Friday Feature - Sunflowers!!

It's almost summertime and the sunflowers know it!  If you're looking for a plant that will do wonders for your garden through the warm season, this is it.

The great thing about sunflowers is they can be grown from seed - easily!  Just remember, they are called SUNflowers for a reason, they love lots of sun.  The more sun, the bigger the flower, and the taller they grow.  Good watering is the other key component. 

I poke my seeds into the ground near a drip emitter, where they can be watered on a timer.  Another good spot is next to pots in the garden where seeds will thrive on residual watering.  

Against a block wall is a great location for sunflowers to stand out.  You can even plant them in a row next to a path or the sideway to create a living fence.   Whatever you try, you're sure to have some degree of success with sunflowers.  So go wild and enjoy the summer!

Monday Menu - Chard Salad

Looks like warm weather is finally here to stay (although, it still isn't officially summer - even though it's 110* degrees!).
Time to start clearing out the spring crops and cranking up the compost. But don't pull that chard just yet. It may still have a couple more lives left in it. Like in a salad...

(click on image to enlarge and drool)

My wife created this amazing salad which I just love.
- chopped chard
- cucumber
- tomatoes
- beets (roasted)
- avocado
- feta cheese
- sunflower seeds (or pine nuts)
- light drizzle of vinaigrette

It is de-li-ci-ous! I've now deemed it one of my favorite meals. You could add some baked salmon or grilled over it. But I just like it in a bowl with a big spoon. mmm mmm yummm!

(even LuLu can't resist it. SHOOO!!)

TOMATOMADNESS!

I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into when we decided to grow our own tomatoes this year.

(sun gold, besser cherry, sweet 100, early girl)

I'm so fond of nature, wildlife, blooms, and lush layers of green, I've always focused on filling the garden with unique combinations of landscape plants growing out of control. The space looks incredible, and over time keeps looking incredibler. But my wife and I figured we'd try our hand at growing our own organic edibles, something I hadn't had much success with in the past (but I had never tried all that hard either). So I acquired some great tomato transplants from my local Permaculture pal Rachel, who had grown them all from seed. They were planted in early February 2010 and we were in for a surprise.
And there are still many more to come...

Salsa, anyone?