Gazpacho Season

July is my favorite month in the vegetable garden. Finally, I have all the ingredients I need for a homemade, fresh-picked gazpacho. If you are not familiar with this cold tomato soup of Spanish extraction, you are, quite simply, missing out.

Gazpacho actually dates back to Roman times, when leftover bread was mixed with olive oil and garlic to create a porridge-like dish. Bread remains a key component of the dish, although the modern version, with vegetables that were unknown in Europe until the 16th Century, would be unrecognizable to the Romans. To make a great gazpacho requires tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, sweet onion, fresh basil, fresh parsley, good olive oil and some leftover bread, preferably homemade. I have also obtained great results with sourdough bread from our regional baker, Tellico Grains. The better the bread, the better the gazpacho.

A recipe for gazpacho follows, but the dish is as variable as the many cultures that now enjoy it. At a minimum, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and bread are the only constants. Feel free to vary the composition as you deem appropriate. Just be sure it's good and cold when you serve it.

John's Gazpacho

Makes 4-6 servings

2 medium tomatoes
2 medium or 3 small cucumbers
1 small sweet bell or banana pepper
1 small sweet Vidalia onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
Leaves stripped from 1 sprig of tarragon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime

1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

3 cups chicken stock, water, tomato juice, or a combination, chilled

Core the tomatoes, trim and seed the cucmbers, and seed the pepper. Peel the onion and garlic. Chop these ingredients into chunks and add them in batches to a food processor, along with the parsley, basil and tarragon leaves. Process until finely chopped, but not liquefied. The vegetables should retain their texture. Transfer the gazpacho to a metal bowl and add the salt, paprika, oil, and lime juice. Taste and adjust these seasonings to your satisfaction. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until well-chilled, or overnight.

Note: The vegetable mixture can be frozen at this point, as is, in whatever portions work best for you. Thaw in the refrigerator and add an equal amount of liquid before serving. Top with a spoonful of bread crumbs.

When you are ready to serve the gazpacho, add the bread crumbs and chicken broth. Stir well, and ladle into chilled bowls.

Gazpacho is delicious as is or you can garnish with a dollop of sour cream. Another good garnish is small cubes of tomato, cucumber or pepper, or some of each. Sprinkle more fresh herbs on top, if you wish.

Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

I created this recipe because I had run out of ideas for the abundant harvest of cucumbers we currently enjoy. It is based on a classic cream of cucumber soup, but with far less fat. The acid tang of the buttermilk is enhanced by a touch of cider vinegar. Country flavors come together to re-imagine a classic!

Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

Makes 2 servings, easily multiplied

1 teaspoon canola oil
3 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced, about 2 cups
1/3 cup diced Vidalia onion, or other sweet onion
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup buttermilk, or more, if needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
dash of hot sauce
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, cover, turn the heat to low, and cook gently until the onion is translucent. Uncover, add the cucumbers, and cook, stirring once or twice, for a minute or two. Add the chicken broth and the garlic powder, increase the heat, and simmer the soup, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer the soup to a blender jar and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Add the buttermilk, cold from the refrigerator, to the blender, along with the dill. Puree the soup. If you wish, strain the soup. Transfer the soup to a metal bowl, add the vinegar and hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill.

Before serving the soup, taste and correct the seasoning. Garnish with diced cucumber, some dill leaves and/or freshly picked cucumber flowers.

Variations: Use another herb  instead of the dill. Try a different type of vinegar or lemon juice for a flavor change.

The Warm Season Begins

by John Tullock
May brings reliably warm weather, so it is time to get those warm season veggies in the ground. I prefer buying started plants of tomatoes and peppers, because we need only a few. I plant beans and cucumbers from seed.

Other vegetables you can plant this month include eggplant, squashes, melons, okra, tomatillos, and sweet corn. Check the temperature of your garden soil with a thermometer. When it is above 60F, you can plant even the most demanding crops, like melons. If you don't have a thermometer, or are not sure, wait until after the middle of the month, by which time we are likely to have had a day or two in the 90s.

Eggplants, melons, and squashes need protection from insects. Despite all the remedies, organic and otherwise, that you may have read about, the best approach to preventing damage from flea beetles (eggplant) or squash borers (squash, melons) is to cover the plants with a fine, lightweight fabric. You can use frost blanket, sometimes known as Reemay, or nylon window shears. I find the latter work well supported over the plants by a tomato cage or similar contrivance. Remove the cover when blooms appear on the plants, and damage should be minimal. You can use the cover for multiple seasons. Covered plants may need extra water. Check the soil regularly to make sure.

This year, we are growing Sungold tomatoes for salads. This productive, orange cherry type has a unique flavor. For general use, we decided to try Better Bush, a determinate version of the famous hybrid Better Boy. We are hoping for traditional flavor on a compact, uniformly productive plant.

Our pepper selection this year is our old standby, Sweet Banana. They are hard to beat in the Valley, and can be used for salads, in Creole dishes, to stuff, or as pickles. A single plant is all we need, as it will bear peppers until frost if well cared-for.

We are growing Homemade Pickles cucumbers, for the obvious reason, and our bean selection continues to be Fantastic Filet. Three seeds every two or three weeks keeps us in beans all summer long, and they are among the most tender and delicious green beans available.

Have a vegetable gardening question? Email me.

Late Season Gardening

Yesterday I transplanted some kale plants we started a few weeks ago. The cultivar is 'Dwarf Blue Scotch Curled.' It makes a compact plant ideal for the small space garden. I removed some spent pepper and basil plants, making room for the kale and some spinach that I plan to move in later this week. The current spate of cool weather is ideal for all kinds of garden projects.

We are still harvesting beans, cucumbers, okra, tomatoes and peppers from the summer garden, while scallions and parsely start to mature from late plantings. It will soon be time to start seeds for fall lettuces, along with some other items that will move indoors when frost threatens.

Our best crop of beans this year has come, believe it or not, from container plantings. By using a sterile potting mix and incorporating a legume innoculant into the mix at planting time, we have achieved some beautiful filet beans with no hint of trouble. We have found a bean beetle here and there, but they are easy to control by hand when the crop is small.

We have also begun making plans for next year's garden. As was the case during 2014, when we wrote two gardening books for Random House, we are going to garden in 2016 with a new book in mind. Our plan is to select a single small space and demonstrate just how much produce can be grown with limited resources. The area, which is about 100 square feet, has been a multipurpose raised growing bed for years. At the moment, it is home to cucumbers, sweet peppers, hot peppers, scallions, parsley, turnip greens and kale, with room for the small planting of spinach I mentioned above. We will continue to share details as this project evolves.

