I didn’t start making the rounds at the farmers’ market on Saturday until close to 11:00. After dropping Dexter off at 6:45 to help man the coffee shop stand, I went home and dozed on the sofa, read, and ate a chocolate chip cookie and some trail mix for breakfast. (In my defense, I didn’t fall asleep until 2 am the night before, and I thought I would be a much better wife if I had a little more than four hours of sleep. I was.)
By the time I got to our CSA stand, they were out of eggs and several of the veggies they started the day with. I bought a big bunch of radishes and some garlic scapes (see my post from last year to learn what they are).
I’m still fairly new to radishes, and before this year hadn’t been a fan. The radishes I’ve bought this year have been fairly mild, and they’ve worked well to give a little crunch to salads at lunch time. Brecca, a schoolmate from years ago, posted a recipe for radish-thyme spread on her blog last week that I’m itching to try. It involves butter and bread, so I think it will be a winner.
I’ll probably throw some garlic scapes into some scrambled eggs, but I’d also like to try the pesto recipe here.
Before making our way back to the coffee stand, we bought a breakfast burrito from the “local burrito” stand. It was delicious, containing eggs, potatoes, carrots, and greens, among other things.
Remember two weeks ago when I got the basil plant from Jocelyn who owns Pickle Creek Herbal? Remember how I was keeping a “watchful eye” on it? My eyes did fine–my brain, not so much. It held a place of honor in the middle of our kitchen table for a week, in the plastic pot it came in, until I realized it was turning brown, possibly because it had no sun. I (over) watered it and spent the next few days moving it into the sunlight outside. But it was too late.
However, for some reason I have a new determination not to be defeated by gardening. I mean–God created these things to grow, and everything they need to grow is all around me. This should not be that hard.
So, this week, I went to visit Jocelyn again. I admitted that I destroyed the plant she had successfully nurtured from a seed (probably from another plant she had grown from seed), and she was very kind, asking me questions and helping me figure out how I had killed the previously thriving plant. I bought another basil plant–this time it had three plants in it, to my surprise! When my friend Amy told me how easy mint was to grow (and that she thought it would survive even if she mailed a clipping to me) I thought, “I should be able to keep something alive that could survive in a dark envelope for a few days,” so I bought a mint plant, too. I almost went a little crazy and bought more herbs, but I figured I should take care of what I have first.
We stopped at a hardware store on the way home. I picked out some organic potting soil and three terracotta pots for the basil. I killed some tomato plants a few years ago, so I decided to use one of those larger pots, at Jocelyn’s suggestion, for the mint since they grow so prolifically. As soon as I got home, I re-potted everything. This afternoon, I’ll set up Dexter’s desk in front of a window and put the basil there to hopefully thrive. The mint is staying outside on the front porch. And I will remember to give adequate sunlight and not to over water.
My new basil plants, hoping for survival.
I’m counting on the reputation for hardiness mint has. Fun fact: This Cuban variety of mint is the same mint Hemingway drank in his mojitos while he lived in Cuba.
What did you find at the market this week? Do you have any tips for an obtuse, novice gardener?
Mrs. Dexter 
loved this post 😀
n a tip, here in india basil is a sacred plant.. so each house has one. so does mine. just take a deep pot with lots of fertile mud and possibly a few earthworms.. keep it in a place whr its pleasantly sunny and water it in a way just so that the mud is wet. maybe a cup and a half. My basil has grown this way and its now a huge thing 😀
Aisiri–Very cool. I didn’t know basil was sacred in India. So far, my basil is still thriving!
The best tip I know about growing basil (and any herb, really) is that the more you harvest from it, the more it will grow–nature’s subtle way of encouraging us to make use of it! Just be sure to snap the white flower buds off when your basil grows to that point; this will keep it from stagnating.
You’ll have to let me know what you think of the radish-thyme spread! I planted some thyme this weekend with plans to make it again soon.
Oh, and congratulations on being Freshly Pressed the other day! 🙂
Thank you for saying “white flower buds”! I was trying to read about growing basil, and everything I read said to keep pinching the “new buds” off. And, knowing nothing about growing anything, I was thinking, “Like, leaf buds? All of them? When?” So, now I know to look for white flowery things.
Oh, please do make pesto with your garlic scapes. I used the scapes, olive oil, walnuts and parmesean cheese in my food processor, and then froze it in ice cube trays. I now have that garlicky goodness for the rest of the summer.
-worms work wonders
-worm poop works wonders
-putting the produce you throw out (banana peels, etc) in a blender with
water and blending, then pouring on the dirt around stems works wonders
If you ever want an eggless scrambled eggs recipe, I can send. It works great in sandwiches, too, with potatoes and chives -like your pic.
😉
I have some parsley that is growing in our house. We are a bit absent minded in watering it and some of the leaves will start to turn brown before we notice/remember that it needs water, but it grows fast enough that it can handle those small losses. Good luck on the gardening!
pro-tip: set google calendar reminders that send you emails telling you to water the plants. then delete the email once it’s watered so that you know you’ve done it!
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