This month the Dietitians over at The Recipe Redux have challenged us with the following:
Fresh from the Garden: The season of bountiful produce has arrived. Whether your produce comes from the farmers’ market, a CSA share, or a plot of dirt out back, show how you are using fresh July fruits or veggies. And if you have gardening successes – or failures – please share!
I really really want to become a good gardener. This is my second year attempting to grow my own food. It’s a long process to learn because you only get one opportunity a year to make adjustments and improve on your methods! This year, one of the main changes I made was to add a couple of things when I first planted seeds or transplanted my plants. First, I mixed in a little bit of compost to the topsoil. Then when the plant was in, I sprinkled a bit of this Miracle Grow All Purpose Shake n Feed.
I’m fairly pleased with how everything is going! I had a bit of a late start since we were on vacation during the weekend you’re supposed to plant and then I was sick when we got back. Considering the plants went in two weeks late, they look great!
My tomatoes
In February of last year I tried growing tomatoes from seedlings. Absolutely nothing sprouted. Then I bought a couple of established plants from the greenhouse. Those got bottom rot. It was enough to make me want to give up on tomatoes forever. This year I probably wouldn’t have tried tomatoes at all except a wonderful lady at my church gave me a couple of tomato plants so I figured I had nothing to lose. And this year is a completely different story. These babies are more than surviving… they’re thriving! I don’t feel like I can take credit though. I’ve been told by other people that this lady has mad tomato skills.
My herbs
I bought mint and basil plants from the greenhouse. These guys are growing like weeds! I pick some every couple of days and it just keeps growing back bigger and better. Growing herbs is one of the best money savers because a package or bunch in the store are between $2-3. Now I have fresh herbs all summer long for only a couple of dollars for each plant!
My peas and beans
For some reason I thought beans liked to grow up a trellis so I planted them in front of one. As I’ve since found out, only certain varieties do and I didn’t buy one of them. Ay ay ay. They’re doing pretty well in this box anyway! The peas are still pretty young and fragile so time will tell with those guys.
My leafy greens
These are my biggest disappointment. I planted two rows of different types of leafy greens. Only one came up and it’s looking pretty weak. It’s in a shady spot and I thought they liked shade. Maybe they also like something else I don’t know about. I feel like gardening is a complete guessing game.
My zucchini and cukes
My zucchini plants are HUGE but, sadly, they have what I have Google-diagnosed as powdery mildew. My mother-in-law, an expert gardener, came to take a look at them. She told me it wouldn’t likely kill the plant, so that’s good news. And I’ve already picked a medium-size zucchini!
The cucumber plants have blossoms so I’m feeling pretty hopeful about them, too. If those do well, expect a pickle recipe on the blog in the fall!
My squash and carrots
These are still in the baby stage so there’s not too much to report on these guys!
Since my basil and mint are the most useful at this stage in my garden, I decided to feature them in this recipe. The flavours come together SO WELL! There are so many words to describe this recipe:
- invigorating
- refreshing
- light
- slightly sweet
- flavourful
I was feeling the mid-afternoon slump when I made this drink. But after I had it, my energy was completely restored! I felt amazing! I’d love to hear if other people experience the same renewal. Please, make this and report back to me!
If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations! Knowing someone has enjoyed one of my recipes always makes my day brighter.
Sweet Summer Splash
Ingredients
- 2 baby cucumbers
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1 handful of mint
- 1 handful of basil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 1/2 cups frozen green grapes
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into a high powered blender.
- Start on low then increase to high.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into glasses.
Nutrition
Calories: 97.5 | Fat: 0.5g | Carbs: 25.5g | Fibre: 2.5g | Sugar: 19g | 1.5g
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Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine says
This looks and sounds delicious! I have never thrown grapes in to a smoothie or juice– but that really makes it green.
Your garden looks like its off to a great start! Would love to have one myself again someday– living in Asia in a condo– not a great place to have a garden. Even the herbs on my balcony can’t take the heat here 🙁
Jessica Penner says
You have to try frozen grapes! They add a nice zip to smoothies 🙂
Too bad the heat is too much for a garden. But at least you get to live in a hot climate!
Lauren @ Eating with a Purpose says
I am envious of your beautiful garden! This “splash” looks very refreshing 🙂 Pinning to make 🙂
Jessica Penner says
Thanks for the comment! Never thought anyone would be envious of MY garden!
Hope you like the “splash”!
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
I’m so impressed by your green thumb and intrigued by this alternative green smoothie!
Jessica Penner says
Aaaaw, you have me blushing! I really don’t think I have much of a green thumb. At least not yet! We’ll wait until harvest time to know 🙂
I hope you make the smoothie and then tell me what you think of it! My husband finds it a bit too “green” but my two year old and I love it!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Love the sweet grapes in here!
So lucky to have an actual LIVE and GROWING garden!
Jessica Penner says
Yes, I feel very blessed to have room to grow a few things!
Kerri says
That drink recipe looks really interesting! I’m going to give it a shot sometime this summer. And your basil is amazing!
On the topic of blossom end rot in tomatoes (which I assume is what you are referring to as bottom rot)… I grew tomatoes for a few years, a few years ago. They almost all had blossom end rot. I was trying to figure out what I could do to stop it. Through a bit of online research and help from a green-thumbed friend, I figured out a couple things to do. The first thing was water at the base of the plant, not from the top (to avoid water hitting the leaves and fruit). The second thing I did was water a few times with watered down powdered milk. Sounds weird, but blossom end rot could be because of a calcium deficiency in the soil. This won’t “cure” already rotting tomatoes, but I think when I tried these things, it prevented future problems on tomatoes that hadn’t developed rot spots yet. Sounds like you aren’t having this issue this year, which is great! If you ever do though… maybe those things will help 🙂
Jessica Penner says
haha… YES! Blossom end rot is exactly what I was talking about 🙂 Which is probably why I shouldn’t be talking about gardening….
I forgot to mention it in my article but I had read about the calcium deficiency thing last year. What I did this year was put crushed up egg shells around the base of the tomato plants for the calcium to leach into the soil. Seems to be working!
Serena says
Every time I try to grow a garden, i’m overwhelmed with gratitude that I don’t have to LIVE on what I grow. I realize how HARD farmers work. After your learning experiences, I think you would agree! But your carrots look great! And glad you got the zuke! I’ll try your refresher with some of our lettuce…which is actually growing great.
Jessica Penner says
Yes! Imagine how stressful it would be to know that if your garden is unsuccessful you don’t get to eat for the next Winter? Yikes! We are so blessed to have access to a safe and plentiful food supply!