I had planned to get a few scheduled posts in the queue for this week. I’ve not done that before and it didn’t happen. Now I am here with dozens of my relatives.
It’s an annual pilgrimage not far from where we live. Slow and easy like a cat’s purr, we tell stories, jump in the lake, shuffle along the old gravel paths between old cabins. And repeat. For a week.
More on this place and time later; Now, I’ll share a simple recipe I made last week with our first cauliflower harvest.
Suddenly, my garden is its own ecosystem. First tomatoes and tomatillos plucked and sunwarm, eaten on the spot. Piles of peas, vines paying no attention to their tidy beds. Nasturtiums and cauliflower like planets orbiting the sun of pole beans. I am a goofy, giddy gardener discovering my ripe food. Each time I say well hello there! They wave back. My kids say say it now as well. Try it; it’s fun.
Well hello there!
I am still pushing vegetable starts in the ground. I can’t help it. At nurseries, I see the tables of depressed cucs, a big sign over their limp, yellowed bodies reading $4 $2 2 for $1.
I am also experimenting with what seeds I can plant right now. I yanked up the bolted spinach and have a few holes where corn didn’t germinate. I don’t yet thoroughly know this new space but I do have a few spots that hold shade for several hot afternoon hours so I am planting some carrots and kale. I might try beets too. It’s so much about experimentation. I could grow lettuce all summer in my previous garden because I learned all the different cooler nooks that discouraged bolting. That might be harder here as my plot is very hot, very exposed. Excellent for setting fruit, hard to germinate in July. But I know it can be done and I am an eager student of this land.
What successive planting works for you? Do you have any ideas for me? Please share!
I had planned to steam and purée our first cauliflower with butter and salt. But our immersion blender broke and I couldn’t get it chopped up enough. Instead, I made a damn good salad with – wait for it – KALE! I can’t get enough kale. Surely, I am addicted.
Kale Cauliflower Salad
one head cauliflower, in floret chunks
one big fistful kale, leaves separated from tough center vein and ripped to pieces
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups snap peas
ranch dressing (we like Newman’s Own or make your own)
Steam cauliflower florets and peas until soft. Remove from heat and run under cold water. Separate out the peas and cut each pea pod into 4 or 5 pieces using scissors. Purée (or chop up with a pastry cutter) cauliflower with a few tablespoons (more?) ranch dressing. Set aside. In your salad bowl, mix torn kale, dill and parsley and peas. Add cauliflower purée, toss and serve.
Wishing you all a lovely week.
xo,
dig
15 Comments
Hello Montana Garden Queen…
Your garden is lush. But more than that, you love it into life, and then you feed your family the food it grows, grown with love. The neatest, most caring circle of all. Echoes of my own brilliant mother.
Good luck finding the lettuce-loving shady spots!
Ali, sending you greetings from another perfect alpine day
Oh, love these pictures – from arid, urban London they look like pure joy!
Your photos from the lake are gorgeous. Hasn’t this summer been glorious?
Have you ever tried shade cloth over rows you want to keep cool? Just bend some stiff wire into arches tall enough to give your plants some head room and fasten white garden shade material (similar to lightweight non-woven interfacing) over the hoops. I use #9 galvanized wire, because I have miles of it left over from fencing the pastures; your farm supply store will have it in smaller hanks. A bolt cutter snips through it like butter.
I hope a lucky neighbor has free pickings on all that garden bounty while you’re away!
I love kale, too. kale chips and kale in my smoothies. kale is the rage these days!
Enjoy your lovely, sun soaked week!
xo
lina
Yeah! I’m totally into (I mean, experimenting with) succession planting this year. I have a little “winter” plot with late-maturing kale, cabbage, leeks, parsley…. My one mistake so far has been ripping up the bolted arugula, mixing-in a little compost, getting ready to plant another green…and, well, the arugula was in the shade of the peas and I got too close, disturbed the pea roots and now I have NO PEAS! Bah! Lesson learned. I’ll be planting more carrots, beets, turnips and lettuce greens today. (Last year I did a final planting in the first week of August and it was *too late*…things grew but never fully matured–it was lettuce, spinach and beets, mostly.) But our nights are so much colder than yours, so you may have better luck. (According to some websites, our “frost-free” growing season is negative 3 days! I counted 72 last year. This year we’re on day 31 so far : ) Makes it hard, but damn, I still try. I love a good challenge. Good luck, can’t wait to see what you do. And man, have fun at the lake!
In MA I do peas again in August – they’re not nearly as amazing the second time around – but maybe you’ll have more luck in MT…
I’ve also done brassicas by seed in July for the fall.
Could you start lettuce in the shade of your tomatoes, tomatillos or pole beans?
Happy gardening!
I am planting carrots beets, turnips, radishes, brassicas! Bok Choy and lettuces. Last summer I had luck with lettuce in the shade of kale. Love your site.
Completely jealous of your garden. I really meant to do better this year, buuut … *sigh*
Glad to hear you’re still pushing things in the ground, though. I wondered if it was too late for that. Now I feel a little less crazy. Might just try … 🙂
zucchinis are always a good idea, we plant them every year and just have to weeding.
Hello Nici,
Found your blog from etst and I love coming here for a read:-) Your garden is beautiful. How do you keep weeds out??? Enjoy your week soaking up family!
It all looks so amazing!
Oh this is perfect timing. Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Lovely…family, fish and floats. Soak up this week!
Lovely photos. Have a great time at the lake with family! It looks like an ideal spot to relax and soak it all up. 🙂
I cannot imagine how many times you will all say “well hello there!” when you return from the lake. Enjoy!