Winter Green

Winter is here, but it has not nipped my garden completely. Even after a 25 degree day, my greens are still growing! The plants are smaller than they were in the summer, but the arugula, mesclun greens and radicchio continue to sprout new leaves. Parsley, oregano and rosemary are alive and well too. Of course, I am happy to keep plucking away and enjoying fresh greens and herbs in my salad. But I was kind of expecting snow at this point, not least because I'd like to get my skis out and hit the mountains!

North East Snow Storm pelts my garden!



Saved from the Oct. snow storm



Picked clean



Really Mother Nature? Snow in October? When I heard a snow storm was coming, I couldn't believe it. I chalked it up to another made for TV weather event. But I figured I'd better pick off all the greens that were still growing through the warm fall season, just in case. I had plenty of basil and a good smattering of salad greens, as well as a few peppers on the vines. But with the sun setting before 6 pm, I never got home from work early enough to catch the light. And I had a busy week with early mornings at the office. When I saw all the snow falling today, I rushed out in my rain gear and finally got to picking. I felt a bit like a migrant worker trying to save the crops from a hard frost. My fingers just about froze too. But it was worth it, as I did manage to salvage a reasonable amount of vegetation. Later on today, I'll roast the peppers. The basil will make a nice addition to a pot of tomato sauce. And I'll be having a fresh green salad for lunch. Yum. If this ends the growing season, so be it. This year we've kept a record of our harvest, which I'll post soon enough.

Last but not least

We returned from Europe last week to find our garden still growing. I picked a bowl full of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, salad greens and herbs. Of course, the plants were nearly exhausted, so, what you see (left) is about what we got. The tomato plants, haggard and brown, will produce no more fruit. A few peppers are still ripening on the vines, and the eggplants even have new flowers. But as always this time of year, greenery is more of a tease. Despite the warm weather, I know the winter will come and nip any new growth in the bud. It's at this time that we take stock of what worked and what didn't. I regret planting the Little Finger eggplants. The Japanese eggplants of past seasons were much better tasting. All of our tomato plants rocked this summer, and seven was a perfect number. Though they took up a lot of room, they provided a bountiful harvest that enabled us to share our crop with friends and neighbors. The early red bell peppers were a nice addition and I was very pleased with the cukes and kirbies, though they did punk out on me after the July heat wave. We're already talking about what we'll plant next summer. As the cold weather comes, it will give us something to look forward too.

Fall Harvest Bounty Or How to Get Rid of Hornworms




A late season visitor, the dreaded tomato hornworm

 

At this time of year, gardeners usually enjoy a bounteous end of the season harvest. And, we are indeed among the lucky ones continuing to reap the fruits of our labor. The tomatoes have been sweet, the peppers colorful, the lettuce still tender and the herbs still growing strong. Yet, as the days grow shorter, the plants are getting a bit tired and it is beginning to feel like the end is near. The past month has been tough on the garden. Battering rains from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee weakened our lovely tomato vines, exhausted our cucumbers and soaked our impatiens. Cooler weather and fewer hours of sunshine are also having the usual effects of shutting down new production. So, imagine my surprise, when this late in the season I discovered unwanted visitors terrorizing my tomato plants! How on earth did the icky green hornworms get back into my garden?? We had an infestation earlier this summer and took massive steps to eradicate it, including hunting down the green gobblers that ingest the leaves at a rapid rate, and spraying with Safer caterpillar killer, an organic insecticide. Our measures were quite effective and the menacing worms disappeared. Until now! All this week I've been engaged in a second battle with the bugs. To defeat them, one must be vigilent. What's most important is finding them before they munch the life out of the plants. And in order to do this, one must follow the poop! As they eat, they leave a trail of black droppings on lower leaves and the ground. On our pink pavers, the poop really stands out. Looking up from the trail, one can find denuded leaves and upon closer inspection, the worm will come into focus. It's not easy to locate them, as you can see how green they are from the photo. On a leafy plant even the huge ones are very hard to spot. I can report that as of this morning, the terrace was poop-free, which I'm hoping means we are worm-free (again.) Crossing my fingers!

