Why buy something when you can make it? Recipes, crafts and ideas for everyone.

It’s been a month now that everything is planted in its proper place and 10 weeks since I first started planting outside, so I figured this would be a good time to post a first update to follow up on my post about seed selection.

Courgette Midnight F1 (left) and Cucumber Delikatesse (right)

Those two were started indoors a few weeks before transplanting them last month. There are many small cucumbers and a small courgette, with a good amount of flowers, so I should get a few vegetables out of them.

I’m also pleased about the way the cucumber is climbing the tomato cage. I had to tie the stems of the two plants to the bottom ring of the cage to get them started climbing, but it’s all good now. I’ll have to keep an eye out when the cucumbers get bigger…

Cheeseman’s Tomato (left), Tomato Riesentraube (middle) and Tumbling Tom Red (right)

They were all started indoors about 6 weeks before transplanting them last month, two plants for every pot. The two indeterminate types, Cheeseman’s and Riesentraube both look pretty much the same for now. I pruned them a bit and both have a few flowers. The Tumbing Tom have a whole lot of flower right now and is growing in a nice bush shape without any pruning since it’s a determinate tomato. I probably won’t put them in a cage next year if I try them again.

Pea Super Sugar Snap

I had trouble starting the peas since one of the neighbouring cat thought the pea planted was a great litter box and kept disturbing the seeds. The one that did grew are just starting to produces flowers (and there is one tiny pod), but I think it’s a bit warm to plant more right now. I’m sure the planters would be prettier with more pea vines in them…

Lettuce Grand Rapids (back) and Arugula (front)

I ended not starting any lettuce Grand Rapids, since some of it grew by itself in early spring. I just gathered them all together in the same box. One of them went to seed late in the season last year, so I guess some of the seeds ended up in the boxes.

The arugula was started from seeds outdoor 10 weeks ago and grew nicely in front of the lettuce and is producing enough for my salads needs

Lettuce Catalogna (left back), Mustard Tendergreen (right back) and Radish Saxa II (front)

Both the lettuce and Mustard Tendergreen were started from seeds about 10 weeks ago. I had mixed results with the Catalogna : it was slow to start, in part because the cat that messed with the peas also liked that corner. Also, the taste is nothing really special and the plants are not particularly productive, although the leaves look pretty. The Mustard Tendergreen has been a good producer like last year, producing many leaves which taste a bit like spinach.

The radishes have mixed results : the one growing with the lettuce have grown pretty big (and tasty), helped by the cat troubles and the slow growing pace of the lettuce, but the ones with the Mustard Tendergreen had more trouble since the greens grew so fast the radishes had no time to get to a decent size before being choked.

All together, the greens have produced enough in the last three weeks for me to eat at least two or three large salads a week and extras for sandwiches, with more to spare. The lettuce Grand Rapids, the arugula and the Mustard Tendergreen are looking like they want to bolt and go to seed already, but I’m cutting the flower heads as they show up and hope they’ll keep producing for another month. After, I’ll most likely plant more of the lettuce Grand Rapids and the Mustard Tendergreen in the spots currently occupied by the radishes for a late summer/fall harvest.

Oregano (left), Thai Basil (left right), Parsley Moss Curled (middle right), Fine Verde Basil (right), Chives (back right) and Cilantro (two back left)

The chives is the same plant as last year, it grew back just fine. The oregano, Fine Verde basil and cilantro were started from seeds indoors 10 weeks ago and grew pretty well. I’ve started picking up some and they all taste great too. The Thai basil and parsley were started at the same time, but they’re pitiful (they’re probably invisible in the picture). The large plant in the parsley pot is actually a arugula plant that got lost…

I’ve been known to reheat my weekend oatmeal batch for breakfast all week, but the texture is not as good the second time around. Baked oatmeal tastes a lot better reheated, and can even be eaten cold if you’re in a hurry.

I first heard about baked oatmeal on A Year of Slow Cooking. Since I love all things oatmeal for breakfast, I had to try it. I adapted it to add my favorite spices, but they’re not needed if you want milder oatmeal.

1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of flax seeds, ground
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cardamom seed, ground
1/2 teaspoon of cloves, ground
a pinch of salt

3 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup of raisins

1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

• In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, flax seed, baking powder, spices and salt. Add the rolled oats and raisins and stir again.
• In a smaller bowl, mix the milk, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid in the oats mix and stir well.
• Spread the mix in a 8″X8″ pan and cook for 30 minutes at 350F/175C. Let them cool for a few minutes and cut into 9 large breakfast squares or in smaller bars.

