What to do in your garden this week

July is right around the corner and around here there's plenty of summer yet to come. Here's what to be doing in your garden now.
1. Mulch, mulch, mulch. There are plenty of sources for good mulch, Agri-Turf and Goleta Building Materials for example. A thick layer of mulch will help keep weeds down, conserves much needed moisture and protects the roots of your plants.
2. The trees on your property drop leaves continuously, use them as a natural mulch. Don't rake them and throw them away! Good heavens, no! Sweep them off your patio and walkways and into the planting beds.
3. If you have a lawn, adjust your mower (or your gardener's mower) to the tallest setting. Your lawn should be 3-4 inches tall for optimum health, water conservation and beauty.
4. Summer is late in coming this year, so it's not too late to plant warm season veggies; peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash all have plenty of time to mature.
5. Culinary herbs can be planted as a separate herb garden or as a border in your ornamental garden. Perennial herbs such as Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Fennel, Marjoram, Lemon Grass, Chives, Bay, etc. can be integrated into any garden, I am sure you can think of others. Plant the herbs you use frequently.
6. Have your irrigation system checked on a regular basis (preferably weekly) to ensure you are watering efficiently. If you have questions about your watering system and live in Santa Barbara County, your local water agency (Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta) will do a FREE inspection of your irrigation system and recommend ways to cut back on your water usage.
7. Most importantly, get out and enjoy your garden this summer!

It' been one cool spring and summer

Brrr....it's still a bit chilly here...a few days of sun since June arrived, but not many. I actually had to replant bean seeds as the soil temperature just wasn't warm enough. Had a tour at McGrath Family Farms in Camarillo a couple of weeks back and was told that this past winter and spring have been the coldest on record for Ventura County and as a result the crops are all 4-6 weeks behind schedule. It sure is true in my garden, cucumbers mere inches high, beans just starting to break through the soil. In fact I have one more Tomato seedling to put in the ground and it's nearly July! I just hope the weather warms enough to get a good harvest.
Speaking of harvest, I pulled up my Garlic yesterday and have it curing in the storage shed. According to Rodale's Encyclopedia or Organic Gardening, you should "cure" the freshly harvested Garlic in a hot, dry and airy place for 2-4 weeks and then braid it. Well, hot is going to be a challenge..let's hope the sun comes out soon..

Creative garlic curing...among tax records and canning jars

Happy Summer!

"Summer 

is the time when one sheds 

one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world."

Ada Louise Huxtable

Don't Panic It's Organic! Andy Lopez on Garden Gossip

This week on Garden Gossip, our guest will be Andy Lopez, the originator of the slogan "Don't Panic It's Organic". He is an expert on natural pest control and organic gardening and is always full of helpful hints about how to have a better garden (organically, naturally). Tune in Friday's at 11AM & 9PM and Saturday mornings at 11:00. Or listen live at newspress.com.
For more about Andy Lopez click here

Microclimates of Montecito

When planning a garden it's all about location. In Santa Barbara there are unique microclimates that dictate what to plant where. See this column from the Montecito Journal for all the details. Montecito Microclimates article

Garden Gossip in Food and Home Magazine

Don't miss the latest issue of Food and Home magazine, featuring Garden Gossip beginning on page 64 click link to read Food and Home magazine online.
Food and Home magazine current issue

The Best Apricot Jam Ever

It's that time of year, when my thoughts turn to preserving and since Apricots are the first of the summer fruits to show themselves I thought I'd share with you my recent jam session. Now, I only claim that my jam is the best for my particular taste. But if you like a jam that tastes like the fruit from which it was made and is a bit tart and not super sweet, you'll like this. I adapted this recipe from one my Mother gave me, so here goes:

8 c (heaping) crushed ripe apricots
4 c granulated sugar (I always use cane sugar so as not to be subjected to Monsanto's GMO Beet Sugar) I use organic cane sugar if I have it on hand
1/4 c fresh lemon juice

Mix the fruit and the sugar in a large, deep pot. It must be a stainless steel heavy-bottomed pot so as to prevent discoloration and burning. Start the heat at medium and stir until the sugar dissolves. At this point turn the heat to high and keep stirring. Here's where you must watch to prevent burning. Boil the mixture for about 15 min then add the lemon juice. Continue boiling and stirring until thicken to your liking.

 This year I did something different. I have a very productive Passion Fruit vine and decided to add the Passion Fruit juice to half of the jam instead of the lemon juice. As you can see Passion Fruit have seeds, so you must strain out the seeds of course. I added this to the Apricots and continued as usual.

Fill in sterilized jars as per the instructions in your canning book (Ball Blue Book of Preserving is indispensable) and process in a hot water bath for 15 min.

Because I use half the sugar called for in most recipes, this jam won't last forever in the fridge once opened, but it won't last long once opened anyway, it's so good. As far as yields, you can double or triple this recipe. You'll just need more than one pot. I had two going at once and yes, canning makes a mess! 20 pounds of fruit made a little more than 24 half pints of jam.
Preserving will take up a full day, so plan ahead. It's worth every bit of time you spend.
Strawberry jam-Done
Apricot jam-Done
Next comes the Plum jam and Plum Chutney..
Happy canning and remember to fill your garden (and your kitchen) with joy! Lisa

It's all about your point of view

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." 
-Abraham Lincoln

More on Shepard Farms

I just discovered the Shepard Farms website where you can get all the latest on their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), special events and classes. How about this one: Pickle workshop with Julia Crookston of Bona Dea (the best pickles you've every tasted) on July 3rd at Shepard Farms from 11am-3pm. Sounds like fun..here's the link:
Shepard Farms website

Here are Michael Crookston and Patty Berns manning the "Pickle booth" at Shepard Farms recent open house. I bought the pickled carrots and the pickled turnips. (The pickled carrots were gone in less than a week)

A Taste of Shepard Farms

Last Saturday a crowd turned up to the open house at Shepard Farms in Carpinteria. Music, food, hayrides and farm animals, that's a combination sure to please anyone and it was a perfect day for a festival. Tom Shepard was there of course as well as Premier Pickler, Julia Crookston.  Michael Escobar was there with his portable wood-fired pizza oven baking up pizzas to order.

Chef Edie Robertson (congratulations to Edie for her win in the recent local BBQ contest!) was there cooking up vittles from the SB County kitchen on wheels along with Nancy Weiss, director of food service in Santa Barbara County Schools. Very exciting what she is doing, but more on that some other time. Enjoy the photos of this super fun event and be sure to check out Shepard Farms CSA, and their farm stand. Until next time, fill your garden with joy!
 (left) Patty Berns and Chef Julia Crookston














Chef Edie Robertson in portable kitchen (right) There were plenty of kids enjoying the sunshine, goats and baby chicks
Below is Mike Escobar with a coveted Fava Bean Pizza fresh out of the wood-burning oven on wheels.