Category Archives: My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Yellow and Green Tomato Pappardelle with Grilled Lamb Steaks

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I think one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve experienced over the past few months is the discovery of genuinely good tasting produce coming from local hoop and green house operations.

Case in point: Crow’s family farm in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  They showed up at the OKC Farmer’s Market this past Saturday with large, “real-smelling” red, yellow and green tomatoes.  And while I appreciated the fact that they still had a few purple shelled peas, some pumpkin puree and a few other items, my brain was already dreaming up the week’s meals with plates covered in orange-yellow, low-acid tomatoes.

After a quick stop by the herb section to grab thyme (mine died in the drought last year), I then headed to the Urban Agrarian to think about my centers of the plate.  I wanted…Spring, earthy and “Easter-ish.”  My solution included some Cordero Farms Lamb Steaks and four ounces of fresh Della Terra fresh pappardelle pasta.  I bought a few other things like a nice package of Cacioavera and some purple asparagus just for good measure, then headed home to cook good things!

I thought through all kinds of possibilities in the car on the way home, but settled on this dinner for hubby and I: Grilled Herbed Lamb Steak with Green and Yellow Tomato Pappardelle.  

When making this meal, it is best to prep the lamb steaks at least 1 or 2 hours before grilling.  Refrigerating overnight could be even better.  Lamb steaks are tender cuts of meat and delicious choices for center of the plate.  They’re also a little less expensive than lamb chops but still pack a nice punch for a special dinner. You’ll even notice that there is a nice natural segmentation straight across the center within the muscle so if want to cut them in half and serve light portions to two people, it’s an easy task.

In the food processor mix:

1 tsp sea salt; 3 garlic cloves; 4 sage leaves; strip one 6″ sprig of rosemary; 6-8 mint leaves.  Pulse until well minced. Make sure and breathe deeply for a nice aroma-therapy session while you cook!  Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Yellow and Green Tomato Pappardelle with Grilled Lamb Steaks →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden: Local Raspberries and Blackberries Do Their Vines Proud

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Note:  I didn’t write on Easter, but I did collect photos and cook on Saturday night.  I’ll have a NEW MLVG post up later today. I may write on my lunch hour since I’m excited to share the deliciousness of our local goodness very soon.  In the meantime, I’m sharing this “blackberry” post from last year.  I have a feeling our Oklahoma berry vines will be producing a little early this year, so it’s already time to think about how you might enjoy their goodness.  If you’ve not yet tried “pick your own” at Sorghum Mill, I definitely recommend them.  They have a lovely operation. Thanks, RDK

***

(Originally published May 31, 2011): Normally we Okies can anticipate berry season by thinking: Mother’s Day – strawberries; Memorial Day weekend – time for blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.  However, I mentioned last week that this year brought a cruel weather pattern. Berry farmers are still suffering the consequences of an extended Fall/Spring drought as well as three or four dips during the winter to temperatures at ten below zero.

The owner of Sorghum Mill Christmas Tree and Blackberry Farm particularly noted the cold weather for what they’re seeing now: the freeze may have damaged the ability for the normal flow of water and nutrients to feed their bushes.  The berries are simply not themselves this year.  Nor are the berries nearly as abundant.

I stopped by to check on Sorghum Mill Farms Memorial Day afternoon.  She and I talked a bit on the porch and she allowed me an early peek into the harvest, although she said they would be ready for the public in about two weeks.  She was right.  Normally, their berries are (seriously) approximately 1.5 to even 2″ long.  They’re monstrous.  But not this year.  And it appears that what berries they have are not only about half the normal size, but are much more sparse. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Local Raspberries and Blackberries Do Their Vines Proud →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: MUSHROOMS…An Opportunity for YOU?