How we outsmarted Hurricane Irene

 

Before the storm

 Hurricane Irene came at us with her 75 mile an hour winds and driving rain, but we had a plan to protect our tomatoes  - and it worked! First, we picked off all the ripe and even partially ripe fruit. But then, instead of striving to keep our 6 foot plants standing through the storm, which was our initial instinct, we laid them on the ground beforehand. This way, the wind barely reached them and couldn't shake the tomatoes off the vines.

We had to be very gentle as we lowered them so that the branches didn't crack. And we needed to criss-cross them in order to have room. But it was worth it. The plants are still in tact and we only lost a few green tomatoes in the process..



With the wind lasting through Sunday, we kept them grounded most of the day and picked a couple up on Sunday evening. The rest we raised on Monday. I'm relieved to say that they made it through the gale in fine shape and we expect to have tomatoes right through Sept.

After the storm: Tomatoes standing tall







Preparing for Hurricane Irene - Tips to secure your urban garden

Here's some helpful tips for securing your plants, and a recipe for fried green tomatoes, from Red Rose & Lavender, a Brooklyn-based flower shop:


Keeping your plants safe during the storm

In case you haven't heard, There is a hurricane coming. I just wanted to send out a note to everyone with some helpful tips in keeping your plants safe.

Secure your plants.

For those of you with balconies, it may be a good idea to put your lighter plants and plastic furniture inside. With 50 to 100mph winds, anything light that that is left on a balcony will be blown away. Don't worry about the plants that are in big heavy pots, if you have trouble moving them then they are probably fine. Put everything as close to the building as you can. The same rules apply to roof top gardens as well.

Remove the covers from your gazebos and take down any umbrellas and store in a safe place. Remove any window boxes that are hanging on railings and put them inside or on the ground.

Take down any hanging baskets and put them inside.

Stake and tie plants in your garden. Try to secure your plants as best as you can but remember that they may not survive the storm. Take the time to harvest any vegetables that are ripe. Harvest any tomatoes that are close to maturity. Pick the large green ones too and see the recipe below for Fried Green Tomatoes.

Don't forget to cut some flowers and bring them inside. Chances are they won't be so nice after Irene rolls through. Flowers will make even the dreariest day cheery.

If you have any garden ornaments, plastic lawn furniture, chimes, empty pots, garden tools, ect.. outside, secure them and take them inside. They will be blown away.

Time for fried green tomatoes!

Here's my mother's recipe. Use firm green tomatoes that arn't too ripe or they will be mushy.

1. Slice the tomato into thick 1/4" to 1/2" slices.

2. Dip in an egg wash (1 egg beaten with some milk)

3. Dredge in flour that is seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika.

4. Fry in an iron skillet using bacon fat on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Sprinkle a little kosher or flake salt on top and serve warm on a sandwich, or on a plate, doesn't matter, they are tasty. Sometimes she would sprinkle Old Bay and a little vinegar on them, but then again almost everything we ate had a little Old Bay and vinegar on it.

Getting Ready for Hurricane Irene

We've tied this Black Chery to the railing

It's time to batten down the tomatoes! Hurricane Irene is coming to NYC, with lashing rain and strong winds. This could mean a tomato disaster if we don't take some important steps. Our tomatoes are grown in pots and even medium strength winds can knock them over. This year, we've made great strides in preventing that by tying them to the railing with twine. To further stabilize the plants, we've tied strategically placed tomato poles to the railing too. We've also placed heavy, soil-filled pots alongside some of the tomato plants to prop them up. But with Irene bearing down, we will go further. We plan to cut back tall branches that have already been picked clean, to provide less lift, even if that means losing some flowering stems. I always hold out hope that those flowers will turn into ripe tomatoes, but with summer sun and heat diminishing, even I can admit that for the biggest varieties, like Brandywine and Cherokee, this is unlikely.

New Cucumber Soup Recipe

I made a cucumber gazpacho last week from the last of my fresh grown cucumbers and it was truly delish. I especially liked this recipe because it uses fresh mint, which is also growing in my garden.

The soup is so refreshing on a hot summer day. And so easy to make! Using a mild jalapeno pepper gives it just enough kick.

Sadly, my cukes dried up during the heat wave. The vines seem to be coming back now, but it's too early to tell if I'll get anything more than a few flowers that never develop into fruit. That won't stop me from heading to the market and buying fresh cucumbers to make another batch.

