This weekend on the Frugal Upstate Facebook page I posted a picture of some of the seed catalogs that had already come in and asked folks if they were planning their gardens yet.  I got a great question from Kayte:  For someone who is starting their first garden this year….what are a couple plants you’d recommend?

Well Kayte, I’m glad you asked!  It’s not a question that can be answered in just a few lines, so I decided to pull it out and answer it here on the blog.

There are a lot of factors that go into a successful garden-more than I could cover in a single post, which is why I had already planned that in 2012 I’d be starting a gardening feature to walking brand new gardeners through all the information and decisions they need to make a great vegetable garden in 2012!  Be on the lookout for that-and if you haven’t already make sure you Follow Frugal Upstate on Facebook and sign up for the email feed for this blog–that way you won’t miss a thing!

But back to your question.  I have three steps for you to figure out what to plant this year:

*****************************

1.  Make a list of vegetables you enjoy eating. 

Photo by Marc Roberts

It is senseless (and frustrating) to grow something that you don’t really want to eat.  For example, many folks suggest radishes as a quick and easy crop-which they are.  But most folks don’t actually EAT a lot of radishes–so why bother.  To really enjoy your first garden it’s best not to get crazy and experiment-plant veggies you know you already enjoy!

(Note:  Actually, there are some interesting things you can do with radishes.  You can take nice crusty bread, butter it and then layer on some thinly sliced radishes. Mmm.  You can also saute them in butter, which completely changes their taste.)

2.  Figure out what zone you are in and how long your growing season is. 

The USA (and other countries I’m sure!) are divided up into gardening “zones”.  These zones (USDA Plant Hardiness Zones) have to do with the wintertime cold temperatures in various regions.  Finding your zone is easy-just use Google!  For example, in my area I’d Google “USDA Zone NY”.  That brings up several sites with maps to consult-from there I can see I am in Zone 5 (actually on the border of Zone 5a & 5b).

photo by Edible Office

Most seed packages will give you a planting date based on this data.  Most seed packets will say things like “plant up to 3 weeks before last frost date” or “plant 4 weeks after average last frost date”

Next you need to figure out how long your growing season is.  This is done by checking the average first and last frost dates in your area.  Again-Google is your friend.  I would search for “first frost date Binghamton NY” and “last frost date Binghamton NY”.  That gives me May 10-20 for the last frost in the spring and Sept 20-30 for the first frost in the fall.  Looking at a calendar and doing a bit of counting that tells me that 123 days between frosts that things can grow.

(Note:  From experience I know that I rarely get 123 days of growth out of anything in Upstate NY–there are other factors to consider!  Sometimes it rains and the ground is too wet to plant in for several weeks.  Other seeds and plants need the soil temperature to be warmer than we have first thing in the spring.)

3.  Find what varieties of the plants you enjoy eating do well in your area.

Photo by LollyKnits

This is where your state’s Cooperative Extension Office will help you out (sorry-if you aren’t in the US then I’d check with local gardening organizations, folks who garden in your area or ask for advice at a reputable nursery-NOT your local box store!) .  Google (again-yes, I love Google) your state and the phrase “cooperative extension office” and you’ll get a site (usually associated with your state university system).  There should be an office in each county and somewhere either on the website or by calling the office you should be able to get a list of specific plant cultivars that do well in your area.

*****************************

By picking vegetables that you enjoy eating and then making sure you pick cultivars that do well in the conditions specific to your area you’ve given yourself the best shot at doing well and enjoying your first gardening experience.

All that being said I’d say that most people enjoy garden fresh tomatoes and cucumbers (although each can have it’s difficulties and quirks), it’s also fantastic to be able to pick fresh lettuce and carrots out of your own garden and make a salad, or snip off some chives (which come back every year) parsley, or basil that you’ve grown yourself.

Photo by Renee

And one more thing-start small.  Really truly–if you go huge first thing you are going to be overwhelmed, the garden and weeding will get out of control, you’ll be sad and discouraged and you might give up.  It’s best to start smaller, enjoy the experience, learn a bit, get to know your area, and get an idea of how much work it all takes this first year.  Then you can build on your success and go even bigger & better next year!

