The Dawg Patch

[GoDawgs]

I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the friendship and sharing between those of us here who try our best to get and keep things growing, sharing the little things that make us smile.

After deciding last year not to grow leeks again because I don't use them a lot, yesterday I started a pot each of two different kinds from seed stashes in my freezer. I've just been coming across too many fall and winter recipes that call for them and there are none in the garden or the freezer. It's rare when I find them in a grocery and if I do they want way too much for leeks that have very little white part. This time I won't plant so many. These will probably be the last starts of the year.

24.11.29 Leeks started.JPG

Pickles' winter potato experiment continues. They're getting tall! Hmmm, I see Lester has photobombed the shot. Such a nosy supervisor!

24.11.29 Potatoes before covering.JPG

Lows of 23 and 22 are coming Monday and Tuesday mornings, the coldest air of the winter so far. Pickles has been covering them every night for frost protection and removing the cover during the day.

24.11.22 Covered potato buckets.JPG

Have any of you left potatoes in the ground over the winter, get burned and then have them resprout the following spring? Inquiring minds would like to know as this is the first time fooling with this little experiment.

[GoDawgs]

We've been having one of those four day December cold snaps. They predicted 21 for this morning with an 11 degree wind chill but it was 24 and calm. Yesterday afternoon I covered four beds of stuff that are already half frost bitten but still have a bit of life left. The broccoli heads are mostly gone but the plants are making side shoots. The kohlrabi didn't get covered. I picked two that were ready and will see how the small 2" ones will do on their own. Cabbages are pretty ready so I covered them just to prevent any more frostbite.

24.12.07 Some brassica, garlic beds covered.JPG

There was also just a half row of mixed garlic so I threw together a wire hoop tunnel with light row cover attached with clothespins. The wilted stuff in the bed is the last of some mustard planted there.

24.12.07 Mixed garlic row covered, mustard not.JPG

The last few kohlrabi in the bed were left uncovered on purpose just to see how they'd do with three successive days of lows in the mid 20's. Now I know. This is what they looked like this morning. Bye bye!

24.12.07 Uncovered kohlrabi flattened.JPG

A short while ago Pickles brought to me one of those kohlrabi I pulled yesterday. She had sliced the top off and said it had a "different color". Yep, darker... and totally frozen!

Temps are better today. All covers will come off tomorrow as rain is moving in Monday with three days of 60's high, 50's low. Don't like the weather here? Just wait a couple of days!

[JayneR13]

At least you’re still above zero! Our wind chills have dipped below, and usually on Thursday. That’s pantry day, so I dress warm! I’m jealous though. 60s are unheard of here in December.

[GoDawgs]

The cold snap is gone, at least for three days before we get two more days of it. I took the covers off the garden beds yesterday. Some time last night it rained a little as I ended up with a wet cat who came bounding up onto my bed in the wee hours. Good thing I keep a kitty towel nearby for such occasions! Most of the rain will be tomorrow; 1-3" they say. We'll see.

I had brought the rosemary and volunteer dill indoors for those two mornings when temps hit the low 20's. That rosemary has been around for years now. The dill plants are volunteers that grew from seed that fell from the big dill plant that occupied that pot this past spring. Now I won't have to start any this coming spring.

24.12.08 Rosemary and volunteer dill.JPG

The indoor micro tomatoes are doing well. The Golden Hour is new to me and is now 17" tall. It is blooming and I'm buzzing the flowers with that electric toothbrush. I found one very tiny green tomato starting.The other two micros (Krasny Milo and Red Robin) are only about 8x8" so far. The one behind the Golden Hour is Red Robin. RR should get up to about 14" eventually if I remember right.

24.12.08 Golden Hour micro, 15 in tall.JPG

24.12.08 Golden Hour flowers.JPG

The Frank's Sweet pepper now 17" tall and is just loaded with peppers. The largest so far is 4" long and about 1.5" wide at the top. This is the first time I've grown one and will have to look up how big the peppers should get. I'm going to have to put a stake in the pot as the plant is starting to lean a bit under the pepper load. 2' tall is the predicted height.

