The red potatoes have grown almost to the top of their 3-bucket towers.
The bell peppers are getting bigger every day.
Our third bitter melon is hanging high on the vine. We tried one while it was small and found it so incredibly bitter we could not eat it. We let the next one grow large as my sweetie had read that the seed coating in mature bitter melons tasted like cherry candy.
He cut it open this past week to see if this was true. Verdict? Not really. The seed coating has the consistency of a roasted red pepper and a chalky fruity flavor, but it's not reminiscent of cherries other than in color. The flavor is vaguely like some kind of tropical fruit. We plan to give the last bitter melon to a gal that moved here from Taiwan just a few years ago as she is more accustomed to the flavor than we are.This morning, we dashed off to the annual Master Gardeners' plant sale. I pushed for us to get there at opening time - 8 am - and it turned out my hunch was correct. The parking lot was already packed when we got there a few minutes after 8. By the time we got into the plant area, someone had already picked up the last fig start.
However, there were still a few blackberry canes, another plant on our wish list. We bought two Rosborough Blackberries and look forward to eventually getting them into the ground for our future garden. These are adapted to desert conditions and should produce well.We, and several other folks, were quite disappointed in the lack of edible plant offerings at the sale. I plan to email the group and encourage them to start more edible plants adapted to this area as they would obviously be popular. With the interest in edible gardening and increase in food prices, the group would be wise to move in this direction.
Time for me to go figure out what to do with huge okra pods and a nice purple eggplant.
16 comments:
THHHHHHPPPPP! Okay, but when the heat of an arizona summer hits, I will remember this!
Ahh, see. I have the same problem - but the reverse. It's disconcerting for me to see people's gardens blooming and vibrant in February when there's a raging snowstorm right outside my window ;).
But it's also fun, isn't it - to follow what's happening in different parts of the country?
My garden is actually still producing - believe it or not. I still have leaf lettuce, beets, cabbage and broccoli growing in the garden, but it's time to pull it all, mulch the beds, and plant the garlic ;).
The garden looks great! So, um, when do you suppose you'll have berries... you know, just in case I'm in the area... :)
We had a serious snow already that killed all the plants in the school's garden, so yeah, count yourself lucky that you've still got plants! Are you really planting blackberries? Mmmm. I looooove fresh blackberries.
Blackberries are the scourge of the NW. How can anything so prolific and so thorny make such nice berries?
Okay, somehow I missed the growing potatoes in a bucket tower thing. I assume you use buckets with the bottoms cut out and just keep stacking them? Any special 'dirt'?
Blackberries make me happy. It's nice knowing there's a plant out there that grows with all it's heart AND gives you food. Doesn't get better than that.
Have you tried cooking the bitter melon? Probably better than raw. Check out the list of culinary uses for it on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_melon
By the way, having eggplant means you HAVE to make baba ganouj. It's so yummy and easy, but not so easy on the fat because of the tahini. I used ground sesame seeds for that. But, um, yeah, it's tasty.
Congrats on your green thumb! And I'm excited for you about the blackberries!
For the okra, I recommend stewing them in tomatoes (I like to use a can of stewed tomatoes, or one of diced with some spices added).
I'll have to think on the eggplant, since other than for stir fry and fried rice, it usually gets egg or cheese when I make it.
I'm so envious that you have overgrown okra! It is a beautiful plant and certainly on my top-2 veggies to eat (along with brussels sprouts).
Try roasting okra coins with salt and pepper and a bit of oil. Yep--the oil makes all the difference.
I wanto to know what you did with the okra. Can you let us know?
thanks,
shamba
Rob - Yes, I expect you will torment me in the summer heat. Blackberries are the reward for all the scratches from the thorns. I don't expect they'll get as overgrown here as in your area. If they do, I'll rent me some goats!
Wendy - it is fun to see what's growing where and when. Great that you are still getting some food from your garden!
Heather - well, we're having trouble with the first step: finding a place (our own home) to plant them. Once we conquer that hurdle, it will take a couple years, I think. I'll keep ya posted.
Stephanie - yep, we'll really plant them once we have a place. I also want figs, citrus, pomegranite, pineapple guava....
Gaias Daughter - yes on cutting off the bottoms of the upper buckets. For the growing medium, I think he mixed vermiculite and coconut coir. Maybe some compost, too. He waters it with water and nutrient solution from his hydroponic supplies.
Krista - me, too. I wish I'd canned a bunch of jelly back when I lived in Oregon and there were wild berries all over the place. I love baba ganouj, but my sweetie doesn't. Since he grew it, I need to fix it a way he enjoys too. (Probably curry.)
Ben - we tried the bitter melon cooked. Blech. Must be an acquired taste. We gave the last one, plus two bitter orange eggplant and a small loofah to our Asian friend.
Allie - my hubby has the green thumb, not me. I kill vegetables.
The Raven - even with the oil, won't the okra coins get all mucousy and stick to the grill?
Shambe - We had some of them simmered last night in a Louisiana Red Beans & Rice stew. It was one of our dehydrated meal packages that needed to be used up so I cooked it with the okra and a tomato, and added some leftover cooked rice and a (solar) baked potato. I meant to also add chard but forgot it in the salad spinner until after dinner.
See this? This is my jealous face.
Wow, potato bucket towers - love it! Yes, we are rainy and cold up here. :(
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