Foraging for Food

I began my foray into foraging last night with a supper of Dandelion greens. I figured since they were very easy to safely identify and readily accessible at my house they would serve as a nice starting point. The book I have been reading, “A Foraging Vacation Edibles from Maine’s Sea and Shore” by Raquel Boehmer, explains that the genus and species name of the Dandelion is Taraxacum Officinale and that it is the most famous of Maine’s many and varied potherbs. The 117 page book is a great short read and highlights many more of Maine’s edibles including periwinkles and Sea Urchins to Chickweed and Beach Peas.

A quick search of the perimeter of my lawn yielded many Dandelion plants and for my “test” I harvested 4 specimens. Though the book suggests digging up the plants I simply gathered together the leaves and pulled. In 3 of the 4 cases this resulted in the root being ripped off the main stem and left stuck firmly in the ground. For the one root that I did manage to harvest, I am drying for a future attempt at making into tea.

After thoroughly washing the greens, I dropped them into a frying pan and added about a tablespoon of olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic and approximately half a handful of chopped onion. I then let this concoction percolate on the stove for about 15 minutes on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions turned translucent. Next the experiment was placed on a plate and after adding a splash of white vinegar down the hatch they went.

I was surprised with the richness of flavor these greens possessed, lacking any of the bitterness that I had originally expected to experience. I thought back to all of the years I mowed over this annoying and “weed” not knowing that it contained such splendid and complex flavors. Let me state that I will be mowing no more!

Garden Update II - May

5/16 Update – My father-in-law arrived from Massachusetts with 12 lettuce plants approximately 3 inches tall and one tomato plant around 5 inches tall. These were planted in garden one in the barren sections of the lettuce row. My plants in this section were struggling, so I calculated that perhaps these transplants being stronger would do better.

I thought it interesting to note, that the plants were transported in a brown paper bag and simply had their roots covered in a small amount of dirt. My father-in-law, a Portuguese farmer from the old country, certainly had no qualms about roughly handling the plants. In another bag, he brought a small amount of fertilizer and this he used to ring around each plant after he had transplanted them. They were then “refreshed” by a small amount of water and left to rest. I find this very interesting and will be curious to see if these transplants thrive.

Despite a heavy frost on 5/13, I looked over the peas today and thought they were growing extremely well. I went ahead and planted 10 more seeds in areas that had not sprouted. The pole beans still have not managed to break through the surface.

Several onions were trampled by the dog . . . recovery doubtful.

Inside starter plants:
4 cucumbers have managed to break the surface in my newly acquired “greenhouse” that I purchased at Longfellows last weekend.

7 Peppers are still surviving and about 1.5 inches tall. My 49 tomato plants range between 1 and 2 inches tall. I am still expecting to put them out in 2-3 weeks.

6 Pepper plants I purchased at Longfellows dropped their lower set of leaves. I am curious if I left them outside for to long on a windy day earlier this week.

Gardening in May

I managed to set aside part of the weekend to quickly expand the garden by adding a 7’ x 12” row of spinach and 80 pole bean plants on 10 poles. I also erected a chicken wire fence to use for the impending crop of cucumbers. My thought is to get these vine plants growing up rather than out and in the process save me valuable garden space. Time will tell if my experiment will be worth the extra effort.

Seemingly motivated by several rainstorms this past week, I have been amazed that my tiny garden is starting to grow with increased vigor! Every row seems to be showing some sign of life with tiny sprouts pushing through the soil with delicate green leaves. As the vegetables have sprouted, so have several varieties of weeds including grass, clover and other obnoxious greenery. I remain hopeful that my close quarters (French Technique) planting will eventually drown out these invaders and leave me with a garden that requires little “tending”.

My inside plants, started on 4/25, consisted of a perhaps an over zealous 40 tomato and 20 red pepper plants followed by 20 more tomato plants on 5/7. My initial assessment of the tomatoes and pepper is that the tomatoes seem to be growing very well but the peppers are progressing at a MUCH slower rate. At first I thought that none of the peppers had managed to germinate but in the last week several have managed to begin peaking through the soil. Encouraged by the recent growth, I planted 20 more peppers, 20 cucumbers and 10 additional tomatoes on 5/10 and am hopeful that they will also begin to produce within the next couple weeks.

Inside Starters and Dates
4/25 – 40 Tomatoes and 20 Red Peppers
5/07 – 20 Tomatoes
5/10 – 20 Red Peppers, 20 Cucumbers, 10 Tomatoes . . . in purchased mini greenhouse.
5/10 – Purchased 6 Red Pepper plans approximately 8 inches high from Longfellows Greenhouse.

If anyone noticed in the photo of my starter tomatoes I have some interesting pots made of “recycled” newspaper. The easy directions for how they were created can be found on wikkihow. While they require much more work than the store bought containers they are also free, easy to make and great fun for kids to construct.

As I peer at the calendar, I note that yet another week of spring slips by and the season of planting veggies is quickening its pace. Let this Memorial Day weekend be my guide in finalizing the last of my seed planting. Two weeks after the holiday, I will attempt to plant my inside grown peppers and tomatoes in garden number two.

Though far from being a green thumb, I have to admit that most of my initial feelings of anxiety experienced during my beginning planting have subsided. Eyeing my growing crops this overcast Sunday afternoon has left me with a feeling of confidence that I can actually grow something. I have no doubt that most seasoned gardeners reading this post will chuckle at my total lack of inexperience in things “green” but I am also sure that others out there will completely sympathize with my trepidation.