Vegetable Garden Update

Vegetable garden on May 24th



Today June 17th

It has grown very well so far,we have decent weather,about once a week I lose a squash plant to svb,but there are plenty of them usually 3 to a hill,and the squash and zucchini are coming off by the bucket fulls now.pickling cucumbers will be ready to start picking and canning this weekend.The tomato plants are 4 ft tall and loaded on one plant I counted 23 toms and its still flowering.I've been pulling all suckers off of them and keeping them to two main branches but some do have 3 main branches,because I missed a sucker every now and again.The cabbage heads are ready to cut off,I'm gonna make my father some corned beef and cabbage for fathers day and take it over to him.The pepper plants are putting peppers out now.I read somewhere to go out and thump the plants in the morning and since I started doing that the peppers have been setting..That white thing in the top right corner is a 5 gl bucket to give you an idea of the size of plants.You can barely make out my trellis I built for the pole beans to climb some vines are well over 9ft.All the plants are huge this year.I hope everyone's garden is doing great...

Poor Man's CrabCakes

I harvested 2 Fordhook zucchini and 3 straightneck summer squash out of the garden and there are a lot more that will be ready in the next day or two.I'm going to use the zucc's to make some Poor Man's CrabCakes,which are one of my favorites,you can also use the summer squash if you wanted..

Here's the recipe

2 cups of grated zucchini

2 eggs

1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

1 tbl spoon of mayonaise

1tabl spoon of Old Bay seasoning

1 tabl spoon of grated onions

1st -grate the zucchini' peel and all,I ended up with 4 cups with the two zuccs,so I will just dbl the recipe.

2nd-you want to remove as much moisture out of the grated zucc's.You could place in a collander for a couple of hours and let drain.I fold the grated zucchini in paper towels and squeeze together,I do this several times.ITS VERY IMPORTANT TO GET AS MUCH MOISTURE OUT AS YOU CAN

3rd-Once drained mix all your ingredients and zucchini in a bowl add beaten eggs.I used my hands to mix everything

4th -get a tablespoon or two of the mixture out and roll it into some what of a ball place in hot oil in frying pan and brown on both sides,while browning I just flatened them out a bit.They cook quick

And the finished product,now that's a plate full of goodness.I grew up in the mountains of Virginia but I have been here in the flat land for 30 yrs and coming from the mtns,I never had salt fish for breakfast or chesepeake bay blue crabs but I took a liking to the local food around here and love a good cold beer and a crab pick'n and these poorman's crabcakes fit right in with the style of food from this area.

 

Butterfly Bush and Balloon Flower

Today one of my butterfly bushes started blooming,they smell just like lilacs and you can smell them all over the yard,I have a purple and pink and white one,the pink is the most fragrant but the purple smells great also.I didn't cut them back last fall and now they are every bit of 7ft tall..They are well behaved in this part of Virginia,never reseeding..An easy to care for plant,just deadhead and it keeps blooming..Also I'll put up a picture of a balloon flower since they are about the same color.The balloon flower was a plant I wintersowed in 09..very nice and also virtually no care plant...I want to get seeds for a white one this winter and wintersow..

Walking A Row

I prefer to walk a row,I reckon maybe you can say that I'm not creative enough.I don't know I just prefer to walk a row,now don't get me wrong.I love to see pictures of the beautiful creative vegetable gardens and how people incorporate the hardscaping into it and some even add flowers,and I love the look of the raised beds how neat and orderly,but walking a row sometimes gives me a feeling of being around people long ago that taught me about vegetable gardening.I don't get that feeling all the time but every now and again I get a piece of it and it feels good,just makes you feel at peace and it makes you smile.Maybe next year I will try something a little more creative with the vegetable garden,I'm sure they wouldn't mind,maybe they will be sitting up in heaven looking down on me laughing their butts off,Grandma White hollerin at Tolley,What's he doing?Tolley answering,Dang'd if I know,The boy has lost his mind!!