Farmer's Markets | Fall Plantings | Natural Cleaning | Soil Sista Saturday Week 3 | August 7, 2021

GREEN Organic Garden Podcast

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Basil I planted June 21, 2021

With my soil blocker

Such an awesome couple

OMGOSH! These blossoms were the best! Follow them on instagram https://www.instagram.com/themilkmaidbakery/

Sorry about the sound listeners. lFind the partially edited Computer Generated Transcript below.

Hey everyone. This is JackieMarie Beyer. Your host here to help inspire you on your journey to create, grow, and enjoy a green, organic oasis. So let's get growing. Welcome to the GREEN Organic Garden. It is Saturday, August 7th, 2021, and we're doing Soil Sista Saturday again. So Aileen Catrone our Golden Listener from 2020 in New Jersey is here to share with us, how are you?

Aileen

00:00:42

Great, wonderful, excited. The garden is still going. Everything's surviving. How are you?

JackieMarie

00:00:53

What's your weather? Like we have clouds today. We might actually get rain and it's been cooler the last two days.

Aileen

00:01:00

No, it's been really nice and sunny all week. It has not rained, which it's kind of good because we had so much rain. You know, you get a lot of that, that blight coming and stuff like that. So I'm trying to head that off a little bit, you know, taking all the, you know, the underneath the stems and stuff that are touching the soils and stuff, cleaning out the tomato plants a little bit underneath to still keep them going, which is nice. I have some squash coming up. I have pumpkin's coming up. I'm so thankful. Zucchini coming up. Eggplants still going too, which is wonderful.

Aileen

00:01:42

I have some green beans, so I'm excited. It's working out. It really is. I'm thankful.

JackieMarie

00:01:50

You do have green beans coming already?

Aileen

00:01:54

Yes. Yeah. These little and they're purple. And then they turn green when you cook them kind of thing. So they're pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. It's not a lot.

JackieMarie

00:02:04

Mike has green beans coming on. I think I saw down, I think I ate one the other day, even.

Aileen

00:02:10

Mike has some green beans?

JackieMarie

00:02:15

Yeah! He has lots of green beans and we have those dragon-tongue striped purple ones that the kids always dragon tongue ones. That Patti Armbrister turned me on to. He just walked in with some cucumbers. He's gonna make pickled beets and hopefully pickle pickles this week.

Aileen

00:02:37

Good. That's one thing I did. I picked one cucumber. I only have one. The rest are growing, but one I picked, so pick them and you know, what's funny about the cucumbers? They have this like prickly, like I guess it's a defense mechanism for, if something comes to eat them. I never, huh?

JackieMarie

00:03:00

They do.

Aileen

00:03:02

Yeah! It's like, it feels that like, the eggplant has it also on the stem area. It's like these thorns. I never knew that because when you go to the store, they're actually taken off.

JackieMarie

00:03:18

Yeah! And also the ones that the store are more of a slicing cucumber, I think different than a pickling cucumber. I don't know if the slicing cucumbers have, and they always feel like they have that wax on them, the ones you buy at the store, you know?

Aileen

00:03:33

Oh yeah. Oh, completely different. Oh, everything is completely different. And everything tastes different. Definitely tastes better from your garden. There is no doubt in my mind.

JackieMarie

00:03:43

Yeah! Last year I tried to find pickling cucumbers because Mike, for some reason we didn't have any and I could not find them anywhere at the stores. You know, you could only find the slicing cucumbers. The farmer's market, I have a hard time getting to the farmer's markets around here. Well, the one in Eureka, there's one guy who's been selling stuff this year, but generally our farmer's market is more like an arts and crafts market. Like there's just not a lot of farmers up here.

Aileen

00:04:12

Isn't that amazing Jackie? Cause I went to the farmer's market last week in Bricktown. It's the next town over from me. And the last time I was there was probably four years ago and it was great. They had a lot of produce. Everybody was into it. Plant starts. Everything. I went last weekend and it was more like a craft, like craft beers, craft wines, craft foods, like there was a Perogies stand. There's someone that was look like they were selling mushrooms and someone's selling homemade hot sauces, but not a lot of fresh produce.

Aileen

00:05:01

Now might have been because I went late. I mean, it's, it's only between nine and two and I got there about 12:45.

JackieMarie

00:05:09

So you think the produce people were sold out?

