The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: The tomatoes are ripening!!!! Yeah!!!!!

The Bad: Something has been eating them!!!!

The Ugly: It wasn't easy (they are good at hiding!), but I found two of the culprits this afternoon (my mom also found one in another garden, yesterday) - the dreaded Tomato Horn Worm!!!!

I'm still not sure how I feel about killing them. Actually, I do know how I feel. I don't like it. I think it's wrong - as all killing is. But, selfish/greedy human that I am...I killed them. It wasn't easy and I still feel yucky about it, but I killed them. All because I didn't want to share my newly ripening tomatoes! I wonder what Jesus would have done???:)

By the way...for your information/edification...if you happen to find a horn worm that has little white egg-like sacs on it, DO NOT KILL it! Those sacs are actually cocoons of the horn worm's natural predator - the Braconid Wasp. Also...I don't really think tomato worms are ugly - I think they're pretty cool-looking.

Instead of Rain

"Man - despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments - owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." - Author Unkown

And when it doesn't rain for awhile, "man" (i.e. woman) has to figure out other means of getting water.

For the most part, it's been a wet/rainy year, so the drip-irrigation system I ordered this past winter has remained in its box until this weekend. Without much rain the past couple of weeks, I knew I was pushing my luck by not having any sort of irrigation system installed. I kept expecting it to rain, but, despite distant thunder, reports of rain around the region, and my being forced off the road by a 20-minute downpour, the farm has managed to remain pretty dry.

So...this weekend I set out to install the irrigation system. As per my usual mode of operation, I spent hours studying the directions, reviewing the drawings of the system I designed, and carefully checking each part as I planned exactly how it would all fit together. I then napped, ate, reviewed my plan again, then finally dug in and started to put it together. Fifteen minutes later (only a slight exaggeration), I had it all together and working. It was that easy. Seriously. Not the rocket science exam I had expected at all. Oh, to have the type of personality that just jumps right in and does it! It would save me so much time and agony.

Anyway, the drip lines are in (I may add a few more later) and are working well to irrigate the newly planted seeds for Fall. Now I just have to mulch and get those rows covered. If all goes well, there should be produce through the end of October.

Tomatillo Time!

The tomatillos are beginning to ripen. I picked about a peck of them today, so I thought I should prepare you all with information about this "strange" fruit.

Very popular in Mexico and other parts of Central America, tomatillos are just beginning to become known and used widely across the US. They are used mostly in salsa verde, but can also be eaten raw, stir-fried, chopped into salads, or made into preserves or pies. Tomatillos stored at room temperature will last about 1-2 weeks. For longer-term storage, refrigerate in husks, but not in a plastic bag. Also, don't store with vegetables and fruits that give off ethylene gas such as apples and pears, as ethylene gas will cause the tomatillos to spoil more quickly.

To learn more about tomatillos and/or find recipes for using them, here are a few websites you might want to check out:
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/tomatillo.html
http://whatscookingamerica.net/tomatillos.htmtscookingamerica.net/tomatillos.htm
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/tomatillos.htm
http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch25.html

In addition to those websites, here are two recipes you might enjoy. Both come from the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition:

Tropical Tomatillo Banana Salsa
1/2 pound tomatillos
2-3 serrano chiles, seeded and minced
3-4 T minced green onion
1-2 t minced garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T (or more to taste) lime juice
1 medium banana
salt and pepper

Husk the tomatillos, wash them, and cut out the cores. Finely chop the flesh and place it in a bowl. Stir in the chiles, green onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. Mash or finely chop the banana, then stir it into the salsa. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with plaintain chips or tortilla chips, or use as a sauce to top grilled fish. Makes about 2 cups.