24.12.08 Frank's Sweet, 17 in. tall, 4 in. pepper.JPG

Today I need to bake the ginger snap dough I mixed up yesterday and make the last dough for Scandinavian almond cookies, one of my favorites. There will also be a trip to town to do a little Christmas shopping. December is flying by fast!

[JayneR13]

Serious garden envy here! I so wish I could grow stuff in winter as well as you. My hydro units are productive, but other than that, no. I tried a heat mat with grow lights one year to no avail, and even in the hydroponics my tomatoes take forEVER to ripen. My grandkids would have grandkids before I'd get a pepper! And 20 above? Balmy! LOL

[JRinPA]

I cut my cabbages a few days back so the only thing I have left growing is...brussels sprouts I guess. Envy is a good term to throw around this time of year.

I guess the herbs and maybe peas as well. I was still eating celery yesterday too. Taste good to chew but has to be spit out, it is so tough...

[worth1]

I cut my cabbages a few days back so the only thing I have left growing is...brussels sprouts I guess. Envy is a good term to throw around this time of year.

I guess the herbs and maybe peas as well. I was still eating celery yesterday too. Taste good to chew but has to be spit out, it is so tough...

Use a potato or vegetable peeler to cut the tough strands off the back of the outside.

[GoDawgs]

I cut my cabbages a few days back so the only thing I have left growing is...brussels sprouts I guess. Envy is a good term to throw around this time of year.

I guess the herbs and maybe peas as well. I was still eating celery yesterday too. Taste good to chew but has to be spit out, it is so tough...

Use a potato or vegetable peeler to cut the tough strands off the back of the outside.

@JRinPA, that's a good tip from @worth1. It works like a charm.

And yes, I envy you for your Brussels sprouts. That's one thing I have had no luck with over the years.

I cut the first two cabbages today; Early Jersey Wakefields. Got one more of those and three Stoneheads still out there. It's kraut making time as we're down to just one jar left. Can't have that! Gotta make more!

[GoDawgs]

It seems that seed catalogs aren't coming in as early as usual. Still waiting on Pinetree. I could go look at it online on my desktop computer but that's no fun. I like to read them while kicking back in my recliner, pad and pencil handy for notes, dog-earing pages for future reference etc. Even if I had a laptop I wouldn't use it for looking at seed catalogs.

But I have made some notes of some stuff I've seen in Southern Exposure, mainly "toys" I might want to play with in the garden as notnmuch is needed this year. Otherwise, there's not much garden related stuff going on other than the three micros and two peppers. It's that boring time of year.

Time to make sauerkraut this afternoon with the two cabbages I brought in a couple days ago. And soon I'll need to start another batch of kimchi. We've been having grilled cheese and kimchi sandwiches as a quick lunch on Fridays. I love it! It was something Pickles thought up. Two slices of white American cheese on one side, two slices of provalone on the other and warmed up kimchi in the middle. Nuking the kimchi helps melt the cheese. Good stuff!

[PlainJane]

I’m not receiving many catalogs either. Wonder if companies are phasing away paper …

[pepperhead212]

I only have 3 catalogs, so far, one of them Pinetree, which came a couple of weeks ago. They might not get an order from me this year, because they dropped some of my favorites - not in the catalog, but online as "out of stock". And nothing special in the new section.

I think it was that year when the pandemic hit that I got an excessive number of catalogs - something I kept on a table in my LR, just to see, and the pile ended up over a foot high! Plus the ones I keep by my chair, that I looked at!

What's your method for making the kimchi, and how long does it store, before getting "too fermented"? I have a bunch of napa, and other brassicas I will have to harvest soon...

