beyondthekitchengarden

seedlings

beyondthekitchengarden — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:29:13 +0000

Just a few photos of some of our seedlings ready to be transplanted into the garden…

Valentine Mesclun mix

cavolo nero (tuscan kale)

tour de coops interview

beyondthekitchengarden — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:48:14 +0000

Here’s our interview with Channel 12 for the upcoming Tour De Coops (chicken coop tour) that’s happening this upcoming Saturday (December 3, 2011). The green house farm isn’t on the tour this year (we were on it last year), but B was co-chair of the committee, and I did all of the graphic collateral.
Note that the video contains important guest stars (in order of appearance): Polka-Dotty, Brownie, Edie, Lottie-Dotty, and Cookie. Coco-Dotty was feeling a little shy of the spotlight, so she stayed in the wings (ha)!

See the interview here.

butter beans

beyondthekitchengarden — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:13:23 +0000

Also known as lima beans. This is the first year we’ve been able to produce a tiny harvest. I always think it’s interesting to see a little more of something that you’re only used to seeing one way- in this case, when do you ever see them still in the pod? I usually end up having to buy them frozen in little boxes…

tour de coops 2011

beyondthekitchengarden — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:05:45 +0000

It’s that time of year again for the annual Tour De Coops. I did the poster again this year, and b. is co-chairing the committee. If you’re a local yokel, please check out the tour!

peppers

beyondthekitchengarden — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:17:28 +0000

Apparently it’s pepper season right now, since we have a bunch of anaheim and shishito peppers! We actually haven’t had much luck growing peppers- at least certain varieties, such as bell, hungarian wax, and paprikas, so we’re really excited about this year’s batch!

what’s growing in the garden now, august 2011

beyondthekitchengarden — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:42:41 +0000

ready to eat right now:

cucumbers, armenian

cantaloupe, charantais

carrots

chard

eggplant, asian

grapes, red flame

melon, watermelon

onions, red

peppers, shishito

tomatoes, sungold

tomatoes, moonglow

herbs: bay, chives, curry, garlic chives, lemongrass, marjoram, mint (spearmint) oregano (greek), parsley (italian flat-leaf), rosemary, sage, thyme (english)

growing, but not yet ready to be eaten:

black-eyed peas

long beans

sweet potatoes

chicken sounds!

beyondthekitchengarden — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 04:03:50 +0000

B. found this sound bite- over at the website for Stone Barns - it sounds a little like our chickens ( of course we only have 6, not the dozens that are probably housed here…). Anyway, people always ask us if our chickens are noisy- assuming that they’re not, since we have no rooster- well, here’s your answer!

tomato season is upon us!

beyondthekitchengarden — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 06:05:17 +0000

(pictured varieties above include: cherokee purple, stupice, sun gold, and yellow pear tomatoes – all heirlooms!)

bird-day

beyondthekitchengarden — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:34:44 +0000

Today is three years to the day that we brought our baby chicks home. (They were actually born on Valentine’s day, shipped to the feed store, and then we picked them out and brought them home on the closest Saturday). We like to sing, “happy bird-day to you!” Here’s Tweetie, reflecting on the how the past three years have been…

the big freeze

beyondthekitchengarden — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:06:55 +0000

We’ve had some record low temperatures this past week- all of Phoenix has. Our yard happens to be in an especially cold spot- we think that there used to be a “wash” or arroyo ran through our property- and as part of that, we still get the cold winds that cross our backyard- a definite cold spot. There are other ones in the valley too- someone said that the same holds true for 19th avenue running north-south through central Phoenix. It’s pretty amazing how many microclimates exist- once you become aware of how vegetation varies from one site to another…

Anyway, at our little green house farm, the temperatures dipped to 17 degrees at some points. And since out citrus are still fairly young, and we’re the sort to be overprotective of anything growing, we’ve been covering the trees with sheets, and lighting them with Christmas lights, in an effort to keep them from dying from the cold. We’ve got about ten or so citrus lining the west edge of our property- a lisbon lemon, meyer lemon, blood orange, tangelo, satsuma mandarin, kumquat, yuzu, cocktail grapefruit, among others. Unfortunately, the only xmas lights we’ve got around the house are the twinkling kind- which means they lose a lot of efficiency as far as heating. But it’s kind of pretty, and oddly festive- a parade of christmas ghosts coming to life as the sun goes down and twilight arrives…