Looking for a way to deal with an abundance of peppers? Check out this red pepper relish recipe, which keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. The seasonings are similar to those used for bread and butter cucumber pickles. The relish is great on chicken or pork, and makes killer pimento cheese. If you wish to add heat, include a hot pepper with the chopped sweet peppers, keeping the total amount the same.

Bread-and-Butter Pepper Relish

Makes one half pint (one cup)

1 1/2 cups finely diced sweet red peppers
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon celery seed

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cover, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir, then adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer. Cook, covered, until reduced to one cup, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.

Thinking About Tomatoes

It won't be long before every gardener in the Valley is inundated with tomatoes. August is traditionally our best tomato month, but many people are already harvesting early fruit. We have been getting good production from our Chadwick Cherry, Amy's Sugar Gem and Marglobe plants for about a week.

The Chadwick Cherry and Amy's Sugar Gem plants have been grown in straw bales, after conditioning the bales as described in my book, Idiot's Guide: Straw Bale Gardening. The book is available here. Supported by a sturdy trellis, one plant per bale, these have grown into some of the finest tomato plants we have ever produced. See the photo. This is only two Chadwick Cherry plants, and the trellis is 6'6". The reason they are doing so well is probably the absence of soil-borne fungal diseases on the leaves. Growing in straw bales offers nearly complete protection from this problem. I was pleased to learn that Holly Jones, who is in charge of the kitchen garden at UT Gardens, has had similarly good results with tomatoes in straw bales. I strongly urge anyone interested in heirloom tomatoes to give this technique a try.

We have had a bumper crop of cucumbers and squash. The early cucumber plants came down last week, and the early squash plants are showing signs of exhaustion. We have already made second plantings of these crops for harvest in September and October.

If you grow okra, pick it every day to keep the plants producing. Okra keeps about five days in the refrigerator, and is easy to freeze. Just wipe the pods with a kitchen towel, drop them into freezer containers, label and freeze. If you want to slice the okra, you can do that before freezing, but you can also cut them up after thawing. The choice is entirely yours.

The high temperatures and heavy rainfall we have experienced this month have stressed some plants. Tomatoes, in particular, have shown signs of heat stress. If the leaves on your plants curl upward but look otherwise normal, the plants are heat stressed. Apply mulch early in the morning hours to help keep the soil cool and evenly moist. Also, pay attention to rainfall patterns. A good downpour should suffice for about two days before your plants need irrigation. When in doubt, stick your finger into the soil. If it does not feel moist in the first inch or so, it is time to water. Avoid wetting the foliage, as this encourages fungal diseases. Water the plants deeply and thoroughly. Uneven soil moisture levels lead to cracking and blossom end rot. Be especially careful with watering during hot weather. It is probably best to water late in the day, as the air is cooling off, rather than early in the morning. A drenching followed by hot sun can cause fruits to absorb water so fast they split.

Our present weather pattern favors peppers. Green fruits should be setting on most varieties by now. This would be from plants transplanted around the first of June. Bell peppers and other large-fruited varieties will benefit from thinning. Multiple fruit clusters should be thinned to a single fruit. Use the removed ones in the kitchen. Thinning will lead to larger and more flavorful fruits, and helps prevent branches from breaking under the weight of a heavy fruit set. You can also thin hot peppers if you want prize-winning size fruits, but the hot varieties are so vigorous it is not really necessary. If you do thin, take care. Hot pepper juice can burn your eyes and skin, and the stems have heat just like the fruits do.

Small hot peppers, either green or fully ripe, can be easily preserved in vinegar or sherry. Select a bottle and thoroughly clean it. Place some peppers in the bottom of the bottle, then fill it with sherry or the vinegar of your choice. Apply the cap and set the bottle aside in a cool, dark place for at least two weeks before you use it. The amount of heat will depend upon how many peppers you use. About half a cup of peppers for each cup of liquid will produce a product comparable to commercial hot pepper vinegar. Small fruited peppers work best for this, or you can cut larger peppers into chunks. Always wear plastic gloves when handling hot peppers, and take care not to get the juice in your eyes.

Time to Re-Plant

Early July is a good time to replant certain crops for a late harvest. Among the choices are beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, parsley, basil, and scallions.

Most bush bean varieties mature quickly, allowing you to plant them in succession all summer long. Unfortunately, when we have a spate of temperatures above 90, as we did in June, beans suffer from heat stress. It appears that temperatures will be more moderate for the next few weeks, which bodes well for late crops of beans.

Beets and carrots perform best in cool weather, but will nevertheless germinate and produce a crop in about 60 to 70 days, or early September if planted now. You can expect smaller roots, but more intense flavor, in summer-grown beets and carrots.

Cucumbers mature in about 60 days, and will appreciate the cooler night temperatures that will be arriving in late August. High heat stresses cucumbers and may interfere with proper pollination, resulting in deformed fruits. Later crops will not have this problem.

Late plantings of summer squash are less likely to be attacked by the squash borer, although it is wise to keep them covered until flowers appear. Squash borer populations are at a low ebb this time of year, so there are simply fewer females out flying around looking for plants on which to lay their eggs.

Tomato and pepper plants will respond quickly when transplanted into warm soil. Some garden centers will have plants ready for this time of year. If you cannot find pepper plants, there is not a lot you can do, as it is too late to start them from seeds. In the case of tomatoes, however, you can remove suckers that naturally form on your earlier plants. Remove all but the top two tiers of leaves from each sucker and drop the stems in a glass of water. They should root before the end of the month and can be transplanted as soon as the roots are two inches long. Keep them well watered until new growth is obvious, feed with a balanced fertilizer, and expect tomatoes right up until the first frost. You can hasten rooting of the cuttings by placing some willow cuttings in the water with the tomatoes. Cut six to eight inches from the tip of a willow branch and remove most of the leaves. In a glass of water, the willow will root with remarkable speed. As it does so, it releases plant hormones into the water that will encourage rooting by other cuttings.

Parsley, basil and scallions can all be direct seeded now. Barely cover the seeds with fine soil and keep them watered if rain does not arrive. Thin them as soon as true leaves have appeared, or when scallions are two to three inches tall. It won't take them long to get big enough to harvest. You can also root cuttings from established basil plants, following the instructions for tomatoes.

Keep garden fresh produce coming all season long by re-planting now.