Do you compost? If you are frugal and a gardener you should! It’s basically free, can be done with minimal labor and creates a fantastic mulch / amendment for you soil.  Most gardeners find they have only one problem with compost-they can never make enough!

Yesterday I posted a picture to the Frugal Upstate Facebook page a picture of my compost piles.  I had been talking about getting a big bag of free vegetable trimmings from the church while helping prepare for our annual Harvest Dinner.

Photo by ME!

My commentary with the photo was:

On the left the “working” pile I’ve been adding to since spring, next the pile I used last year that has been composting undisturbed this year, & in the green fencing leaves to make leaf mold.

This generated a few questions.  Whitney asked “Leaf mold? Like, a sculpture? Or a fungus?“  and Thom chimed in with “can the leaves be mixed in with your current pile on the left?”

Obviously this needs a bit of explanation!

Let me describe my system to you.  I normally use 2 bins.  Each spring I use a bin full of compost-then that empty bin becomes the place where I put all new composting materials.  The other bin-which was filled up the previous year-just sits there for a year composting away merrily. The next spring I repeat-the “new” stuff sits, the “older” stuff gets used and then that empty spot starts the cycle again.

That’s my system, but WHY do I do it that way?

There are two methods of composting “hot” and “cold”.

Photo by Bryan Thayer

In hot composting you mix a general percentage of brown composting material (ie carbon rich items-hay, shredded paper, etc) and green composting materials (grass, plants, vegetable refuse etc) in a general ratio of 2 parts brown to 1 part green.  Then the bacteria that naturally occur in the pile go to work, eating up the high nitrogen items and breaking everything down.  This actually heats up the interior of the pile to between 135°-160° Fahrenheit, assuming the moisture and air inputs are correct.  The benefit to this is that weed seeds and most diseases are killed off by the heat.  You also get finished compost sooner. . . you can speed the process up even more if you “turn” (or mix) the pile on a regular basis.

Photo by Al Pasternak

In cold composting you stack whatever you’ve got into a pile and let time take it’s course.  It will eventually compost down-although it doesn’t usually heat up much (hence the “cold”) so you have to make sure you don’t add any weed seed heads or diseased material.  If you “turn” a cold compost pile it will also speed up the process.

I do cold composting myself, for several reasons.  First, like most backyard gardeners I have trouble coming up with enough browns to get anywhere close to the ratio needed to have a truly hot pile.  Greens~no problem.  Every grass clipping, weed and vegetable peeling I have is a green.  But browns? Not so easy.  I’d probably have to buy hay, straw or somehow find a source of shredded paper or something to really get a hot pile.  Second, I just don’t want to worry about it.  I’m a busy mother, wife and writer–Why fret about ratios and do the labor of turning the pile when I can just toss it and leave it for a year and let time take care of everything for me?

Composting can be done by throwing everything in a pile, containing it in a fence, building a bin. . . really the options are endless.  Yankee Bill built me our two bin system out of old pallets they were giving away at the Dollar General a couple years back.

Having a two bins system allows me to be finishing off a pile of compost while adding to a different pile.  After all, if you just have one then you would be constantly adding to the top-how would you ever get the finished stuff?  A lot of folks advocate a 3 bin system.

Photo by Jay@MorphoLA

In that you actually move the compost (thus turning it) from bin to bin on a semi regular basis. . . that does get things composting faster.  I just haven’t gotten around to doing that.

So what about those leaves?

Photo by Scott SM

Well there is a lot of information out there about leaves–and as usual, a lot of it is conflicting.  Some sources say you can compost leaves in your pile.  Others say that too many leaves–and who in the northeast in the fall doesn’t have too many leaves–pack down so tightly when wet that no air gets in. . .then instead of aerobic bacterial AN-erobic bacteria go to work. . .a different process.  Then there is the fact that leaves can decompose much more slowly than some of the other materials you might be composting.

