OOPS! Time to Get A-Plantin’ Heh Heh

Red Wheelbarrow full of screened compost and bag of LADYBUG Fertilizer

You remember how I said that we were supposed to get MORE RAIN? Well, it hasn’t happened; even though that storm system circled back on us, and we have has 20% and 30% rain predictions every day for days and days. HARRUMPH.

Where was I?

Anyway, I sat on my front porch in my underwear, and it WASN’T HOT! It was only like 85˚. Really comfortable. And I made a list of what I want to plant this Fall:

Snow Peas

My collection of OLD SEEDS

Carrots

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Lettuces

Arugula

Spinach

Cabbages

Cilantro

Oregano

Dill

Italian Pasley

My Seedling Purchases from THE NATURAL GARDENER

Fennel

Beets

Catnip

Mint

Swiss Chard

Artichokes

THEN, the next day, I got my old seeds out of the icebox (I keep them in a Ziploc Bag in the potato drawer) and figured out that I HAD most everything  SEED NEED-WISE.  I only needed to buy 2 packages of carrot seeds and a package of cilantro seeds. But I still needed to buy all the transplants (cabbages, broccolis, cauliflowers, herbs). Also I want to buy a few potted geraniums to keep in the kitchen windowsill.

So I took a trip out to JOHN DROMGOOLE’S NATURAL GARDENER (Out in BFE!) (That means “Bum-Fuck Egypt“) to buy the three packages of seeds, and to see if they had their transplants in yet. AND THEY DID! I was quite surprised, because it seemed to me to be a little early. But WHATEVER, amirite? So I bought everything I needed that they HAD (they did not have Geraniums, or “Melody” spinach plants, or Russian Kale which I forgot to mention. Mmmm…Kale).

Then, all of a sudden, instead of feeling like “I am ahead of weeding schedule!” I am all like, “DOOD, I had better get planting, all of a sudden I am BEHINDHAND!”

(Heh heh. I said BEHIND HAND!!)

So now I am going to intersperse this post with PICTURES so I can SHOW all the PLANTING I did today! Here Goes! (Oh, and it suddenly occurs to me that this post isn’t very informative; forgive me, I am really tired! I will elucidate of planting all the various vegetables tomorrow….after I weed a bed and finish planting.)

The New Carrot Bed pictured with two loads of screened compost dumped on it

Three packages of carrot seeds: carrots must be planted thickly and then thinned drastically. Why not just plant fewer? Because they don't like to germinate unless they are in a crowd.

Compost all smoothed out, and carrot seeds scattered and watered in

Snow Peas planted along the fence in bottomless cups, arugula planted in the front. Of course you just have to take my word for it!

Broccoli plants and smoothing rake. If you ever tried to rake leaves with this kind of rake, it is not for that. It is for smoothing soil in garden beds.

Broccoli Bed with mounds of screened compost prior to smoothing

Broccoli plants all planted up!

Catnip and Oregano (Greek and Italian) planted in pots

Lettuce, both seeds and plants, all nicely planted

Cilantro seeds all planted in the (former) Chard Bed

Fennel and lettuce planted in cups for later, pictured with the cauliflower and cabbage seedlings that are going to have to wait for me to WEED a BED to put them in.

Carrot and Fennel Stock

Fennel fresh from the Garden

Back to the “Things to do with Carrots” series! The fennel and the carrots are ready at the same time here in Central Texas, and I have learned how to make this work to my advantage. When you pull up a Fennel plant, the bulb (the part most desired for salads) is but a small fraction of it; there are usually layers of tough, unsightly bulbiness on the outer shell, and then, the fronds and the stick-like tubular parts they grow on. After cutting the Fennel bulb(s) that are lovely and delicate enough for salad out, the rest on the fennel plant (minus the roots) is ready for the stockpot and the recipe for Carrot/Fennel Broth from Didi Emmons book Vegetarian Planet.

This is a fairly simple recipe, but it is priceless in it’s ability to use up the “waste” parts of the fennel plant, as well as whatever unsightly or just overly abundant carrots you have. The stock that results has a delicate but unmistakable flavor that works wonderfully in any recipe calling for stock. Since Mr. Hungersauce is a vegetarian, I usually need a pretty good supply of vegetarian stock to improve soups and rice and various other things.

Step One: Sautee

I like my stocks super-strong, so I use about twice as much of everything as this recipe calls for, and simmer it in LESS water for LONGER.

Cats love the aromas of fennel and dill. This is Molly.

THE RECIPE:

1 T olive oil

2 fennel bulbs or equivalent, cut up in 1 inch pieces

6 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 white onions, chopped

1 head of garlic, skin left on and cut in half horizontally

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

 a gallon of water

1 cup white wine

Heat the olive oil in the stockpot over low heat, and add the fennel bulbs, carrots, onions, garlic, and fennel seeds. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the water, bring it to a boil, and cover. Simmer on lowish heat for an hour. Strain the stock, let it cool, and jar it up for storage in the icebox (good for a week) or the freezer (good for a year).

All done and ready for the freezer