Sowing the Seeds of Spring

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This past Saturday, the hunky handyman husband and I took our fresh from the mailbox seed packets out to his “office” and got a head start on planting our spring/summer vegetable crop.  One thing in my favor is that I am the lucky wife of a Horticulturist, who comes with access to a state of the art germination chamber—are you jealous?  I must admit, it really is pretty cool to be able to sow seeds in mid-January!  I always enjoy heading out to the greenhouse range and pretending it's a sultry summer day, whatever the blustery weather is like out in the "real world."  I also love seeing Rob in his natural habitat. Playing in the dirt is quite therapeutic, and highly under-rated if you ask me.

Anyhow, there has been one unexpected turn of events.  Due to the high tech growing conditions, our lettuce germinated in only three days--YIKES!

 

We purchased our seeds purchased from Johnny’s Selected Seeds last year, and had really good luck with everything except the peas.  So, we stuck with Johnny's for most of our seed needs. Although, this year I am adding a highly recommended snap pea called "Maestro." It's from Burpee Seeds and I’m pretty excited about it —you can find it here.

 

Santa Barbara County is in Zone 9, making these the perfect peas for my climate.   If you’re not sure what garden varieties do best in your area—head on down to your local nursery and ask them what they recommend.  PLEASE NOTE: While I have nothing personal against the big box store garden centers—I can say with confidence that they are not nearly as knowledgeable, experienced, or invested in your success as your local nurserymen and women. When it comes to veggie growing tips and tricks--always shop local :)

The thing I’m most looking forward to these f-f-f-frosty California days is our upcoming fun and flavorful tomato selection.  We're growing these varieties this year: Celebrity--our go-to basic tomato, Roma Amish Paste for sauces and Caprese salads, Yellow Pear--such cute tasty little gems, and  the Five Star Grape—your basic garden candy.

I can almost taste the basil and tomato-y goodness now! 

If you only had room for one thing in your summer garden--what would it be? I'd have to go with tomatoes--and cheat of course, by sneaking in a bunch of basil around the base of the plants.

 

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I've been working on a this new pattern for a while now.  I am personally a big fan of flat front chef aprons..BUT they can be so boring.  So, I've designed both a full and half chef pattern that add a little more color and femininity to the traditional chef apron.  Probably my favorite aspect of the new style is the more universal fit.  This apron fits all gals from the very slim to the more substantial figure with ease.

The "modern chef" apron will wrap further around the back for smaller ladies, and for us larger gals...lay a little more flat on the front.  As always, plenty of coverage where we need it most!  I'm currently wearing the apron with the meandering vines and red on red chevron for all my baking--and I'm loving it!

In other news, I was out picking tomatoes and stray pumpkins in the garden today and I happened onto a truly creepy crawly scene.  I'm not usually a fan of arachnids, but this garden spider sure is a beauty.  He/She has been working overtime keeping all the flying pests at bay. Thanks to the frog I introduced at the beginning of summer and this bug eating machine, our harvest has been totally organic this year--yay for us !

Have a wonderfully spooky Halloween...and stay safe!

Garden Makeover- Jacuzzi Spot to Garden Plot

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The spa is gone and I've FINALLY got my veggie patch back!!!

Having an 8 person jacuzzi when your kids are in high school is definitely the way to go.  For several years there was always a weekend gathering at our house. Yes, that giant vat did serve a purpose...keeping the kiddos and their associates close to home and out of any involvement in unsavory shenanigans (that we know of anyway.)

However, what with a now empty nest (most of the time) and no desire to keep an extra 500 gallons of hot water on hand, the hubby and I actually wondered , "what would we like to do with the newly available space?" My idea of turning it into a grape stomping venue was nixed immediately--dang! Once we tricked enticed the neighbors into taking the beast off our hands--we realized that we'd freed up the sunniest spot in the whole yard.  Notice I didn't say "all that space," as we DO live in Santa Barbara County, we ARE NOT rich or famous AND our backyard is the size of one and a half postage stamps. Voila! There is just enough room for a nice little vegetable garden.

Due to the lack of space we decided to go with the Mel Bartholomew's "square foot" gardening method.  His  book is fantastic and we've been employing his method for decades, always with great success. The odd shaped 11 x 12 foot area gave us room for two 7 x 3 foot raised planter beds.  That's a whopping 42 squares for planting--just perfect for the two of us.  Thankfully my man is handy, and my son (home for the summer) was willing to help with the grunt big muscle work.

If you're not great with tools and a bit of math, there are numerous sites where you can purchase a pre-made raised bed kit. We used 2 x 6 treated redwood, stacked to have 12 inch deep beds, since we basically live on a sand dune. Having extra room for root development is a must in our area, but with normal soil, a 6-8 inch depth is just fine.

Our local landscape supply company delivered the planting mix after we calculated how many square yards we needed here's for the formula.  We used 2/3 planting mix and 1/3 organic matter--mixed and dumped on the driveway. The boys worked while I cheered them on (darn hand surgery.)

Square concrete paving stones filled in with pea gravel finished the whole thing off nicely.  We used twine hemp (mostly because it was in the shed) to mark off the grid for planting.  I tapped a small nail at one foot intervals and wove the twine in a grid pattern. "The Square Food Garden" blog was VERY helpful in figuring out what veggies liked being neighbors--check out their companion planting guides for sure! 

We're already enjoying the fruits veggies and herbs of our labors.  P.S.  That cute little gardening apron in the last picture is now in the shop  :)

Make it a great day...or not.  The choice is yours!

These brownies are hiding something...

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terrace-hill photo

...and that something is zucchini (and carrots too!) 

We've officially reached the point in the summer when gardeners in the northern hemisphere start stacking the zucchini like firewood by the back porch.  I do love these tender little veggies sauteed with parmesan and butter--but every year one or two of these critters gets out of hand and grows exponentially overnight.  I've heard the advent of this crop referred to as the onset of the "zucchini wars." While it is NOT neighborly to drop mounds of zucchini on your neighbors front porch (you know who you are,) a tasty treat might just earn you tome "brownie" points indeed. 

Here's a recipe for Secret Brownies that I came up with when my kids were small and we planted more than one zucchini plant (rookie mistake.) 

Secret Brownies

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, melted

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 1/4 cups shredded zucchini

1 1/4 cup shredded carrots

Start by preheating the oven to 350-degrees and lightly greasing a 9x13 inch baking pan. Shred the zucchini and carrots; set aside.

I use the medium blade for my Kitchen Aid grater attachment.

•  Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium to large mixing bowl.

•  With a wooden spoon add the melted butter, eggs and the vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir until liquid is incorporated.  The batter will be slightly lumpy, not to worry.

•  Gently fold in the zucchini and carrots  just until blended. 

•  Spread the batter into the 9x13 inch dish and bake for 25 - 30 minutes; or until done. 

terrace-hill photo

To frost or not to frost?  That is the question...as or me, frosting always wins.   

~enjoy