Just to be safe I decided the best thing to do was to make a separate leaf pile, try to chop it up a bit (ie the part hubs ran over with the mower) and work that separately. This is the first year that I’ve done the leaf bin, so it will be a learning experience for us all.  I just couldn’t stand for one more year to see all that lovely, free organic material going to waste. (note: Mever compost black walnut leaves.  They contain a substance that inhibits plant growth-not what you are looking for in a compost!)

I also had hubs run over a bunch of the leaves with the mower and used that as a 6 inch layer or so of mulch over the garlic I planted, and some on the leeks and carrots that are still in the garden.  Some sources I’ve read say a leaf mulch can actually keep the ground cool in the spring-so I may decide when the weather warms up to pull the mulch back off of some of the garlic (and leave it on some) to see if it makes any difference in the growth.

Gardening is always a learning experience!

Some great composting resources:

There are some things that you should NOT put into your compost pile or bin.  Check out What not to compost at Planet Green.com for a good list

Not sure what is considered a “green” and what is a “brown”?  This article about composting from Organic Gardening at About.com tells you!

Mother Earth News had an article on “Composting Made Easy” which gives lots of fantastic info.  (Note: I really like Mother Earth News)

And I couldn’t write about composting without including a link to “75 things you didn’t know you could compost“.  Please think before you compost some of the items on the list.  Some of them will break down but take a long time (like rope) others are compostable but might attract critters that you don’t want in your pile (like bread and grains attracting mice).

Well, I thought I’d give you all an update on how all the growing green things are doing here at Frugal Upstate!

Spring FINALLY sprang here in Upstate New York-we had a week straight of rain then a few glorious days of sun, followed by yet another week of constant rain.  If my garden had already been planted I would be copacetic about the whole thing-but instead I’m chomping at the bit, wishing that the rain would stop and things would dry out enough to let me plant some things.

This year I decided to try to keep a few of my plants alive over the winter.  I brought my Geraniums, Hanging Geraniums and Ferns inside in the fall and kept them alive all winter-if barely.  When the weather turned nicer they started going outside each day-but in the evening I would bring them in to avoid frost.  I used a plastic tablecloth to protect the wood floors. . .

The little ones in the front are the ones I propogated

I trimmed all the dead stuff out of the ferns.  They look OK-but not great.  I think that next year I will keep them up in our bathroom the entire winter (they started out down in the entry hall).  The humidity up there should make them stay healthier.

Lots of nasties to remove

The hanging geraniums wound up looking pretty pathetic.

A plant only a mother could love.

Blech.  I trimmed out the dead stuff and hung them off the back porch where they are doing ok.  The leaves have already turned a darker green.  I think they will be ok-but not great.  However the cuttings that I took from these and then rooted downstairs are doing FANTASTIC!  I put 3 of them in a hanging basket off the front porch and expect them to get lush pretty quickly.

These look healthy!

Lesson learned.  Next fall I am just going to take cuttings and make a whole bunch of propagated plants.  I didn’t even do these until what, January-ish?  If I start them in the fall they will be even further along by spring.  Granted, they will take up space under the lights in the basement-but it will be when nothing else is down there.  By the time they are rooted and a bit bigger, I’ll pot them up a size and I can put them around the house as houseplants.

You can see the hanging ferns, the window boxes and the hostas in this shot of my porch.

All of the perennial landscaping has popped around front.  You can see my gorgeous huge hostas that line the front porch-the ones in front have small daylillies in between (I planted them as bulbs and now that they are 2 years old I hope to get some flowers!) and the ones on the side have peonies that have gorgeous flowers for about 2 weeks each summer.  Those I have special supports around (even though you can’t see them) otherwise they’d just fall over from the weight of the flowers.

Oh, and just off to the right you can see a little tiny bit of my ENORMOUS rhododendron.  That just grows & flowers with no help from me.

Now I have a lot of planters that I put around the porch railing-a total of 7 on the front porch and 3 on the side porch.  I use the same self watering planters every year, and the same soil.  But it’s been 2 or 3 years so I decided it was time to revitalize the soil a bit.  First we dumped it all out onto a tarp, then I had Buddy help me clean up the planters.

Child labor. As long as it involves water I can pass it off as "fun".

