Easy Recipes From The Garden

The Food and Drug Administration has lifted its ban on tomatoes weeks after the fruits were said to be linked to the Salmonella Saintpaul, which sickened more than 1,200 people.

The FDA said it has determined that fresh tomatoes now available in the domestic market are not associated with the current outbreak. However, it is continuing to follow epidemiological and other evidence showing that raw jalapeño and serrano peppers available in stores now may be linked to the outbreak. People who are considered to be high risk — elderly persons, infants and people with impaired immune systems — should refrain from eating raw jalapeño and raw serrano peppers at this time.

It’s not every day that I go to the grocery store and fall in love. But when I saw this little Micro-Tom tomato plant sitting outside the store with its buddies, all for just $1.99 each, I couldn’t resist.

The Micro-Tom is “world’s smallest tomato variety,” and was developed at the University of Florida. Plants grow up to 8 inches tall and produce tomatoes about one inch in diameter, or the size of a crouton.

I can’t wait for the fruits on this little plant to ripen. But for now he’s keeping the basil and parsley company on the back deck, strangely sitting somewhat in their shadows and getting partial sun, but lots of TLC from me.

While it insists that tomatoes are still the leading suspect, the U.S. government is about to start testing several other types of fresh produce as it continues to look for the source of the nation’s record salmonella outbreak.

Items that are commonly served with fresh tomatoes what Food and Drug Administration food safety chief Dr. David Acheson said was now being looked at in the probe.

Sixty nine people are now confirmed ill since the outbreak began. Most concerning is that at least 179 of them fell ill in June, the latest on June 20. Therefore, the outbreak is continuing weeks longer than food-poisoning specialists had first anticipated, which also suggests that the culprit is still on the market.

See the FDA website for updates on the outbreak and varieties of tomatoes and sources that have been deemed safe.

 Here’s how my garden has been growing. The warm weather has done wonders for my tomatoes and they all have several blossoms! In fact, at last check, one of them had wilty, about to drop flower and a teeny, tiny little green tomato starting to come in.

Beans are doing well, too. In fact I am having trouble deciding whether to pick them now and eat them, or save them to dry and use later in soup or chili.

The raspberries’ blooms have fallen and been replaced with fruit buds, which are just beginning to get a blush of color.

And the blackberries are flowering like crazy; soon we will have an abundance of the dark, sweet berries.

Sadly, my peach trees aren’t doing as well. The trees seem to be fine, but they are dropping fruits. Also on the fruits themselves we are finding more evidence of pest. I think it’s too late in the season to save any of the fruit, so there won’t be the bushels of peaches I was dreaming of. The fruits still on the tree sure look pretty, though.

I’ve had some readers ask about how to grow strawberries, so here is a short primer.

Strawberries are quite easy to grow. The plants are perennials and thrive in full sun. Soil should be fertile and well drained. Healthy plants will produce an abundance of berries for three to four years, after which they should be replaced, either with new plants or with the runners that will shoot out from the mother plants.

There are several types of strawberries:
June bearers usually begin to bear fruit in June. By the plant’s second year after planting, it will produce a single large crop over a three- to four-week period.This type also produces many runners and will spread rapidly.

Ever bearing plants will bear fruit beginning the first year they are planted- from June through August. This variety works well in northern areas, where summer days are long. The plants produce fewer runners so they are easier to control in a garden bed.

Alpine strawberries produce small but flavorful berries. The Alpine is one of the parent species of the other varieties.

Planting time depends on your growing zone. In areas with severe winters, dormant plants should be set out in early spring, while temperatures are still cold. In areas with milder winters, plants should be put in the ground in the fall, which will provide a crop of strawberries in the springtime. Any flowers that appear should be picked off during the first month to allow the plant to get established.

See tag instructions for more details on planting in your growing zone.

While asparagus is usually the first indicator of spring, I am always delighted when the first fruits begin to show up in my garden. Here in the northeast (zone 4/5) it’s still quite early and the hardiest of plants are just beginning to make their appearances. The lettuce is getting thicker, beans are starting to grow taller, and my favorite of all — strawberries are starting to ripen. I’ve had my eye on those little beauties for a month now, watching the bees buzz around the little white flowers and seeing the first green berries start to make their way out, and now we actually have enough to harvest:

While I won’t be making strawberry jam anytime soon, they will still be enjoyed and savored, eaten out of hand with dreams of many, many more to come.

I was happy to discover the other day that the peach tree on our property has many, many small peaches growing on it. The little green peaches are about the size of two side by side marbles, and are smooth and fuzzy to the touch.

What’s disappointing is that many of them have a tiny little hole in them, indicating a pest problem - oriental fruit moth. The moth lays an egg or two on the fruit, which hatch into little worms that dig into the fruit and set up camp.

I did some research, and it seems early and frequent spray applications with an insecticide like Imidan does the trick. You must begin spraying in very early spring to help alleviate the problem - immediately after petals drop, or even before all the blossoms are gone.

To keep spraying all summer long, it’s important to protect the fruit. It’s been recommended to bag the peaches in zip top sandwich bags with the corners cut off for drainage, and the plastic above the zip strip also cut off. After the final thinning of peaches and the fruits are bagged, they are safe from the pests; however, a new pest may emerge. Earwigs may crawl up the trunk and move their creepy little selves in the bags, so check the bags often.

I love to eat fruits and veggies, but sometimes when I wash apples I can never seem to get that film off of them. Somehow, water and a cloth just doesn’t seem to cut it.

Even if you purchase organic produce, it can be sprayed with natural substances such as sulfur, copper, dolomite, Bacillius Thuringensis, and diatomaceous earth, according to the Berkeley Farmers’ Markets website .

If you want something more to clean your produce, here’s a simple recipe to make your own fruit and veggie wash.

In a glass measuring cup, mix together:

1 tbsp. organic lemon juice

2 tbsp. baking soda

1 cup purified water

 
Pour the mixture in a spray bottle. To use it, simply spray produce well with the wash, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse and eat.

As the price of groceries continue to climb, and our interest in organic and natural foods  also rises, the hubs and I have decided to implement a new plan: we will instill an edible landscape around our home. No more purchasing flowering trees just because they are pretty (sorry, yellow Magnolia tree - how I admired you so). Instead, we will plant trees that have pretty flowers that also bear fruit (hello, peach and apple trees, and aforementioned cherry trees). Many herbs are also quite nice to look at and interesting in a garden, such as rosemary (which is almost an evergreen shrub-like plant than an herb-looking plant) and parsley. And you can’t go wrong with a row or two of lettuce and some tomato plants.

No, we’re not going to just plant annuals to fill in the bare spots around the gardens. Instead, we’ll tuck in a few bunches of buttercrunch lettuce around the bare spots, and landscape with plants we can also eat from. However - we’re not going to pull what’s already planted; that seems counter-productive to me. What we will do is place edibles as new plants around the house, and maybe eventually replace the non-edibles over time.

At the start of May, most farmers’ markets have begun operation. Farmers’ markets are a great resource for gardeners, as the farmers themselves can help you to select good produce and even give you tips and advice on growing your own. Plants are also readily available - and a good place to find organic, natural and very healthy plants to grow in your own garden.

Of course, it’s also a good place to go if you want fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants and more. The produce you’ll find is locally grown (most markets require that produce come from within a certain distance) and fresh as can be. In fact, many stands offer organic produce.

To locate your nearest farmers’ market, visit Local Harvest.