Dear Friends of the RDC ~ I’m a great believer in the notion that sending information and helping each other strengthens everyone.  So in that spirit, I’m taking my normal Monday Morning Victory Garden Post space to share some information that you might not need. But perhaps someone you KNOW might need the info. Or, even someone you know that knows someone.  One of the very “best bets” I could always look forward to when stopping by the Urban Agrarian’s farmer’s market stands, or visiting their store, was the absolutely heavenly OM Gardens mushrooms. I truly do hope that a new entrepreneur takes over this operation, and look forward to hearing the good news when that happens.  So, without further ado, here is a post from the Urban Agrarian in its entirety about a local organic mushroom operation that needs an owner.  Thanks,

[kelly]

***

by Matthew Burch, Owner – Urban Agrarian

As many of you know, OM Gardens is shutting down.  They have been producing organic mushrooms in Norman, OK for nearly 4 years now and have certainly accumulated some serious infrastructure over the course of time.  Steve Morton, owner and operator, is now looking to sell off his equipment and begin a new chapter personally and for his business.  I went down this week to take an inventory of the assets and help spread the word…

Here are some simplified instructions on the mushroom production process as well as some amateur photos and video of their current setup.  All of this equipment is for sale, terms are negotiable, and it should be mentioned Steve is very willing to help the buyer setup, grow, consult, or participate in the process in many ways.

You could be the next (and at this point only) organic mushroom producer in the state of Oklahoma.  Let me show you what is available…

A shipping container mushroom farm:

2 fully equipped, wired, temperature controlled, humidity controlled 50-foot shipping containers sitting side by side with additional rooms built on to both ends.  Only 1 container has been finished completely, as you can see in the video at the end of our post.

Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: MUSHROOMS…An Opportunity for YOU? →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: All Okie, All The Time

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These morels were foraged in the Guthrie, OK area on 3-17-12.

Our early warming season is definitely moving things along in my own garden, AND in the local producer arena.  I take a few minutes to tend to my garden every day and have been delighted to see the speed of seed germinating, onion shoots climbing and the green of asparagus and rhubarb sending promises of wonderful meals for the very near future.  Our local producers who grow for part or all of their livelihood seem to usually be about three weeks ahead of me.  Either that, or they’ve got some great hoop and green houses because the produce is already rolling in.

This past Saturday at the OSU-OKC farmer’s market I purchased beautiful fresh dill, spinach, tender bib lettuce and rainbow chard.  Then I headed over to the Urban Agrarian and picked up tomatoes, carrots, Della Terra whole wheat spaghetti, pork bones for stock, cilantro and…mushrooms.  There were beautiful chantrelles waiting to be purchased in the front display and I was SO in the mood for mushrooms.

Why?  Well, it is morel season in Oklahoma and so far I’ve come up empty-handed on the two quick foraging runs I’ve taken.  However, my friends in Guthrie seem to be in the right place because they are now pulling in quite a few.

Armed with a refrigerator full of local food, I put my thinking hat on, and came up with this meal: blue cheese and veggie stuff tomatoes, chantrelle and bacon cream sauce for the spaghetti and a simple quartered bib lettuce head.  Here are the “how tos…” Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: All Okie, All The Time →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Al Eschbach, Radishes and Beer

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I’m writing this post with a healthy dose of dirt under my fingernails.  I just came from my garden, having discovered that my newly planted lettuce is now in the sprout stage.  The chard and spinach remain elusive, but I’m hoping another few good weather days will influence them to come up as well.  Today’s work included planting carrots, peas and a multitude of red and yellow onions.  I was thinking about how this would be the first year I abstained from planting white onions when my next door neighbor wanders over and says hello:

“Hi, neighbor!”

“Hey friend, how ARE you this fine, fine Sunday afternoon?”

“Good, now that my onions are planted.  I have reds and whites, but no yellows.”

“Hmmmmm…I have reds and yellows, but no whites.”

“So, we’re trading white and yellows, then, right?”

“Ex-ACT-ly.”

This Sunday afternoon banter along the retention wall between our two properties is a constitutional tenet.  It’s as much a part of our female connection as the “Hi ho, neighbor!” call is between our husbands.  If we’re outside in the same vicinity, we speak. Or wave. Or nod.  Today we spoke.  But then, came something extra.

“I just pulled up the remainder of my winter garden and have too many radishes.  Would you like a few?”

Al Eschbach: Photo retrieved from The Lost Ogle, June 2, 2011 post.

My antennae rose as I thought about the possibilities.  “Sure!” I replied.  Then, “radishes…radishes…radishes…”  My mind quickly whirled while I considered the possibilities.  And then the answer came to me.  In the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted to try Al Eschbach’s favorite food combination.  I surmised that TODAY must be that experimental opportunity.