Time to Plant Summer Vegetables

Mother's Day marks the beginning of the traditional time for planting summer vegetables here in the Valley. All of the favorite summer crops can go in now, although in a couple of cases it is better to wait until the end of the month. Here's the rundown:

Tomatoes
Without a doubt, tomatoes are the most popular backyard vegetable crop. You can find a variety of tomato to meet just about any gardening situation, so there is little excuse not to grow them. We have Tiny Tim, which only reaches about 8 inches in height, just for fun, and Marglobe, an older and reliable cultivar, just for canning. Marglobe is a determinate type, meaning it grows to about five feet tall and then stops, bearing most of its fruit over a short season. This facilitates having a large amount on hand at canning time.

Tomatoes need even moisture, well-drained soil, and a four inch mulch. The biggest problem is foliar diseases. Either grow resistant varieties, or grow your tomatoes in straw bales if you want to grow non-resistant heirlooms like Cherokee Purple and Brandywine. Feed tomatoes at transplant time with a balanced organic fertilizer, but withold fertilizer when blooms appear or you will reduce the crop.

Corn
"Knee high by the Fourth of July" is the goal of the corn grower. Plenty of sunshine, nitrogen and water are needed to achieve that goal. Corn is among the least productive of backyard crops, but the flavor of freshly picked roasting ears is hard to beat.

Plant corn in blocks rather than rows to facilitate pollination. Give it at least an inch of water weekly if rainfall is insufficient. Feed corn with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as cottonseed meal, when it is 6 inches tall and again about every two weeks until tassels appear.

Cucurbits
Cucumbers, squash and melons may all be planted now, although melons and winter squash may not grow very rapidly until nighttime temperatures are quite warm. All these vegetables are subject to foliar disease problems. Grow resistant varieties, keep them mulched to prevent soil from reaching the foliage, and make sure the plants have good air circulation around them. Growing cucurbits on a trellis results in fewer problems with foliar disease.

Summer squash typically do not climb, and their primary enemy is the squash vine borer. The only sure way to prevent an attack by this pest is to keep the plants covered with fabric until flowers appear. Insect barrier fabric is available at most garden centers.

Beans
Continue planting beans every two weeks if you want a steady supply. Bush beans are easier than pole beans and need no trellis. Try something different from the standard "green beans." Yellow wax beans are tender and delicious, and filet beans are ideal for quick cooking. Big, flat Italian beans have rich flavor and are better for long-cooked bean dishes. With so many types to choose from, you should be able to have beans on a regular basis without getting tired of them.

Blue Lake beans, although certainly an older cultivar, were developed with the needs of commercial harvesting equipment in mind. They are stringier, and tougher, than many other beans. They tend to appear on numerous seed racks, probably because they are produced in huge quantities, but they are not the best bean for home growers.

Okra and Sweet Potatoes
These two Southern favorites can be planted together. Neither needs especially rich soil, and the potatoes provide a good mulch over the roots of the okra. Plant them any time between now and the middle of June.

Peppers
All types of peppers can be planted now. They need the same attention as tomatoes, and should be planted in blocks of four plants. Doing so keeps the humidity high around the leaves, a condition that peppers thrive upon. Most pepper varieties avoid the foliar disease problems that plague tomatoes, and are thus among the easiest and most productive of summer vegetable crops. The do need heat, however, so later plantings will have the best chance of success. Transplant peppers any time between now and the end of June.

Many thanks to everyone who came by our tent at UT Gardens' Bloomsdays event last Saturday. We had a wonderful time and answered a ton of questions for aspiring backyard farmers. It is very encouraging to see so many people taking an interest in growing food.

Full Tilt Springtime

Many thanks to everyone who stopped by our table at the UT Gardens Spring Plant Sale last Saturday! It was a pleasure to meet our fellow gardeners, readers, and listeners of the radio show.

April is the biggest gardening month here in the Tennessee Valley. If you have not already planted cool season crops like lettuce or mustard, the window for success is rapidly closing. Your best bet is fast maturing greens, such as mizuna or arugula, and heat tolerant lettuces. Jericho, Anuenue and most romaine varieties are heat tolerant cultivars. Another good one is Black Seeded Simpson, a local favorite since the 19th Century.

You can also plant beans, potatoes, onion sets or plants, scallions, beets, radishes, carrots and cabbage plants with success. Broccoli and cauliflower may or may not produce a crop if planted this late.

Even though tomato and pepper plants have appeared in the garden centers, hold off until at least May 1 to plant. We will still have some cold nights that can set these plants back if they are not protected. You have plenty of time to obtain a crop even if you wait.

It is still a bit early for cucumbers and squash. Plants in cold soil have more disease and pest problems. Wait until after Mothers Day to plant these veggies.

Here's a great idea for growing lettuce, which does not need a lot of root space. Slap a coat of white primer on a citrus crate. These little crates were full of mandarin oranges or clementines when we bought them. I saved a bunch (we love citrus in the winter) and we planted them with an assortment of smallish lettuces. The result is shown in the photo. If you'd like one of these, Sweet Pea in Bearden is carrying them. Besides interesting plants, Sweet Pea stocks a wide selection of high-quality garden art and accessories.

For those who would like to purchase our hardy orchids, they are available at the following local independent garden centers:

Stanley's Greenhouse
Ellenburg's Landscaping
Mayo Garden Centers in Powell, Bearden and Farragut
Sweet Pea, on Carr Street in Bearden

Hardy orchids will be available until mid-May.

Please support your local, family-owned garden centers this season. Not only will your dollars remain in the area, you will get better plants, better advice and an overall better value than you will find at any big box retailer.

Preserving Summer's Bounty

If you are like most gardeners in the Tennessee Valley, you will have a glut of produce during the month of August. We have been canning and freezing like mad. Tomatoes, corn, vegetable soup mix, and beans have been our primary focus.

Today, however, I wanted to share our discovery regarding one of the best ways to preserve authentic summer flavor without too much work. The secret: frozen gazpacho. The recipe can easily be double or tripled.

John's Frozen Gazpacho Base
1 green pepper, trimmed and seeded, coarsely chopped
4 pickling cucumbers, trimmed and seeded, coarsely chopped
6 firm ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
18 large fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
1/4 cup Sherry vinegar, or other vinegar or lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika

Working in batches, chop the vegetables and herbs in a food processor. The mixture should be a bit chunky. Do not liquefy everything. You can also do the chopping by hand. Transfer everything to a large bowl and add the vinegar, salt and paprika. Stir well to combine. Chill overnight, covered.

