Rule #11: Try to blog more than once a month!

So the last time I blogged it was Harvest Monday and I have pretty much been harvesting the same produce since then.  Radicchio, arugula, lettuce, and a little bit of spinach.  I am getting really excited about  my new gardening ventures this spring.  I am going to try to get all my seeds started indoors this week.  It was supposed to happen last week, but you all know how it goes.  Also I just got my new seeds from Seeds from Italy and Seed Savers Exchange yesterday.

New Seeds!

In the past month I have been continuing to force my Treviso Radicchio.  When my brother came and we cut them off he asked me why I didn't just add the root back into the water and see what happens.  It worked pretty well.  Some came back red and others sprouted in multiple places and were more yellow.

Second Forcing

Second Forcing

I used my little red Verona Radicchio and the Treviso to make Radicchio Pasta.  You just sauté onion (in butter and olive oil) and then add the chopped radicchio.  Cook for 15 minutes and then add white wine.  Let that evaporate, take it off the heat and add some heavy cream to your liking.  I probably use about 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup.  Be sure to remember salt and pepper and salt your pasta water.  Once the pasta is ready add it to the radicchio and then you can add some parmigiano reggiano.
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Cutting the Treviso

Adding to the onions

Cooking down

Pasta!

Harvest Monday-January 16, 2012

So I have found many great gardening blogs and Daphne's Dandelions is one that hosts Harvest Monday.  This is a place to share your recent harvests.  I have a new batch of Treviso harvested from the garage.  Here are some before and after shots of the "forcing".  I also harvested Radicchio, Arugula, and Spinach.

Before-January 3, 2012

Before- January 3, 2012

After- January 16, 2012

Radicchio Verona

Radicchio, Spinach, Arugula

Getting Washed Up!

Rule #10: In gardening you must always look back!

So it is time for a little summary of our successes and failures of last year.  In a couple weeks I have planned a little "garden chat" tea with a few neighbors to share ideas and look forward to hearing their thoughts for next year.

The greatest success for us has been our winter Chicories which include Pan Di Zucchero, Lusia, Treviso, Treviso Tardivo, and Castelfranco.  Our Verona, which are apparently the ones you would buy at the store as Radicchio, are tasty but still quite small.  Don't know if I will plant those next year.  I think I will try Palla Rossa 3 from Seeds from Italy instead.  Another one I want to try to perfect is the Bianco di Bergamo.  The one I got last year was good, but I only got the one and this year none of them came up. Looking at the date they were a touch older than the others I ordered so I will give it another go with new seeds this year.  The two Endives did well also, but would have done better if I had sown them in a better spot.  They were started behind a tomato plant and some of them died back.  They were Ricccia Ruffec and Bionda a Cuore Pieno.  A great lettuce has been from Seeds from Italy and they continue to reappear in the garden even after 2 seasons.  It is called Gentilina.  Had an older seed tape from another company that I don't order from anymore and we are currently still getting lettuce from that right now (under the hoop house).  The arugula is also growing right now and is the easiest veggie to grow!  They are seed that I got from Dad and actually ended up saving seeds from them last year so I don't know what variety they are or where it came from! Onions were also a success story this year.  Got some transplants from a neighbor (think they were from Gurney's) and they grew great and with little effort from me.  Would like to try leeks this year (inspired by the yummy looking leeks grown by Diary of a Tomato, a blog that I have been following).  A semi-success were the peppers.  We tried some heirlooms from seed savers, the Bull Nose and the Healthy.  Funny enough the Healthy didn't turn out so be as "healthy" as the Bull Nose.  Both were tasty, but bugs got most of the Healthy.  I also saved some seeds from a long sweet red pepper from Trader Joe's and they actually came up and were pretty tasty and abundant (but a much odder shape).  Grew some yellow Heavyweights that did ok as well. The stink bugs seemed to enjoy the peppers best, although they weren't as destructive as last year. This year was the first really great year for Tomatoes (for us anyway!).  By far the best tasting and most abundant was the Italian Heirloom from Seed Savers.  Other seed savers that we enjoyed were the Federle and Gold Medal.  The Gold Medal we huge and very tasty, but not as abundant as the Italian Heirloom.  The Brandywines didn't do as well as we would have liked but had a great taste.  San Marzanos also did very well.  Our basil from SSE did fantastic this year as well. Another great success was the Chioggia beet from Seeds from Italy.  They faired much better as a early spring producer vs. fall though.  In the fall some bugs had a field day with the greens which took a toll on the fruit.  Next year I will also be sure to "hill" dirt over the root so the tops don't get tough. I will also continue to grow carrots next year.  We have decent success with the Nantes di Chioggia (SFI) variety. I will also grow Tomatillos again this year.  We grew the Purple variety from SSE and they did great, but the plants are huge and you have to have at least two for them to produce, so they are going outside of the main garden next year.