I did some quick research to find out all the nuances I could about Eschabach’s food love and discovered a few things:

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Gillyflowers and the Circle of Food-Life

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I stood over the sink during the second wash. Most of the dirt was already down the drain and I was now searching for dried sections on the onion shoots. I had just pulled about forty green onions from My Little Victory Garden so Mick could help me get the dirt ready for early Spring planting.
Here is what a clean, fresh palette looks like to a garden artist. Wow...imagine the possibilities!
I continued to clean the lettuce that had grown over the winter, but it was rough, tough and not really great to eat. I decided to give the deer a treat so I washed it up a bit and left it over the back fence for them to find tonight.

Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Gillyflowers and the Circle of Food-Life →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden, 2011: Goodbye…and Salt, Pepper, Oil

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My radishes look quasi-ready to harvest, my green onions keep things fresh in my kitchen, my spinach and lettuce are playing tag with the freezing weather…and I realized I probably need to shut down our My Little Victory Garden posts.  Why?  My garden is basically taking a nap, and although my cooking with local vegetables will continue as long as I can find them, I thought this series could use some rest.

Okay, I could use some rest from this series.  There, I said it.  Before I sign off until next Spring, however, I thought I would share with you the secret that keeps amazing me time and again.  What is that, you ask?  Well, it’s the secret that to eat well, you usually only need salt, pepper and oil.

Oh sure, saffron or special fillers are always a great thing, but for me – if I had to choose a day in and day out routine – it would be none other than delicious food from the Earth, barely enhanced with salt, pepper and oil (SPO).  Here’s an example…

Bok Choy grown in the Tulsa area (Yang Farm), with chili-oil, salt and pepper. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden, 2011: Goodbye…and Salt, Pepper, Oil →

Homestead and Garden, My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: “Thank you, Starbucks!”

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Okay, it’s true.  I’ve raged against the machine.  I’ve ranted about diesel fuel being sucked into trucks then its aftermath being spewed into the air I breathe.  And I’ve specifically wailed about Starbucks in general.  I’m all about “keep it local, keep it green, keep it real, know the person behind the businesses you use…”

But I’m also well aware that more than half of the products and services I use are somehow connected to things or people who are NOT local.  And in the winter, when I have to buy produce from the grocery stores on a regular basis, that number might be higher.  And, I also like imported chocolate.  I carefully guard my tiny vial of saffron threads.  And, I fly or drive to explore places in the world I’ve never seen.  So, I try my best to balance my “machine raging” with some sort of tempered logic.  And events like what happened yesterday help with that trying behavior…

You see, Starbucks had a $2.00 special running on their breakfast sandwiches, and if you’ve ever eaten one of their bacon Gouda offerings you’ll know why I was visiting the Hall of Fame Street location at 6:45 in the morning.  Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: “Thank you, Starbucks!” →

Faith, My Little Victory Garden

Simple Sabbath & My Little Victory Garden: Thank You, God, For Our Food

I learned quite a bit while in China.  For example, the Chinese don’t have a custom of wearing wedding rings to signal they are married.  Therefore, if someone wants to know your marital status, they ask, “Have you solved your problem?”

Our guide also told us that while some time ago their citizens used to greet each other with basically, “How are you?” like we do in the U.S., that custom changed as difficult times were encountered.  They now ask, “Have you eaten?”  And, the answer, in order to protect the friend who is asking so they won’t worry, is always “yes.”

Even if you haven’t eaten for days. Continue reading Simple Sabbath & My Little Victory Garden: Thank You, God, For Our Food →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Canning With Fear, Friends, Fire and Frequency

The first crabapple tree I remember was growing beside my great-grandmother Porter's home in Missouri. Can you find it in the background? Yes, I'm the baby in this photo. Click on frame for larger view.

Four summers ago, my dear friend Cathy and I were in her neighbor’s crabapple tree throwing fruit to her daughter below.  Greta was running from one ground-level spot to another, doing her best to keep up with the showering fruit.  “Look out beloooooow! Hey, Greta – come over here!” Cathy and I yelled quadrant commands for about 45 minutes until Greta had had enough.

“Hey, when do I get to climb UP THERE and YOU catch the fruit down HERE??”

Okay, that was fair.  We switched places.  Cathy and Greta were now pummeling fruit and I was the fetcher.  In an hour, we had filled a 5-gallon bucket about 80% full of sweet smelling, warm and perfectly ripe crabapples.  We were going to make jam.  We loaded up our accoutrements (ladder, rake, other buckets, hats, gloves) and headed to her home.

