Tag: radish

Back From Vacation

May is probably not the best time to take a vacation, but this was a big year in the Stephi Gardens household. My twin boys graduated from college, thankfully, 2 weeks apart! In celebration, we planned a family trip with all three kids, which if you have older kids you know is no small feat. Off to Norway we went, thanks to IcelandAir who had an amazing airfare sale last fall. It was beautiful, and we had a great family time.

  • ‎⁨Nærøyfjord⁩, ⁨Undredal⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
  • Kjosfossen, ‎⁨Myrdal⁩, ⁨Norway⁩
  • Bryggen, Norway
  • Stockfish, cod
  • fiskasuppe

But, in the heart of planting and growing season, my garden couldn’t be left unattended. So in addition to a pet sitter for Daisy, I hired a friend’s daughter to be my garden sitter to be sure everything was going to be ok when I got back. Her family has an amazing backyard garden, so I knew it would be in good hands.

How did everything look? Great, except for a few things the rabbits got at 🙁 The sugar snap peas and radishes have been thrilled with the cool, wet weather we’ve been having.

The Burpee Home Gardens 2020 new plants have been doing really well. All the Mardi Gras Fun Series F1 Snack Peppers are showing flower buds, the Grand Slam F1 Slicer Tomato is flowering and growing nicely in a tomato bag and the Redarling F1 Brussel Sprout is growing tall.

But much to my great disappointment, the Lemon Drop Squash got clipped by a pesky rabbit, who also munched on the kohlrabi leaves for dessert.

I was so looking forward to these little lemon sized squashes. I’ll be looking for them for next year’s garden.

What else is of interest? After not having a great harvest from the leek starter plants last year, I decided to try them from seeds. The American Flag leek seeds (Botanical Interests) are growing like gangbusters and will need to be thinned soon. Luckily, elsewhere in the garden I had some stragglers overwinter from last year’s harvest, so along with garden fresh spinach, I’m making my favorite Shrimp, Leek and Spinach Pasta for dinner tonight.

Are you having dinner from the garden yet?

Summer Stir Fry: Swiss Chard and Radish

We’ve tried so many delicious stir fry recipes this summer using vegetables fresh from my garden and the farmers market. One of my favorites is swiss chard and radishes. I’m not really much of a radish fan, but my daughter convinced me to try them sautéed, or in a stir fry. I’m hooked! What a mild, delicious taste the radishes have when sautéed.

Clean and trim the radishes and swiss chard.  
radish and swiss chard stir-fry

Cut the swiss chard stems into 1-1.5 inch pieces.  Quarter the radishes.  

radish and swiss chard stir-fry

Preheat stir fry pan with 1-2 T exra-virgin olive oil.  Add radishes and swiss chard stems.

radish and swiss chard stir-fry

Sauté  over medium heat until soft.  About 5-7 minutes.  While cooking, coarsely chop the swiss chard leaves.

radish and swiss chard stir-fry

 

radish and swiss chard stir-fry

When soft, add the leaves and sauté a minute more or so until leaves are wilted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

radish and swiss chard stir-fry

Finished!  Yummy and healthy!

radish and swiss chard stir-fry

May Vegetable Garden

I’ve been so busy in the garden, I haven’t had much time to write about it.  Hopefully I can catch up in the next few days.  Everything is in that wonderful, lush spring phase.  Well, almost everything, but more on that another day.

garden vegetables

My raised vegetable beds are looking great.  I got my first harvest yesterday and we enjoyed a fresh vegetable side dish and a few small treats.   Most of the early seeds I planted in the side raised bed didn’t come up, but the spinach and a few stragglers survived the harsh spring.

garden spinach

garden spinach

In that bed, while the few early things are finishing up, I’ve planted tomatoes, onion starts, sugar snap peas, lots of squash, zucchini and cucumbers.  All the “messy” garden characters are nicely hidden on the side of the house with plenty of space to grow. All seem to be getting started nicely.

Raised bed garden

The new beds are also flourishing with vegetables, herbs and even some flowers.

Raised bed garden

The “left” garden has swiss chard, kale, spinach, lettuce, bush beans, cabbage, green peppers, sunflowers and nasturtiums in it.  I expect it’ll get a little more shade as the summer goes on, so maybe the cool weather plants will have a bit of an extended life.

Raised bed garden

The “right” garden is chock full of more lettuce, radishes, cabbage, green peppers, bush beans, basil, sunflowers and zinnias.  In front are marigolds, potted herbs and snapdragons to give the beds some color.   I like my herbs in pots to keep them tidy and in place.  On the side of the house I have more herbs, including mint.  Mint should always be in some type of corralled container to prevent it from taking over.

Raised bed garden

 

Leafy greens

So far, no complaints on the appearance of the gardens.  I’m really trying hard to not let it get unruly.  Hopefully the flowers add a burst of color.  To further help that, in the background of the gardens I’ve added cosmos and daylilys.  This project may turn out to be even nicer than we expected.

garden strawberry

Even the strawberry pot is looking great. Nothing like fresh from the vine fruit to remind you of what fruit is supposed to taste like.