Then I added one big bag of organic potting soil to the old “used up” soil, along with about a 1/4 cup of “flowers & blooms” fertilizer that is about 6 years old (from my pre organic phase).  I mixed it all up with a hoe and refilled the planters.

Usually I have planted them with wave petunias-last year I tried nasturtiums, which really wasn’t that successful.  This year I decided to start some wave petunias from seed & buy some from the store-so I’d have instant color from the store bought but intersperse them with my home grown which will take a while to catch up and provide color.  I also put some grown from seed alyssum in there on the edges to cascade over.

Oh, and that black plastic you see to the right of me in the photo? That is my new second garden.  Yankee Bill tilled it then we covered it with plastic to keep the weeds out and warm the soil.

Speaking of vegetable gardens I now have 5.  The one that shows in that picture.  The original garden just back behind those trees with the hammock in it.  Off to the rear left, in the next lot over, I have permission to plant a 10X10 corn patch.  Then there is a garden plot down at my mother-in-law’s house that I plan to plant with potatoes (Yukon Gold, Kenebec, Pontiac Red, Blue) and onions (red & white).  Finally, I’ve started a garden over at the house my brother is renting & will be moving into on July-but by then he’ll be way behind garden wise-so Yankee Bill tilled it, we covered it with landscape fabric, and we’ll plant it up in a few weeks for a weed free veg garden that Bro can take over when he moves in.

I’ve also got my container herb garden right outside the door up next to the back door of the house.  There I grow lovage and chives in the ground, then in those wooden whiskey barrel planters I have 2 kinds of mint, lemon balm, oregano, creeping thyme, parsley, stevia, sage and a bit of lettuce.  Yeah, I know lettuce isn’t a herb. Work with me.

This is a great use for this otherwise "wasted" space. And convenient to the kitchen!

So I haven’t been busy or anything.  Bless Yankee Bill and his tiller!

Of course there are also my perennials.  The Rhubarb is up and I’ve already made Cheater’s Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.  I’ll be making plenty more.

This was taken a few weeks ago-believe it or not, it's actually bigger now!

The asparagus is in it’s second year.  I ate a few stalks raw, but I’m letting the rest go to build up the root system.  Next year-at least one meal with home grown asparagus!

Last but not least, I decided to plant my tomatoes in hay bales this year.  After two years of my plants being decimated by early tomato blight I decided enough was enough.  We bought 12 bales from a local farmer, set them on their side along our fence line, wet them down well then covered them with plastic so they could start composting. (Here are some articles on that in Straw Bale Gardening,  Hay Bale Gardening Becomes Popular Pastime, and Straw Bale Gardens)

I’ve sort of peeled back the plastic a couple of times and added more water.

I really want to make sure the main “composting” action is done before I get the tomato plants in there-otherwise it will kill them.  Composting produces heat you know and it will bake the roots.

To finish off the hay bale planters I will “frost” them with a couple of inches of organic potting soil and then put the plants down into them!  Don’t worry, I’ll write more about the process later.

So, that’s my garden update.  I’d love it if next week you’d join in!  Trust me-after this first one mine will be a bit shorter and to the point-I had a lot to catch you all up on!

I’m going to start running a weekly “How’s it Growin?” linky on Saturday each week-and you’ll have all the next week to link up to it. Don’t have a blog but want to participate? I’ll also post over on the Frugal Upstate Facebook page and you can leave a comment under it there with your latest update!

I’m so excited that my rhubarb is up and growing like gangbusters!

Rhubarb, if you like it, is a great frugal crop for those of us in the north. A perennial-once you plant it you’ve not only got it for life…but every 4 years or so you can dig it up, chop the roots in half and either double your crop or share it with a friend!

My rhubarb came from fellow blogger and buddy Kathy Purdy over at Cold Climate Gardening. Two years ago we headed out to her yard with a shovel and dug up a chunk. Actually we should have taken a Pickard…and her son had to finish the job. This was truly an heirloom old farmyard patch and the roots were so intertwined we couldn’t get them apart!

The first year you replant rhubarb you just let it grow-no picking! The roots need all the energy they can get from the leaves. The second year you are supposed to pick lightly-it’s still settling in. But the third year? Go to town!!

