Peppers, Tomatoes and Squash, Oh My!

This year we completely sold out of peppers!  Luckily, we planted some inside the greenhouse. They love the heat and so do the eggplant.  We are getting blooms already.  The greenhouse tomatoes are just beginning to ripen.  We still have lettuce to pick.  We are experimenting with melons.  We have Charentais, Amish Muskmelon and Blacktail Mountain.  These last two should have a shorter growing season.  I always have the problem deciding when the melons are ripe.  I usually pick them too early but one time left it on the vine until it  exploded.  If anyone has expertise let me know.                  

We are planting the outside gardens.  We have squash, tomatoes, tomatillos, cukes and beds of flowers.  We still need help with tying up the tomatoes.  On Monday we are planting the  last tomato bed, please come if you can.  We aslo have leeks and winter squash to plant.

Thalia, Diane and Alicia potted up tomatoes for the Down Island Farmer's Market on the harbor.  It begins June 28th.

The David Crohan Concert is August 7th and we are looking for volunteers.  The theme will be the Top Hat Fund to raise money for the new cover for the greenhouse.    Call Thalia if you can help. 

Raw Food Workshops:  

Level I -  Raw On The Run – Introduction to raw foods – Quick & simple recipes 

(similar to the past 2 introductory classes)

Sunday June 26^th – 3:30-5:30

 

Level  II - Living Raw – Sprouting & Germinating Recipes

Sunday July 17^th  – 3:30-5:30

 

Level  III - Real Raw – Fermenting & Dehydrating Recipes 

Sunday August 14th – 3:30-5:30

 

The food prepared in each particular level will be based on the crops of the season.

 

Cost: $65 each, 2/$125,  3/$185  

For More Information call Cindy 508 696-7806 livingrawonmv@gmail.com

Sponsored by The Community Solar Green House (COMSOG) www.comsog.org

Spring Plant Sale

The Spring Plant Sale is a Blooming Success

    The Volunteers have been very busy this year and the green house is spectacular. We still have lots of tomatoes ready to go and the cukes and zuchini will be ready by May 21st.  We have some herb boxes.  These are a really nice collection with calendula, chervil, lemon balm, thyme and garlic chives. There is also basil, dill, oregano, and cilantro available in 4" pots. A new addition is cutting celery.  This is a pungent spice and only a few sprigs can substitute for the flavor of a whole stalk.
    Calendula is also know as pot marigold and is one of the plants that is found in colonial gardens.  The flowers are good to eat and can be dried for tea.  But they are also a good addition for a flower bed.  They are long blooming and will reseed.  Lemon balm can also be used for tea and has a calming effect.  This year at Comsog you will find many of your favorite herbs.

   
     Happy shoppers have found many flowers.  We have portulaca, gazania, and geraniums.  These are great flowers for the Island's sandy soil as they are drought resistant.  We also have petunias, zinnias and cosmos.

     Volunteers are busy tending plants and helping shoppers find their plants.  If you have gardening questions please ask and if we have the answer we will be happy to share it with you.

          

Raw Food Workshops at Comsog

What? Raw Breakfast! Lunch! and dinner! No Cooking!

Yes… and Raw Food Chef Cindy FitzGerald showed us HOW during her Introduction To Raw Foods Workshop.  The well-attended class consisted of demonstrations, and samplings of 6 extraordinary and jaw-dropping recipes using fresh organic fruits & vegetables, nuts, seeds and wholesome oils (no sugar, flour, dairy, eggs, meat, fish):

                                  

Breakfast: Fresh Strawberry, Almond Milk Shake

                      Pecan Porridge w/ fresh Almond milk

Lunch:   Mock Salmon Pate

                 Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps

Dinner: Fettuccine Alfredo (remember no flour!) w/Mock Parmesan Cheese (no dairy)

                 Chocolate Mousse     

By request another Introductory Raw Foods Workshop will be held on May 15th

Cost $15 non-refundable deposit + donation.

Look for more Living Raw on MV Workshops

     - Sponsored by COMSOG New York Ave, O.B.

Cindy’s next workshops will be taught on 3 progressively advancing levels (3 Classes each): 

Level I    -   Raw On The Run - Quick & Simple

Level II.  -  Living Raw - Sprouting & Germinating Recipes

Level III. -  Real Raw – Fermenting & Dehydrating Recipes    

For more information:

Contact Cindy FitzGerald – livingrawonmv@gmail.com  508 696-7806

Spring!

I only found out that I was a good part Irish a few years ago, but St. Patrick's Day has always been one of my favorite celebrations.  It is the time to plant peas on Martha's Vineyard.  It is also the time to start seedlings at the greenhouse.  In the germination box we have tomatoes, letttuce, basil and lobelia sprouting. Peppers have been planted and herb boxes are started.  I'm sure that it is no coincidence that the color of Saint Patrick's Day is green.  Soon the shelves in the greenhouse will be a river of green.

