Cherry Tomato Trellis & Pruning

Hello all,

Due to a Google screw up, I haven't written here in a while because I couldn't log in and just got plain too frustrated with technology to deal with it until now. So much has happened since I last wrote - good and bad.

Let's start with the good: our cherry tomatoes are growing wonderfully. They have put on so much growth, we made a fancy string trellis system so that they could stand up nice and neat.

LOOK:

 

I also learned how to prune tomatoes:

Basically, keep the "sucker" that's below the first flower cluster and kill all others. This sucker will become bigger and will be the second "leader". So the entire plant will eventually become Y-shaped when that sucker is grown (it's way easier to prune at this point).

Pruning helps maximize yields of produce by being efficient on where the energy of the plant goes to and minimize the risk of catching diseases. It also makes the plants look neater, and I'm sure it's a lot easier to keep them supported as well. You can view how I learned how to do this and how we made the trellis system in the video by Johnny's Seeds here.

~jesusnunezx

Lunch in the Garden/Garlic Harvest

Hello all!

Here are some highlights from this afternoon:

Danielle Corea (back left), Melissa Quan (back right), Suzanne Klaf (middle right), and Margaret McCaffrey (front right) came for lunch. That's me, with my Home Depot fanny pack thing, eating a cherry on the left.

Suzanna shared some fancy foreign chocolates with us, while Melissa brought some yummy cherries.

Then we picked Garlic...

Biology professors Tod Osier and Jen Klug, my bosses, are seen loosening the soil with shovels.

To the right, you can see child labor at its best  Gus Osier picking up the garlic.

 That's a keeper!

Suzanne and Daniel tying up the garlic into bundles.

Wheelbarrow of yum, ready to be stored for the Fall.

To the right, the garlic is shown drying, a step in the storing process. Yay!











If you would like see all of the pictures from today, please visit our Garden Picassa Album.

~ jesusnunezx

"The Fairfield Experience"

Hello all!

Apparently, The Garden is included in it! I think this video was shown at Orientation to freshmen. Yay free publicity.



Skip to 2:20 to see us being mentioned. Jim Fitzpatrick & Jen Klug can be seen planting stuff. And I'm pretty sure our blue wheelbarrow is seen from a distance at 4:45. Why am I this obsessed?

~jesusnunezx

Super Quick Update!

Sad :(

Happy :)

Hello all!

Above is the difference between transplanting tomatoes at 12PM and 6PM!

Above, we have rows in; they have plastic mulch; tomatoes are in; summer squash are a go; winter squash finally live; zuchinni is growing as I write.

We have guests!

 YAY!

Lentil Poblano Soup

Hello all!

I finally decided to make a dish out of my harvests. I had harvested my poblano pepper a while back; meanwhile, I had lentils just sitting in my cupboard, perfectly neglected because my nights are more often spent eating lord knows what rather than devouring a wholesome meal. I decided that my kitchen, which is being better equipped with gadgets every week, needs to be put to use. And what better way than by cooking up some good'ol yummy soup!

The poblano added some nice heat to an otherwise mundane meal. Oh, and I used garlic from the garden too! Oh, and I could've used some herbs, like my cilantro that's bolting like crazy - but I keep forgetting to bring some home :P

This recipe was adapted from the back of a Goya Lentil bag. The original can be found here.

• 1 Chicken Breast
• 4 Cups of Water
• 2 Tbsp of Oil
• 1 small Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1 Poblano, chopped
• 1/4 Pound of Lentils (The bag says 1/2 pound... that seemed a lot so I guesstimated 1/4 - didn't measure!)
• 1 handful of chopped Mushrooms (I carelessly through these in because they were getting old!)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil Chicken Breast in the 4 Cups of water to make some delicious broth for later.
2. Remove Chicken Breast and strip it of its flesh. Chop meat and have it aside for later.
3. In a different medium sized sauce pan, heat the Oil.
4. Stir in the Onion, Garlic, Chicken, Poblano, and Mushrooms and cook until tender.
5. Add broth to the pan and lentils.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the soup is thick and the lentils are tender.