Transfer the soup base to freezer containers, label and place in the freezer.

To serve, allow the soup base to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Combine with an equal volume of chilled stock or water. (More or less, to achieve the consistency you prefer.) Serve cold, garnished with croutons, sour cream, and chopped scallions.

This makes a delightful substitute for a salad course. The bright flavors are a welcome change from the winter taste of supermarket produce.

Rain, Finally

Finally! Some serious rain. According to the National Weather Service, our area has had a deficit of about six inches for the year. It appears we may be on track to make up much of that deficit during the current rain event. This could not have come at a better time for many crops, such as cucumbers, melons, and squash. These vegetables are about 90 percent water, so having enough soil moisture as the fruits are maturing is important.

The downside of the rain is the greater tendency for many of our warm weather crops to develop problems with fungal disease. Cloudy, wet weather favors mildew, blights, and other problems. If plants have been spaced properly to allow for good air circulation, you have the best defense against these problems. We can also hope that the rain will let up for a while and a period of sunshine will ensue. This is the ideal situation, allowing foliage to dry off and the pace of photosynthesis to increase.

From now until about the end of August, vegetable gardens around the region should be at their peak of variety, abundance and flavor. If you plan on doing some home canning with produce from the farmer's market, this is a great time to stock up. We have regional markets every day of the week, and the big market in Knoxville takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Market Square.

Backyard gardeners will be harvesting everything from late beets to early corn. Just about the only crop that won't be ready yet is okra, which usually waits until August to make its debut. We have had great success with heat tolerant lettuce varieties this year, and as a result we still have a couple of heads in the refrigerator for dressing sandwiches. Having lettuce past the Fourth of July has been a real treat. In case you missed the earlier post, the variety we like best is 'Jericho.' It is sort of a cross between romaine and butterhead, and remains sweet and tender despite the punishing heat we had in early July. We will definitely plant more of this one next year.

As long as the rain hold up, about the only chore you have in the garden at this time of year is weeding, which the rain actually facilitates.

And don't forget, it's time to start thinking about fall planting. If you intend on growing cabbage, broccoli or another member of that group, July 20 is the date for starting seeds. This gives you plants ready for the garden by August 20, and allows 90 days of growth before the first freeze, expected around November 20. The average first frost date for this area is October 20, so frost-tender crops will need to mature in under 90 days if they are planted now. Cucumbers and summer squash are a possibility. Virtually all the cool season crops can be planted between now and August 20. Top choices are beets, carrots, leeks, peas, and turnips. Fast maturing leafy greens, such as spinach and mustards, should wait until mid-August or the seedlings may die from summer heat.

Welcome Rains

We had an unusually dry March, typically our wettest month. The rain that arrived this week to start the month of April has resulting in visible growth in the garden. Plenty of time remains for planting early crops, and some venturesome folks are planting cucumbers and summer squash. This is risky, not only because we could yet have a frost, but also because the soil remains cool and seeds may simply rot.

Cucurbits can be started indoors in peat pots, allowing them to be transplanted without root disturbance. Cucumbers, summer and winter squashes, melons and gourds can all be handled this way, giving you the earliest possible harvest. As with all such attempts to "beat" the season, you run the risk of losing the plants to a late cold snap, but you do have the opportunity to replant should that happen.

If you do start warm season transplants indoors, make sure to give them as much sun and/or artificial light as possible. Cucurbits, tomatoes and peppers all need strong light to develop properly. If you cannot provide good light for the seedlings, you will have better success with plants purchased at the garden center. Weak seedlings seldom recover their full potential, even after transplantation.

Plenty of time remains to plant lettuce, other greens, beets, radishes, carrots, potatoes, leeks and onions. Continue succession plantings of annual herbs, such as parsley and cilantro, but hold off on planting basil, which requires warmth. Parsley established in the garden now will continue to provide leaves for cutting until next winter, if not harvested too heavily. Try to have enough plants so you can gather a nice bunch with only one leaf taken per plant. If you use a lot of parsley, make room for a dozen. Flat-leaved Italian parsley grows best through summer heat.

Good Friday, April 18, is the traditional time to plant beans in the Tennessee Valley region. As a hedge against a cold snap, choose a brown-seeded bean for your early crop. These varieties are less likely to rot in cold soil than are white-seeded beans.

If you choose to push the season on warm-weather crops, it may be worth investing in floating row cover, available at most garden centers. This lightweight artificial fabric provides a few degrees of frost protection while allowing light and air to reach the plants. It is best to support the cover with metal or plastic hoops across the growing bed. Complete kits are widely available, or you can fabricate your own using PVC pipe.

Vegetable Garden Basics

With the mercury hovering around 25 degrees, my thoughts turn to the warmer days ahead. I am refining my garden plan for 2014. If you have not made a plan yet, now is the time, before spring chores eat up most of your gardening time. Your plan need not be elaborate, but it should at least cover three things:

1. What am I going to plant?
2. Where am I going to put everything?
3. What is the best strategy for succession planting? 

Food garden at UT Gardens

Here are some tips for answering these questions. One of the best ways to determine what to plant is to ask the other people in the family. You may think growing salsify would be fun, but your kids may want tomatoes or strawberries. Make a list and let everyone vote. If you are a novice at food gardening, limit yourself to three or four crops until you get the hang of growing those, then branch out. My top four choices are beans, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. If I could grow only four vegetables, I would grow these, lettuce in spring and fall, and the others as summer crops.

Choosing a site for your vegetable garden can be the most critical decision you make, in terms of success or failure. Of primary importance is sunshine. Veggies need at least six hours of sun a day, and the more sun, the better. Don't locate your food garden in a low-lying spot where water stands for more than a few hours after a heavy rain. No vegetable likes wet feet, although they all need about an inch of water a week. Speaking of which, be sure you can reach your vegetable garden with a hose, or you will be toting water in buckets during high summer. Your soil should be well-drained, moisture retentive and organically rich. Work in composted organic matter in late winter, as soon as you can work the soil. For a small plot, you can buy compost, peat, or pine bark fines to work into the bed. I suggest adding 3 two-cubic-foot bags of this material per 100 square feet of growing bed, unless your soil is already in great shape. Add more each year, and in five years time you will have the best veggie beds on the block. Good soil is the key to great veggies.

