Rain barrel serves two purposes

After too many months of putting it off, I finally bought the fixtures for my rain barrel so we could put it to use. In the process, I meet an enthusiastic company founder who believes in supporting the local economy and I beautified my backyard.

A friend started me on this journey more than a year ago when she gave me a rain barrel without the fixtures. For a year, we kept the barrel as it was, putting it under an overflowing gutter during the warm weather months. It did collect water but not in the way intended.

A couple of months ago I finally examined the barrel to find it came from http://www.raintainer.com/. I was so intent on finding out if they could sell me the parts I needed that I didn’t bother to look at the “about us” page. When Mitzi Bender called me to respond to my inquiry, I discovered she was in nearby Lexington.

When I met Mitzi, she told me more of her story. She wanted a rain barrel for her yard but discovered it had to meet specific neighborhood regulations. So she found a friend to work with her on a design that would satisfy the regulations. That’s why their barrel includes a planter on the top.

The team wanted to be able to supply local businesses so they found a company in Mt. Sterling that could manufacture the barrels. They’ve now sold their product not only in Kentucky but also to cities elsewhere in the countries.

Mitzi assured me I could easily put it together myself. I had to screw on on the spigots to get the barrel close to working order, which wasn’t too much of a challenge even though the holes are quite deep into the barrel. The part I didn’t want to attempt was sawing off the downsppout to attach a flex hose to guide the rain into barrel. I turned that part over to my husband.

Meanwhile, I filled the planter with late-season closeout bargains from the greenhouse. Since the barrel sits in the shade next to the house and near the garden, I bought a Boston fern and impatiens to fill it. The combination makes me smile every time I walk around the corner.

We don’t have a lot of watering time remaining this year but I am using my rain barrel and have discovered what seems to be the best place for it. Next year I’ll attach a soaker hose that I can place in the garden where my plants will surely be happy for their rain-refreshment.

When the tomatoes need to be cooked now

We all have busy lives so we don’t always get into our gardens the minute something is ready to harvest. This week when I filled my basket with tomatoes, some of them needed to be cooked immediately. If a tomato is split or has a soft spot and it sits in the kitchen window too long (that’s where I keep them until there’s enough to can) they will attract fruit flies. The same is true of any other fruit or vegetables left on a counter. To avoid that problem, I decided to make a batch of pasta sauce.

By the time I had picked the tomatoes there wasn’t time to complete the sauce. What follows is a very rough two-day recipe for making a simple sauce from fresh produce and herbs. You could, of course, make it in one day but sometimes sauces deepen their flavor if left in the refrigerator overnight.  I apologize in advance for not being more exact with the recipe; it leaves lots of room for creativity! You’ll want to use the proportions of ingredients that are right for the amount of tomatoes you have.

Easy pasta sauce

Day 1 (takes 1 hour or so)

Chop ½ onion and 2 carrots. Sautee in olive oil in a large skillet or pot (that has a lid) that will hold all of the tomatoes you have. Smash two cloves of garlic then chop and add to the pan.

While the onion and carrots are slowly sautéing, chop 12 or so ripe tomatoes. Add them to the pan. Lightly salt and cook. Add ½ cup of red wine. Bring to a nice boil then turn down to simmer. Taste to see if you need to add sugar. I sprinkled just a little (no more than ¼ cup) over the top then stir it in.

Chop a big handful of fresh basil and add along with other herbs you like. I added dried marjoram, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, salt and a sprinkle of red pepper to give heat.  Turn off, cool then put on lid and store in refrigerator.

Day 2 (takes 30 minutes)

Warm the sauce base.

In another pan, brown ½ - 1 pound sweet Italian sausage. Chop green pepper and add to sausage. Chop 2/3 cup zucchini and add. Salt lightly. 

While that is cooking, boil salted pasta water and add pasta.