Eat with buttered bread. Enjoy!

~ jesusnunezx

Caramelized Shallots with deglazed Mushrooms Taco

Hello all!

Never before have I been convinced that eating a dish would be considered a carnal sin until I stumbled upon this gem. Just smelling it gave me odd and awkward shivers. I am no cook, but I was so impressed with myself on this little meal, that I was honestly compelled to write at 12:30AM for no other reason than to share this delight tout le monde.

However, why I am so impressed by this recipe is more because of how cheap the ingredients were and how simple and approachable it is. Keep in mind, I am in college. And while I do have a wonderful job that pays... well, I'm not sure how much... for the most part, I'm broke! Namely, this is why the proportions for the ingredient list is so small. It's really meant for one person. I buy food as I need it. Also, it's why some the ingredients are different from the original source of this recipe. Obtaining good red wine is difficult when underaged, and I forgot to buy some things or didn't feel like getting them. So I just improvised - a lot.

Ultimately, after all the alterations, I made something beautiful. Dinner!

Ingredients:

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Ina Garten

• 1 Tbs of Butter (I used SmartBalance spread-something-or-other... I was being a nutrition freak at the time)
• 1 Tbs of Oil (I used Vegetable, Olive would have been really nice though)
• 2 or 3 Shallots, peeled, with roots intact
• 1 Tbs of Honey
• 1 Tbs of Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup of White Mushrooms
• 2 Small-ish tortillas 
• 1 Tbs or so of Garlic Scape Pesto, optional (but entirely necessary!)
• Cheese, optional (I used a 3 cheese Mexican Blend)
• 2 tbs of Cilantro (original recipe calls for Parsley, but I wanted it to be a little more Mexican-y)
• 1/2 tsp of Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp of freshly ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. In a saucepan at medium heat, insert oil and butter. Let butter melt completely.
2. Add shallots and toss it around a bit to coat in oil/butter. Let brown.
3. Add honey, salt, and pepper. Continue tossing shallots to further coat in yumminess.
4. Place pan in oven and roast for 15 - 25 minutes until tender.
5. Remove shallots from pan and place in tortilla, deglaze bottom of pan with vinegar
6. Place in white mushrooms and let cook for 5 - 10 minutes
7. Add mushrooms on tortilla with the shallots, put some of the sauce from the pan in taco
8. Put Pesto on taco and add cheese of your choice
9. Sprinkle Cilantro (or Parsley) onto taco
10. Salt and Pepper to taste

ENJOY

~ jesusnunezx

Lots of photos!

Baby Squash

Hello all!

I just wanted to share some photos of what we have so far in the garden, for those of you who haven't had the chance to stop by. First, above is a winter squash plant that is showing its first true leaves.

Here are rows of some shallots. I already have a recipe in mind for these yummy little things.

Hard-neck garlic, who's scapes made a delicious pesto

Sweet Basil to be sprinkled on delicious Italian food

My Roma plum tomato plant with a little baby tomato getting ready to be a nice fat juicy fruit for some tasty sauce.

The whole tomato plant, looking super green and lively!

Lima beans to sweeten up my salads!

Swissh Chard looking really pretty, although kinda bitter for my tastes

Above, a giant poblano. Soon enough, it will be stuffed with some rice and beans!

~jesusnunezx

The Garden has a new toy!

Hello all!

This Garden is more magical, or at the very least, far less deceptive than Santa Clause. I get new toys to play with!

A new house....

And a picnic table for tea time!!!!

Although the table on the right is missing an entire seat... I never said the Garden was thorough.

~ jesusnunezx

Yesterday's Scare

Hello all!

So yesterday night, right after my last public speaking class - and the worst speech I've ever given for the class- I came by the garden just to see if any deer got in. To my alarm, there was some giant moth hovering around my chilies. After a mini panic attack, I shewed it away and immediately starting e-mailing people about this disaster.

Well apparently, adult moths don't usually eat leaves off of plants. This incident only serves to prove how paranoid I am about anything that moves eating my plants.

~ jesusnunezx

Source of Picture: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Spr_3e_049_s.gif