On to the major to slight failures of the year.  My favorite summer veggies were the biggest failures.  I have been having problems with my Green Beans and Zucchini.  My favorite type of bush Green Bean are the fat Roma II's.  They gave me a few handfuls and then stopped producing and died. Not sure what it was. The Supermarconi pole beans did better, but it was already later in the season and I really didn't give them a great start.  Don't know what is happening to the GB's, some type of mosaic disease maybe?  This year I will continue with the Supermarconi and try the Provider and Vanguard. Ugh...the Zucchini.  Another favorite that will only give me a short period of produce before the squash vine borer gets it.  I have tried all of the natural methods except the row cover, which I may try this new season.  The yellow crookneck seemed to hold up the best to the little buggers, but the Black Magic variety went quickly.  This year I am looking to try other varieties. Any suggestions out there? I will probably get a few plants that my dad always grows. They are an Italian light green variety but I don't know the name. I may also try some grown for their flowers from Seeds From Italy. Another failure were the eggplants.  We tried Listada De Gandia and Rosa Bianca from SSE. I am willing to give the first another try next year. We had a major bug issue in the beginning that destroyed many of the leaves, but this variety recovered better than the Rosa Bianca. But last year we bought a white variety from ACE that was a great producer so we may just get some from the gardening store.  Not my favorite veggie anyway. I have also been having a few hard years with the cucumbers and aphids.  I tried the Parisian Pickling this year and it did not do well at all.  A few years ago I did well with the Burpless so I think I will go back to that one next year (and try to keep a better look out for the pests) The last major failure was the parsley. I planted it in a pot and in the garden and I don't think I have found the proper location for them yet, they just didn't thrive.  Luckily my neighbor's is on it's 3rd season and could feed an army!

This upcoming year I look forward to trying a few new veggies.  The Tatsoi is an Asian green that looks fabulous (SSE).  I'm also going to try the Cavolo Nero variety of Kale.  Mine now is just a packet I picked up in a local store years ago and the bugs just destroy it. I'll still try it out in early spring, but I am thinking it will do better in the fall.  My Swiss Chard does pretty well too.  This year I tried the Five color Silverbeet from SSE, but the red variety in the mix don't seem to get as big.  I look forward to adding the Fordhook Giant (SSE) or Chard Verde e Costa Bianca (SFI) for a larger variety with thicker stems. Last year I tried to grow a favorite Chicory of my mom's...Puntarella.  Well, I got the wrong variety.  I got Catalogna a Foglia Stetta. It was a good green, but this year I am so excited to try the variety that my mom loved.  I will be trying Catalogna Brindisina and Chicory Galantina.  They are grown for their stems and are peeled, thinly sliced, and soaked in water to curl.  Then they are mixed with smashed anchovies and garlic, lemon and olive oil.  So excited!  Inspired from the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I was thinking of trying the Marina Di Chioggia squash.  I don't really have a bunch of room for these types of veggies so I will grow them outside the main garden. John has been creating boxes outside the garden for veggies we don't thing the critters or dogs will bother too much.  I may also put down some Broccoli Rabe or Cima Di Rapa seeds again this year.  I grew them in Oklahoma, but just haven't gotten around to it out her. But I need to find the time and space for them this year, since I adore the vegetable. Other new veggies to try this year are Celery (Celery Gigante Dorato-SFI) and Borlotto Beans from Seed From Italy.  I don't know which kind my dad got, but he is giving me some of his.  I don't know where I'm going to put them though!!!