Drain fat from sausage pan, add to sauce and stir. Add ½ cup fresh parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you have a leftover rind of Parmesan, chop it and add it. That will give you wonderful little bites of Parmesan in your dish.

When the pasta is done, spoon it onto the top of the sauce. Grate Romano cheese onto the pasta then stir. Grate more cheese onto the top of the dish and serve.

By the way, I know this might be some sort of sacrilege to the Italians, but I had a little bit of two different types of pasta leftover from earlier meals (bowtie and penne) so I mixed them for this dish. You can see that in the photo.

This year's garden has survived the drought, so far

After Friday night's healthy rain I thought I would tour the garden on Saturday morning to assess how everything is doing and what my garden tasks for the weekend should be. Here's a quick look at some of what is growing.

These are my leaning, tripod bean poles. I must not have pushed them far enough into the ground because the wind and rain combined to to lean them southward. That's okay, They're standing and the beans are winding and growing.

In the front of the house I have two eggplants in pots at the end of the walk leading to our house. So far, they're growing beautifully and look healthy. If you look carefully you can see the eggplant at the bottom and the flower for another at the top.




Here are the ancho peppers. They might look black but truly they are very dark green. They'll be wonderful for Chiles Rellenos.

Here are the blooms from the blue potatoes. They are slightly blue, reminding us of the goodness to come.









Then there are the beautiful tomatoes. Although some of them have a few brown leaves, the fruits are luscious. Here are the small Principe Borghese's that I like to dry.



Next we have the San Marzano's that I plan to make into salsa this week and sauce later on. Then are the Cherokee Tomatoes, which Jim loves on his sandwiches, and the Constulato Genovese, the one fresh tomato that I like on a baked Capresi Salad or a tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich.

 

I also have pots of baby cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli started for the fall.

Now, to cookin up some of what I harvested!

May persistence pervade!

I want to dance through the green grass and sing, “The drought is over!” Yet, only time will tell how true that is.

Here in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, we were without rain, and with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, for five weeks or so. I know there are still farmers and gardeners in other parts of the country who are praying for God to send that growing gold in gentle showers. I join them in prayer for that relief.

After receiving more than two inches of rain the past week, my gardening spirits revived. Thank to diligent watering, I found so many ripe tomatoes in the garden that I’ll be canning tonight. The kale continues to grow and the garlic harvest has been good. I planted more Swiss Chard in hopes that it will revive. I’ve also plucked off dead leaves and peppers to encourage the plants to grow abundantly. This weekend I even planted broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage seeds in pots so I’ll have the Cole crops for fall. They now sit in the sun, soaking up the heat as they progress toward germination.

Mother Nature teaches gardeners all sorts of lessons. This week I’m remember how persistence pays off, not just in the garden but also in life. May persistence pervade!

What to do during a drought

Oh my, it’s dry outside. I’m in the part of the U.S. that has been experiencing a drought this month. Now the temperatures have soared to an unusual 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

What’s a gardener to do during this time? Planning ahead, as with so many things in life, is the most effective strategy. But if you didn’t get to carry out all of your plans as you had hoped, don’t despair. Here are a few strategies to try.

1) Next year plan to mulch more heavily. Mulching around a plant not only keeps down the weeds, it helps the soil retain water. I really wanted to try “lasagna” gardening this year, which would have helped enormously, but I didn’t collect enough cardboard to build the layers. I see what I must do this fall!

2) If you do get some good rainfall, go ahead and mulch now. For years I’ve used layers of newspaper. I prefer to put composting grass on top of them but lacking that I use dirt. Be forewarned, though, if you don’t put enough dirt and it gets dry and windy, the papers will blow away. I also use cardboard, which still needs to be weighted down.

3) Use a soaker hose (also called a drip line irrigation system) to water with. These run along the ground and are somewhat more effective than sprinklers. You can target the water precisely where you need for it to go.

