freezing.
Stay posted to see what grows!
The garden is nearing the end of its productive season for the summer crops. There are a few tomatoes left, but okra is the only thing still growing strong. A few scarce peppers are still growing; green beans and the last of the cantaloupes. Now's the time to plant the fall crops: garlic, lettuce, cabbage, etc.
Check back later this week to see how these ingredients combine to make a delicious Southern meal.
