Garden Buzz

Breakfast Tomatoes?

Recently I had applied my 2nd 20lb bag of coffee grounds that one of my co-workers had brought me for my vegetable garden. Her roommate works at Starbucks and they produce tons of coffee grounds that gardeners can keep from going into landfills.

I was concerned about how much is too much and consulted a friend who is a horticulturist. While coffee grounds are a great way to add acid to the soil, he was a bit concerned about how much caffeine would make its way into my vegetables. We decided that I probably should not add any more spent beans to my garden to be safe, although I am now wondering if my garden will now be caffeinated.

If so do you think there is a market for Hi-Test Tomatoes?


Shucking Peas

This is my first year for growing peas (Sugar Snap Peas). I used some of the early harvest to use on salads; I cut up whole pods before they fully matured. Now that the peas are getting bigger & ripe for shucking, I am realizing how much work must go into each can of peas at the grocery store. If I had to depend on my garden to feed my family, we would starve.

I have a whole new appreciation for farmers!


Dissecting Pine Cones

Earlier this week I traded some yellow squash for Basil with a friend. Some creature has been munching my Basil plants and there is not much to harvest. As we were swapping garden goods, we had a discussion as to the best way to prepare yellow squash. We both agreed that garlic, basil and pine nuts are important kitchen staples this time of year.

I had to ask my friend if she ever harvested pine nuts. I have heard that they came from pine cones and was curious if I could just get them from local pine trees. Turns out my friend had a confession to make. She had several Pine trees on her property and had dissected a dozen or so cones without any luck. She swore she would never tell anyone for fear of being labeled a nut.

I did some research on the web and it looks like only a few species of Pines in North America can produce these nuts used in cooking. If only I could figure out which trees to harvest and if there were any in my neighborhood, I could save some money at the grocery store!

Well time to get outdoors and get some fresh air. I also need to see if there is anything else I can harvest today. Looks like it will be a few more weeks till my Better Boys, Big Boys & Early Girls will be ready. I wonder if they will have an extra "kick" to them......

Happy Sunday & Happy Gardening!