Harvest greetings

This morning I woke up to rain and cooler weather. I would like to report on all the things I am doing for my fall garden, but I can only tell you I am waiting for it to dry out.

So, in honor of the harvest season, I turned this photo of mine into a pseudo-painting and decided to offer it as a note card you can download and use as a fall greeting, invitation or note card.

Just download here, print it on card stock on your color printer and cut in half, horizontally. Each page makes two cards. All you have to do is purchase invitation-style envelopes and you have some note cards on me. Enjoy, and enjoy the harvest season!

Saving money on our fall garden

To save money, we planted seedlings to transplant into our garden. (Buying seeds rather than plants is a huge savings!) We started with used pots from plants we had previously purchased.

The first step was dipping the cleaned pots into a bleach/water solution. We then filled the pots with organic potting soil that contains fertilizer and planted seeds in each pot according to the package directions, mostly 1/4 to 1/2 inches deep.

The pots were then placed in partial shade near the backyard water source where they are easier to water. We'll keep them nice and moist and they will be ready in a couple of weeks to plant.

One useful tip when potting: reuse old plant markers.

Usually I just throw them away, but my sister saves them and then sticks a label on them with the name of the seed you planted and, voila! You have an almost free plant marker. Using a marker is so useful because you really can't tell most of the plants apart until they get their secondary leaves. Even then they all look pretty similar. You might be able to tell a squash from a lettuce leaf, but you won't know what kind of squash or lettuce you have unless you mark it. I love this because markers are pretty expensive in small quantities.

If you have other money-saving tips, leave a comment and I will post them.

Mexican stuffed peppers

I love stuffed peppers and I have plenty of peppers from my garden. I decided to try a spicy variation on the old standby recipe. The results were really good.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

1 lb. ground beef
1 8 oz. package Mexican-style saffron rice, prepared according to directions (I used Vigo Mexican rice, but it does have MSG and corn solids. I think any kind of rice mix would work.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (or green onions)
1 can black beans, drained
1 large tomato, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (use more if you like it hot)
1 tsp. Adobo seasoning (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 cups mild salsa
6 green bell peppers, washed and halved, lengthwise with seeds and cores removed
cilantro, chopped
4 to 6 oz. Mexican cheese grated (I used Sargento artisan blend)
4 to 6 tablespoons water

Cook rice according to directions. Brown ground beef in large frying pan until well browned and "scrambled." Drain ground beef. Add garlic and brown. Add rice, beans, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, seasonings and salsa. Mix well. Pour half of the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish and pour 4 to 6 tablespoons of water over rice mixture. Stuff peppers and place on top of the rice mixture in casserole. Sprinkle with cilantro and bake, covered at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until peppers are soft. Uncover and sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Bake for 15 minutes longer and the dish is ready to serve.

Getting down and "dirty" with garden soil

Above is a photo after an afternoon of tilling the soil to prepare for our fall garden.

The results are finally in from our soil samples we sent in a little more than a week ago and the news is good. We have really good soil but we would benefit by lowering our ph levels. That means we need to add a half pound of garden sulfur for each 1,000 square feet. I had never heard of garden sulfur but they sell organic sulfur so I think we are good there.

Their other recommendation was to add 20 pounds of 16-4-8 per 1,000 square ft for medium feeders like beans and cucumbers and to double that for heavy feeders like broccoli and greens. Now I need to find where I can get 16-4-8 in organic fertilizers or where I can find the information that will help us mix up our own. So far we have not had a scientific approach for gardening, but we are getting there.

Our report below, is in beautiful black and white.
We will begin fall planting this week and we want to make sure we make the soil the best it can be before we put in our plants. I think these recommendations have been very valuable. We will see how they help. I am happy about this service and plan to take advantage of it every growing season.

Market Bulletin update

Since mentioning the "Farmer's and Consumer's Market Bulletin" the other day, I have received several requests for the contact information. Next time I mention something, I will try to remember to include the contact information. The "Market Bulletin" is available free for Georgia residents.

I just received my new copy yesterday and it had a great listing for "pick your own" farms for muscadines, one in my own county. One of the reasons many of you want to subscribe is because of the great recipes included in each biweekly issue. Here is the contact information.

From their website:
If you live within the state of Georgia and you would like a subscription to the Market Bulletin, you can send your subscription request via e-mail to Geraldine Fort, at the following e-mail address: gfort@agr.state.ga.us

http://agr.georgia.gov/00/channel_createdate/0,2095,38902732_76248188,00.html

A great cooking magazine

I have many favorite recipes. I clip them from magazines and the newspaper, intending to cook them as soon as I can -- but some of the recipes just don't fit in with my busy lifestyle. Others are just not healthy and I think better about cooking with ingredients I know are bad for me. Most of them don't make it to my dinner table, but wind up in "file 13."

That is why I really appreciate one of my favorite magazines, Everyday Food. I have never received an issue that has not included at least one recipe or technique I have tried right away. Many of the recipes I have used repeatedly.

I like that the recipes don't have many ingredients. If there is an ingredient that is unusual, they generally explain it and most recipes are quick, easy and healthy. That is a combination I don't often find.

I like that they have recipes for vegetables that are in season and give you a number of ways to prepare them. They give you a week's worth of menus and a shopping list to help make it easy. Also, you will find mini cooking lessons using kitchen tools. All in a very convenient digest size that fits easily into a bag and doesn't take up too much room on a kitchen counter.

They also are not afraid to use grains that are not mainstays of the American diet. This is really great since so many people are becoming allergic or sensitive to gluten.

You can even sign up online for a daily email to help plan your meal each night. How helpful for me, since I don't always plan my meals ahead. I should, but I just don't always do it.

I have to go now because I need to find some new and tasty ways to cook with eggplant, which is in season right now.

A shocking development

I am so excited because we now have our new electric fence that will be protecting our garden from deer and other animals. They have given us fits all summer and we just couldn't stand the thought of going through another gardening season without something to protect our handiwork.

The first day or so, the deer tried to enter the garden and even tore down a strand of wire, but they evidently received a shock because they haven't returned in the last few days. Every now and then we see a rabbit that must have brushed the fence because it seems to be running for its life.

The electric fence is certainly the way to go. It is inexpensive and really does a good job. We purchased the kind of fence that has a pulsing current so that it is harmless to animals (it allows small animals to get free of the fence because of the pulsing, rather than constant current). While it does give animals who get too close a shocking experience, it doesn't hurt them and trains them to keep away.

Just what we needed.