Late winter is also a good time to incorporate organic fertilizers into your garden soil. Doing so gives the weather and beneficial bacteria a chance to decompose these materials into a form your plants can use. I add a cup of cottonseed meal per 10 square feet of growing space, along with a similar amount of bone meal and two tablespoons of pelletized dolomitic limestone. (I leave out the lime if I am growing potatoes.) These amendments are best added around the first of February, if you intend to begin planting in March. That allows a month for breakdown to begin. If you determine that plants need more nitrogen later on in the season, I suggest using a balanced organic fertilizer mix available commercially, rather than more slow-release amendments. When plants are really growing the nutrients will not be released fast enough.

I should also say that, although I prefer organic fertilization wherever possible, I see nothing wrong with using a soluble fertilizer, such as Miracle Gro(TM) in order to salvage a crop of veggies. Doing so is less likely to cause harm than allowing the plants to get stressed and attract insect pests.

Regarding succession planting, this is the key to growing a lot of food in a small space. The most important point to remember is that here in the Tennessee Valley, we have three growing seasons. Two cool ones in spring and fall, and a warm to hot season in summer. Once you have your veggie list in hand, divide it into cool season and warm season crops. The most popular warm season crops are beans, corn, cucumbers, okra, peppers, tomatoes and squash. Greens of all types are the easiest cool season crops, including arugula, lettuce, mustards and spinach. The cabbage family also needs cool temperatures, as do green onions and leeks. Plan on growing cool season crops from March 1 to June 1, warm season crops from June 1 to September 1, and cool season crops again around Labor Day. for the ones to be grown from transplants, either plan on purchasing them from a garden center (recommended for beginners) or start seeds about four to six weeks before you will need plants.

When your early crops of greens and scallions are done, remove plant debris and move in the summer crops. When these are up and growing well, fertilize. Start moving in the fall plants as the summer veggies start looking exhausted. Feed the fall crop when all the summer crops are gone and the fall plants are established. 

By following these simple guidelines, you should be able to grow enough food to eat, and perhaps have some extra to can or freeze this summer. 

Rain, Rain, Rain

Wow, one wonders how much longer the unusual precipitation pattern is going to remain. We are already way above normal and more rain is on the way. This has been a boon to some things in the garden, and a bane to others.

Sweet corn, which we just started picking this week, has done far better than we had hoped. Tomatoes, on the other hand, have suffered. Nevertheless, we have been able to pick enough veggies every day to feed two people quite well. Besides corn and tomatoes, we are harvesting cucumbers, parsley, basil (by the ton, it seems), tarragon, chives, peppers and zucchini. With these and the garlic, leeks and potatoes we have stored, creating healthy, delicious meals is a snap.

Whenever I have plenty of sweet corn, one of the recipes I like to turn to is fried corn. This traditional summer staple can be made in as many ways as there are cooks, and it never fails to please. I am guessing it is based upon the Native American dish, succotash, and that variations have accumulated over the years.

Fried Corn with Zucchini

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
Fresh corn kernels, cut from two ears, about 1 1/2 cups
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy cast iron skillet and sauté the onion until it is translucent. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown on the bottom. Add the zucchini and continue to cook, stirring and tossing to prevent sticking, until the squash begins to brown and most of the corn has browned lightly. Remove from the heat, stir in the tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately as a side dish.

Fried corn goes particularly well with seafoods that have a touch of sweetness, such as scallops, shrimp, and lobster, and with pork. For a vegetarian meal, pair fried corn with a bean dish.

Don't forget to listen every Saturday morning at 8:00 for "Garden Talk" on WKVL AM 850. I'll be there, along with Dr. Sue Hamilton and Andy the Garden Guy, to answer your gardening questions.

Check out Dr. Sue's article in this week's Knoxville News Sentinel.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.

We are way above normal on rainfall in the Tennessee Valley. The wet and cloudy weather has begun to take its toll on vegetable gardens. While most veggies need an inch of water each week to thrive, we have been averaging about four times that amount. The extra moisture, coupled with long periods with no sunshine, has created ideal conditions for fungi to attack our crops.

Cucumbers sometimes develop a black, fuzzy mold under these conditions. Pick of and destroy deformed or damaged fruits as soon as you find them. This will help curb spore production by the fungus. Keeping the fruits picked also keeps the plants blooming. Hopefully, as the weather improves the cukes will still be producing.

Summer squash may be showing signs of powdery mildew  on the leaves, and immature fruits may also develop mold growth.

Some varieties of tomatoes are showing signs of early blight. Brown spots form on the leaves before the leaves turn yellow and fall off the plant.

In all of these cases, there are some steps you can take to preserve at least some of your crop. Increase air circulation around plants by thinning leaves or even entire plants. Remove and destroy plant parts showing signs of fungal attack. Do not compost this material. Burn it or place it in the trash. Avoid watering (duh!) and fertilization when plants are stressed by too much moisture. Spray infected foliage with neem oil. This has proven effective for me with both powdery mildew and blight attacks. As a rule, plants growing in raised beds will fare better than in-ground plantings.

The abundant water will also encourage a bumper crop when the plants get enough sun. Green beans, cucumbers and squash are all producing heavily in many gardens. Tomatoes are coming along, with early ones appearing in all the local markets, even though the real tomato season is the month of August.

Fall Vegetable Talk July 14
Please join me Sunday, July 14, at 2:00 PM at UT Gardens on Neyland Drive for a presentation and discussion on fall vegetable gardening in the Tennessee Valley. I will be offering advice on what to plant and when, to take advantage of our fall--and winter!--growing seasons.

Ah, the Summer Harvest

I hope everyone had a fun and safe (if wet) Fourth of July. We marked it by staying home and just taking it easy. The Independence Day holiday typically sees the first harvest of cucumbers, and this year was no exception. I picked two pounds and placed them in brine on Thursday afternoon. On Friday, I added a couple more. If more have matured by today, I will also add them to the crock. They will remain there for 14 days. This produces a "long-brined" cucumber that can be turned into various kinds of pickles. My favorite remains the sweet pickles my grandmother made, and I still make a batch using her recipe every summer.

Cucumbers can be turned into all sorts of pickles, of course. Check out the easy raw-pack dill pickle recipe on the In the Kitchen Page. You can find many other pickle recipes online. Fresh cucumbers can also be pickled in the refrigerator, if you have a couple of hours before dinner to prep them. Simply trim and slice the cucumbers into thin rounds, toss with a little salt, and set them in the refrigerator for an hour. Rinse, drain them well, and add a few dashes of vinegar, some freshly ground pepper, and, if you wish, some chopped onion or chives. Use these refrigerator pickles for a salad topping, or as a side dish with something rich, like a curry.