Last year I picked lightly and made a few jars of tart rhubarb jam. The kids LOVED it!! What can I say. I’ve got interesting kids We have been semi hoarding the jars all winter to make them last, and now the kids areas thrilled as I am to see the Rhubarb coming up.

Do any of you grow rhubarb? What are your favorite recipes? I’d love to have you share.

A great way to save money when planting a vegetable garden (or a flower garden for that matter) is to start some of your own seeds.

Photo by Rachel Ross

I started my own indoor seed starting adventures for the first time last year.  Prior to that I had either purchased seedlings locally or else just sown things that you didn’t need to start ahead-like lettuce and beans.  But last year I took the plunge and started my own.

Wouldn’t you know it, I had plenty of veggies and flowers not only for my own garden but to give away to friends.  Some of these seedlings were smaller than those hothouse grown specimens that you find at the store, but within a few weeks to a month they had caught up to the competition-and saved me a bundle in the process.

Photo by Oceandesetoiles

Before you jump in and get your hands in some dirt (or seed starting medium as the case may be) you need to know your region’s last frost date.  Then you need to look at the packets of the seeds you will be planing and find the  suggested time frame for starting each type of seed.

You won’t be able to just sow everything at once-some things will be started 9 weeks out, others a mere 2 weeks before planting out.  Mother Earth News has a handly little seed starting chart that will give you the basics-for more in depth info you can always call your local cooperative extension office.

Photo by Suzy Morris

Although you don’t actually need light to sprout seeds, you do need it to grow plants. Personally I just use some inexpensive fluorescent lights I purchased at Lowes.  I suspend them using some S hooks on some chain (the kind you can buy for hanging plant pots) on a set of shelves in the basement.  The s hooks & chain enable me to raise & lower the lights to keep them close to the seedlings.

Of course you could get all fancy and build an awesome do it yourself light stand for seed starting like The Trusty Gardener did.  For most of us just starting out all of that isn’t necessary.  Some people don’t use a special light set up at all–they just use a good south facing windowsill.

Photo by Abigal Thompson

Once you’ve got your light situation settled it’s time to start some seeds.  If you want to get a real life feel for seed starting in action check out Sugar, Spice and a little bit of Life-Jana’s got hers going!  Through the Loops has a great Mini Seed Starting Tutorial that will walk you through the basic steps of starting a few seeds inside, as does Backyard Farming.   And you won’t want to miss this Irreverent Seed Starting Primer at The Veggie Patch Re-Imagined.  Not only does she have an informative coverage of the basics, she has a nice little Q&A for specific problems at the bottom of the post.

If you want a photographic step by step, About.com is always a great resource.  They don’t let me down with this 10 slide pictoral presentation on how to start your own seeds.

And of course if you are here at Frugal Upstate it’s because you are interested in saving money.  Single Mom Urban Homestead has 5 different frugal ways to start your seedlings.

Do you learn better from videos than text?  No worries!

Here is a video on how to create your own seedling starter pots from newspaper–hows that for frugal?

Photo by Henna Lion

Or this one from the Bayou Gardener on how to start seeds indoors part 1 and how to start seeds indoors part 2.  And if you’ve got the time, just wander around his video archives-he’s got some great stuff (and his accent is just fun to listen to!)

Photo by Michael Kappel

So what are you waiting for? Go on and start your seeds.

If you still aren’t convinced you should have a vegetable garden, then maybe you better go back and re-read my 13 Reasons to Grow a Vegetable Garden.

You could also check out my “Fresh New Garden” post that shows how our outside garden got it’s start.

It may be just March, with 30 degree weather and snow on the ground, but here at Frugal Upstate I’m in the midst of some serious vegetable garden planning.  I just can’t wait until May when the ground is thawed and I can dig my hands into the dirt and get going.

There are so many compelling reasons to grow a vegetable garden-many of them beyond the obvious.  Take a look!