Since the weather is warmer and snow is melting, I’ve started thinking about my container garden for this year. If you want grow vegetables, this is the time to start planning it if you’re planting from seeds. Most of my crops are greens that will be direct-seeded in the boxes in the beginning of May (I’m in Montreal, so it can’t be any earlier than that). Still, the tomatoes and basil will be started indoors, so I’ll have to do it in a week or two at most if I want decent plants in May. So, here is the list of varieties I plan to grow this year :

Will be growing in pots (12″ wide and more, I still have a few to buy)

• Tumbling Tom Red (Mr. Fothergill’s Container Gardens at Canadian Tire) : A red cherry tomato plant made for containers. First try with this variety, but the packets says that the tomatoes will be sweet and juicy.
• Tomato Riesentraube (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) : A indeterminate sweet cherry tomato plant with large clusters of 1 oz fruits. I had one planted in the box last year and I thought it would be way too cramped, but I was able to get a few tomatoes even in those harsh conditions. Looking forward to trying this one in a proper pot this year.
• Cheeseman’s Tomato (The Cottage Gardener) : An early indeterminate cherry tomato plant that produces tons of tiny teardrop-shaped tomatoes, or so it says on the web site. This is new for this year, so I have no idea how well it will work.
• Courgette Midnight F1 (Mr. Fothergill’s Container Gardens at Canadian Tire) : A compact zucchini plant made for containers, first try this year.
• Cucumber Delikatesse (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) : According to the packet the cucumbers will be 10″ long and pale green with crisp flesh and thin skin. I consider this my first try, I tried in the box last year but they were really too cramped and the vines stopped growing after a few inches. I have my doubts about cucumbers since I had trouble keeping a store-brought plant properly watered last year, but freshly picked cucumbers are really good. I have a 10″ pot left that’s a bit too small for the other plants so I’m going to try again. This time, I’ll add a tomato cage so the vines can climb and mulch so I don’t have to water as often. I’m also considering moving it to a more shaded spot if I have too much trouble.
• Pea Super Sugar Snap (Burpee at Zellers) : Sugar snap peas, with edible pods and full sized peas. I’m going to try to grow them in a spot that’s in the shade for most of the afternoon in wide flower planters. This is a real experiment, I really don’t know how this will work out, I’m not even sure how I’ll stake them yet…

In the three flat boxes (thanks dad!) :

• Lettuce Grand Rapids (Dollarama) : An early variety of loose-leaved light green lettuce. Pretty mild, it’s nice to mix with other greens in a salad, or alone with a zesty salad dressing. This worked well last year so it’s coming back.
• Mustard Tendergreen (part of the Burpee mesclun sweet salad mix at Zellers) : Earlier than the lettuce and very productive, it tastes a bit like spinach , with a little mustard aftertaste. Good in salads or stir-fried and a good alternative for spinach since my spinach never grew past an inch or two last year. It overtook every other green in the mesclun mix, so I saved some seeds to plant it alone this year.
• Lettuce Catalogna (Mr. Fothergill’s Italian Vegetables at Canadian Tire) : The packet claims that this is an early lettuce with crisp leaves and good bolting resistance. New for this year.
• Arugula (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) : Standard arugula, with the usual peppery taste, it’s nice to mix with other greens in a salad. Worked decently next year but I had a very small patch, so I’ll plant more and see how it goes.
• Radish Saxa II (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) : Pretty standard early radishes that grew well last year, I’ll be planting some in front of the greens rows. When they’re picked, I’ll probably start new rows of greens if the older ones look too tired at the time.

Herbs in smaller dollar store pots (7 1/2″ wide) :

• Chives (store-bought plant): I had a plant last year, so I’m hoping it will grow back.
• Cilantro (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) : It grew decently last year, but I’ll have to stake them better since they grow pretty tall for the small container. I loved the taste too, so I may grow two pots.
• Parsley Moss Curled (Dollarama) : It’s indoor right now, so I’ll just take it back outside. It took a while to get started from seeds but it’s going strong now.
• Mint : I’ve had it for a few years and put it through alot of hardships, but it’s still growing. It’s indoor right now, I’ll repot it and put it back outside.
• Oregano (store-bought plant) : This one pretty much died at the end of the season last year after producing many tasty leaves. I’ll probably just buy a new plant.
• Fine Verde Basil (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds): A cute small-leaved basil that grows in a compact ball shape with the classic basil taste. Was pretty productive too so it’s coming back this year.

Good but not for this year :

• Tonga Di Parigi carrots (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) Produces small 1″ long carrots perfect for a container. I was only able to start picking up carrots in September last year, so I would rather use the space for radishes or greens, but they were delicious when freshly picked.

What are you going to grow on your balcony this year?

In the last post in the series, we figured out a simple castille soap recipe :

1 lb (543,6 g) of olive oil
2,0368 oz (57,74 g) of lye
3,0552 oz (86,61 g) of water

Now, we’re going to make this soap. First, using a digital scale, measure the olive oil in a large bowl as precisely as you can. You can buy pomace olive oil for this : it’s not very good for eating, but for soap it works just fine. Actually, it will be longer to stir the soap if you use high quality olive oil so I prefer to use pomace.

Again with the scale, measure the amount of lye in a small bowl. The water can be measured directly in your lye pitcher.

Add the lye to the water (NEVER add the water to the lye) in the pitcher. The lye will heat the water, wait until the solution is back at room temperature. Meanwhile, put the oil in a larger bowl if necessary. I mix my oils in a microwaveable bowl in case some of them needs to be melted, but it’s a bit too small to mix the lye.

When the lye has cooled down, pour the lye solution in the olive oil and mix.

And mix, and mix, until the soap mixture “traces”, or leaves traces in the mixture before disappearing. It’s a bit like doing whipped cream…

Pour the soap in the mold, and wait until it’s hard enough to unmold. It may take a few day depending on the temperature and humidity. I usually unmold while it’s slightly sticky, but holds its shape.

Let the cut soap dry for at least three weeks before using so it gets firm and mild. It may take longer depending on the heat and humidity in your home.