As we wend our way through the fall and into the winter the majority of the crops that grow in our climate are being harvested and dying off.  It has been a pretty good gardening year with plenty of sunshine and only a few occasions where too much rain affected our crops and garden maintenance.  If you go to the main Project Grow Site and have a look at the Tips page and then the planting guide you will find that we are pretty much past the planting season for most everything except for onions.  Hopefully if you had planned on some winter crops this year you have already gotten them planted and well under way.  It is possible to plant later than indicated in the guide but every day of delay past the prime planting period decreases the chances of a successful crop.

I hope that since you reading this post that you have been enjoying getting back to nature and the basics of growing your own food.  Even if you can’t participate in gardening in one of the Project Grow Gardens I hope you will have taken some useful information from this site to aid in planting your crops in your own space.  The winter time is perfect for planning our gardens for next year and hopefully we will be able to have a meeting or two between now and the spring to start early planning for a great new year.  May we all have green thumbs and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor.

Title: Carrot Soup

Description:
All the ingredients are approximate and should be adjusted to reflect personal preference.   As good as it is freshly made, this is one soup that definitely gains from spending the night in the fridge for the flavors to blossom.   I usually leave off the whipping cream and mint garnish but use everything else. If possible serve this soup with   chunks of freshly baked Crusty French or Crusty Italian bread.   Please enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 - 3 lb. Carrots
4 medium Potatoes
2 medium Onions (Diced)
6 to 8 cups Boiling Water
4 tablespoons Butter or Margarine (butter is better)
4 Bouillon Cubes (I prefer Beef but you can use your favorite)
2 tablespoons chopped Parsley
Salt to taste (About 1 to 2 tsp)
Pepper to taste
chopped Chives to taste (Optional but I like it, about 1/8th tsp)
chopped Basel to taste (Optional but I like it, about 1/4th tsp)
chopped Rosemary to taste (Optional but I like it, about 1/8th tsp)
Sugar to taste (Optional but 1 to 2 tsp if used)
12 Tablespoons Whipping Cream (Optional to add extra creaminess)
Mint Sprigs (Optional to be used as a garnish)

Directions:
Peel the carrots and potatoes and cut into about 1 inch chunks.   Melt butter in a large pot, add onions, carrots and potatoes and saute for 5 to 10 minutes.   Add 6   cups of the water, bouillon cubes, half the salt and half the pepper, the herbs and bring to a boil.   Cover and then simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour until the carrots and potatoes are soft.   Remove from heat and blend with a hand blender until smooth.   (A regular glass blender can also be used, blending half the vegetables and water at a time and then return it to the pot for further cooking.)   Finish seasoning the soup with salt, pepper and sugar as desired and add up to 2 cups of the remaining boiling water to achieve the desired consistency.   Bring the smooth liquid back to a boil, then remove from heat.   Carefully add the whipping cream, and garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.   The whipping cream and mint can be added to each bowl in a decorative swirl to give the finished soup more visual appeal.  Just a bit of extra pepper freshly cracked into the bowl adds a delightful extra zing to the soup.

Number Of Servings:4 to 8 depending on appetite.

Preparation Time:30 minutes plus about 60 minutes cooking time.   90 minutes total.

I realize that many may not garden in the fall due to certain produce not being in season-tomatoes, squash, eggplant, etc. However, there is plenty to plant- onions, garlic, chard, brussell sprouts.

Never in my life would I imagine that I would have a fall garden because I didn’t know seasons until a college. And I keep learning more and more everyday about gardening, seeding, planting, growing. For example, you plant garlic in the fall for spring crop. Frankly I thought garlic was year round, whoops!

So please rethink the fall gardening, I’ve been promised it is a lot less work than summer. I don’t know about that, but it is just as tasty and pleasurable.

All Abord the Hay Wagon

In case you have never heard about it I just wanted to point out to everyone that now is the time to start planning for a visit to the Grandy Farm Market at 6264 Caratoke Hwy in Grandy NC 27939.  Currently they are open on weekdays from about 8:00 AM until about 5:30 PM and on weekends from about 8:00 AM until about 7:30 PM which gives everyone plenty of time to stop in for a visit.  You can purchase fruit and vegetables, fresh orange or apple juice, various baked goods and even home made candy.  I always enjoy getting a gallon or two of their own apple cider.

At the Pumpkin Patch

Making a Scarecrow

 With Halloween approaching they have a large selection of pumpkins to choose from as well, but to really get into the fall or Halloween mood the Grandy Farm Market is the place to go for a hay ride to the pumpkin patch.  Starting around the 1^st of October and usually running through the weekend before Halloween you can ride the hay wagon to their pumpkin patch where you can select from hundreds of different pumpkins.  When you return to the market on the wagon you can have some fun stuffing a scarecrow as well.  The ride including a pumpkin from the patch usually runs about $5.50 to $6.50 and is fun for all.  They also have programs for school or church groups so be sure to give them a call at 252-453-2658 for all the details. 