Aileen

00:05:14

Correct. That's what I was thinking. But there were only three stands of produce that I saw that were still there and they had corn, eggplant, tomatoes. So I don't know. And you know,

JackieMarie

00:05:27

What's corn like a New Jersey? Corn in Montana this year has been awful at the regular store and super expensive.

Aileen

00:05:36

And the reason why I know for sure we are having a great corn season because I've been through two, three different places to buy the corn. And it's called the white corn. Silver Queen is the name. It is the most delicious corn you ever can imagine. I love corn. So you don't even need butter or salt.

JackieMarie

00:06:00

What's it cost in New Jersey? Here it's like a buck an ear but I saw it for 68 cents the other day.

Aileen

00:06:07

For organic, a dollar a year for organic at these farm stands.

JackieMarie

00:06:12

Nice.

Aileen

00:06:12

At these farm stands and farmer markets which is really nice because that's important. You want it to be, and you want to get rid of your product. You know what I mean? You don't want to sit on corn, so sell at a price because people are buying it by 12, 13 pieces at a time, you know? So yeah.

JackieMarie

00:06:29

Even at a buck an ear?

Aileen

00:06:30

Yeah! A buck an ear.

JackieMarie

00:06:31

Nice.

Aileen

00:06:31

Yes. It's nice. And it's worth it. It's so worth it.

JackieMarie

00:06:36

I mean, there's nothing like corn on the cob.

Aileen

00:06:38

No and you don't need butter or salt. It's sweet. Delicious. Just out of this world. It's called silver queen. A lot of places in this area grow that, which is really nice. What else did I see? There were no plans starts. That's what I was disappointed at. You know how right now the fall seasons coming up and you should be getting ready. Like even if you had a plant start, you could pick up a tray like of plants that you could buy. And like, if there's a really true gardener that wants to learn about something that you could actually start these now that would be the place to buy it from. But there were nothing, nothing like that. There was no no selling of plants.

Aileen

00:07:19

There was some, someone selling some shrubs, but nothing that I would want in my garden, you know, more ornamental stuff.

JackieMarie

00:07:26

There's a side business for you there because you're so good at growing starts.

Aileen

00:07:32

See, that's what I was thinking. That's interesting because that's all that was going through my head. I was like, I was expecting, and then I asked this one, I bought a couple of eggplants from this one stand out of the three that were there. And I asked him what variety of it was. And he had no idea. So I was like, okay. So they probably send out people to just like manage the stand for that day. You know what I mean? Or you know, just somebody there as a body to collect the money.

JackieMarie

00:08:02

Or maybe he doesn't remember, I'll be honest with you. People have been asking me questions like that. And I'm like, I don't know. I don't remember what I bought. I'm lucky if I can tell you what seed company it came from.

Aileen

00:08:15

Yeah. But I don't know,

JackieMarie

00:08:16

But I guess I'm not at a farm selling it either.

Aileen

00:08:20

Yeah, exactly. Like I think if, I think if you're actually selling it and like, but we went to another stand for the corn and that woman was very knowledgeable of what her products were. So that's what I mean, like, you know, so it was a hit or miss kind of thing with that, you know, I was a little disappointed in that. The actual plant, you know, the produce of only having three stands and someone not knowing what they're growing or what they're offering you. So, but you know what? It was all good. The eggplant tasted good. The big plants were going for $2 a piece.

JackieMarie

00:08:56

Did you buy eggplant? You've been growing so much eggplant.

Aileen

00:09:00

Yeah. I did buy some eggplant. I love it! I don't, I don't grow enough of it. I had it. How did I know I was going to love it so much? I mean, I actually love it in general and my husband loves to cook it. So, you know, I didn't know.

JackieMarie

00:09:13

My mom grew an eggplant this year and she was so excited about it. She was like, it's so pretty I don't want to cut it. And it's so funny cause she paints vegetables. Like when she does painting, she loves to paint in the summer. She paints the flowers in her garden and she paints vegetables. And she, I made these little note cards of hers, of her eggplants.

Aileen

00:09:31

You sent me one, it was gorgeous. That's how you sent me one of those. And it said, Marie Ramos on the back. And it was a picture. I mean, or on the front it was a picture of a eggplant, like a couple of vegetables. Yes. It was gorgeous. I loved it. I still have it.

