GardenSpotlight

Because of the wet season we have had earlier this season, your vegetable gardens have been susceptible to many diseases for which you should be aware of.   Be on the lookout for the following: Septoria, early blight and late blight, which affect solanaceous plants such as tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes; Powdery and Downy Mildew, which affects vine crops such as cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash, winter squashes, pumpkins, etc., Alternaria and Downy Mildew (different species of mildew than the first) which affects cole crops such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts and kale.   Septoria is a fungus which causes leaf spot on tomatoes (most commonly) but can also affect eggplant and potatoes.   It is found all over the world where tomatoes are grown and can occur at any stage of plant development.   The disease can occur on the stems and undersides of older leaves on plants ready to set fruit or can also occur on young seedlings.   The sy...

I have had several people ask me how we grow such great looking eggplant and want to know why they had problems this year with their eggplant. They seem to have beautiful plants and lots of flowers, but no fruit on their plants. There are several answers to this problem, and the answer for each person's garden may be one or a combination of both. First, we need to remember that while it is important to fertilize regularly, too much Nitrogen will offset the fruiting capability of the plant. In essence, the Nitrogen encourages plant growth, so that the foliage and plant itself grow and remain healthy, but while the plant grows, the Nitrogen does nothing to encourage fruit set. In other words, the plant puts its energy into growth, rather than fruit production. Because of this, you may have some flowers, but they may be dropping off the plant prematurely, before pollination occurs. By changing the ratio of elements in the fertilizer, we can regulate how our plants grow on the ...

We began harvesting some other vegetables on the farm, so I figured I had better get you all some recipes to go with them! This week we began harvesting Swiss Chard, Cucumbers and Miniature Eggplant. Miniature Eggplants are great...they are very tender and sweeter than most other types of eggplant. We like to coarsely chop them, after peeling and removing the stems. Then saute them in garlic and olive oil and add to omelettes or other vegetable dishes, such as sauteing them with summer squash and tomatoes. They add a little bit of a buttery flavor to our omelettes, which I love! You can also slice them length-wise and brush with olive oil, season with Oregano and Garlic and roast them in the oven or grill them on the BBQ. Use a non-stick foil sheet on the grill so they are easy to remove. Another idea I love is to take the roasted or grilled eggplant along with red and yellow roasted peppers from the grill & grilled or sauteed onions, place them all in a vegetable wrap an...

Gail from Manorville has requested a recipe for Eggplant Salad. There are many different recipes, but coming from an Italian family, I will post our family recipe. It has a complex flavor, but is very simple to prepare. This is perfect timing too because my mom always makes this recipe for our holiday meals...she puts it out with the appetizers and antipasto..mmmm. I actually had to call Mom to make sure I had all the ingredients listed! Left out the onions...thanks Mom! :-) Mom's Eggplant Salad 1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped or diced (note: I never salt and drain my eggplant; in our family, if the eggplant didn't have "bite" to it, then it wasn't eggplant. Feel free to do as you wish) Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 stalks celery - chopped 1 small - medium onion - sliced thin 2 cloves garlic -chopped (the original recipe does not call for garlic....but I put it in just about everything except desserts) 1 TBSP capers 2 TBSP sugar (or to taste) 1 -6 oz ...