1.  Seeds cost much less than vegetables.  There, you knew I had to lead out with the frugal reason-seeing how this is a frugal living blog & all

Photo by Southern Foodway Alliance

2.  Home grown vegetables taste so much better than bland grocery store vegetables. That’s because you can choose more physically “delicate” and flavorful varieties (factory farms choose based on things ripening at the same time & transporting well-not taste). Also in many plants the sugars start turning to starches once you pick the vegetable-so your super fresh veggies will also be at their sweetest.

3.  Since vegetables start losing nutritional value as soon as they are picked, those homegrown vegetables picked  from your garden and cooked shortly thereafter are more nutritious than those you buy at the store.

Photo by Julie

4.  You can grow vegetable varieties that you can’t find in the store. When was the last time your grocer sold Kolrabi? Red carrots? Striped beets? Purple beans? Yellow tomatoes?

5.  If you are interested in organic produce then growing your own is even more of a cost savings.

6.  It’s exercise and a hobby as well as a way to save money.

Photo by Graham Laurence

7.  Growing your own vegetables gives you a sense of pride and satisfaction. When was the last time you had those feelings after a trip to the grocery store?

8.  A garden can be an educational opportunity for the kids.  They can see how plants grow, and to feel a connection between the process of growing and the food that winds up on their plate.

9.  Involving the kids in the process of gardening, giving them work and chores to do can help even smaller children feel that they are contributing members of the family.  It also can teach them about responsibility and the consequences of their actions.  If you don’t take care of the plants they could die, and all the “I’m sorry” in the world won’t bring it back.

Photo by Woodley Wonderworks

10.  Gardening may encourage your family to try vegetables that they would otherwise turn their nose up at!   Many items, such as green beans, taste fantastic raw.  Carrots, fresh peas and corn are all much sweeter when freshly picked and cooked.  And somehow eating that broccoli that you helped plant, water & pick is much more appealing than that frozen stuff that comes in a plastic bag.

11.  Of course gardening is inherently “Green”. Your carbon footprint is practically nothing (well-if you use a gas powered tiller there is that).

12.  Because gardening takes place outside, you are more in touch with your local environment, the seasons and the weather.  In a world where we are increasingly removed from nature, you may be surprised at the positive emotional and mental effects that can bring.

by Dan Bruell

13.  Gardening is “visible” work. So many of us spend so much time working on things that show no visible success each day. I can spend all day working at my computer, and at the end of the day I have nothing physical to show for it. When I weed a section of garden, plant some seeds or harvest beans. . . I can sit back, look at it and say “There, I did that”. Don’t discount how incredibly satisfying that is!

So what do you think? Have I convinced you to grow some of your own vegetables this year?!?

Photo by The Playful Librarian

One of the things I really love about the Frugal Upstate house is our lovely wide wrap around porch.  This year I finally bought the hanging geraniums and Boston ferns I’ve always wanted to hang from the eaves of the porch.

They looked lovely.

And no, bad blogger that I am, I forgot to take pictures.

As wonderful as they looked, the idea of shelling out over $100 each spring to buy more makes me shudder.  I started thinking-there has to be a way to keep these things alive through the winter.  But how?

After a little research on Boston Ferns I learned several things:

1-Boston Ferns are happy in cool environments.  Between 62 to 65 degrees F.

2-When indoors Boston Fern grows best in bright filtered light.

3-Although relatively drought tolerant for a fern-Boston Ferns still require a much higher humidity than the average heated home during the winter.

4-Fronds will die and drop off during the winter, making it a rather messy houseplant.

Here is the plan I came up with:

1-Water the plants well then bring them inside soon-before frost hits-to start getting them acclimated.

2-Give both ferns a “Haircut”.  One article I read suggested cutting all the fronds that droop down and leaving only the ones that are pointing up. That seems pretty drastic to me.  I am going to go a bit more conservative on the trimming, mostly because I’m chicken.

3-Hang one fern directly in front of a lace covered window in the front entryway (which is pretty much unheated in the winter) and the other on a plant stand that is about 4 ft away from an uncovered window-they should get pretty decent light that could still be considered “filtered”.

4-Buy a mister and put an alert in my google calendar to water weekly and mist 2X a week to try to keep the humidity up.  Hopefully the fact that the ferns are right near the door the kids have to head out of for school will help me to remember-I may even leave the filled mister near the door as a reminder.  There is a slim chance that I might think to bring a humidifier out there and run it. . . but then again I probably won’t.