Learning about cotton

It is really amazing that they all just turn red at once, calling to any person passing by to eat the fruit.

Oh and I do! Oh yes, I pluck one or two! And softly bite into it, which gently pops it. And with the few that I taste I find that every plot has a specific tomato taste, believe it or not.

I notice that Robin and I’s are a little sweeter than others. Some have more of an earthy taste to them than others. And this is specifically among the small cherry type tomatoes.

I haven’t found any information to why this is, but I suspect that it has something to do with soil-the nitrogen maybe. Not a 100% sure. But that is my scientific guess.

So next the time your at the garden, taste a few tomatoes. I won’t mind. It’s all in the name of research.

But although, this still has meaning to me, now it means crucial water to the garden. I can always tell the difference after the rain has come. The plants are livelier (if that’s possible) and of course greener. And if you are my plants you’ve grown more. It’s a beautiful sight that I love to see.

And although this rain brings comfort and growth, the state as a whole is in a drought and it is expected to continue. Personally, I’ve been thinking of how can I conserve water- not leaving the faucet on while doing dishes, no small loads of laundry, and I may even start collecting my shower water. Do I have any raised eyebrows?

Let me explain. There is nothing wrong with that what before you get in it. It is just going back through the system, your paying for it in some way and you will pay for it again with the next shower. So why not put your water to use and water your garden plot.

This is called greywatering. I first heard about it in the book, “The Urban Homestead,” (a book that I highly recommend to all of you growers and eco-consciene people out there) the book talks about collecting rain water and greywater. Two things that are actually easy to do!

Really all you need is buckets and maybe a plan. But hey you can find all that stuff on the web or in Urban Homestead! Plus, we won’t have to use the hoses.

Link to collecting rainwater: http://www.gdrc.org/uem/water/rainwater/introduction.htm

Link to collecting greywater: http://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/index.html

Of course for those of you who have been coming out lately you’ll notice that my cucumbers and squash plants have taken over. I was warned by several of you that this would happen, but I don’t listen very well. So hopefully they will not be taking over the mulch sidewalks in between to become the attack of the vegetables. That would be cool though.

I guess it is time to start planning the fall garden, but I still have to wait on my summer plants to come in. If I was a true pilgrim, I would have planned better, but with my current situation back in the 1500s I’d starve. But luckily they had the Native Americans and I got a great garden family. My only question is who knows what they are planting?

This is my recipe for Greek Pasta Salad:

Ingredients:

6 – 8 Kalamata Olives, Finely chopped

1 Medium Tomato Finely Chopped

½ Large Green Pepper Finely Chopped

5 – 6 Ounces Crumbled Feta Cheese

2 – 4 Cups Cooked and cooled Pasta as desired (Use your favorite type)

3 – 5 Tablespoons Olive Oil mayonnaise or conventional mayo as desired.

3 Cloves finely minced Fresh Garlic or 1 – 2 Teaspoons Garlic powder to taste.

Fresh or Dried Basil to taste.

Put the Olives, Tomato, Green Pepper, Garlic, Basil and Cheese into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add in the Pasta and mix again thoroughly.  Add in the Mayonnaise and mix again.  Can be served immediately or refrigerated for later use.

Yield:  5 – 6 Servings as a side dish or 2 – 4 servings as a main dish.

Preparation time 20 minutes.

• Feritilizing isn’t necessary in the heat because plant growth slows in the heat. Plus it is toxic in heat levels above 90 degrees!
• Be careful of over watering because it can waterlog seeds
• Water plants in morning to avoid the mushrooms.
• Add more mulch to retain moisture. A two to three inch covering will insulate the plants.
• Shade young plants because of the strong sunlight

This precautions will help protect your garden during the summer and through the hot days to come!

I came to this conclusion this evening at our potluck. We all came together and brought bounty in the form of food. We chatted, we laughed, we smiled. A gathering, very much similar to communal tables in Europe, or dinners with family. It was just a time to have fun and get to know each. A time to grow as a group aka “family.”

I’m sure we all feel the same way. We all have are roles, we might not know them yet but we have them. And although, we might lack these roles, we do have a same goal. That goal is to grow the garden beyond what it is now and grow our family. We don’t turn away and we don’t judge. We take you as you are and give you the tools to garden. We are “Project Grow” and we are growing together and strengthening the community in small steps.

We are not the only ones, The Slow Food movement started in the 80s in Italy, began part of it. Alice Waters started it in California. There are more CSAs and gardens than ever. Farmer’s markets are popping up everywhere. This “slow” movement is slowly taking over and changing things. Maybe even one day reshaping the food supply chain. But for now we are still rebels and protesters against the USDA and commercial farming. Big business are realizing the power of the movement and hopefully are trembling. Because we are the future, one day we’ll be back to the basics-plant, grow, eat.

I’m glad to be apart of this movement and very much grateful to my “garden family” and am happy to be part of the evergrowing club.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”-Margaret Mead