1st week of May 2009

Barrelscaping We are entering into May doing lots of transplanting. The cool season crops are doing great out in the open and we have many lettuce beds in various stages plus lots of broccoli, peas coming along and onions shooting up. Although we've had some warm days, it still isn't safe to let the frost sensitive crops without some protection. Thus the garden looks a little wild right now with water walls, barrels and other cold frame structures scattered throughout. It is amazing how much warmth these add to push these crops along. The tomatoes are sticking out the tops of the water walls already. As the days get warmer, I'll need to slip a brick under the barrels to avoid over heating. I also came home from visiting my Amish flower growing friend with a dozen or more large pots filled with perennial cutting flowers that she dug to share with me. I felt rich to have so many interesting new varieties to try - everything from meadowsweet (filipendula) and nodding onions to pink baby's breath and purple tansy. Some other swaps I made recently with my extra flats of lettuce starts were for a flat of rosemary and a flat of celery. When my growing friends start sharing, we all end up so much more blessed!

The morel of the story We had some tasty wild foods added to our spring menu this week. The children returned from a hike in a neighbor's woods with a bag full of morel mushrooms. One night we breaded and fried some then the next night we stir-fried some with asparagus and garlic scallions - delicious! I continue to add some foraged greens like nettles and lambs quarter to various dishes and we even used dandelion blossoms in an omelet. Another way we sampled dandelion blossoms this week was in ice cream made by Schlonegers. The days I'm at Lehmans store doing demos I have examples of veggies that I'm picking from the garden along with a plate of edible weeds. It's interesting the many reactions to the weeds, everything from "I remember mom fixing that for us each spring" to "You really can eat stinging nettle?" Some will also share other weeds that they ate and how to fix them so sometime I need to experiment with cooking plantain, winter cress and poke weed.

[Back]