Pork Chops with Tomatillo Chile Sauce
4 pork chops (about 2 pounds)
salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
1 C chopped white onion
1 T minced garlic
3-4 finely chopped jalapenos
12-14 tomatillos (about 1.5 lbs total), husked and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1 1/2 t chile powder
1-2 t sugar

Season pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Let stand while you prepare the other ingredients. Heat oil in large, heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Add chops and brown well on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, transfer chops to a plate, and add onions, garlic, and jalepenos to skillet. Cook, stirring often, until tender (about 7 minutes). Stir in tomatillos, oregano, and chile powder. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is saucy (about 20 minutes). If it is very tart, stir in sugar to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Return pork chops to the skillet, nestling them in the sauce. Cover and simmer until chops are cooked, about 10 minutes. Corn bread is a great accompaniment. Makes 4 servings.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

My friend, Wes, sent this to me today. It supposedly originated on The Daily OM, but I couldn't find it on that website, so I'm not sure who to credit for it. Anyway...I think it's a good reminder for us all, so I thought I'd post it here.


Together On Earth

Seeing an image of the planet Earth taken from space inspires awe in many of us, since we can clearly see the connectedness of all of us who live upon this planet. We have created imaginary boundaries, sectioning ourselves into countries and states, forgetting that in reality we are all living together, breathing the same air, drinking from the same water, eating food grown from the same earth. We share everything on this planet, whether we are conscious of it or not, with other people, and those people are our brothers and sisters. Keeping a photograph or painting of the planet Earth in a prominent place in our homes can be a positive way to remember our interconnectedness.

Meditating on the fact that any sense of separation we have from one another is truly an illusion, we will naturally begin to make more conscious choices in our daily lives. The simple act of preparing food, or determining how to dispose of our refuse, can be done with the consciousness that whatever we do will affect all our brothers and sisters, no matter how far away they live, as well as the planet herself. When we foster this kind of awareness in ourselves out of a feeling of awe, it becomes easier to be conscious than to fall back into old habits of thinking of ourselves as separate.

When we contemplate the earth in her wholeness, we attune ourselves to the truth of the bigger picture, which is the Earth, and all of us, every one of us, living on her body. We are connected to one another in the most intimate way, because we literally share our living space. As more people become aware of the reality of our interdependency, things will shift in a positive direction, and much of the discord that we see now will give way to a more cooperative, loving conscious. This is happening already, so as our consciousness grows, we can join with the many other minds working to live in the spirit of togetherness.

Cukes and Zukes

Wow! The cucumbers have certainly made their presence known in the garden. Last week I picked about 30 before I left for Chautauqua (took them with me and made all my friends take some home with them). When I got back I found the plants teaming with cukes again - picked close to 150 of them between Monday and Tuesday morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can't seem to keep up with them and can't give them away fast enough. Thank goodness for the Rippey Street gathering during National Night Out on Tuesday. I was able to give away most of them there. I also talked with a neighbor today who has agreed to take a couple of bushels to the Sewickley Farmer's Market with her on Saturday. She and her husband had several cucumber plants die, so they are running low until their next crop comes in. That's a huge relief for now.

Since I've been frantically trying to convince friends, neighbors, and even strangers to take cucumbers from me, I thought it might be a good idea to suggest some ways they can be used. Not being a big cucumber fan myself, I did a little online research and came across this fantastic website that has tons of cool information about cucumbers and a list of recipes that will make your head spin -everything from cucumber drinks to soups and sandwiches. It's called B's Cucumber Pages and is located at: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/info.htmlumbers/info.html. I don't know who "B" is, but I am forever grateful to her/him!

As for the zukes...they are holding their own in battle with the cukes for king of the garden. Several people have asked what to do with the round zucchini I've been giving out. I searched online again and came upon the following websites that might help with some recipes for stuffing them: Balsamic Stuffed Round Zucchini, Herb-stuffed Zucchini, Zucchini Soup, and Stuffed Globe Zucchini. Of course, as the description on Hume Seeds website says, they can also be baked, stir-fried, or used in salads or zucchini bread. Basically, just experiment and enjoy.