[GoDawgs]

@pepperhead212, napa cabbage is a big flea beetle magnet in the garden here so I grow regular cabbage and use that. That tip came from the book I have. It's The Kimchi Cookbook by Lauryn Chen. She says you can also use savoy or regular green cabbage. Slightly different textures and taste of the finished product. The Korean grocery where I used to buy kimchi would, of course, make different variations so when I decided to start making my own I also added daikon radish, turnip or scallions to it depending on what was ready in the garden or no extras at all. This recipe from the book tastes just like what I got from the Korean store where it was made with Napa. I started making my own when the price of their quart jar went to $5.50 and that was a good while ago!

I've read where some people keep it in the reefer as long as a year but the book's author says that she keeps kimchi about six months. The character of it changes as it goes. You can eat young kimchi in about five days but we like to let it sit about two weeks before it gets refrigerated. The texture of the cabbage is more tender and the flavors have melded nicer.

Cabbage Kimchi With Turnip

1 large head of Savoy (or green) cabbage (about 2 2.5 lbs) cut into 1.5" squares (nabak shape)
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp kosher salt
1 large turnip (about 12 oz) trimmed and cleaned, skin on (I peel mine)

Seasoning Paste

2/3 cup Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
1/2 c. chopped yellow onion
1/4 c. anchovy sauce (I use Thai fish sauce)
2 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS peeled, finely grated fresh ginger
2 TBS salted shrimp (I omit this. Too fishy for me)
2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup water
5-6 green onions, green part only, chopped into 1.5" pieces

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the 1/4 cup salt. Set aside for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check on the cabbage and if it looks wilted, limp and slightly brighter in color, it is ready. Otherwise give it another 15 minutes and check again. Rinse the cabbage and let it drain, shaking the colander a bit to remove excess moisture.

Meanwhile, cut the turnip into 1.5" squares. Try to duplicate the size of the cabbage pieces. In a medium bowl, toss the turnip with 1 teaspoon of the salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat the turnip pieces dry.

While the cabbage continues to brine, prepare the seasoning paste. In a mini food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse together the chili pepper flakes, onion, anchovy sauce, garlic, ginger, shrimp and sugar until the mixture is uniform and resembles hummus. Add 1/4 cup of water and pulse until incorporated. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, turnip and green onions. Add the seasoning paste and toss together until the paste coats all the vegetables evenly.

Pack the vegetables tightly into about 5 pint or quart-sized jars. Add 1/2 cup water with the remaining 1 tsp salt to the seasoning bowl and swirl the water around to collect the remaining seasoning paste. Distribute the water among the jars, cover, and allow to sit at room temperature for five days. Then refrigerate and allow the flavors to develop for about 2 weeks. Eat within 6 months. The cabbage will keep fermenting slowly for up to 6 months and its taste will evolve and change with time.

MY OWN NOTES:
- If extra brine is needed to cover the kimchi in the jars, mix 1/2 cup water with 1 tsp salt.
- To keep the kimchi aroma out of the refrigerator, put the kimchi jars in a ziplock bag, seal it and then put that in a second bag and seal. No aroma. Two quart jars fit nicely in a gallon ziplock bag.
- We usually make half a recipe and it makes one and a half quart jars. We're also not fans of a lot of spicy heat so where half a recipe would call for 1/3 c. pepper flakes, we cut that back to 1/4 cup.
- I use pickle pipes on the jars during the five day initial ferment.

[GoDawgs]

Well, the wrapped up potato plants in the buckets just melted in the freezing weather a week or so ago. The two pots of leek seed ('21 and '22 from the freezer) are up and the little parsley and basil plants are happy. The parsley will need repotting soon.

That's about all that's going on here other than baking two kinds of biscotti today. One is cranberry-orange-pistachio and the other is cappuccino-almond. The cranberry one is particularly good dunked in a glass of Gewürztraminer wine.

Edited to say that the cappuccino has chopped hazelnuts, not almonds in it.

