Things I never knew were so good - arugula!

As a part of an ongoing series, I explore foods that I never would have eaten if not for a little patch of dirt to grow them in.

Arugula. This the veggie that I thought only some wacko liberal was supposed to like. But as is often the case I found myself with a packet of seeds and an inkling of interest in something new sparked by a friend's recommendation. So, I spread some seed for a cutting patch of greens and WOW with a simple vinagraite, or as recommended by a friend, lemon juice, good olive oil, salt and pepper, you are eating good!

Oh my goodness

what a great day!
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="The New First Couple!!!!"][/caption]

Baby lettuce salad

As I was thinning a bed of scattered romaine lettuce, it seemed a waste of all the baby lettuce leaves to throw them away so instead I composed a salad. Feeling adventurous and lazy, I forwent removing the roots opting instead to rinse very well. With a classic vinegraitte the result was excellent. The roots provided a bit of bite and heartiness. Additional fyg bonus: fresh garlic chives fir viniagrette.

Back on

First I catch my wife checking my blog as though there should be any reason to expect a post .

Then an elderly Armenian (generally spealing,the best and most prolific home gardeners in Pasadena!) couple pulls their car over to ask me how I had such success with my tomatoes.

So I have been given the kick in the pants that I need to get back to blogging. I will start with a picture ok my last tomatoes of the season. They will be fried in short order of course.

And testing.

Harvest time begins

This is my favorite time as the produce begins to roll in but still before the plants start dying. Nothing like a big pile of vegies to make all the work seem worth it.

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Wow!

Wow!


Originally uploaded by chris brandow

This tomato is just shy of one pound - hardly a record setter - but it

makes my kitchen knife look like a paring knife!



Blogged from iPhone

Summer's looking good

Summer's looking good


Originally uploaded by chris brandow

This was last week. Brandywines even! The Cadillac of tomatoes whose

flavor is as good as they say, but can be finicky to grow. Even more

have set and they are getting big! Lots of caprese salad to be eaten

this summer.



Blogged from iPhone

housekeeping note

I am posting a lot less on my own garden than I would like.  This is because, in part, we have a new baby on the way, which means that I have lots of projects to complete, such as painting a three-colored striped nursery, before said offspring arrives.  The consequence is that I have not finished building the second set of beds and "dug into" planting everything yet.  Anyway, that's all coming soon, I hope.  I think that over Christmas break while waiting for the youngin' to arrive, I may have some time to move these projects forward.

Organic at all Scales

 

One of the challenges that I think will ultimately face the organic movement as it continues to grow is what to do with large-scale commodity crops.  Many would challenge the fundamental notion that there even should be such a thing, but given that cheap commodity crops are an integral part of our food system, organic does need an effective approach.  I am not implying that it doesn't.  It's just that most of the organic efforts that I am familiar with, focus on higher value vegetable crops, and to a lesser degree, milk & meat.

This article raises this question in many ways, taking it even further with the issue of Genetic Engineering to make sugar beets.  Sugar beets is a clever crop, because unlike most GE crops to date, there is no residual DNA in the final product, sugar, that can be pointed to as the immediate threat, as was the case with GE corn and wheat.  Additionally, using GE beets will result in a 40-50% decrease in use of pesticides, at least in the short term.

I would love input.  Are there organic sugar beet farmers out there?  How do they deal with weeds?  Can they intercrop, or cover crop to deal with it?