Would love to hear any suggestions on varieties or pests from all of you wonderful gardeners out there.  I really want to stay as organic as possible.  We use our own compost for the most part, but sometimes have to supplement with leaf pro because we don't have enough compost (or it's not ready yet).  This year we really want to try to do "compost tea" as well.
Here is a link to see how the Puntarelle is prepared. From there if you are interested there are recipes and other youtube videos on what to do with Puntarelle.

Rule #9: Listening to your Kids: Entertaining and Informative!

This rule has applied many times, but recently Larkyn has been on a roll.  Our old-now-new-again favorite CD in the car has been the Disney collection. That good old Winnie the Pooh song has been in our heads and we sing it quite a bit.  Larkyn thinks it's so funny when they start singing about the characters and sings, "On Donkey named Eeyore is his friend" all the time (don't correct her, she is right).  Well, the other day she said, "Mommy, why isn't Tigger in the song?" I never noticed that before and started remembering that Tigger was possibly an add on character. But Larkyn was having nothing to do with that.  She has now forever added Tigger to the song.  "There's Rabbit and Piglet and there's Owl, AND THERE'S TIGGER."

The happening time here at our house, according to Larkyn is "20-noon." When should a friend come over? 20-noon. When should we go to the grocer store? 20-noon. Why do we need to go? Because we are "fresh out of yogurt". Fresh out? Where does she get this stuff?

Another love in the house of Rhodes are the If You Give A... books.  After reading If You Give A Cat A Cupcake for the millionth time (and knowing it by heart), Larkyn found a little mouse in the beach scene where the cat collects a bunch of things. I couldn't believe it. As many of you know the very first book is about this little mouse getting a cookie. I was like, "No freakin' way.  How have we never noticed that before?"

So some reading this may think, "That mom has lost her marbles and been home too long." I, however, find these little nuggets fascinating.  Not to be outdone, Mckinley has added, "Do, Du, Ada," informing me that "Dada" will probably be her first word.

Rule #8: Try "Forcing" Your Radicchio

So, on the list for this year's new things to explore-forcing radicchio.  I got a better idea about how to do this after e-mailing the owner of Seeds from Italy and asking him about how to do this.  I also saw a great youtube video produced by an Italian company that grows the Treviso Tardivo variety of radicchio.  Here is what Seeds from Italy sent me:

Growing fancy radicchio the way they do in Italy. This is based completely on some email conversations I had this past December with one of my favorite farmers. Tim Wilcox grows out in the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts (this is the only place in the state where you can dig down more than six inches and not find very big rocks). Tim has spent a lot of time in Italy and, as am I, he is passionate about things Italian. We were having an email exchange about something and he sent along this report along with some stunning photographs of the Treviso radicchio he grew in good old Massachusetts. This is definitely the way to grow it, at least in areas with more severe winters. I put the description below together from two separate emails.

 In brief, the radicchio was grown like this:

June 15 seeds sown in flats. July 15 transplanted to the field spaced 9-12"x18" for the rows.   (I direct sow in July). Direct seeding would probably yield a higher average final weight, but there's the added work of thinning and weeding. Plants grow well with minimal fertility. Plants are allowed to grow until after a hard frost, with no special treatment. Then they are dug up root and all, the dead outer leaves pared back, and formed into bunches of 15 plants. At this point in time (60-75 days from setting out transplants) the plant has not yet formed much of a head at all in the field. They can be dug any time until the ground freezes. The roots are trimmed level, leaving about 4-6" at least.  Then they are set in a bucket or washtub of water to the level of the root in utter darkness for 2 weeks at 55° or ideally 3 weeks at 45°. (I did mine in the garage for at least 3 weeks) They do not cut the head, but just remove the outermost leaves and bunch the plants tightly together. This forces them to grow very compactly, and the outer leaves shield the hearts from both light and rot. In Treviso they use these huge basins with running water, but it works well on a small scale like this[ using a big bucket filled with water]. When ready they are trimmed of all outer rot and washed well. The unforced roots can be stored in a cold root cellar or refrigerator until needed. They have tardivo as late as April in Italy.

