Mar Vista’s Bounty Hunter: Almond Joys
The latest post of fabulous finds at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market is ready for your viewing pleasure. Find out the skinny on Fat Uncle Farms blistered almonds:
Going Nuts for Fat Uncle Farms
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Culver City Garden Show Review
This past Saturday I wandered through the 58th Annual Culver City Garden Show. I had never been there before, and what a fun time it was. Gardenerds abounded with booths selling plants and
plant-related items. Master Gardeners were present to answer
gardening questions. The California Native Plant Society was on hand to talk about native plants and plant care. But my favorite part, of
course, was the vegetable and fruit display.
There were contests for the best fruits and most obscure vegetables. This table below featured ...
Solar Flax Chips
We're constantly trying to replicate store-bought treats in the Gardenerd kitchen, and this week we successfully tackled raw flax chips/crackers. We did it all in the solar food dryer too - so the
entire experiment was carbon neutral!
If you are looking for a substitute for potato chips or any other salty snack, you've got to try these flax chips. They are nutritious and delicious - it's hard to eat just one. Here's how we did
it:
The Recipe - ...
Eclectic Meal Choices in Mar Vista
The weekly Farmers' Market wrap up is available for your perusal on the Gardenerd Blog. You'll get hungry just reading about all the options you have:
In the Market for a Meal?
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Harvesting Triticale (and other grains)
August means harvest time, and even in a small garden there's plenty of work to do to bring garden treasures in for the season. Harvesting grains can be a bit time consuming, but it is particularly
satisfying when the process is over. After all the chaff is removed, you have a finished product that can be used to make cereals, breads, pie crusts, and other baked goods through winter.
We grew triticale this spring and just harvested it this week. Now it's time
to prepare it for the ...
Melons and Tomatoes – Flavors of Summer
Check out the latest post from Mar Vista's Bounty Hunter. Get some great ideas for no-cook recipes for melons and tomatoes:
Savor the Fruits of Summer with Melons and Tomatoes
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Cucumbers Become Mom Jo’s Dill Pickles
Last week's Tip of the Week podcast introduced you to my mother's delicious dill pickle
recipe. This week we tried our hands at making them with home grown Lemon Cucumbers. Tension mounted at the thought of doing it for the first time without Mom there to guide, but a few phone
calls along the way made it easy.
We started with freshly picked Lemon Cucumbers (and an Early Russian straggler). We soaked them over night in cold water.
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Seed Saving for Celery
Celery is an umbel, a member of the Umbellifera family, which has flowers that are shaped like umbrellas. Umbels are famous for attracting parasitic wasps and other beneficial insects that combat
aphids in the garden.
Last fall, we tested out some Tall Utah Celery seed from
Hometown Seeds in the garden, and found that it did really well. We harvested individual stalks all season long and then let the rest go to seed to attract beneficial insects and provide habitat. Boy
did it! It is now 6 ...
Summer is Pesto Time
The latest post from Mar Vista's Bounty Hunter is here to give you ideas about pesto. Make it yourself, or buy it pre-fab - you'll be smiling either way:
Pesto: A Basil-Based Delight
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Harvesting Delicata and Acorn Squash
Since we planted squash very early this year (in order to get the plants established by the time June Gloom set in) we are already set to harvest some of our winter squash. Our Golden Pippin Acorn
squash and most of our Delicata squash plants have withered, leaving behind golden fruits that will store through winter.
With pumpkins, it's easy to know when to harvest - just let the vines turn brown and crispy, then pick your pumpkin. Not all winter squash is that simple. For example, I've ...