Front Yard Edible Landscapes!

Shade Tolerant Greens

I have a few spots in my garden that get very shady come winter, and thats when many winter greens and vegetables need sun. I found this guide to shade vegetables. I'm really excited about the Asian greens such as bok choi and tatsoi! Its the perfect spot as it only gets 3 hours of sun a day in the winter months. We built a raised bed and part of it gets this winter shade. I was so disappointed to see it was having trouble without the proper sun. This will be a great way to utilize that spot especially since greens are such a big part of out diet and our garden. I hope this helps you too. 

Source:  http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/shade-tolerant-vegetables-zm0z11zsto.aspx#axzz2en2OULUP

When considering which crops to grow in shady areas, think of them in terms of leaves and roots. Crops we grow for their leaves (kale, lettuce, spinach) and those we grow for their roots (beets, carrots, turnips) will do fairly well in partially shady conditions. (The crops we grow for their fruits — such as eggplants, peppers and tomatoes — really do need at least six hours of full sun per day.)

To learn more about how to grow crops in shady gardens, check out Best Vegetables to Grow in the Shade.

Crop	Shade Notes	Growing Tips
Arugula	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	Arugula welcomes shade, as this crop is prone to bolting as soon as the weather turns warm if in full sun.
Asian greens	At least two hours of sun per day.	Asian greens such as bok choi (also spelled "pac choi" and "pak choi"), komatsuna and tatsoi will grow wonderfully with a couple hours of sun plus some bright shade or ambient light.
Chard	If you grow chard mainly for its crisp stalks, you will need at least five hours of sun per day; if you grow it mainly for the tender baby leaves, three to four hours of sun per day will be enough.	Expect chard grown in partial sade to be quite a bit smaller than that grown in full sun. Baby chard leaves are excellent cooked or served raw in salads.
Culinary herbs	At least three hours of sun per day.	While many culinary herbs need full sun, chives, cilantro, garlic chives, golden marjoram, lemon balm, mint, oregano and parsley will usually perform well in shadier gardens.
Kale	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	You'll notice only a small reduction in growth if comparing kale grown in partial shade with kale grown in full sun.
Lettuce	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	Lettuce is perfect for shadier gardens because the shade protects it from the sun's heat, preventing it from bolting as quickly. Often, the shade can buy a few more weeks of harvesting time that you'd get from lettuce grown in full sun.
Mesclun	One of the best crops for shady gardens. Grows in as little as two hours of sun per day and handles dappled shade well.	The delicate leaves of this salad mix can be harvested in about four weeks, and as long as you leave the roots intact, you should be able to get at least three good harvests before you have to replant.
Mustard greens	At least three hours of sun per day for baby mustard greens.	Mustard grown for baby greens is best-suited for shady gardens.
Peas and beans	At least four to five hours of sun.	If growing these crops in partial shade, getting a good harvest wil take longer. Try bush and dwarf varieties rather than pole varieties.
Root vegetables	At least four to five hours of sun per day for decent production.	Beets, carrots, potatoes, radishes and turnips will do OK in partial shade, but you'll have to wait longer for a full crop. The more light you have, the faster they'll mature. Alternatively, you can harvest baby carrots or small new potatoes for a gourment treat that would cost an arm and a leg at a grocery store.
Scallions	At least three hours of sun per day.	This crop does well in partial shade throughout the growing season.
Spinach	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	Spinach welcomes shade, as it bolts easliy if in full sun. If you grow it specifically to harvest as baby spinach, you'll be able to harvest for quite a while as long as you continue to harvest the outmost leaves of each plant.

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/shade-tolerant-vegetables-zm0z11zsto.aspx#ixzz2eo4dXqUG

GARDEN SALAD-All harvested from my garden.

Mango/Pineapple Green Smoothie

This is my new favorite green smoothie. I am so addicted.
We had this in Austin at The Daily Juice when we traveled there at the beginning of August. I think I have come close to the recipe, and have had fun trying to perfect it. Of course as always you can adapt it to your taste. If you like it a bit tangier, add a little more lime and salt. Salt?? Yes salt!!

1 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup frozen mango
1 avocado
a handful of fresh spinach
a splash of lime
a few shakes of Pink Himalayan sea salt
water to loosen, about 1/2-3/4 of a cup

Blend till smooth and drink!

I love getting my organic greens (spinach and baby kale) and frozen fruit at Costco since its such a great deal, and pre-washed. (Of course a little extra wash on the greens might be a good idea.) The pineapple unfortunately is not organic, so this time I bought the organic cherries. I made this same recipe with the cherries instead of the pineapple and it was pretty tasty. Something about lime and salt in a smoothie is so amazing...its a smoothie-rita!

Edible Yard

I love the idea of changing the yard plants into all edibles. They are beautiful, they flower, I water plants anyway, they might as well grow me a vegetable, and there is such a huge variety.

Blueberries!