Our triumph this season has been artichokes. We harvested a total of four large ones and eight small ones from our single plant of 'Imperial Star.' The small ones are delicious when prepped as described below. If you did not grow them this year, you can find baby artichokes in the market in summertime.

Roasted Baby Artichokes

On the counter, have ready a large bowl of cold water to which you have added the juice of half a lemon. On the stove, bring a large pot of water, to which you have added the juice from the other half of the lemon, to a boil. Starting at the bottom, bend back and break off the leaves of each artichoke, working around the natural layers, until no hint of purple coloration is visible and all the exposed leaves are yellow-green. With a paring knife, carefully trim off the stem and any leaf bits remaining at the base of the bud. With a chef's knife, cut across and trim off the top half inch of the artichoke, then divide it in half lengthwise. Drop these halves in the prepared bowl of water. When all the buds have been prepared and the water is boiling, drain the artichokes and drop them into the pot. Set a timer for three minutes and refill the bowl with cold water and some ice. (No need for more lemon juice.) When the timer chimes, turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked artichokes to the bowl of ice water. Let them sit for two or three minutes, then drain well. Using a melon baller, remove the small bit of hairy "choke" at the base of the innermost leaves and discard it. Drain the artichokes thoroughly on paper towels and refrigerate. They can be prepared up to two days ahead. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the artichokes in an oiled baking dish large enough to just hold them in one layer, and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake the artichokes until they are beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Serve hot with a cheese sauce, or at room temperature with a vinaigrette dressing.

Green Beans Arriving

The first green beans arrived in the markets a couple of weeks ago, and ours are just now hitting their stride. We grew three types this year, spacing the plantings a couple of weeks apart so we don't get inundated with fresh beans. Roma II, a flat Italian type, started our harvest. These beans taste best with long cooking, and--in true East Tennessee fashion--the addition of a little bacon fat to the cooking water. This produces green beans prepared "as God intended," according to my friend, Glenda Ross of www.eatyouryard.biz. Our next harvest should be ready in a few days, as we have already picked a few early arrivals. This one is 'Goldrush,' a yellow wax bean perfect for quick cooking. Wax beans also star in bean salads, a favorite for picnics and potlucks. Just emerging from the warm, damp soil are seedlings of 'Provider.' This one is a round, brown-seeded bean good for canning and freezing as well as fresh eating. To freeze beans, simply toss the washed, trimmed beans into rapidly boiling salted water for three minutes, drain, and immediately place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain them thoroughly, dry on kitchen towels and pack into freezer bags. Don't forget to label the bags with the date. I prefer to use home frozen beans within three months. Canning green beans requires a pressure canner. It is dangerous to use other methods. Instructions are widely available if you choose to invest in a canner. We eat most of our beans soon after they are picked and seldom can them, but green beans are a great first subject for a home canning project.

Heat Slows You, Not Your Garden

Happy summertime! Today is the first full day of summer, and the temperature is in the upper 80s throughout the Tennessee Valley. Gardening now can be exhausting, but this is a great time to get some chores accomplished. For example:

Weed and brush removal are likely to be more effective when the weather is hot and dry, as the weather makes it hard for new shoots to recover. Similarly, high temperatures make herbicides like glyphosate more effective, as the plant takes up the chemical more rapidly. As I have previously mentioned, I do not advocate the widespread application of toxic chemicals, but some noxious weeds can be eliminated no other way. One plant I am attacking this year is Chinese autumn clematis, Clematis ternifolia. This plant is considered a pest plant of concern by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, because it can outgrow and smother native plants and shrubs.

In the vegetable garden, there is still time to plant beans, cucumbers, summer and winter squashes, okra, tomato plants and pepper plants. I transplanted two Bush Big Boy tomatoes that I had been holding in large pots, awaiting the garlic harvest.

Speaking of garlic, boy did we get a good crop this year. Most of the heads are over two inches in diameter. I attribute this success to the abundant rainfall we have had, at least 15 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service. Usually, we harvest garlic in June, but the leaves were beginning to yellow, a good sign the crop is ready. The freshly harvested garlic, leaves and all, is spread out on a rack in the shade, protected from rain. Once they dry enough, I will braid the stems and hang them on the clothesline in the garage to finish curing for storage. I still have a few cloves in the refrigerator from last summer's garlic crop, although most of them are sprouting.

Our Plant of the Week this morning on Garden Talk was purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea and its related species and hybrids. This easy-to-grow member of the aster family comes in an array of colors and sizes, thanks to active plant breeding in recent years. E. purpurea is a denizen of the open plains. In a few Middle Tennessee counties, Tennessee coneflower, E. tennesseensis, thrives naturally. It lives abundantly in gardens across the state, as well, both in its pure form and in the genomes of numerous hybrids. The use of yellow coneflower, E. paradoxa, as a hybrid parent has resulted in a color range including yellow and orange shades. Coneflowers will bloom with a little afternoon shade, but the best display is in full sun in moist, well drained soil of average fertility. The plants are visited by butterflies and other pollinators, and the mature seed heads attract goldfinches. Once established, they are pest and disease free and will grace your garden from summer to frost. In the first season after transplanting, remove the flower buds as they form, to allow the plants to develop an adequate root system. Water new transplants during periods of drought. Established plants tolerate drought well. If you grow coneflowers in your garden, you will find volunteer seedlings here and there. If their blooms delight you, it is easy to multiply the plants by dividing the rootstock in fall after the plants have gone dormant. If you have more than one species or cultivar, you will get hybrid seedlings, such as the example from my garden shown in the image. This is a tennesseensis/purpurea cross, I suspect, created by insects.

Echinacea tennesseensis is endangered and is found only in a few locations in Middle Tennessee. Wild stands should never be disturbed. This plant is nevertheless easy to grow and can be purchased at many specialty nurseries and better garden centers. The leaves and petals are much narrower than in E. purpurea, and the plant is fuzzier.

The hot weather will also speed up growth in your earlier vegetable plantings. Make sure you keep beans, cucumbers and other early crops well picked, or they will stop bearing. Get out there and weed some every day, too, because the weeds also are growing vigorously. Just be sure to protect yourself from the sun and to drink plenty of water. When the temperature is above 80, I work about 30 minutes and rest in the shade for 15. Pace yourself.

