Holy Shitakes!

My husband and I were outside harvesting crops and tending to the garden (as we do every day).  And while harvesting some tomatoes, I decided to take a peak under our rain barrels to see how our shitake logs were doing (the answer has always been 'nothing' before).

Me: 'Holy Shitake!!!'
Husband: 'What??'
Me: 'You've got to see this!'
Husband: 'Is there a shitake?'
Me: 'Seriously, you've got to see this!'
Husband [peaking head to see logs]: 'Holy Shitake!!!'

This is what we were seeing:

Shitakes on oak logs--finally producing!

Shitakes on oak logs!

We harvested the ones in the bowl below the first night, and were pleased to see this amount was about a pound.  We spent about $60 on the supplies to inoculate our shitake oak logs last year.  Shitakes in our local grocery stores are in the $12-14 a pound range.  So far, we've harvested over 7lbs: so it looks like they have paid for themselves in their first flush!

1 lb harvested shitakes.

Now we are enjoying shitake egg scrambles, shitake omelettes, shitake and rice, shitake EVERYTHING.

We have more than I can eat, so I'm also drying some to use later: more on that to come!!!

This week in the garden: 7/22/2012

Now that we are in the heat of summer, the garden has really taken off! Here are some pictures.

We finally decided to harvest all of the beets.
We got 3lbs and have already eaten them all.

This praying mantis has been guarding the
eggplants for weeks.

Long purple eggplant --we are FINALLY having the
eggplants start to produce, we still haven't harvested
any yet.

Tobago seasoning pepper. These plants are
covered with peppers!

Chickens are laying well.

Cucumber Drink! Click to see a post on how to make it.

Rutgers and Sungold tomatoes. We've harvested
over 50lbs of tomatoes this
month already!

How does  your garden grow!?

This week in the garden: May 23, 2012

Well, the last of the summer plants went out this month.

The summer squash (golden zucchini, black beauty zucchini, and ronde de nice) and winter squash (acorn squash) were direct sowed on May 6.

The beans (greasy bean, rattlesnake, trio beans, dragon tongue, mooncake soybeans) were direct sowed on 5/8.  Many of the beans were put in the same spot as the peas, but we left the peas in place. We'll cut the peas down after they are done producing, but before the beans get to a large size.

The peppers (cayenne, jalapeno, sweet jemison, chocolate cake bell, and tabago seasoning mix) and eggplants (rosa bianca and long purple) were all put in the soil on May 10. Okra (clemson spineless), basil and parsley were sown on May 10.

I think I'm pleased with our timing putting out the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants this year.  But I believe we could have planted out the squash a little sooner (judging by our neighbor's large squash plant). I'll have to pay more attention to soil temperatures next year!


Here are some pictures of the garden: 

Snap peas 

Blueberries!

Ever-bearing strawberries.

View from the porch.

This week in the garden: 4/25/12

Snap peas are fantastic -- started getting them a week ago.

Lettuces are lush and delicious now--we have a ton, and need to
start eating them as if our life depended on it to make room for the
summer crops.

The cabbages look healthy, but they've only formed little heads.

We let the kale go to flower, and now they are forming seed pods.

All chickens are in production.

Collards are huge, and going to flower.

Tomatoes are ready to go outside.

This week in the garden: Feb 29, 2012

I feel like the garden is finally starting to come back to life.  The tray of 'greens' that I started at the end of January had really taken off indoors (below), so all of those plants were transplanted outside over the weekend. From left to right: brocolli, cabbage, collards, kale.

The lettuce which was planted out into the garden the first week of February is looking healthy and really starting to grow.

These lettuces (below) are from my fall planting... I cut the plant above the roots, and now they have come back for a second crop. I love a second round of lettuce with no work on my part!

Spinach finally started growing well from a fall sowing:

 Speaking of things that overwintered, I had NO idea that cilantro will grow in this zone (7b) in the winter!  I kept expecting the fall cilantro to die, but it looked completely healthy all winter--here it is today.