I had not canned since living at home as a little girl. That was back in the day of pressure cookers and freaky stories about jars exploding. I was feeling pretty insecure and was scared I would do something wrong.  I didn’t know how to prep the jars. I didn’t have a sense of what a rolling boil was or how to skim the foam from jam.  I certainly didn’t know how to hold the jars or fill them correctly, how tightly to screw on the rings, or what the sealing process was all about.  I needed my security blanket and teacher – hence, I was hanging out with Cathy and learning. A whole bunch.

Crabapple jam is a rosy, golden-pink hue and the taste is like the best sweetness summer has to offer.  Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Canning With Fear, Friends, Fire and Frequency →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden…Became a Memorial Garden Garden

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I check my garden every day.  Most days it needs water; rarely has it needed weeding of late.  Even weeds react to the hot weather, I suppose.

Yesterday, Oklahoma broke its personal record for the most consecutive days over the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark.  So, yesterday when I was checking my garden I looked at it long and hard and thought to myself:

“Okay, tomato plants…are you going to make it ’till fall so you can produce again? Peppers, you look long and spindly and – barren.  Eggplants, oh hey – I have one eggplant…surprise! Out of the eight fall okra stalks I planted, two didn’t get eaten by worms.  We mi-i-i-ght have okra.”  This internal chatter was going on in my head as I walked the length of the garden, assessing what was left and whether or not I should turn on the sprinkler for a bit or just hand water.

I reached the end of my garden and stopped.  A few days ago I had planted three rows of Chinese long beans.  My carpool partner, Dr. Liu, had given me a bag of beans and I wanted to see how they grew.  Last week I had put my summer compost stock on the garden and so I gave the beans the “special” garden plot, all freshly renewed with black gold.  When I reached that section, however, not only were the long beans making progress but so was about 50-100…? They looked like cucumbers, watermelon, squash, or something similar.  So the count was like this: Long bean, 5-10 little mystery plants, long bean, 5-10 little mystery plants.  Looks like my black gold was full of vegetable seeds that held on through the cooking process.

It was evening, and I was staring at a good sized weeding job.  Or was I?  Did I need to pull these little plants up just yet?  I wasn’t sure.  As I was standing there looking across about 18 square feet of composted garden covered in tiny sprouts my mind wandered back to the news I had just watched on T.V.  Oklahoma was losing soldiers more frequently this last month and I was overcome with helpless, desperate grief.  That emotion was what compelled me to leave the living room and walk outside in the first place.

As I studied the hundreds of sprouts, in my mind they began to turn into the hundreds of white graves I sat among when I visited Arlington National Cemetery a few years ago.  Continue reading My Little Victory Garden…Became a Memorial Garden Garden →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Bacon Fat Pepper Sauce Popcorn? Yeah!

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It’s been a while since I’ve written a regular Victory Garden post.  I think I was too busy with my garden to write about my garden!  Practicing what I preach many times, I’m going to “break my work down into baby steps” by sharing ONE THING today.  What’s my one thing?  How to make an extremely low-cost, delicious-like-crazy snack for movie nights, times when you need comfort food or for a group of friends who could use a great side for their beer or soda pop. This is a “picture-story” post with a few comments here and there, so most all the instructions are in the photo captions…

Ingredients you'll need: bulk popping corn, "pepper sauce" (any type of vinegar with a cut up variety of peppers, marinated in the bottle at least overnight), and your saved bacon grease. Lard. Bacon fat...whatever you'd like to call it. To make my pepper sauce I pulled two jalepenos, about six Tabascos and a couple of Serrano chili peppers from my garden, diced them up and stuffed them into a 1/2 bottle of Champagne vinegar I had in my fridge.

Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Bacon Fat Pepper Sauce Popcorn? Yeah! →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: The Sweet Simplicity of Braiding Onions

I was introduced to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Prairie” books when I was eight years old.  Soon after, I began doodling on wide-ruled paper when day-dreams would overtake me.  In them, I was Laura and I was playing in the log cabin attic bedroom with my sister Mary.  We would cuddle our tiny corncob dolls while playing house, sitting on pumpkins for chairs.  Overhead, strands of dried onions would hang on every beam.  The detail of my drawings was only limited by the time I had for that particular sitting.  Since I was a farm girl and much of our lives revolved around storing food, preparing food, and growing food, I had found my literary heroine.

