Kitchen Gardens

[Spiritwolf]

I was just wondering if we could do up a topic on Kitchen Gardens?. You know, anything we grow in our home gardens to use in the kitchen. Anything from all sorts of Fruits and Veggies to unusual foods to Herbs. We could do up different topics on how to grow,to any problems,to how to use them in certain recipes and also include the recipes in the Recipe section. We could also have a topic on what herbs go best with what meat and pasta and other foods.:cool: What does everybody think, Tyler what is your take on this? Is it possible to do??.
I think it would be very helpful to everyone to have such a Topic on here, and the information we would get back would be awesome, so much info it would be a great help to everyone. Could it be possible to set something like this up Tyler? Please let me know, I was just wondering, maybe other people may not like it.
Thanks Spiritwolf.:)

[Liketobake]

Why don't we talk about kitchen gardens here:D

We have not started anything yet as far as seeds go at my house, but I will keep the thread posted.

We usually start the season with starting our red pepper plants off indoors (from seed).

:D

[Spiritwolf]

Sure, thats sounds great. OK I have a question, Home made pumpkin soup,what herb would go best in this Yummy dish?? I usually put basil in mine, but I did make it a few years ago, when I first started making it actually, I used some mix of dry herbs, (I normally try to use fresh all the time ) and I cant remember what they were. The soup turned out Superb, does anyone have any ideas on what herbs would go best with this dish.
Thanks for any help.

[mcnerd]

OK I have a question, Home made pumpkin soup,what herb would go best in this Yummy dish?? Interestingly enough, Pumpkin Pie Spice is comprised of Cinnamon, Ginger, Allspice and Nutmeg so I assume any of those would work well.

On the subject of Kitchen Gardens......

I recently purchased an AeroGarden and I've fallen in love, but immediately realized you cannot live with just one of them. There is just too much that can be grown.:) The box comes with a starter kit of 7 herbs to grow (Mint, Chives, Italian Basil, Purple Basil, Parsley, Thyme, and Dill). After less than 2 weeks I have growth and the little hothouse domes came off. Soon I will have to be thinking recipes to use these fresh herbs. Later I may try the tomatoes, peppers, and greens. Unfortunately your cannot "mix" pods since the nutrients are custom the particular plant. You have to plant as a set (4-7 pods)

I'm also planning on setting up a grow lite next to it for other herbs or flowers as long as I'm growing things, but I haven't decided yet what to try. This inside job is in addition to my outside garden efforts with tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers.

[Spiritwolf]

Thanks Mcnerd, Nutmeg is so good with pumpkin, I dont know why I didnt think of that in the first place. Also, your Aerogarden sounds wonderful, I want one. and Bell Peppers, we call them Capsicums here, they are soooo easy to grow, Easy Peasy!!!,, Tomatoes and Basil and Parsley are soo easy as well, Good luck with it, let me know from time to time how it is all going, Thanks for your great advice.

[jglass]

I have sweet basil growing in pots on the balcony since we live in an apartment. My father in law has a large garden every year. I buy the seeds and he grows a huge assortment of herbs for me at his place. He only lives a couple of miles from me so its all good.
We are growing sweet basil, thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, chives & parsley. Im sure there were other kinds but I cant remember them now.
Spices are so expensive to buy. Drying my own saves cash.

[fahriye]

I have mint, parsley,thyme and rosemary growing in the pots in our garden. I was also given some cherry tomato plants by a friend recently and they are coming on fine. I keep checking every morning to see if they have flowers on them yet LOL!!! It is so rewarding growing your own I think. I am also looking forward to drying my own, sun dried tomatoes and red peppers this summer.

[Liketobake]

I have mint, parsley,thyme and rosemary growing in the pots in our garden. I was also given some cherry tomato plants by a friend recently and they are coming on fine. I keep checking every morning to see if they have flowers on them yet LOL!!! It is so rewarding growing your own I think. I am also looking forward to drying my own, sun dried tomatoes and red peppers this summer.

An tips on making sundried tomatoes? I have never done this before.....

[fahriye]

Hi Like to bake,
I am going to dry tomatos and some other vegetables like peppers, beans and aubergines when I visit my home town this summer. In hot countries tomatos dry in no time at all. I never dared to dried them in this country(England ) especially up here in North, LOL!!
But we are getting one or two hot days this summer, so you never know....

First I wash the tomatos, dry them and half them. Then I scoop out the inside, leaving little flesh. ( So the tomatoes will dry quicker). Lay them on table with a table cloth making sure all the tomatos are
facing upwards where we took the flesh out. Then sprinkle each tomato with salt to prevent it going black and to preserve them after drying. (wash the salt away just before using the dried tomato) and that is it!!!!
In hot countries tomatos dry in 2-3 days, but not sure how long it takes in this country. Conservatory or kitchen window sill will come in handy when it is not so good outside.
I hope this helps.

[Spiritwolf]

Just wanting to know, "How easy is SAGE to grow, and what do you put it with, apart from Chicken and Fish, is there any other combo, at all. Thanks for any help!!

[fahriye]

Hi Spiritwolf, people might think it is strange but we drink SAGE TEA in Turkey. It is very refreshing and very popular. Just infuse the leaves and drink. Sage grows wild because it is hot there but not sure if we can grow it in England. I always bought fresh sage and froze it for later use in this country. I must admit I personally don't use sage for cooking as much as I use parsley, mint, dill and thyme.

[Spiritwolf]

Thanks Fahriye, I never thought of freezing it, I bought some at a local nursery and within a couple of weeks it had died, I was not sure what i did wrong. I love to use Basil,Mint, and Parsley all the time in everything, just not sure about Sage, but I will keep trying, Thanks for your comment, Oh and by the way, I have to try the Sage Tea, it sounds different, but I drink lemon tea, and mint tea and heaps of other variations, so why not Sage, I will give it a go, Thanks once again.