our maine home – zone 5b
Yesterday, from the hoophouse.
I’m happy with this year’s overwintered greens. Clockwise from lower left: Bloomsdale spinach, escarole, arugula, baby kale. And plenty of self-seeded claytonia.
We’ve been eating homegrown greens for a few weeks now. It’s amazing that they survive the cold winter nights (under row cover).
I planted these in mid-September. This year, the electric fence did its job and kept out voles.
I planted the new baby kale seedlings in the same patch as the hoary old grandpa kale stalks. This is not following principles of crop rotation, but I did it anyway. I liked the idea of sheltering the babies amongst the elders that are starting to grow new shoots from their stems.
The dazzling blue lacinato is looking especially dazzling. No flea beetle damage yet. I may need to put these under row cover. Flea beetles can kill them when they are young and tender. Last few years, some of my kale survived the spring onslaught and grew well into the summer and fall, and even survived until the following spring (as the two stalks above).
I posted on social media about having extra squash at the end of the year and requested recipes to use up squash. Eleanor sent one that was perfect. The recipe called for butternut squash, but I used a small butternut and a small red kuri. We polished this off in one meal – no leftovers, unfortunately. The kale came from the hoophouse, where it is growing like a champ.
Here’s the recipe. I didn’t use oil and the squash roasted just fine. I also didn’t have the fancy additions, so I just added some currants. The amounts for the dressing make quite a lot, so I mostly halved it.
Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Kale and Cider Dijon Dressing
Salads
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Servings: Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
FOR THE SQUASH:
4 cups cubed butternut squash (1/2 inch pieces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
FOR THE SALAD DRESSING:
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (strained to catch the seeds)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
FOR THE SALAD:
1 bunch lacinato kale, stripped off stems, rinsed and patted dry
4 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
1/3 cup roasted pumpkin (pepita) seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the cubed butternut squash in the oil, sugar, paprika, salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Spread out evenly onto a rimmed sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. No need to toss, just rotate the pan halfway through.
Meanwhile make the dressing. In a glass jar combine the mustard, honey, vinegars, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add in the oil, secure the lid and shake well.
In a large salad bowl add the chopped kale, cooked (warm) quinoa, roasted butternut squash, pepitas, dried cranberries and raisins. Season with a pinch or two of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the dressing or more to taste. Serve warm.
Source: https://www.simplyscratch.com/2015/10/warm-butternut-kale-quinoa-salad-and-fair-trade-giveaway.html
An exciting day at Cross Road Gardens. It really felt like spring, for the first time, I think. A burst of gardening energy, although I only really worked for a few hours.
I moved my seed starting schedule two weeks forward. I think I started too early last year.
So far, so good. My alliums have sprouted and some kale. Still waiting on celery leaf and indigo.
Today I planted brassica seeds: broccoli blend, Speedia Brussels sprouts, and Mammoth red cabbage. All Fedco.
Is it still mid-August? A lot has happened. We harvested the fava beans on August 11. Had a big party, the third annual, to shuck the beans. I have three small freezer bags of leftovers, which is good. I didn’t take any pictures, unfortunately.
We have picked over 20 pounds of blueberries, all in the orchard except for two containers harvested atop Schoodic. I know that should be quarts, next year I’ll switch to the more typical measurement.
We are still waiting for the Reliance peaches to ripen. Last year they were all taken, probably by squirrels. This year we took more precautions (netting around the trunk). Sam propped up the heavy branches. They have great color, but are still quite hard.
Sam’s working on improving the orchard fencing. Too many deer are getting in there.
He also added two more raised beds in the hoophouse. Over the next few days I’ll plant some fall and winter greens in them. The peppers and eggplants in the older beds are growing but not exuberantly, but the basil in there is doing great. We had to protect those beds from deer who came to munch one variety of pepper when we opened the roof to the sun and rain.
I’m picking green beans almost daily in the main garden. Also sowed some fall seeds in empty spots.
The fava bean area freed up, so we put up a pea trellis there. Also planted cilantro, broccoli rabe, and spinach in that area.
Harvesting lots of food: beets, cucumbers, a few ripe tomatoes, lettuce, escarole, radicchio, carrots, costata romanesca zucchini, kale, chard, dill, artichokes, broccoli, Savoy cabbage, fingerlings, strawberries, blackberries. Coming along: squashes, a few ears of corn, cabbage, soybeans, pattypan squash, lots of tomatoes!
Row by row scan:
Having waited almost too long, yesterday was the last harvest at the community garden.
The snow was not so much the issue, as the long cold spell looming in the forecast.
We brought in the remaining celeriac, kale, and leeks, as well as a handful of adorable baby carrots and one hapless baby beet.
We covered up the seedlings in the garden in anticipation of cold temps over the next few nights. This is an experimental bed. I don’t think they’ll all make it, maybe none of them will. Cilantro, lacinato kale, red lettuce, spinach. They are under a layer of plastic, a layer of agribon, and a few inches of hay mulch.
Made this with the massive winterbor kale from the community garden. Four baking sheets worth. It is really hard to get the crispiness right. Many of the chips are brown and disintegrate to powder immediately upon placement in the mouth.