As you can see from the various pictures, Farmville is still alive and kicking. It's been awhile since the last post and I can understand why you might come to the conclusion that everything was finished for the season. The truth of the matter is wine making has taken up a great deal of time, so posting updates fell a little behind. In between the batches of wine, I did manage to get a few things planted for the Fall garden. These were planted mostly in mid-September:- Celery
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Lettuce
- Beets
- Radishes
- Peas
- Bok Choy
- Romanesco
- Chard
These are all great things to have in the garden because they can be used in so many ways. Broccoli, cauliflower, and Romanesco can be steamed and served as a vegetable side dish with just about anything. They are also very good for soups and casseroles as well. Most of these vegetables can be used raw in salads or on vegetable platters or cooked with meats and starches. Those with the good fortune to have access to very fresh picked vegetables for salads know how much this adds to the dish. I find that using very fresh picked vegetables in cooked dishes also makes a big difference. The freshness contributes more concentrated flavor when compared to something picked a few days before, so you can go very light on seasoning and enjoy the true taste of the vegetables. Another advantage to having a garden full of vegetables to pick dinner ingredients from is you can customize according to what dish is being prepared. For instance, the small, secondary sprouts of broccoli are the best for stir frying. You can use a larger head cut up into smaller pieces, but being able to pick the small side shoots takes things to a higher level. I planted the beets for nostalgic reasons. They are very good when simply boiled and eaten fresh versus the canned version we are familiar with. Back in 1983, I was living in a small house on our headquarter farm. Next door to me (for context, next door was about a half a mile away) lived an old guy named Andy. He was very colorful and had a lot of good stories about the area. He had grown up there and remembered when this area of West Sacramento had not even been cleared of brush to plant crops. He was in his mid-eighties at that time, so was born just before the turn of the century. That particular fall, he decided to plant beets behind his house. He didn't like the beets at the grocery store and being on a fixed income, he always planted a big garden to feed his wife and him. For some reason, the beets flourished. Every single row he planted came up and grew like weeds. He and his wife could only eat so many beets and I think he gave so many to his friends and family that they got tired of eating them too. Every day when he saw me drive down my driveway, he would flag me down and ask if I needed some more beets. I always said yes and told him how great they tasted. That was the truth too. They were very good. I think he would actually pull a handful up when he saw me coming, and I would usually wash and cook them within an hour or so. When they're fresh like this, they don't need much seasoning. Just a pinch of salt and pepper. Be careful though, the juice leftover from boiling them will stain everything bright red. Years ago, beet juice was the red dye of choice for many things.
The other pictures show how some of the summer planted stuff looks in the fall. The peppers have all just about turned red. The jalapenos are actually milder when red. The tomatoes are much smaller in size and what green ones are left, take almost forever to ripen up. Good thing I have a freezer and pantry full of tomato products from last summer. The sunflowers are drying out but I think the birds will get more of the seeds than I will. That's OK. The pumpkins and winter squash have all ripened up and are ready to be picked.
It's been a very good year for Farmville. Just about everything cooked for dinner the past few months has had something from the garden as the key ingredient. When fruits and vegetables are the foundation of the meal, it tends to be healthier for you. Not 100% of the time (I do use things like bacon to flavor up dishes), but for the most part. That's all I shoot for anyway. As the fall planted vegetables mature, I'll get better about posting updates.