Honestly, I’m not sure how this is going to work out.  If it’s a complete failure I’m no farther behind than I would be if I had just chunked them into the compost heap.

So have any of you ever overwintered your Boston Ferns? What worked for you? I’m open to any and all pointers!

Sources:
University of Arkansas Department of Agriculture: Plant of the Week, Boston Fern.
GardenGuides.com: How to Care for a Boston Fern
Garden Web Forums: Successfully Overwintering Ferns Thread
University of Rhode Island Landscape Agriculture Program: Indoor Fern FactSheet

Despite the cool cruddy weather I was able to pick a basket of peas and some spring onions again today. I see some spring onion soup and stirfried snowpeas in my future…

Photo by BC Ballard

No matter how careful I think I’m being when I plant, it happens every year.  Too much garden fresh loose leaf lettuce. A glut. An overflow.

Unlike that greenish white bowling ball of iceberg you buy at the store, fresh garden lettuce has an extremely limited lifespan in the fridge. Lettuce also doesn’t tend to last well in the garden.

Correction-it would last a very long time in the garden if the temperature stayed nice and cool-but invariably the weather warms and your lettuce will bolt, fulfilling its biological imperative to make more little lettuce plants by sending up a stalk and turning bitter.  I will say personally I’ve had good luck with “SloBolt” which is-well-slow to bolt.  You may not be able to find it in your mega center, but a quick internet search should pull up a vendor quickly.

The first thing to do if you want to lengthen the life of you lettuce harvest is to treat it right when you pick it.  Separate the leaves then soak in lukewarm water to get all the dirt off.  Lift the leaves out of the water (don’t pour the water off or all the grit will just settle back on the produce).

Next you need to remove the water.  I recommend using a salad spinner but if  you don’t have one you can wrap the lettuce in a towel (or place them in a string bag like one of those white mesh lingerie bags for your dryer) and head outside.  Whirl the towel/bag around your head and let the natural centrifugal force fling the moisture away.

For storage wrap the leaves in paper or regular towels (to absorb moisture) and place in a plastic bag in the fridge.  There are plenty of fantastic salad recipes out there to shake things up a bit from your basic “garden salad”. Lettuce can fill up wraps or sandwiches, or if you really want t0 be innovative you could try  Thai Lettuce Folds.

Photo by Flippin Yank

But what if you are sick of salads, sandwiches & wraps? Never fear.  I went to my favorite garden vegetable resource-The Victory Garden Cookbook.  I love this book-it has an entire chapter on each type of vegetable!

According to the book, you can COOK lettuce.

Yes, I know. Heresey.

But what do you have to lose? It’s just going to wind up in the compost pile at this rate right? So give it a try. If you don’t like it then just ditch it and you are no worse off than when you started.

So how exactly does this magical cooking process work? Well to start off with she says the stiffer, more bitter lettuces seem to work better, but you can really use any type of lettuce.  There are several basic cooking methods: Saute, Blanch, Steam & Braise.

Photo by Toni Girl

Sauteed: Saute in olive oil or butter until leaves are wilted & tender. Turn the heat up to high briefly to cook off the additional moisture and “dry out” the greens at the very end of the process. Need a recipe to follow? Try this one for Wilted Lettuce.  If you go without a recipe, you can finish the sauteed lettuce simply with heavy cream cooked down till it coats the leaves* and add salt & pepper.  or saute onions & garlic before adding the lettuce.