Thirty-nine years later, I still romanticize the annual rhythm of doing what I can with my own hands and my own earth to provide food for my family.  And one of these annual rituals includes harvesting onions twice a year, drying them, and braiding them into usable portions to either keep in the garage until those on my hook in the kitchen are gone, or give away to friends.  The process is easy, but I was taught. So in case you are just now at the point where you’d like to learn as well, here is a post to guide you.  Let’s begin, shall we? Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: The Sweet Simplicity of Braiding Onions →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Sweet Safari!

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Fallow deer, heading toward the feeding trough on Honey Hill Farm.

You know those stories that begin with one segment, then lead to another? And another. And…another? This is one of those stories.  Here’s how it started:

One of my first Victory Garden entries included a trip to my neighbor down the road, Crestview Farms.  I picked up some fresh eggs, some Honey Hill Farm local honey, and spoke with the owner about when her French Tarragon might be in.  I got home, unloaded my treasures, and noticed that the Honey Hill Farm label read: Edmond, OK.  How about that?  The beekeepers were ALSO neighbors.  I stashed that little nugget of information into the back of my brain and thought, “Okay, I’ll get there soon.” I wrote that post March 20th.

On June 20th, exactly 90 days later, Jerry Logan took a few hours out of his early morning schedule to show me just how it is that his bees do what they do.  And his deer run like they run, and his Scimitar oryx grow horns as beautiful and long as they grow them.  I appreciate Jerry’s willingness to let me ride along in his farm truck, in his camouflage utility vehicle and walk by his side as I learned all about how one thing led to another, and then another, until it became what it is today. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Sweet Safari! →

Foodie Page, My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Ratatouille’s Ratatouille For Two-ie

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You know the scene, right?  The rat’s cooking has turned a failing restaurant around and garnered enough raves to entice a visit from the most revered food critic in Paris.  So, did the staff serve him truffles, pate’, or something lovely drenched in butter?  No, Remy (the infamous rat chef) served the food critic a peasant dish: ratatouille.  As the first bite was analyzed, memories of childhood and a mother’s love flooded through the critic’s brain.  The corners of his mouth turned upward, and the rest was…well, if you haven’t seen the movie, then perhaps you should.

As I rummaged around in my garden this week, I had a light bulb moment. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Ratatouille’s Ratatouille For Two-ie →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: Leeks and the Squash Monster

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The squash monster, a.k.a. "Audrey II"

This past week, I picked up my second order from the Oklahoma Food Cooperative.  I had been waiting for leeks to be ready, and they finally were.  Leeks, new potatoes, creme fraiche, beef bones, chuck roast, ribeyes! (my husband’s 50th birthday is in July), fresh broccoli, fresh corn, and seventy-five pounds of Stratford peaches.

Yes, seventy-five pounds.

My daughter, her friend, and a former supervisee were canning.  Oh, that I could just taste fresh peaches every day I might write more like Shakespeare!

I’m going to tell you about some of this produce and how it turned into a delightful meal, but first I need to share with you why Cucuzza squash might actually be Audrey II in the next production of Little Shop of Horrors. (The guy sure looks like plant food to me!)  By the way, I think Levi Stubbs did such a great job with that song.  But that’s beside the point.  The POINT is that I told myself last year I couldn’t grow squash in my small raised gardens.

Then I changed my mind.  I was in Lowe’s, I sauntered over to the seed packets, glanced casually along the top of the veggie packets and then hesitated.  “Cucuzza Squash?” I thought.  “What is that?  Hmmm…” I read that it’s a yellow-green heirloom Italian summer squash you pick when it’s approximately eight to ten inches long.  And, when left to its own devices, it continues to grow then dry into a gourd. “Hmmm….” Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Leeks and the Squash Monster →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden: “Potpourri for 200, Alex”

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Last week I had a mid-recipe creation crisis. It happened in the kitchen and I decided that rather than write an entire entry about how many fails I experienced while trying to braise short-ribs with Oklahoma Sandhill Plums, I would just avoid the topic altogether.  Seriously, I was beginning to think that my recipe creation was the reincarnation of Groundhog Day, and that redemption in my life would only happen if I finally pulled out the perfect center of the plate post.

