Angie Windheim

Not much is happening in this very early spring time in the veggie garden.  But, there are a few bright spots. My garlic is doing excellent. I planted 3 different varieties in late October and 100% of the bulbs are now reaching for the sun.

And, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I have planted seeds for sugar snap peas and some lettuce. Not much action there. In another week or so, I should see sprouts, and I’ll be ready to plant another row.

For those of you itching for spring and planting season, did you know you can get an early start right now? Sugar snap peas (the ones you eat pod and all) and lettuce are good to go and prefer the chilly temperatures. I planted peas and my first round of fancy, romaine and iceberg lettuces this weekend.  To keep the crops coming for longer, be sure to leave space for a second or third planting every three weeks until mid-April.

Some of you may not be ready to work the garden beds and put up your trellises for peas. Well, I have an easy solution for you. Planters with a tomato cage stuck in them work great for the little climbers.  I plant the pea seeds in a circle to match the cage and fill in the middle so that the seeds are all about 1 1/2 inches apart. The cages are a great support and when the peas are done, you can pull it out and put in some flowers for the rest of the summer.

Time to get out and start pruning some of those deciduous shrubs and bushes. Blueberries were at the top of my list last week. If you aren’t sure how to go about it, take a look at my eHow article,  How to Prune Blueberry Bushes and get those clippers moving.

This was a fun little project. Pretty easy, and not as messy as the old peanut butter methods…which I found out is actually not good for the birds. They can get it stuck in their beaks!  My instructions are now on eHow.

How to Make Bird Seed Ornaments for Your Yard | eHow.com.

No, I don’t mean that it’s time to “stuff your turkey.”  I do mean that it’s time to get those black oil sunflower seeds and suet out in your feeders for our native and wild bird friends. The birds are hungry!

Tip #1: Suet is a decent buy at Al’s for $1.99, but the best deal I’ve seen on the black oil sunflower seeds is the bulk food section at Winco.  They had thistle and some squirrel munchies as well.

Tip #2: The Farmington Gardens November newsletter provides a quick run down on how to plant for and feed our wild and native birds.

I’m just giddy at how well my garden is doing!  It’s almost like cheating to have brand new raised beds and fresh blended topsoil.  So far we’re eating all of the lettuce varieties and I’m very impressed with the curly red-leaf variety from Al’s and, of course, the Romaine is always a favorite. Not sure about the Chinese cabbage though. It’s enormous and almost too much of a good thing. I’m thinking it’s too aggressive for a raised-bed space. Ben’s also chowing on his favorite Nasturtiums. He loves the spicy stuff.

We’ve also been taking advantage of the basil and cilantro.  You just cannot beat fresh pesto.  And, while I was shopping for some new cilantro plants for a little succession planting, I discovered a red leaf basil at Al’s. It smells absolutely wonderful and I can’t wait to make some purple pesto. Love it!

More garden news:

– Curly green lettuce (from seed) is ready for cutting

– I’ve got my first zucchini 🙂

– The ever-bearing strawberries have been a real treat (for me and the deer*)

– Lots of green tomatoes and peppers

– Sweet snap peas are climbing high on the “tomato” cages with peas almost ready for eating. My planting secret: Dig 1/2 inch deep, 1 ft diameter circle, throw in 10-12 pea seeds, cover with dirt and plop a tomato cage in the middle. It works fantastic. The deer* have found my peas as well this  year, but so far have only nibbled the tops off of one cage (I have 4).

– Bean plants and lemon cucumbers are looking good, but no fruit yet.

– Onions are tasty and growing great. I planted a lot so I could use some as babies and some as full-size later.

– Pumpkin plants are growing big, but no flowers

– Potatoes are proving hard to keep up with. I think I’m done mounding on the dirt for this year

*Deer: We do not have a deer fence this year, since we had to move the garden. It’s a risky game we’re playing, but so far the damage has been very minimal. I’ve received a lot of advice and here are my favorites: have the boys pee around the garden, hang nylon socks full of human hair around the garden and scatter dog poop around the garden.  I think I’ll try the hair since the other options will make me want to stay away too!

Is your garden cilantro taking off like mine? Cilantro can bloom out quick, so start harvesting. I plan on purchasing another start this week so I’ll have some to add to my tomatoes, onions and peppers later this summer. Bring on the salsa! But, until then, Jennifer turned me on to a great recipe for your cilantro, Thai Noodle Salad.  

The salad is refreshing and has quickly become a favorite make-ahead meal for baseball nights. I was chowing down the other night and another spectator said, “Oh my. Look at her salad. It’s so pretty!” I couldn’t stop laughing. Maybe I’ll bring her a bowl to the next game!

You can use shrimp or chicken (rotisserie chicken works great as does baked and shredded chicken breast). It keeps well in the fridge for that night and the next. And, it’s pretty healthy. Yu-um. I’ve made it strict to the recipe and with some change ups as noted in (_). Both are fantastic.

