I have wanted to post a picture of these guys since I started the blog, and finally got some photos this year. I find it impossible to see these worms (they blend in with the plants perfectly) except when one of the wasps has laid its eggs on it. The first year or so that I grew tomatoes I had an awful problem with these worms eating them up and just devastating my crop. Luckily, their natural predators, the braconid wasp, came to the rescue. Since then we have not had any problem, as the wasps seem to find all of the hornworms and dispense with them (that is, by laying its eggs inside the worm, which then produce the cocoons you see in the picture).

Growing broccoli has given me some of my most challenging pest problems. If you are interested in a recap and pictures of some of the pests, here is a link to my summary from the 2007 season.

This year I decided to give row covers a try, since broccoli is a big hit with the girls. I planted a whole bed (about 10 x 4) with just broccoli, and covered it with a row cover (one of those white gauzy ones that lets in the rain). I pretty much forgot about them after that, until it came time to harvest. The broccoli thrived, and I have been cutting off huge heads ever since.

Here is a picture early on:

And one from today:

I have had such a huge influx of broccoli that I’ve had to figure out what to do with it all. I am probably the last person on the planet to realize that roasted broccoli is amazing. If you haven’t tried roasting broccoli, here is a link to the recipe I made last night:

Roasted Broccoli Recipe

Be forewarned, it is positively addicting. No kidding. I made the recipe last night (8 cups of broccoli), and there are no leftovers!

Technorati Tags: broccoli, insects, recipes

Could this be alien vomit? That is my best guess. I feel like an idiot showing my ignorance, but I am hoping that one of you will explain why I keep finding things like this in my yard. Sorry for the gross picture!

This is how I currently manage to take the girls into the garden. I load up the double-seater wagon grandma got us, and we head out. The strawberries are a big hit, as the girls can never seem to get enough. Luckily, strawberries are incredibly healthy in addition to being delicious. Of course, the organic, home-grown, warm-from-the-sun, just-picked version is the best.

The slugs are horrible this year because of the wet spring. For every strawberry I pick to eat, there are probably 10 or 15 that have been partially snacked on by the slugs. But, the plants produce such an abundance of berries and have spread so enthusiastically that I don’t really mind sharing.

Technorati Tags: berries, slugs, strawberries

I decided my first post this summer has to be about the lettuce that planted itself and kept us in salads all spring (of course, a picture of my girls will soon follow!).

I never got around to cleaning up the lettuce bed last year until after it went to seed. There is apparently something to be said about the lazy approach to gardening! The volunteer lettuce was delicious and mild, with several types in the mix. The only difference I noticed from the original seed crop was the lack of bright red leaves. I guess either the seed from the red leaves wasn’t fertile because it was a hybrid, or it reverted back to a greener hue. Below is a picture of lettuce grown from the “parent” seed.

Happy summer, everyone!

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Finally harvested the garlic a couple of weeks ago. I had planted bulbs from a sampler pack (I chose the “rare and heirloom 8-pack) that I got from The Garlic Store. I was quite late in harvesting, as I didn’t realize that you were supposed to harvest before the plant was completely dead. Oh well! The picture above is of shatili garlic. We have done taste comparisons of shatili, chinese pink, french germinador, and shantung purple. To be honest, I really can’t tell a difference between them (at least eating it raw, by dipping bread in olive oil with minced garlic). Perhaps I don’t have a refined palate to appreciate the differences. In any case, it is nice to eat my own fresh garlic instead of garlic shipped all the way from China.

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All my cilantro has gone to seed, and so it is time to harvest the coriander. Well, past time, actually, but that is the case with everything this summer. Once the seeds are dry, they just fall off the stalks when you brush them with your hand. I usually catch them in a colander, and then try to sift out the stray bits and pieces (easier said than done). Of course, many of them the seeds fall and start the next crop of cilantro. Cilantro is something we always like to have on hand (and I absolutely hate buying at the grocery store). Luckily it reseeds itself so easily that it is the perfect herb for the lazy gardener (which would be the appropriate title of my blog, now that I think about it).

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As you know, the theme this summer is all about low effort for maximum gain. In that vain, I’d like to acknowledge the coreopsis (aka tickseed) that illuminate the front of my house (and the banner on this site). I planted some seeds a few years ago, and ever since then I have enjoyed a riot of gorgeous yellow flowers every summer. They self-sow, and appear in the spring and continue through the summer. I’ve never watered them, and other than some deadheading when I have the time and energy, these cheerful flowers require virtually nothing of me.

Thanks to my mom, who took these lovely photos when she was visiting in May.

According to Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses, “Native Americans made a hot beverage from plains coreopsis, and early settlers placed plants in their mattresses because they believed they repelled fleas and bedbugs.”

Technorati Tags: flowers, gardening

This is my first season growing garlic. We planted eight rare or heirloom varieties last fall, and I just noticed the scapes had come up last week on the hard neck varieties. I’ve never seen garlic scapes before, nevermind cooked with them, so I was eager to harvest them and give them a try. What is pictured above came from my Shantung Purple garlic plants. I chopped the scapes (minus the woody bottoms and the flower tops) and sauteed them with some spinach from the garden. The garlic flavor was nice, but milder than I expected.

I am looking forward to tasting the differences between the different varieties of garlic. I might have to have an official taste-testing party, with roasted and fresh garlic. Maybe compare them in some pesto, whole roasted cloves, and fresh garlic in olive oil? Sounds like fun on a summer evening.

Technorati Tags: garlic, kitchen garden, spinach