Bohemian Bounty

Bolting Bitter Lettuce

If you are new to growing lettuce you may be surprised to see the ones in your garden putting on a tall stalk right about now. What will astonish you even more is when you make your next salad with that beautiful lettuce – a bitter surprise! Yep, once your lettuce plants decide it’s time to reproduce the leaves take on a very bitter taste.

Winter lettuce normally lasts longer but the very warm weather we’ve had in January and February have kicked the lettuce’s sex drive in to overdrive. It’s easy to forget the plant’s entire reason for being is to make more plants – not to give you a lovely salad. That’s just a nice benefit you get for giving the lettuce a place to get it on.

You can let the plants go to seed or, like I did, pull them up and add them to the compost pile. Good garden centers will have replacement plants available in 4 inch pots. Bohemian Bounty buys all its plants locally from a certified organic greenhouse and we are happy to resupply our client’s gardens. Just give us a call.

Personally, I think we have at least one more cold snap coming so any lettuce or other winter greens you plant now should give you good production until May.

Bolting, blooming, bitter lettuce!

More bolting, blooming, bitter lettuce!

Dilled Carrots

The obvious benefit of having a garden is eating from it! Right now the dill is doing great in our garden so I thought I post a quick, healthy side dish that takes advantage of that fresh dill.

Dilled Carrots

• 4 carrots chopped in 1/4 inch slices (I use 2 cups of baby carrots instead)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons (or more!) of fresh chopped dill
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large skillet, combine carrots, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and salt; add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well; discard the bay and cinnamon stick (throw in the compost pile.)

In a medium bowl, whisk the lemon juice, dill, oil, sugar and cayenne. Add the carrots; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, until the flavors are blended, about 1 hour . (I toss mine in to the freezer to take the heat off them in about 10-15 minutes)

Serve at room temperature or cold.

Adapted From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

TOFGA Day Two

Jen and I enjoyed a variety of speakers today at the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association 2009 conference. A comprehensive report would be too long and probably bore you out of your skull so I’m just post the best quotes I was able to snatch and a few observations.

Bob Bard when speaking on Aberdeen Angus:
“What can we do to make our beef taste better for our customers? No one is asking this question.”

Patti Seeley when speaking on Aberdeen Angus:
“When I don’t have cattle I have to go to the auction barn to get my fix.”

Chef David Gilbert of The Exchange Restaurant in Dallas speaking on chef’s buying direct from farmers and ranchers:
“Good chefs are looking to have a long term relationship with the farmer or rancher.”

Joel Salatin on our modern relationship with food:
“It’s prostitution food – food you have no relationship with.”

Lastly…

We watched the beginning of  Mel Bartholemew’s Square Foor Gardening promotional video circa 1980’s and it’s earily like Ron Popeil selling the Pocket Fisherman. Apparently, I can build this garden with only a pencil, ruler and trowel. Wow! I’ve never screwed two boards together with only a pencil. I can’t wait to see this majic. However, I’m beginning to think square foot gardening is a cult :-)

I’m sad to report Mel revealed I also need wood, screws, a drill, screwdriver, newspaper and even more boards to make my square feet. Oh, and soil I buy at the store. I feel so let down. Well, just like hair styles and clothes from the 80’s this video has not aged well, but the technique has.

TOFGA Conference Time!

TOFGA - Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association

Jen and I are spending the weekend at the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association annual conference. We started with two farm tours in Austin. The first was the well known Boggy Creek Farm in east Austin. My dad grew up in east Austin and the farm is no more than a mile away from the blue stucco house he lived in until the 1960′s. We took him along on the tour and he was an encyclopedia of information on the old neighborhood.

The tour was open to the public and I’d guess they had about 80+ people there. It’s a great operation and I recommend you visit on a Saturday if you haven’t already.

The second farm was in what used to be called northeast Austin near Decker Lake. Austin has moved north and this is solid east Austin now. I grew up not more than 10 miles away from Green Gate Farm (Go LBJ Jaguars!). It’s only been in operation a few years and every part of it seems to be an experiment in progress – as is most farming. The owner is a TOFGA board member and we hope to see more of him this weekend.

We’re off to the round table discussions. More soon…