[JayneR13]

That's what happened to my winter potatoes experiment a few years back: they just vanished. When I was able to get out on my porch again, there wasn't a single sign of seed potato in the pots. Another gardener I know suggested that, with no snow around the pots to insulate, the subzero temperatures simply froze them and they rotted. Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and knowledge too has its value.

I'll give a thumb's up to GoDawgs' kimchi recipe! It's simpler than many I've seen and quite good. I use standard fermentation locks on my jars during the initial ferment, and they work quite well.

[pepperhead212]

@GoDawgs Thanks for the kimchi info! I have some things I used when I first made kimchi - some glass weights, and tops for mason jars, with which I pump out the air from the jars. I made it a few times, before a lady I knew that liked it moved away, and she gave me something she always used to make it - a tub (e-jen, I think is the name), with a seal on the lid, and an inner seal to press down to get the air out, sort of like the glass weights do. It's still new - I haven't used it yet, but mainly because it's 3.4 liters, so I might try it, with some of those brassicas I have!

On the topic of that napa being a flea beetle magnet, I had the same problem, except with that purple Merlot! No idea why they wouldn't like that just as much.

[GoDawgs]

It's been cloudy and about 58 all day. Nice temp for working outside as it's not too cold and not too hot. Sweatshirt weather. Pickles had put the leaf bagger on the mower yesterday and went around today hoovering up leaves for the new leaf pile that will be used for garden mulch.

Two springs ago I had bought compost that turned out to be herbicide-contaminated and screwed up the tomatoes planted in it. All the filled buckets and any leftover compost got dumped in a pile away from other stuff and left there for Mother Nature to rain and sun on and leach it good.

After a year of it sitting there I grew several things in some of it this spring as a test and nothing bad happened so I mixing it in with good soil I got elsewhere and got great results. Still, the pile is kind of in the way of mowing so today I moved it to the finished compost bin. Here's the last third of the pile that got moved, covered with Bermuda grass.

24.12.19Last of the old tainted compost to be moved.JPG

I used a three-pronged cultivator tool to rip out that Bermuda before shoveling the soil into that screen I made about ten years ago.

24.1219 Using cultivator tool to pull up Bermuda grass.JPG

The texture is really nice. I turned the finished pile, layering in this stuff. It will be used this spring for tomatoes and eggplants, the two things that don't get planted in the main garden.

24.12.19 Texture of old compost.JPG

Meanwhile the 5 gallon bucket of kitchen scraps was totally full with no room for any more contributions. Down to the compost area it went and the contents added to the working pile as I turned it too.

So chalk today up to a little garden prep for spring!

[JayneR13]

We got about 4-5" of snow overnight, which I blew this morning. I think of snow as a spring prep in its way; not only does it insulate the perennial plantings from the subzero cold, it waters them in spring when it's time to grow again! I'm glad to hear that soil is rejuvenated too. Anything we can make for ourselves is one less thing we have to buy, right?

[GoDawgs]

Yesterday I decided to pot up the parsley starts I had in 3x3" cups and put each one in a one gallon pot. Plenty of room for them. I can start light cuttings now.

24.12.23 Parsley shifted up to one gallons.JPG

I also gave the oregano a haircut as strands were so long they were below the bottom of the pot and hanging off the shelf! The harvested leaves are drying next to the plant. I'll probably store them in the freezer.

24.12.23 Oregano drying after trimming.JPG

The Golden Hour micro tomato is setting greenies. I think the 18" height will be as tall as it gets. I probably should have used a flash; it might have eliminated the weird yellowish cast. Oh well....

24.12.24 Golden Hour making.JPG

24.12.24 Golden Hour first tomatoes.JPG

So presents are wrapped now and a pair of baguettes are in the oven. Not true long skinny baguettes but these will be used for roasted tomato bruschetta. Oh boy! Done with Christmas prep.

I wish you all a peaceful Christmas Eve.

[MissS]

Happy Christmas @GoDawgs!

[JayneR13]

Merry Christmas to you as well! Miss Yin sends a head butt for Lester.