Standstill.

Hmmm.  It's finally hitting me that the early fall-type weather that I've been loving so much is not the greatest for my vegetables.  NOTHING is ripening.  Last weekend I was bemoaning that everything was green and this week it is more of the same.  I'm starting to worry.

San Marzano tomatoes a-plenty... but they are all totally green

SO MANY cayenne peppers... if they'd ever turn red!

There does not seem to be any end in sight to this weather... and honestly, were it not for the garden, I'd be thrilled!  But those low temperatures are concerning.

But there's not much to do about it, so instead, Butch and I spent some time outside and made room for fall crops - beets, cauliflower, cabbage, and more fennel.

I've gotten some beets recently in our CSA subscription and have enjoyed roasting them for salad.  So, for a few dollars I decided to buy two packets of seeds - Chioggia beets, which are a gorgeous red and pink stripe, and golden beets.  I planted them where the spinach never really came to fruition, next to the second planting of Toscano kale:

A-a-and... that's all, folks!  I wish there were more to report (and eat!).  Hopefully there will be soon.

Oops! (or, how to end up with a lot of fennel)

Last year I wrote about my love of fennel.  It is a lesser-known garden crop, but one that I love.  I use fennel in Jamie Oliver's deliciously complicated homemade ketchup recipe that I make and can every year; I also add it to homemade vegetable stock and it is a great addition to the mirepoix step of any soup (chop it up and add right in with the onion, celery and carrots).  It is also good raw in salad, and I'd love to try this recipe for fennel relish.  I also recommend the fennel pickles at this restaurant if you having brunch in Philadelphia.

This is totally store-bought.

However, my own growing of fennel has been spotty at best.  Last year the plants did not yield much, as least not in terms of nice healthy bulbs.  The green fronds at the top are nice for adding flavor to soups (or seafood, which is not something I eat, but apparently pairs well), but the white part is where it's at!  So this year I did a few things to improve the chances of getting some good fennel bulbs:

1. Improve soil
2. Plant more
3. Buy mulch with which to "mound up" around the base of the plant.  Soil did not seem to be sufficient last year.
4. Spill a ton of fennel seeds by mistake and just sit back and watch what happens.

Well, this happened:


The row in the back (flanked by the gnomes) was on purpose.  Most everything else was a mistake.  I thinned these out and will see how things go, if I need to thin them out more.  Also, it's hard to tell from this aerial photo, but the mulch is "mounded up" around the base of each plant to cover the developing white bulb.

Like so.

Fingers crossed, I'll have some of my own fennel to use this year!

New additions

Because I hadn't yet filled every single square inch of room in my seed trays, and because I had bought enough seeds for a 12-acre farm, I decided to start a few more in my makeshift greenhouse.

In this picture you can see all the essential tools of a home gardener, including the Sharpie marker and kitchen spoon.  I used the same seed starting mix and method as in the other pots, and planted 4 of fennel and 4 of basil.  These are 2 crops I have only ever planted right into the soil, but we'll see how they do indoors.  You can see that the cucumbers, planted too long before their time, continue to grow rapidly (upper right).  Too bad they're likely to outgrow these little pots before it's warm enough to plant them outside.

Fennel

Fennel (or anise, as it is also known) is a little-known and under-appreciated vegetable, in my opinion.  It is also kind of expensive to buy in the store.  So last year I decided to buy some fennel seeds and see what happened.  It was a success, so I planted fennel again this year. 

Fennel starts out looking a little like a fern.  Even when it is just a few inches tall, the fronds (as the green parts on top are called) and very fragrant, with a kind of licorice-y taste. 

There are two parts to the fennel, the frond (top) and the bulb (bottom).  As the bulb starts to grow, you are supposed to keep it covered with dirt.  I also keep the fronds trimmed so that the plant spends more of its energy developing a large base.

You can see the white bulb developing on the bottom of this plant.  After taking this picture, I mounded up some dirt around the base of the plant to cover it up.

I frequently see recipes where fennel fronds are paired with fish.  I personally don't eat fish, but I do throw the fronds into soups or especially when I am making homemade vegetable stock.  I use the bulb in vegetable stock as well.  It is also good added to the "mire poix" in any soup or sauce - that is the mixture of carrots, celery and onion that you frequently saute at the beginning of a recipe.  I have mixed chopped fennel bulb into mushroom stroganoff and also use it in my favorite lentil soup. 

The picture above is of a big, fat store bought (the horror!) fennel bulb that I used last weekend when making homemade ketchup.  Mine probably won't get to quite that size, but they do appear to be healthy and growing. 

Also, if you let the tops grow and go to seed (and they grow like crazy... several feet tall if you don't cut them back), you can harvest fennel seed from them and use it to grow more fennel, or in cooking.  I've never tried this, mainly because I forget to let one go that long, but this year I'll see if I can!