Vegetable Gardening

[spokewench]

No cannelinis from my garden; dried (cooked) is what will go in the soup!

I haven't even got any regular green beans from my garden yet. I think in about 2 weeks.

MMMM raspberries - i tried growing blackberries here; but they don't like my yard. They do grow in some places in town, however.

[anakiwa]

Sorry to join in late and miss all the fun.

Does anyone have an effective way of getting the green worms off the broccoli? (Someone told me soak it in salt water, but it doesn't seem to work very well.)

[OakLeaf]

Hand picking is best. They're well camouflaged, but finding them is part of the Zen of gardening. (Although I don't suppose it's very Zen to squish them after you find them. )

In a pinch, Bt (Bacillus thuringensis, brand name Thuricide) is considered organic - it's a bacterium that specifically targets Lepidoptera larvae. Right now I'm using an old syringe to inject Bt into squash vine borer holes.

[badger]

I've not read a single page of this thread so pardon me if this question's been posed:

I have a mystery squash (from my compost, either banana squash or acorn), and while it's growing like a weed and producing a lot of blooms, not many end in fruit. And what's worse, the fruit that it does bear, soon turns yellow and dies. Any ideas?

ok, another squash question:

My zucchini's doing similar things. Tons of flowers, but I've only gotten one zucchini so far. Do you know why some are just flowers and others actually turn into a squash?

p.s. they're in terra cotta pots.

[OakLeaf]

Artificial insemination for squash.

The one from your compost is as likely to be an inedible gourd (the result of something hybridized either intentionally by the grower or randomly in the garden) as anything you want to save, but it could be fun to just let it grow and find out.

[NoNo]

This is what I picked from "my" garden yesterday. The giant zucchini is 15" long! Wax beans, string beans, just a few peas, those didn't take well, and some banana peppers. I see the bell peppers are starting to bud, as are the eggplant and yellow squash. Tomatoes are growing, but nowhere near ready for harvest. There is still plenty more zucchini to come, I saw several I could have picked and then some nubs just starting to grow, and there were lots of flowers meaning more are on the way. I wish I knew which flowers I could pick so I can fry them up.

[spokewench]

This is what I picked from "my" garden yesterday. The giant zucchini is 15" long! Wax beans, string beans, just a few peas, those didn't take well, and some banana peppers. I see the bell peppers are starting to bud, as are the eggplant and yellow squash. Tomatoes are growing, but nowhere near ready for harvest. There is still plenty more zucchini to come, I saw several I could have picked and then some nubs just starting to grow, and there were lots of flowers meaning more are on the way. I wish I knew which flowers I could pick so I can fry them up.

IT's looking yummy nono

[badger]

Artificial insemination for squash.

The one from your compost is as likely to be an inedible gourd (the result of something hybridized either intentionally by the grower or randomly in the garden) as anything you want to save, but it could be fun to just let it grow and find out.

I would believe this if I've not seen it with my own eyes, but I don't think insemination would do anything, as the zucchini doesn't seem to come out of the flowers so much as it seems pre-determined which ones will fruit. It's hard for me to explain, but I know that no amount of artificial insemination will produce a fruit on the blooms that are just long stalks. The ones that have fruited already has a little zucchini growing with the bud on top. Again, hard to explain...

[OakLeaf]

Whether a flower is male or female is "pre-determined." Typically a plant will have many more male flowers than female, but if you're not getting any female flowers, I don't know what might be causing that.

Female flowers:





Male flower:



Female and male flowers side-by-side:

[anakiwa]

Hand picking is best. They're well camouflaged, but finding them is part of the Zen of gardening. (Although I don't suppose it's very Zen to squish them after you find them. )

In a pinch, Bt (Bacillus thuringensis, brand name Thuricide) is considered organic - it's a bacterium that specifically targets Lepidoptera larvae. Right now I'm using an old syringe to inject Bt into squash vine borer holes.

I'm winding up hand picking (as I'm processing)- I'm just afraid I'll miss one and serve up broccoli with worms (spraying makes me a little nervous- organic or not I think some of the organic stuff is sometimes still toxic).

Here's another question- how do you tell when your garlic is finished drying (it's been on the balcony for a week)?

[GLC1968]

If you want a quick way to get those worms out, dip your veggie in a pot of boiling water (literally, just dip it, don't boil it). The worms die, turn a bright yellow, and generally fall off. Even if they don't all fall off, they are much easier to spot when they are yellow!

(I learned this with my Kale - worm city!)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I keep planting little rows of lettuces in my new garden- like a couple little rows each week to have a successive harvest.
i love all the different textures and colors of the different kinds!...bright green, dark green, green with purple flecks, solid dark purple, ruffled, smooth...so pretty to gaze at!

[GLC1968]

Zucchini Recipes for mickchick -

This is a reasonably healthy version that is quite tasty (it's not going to be as rich as my grandmothers pumpkin bread, but not using a full cup of oil will do that to a recipe ):

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
Natural cooking spray
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 cup expeller pressed canola oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray an 8-inch loaf pan with natural cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in zucchini and walnuts then transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until risen, deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack for 30 minutes then remove bread from pan and continue cooling on rack. Freezes very well.



And the cookies (this recipe came from the Washington Post and I altered it a bit to reduce the fat & sugar):

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter, softened
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (1 cup of white + 1 cup of whole wheat also works)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (next time, I’ll cut this amount in half)

Method
Combine egg, butter and applesauce and beat until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, and stir to combine. Slowly integrate dry ingredients into wet, until well combined, with beater or by hand. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls on a lightly sprayed baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees, 10-15 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen soft cookies. These cookies freeze well.


I also have a great lemon zucchini muffin recipe from a cookbook that I need to type up. Once I do, I'll share it.