Not Too Late for Veggies

It's not too late to plant a vegetable garden. In fact, many of the most popular backyard vegetables will thrive best now that the weather is warm and settled. This weekend would be a great time to plant sweet potatoes, okra, beans, southern peas, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil. All these crops will be ready to harvest long before the first cool night arrive in September.

Soak okra seeds overnight before planting them out, about three inches apart, in well-drained soil that is not too rich. Excess nitrogen will delay blooms and thus reduce your harvest. When plants are six inches tall, thin them to stand about a foot apart. Okra has achieved new popularity with backyard gardeners in recent years, and breeders have responded with compact varieties, such as 'Baby Bubba,' that produce a good crop on space-saving plants. If you have the room, old standard varieties, such as 'Clemson Spineless,' have proven themselves over the years. Heirloom okras are also available, offering additional possibilities in flavor and plant growth habit. The only drawback to the heirlooms is that many of them retain the spines that cause itching and irritation of unprotected skin. If you are a sensitive person, you should wear long sleeves and garden gloves when working in the okra patch. Also remember that older okra varieties will grow to more than six feet in height.

Beans are among the easiest and most productive backyard crops. Although more work to pick, bush beans are less trouble to grow than pole beans. The latter require a sturdy support at least six feet above ground level, but once the begin bearing they continue all season as long as you keep them picked. Bush beans tend to produce one large crop and then taper off quickly. But you can find a greater variety of bush beans in most seed racks. Among our favorites is Romano, a flat Italian type bean with great flavor. Yellow wax beans, such as 'Goldrush,' are wonderful by themselves with just enough cooking to make them tender. They are also an essential component of that church supper staple, three bean salad. For gardeners with a little experience growing beans, the French filet types, also known as haricots verts, are among the tastiest and tenderest beans out there. A good bush selection is 'Fantastic Filet.' These beans are harvested when they are a bit smaller in diameter than a pencil, and typically are steamed whole and served with a simple dressing of butter or oil and fresh herbs.

Cucurbits will practically leap from the ground now that the weather is hot. Cucumbers for summer salads, gazpacho and pickling will produce a bumper crop about two months after sowing. Zucchini, crookneck and pattypan squashes, if planted around the first of June, typically avoid the onslaught of squash borers that plague earlier sowings. Research has shown that adult squash borer populations are at their lowest point during this time of year, allowing tender new shoots to toughen up before the borers go looking for a place to lay their eggs. For gardeners with plenty of room, now is also a great time to plant watermelon, pumpkin, winter squash, melons, and gourds. All enjoy the hot days and warm nights of Southern summers.

Basil is the quintessential summer herb, and it goes well with all the summer veggies, from beans to zucchini. We start basil several times in spring, spacing our sowings about two weeks apart. Plants are transplanted to the garden as they become large enough. This technique provides for a continuous harvest of the fragrant leaves from late June until frost. Repeated picking leaves basil plants looking "worn out." If appearance is important, try our succession method, and just pull up and compost the plants when they get ratty looking. Basil likes water, but grow it in not-too-fertile soil, perhaps at the corners of the sweet potato or okra patch.

June is also a great month for flowers. One of the best choices for the Tennessee Valley, and indeed most of the eastern United States, is the daylily (Hemerocallis). Available in any color except true blue, daylilies are hardy, easy and reliable perennials. They require at least six hours of sun in order to bloom well, but that is about the only hard and fast rule. Daylilies love water, but are extremely drought tolerant once established. They prefer a moist, well-drained soil enriched with organic matter, but will grow in poor, clay soils as long as they are not waterlogged.

Daylilies are also edible, but they vary somewhat in taste. Choose fragrant selections for the best flavor. Unopened buds can be added to stir fries, and the opened blooms can be battered and fried like squash blossoms. Flower petals can also be chopped and added to salads.

This year, whether you are a novice vegetable gardener or a veteran, consider planting a little more than you think you can use. (Most of us end up with extra produce each season, anyway.) Bring your surplus fresh produce to the UT Gardens Farmers Market on Wednesdays between 4:00 and 7:00 PM. UT staffers and volunteers will be available to collect your excess and distribute it to area charities that feed the hungry.

A Look Back on the Season

2012 Cucumber Crop Worst in Years

This past summer was not the season for cucumbers in the Knoxville area. I was overheard last week at the Farmers Market, bemoaning the absence of good cucumbers even in that venue. A lady in line near me turned and said she had had the same problem. Two attempts on our part yielded plants that quickly succumbed to cucumber mosaic virus. Ironically, a plant that came up volunteer in an area we’d amended with compost actually produced a few small cucumbers before it, too, became infected. Heat and humidity at the wrong times probably contributed to the crop failure.  We originally thought perhaps our choice of new varieties to try, ‘Picklebush’ and ‘Boston Pickling’ may have been the issue. But this would not explain the widespread nature of the cucumber shortage.

I have not had the opportunity to discuss this issue with locals who farm for a living. Whatever the reason, we’ll have no homemade pickles this year.

Rare Sweet Corn

Corn on the cob is one of the true pleasures of summer, but finding the genuine article locally has become increasingly difficult as the years roll by. Only a few of the 30 or more vendors at the FARM Farmer’s Market this year have offered corn. One of these was selling corn exclusively for a few weeks, then was seen no more. The only variety I saw offered that was not a sugar-enhanced type was ‘Silver Queen,’ the old standby for a white sweet corn around these parts. Unfortunately, the ears I purchased were picked a bit too late, and the flavor was not as good as it might have been.

All the other varieties we observed on offer were recently developed, high-fructose hybrids like ‘Ambrosia,’ ‘Peaches and Cream,’ and ‘Awesome.’ With all due respect to the plant breeders who have created these types of corn, they are almost too sweet for me. The original idea of sugar-enhanced corn was to increase the shelf life. As soon as it is picked, corn begins converting sugar to starch, so the fresher the ear the sweeter. Hence the old adage about bringing the water to a boil before going out to pick the corn.  Ordinary sweet corn varieties, like ‘IA Chief’ and ‘Golden Bantam’ were great eating, as long as you grew them yourself. If you wanted corn out of season, from someplace like, say, California, it just did not taste as good after its long journey, despite refrigeration. The answer, someone realized, was to grow sweeter corn that would remain sweet longer because it would take more time for enzymes in the ear to convert the sugar to starch.