Ingredients: 

12 oz to 1lb package angel hair (or thin spaghetti) pasta

3 cups shredded napa cabbage (or hearts of romaine)

4 large carrots, shredded (or broccoli slaw)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (or just 3 reds)

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 bunch fresh green onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

2 tablespoons toasted black sesame seeds (skipped these)

8 ounces frozen cooked shrimp, thawed and

drained (or shredded, cooked chicken)

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons tahini

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

5 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Break pasta into small pieces (thirds) and add to boiling water; cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cabbage, carrots, green, red and yellow bell peppers, cilantro, onions, and shrimp.

2.

In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter, tahini, rice wine vinegar and sweet chile sauce. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Ten minutes before serving, toss the sauce with the cabbage mixture until evenly coated. Garnish with black sesame seeds.

I love growing things! I get so excited for April and May because I get to start in on my veggie garden. I just get giddy when I go to the garden centers and start finding new varieties of peppers and tomatoes. Then I start randomly grabbing seed packets. I always start out with a plan, but can’t resist adding a few extras once I get there.  I’m totally out of control!

Last year, I put in a nice curved raised bed with a rock border that I copied from a magazine.  I learned through that plan, that putting flowers in the garden is great for looks and attracting bees. It really was lovely. Unfortunately, it’s become very apparent that our garden spot it getting more and more shade.  So, we decided to move to a sunnier location on the southside of our shop.

Brian built 4 new, wood-framed raised beds and I was able to still use 3 othersI already had nearby. And, then because I couldn’t resist some pumpkins, potatoes and a cool little sweet potato vine, I had to expand a few beds 🙂  I’m a nut, I know.  

My raised beds are lined with newspaper and filled with 1 yard of blended topsoil from Valley Landscape. I’m growing 7 varieties of tomato (cherries, romas, big ones, heirlooms), 9 varieties of peppers (some hot, some sweet, no bell), zucchini, lemon cucumber, sweet peas, snap beans (bush), onions (yellow & red), potatoes (gold and red), lettuce, nasturtiums, chinese cabbage, basil, cilantro, chives, pumpkins (small and large) and sweet potatoes.  I also have established strawberries, grapes, blueberries, apples and pears. And I added plums and cherries to the orchard this year. I grow mostly from starts. Items in italics are from seed. 

I still need to add some flowers in addition to the nasturtiums and a “bug bath” to attract dragon flies and bees. All you need is a shallow bowl with some rocks for the bugs to land on and a little water. You do need to be sure to hose it out every 3 days or so to avoid mosquitoes.

I’ll be tracking how things are growing and take some pics. Stay tuned.

How did you celebrate Earth Day? This was a much  happier Earth Day for me. Last year, I awoke to the sound of my neighbor basically clear-cutting his big timber.  No kidding. Earth Day began with the sound of chain saws. My boys and I watched in  horror as tree after tree hit the ground.  This year, no chain saws! Instead, I planted some peas and lettuce with Sam. I also weeded my blueberry bushes and laid down a newspaper and grass clipping weed barrier.  And, I went to MetroPaint with Emily to pick up a compost bin.  

I’m actually very excited about the compost bin. I’ve wanted one for some time, but they are often ridiculously priced.  MetroPaint sells a great bin for $39 and then you can buy a grid mat for underneath to prevent pests for an extra $7 http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=557. Composting is great to reduce your waste production. And, in the two gardening classes I’ve taken recently, composting appears to be the key to successful organic gardening. 

Incase you are wondering. Oregon MetroPaint is where you can buy latex paint for your home made from recycled paint. Dumping old paint is a no-no. Always recycle it.  You can take your old paint (and household cleaners, motor oil, compact flourescent lightbulbs, propane bottles, batteries, etc)  to Metro Central Station at 6161 NW 61st Ave., Portland (503-234-3000) or Metro South Station at 2001 Washington St., Oregon City (503-234-3000).  Or, Emily found out that Metro is holding a neighborhood paint recycling day in Sherwood on July 18th, and they’re schedule also says they’ll be at Tigard High School on June 26-27 from 9am-2pm.  The website covers how and what to bring.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is/was to beef up my knowledge of gardening. I love to work in my yard and my garden, but doing it smarter and better is a life-long pursuit.  So, when I saw that Farmington Gardens was doing gardening classes I signed up for a couple. 

My first class was Sunday with Carl Grimm, Metro’s Natural Gardening Specialist, on “Landscaping with Organic Edibles.”   Carl combines edible, ornamental and native landscaping tips to help home gardeners kick the chemical habit in style.  Carl ran a great class with some great tips and I definitely want to ween myself away from the chemicals and attract the bugs and critters and nutrients to my soil that will help me do that.  I’ll be sure to pass things along as I implement them myself and see success!