It’s been a pretty relaxing few months in the garden. There’s more grass than weeds in years past, and the plants we do have do not take much work beyond watering and weeding.

Salad Greens

I think the love for home grown salad has begun to lose some of it’s appeal and when we do eat it we can get it for amazing price at Aldi’s. I grew Burpee’s Heatwave blend, and looked forward to the variety even into the hot summer days. Most of the seedlings that came up were the green lettuces with some red and purple lettuces scattered throughout. The flavor just was not there in year’s past, so not sure who’s to blame on that one. Of course this is the bed I keep weeding the most. I think the best harvest was when were on, and just came back from vacation. (Had been in the ground about a month then.) While it is the easiest and most satisfying to grow I’m thinking twice about growing it next year.

Salad from Garden

Zucchini

I am still waiting to be drowning in zucchini with only three plants. We have harvested two zucchini so far, but there are plenty of male and female flowers. I’m thinking of starting the plants from seed indoors next year, because something ate all the other seeds I sowed directly. Maybe even doubling the amount of plants instead planting salad greens. I want some zucchini bread!

Zucchini Zucchini

Garlic Scapes

My second favorite thing about growing hardneck garlic is the scapes. The scape is the flower of the garlic. If it is not removed it will flower, but we remove it so the plant energy goes into growing a great bulb. They look like a green onion, and have a nice light, but still noticeably hot garlic flavor. I like to mix it with a bit of mayo, salt, and pepper for a nice sandwich spread or vegetable dip. For the rest of it I puree with olive oil, portion, and freeze for future use. This year I used a cookie scoop/ice cream scoop and flattened the portions for even easier storage.

Pureed Scape Pureed Scape Pureed Scape

Basil

Who loves pesto? Who loves pesto on the coldest of winter days? We grow basil on our deck so it’s easy to get to. Rinse the basil, remove the leaves from the stem, and puree with plenty of olive oil in a food processor. The color will turn from bright green to a a dark brown-green, due to oxidation, but it still tastes fine. Mix with some of the pureed scapes and parmesan cheese and you have a delicious meal!

Basil

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https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160706_084013.jpg?fit=700%2C525&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160706_084013.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1thesugarpixieGardeninggarden 2016,zone 6It's been a pretty relaxing few months in the garden. There's more grass than weeds in years past, and the plants we do have do not take much work beyond watering and weeding. Salad Greens I think the love for home grown salad has begun to lose some of it's appeal...Misadventures and fun in the kitchen and beyond