Finally, the Vegetable Garden is a Go!

For three years I have been trying to develop gardens on my property here in Monticello, Utah. The ground here is horrible; a mixture of dry dirt, sand and clay; and it didn't help that the previous owner abused, not just the house itself, but the land around it. Respect was not a priority to this person at all, but we've loved up the house and made it into a home. Not for anything, but the previous owner should have paid us for the house and land, considering everything we've had to do to improve it.  Now I've been trying to get top soil to build up the front and back yards; no luck so far. One construction company wants to charge an arm and a leg for each cubic foot; and then there are those who would rather dump good top soil into the local landfill than give it away to neighbors. Sorry, but that is retarded thinking on their part.

For the past two years, I've done container gardening for my vegetable plants. Nice concept for small spaces, but you don't get those large, beautiful and numerous veggies like you would with a garden. We found a rototiller on sale at the Home Depot in Durango, Colorado last year and put it to good use this year. Choosing a section of the yard that is bordered by the wooden fence and the home (also gets 8 hours of sun), my hubby cleaned it all up and loosened the dirt with the rototiller. Amazing the junk that was buried from years of neglect, but we did happen to find a silver and turquoise ring; and a gold and turquoise belt buckle. I wonder what other buried treasure is around here? Roy built barriers from 8 foot (4" x 4") cedar posts, two on top of each other and then secured with half inch rebar (steel posts). For drainage, we put down a layer of gravel in the designated areas and then filled it with organic soil. For a walkway, I laid down shredded cedar; it's rustic looking and smells great.

There is still about 3 feet of space from the initial garden area to the edge of the house. Roy is going to finish those off with more cedar posts; then I'll plant herb plants that I'll harvest and dry for storage.

Then the planting began; a beefsteak tomato, zucchini, straight neck yellow squash, bell peppers and hot peppers of various heat intensity. I plan on adding plum (Roma) and yellow tomato plants; the yellow tomatoes are less acidic then the red.

Now here in Monticello, we could get frost up to June 15; not good for a vegetable garden to thrive in. I had a roll of heavy duty plastic (the type used for winterizing windows), tented it over the plants and created a hothouse effect to help them survive just in case that cold snap does occur.

So now it's a matter of wait and see; fingers are crossed, but I've got a really, really good feeling about it all.

Mary Cokenour

I Ache too much to Cook something from Scratch.

Way back in May 2011, I wrote a blog post about Monticello, Utah and how it needed to spruce itself up, and get more business in town. It was even reprinted in the local San Juan Record, and while I expected some sort of response to my opinionated post, no one wrote a pro or con about it. Well someone must have been paying attention because tomorrow is a cleanup campaign for Monticello, and the theme is "Neighbor Helping Neighbor" where, not only should we spruce up our own properties, but help those who can't do it on there own.

I decided to get a head start on the property; a section of the front yard had all kinds of loose wood and gardening supplies piled around. I stacked the wood by the garden shed, just a small pile for our fire pit, but it shouldn't be on the front lawn. I have an herbal garden by the dining room window, so finally finished off the rock wall I had started to build around it. I piled up bags of red mulch and large rocks I had collected from the canyon areas to complete the garden area on the living room side of the house. Did a bit of weeding too, but now I'm too pooped to pop.

Dinner? I really don't want to do anything really, but something needs to be made. I should have started something earlier, before all the manual labor, but it was a spur of the moment thing, so didn't really give it much thought. Ok, so I'm gonna go into "make it quick" emergency mode. I've got packaged noodles, imitation crab meat and frozen peas....crab alfredo!!!

Basically, I took one package of Knorr Alfredo noodles and made them according to package directions. I added 8 oz. of imitation crab meat, broken apart and one cup of thawed frozen peas; mixed it all together; covered and let it all cook together for about 5 minutes just to let the crab and peas warm up. It makes four servings and considering all the make shift ingredients, tastes pretty darn good.

I make meals from scratch as a rule, but even I break my own rules. Now it's time for some Advil and much deserved sleep. Night all.

Mary Cokenour

A Gardener’s Daydream.

Looking out the window, I see the sun shining; the branches of trees swaying with the breeze.  I start to think that spring is just around the corner, and the ground will be softening up for planting.  I begin to daydream about my gardens, the ones I left behind, the new ones I’ll create.

When I lived in Pennsylvania, my home was surrounded by gardens I had designed and created myself.  It took many years, and there were many types: the perennial garden where flowering plants erupted into color each month from March until October; the shade garden filled with Hostas of every size; leaves deeply green or mottled with color; and Bleeding Hearts of pink, white and yellow.  The herb and vegetables gardens were my pride and joy.  I had two herbal gardens; a kitchen garden right outside my backdoor.  I could go outside and pick fresh herbs for a recipe.  Then there was the larger one where I would collect the herbs, dry them, and have them available all year long.  The vegetable garden was abundant, and I made sure to grow vegetables that could be frozen for later use.  I composted and mulched; fed and watered; these were children who I helped flourish.

The people who purchased my home said they loved the gardens, and that is one reason they wanted my home.  Liars!!!  I found out they immediately had all the gardens dug up, the beautiful trees cut down, and the lawn destroyed.  Why?  They needed places to park their motor home, excess vehicles, and…who knows what; they destroyed it all.  The neighbors were shocked at the destruction.  I wish I had known their plans; I would have dug up my rose and lilac bushes; removed all the herbal plants and as many Hostas as I could pack into our moving van.  What a waste of nature; so sad.

At my current home, the ground around the home was very neglected and abused; no one took care of the lawn which is nothing more than weeds; there were no trees, and only one rose and lilac bush which were terribly overgrown.  Last year we planted a Magnolia Tree out front, several rose and azalea bushes; trimmed the already existing bushes which are flourishing once again.  I started a small herbal garden outside the living room window.  However, I really will not know what did, or did not, survive the winter months until spring is officially here, and the weather stays warm.

Ah, but the plans are in the making; a rotor tiller to dig up an area in the backyard for a vegetable plot.   Plans to create a patio, and use the container gardening technique to help beautify the area.  I’ll be playing in the dirt, planning and planting, feeling the dirt on my hands, and hoping my knees don’t give out on me.  Daydreaming over the new gardens that will rise up around the home…it’s that type of day.

Therefore, a vegetable recipe seems appropriate for this post.

Vegetable Stir Fry

This is a basic recipe and vegetables can be changed according to tastes.  Using a Wok is preferred, but if not available, a large nonstick skillet will do.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp sesame oil (if not available, use peanut)

1 small red onion, slivered

1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 small zucchini and yellow squash, cut diagonally into ¼ inch slices

1 cup snow peas (if not available, use sugar snap peas)

1 tsp minced garlic

½ cup diced tomatoes

¼ cup each soy and hoisin sauces

½ tsp ground ginger

Preparation:

In a Wok, or large nonstick skillet, heat oil on high.  Sauté onions and bell pepper till they just start to soften; about 5 minutes.  Add in zucchini, squash, peas; cook another 5 minutes before adding in garlic, tomatoes, sauces and ginger; mix together thoroughly.

Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings; can be served as is, or with rice or Asian noodles.

Mary Cokenour