Everything is Math
λ ≃ 400nm-700nm (with a few gaps)Art, meet gardening, meet science.
Fresh picked from the jLAmode garden.
Squash Blossom Fritters
Mmmm... fried food.
Prepare mashed potatoes with a nice savoury spice: onion powder, dill, green onion, parsley, smoked paprika and salt.
Pick full and large flowers that open easily. This has to be done early in the morning as the flowers tend to wilt in the sun. Be sure to pick the "male" flowers as they are the easiest to work with. It's easy to tell the difference - the female flowers have small squashes attached.
Pipe in the potato mix:
Coat with a flour-water batter. I used buckwheat so that it's gluten free.
Fry ~375F until golden brown. Buckwheat is a darker grain, so these are fairly brown.
Drain on kitchen roll (paper towels):
Serve while still hot - otherwise they go soggy.
Garden Early Summer 2013
Fresh from the garden! Tomatoes:
'Taters, garlic and onions:
Lemon blossoms:
Sugar peas:
Zucchini:
Cucumber:
Purple beans (they turn green after cooking):
Aubergine:
Pointy tomatoes:
Giant garlic:
Garden 2013 - fruit on the vine
First rose of 2013
Peaches
Blueberries
Tomatoes
Lemon
"Wonder Lemon" blooms
Yerba Maté
Spring garden updates [2013]
The garden is coming to life!
Blueberries in bloom:
Lettuce - survived the winter:
Shallots:
First rose bud:
Asparagus:
Potatoes:
Tomatoes - hiding under buckets for frost protection:
Pfingstrose (Peony):
Watercress:
Grapes:
Roast Roots and Chèvre
Fresh from the spring garden, carrots, beets and greens.
Start by cleaning and peeling the produce.
Place in a lined baking dish, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 175C (350F) until fork tender.
Depending on taste, serve warm, or allow to cool before plating with fresh greens and goat's cheese.
Spring Planting 2013
Tomato seedlings:
More seedlings:
I'm trying no-till gardening for the second year. It did well for potatoes last year, so I'll do it again. This year I'm using more lawn space for the garden, so I set out cardboard and sprinkled it with soil.
Cover with mulch:
Repeat:
Onion sets, peeking out:
Garlic, still growing from the fall planting:
Roses:
Winter salad
Fresh grown salad in winter?! That's the way how I grow.
Fresh: lettuce, beet leaves, broccoli, carrots, onions
December 2012 Gardening
The same things are still growing in the garden, but a recent bit of warm weather has brought some new progress. While most people are out Christmas shopping, I'm in the garden. Mixed carrots: it's much of a melange, but they've all got a sweet, crisp flavour. Recent rain and some fertilization have caused the noticeable hair-like roots. They're growing big, all the same.
Three kales, freshly mulched and growing well:
Black/Italian/Dino
Russian
Curly Blue
Broccoli - just getting started. Even if it doesn't fully mature, the greens are perfect in stir-fry.
Citronnée chou frisé
Three varieties of baby kale with lemon juice and macadamia oil. Garnished with fleur de sel and roasted pine nuts.
Balsamic Baby Carrots
Blanched baby carrots in a sauce of balsamic vinegar, macadamia oil and fresh basil. Served with fresh beet leaves.
Fall Gardening 2012
Fresh baby carrots:
Russian, Black and Curly Kale:
The open air garden patch: carrots, kale, broccoli, beets, mixed greens.
Lettuce in the cold frame:
Muscadine
It's autumn and the muscadines are ripe! These grapes are a Southern tradition - their flavour isn't quite grape, or pineapple, or peach; rather a combination.
They have different hues: bronze and burgundy
The flavour varies slightly between the two colours, but it's amazing all the same.
Unlike most grapes, the skin isn't generally eaten, rather the chewy fruit is squeezed out and the seeds removed.
Fresh Fruit Skewers with Lavender-Vanilla Youghurt
The perfect summer treat!
Garden fresh cantaloupe with strawberries and blueberries. Served with a Vanilla Greek youghurt, flavoured with fresh lavender flowers.
Cold Frames
To keep food growing through the winter, a shelter is needed. I built the cold frame out of two halved 2"x10"x10' treated planks.
Align the boards and drill pilot holes:
Screw the ends together:
Add a stabilizer, if you like. This just helps keep the structure square during transport:
A prefect square frame. Position in your garden and line with cardboard.
I added fill dirt and potting mix (about 2 inches of each):
Now it's ready for a cover (glass, poly, blanket, etc.) to keep out the bitter cold. It only needs to be covered when the temperature is freezing.
Stay posted to see what grows!
Fall crops planted: Amaranth
Most of the fall crops got planted just a few days back. Already the eager amaranth has germinated.
Check back next week for more details about the fall crops and new raised bed. This year, I'm going for a 12 month harvest cycle - something growing outside all winter long.
Flores Rosa
On the island of Guam, this is called Flores Rosa. Hawaiians (and haolies) call it the hibiscus. In ~60 days it'll be frosty here, but I cultivate these to enjoy the island life, year round.
The latest from the garden
The garden is nearing the end of its productive season for the summer crops. There are a few tomatoes left, but okra is the only thing still growing strong. A few scarce peppers are still growing; green beans and the last of the cantaloupes. Now's the time to plant the fall crops: garlic, lettuce, cabbage, etc.
Check back later this week to see how these ingredients combine to make a delicious Southern meal.
