Saturday 12 January 2013

Gardening!

Today, about a month to late, I finally got my garden started. After tilling it about 3 weeks ago I finally bought some manure, herbs and vegetables. Opa gave me about 8 tomato plants that he had extra and had repotted into nice large containers. At least my tomatoes are a seasonal size right now. I picked up 6 different herbs (at crazy high prices), 4 red peppers and 4 brocolli plants. I knew that I wouldn't be able to fit much into that garden but I was surprised how it filled up. It looks so empty still but hopefully those plants all fill out and take up their "36-48 inches" that the tags insist upon. I'm worried about the quality of the soil. After the first tilling I expected to have to do it a few more times just to keep the weeds down. I only had to till it this morning once to till in the manure. There wasn't a single weed up. I only got 3 bags of manure (Dan had a hard time spending money on shit, ha ha ha) and so I really don't think there's many nutrients around the roots. I'm going to have to get a few more bags of compost and hill a bit up around each plant. Oma said that the herbs like poor soil so maybe they will at least do well. I got parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme. I've never grown or cooked with sage before but my Jamie Oliver cookbook uses it a lot so I thought I'd give it a try. Oma and Opa also have some sage at their place and I was really impressed by the smell. When I've got more of a permanant place I'd love to grow some bay leaf and "whatever-that-leafy-soup-herb" plant is that Oma and Opa have growing by their door. I LOVE the smell of it. I've even picked a bunch and put it in my car before. I know that mom and dad have a big plant of it too.
I've tied up a bunch of strings above each of my tomato plants instead of staking them. I'll ask dad W. tonight what the proper way of tying a tomato is. Until then, the poor plants are just bent down from the wind. It is so windy here. I don't know if it's always like this or if this is just the summer for it. Luckily the small plants are shielded a bit by the sandbox walls. Once the plants are all properly tied up I'll take some pictures. It looks pretty desolate right now though.
I've been addicted to this once salad lately. Brocolli, raisins, red onions, bacon, all tossed in a mayo/sugar/red wine vinegar dressing. mmmmMMMM! You're supposed to throw in seseme seeds with it but I wouldn't want to ruin it with seeds or nut so I'm just keeping it at that. Mom and I made it a few weeks ago and since then I've been craving it almost everyday. I picked up a head of brocolli just to make a whole salad for myself. Crazy, eh? And for lunch today I made quesadillas. The recipe is a mix b/w my mom's recipe and what we had on hand. Chicken, half a pepper, red onions, a clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp chili powder and a few good shakes of cuury powder (it was supposed to be cumin). I topped the quesadilla off with cheese and parsley. mmm. It was supposed to be for mom too but she didn't come home for lunch. Dan didn't get the option to eat it so I just enjoyed it on my own. And there's leftovers for whoever wants it.
I guess I'm in an agrarian mood so I'm going to do some cheap book shopping online and see what I find. I have my eye on a few already.

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