Here are pics of my first results.  I tried two varieties of Treviso radicchio.  The first batch that I picked up was the Treviso Tardivo and they were a bit smaller because I picked from my smaller  (in size) crop where I sowed them.  The transplants, of course, are bigger because they have more space to grow.  The second batch are the plain Treviso type.  A few of the larger ones are picked from my transplants and some are also picked from the sowing bed.  The forcing didn't make them as red as I was hoping for, but they are crisp and tasty.  Good all the way to the root. I am also adding some pics of the endive and other radicchio that I blanched.

Smaller and younger Treviso Tardiva pulled and ready to force

A close up of the roots.  You will see that these are a good deal smaller than the next batch

Growing in the dark for almost 2 weeks

The group of the first batch after about 2 weeks and cleaning off some dead outer leaves

End result of first batch after over 3 weeks (again these are smaller because they started out small)

Success!

Batch #2 Treviso

Some of these larger ones were already forming a decent heart

Blanched Castelfranco

Blanched Endive

Blanched Pan Di Zucchero

YUM!

Rule #7: Build Your Dollhouse

So...many, many moons ago when I was a girl I loved to play with Barbies. The best place to play Barbies was at a childhood friend's house.  They were the family on the block with 7 kids so we lovingly referred to them as the "the house with the 7 kids"!  Colleen was closest to my age so we always played together.  Well, she had the greatest Barbie house ever.  No it wasn't a plastic, buy it at the store sort of dollhouse.  She made hers out of many cardboard boxes, carpet scraps, and wallpaper scraps.  It was the greatest and oh so roomy.  As many of you know, the buy it kind of dollhouses don't leave a lot of room for Barbie and Ken to stretch! Larkyn is not quite into Barbie, but while visiting NickJr.com for the first time we found many fun crafts. So we set out to make the Peppa Pig house to include the characters and props. It was so fun to make and she loves it! Out of curiosity I looked up Peppa Pig on Amazon to see what kinds of plastic Peppa things I could find. The dollhouse price?  (yes there is one and it's pretty expensive since it is a British show).  As I remember around $150 plus shipping!

making the characters, "This is my little brother George."

dining with the dollhouse

Rule #6: Results are worth the time and effort!

So what were my results????  So far really good this year.  I am ridiculously taking pictures of radicchio like people take pictures of their vacations!  Some years the results are not as good, but you learn from them for the next year.  Sometimes it's just the weather that affects your crop.  But this year they are spectacular and blanching them has proven well worth the little extra effort and completely yummy.  Blanching is basically (how I understand it) keeping the inner heart and as many leaves as you can from the light to make the leaves become lighter and also much more crisp and tender.  You can do this a few ways. When I first learned about it mom's friends were telling me in order to get my Castelfranco yellow with the red speckles you see on the seed cover and in the market in Italy, you had to plant them in sand and place them in a cool dark place.  Well this seemed like a little too much work and I never got around to doing it.  This year as a researched it and saw some suggestions from Seeds from Italy about blanching Endive. I tried it on all my heading radicchio.  You can either place a bucket over the plant or tie it up.  I actually found a youtube video of farmers in Italy tying the radicchio up.  I just took a thin rubber band, gathered all the leaves and secured them with the rubber band close to the top of the bunch.  You have to be patient at this point and leave it there for about 10-14 days.  Here are my results.  The taste is just amazing! I am now still in the process of "forcing" my Radicchio de Treviso which is a bit more involved and will be my next post!

Pan di Zucchero

Pan di Zucchero and Castelfranco Bed

Lusia Bed

Heart of the Lusia

Heart of Castelfranco

Opened Pan di Zucchero Heart

Closed Pan di Zucchero heart