Ironically, consumers have come to expect the farmer’s market to offer the same type of corn as the supermarket. Yellow and white varieties, like the so, so sweet ‘Honey and Pearl,’ tend to dominate because of their attractive appearance. But all of these lack the genuine, “corny” flavor of the heirlooms, and I wish local farmers would learn to grow them again. Offering ‘Silver Queen’ was a great idea, but you gotta know when to pick it. Burpee's seed catalog offers only three "normal sugar" corn varieties, 'Silver Queen,' 'Golden Bantam,' and 'Early Sunglow.' By contrast they have 10 "sugar enhanced" and 4 "super sweet" cultivars available. Locally, Mayo Seed offers some additional heirlooms, like 'IA Chief.'

We consumers should be dedicated to supporting local farmers who grow good sweet corn, regardless of the variety they offer. Few crops are less well suited to small scale production that corn. If you grow the modern hybrids, seed is expensive and it is often difficult to find seed not treated with chemical pesticides. (Burpee offers only one organically grown corn variety, 'Golden Bantam.') Further, corn is demanding in terms of both soil fertility and sunshine, and needs a lot of water to boot. Each plant will take up about 3 square feet of growing space, making it difficult for many home gardeners to squeeze in a patch. And for all its demands, corn rarely produces more than two ears per stalk. Given that the typical price at the FARM Farmer’s Market is $5 a dozen, it is easy to see why so few growers bother.

So if you are a local vegetable grower and you are reading this, I’ll make you an offer. Grow an heirloom sweet corn next year, pick it at the proper time, and bring it to market.  Let me know ahead of time, and I will do everything I can to encourage consumers to patronize your stand. And we locavores should be willing to pay a dollar an ear for the privilege.

Cold Soups From the Summer Garden

With summer turning up the heat and the garden bursting with produce and herbs, why not try some cold soup recipes? I thought soup came out of a red and white can until I went to college. It was on a trip to Atlanta, sometime in the early 70s, that I learned to enjoy the most famous cold soup, gazpacho. I have been making it and other cold soups ever since.

Gazpacho has ancient roots. It began as a way to use stale bread, which, when combined with garlic, salt, olive oil and water, could be converted into a stiff paste that would keep a long time. Columbus packed a few barrels of this mixture on his voyages of discovery, for example. The Romans may have added vinegar to the mixture, which probably originated among the wheat-eating cultures of the Middle East during the earliest days of agriculture, roughly 10,000 years ago. The cucumber, cultivated for at least 3000 years and introduced to Europe by the Greeks or Romans from its native India, became an ingredient at some point, and when Spanish explorers brought back tomatoes and peppers from the New World, these found their way into gazpacho, as well. The "classic" version of gazpacho with tomatoes is generally associated with Andalusia, southern Spain, which includes Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean. Today, however, gazpacho turns up on restaurant menus with all sorts of non-traditional ingredients, from apples to grilled shrimp. There is even a version that is served hot.

One of my gardening goals is to have all the fresh ingredients needed for gazpacho available in the garden by August. Here is my recipe for a classic-style gazpacho. Keep in mind that all amounts are approximate. The soup will be delicious as long as you maintain the ingredients in roughly the same ratios. The quality of the bread matters. If you don't have some leftovers of really good bread, leave out the crumbs altogether.

Gazpacho is a great way to use all those cherry tomatoes!

Gazpacho Andaluz

Ingredients:

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, from stale country-style bread

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

A handful of mixed fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chives, tarragon, chervil) minced

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

3 cups water, tomato juice, chicken stock or vegetable stock

Sour cream

Minced red or yellow bell peppers

Chopped scallions

You can use a food processor to chop the vegetables, but the texture will not be as good as if they are chopped by hand. Combine the chopped vegetables, breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon juice, olice oil, herbs, salt and paprika in a large bowl. Cover the mixture, and place it in the refrigerator to chill. Separately chill the 3 cups of liquid. These components can be held in the refrigerator overnight, if desired.

When ready to serve, combine the vegetable mix with the chilled liquid.   Stir well and serve topped with sour cream, minced peppers and chopped scallions.

This recipe is a variation on traditional gazpacho, in terms of both ingredients and technique. You can find an authentic Andalusian recipe here.

Here's another cold soup, a refreshing starter for a late meal on a hot night.

Uncooked Cold Cucumber Soup

Ingredients

2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, or to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a food processor or by hand, finely chop the cucumbers. Pieces should be 1/4 inch or less in diameter. Combine the chopped cucumber with the other ingredients in a large bowl and chill until very cold. Serve garnished with additional fresh dill, if desired.

Let's conclude with one more cold soup recipe. This one is for gazpacho's cousin, ajoblanco, made with almonds. Although like gazpacho its exact origins are unknown, ajoblanco is thought to have appeared first in Seville. Certainly the almonds, which are native to the Middle East, arrived in Spain with the Moors. Use a kitchen scale to accurately measure the dry ingredients.

Ajoblanco de Granada

Ingredients

3 1/2 ounces raw almonds, blanched and skins removed

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 ounces breadcrumbs, from stale country-style bread 

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon Spanish olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
About 1 quart chilled water
Anchovies
Baked potatoes
Butter
Chopped parsley

Grind the blanched almonds with the salt in a food processor until you have a coarse meal. Add the breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil and vinegar and process to a smooth paste. With the motor running, slowly add the water until the soup is the consistency of heavy cream. Chill until very cold.

Serve the soup in chilled bowls, garnished with an anchovy or two. Buttered baked potatoes garnished with parsley are a traditional accompaniment. 

What Happened To Pickalot?

Pickalot produces lots of pickles!

Last season I grabbed a package of cucumber seeds off a store seed rack. I was snagged by the cultivar name 'Pickalot' for a hybrid cucumber. It so happened I was looking for a good pickling cucumber. This one offered a special benefit for my limited-space garden: lots of cukes on compact plants.

True to its name, this cuke gave us many batches of pickles from three hills grown on a nylon net trellis in one of our raised beds. Althgether we canned 17 pints of pickles and had plenty of additional cucumbers for eating fresh and making gazpacho.

Now this year for some reason I can't find the seeds. Burpee, from whose rack I purchased the seeds last year, lists it as "Out of Stock" in its online catalog this year. Since they advertise it as a "Burpee Exclusive," another source may not exist. One can only assume the problem lies with whomever is the source of the seeds. Perhaps they suffered a crop failure or suspended this line of plant breeding. I hope they bring it back next year.

If you happen to notice someone offering this cucumber for 2012, grab a packet. It is a great plant.

And please let me know where you found them!

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