Easy Recipes From The Garden

I love having fresh flowers in vases scattered throughout the house, but many times it means hacking away all the flowers in my garden and not being able to enjoy them outside.

A good solution to this is a cutting garden. Many common varieties of flowers make excellent candidates for a cutting garden. Check out this list of 45 fantastic cut flowers at Organic Gardening. Simply plant extra of the flowers you wish to cut to avoid having bare spots when you do pick flowers, or separate the plants you have and place them into a separate garden designated as a cutting garden, and get cutting!

I can’t believe the weather we are having lately. Here in zone 4/5 we are recovering from a serious heat wave. It’s the beginning of June and temperatures have passed 90 degrees. As I sip an icy cold lemonade and enjoy the air conditioning, it’s a good time to talk about hot-weather crops.

There are several vegetable plants that love hot weather. If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to plant them. If you have them already planted, be sure to water them regularly and check for wilt. You may also need to move them to a less sunny location to prevent them from drying out and wilting too quickly - especially if they are in containers.

Six hot-weather-loving plants every garden should have are: tomatoes, corn, hot peppers, beans, squash and cucumbers. All are easy to grow and will provide an abundance of veggies in mid- to late summer. Check the plant tags for complete instructions and be sure to mulch to conserve water and help the plants grow healthy.

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.

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.

It’s not Spring to me until I begin to see the stalks of asparagus poking out of the dirt in my garden. It has finally begun to break through the earth, and yesterday we had enough to actually cook it as a side dish.

Asparagus’ fresh and distinctive flavor is best preserved as is, with little added flavor or heavy sauces. For a fresh and simple way to prepare asparagus try this:

Wash and cut stalks into three-inch pieces.

Scatter in a baking sheet and top with one-inch strips of bacon (turkey bacon or regular bacon each work well)

Roast in a 425-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until asparagus is to desired texture.

The bacon adds extra flavor and coats the veggie with a light sauce, softening it and making it absolutely delicious.