Blanched: Clean the head of lettuce very well by soaking in a sink full of water for a few minutes then gently swishing up and down.  Then either drop the entire head into a pot of boiling salted water for just a few minutes, or blanch individual leaves for 1 minute.  Plunge blanched lettuce in an ice water bath to stop cooking.  Blanching removes strong bitterness.  You can finish by tossing the leaves with herbs, spices, lemon or seasonings. Blanched leaves can be used to wrap meats before cooking.  This looks fancy and helps the meat inside retain it’s moisture without adding additional fat.  Additionally you can use blanched lettuce leaves in the same way you would use blanched grape leaves to make Dolmades

Photo by Kochtopf

Braising: Start by blanching the entire head of very well cleaned lettuce for about 2 minutes, then plunge in cool water.  Drain and gently squeeze out water.  Place in a greased baking dish, sprinkle w/salt & pepper, and cover with 2 c broth & 1 C water.  Bring pan to simmer on stove top then cover & place in oven to braise at 350 for about 1 hr.   When done you can reduce the liquid down, add a pat of butter & use it for sauce.  For a different version you can follow this recipe for Braised Hearts of Lettuce with Peas.

Steamed: Steam entire heads of lettuce then finish in the same way as the blanched leaves.

So you can see, there are many ways to use up that excess of lettuce.  You can even make soup~but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to find out about that. . . I’ll be experimenting this afternoon and post about it tomorrow if it turns out well.

So what other ways do you know of to use up lettuce? Have you tried any of these cooking methods?

*Yes, cream. The lady who wrote “The Victory Garden Cookbook” was schooled in french cooking, so there is plenty of cream & butter to go around.

image by FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My tomato plants are up with lovely green tomatoes, yet there is at least a month to go before I even see a hint of red blush on them. But I’m tired of the greens & carrots in my garden.

So what can you do with all of those green tomatoes?

image by Rodolfo Belloli

The classic use for green tomatoes is Fried Green Tomatoes. I simply slice a big beefsteak tomato fairly thin (less than 1/4 inch), dip them in flour, then in egg, then in cornmeal, and fry them in a little oil in a skillet. Try not to move them too much at first or the “crust” can break off. Also, don’t  slice them too thick they won’t cook all the way through fast enough. Experiment!

I also have a recipe for Green Tomato Bread. It know it sounds disgusting, but it really is a fantastic sweet quickbread.  More along the lines of zucchini bread.  This is not a low calorie recipe but it sure is yummy.

Green Tomato Bread

3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 TBS Cinnamon
2 Large Eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped green tomatoes (approx 2) Don’t peel or seed.

Preheat oven to 350, and grease and flour 2 bread pans.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl lightly beat eggs, add vegetable oil and vanilla.

Pour liquid ingredients into well in the center of dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Gently mix in green tomatoes.

Divide evenly into the two loaf pans, and bake for 1 hour-until a toothpick come out of the center clean. Cool well before storing.

Do you have a ton of green cherry tomatoes? Try  “Fireballs” – spicy green pickled cherry tomatoes.  I really like these, but my husband isn’t so fond, so try a small batch & see what you think before you go wholesale.

Fireballs

enough small green cherry tomatoes to fill 4 qt. jars
4 garlic cloves
4 celery stalks
4 hot red peppers
4 heads dill
1 qt water
1/2 c pickling salt
2 qt white vinegar

As in any canning recipe, start by preheating your jars and your canning water.

Prick each green cherry tomato with a clean (sterilized) needle several times. This prevents them from splitting in cooking, and I think it helps the flavor to soak in. I did this the night before and stored them in the fridge in a large zippered bag.

Fill 4 hot quart jars with green cherry tomatoes.

To each jar add a stalk of celery, a hot pepper, a clove of garlic and a head of dill. (I used 4 pint jars, added one of each, substitution a sprig of lovage for celery, 2 slices of jalepeno for the red chili, and a 1/2 tsp of frozen dillweed for the head of dill*)

Make a brine by combining water, pickling salt and vinegar in a pot and bringing it to a boil. Fill jars with brine to 1/2″ from top. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

I have also found that green tomatoes can be chopped and added to many stir fries and curries. Last year I chopped them and froze them in 1 cup portions, and added them with no problem to those dishes.

So what are some of your ways to use green tomatoes?

*Note-canning books are constantly pointing out that you shouldn’t change recipes for water bath canning (doesn’t matter for pressure canning) as it can cause them to be unsafe if you change the balance of non acidic food to acidic food. I personally felt comfortable doing this as the tomatoes are all acidic, and they are being canned in a brine that is highly acidic. You have to make your decisions based on your comfort level.