Then I started thinking about this rant I went on two years ago in my little research world.  One of my colleagues from a university in the northwestern U.S. was really down during one of our professional conferences and I asked him about his glum face.  He stated that he had devoted approximately three years and lots of money toward an on-line relationship education program only to find out there were no effects (no statistically significant findings).  So I asked him, “Why don’t you share THAT information?  Don’t you think the fails are as important as the wins?”  Then he said, “No research journal publishes ‘fails.'”  Maybe I embedded that little downer-nugget into my subconscious last week?

But hey – THIS isn’t a research journal, right? It’s a blog about my garden and by golly, I’m going to publish the fails! Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: “Potpourri for 200, Alex” →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden: Strawberries, Chard, Al Fresco Dining…Ahhh.

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Last week I left you with the tag line, “California strawberries are for shipping, Oklahoma strawberries are for eating.”  I had at that point two very full quarts of Oklahoma strawberries from the Urban Agrarian sitting in my refrigerator and my family had been enjoying…berries with creme fraiche, strawberries with homemade pound cake, berries with whipped creme and cookies, berries with breakfast, and – well, you name it.  It seemed that every time I walked by the kitchen my feet would take over my body searching for berries, my arms would shoot out from my sides to open the refrigerator, and my hands would grab a strawberry then hurl it toward my mouth. Bliss.

I just love Oklahoma strawberries.

Unfortunately, my shipment from the Food Coop this week came in damaged.  They were already in a severe state of atrophy and I only saved about half from one container, less from the other.  So I put them with some friends: my first rhubarb harvest this year.  I whipped up a quick compote and my family ate it all on homemade buttermilk biscuits. So, THAT was a melt-in-your-mouth experience. Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: Strawberries, Chard, Al Fresco Dining…Ahhh. →

My Little Victory Garden, Oklahoma culture

My Little Victory Garden: The Urban Agrarian and One Last Walk Through Grandpa’s Treasure House

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Matt Burch (center), founder of the Urban Agrarian, shown here goofing off at their stand with Ryan Conerly (left) and David Drennen (right). The casual attitude is contagious; the mission – also contagious.

I’ve been trying to visit the Urban Agrarian (UA) Sunday food market at N.W. 23rd & Hudson (located in the Cheever’s parking lot) for several weeks.  Today, I finally made it…with five minutes to spare before they closed.  Mick and I had left my grandmother’s farm about forty-five minutes earlier and we were driving our truck eastbound on N.W. 23rd Street, hitting every red light possible. I finally pulled out my cell phone and Tweeted:

“@UrbanAgrarian driving back from grandma’s farm in Tuttle. Getting there with maybe 5 min to shop! Eek!”  In less than a minute, I got a notice about this reply to my message: “@RedDirtKelly no worries, we will be here.”

Here, why don’t you enjoy a short introductory video about the Urban Agrarian while I finish driving down 23rd St., okay? Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: The Urban Agrarian and One Last Walk Through Grandpa’s Treasure House →

My Little Victory Garden

My Little Victory Garden, Entry 12: Cleaning Out…Everything

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These markers represent some of what is now planted in my summer garden.

Cleaning out the garden, the refrigerator, the cabinet, my neighbor’s garden…that’s what My Little Victory Garden life has been like for the past week.  I’m starting to use up the cabbage in my garden which leaves space for…peppers, Cucuzzi squash and cucumbers.  I’m starting to pull up and use my mature lettuce heads which will leave space for, well, more lettuce. And some late okra.  And we finished the summer garden bed so I can clean out the plants in my garage that have been waiting for a nice home.  I’m incredibly pumped about the beautiful heirloom varieties I purchased in Guthrie.  I’ve been waiting for a good time to swing by Terra Cotta Garden Center on Division (I can’t even find a phone number for them!) because they carry a nice variety of Red Dirt Plants.  They’re large, strong and healthy and help me catch up on the growing time I missed.

Everyone goes through “cleaning out” periods in their kitchen’s, homes or gardens…so here’s what mine looked like on Sunday night when I started writing this post: 1) Hmmm, I think I’ve had that box of Green Chili Stew Mix since Christmas…2009; Continue reading My Little Victory Garden, Entry 12: Cleaning Out…Everything →