Planted and Enchanted

A casual blog about sustainability, gardening and life in Central Texas


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Pickled Peppers

Pickling peppers out of the garden.

 

I can’t remember where we originally found this recipe, but over the years it has become our favorite method for pickling peppers. We like to use them on nachos, tacos, baked potatoes, sandwiches, and anything else that needs a little kick.

 

Pickled Pepper Slices

1/2 pound fresh jalapenos or serranos, or a mix of each
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 3/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. turmeric

Wash peppers and slice into rings about 1/8 inch thick. Placed sliced peppers and garlic into a pint-sized canning jar.

Mix vinegar, salt, and turmeric in a saucepan. Heat to near boiling and pour mixture of peppers in jar. Allow to cool and  then store in refrigerator. They peppers will be ready to eat in about five days. They will keep for a few months in the refrigerator.


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Vertical Potato Box Upgrade

Adding a second level and more soil mix to the potato box. 5/3/2010

Our experiment with a vertical potato box seems to be going well. The idea is to cover the bottom 1/3 of the plant every time it gets 12″ out of the soil. The branches then work their magic and turn into potatoes. Below is a shot of the potatoes less than a month ago. Right now the tops of the plants are about 3′ tall.

Adding a second level and more soil/pine straw mix to our potato box.

Have any of you grown potatoes like this in the past? I’d love to hear your success stories. You can reach us via Twitter @PlantandEnchant


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Onions and Garlic, ahoy!

We harvested our onions and garlic yesterday. It was very exciting and fun considering they are our two favorite ingredients in the kitchen. What smells better than sautéing garlic and onions in a little butter? Nothing.

Yellow Granex and White Contessa onions. Most of them planted 1/16/10

Our onions turned out nicely, but I think a fluffier soil mix may have yielded bigger results. Just a thought for next year. This year we planted Yellow Granex and White Contessa. Overall it seems that the yellow granex did better.

Garlic, planted last October.

Our garlic stash is making our garage smell very, very good. We planted three different varieties this year and were happiest with the purple variety.


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A Reading List

We’ve started planning and plotting for the spring growing season here in Central Texas, so I thought it’d be a good time to compile a list of helpful books related to gardening, sustainability, and homesteading. Some are how-to guides, some are essays or memoirs, and all are inspirational and educational in their own way.

In no particular order:

Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education (Michael Pollan)

The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen of the blog Homegrown Evolution)

The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need on Just ¼ Acre (Carleen Madigan)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (Barbara Kingsolver)

Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life (Jenna Woginrich, who also shares her adventures on the delightful Cold Antler Farm blog)

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer (Novella Carpenter)

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally (Alisa Smith and J. B. MacKinnon)

See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America (Logan Ward)

And, finally, some books I look forward to reading soon:
Homemade Living series (Ashley English) – not yet released, but these books look great. See a sneak peak of Canning and Preserving: All You Need to Know to Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys & More at the author’s blog, Small Measure.

Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces (Gayla Trail of You Grow Girl)

The Locavore Way: Discovering the Delicious Pleasures of Eating Fresh, Locally Grown Food (Amy Cotler)

How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine (John Jeavons)

Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture (Toby Hemenway)

What are your favorites? We’re always on the lookout for more resources, so we hope you’ll share your recommendations with us, too.


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Lacinato Kale for the New Year

Lacinato Kale

One of my favorite winter recipes is Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens from the wonderful cookbook Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. I used Giant Peruvian Lima Beans this time, which are really tasty, and substituted Lacinato Kale for the chard, as we had plenty ready to pick in the garden. Delicious!

Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens

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