Cilantro seeding

April Garden

Boysenberries, almost ready to pick! Hungarian yellow pepper. Nice and spicy.  Chamomile Tomatoes Beets Eggplant, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic Squash, yellow Hot peppers and onions

Super Fresh Salad!

It is so exciting to eat from what you grow. I made a salad from greens and vegetables picked exclusively from our garden with one exception, I added dried organic figs I bought from Sprouts.

Fresh clipped Voila!  Fresh salad. It was amazing.

Carrots from our garden!

We were so excited to harvest these gorgeous  carrots a few days ago.We put them in a salad exclusively from our garden which was  delicious. Cant wait till more garden  items are ready to harvest and eat!

Vertical Garden -inside or out!

I am always looking for ways to maximize growing space in my small, central Phoenix yard. The more you grow, the more you look for new places, new ways to grow even more food. It it very addictive. On an episode of Growing your Greens on You Tube he features a new item from a garden show that looks really neat for just that. Its called the PhytoPod. (Im thinking I could even DIY this.) You can use it inside next to a window or outside on a small patio. It gives up to 20 feet of plantable garden space! I'd love to hear about how it works out for people using it. John on the video said he would keep us updated. 

Vegan Treat

Butterscotch Marshmallow thingy at NAMI in Downtown Phoenix. Ate this along with my hands down favorite beverage, the Affogado: shot of espresso, soft serve ice cream and Chocolate syrup. I'm sure its not "healthy" but If you need a (vegan) junk food fix, this is it!

Bread Starter / Rustic Bread

I am so excited to find this how to and great recipe. I am going to try it with Spelt flour since hubby cant eat the wheat. I read that a spelt starter is possible. I'll let you know how it turns out.

December Vegetable Garden: What to plant

Yes, there are vegetables you can plant this month in Phoenix, AZ. We are so fortunate to have weather favorable for a beautiful winter garden. I have compiled a list of items I have found from other websites, blogs, and nursery's for items that can be planted for each month.

These can be planted in December:

Artichokes
Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Peas 
Radishes
Onions

Leafy Greens such as:
Lettuce
Arugula
Spinach

Most herbs

Be sure to plant in areas that get plenty of sunlight.

If you know of others please let us know.

Gutter Garden DIY

Gutter gardens are a good idea if you are limited to space. It is good to keep it for smaller greens and herbs since there is limited root space. They also take less water and soil. Be sure the space you are planting has adequate sunlight. My space could use a little more, but I am planting herbs that will do fine there. 

This was a very easy project, and took few tools. What you will need:

*A galvanized gutter, these are $6 for 10 feet at Home Depot. I just saw that there are also 5 inch gutters, might be better for root space for $9 ea. I used the 4 inch.

*the gutter end caps (2 for each gutter).

*Wire.

*A Hammer

*A Nail

*Organic soil

Use the nail to punch your holes. I punched 3 holes on the bottom for drainage, one on each end and one in the center, or, about one every 3 feet.  

 Then for hanging the gutter to the chain link fence, I punched 3 sets of two holes, on the ends and one set in the center. The wire will loop through the holes and then attach to the chain link fence.

Pop the ends on both sides.

Voila!

Add soil. I also added chicken wire because the birds were digging up the seed and and the sprouts.

Please email pictures or comment if you have a gutter garden that has been successful. 

Black Bean Veggie Patties

I was dreaming of Kerbey Lane in Austin. It is one of the most memorable Diner style meal I've had, and better yet it was vegan. It is almost impossible to get a table most mornings and not wait more that an hour for it, and so well worth it once your'e seated and you get to order the vegan breakfast platter with a vegan pumpkin pancake which I highly recommend. Not everything there is vegan, and it is very popular for both vegan and non vegans, but they have an amazingly tasty vegan menu. Everything I have had there has been so good.
That brings me to todays post. I wanted to make a black bean sausage patty. And it turned out really good. In trying to avoid soy, wheat, and processed foods, that cuts out many vegan patties you can buy at the store. These taste 10 times better than most of those and they are pretty easy to make. I always try to have brown rice, and some sort of bean (I usually alternate between black, pinto, great northern and Cannellini) cooked up in the fridge for quick and nutritious meals, so I made sure I had some black beans on hand. I dont really like canned, and once you start cooking your own you will feel the same way. The taste is incomparable.

In the blender I threw in: 
1 carrot
1 tomato
1 stalk celery
1 green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red or yellow onion
2 tbsp red chili
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, or a few cloves fresh garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder 
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup black beans
3/4 cup brown rice

Blend on low to med so it is still a little chunky.

Then in separate bowl add:
3/4 brown rice
1 cup black beans
3 sprigs chopped green onions
1 cooked potato mashed
1 cooked sweet potato mashed
2 Tbsp Flax seeds
1 cup brown rice flour (add more if mixture is too loose)

Stir together with the mixture from the blender.

Form into patties to order. This makes a good amount so we've been eating them for breakfasts with toast and eggs, lunches, my husband eats them as a taco since he is off of wheat. I think with the next batch I will make them all up and freeze them.