 The chives are coming back to life after the winter, sending up new shoots.

 And here are some crocus bulbs blooming.  Spring is almost here!

This week in the garden: Feb 20, 2012

The first (and probably only) snow of the year happened last night! My garden enjoyed a nice little dusting: here it is in the morning. I think the chickens were a little confused: what is this cold white stuff?? But since most of the snow didn't stick, they weren't too concerned by it.

We also got a ton of rain over the last day.  Hopefully the moisture will encourage my peas and carrots to germinate!

In the garden, the lettuce, cabbages, collards, and tatsoi are growing comfortably under their row cover.  The kale is also doing well (uncovered).

This week in the garden: Feb 11, 2012

I love how beautiful vegetable plants can be.  My favorite in the garden right now are the red cabbages.  They are under a row cover though, so I only get to see them when I uncover them.

The lettuces are doing really well.  They were transplanted 7 days ago, and they already look bigger.  I can tell that salad is in my future!

I've been harvesting quite a bit of collards and kale from the garden.  It's so nice to have fresh vegetables from the garden in the middle of winter.

The chickens have been enjoying time in their portable run on weekends, and free ranging in the yard in the evenings.

 It's fun to watch how the garden evolves over time.

This week in the garden: February 5, 2012

Things are finally starting to pick up in the garden!  The lettuce really started to take off inside, so I decided it was time to move them outdoors.  Yesterday, the large bed covered with hairy vetch (cover crop) was tilled in, and the lettuces were transplanted into it.

Lettuce flat, ready to move outside.

Hairy vetch being tilled in.

After transplanting the lettuces, I covered them with a floating row cover.  I also direct sowed some more lettuce seeds.  I should not have a shortage of lettuce starting next month!

Buttercrunch lettuce.

 I broadcasted some carrot and beet seeds.  And I planted some snow and snap peas along the trellis.

I harvested 1.3 lbs of purple carrots that I planted in the fall. I love how pretty they are, but I'm not crazy about the taste.  This spring I'm trying danvers.

Purple carrots harvested in February.

This week in the garden: Jan. 24, 2012

Not much has changed in the garden since the last update.  The collards have really taken off under their row cover.  I've harvested over a pound of leaves from them and they still look fantastic!  I made my first pure-garden meal: sauteed collards topped with poached eggs.

Harvested collards.

Sauteed collards with poached eggs.

Collards in January.

There are mid-winter blooms from the camelia and the winter honeysuckle providing food for any active pollinators.

Winter honeysuckle in January.

Camelia in January.

The most exciting aspect of the garden is ironically inside.  Our seedlings are starting to look delicious!  I can't wait for them to go outside and become nice big salad lettuces!

Lettuce seedlings, week 2.

And the tatsoi actually started to flower, so they were all harvested and made into a wilted salad!  Here is the last picture of a tatsoi for a while:

Tatsoi.

This week in the garden: Jan 11, 2012

It is starting to become an exciting time in the garden again!  I have started 2 trays of seeds -- one 72 cell tray for onions, and one 72 cell tray for lettuce. 

Floating row cover

 Outside, there are still many plants doing well.  Before the temperature dropped down to 18F last week, I covered the collard greens with a floating row cover to protect them from frost.  They may have been ok without it, but I didn't want to risk them becoming injured.  And now, they are still doing great!

Tatsoi in January

Kale in January

The tatsoi and kale survived the frost just fine, with the exception of the one tatsoi plant below.  I have to say, it is amazing to harvest vegetables from the garden in January!

Tatsoi damaged by frost

The chickens have been enjoying the warm winter weather.  They have been spending the days out in their portable chicken run, which we move around to fresh grassy areas every few days.

The chickens like 'free-range' time

I covered the chicken coop window next to their roost to prevent drafts.  It may not be pretty, but the piece of tarp will prevent cold winter winds from blowing directly on the chickens while they sleep.  They still have ventilation along the entire roof of the coop, and a couple of windows on the side farthest from the sleeping roost.