4) Collect water from your indoor usage to use in the garden. I put a large bowl in the sink to catch the water when I rinse vegetables, wash my hands and rinse dishes. I keep my watering can and pitcher handy to dump the bowl water into when it gets full. A friend told me she puts a bucket in the shower with her to catch excess water.

5) Plan to use a rain barrel next year, if you don’t have one now, and be sure you set it up as early in the year as possible. Our rain barrel collects some water but it lacking all the parts to make it totally effective so it’s already empty.

6) If you have perennials that are newly planted this year, be sure to give them extra attention when watering. They will not be as well as established as your old garden buddies so keep welcoming them to the family.

7) If you have potted plants outside, put them in the shade for a portion of the day and they’ll need less water.

8) Prune plants so the water they do get can give you well-developed tomatoes and peaches, for example. We pruned some of our peaches in the spring but will do more this weekend.

9) Continue weeding. Some pesky weeds live longer than the vegetables, fruits and flowers that you truly want. Get rid of them so they don’t soak up the water your plants need!

10)  Enjoy your harvest as soon as you can pick it.I was thankful to go to the garden this morning to see the cabbage, kale, collards and rhubarb had actually grown and given me more to eat. I’ll be especially thankfully as I eat them this evening.

New discoveries in the garden keep me learning

Jim and I were weeding the strawberry bed this spring when he plucked a stem of something that looked like clove and told me to try it. The fresh, lemony bite was so refreshing that I immediately wanted more. It was wood sorrel, something he and his siblings grew up eating when they were playing in the woods.

Wood sorrel is only one of my recent discoveries as I continue to learn about planting what I want and using what's already growing. The sorrel leaves are shaped like hearts and the plants in our yard make yellow flower. I've added to salads and enjoyed it as a snack when I'm working outside.














Next is purslane. I learned about this at the farmer's market last year where someone was selling it. And I had been pulling it out as a week all year! Its leaves are succulent and they have positive nutritional benefits.





This one I planted--Mountain Mint. It's a perennial and is supposedly good for keeping bugs away from people. When working in the garden, I pull off a few leaves and rub them over my skin. The mosquitoes aren't get thick enough to test the theory, but it certainly scents my skin nicely!
Below is a Scented Geranium plant. Rub its leaves and you get a scent similar to citronella. Again, this is for keeping bugs away. I planted two in pots, one for the porch and one for the vegetable garden. Although marked as an annual in most places, I'm told that you can bring it inside for the winter and it will be a perennial.

It's all an experiement in gardening and learning. I listen, observe, learn and share and love to find gardeners who do the same so feel free to share your lessons and experiments.

Gnocchi makes for great kid-friendly cooking

Two years ago or so my goddaughter and I made gnocchi together. She enjoyed it so much that she has repeatedly asked since then if we could make it again. On Sunday, we did just that.

Preparing gnocchi (an Italian potato dumpling) is a great experience for anyone who enjoys tactile cooking. The potato, egg, flour dough becomes silky as you knead then roll it into a rope. After that, you cut it into small pillows that you can “roll” with a fork or a honey dipper. Either of them shapes the pillows with subtle lines that help absorb whatever sort of sauce you decide to put on it.

Anna and I made what we called Italian Patriot’s Sauce with sautéed spinach, onion, red pepper and garlic. The colors of the Italian flag suggested its name. With that combination of fresh from the garden vegetables, you also get some nutrition to add to all of that butter and potato.

We used Michael Chiarello’s gnocchi recipe. Instead of using only egg yolks as the recipe calls for, I use 2-3 whole eggs.




After we mixed up the dough, we rolled it into ropes.











Next, Anna cut it into small pillows, then rolled it with the honey dipper.


While the gnocchi rested, we prepared the sauce by slowly sautéing our vegetables in butter.



After dropping the gnocchi into boiling water, we were only a few minutes from topping it with the sauce and eating.

We decided that the next time we need to make a double batch. One batch barely feeds four people who love gnocchi!