Look at these beautiful eggplants that I picked yesterday.  I don't know what that one on the right is doing, but it is interesting.  

 

We love to grow these Japanese long eggplants.  Their variety name is Ping Tung, from Ping Tung, Taiwan.  I got the seeds from Baker Creek Seed Catalog

 

When I've grown the bigger eggplants, I never know when to pick them, and they usually stay on the plant too long, and then they aren't as tasty.  These are easy to tell when to pick.  You let them get about 8-12 inches long, then cut them and cook them.  

 

Jon slices them the long way into 3 slabs, then cooks them on the grill, with lots of smoky spices.  Then we add them to flatbread pizza.  Yummy.  Another good way to eat them is Rollatini.  Again, you cut them lengthwise into slabs and roast in the oven.  Then you fill them with ricotta and Parmesan and spices and roll them up and bake in tomato sauce.  Again, YUM!!!

 

I wish I could send you some of these fabulous eggplants.  Maybe the Asian Market has some.  It's that time of year!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

A couple weeks ago I told you about male and female squash blossoms.  

 

Well, I was out in the garden this morning and saw this beautiful example of a female squash blossom.  Actually, there are a few in this picture.  I thought it was such a good example, I had to take the picture.  We're going to have a few more butternut squashes.  

 

Check out the recipe section for a couple good butternut recipes.

 

HAPPY  GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Well, it was time to take out the leeks.  They've been there for 2 years.  

 

I planted seeds a couple years ago, and the first year we ate lots of leeks, and the second year they bloomed.  I showed you pix of the flowers a few months ago.  Then they went to seed.  Each of those little flowers produced 2 or 3 seeds. So you can see that I harvested thousands of seeds.   Now I just have to wait for them to dry, and I can store them to plant next spring.  I'll be happy to share if you want to plant leeks.  

 

In the meantime, at the base of each of those flower stalks is a bulblet or two.  I pulled them off, and replanted them.  They are already sprouting.  I think this is the right time of year to plant bulblets, so they can establish themselves before winter sets in.  Then I will mulch them with a couple inches of straw, to keep them warm through the winter.  

 

And next spring we will start all over again:  leek soup, scalloped potatoes with leeks, leeks in everything.  Hey, they are FREE!!!

 

And the year after that we'll get to see the blossoms!!  We love leeks.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I know you've seen this weed growing everywhere.  Each one stands about 5-6 feet tall, and en masse they are very noticeable.  You can see them all along the roadways.  

 

It is Boneset,  Eupatorium serotinum, and is closely related to Joe-Pye weed.  You can kinda see the family resemblance in the way the flowers are situated in clusters on top of the stems.  

 

It especially loves newly cleared lots.  Then it just takes over!!!  Go over to Stonebriar just before you get to Crabapple Lane, and you can see that lot is full of it.  The birds and bees and butterflies love it.  They are having a field day.

 

My go-to reference book, Magic and Medicine of Plants says:  Boneset was used by North American Indians and early settlers to cause profuse perspiration, and reduce fevers.  It was also used as a diuretic.  For nearly a century the plant was included in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and it was listed in the National Formulary from 1926-1950--standard references for pharmacists.  

 

It also says:  Pharmacologists have no experimental evidence to corroborate that the plant is therapeutic either as an antipyretic (a fever-reducing agent) or as a diaphoretic (to cause perspiration and hence break a fever.)  

 

I would never use it to treat any illness, but i do think it's fascinating to learn how previous generations used plants in their daily lives.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunflowers for your birthday!!!  I couldn't send them to Mississippi, but if I could I would.  They are pure sunshine!!!

 

Hope you like them.  I'll send you seeds, so y'all can grow your own next year.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

 

 

Look at all the Joe-Pye Weed in bloom.   Botanically, it is Eupatorium fistulosum.  And, its other common name is Queen of the Meadow.

 

You can see it growing next to highways and back roads.  It grows all along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and there is a ton of it on Mocassin Church Rd. heading toward Ivy Log, and all over 19/129 going to Blairsville.

 

You can see in the picture that the flower heads stand about 5-6 feet tall.  And it is one of the wildflowers on the butterfly nectar list.  It is such a beautiful perennial.  

 

I've never seen seeds for it at the Ace Hardware or other stores that sell flower seeds, but I have seen it in my specialty catalogs.  Sow True Seed in Asheville offers Joe-Pye Weed for $2.95 for a packet of 200 seeds.  And we know that it grows well here.  In years past, we've seen it down by the creek;  we even had one in the hedgerow next to our house. 

 

Look for Joe-Pye Weed in your travels, or plant some in your garden for the butterflies.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

 

 

This Nasturtium planted itself.  I had some in this spot last year, and I guess I didn't pick up all the seeds.  

 

When this one started growing here this year, I just left it.  It wasn't taking up anybody's space, and it was really pretty.  Since May it has spread to about 15 feet long, and I just keep putting it back on the growing hill.  Once it takes over the walk path, it has to go.  

 

So we are working together.  It is growing and being beautiful, attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators to the garden, and I am keeping it out of the walk path. Teamwork is a beautiful thing.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Time to start preaching about poison ivy again.  This is the big oak tree on the corner of Stonebriar just below George and Priscilla's house.

 

I'm showing it to you now to remind you how to identify poison ivy in the winter.  Of course it drops its leaves in autumn, so you can't use the three leaflets for identification.  But it is easy to identify because it has these hairy roots on the vine that cling tightly to its support tree.  

 

And this matters because all parts of poison ivy are covered with Urushiol, a volatile oil that can cause skin irritation.  So be careful when you're in the woods, that you or your four-legged friends don't brush against it.  More importantly, if you are a leaf burner, make sure you don't have any poison ivy in your burn pile.  Smoke from burning poison ivy can do serious lung damage.  

 

I know I've written about poison ivy lots of times.   But this is one plant identification lesson I don't want you to learn the hard way.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

It is time to start picking apples.  We have a few!!!  

 

I didn't save the identification tag when we bought this tree, but I seem to recall that the apples are Rome.  Whatever their name, they are tart and sweet and crisp.  Good qualities in apples, I think.  We eat them with our salads, bake them into pies, and make apple sauce like Momma did.  Oh yeah, and there is Ruby Whitman Apple Cake too.  That recipe is in the recipe section.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Check out our Butternut squashes.  You can see that the one in the foreground is still not ripe, but the one behind it is almost ready.  It's getting pink.

 

This picture also tells another good squash story:  See the yellow squash blossom?  Well, squash blossoms are edible.  They are really good stuffed with rice, and sautéed.  Well, when I first heard that they are edible, I thought, why would I eat the blossom when I can wait a while and get a whole squash?  Well, here's the thing:  there are male blossoms and female blossoms.  Jon said, how can you tell?  The male blossoms have long stems, and the female blossoms have tiny squashes just below the flower.  So, to answer my own question:  You eat the male blossoms and leave the female ones to grow into squashes.  That way you get BOTH!!!

 

I really love planting squashes on the north side of the tomato cages.  That way they can grow up and be off the ground, without shading the tomatoes.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!