Ingredients

1.1 3/4 lbs seedless cucumbers – peeled and cut in 3” pieces (or 2lbs regular cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut in 3″ pieces)
2.1/4 medium red onion – skinned
3.1 garlic clove – skinned
4.1 jalapeño – stem removed, halved and seeded
5.8 large mint leaves
6.2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
7.2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8.1 teaspoon maple syrup
9.1 teaspoon sea salt
10.1–6oz non-fat plain yogurt
11.1/2 to 3/4 cup spring water to taste

For the garnishes

1.1 medium yellow tomato – seeded and cut in 1/8” cubes (or 8 yellow grape tomatoes quartered)

2.tiny mint leaves

3.lemon oil

1.Step 1: Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor with 1/2 cup of the spring water. Pulse a few times so the ingredients are coarsely chopped, then process until soup is very smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. If necessary, thin with the remaining water to the desired consistency.

2.Step 2: Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight, until well chilled. Place the soup in the freezer for 30 minutes before serving.

3.Step 2: Ladle soup in chilled soup bowls or cocktail glasses. Drizzle a little lemon oil in the center of each bowl. Garnish with a few tomato cubes, a mint leaf and serve immediately.

4.Cook’s note: The soup can be refrigerated up to 2 days.

Holy Tomato - This baby is two pounds!

After a tough beginning battling blossom-end rot, worms and a withering heat wave, we have tomatoes. Our Chocolate Stripes, Cherokee Purples and Aunt Ruby's Greens are ripe, juicy and delicious. But the Brandywines are the biggest!

Check out this two-pounder. It's by far the heaviest tomato we've ever grown. Perfect with mozzarella and basil. Mmmm.

The 3 Bs: Birds, bees, and blossom-end rot



Healthy tomatoes



 You know your gardening season is in full swing when you've gotten to the three Bs: birds, bees and blossom-end rot. We've reached the three Bs with a vengeance.
Birds: A pair of mockingbirds are using our blueberry bushes as bird feeders, plucking juicy berries with impunity. Even garden netting can't keep them entirely at bay, though it does help. Worse than the berry pinching is their routine 6 a.m. wake up calls.
Bees:  The good news is that the bees are plentiful this year and happily pollinating our tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and peppers. New York City legalized bee keeping last year, which seems to be paying dividends in cucumbers, eggplants and tomatoes.
Other bugs are not so pleasant. Our garden has been attacked by aphids all season, from the arugula to our rosebushes. To control the problem, we've been spraying our plants with soapy water to wash them off the plant (yes, just a few squirts of regular dish liquid and water will do.) We follow up by spraying Ortho organic insecticide on the leaves. We're also trying to reduce the ant population on our terrace. Ants, we've learned, cultivate aphids (they like a certain nectar the aphids secrete.) We're using Combat ant killer, squirting the gel on hard surfaces like the terrace tiles and the rims of pots. The combination of the two insecticides seems to be working well - though vigilence is a must.
 

But the real bugaboo in our garden this past week? Tomato horn worms. Dozens of them. They're infesting our tomato plants and chewing the leaves off our pepper plants, causing us great consternation. We've declared all out war on the gross green ones, the offspring of the giant hawk moth. We've been out in the early morning and late evening (when they're most active) plucking the fat buggers off of leaves and stems. They're tough to find, so we look for tells: chewed leaves and black droppings. Once we've plucked all we can, we spray the leaves, especially the undersides where they hide, with Safer Caterpillar Killer, an organic insecticide. This is limiting the damage, thankfully. Last night we found several dead worms on our pavers.  But we've never seen a worse infestation than we've had this year. Ugh!

 

Blossom-end rot



And last but not least, there's the dreaded blossom-end rot: Our earliest tomatoes have been affected by black leathery patches that form at the spot where the flower once grew. The only way to combat the rot is with fertilizer high in potassium and low in nitrogen. We were great fans of Hoffmans Tomato Food, but we can no longer find it in Manhattan. This week, we discovered Quick Solutions Garden Food, which has similar ratios of nutrients. Now, we need to have patience. The worst thing about blossom rot is snipping so many green tomatoes. We've been forced to pull at least 25 tomatoes off the vines so far. But there's no point in letting them grow, as the fruit will be half rotten from the disease.

Each year we go through these traumas (or similar ones) and it really is quite frustrating. But I know the joys of gardening will come back when the tomatoes still on the vine ripen and I taste their juicy goodness!