Planting Parties

       When you enter the greenhouse this Wednesday, you will hear a lively chatter. You will also smell the delicious odor of Thalia's homemade soup.  We are planting geranium plugs for our Spring Sale.  We have red, pink, orange and purple geraniums that need to be put in 4" pots.  We also need to start our herb boxes.  We have been collecting clementine boxes that we will fill with herbs.  We have thyme, sage, garlic chives and greek oregano planted.  Basil needs to be seeded.  Bring any other ideas to the planting party.
      Soon to follow will be heirloom tomatoes.  I met with Chuck and Thalia to discuss the varieties and my mouth couldn't stop watering from the descriptions Thalia gave us.  We truly have a spectacular selection coming and I can't wait to start planting.
     Speaking of planting, Thalia started the greenhouse tomatoes.  We have Arbason and Trust and the little babies are coming up nicely.  I transplanted some into 4" pots today.  It was so warm in the greenhouse that I was in a tank top.  If you need a taste of sunshine and warmth as well as home made soup come to the greenhouse.  There is still a lot of lettuce and the nasturtiums are going crazy.
      Only 11 days to pea planting!  Has anyone tried to turn the soil yet?

Fueled by a Dragon's Eye

Warning! These are the ramblings of an obsessed gardener fueled by the fire of a dragon’s eye.  The tatsoi and the pak choi are bolting.  These are my thoughts in the moonlight.  When does a seed germinate?  Have you ever noticed that you wake up to see those little sprouts in the morning?  Something is germinating in my mind.  This blog must emerge.  I look over at the profile of my sleeping husband. His eyes are open and I whisper, “It sure is bright.” And he says, “It’s the dragon’s eye outside the window.”  It’s 9 degrees outside and the sky is crystal clear and the moon that is not quite full is shining directly on our bed.  On the internet yesterday, someone asked have you ever thought about planting on a moonlight schedule?  Hogwash, I thought.  But indeed something is germinating by this moonlight, my husband’s poetic nighttime images and this blog! 

            Back to the bolting tatsoi and pak choi.  Things are happening in the greenhouse.  The winter over broccoli raab is finally flowering.  Chuck and I were trying to decide what had made it begin to flower.  Then I noticed the pak choi.  Some of them are still little, barely enough to eat and they are starting to bolt.  The tatsoi is lush and in its prime but I noticed a funny rosette in the center and know that I will soon see the bloom. I did some research.  Pak choi and tatsoi are from Thailand where they resist bolting because the days and nights are much more equal in length.  When the daylight hours lengthen, they will begin to flower.  Yes, despite this frigid air the days are getting noticeably longer and the plants in the greenhouse are beginning to awaken to the approaching spring.   Unfortunately, this means we must pick the tatsoi and pak choi before it becomes inedible and that we must wait until fall to plant and enjoy it again.

            There is another rustling in the greenhouse and that is the sound of seed catalogs.  We are ordering our seeds for the year.  If anyone has any suggestions please send a comment as soon as possible.  Planting parties will soon be happening again on Wednesdays.  Some herbs have been started but there is a lot of transplanting that also needs to be done.  The greenhouse is lovely on these cool clear days.

             I made a great stir fry of brocolli raab, pak choi, tatsoi and swiss chard.  Sauteed with 2 cloves of minced garlic, a splash of tamari and a spoon of tahini. 

             There is still a lot of mizuna and mesclun.    Have you tried mache.  It has 3 times the vitamin C of lettuce, omega 3, B vitamins and more iron than spinach.  Come get these vegetables they need picking.

I just visited the greenhouse and harvested mustard greens, kohlrabi, lettuce and arugula.  It was beautiful there today, warm and sunny and the nasturtiums are blooming.  The produce looks healthy and lush and shows no signs of stress from the frigid air that has hit us the last few weeks.  I got my electric bill and it said the average temperature from November 20 to December 20 was 39 degrees.  That was 6 degrees lower than last December.

The days are longer and I just saw the beginnings of  blossoms on the broccoli raab.  We are growing an overwinter variety and I’m not sure whether the cold or the longer days have triggered the buds.  We are also trying a purple sprouting broccoli this year.  It also winters over and we should have some small purple heads in the spring.

Right now there is plenty to pick including swiss chard and kale.  These seem to be favorites.  We have started new lettuce seedlings and there is red romaine and butterhead to be picked.

The salad shown is baby arugula, pear, and walnut.  The nasturtiums are edible and slightly spicy. Enjoy!

The annual Christmas party was at the Admiral Benbow Inn in Oak Bluffs.  It was a great success.  The present swap was as silly as ever and Betsy brought the cocoa she succeeded in securing to our membership meeting in mid December.  We are calling the new fund to reglaze the greenhouse the Top Hat fund.

Happy New Year!!  May 2011 be as green as this year.