JackieMarie

00:09:44

She's so cute. But this year she was so excited cause she actually grew an eggplant.

Aileen

00:09:50

They're so beautiful. That purple, that purple flower that comes out.

JackieMarie

00:09:54

I love them, aren't they?

Aileen

00:09:56

It's just gorgeous. And then the green stem and the dark purple, black purple body, the skin. Oh my God. It's just gorgeous.

JackieMarie

00:10:07

Those ones you grew were just the perfect size too. I thought those ones that you posted that picture of them on your hat.

Aileen

00:10:15

Yeah! They're called Moonlight midnight. And they only, they only get to three to six inches and that's when you should, you know, between three to six inches, you need to harvest them.

JackieMarie

00:10:30

Yeah. Cause I think bigger than that, they get kind of mushy in the middle and they're harder to cook.

Aileen

00:10:37

Or the seeds are a little too big, you know what I mean? They're not as tender. Yeah. Yeah. I agree.

JackieMarie

00:10:43

I did make some fried Parmesan, zucchini. They're called to zucchini boats. But then, but it was mostly just like I cut the zucchini in half I sprinkled, they were so easy. Just put them in a roaster with olive oil, salt and pepper and Parmesan cheese. And they tasted almost like eggplant Parmesan. I reheated some cause I have more than I could eat one meal and I split cherry tomatoes on top and a little more of the Parmesan. Oh it was so good! I added some breadcrumb.

Aileen

00:11:21

To me, oh, that's nice for the texture for the crunch. Oh yeah.

JackieMarie

00:11:25

It tasted just like eggplant Parmesan. And I was like, wow, this is so different. And so easy to make. I like that.

Aileen

00:11:33

And then did you, were you able to eat the skin and to right? Like everything just nice

JackieMarie

00:11:38

Things with skin on them? Like I that's where most of the nutrients are?

Aileen

00:11:42

In college this friend of mine turned me on to this restaurant that sold mashed potatoes with the skins in them. And just like I eat everything with the skins on them. They were like notorious for like, she would just go there just for their mashed potatoes with the skins on them. Yeah. Your vegetables with skin on it. That fruits and vegetables that is the most nutritious is right underneath the skin. It's the most nutritious Robbie made. So with all these tomatoes I had, he made a sauce, a nice red, you know, they call them gravy, they call it gravy, Italian, you know, sometimes called a gravy. It's a red sauce. And this time he added some ground cloves, can I tell you it was outstanding?

Aileen

00:12:25

Cloves and tomato sauce. I've never heard of it. Never, ever, ever, ever. And it was delicious. And my mom had some on Wednesday when she came by, she said, I've never had this ever in my life. The flavor is unbelievable. It's ground cloves in tomato sauce.

JackieMarie

00:12:45

Cloves like you would put like in an apple pie? Those cookies, I thought you meant garlic cloves. You're talking about the little brown cloves.

Aileen

00:12:54

That you, yes. The little brown cloves that you decorate an orange with in the fall time or yeah, you decorate a ham with. Ground cloves. It was delicious.

JackieMarie

00:13:06

I wonder where he got that idea?

Aileen

00:13:08

I don't know, but then I was talking to my aunt today. I went to visit her and I brought a whole bunch of tomatoes and I told her about the sauce. She goes, my mother used to make the sauce like that. And I was like, really? And she's in her eighties. So I don't, you know, it was a thing. And she said, it's a taste and a smell that you, I love it. Now I even have clove oil that I dust, you know, the furniture in my house with, because I love the smell so much. So to eat it, yes, it was just try it!

JackieMarie

00:13:42

That sounds bettter than Pledg.e or something. Like I always buy Pudge cause I like the lemon scent, but that sounds better

Aileen

00:13:49

No, no I, and I don't, I don't use Pledge or any of that. I just use like on an old sock, I put a little water and I put a little bit of oil. It's actually oils, you know, like essential oils and I dab and then I just start wiping down the furniture. I have lemon, peppermints. Oh, that's how I clean. That's how I dust the furniture, you know, as, as natural as possible.

JackieMarie

00:14:16

Oh, that's so easy and such a great idea.

Aileen

00:14:21

Oh yeah. Oh, it's much better than all these chemicals. You know, you have a dog, you have pets, you have, you know, kids around who wants them to be, you know, they gnaw on the furniture, putting their mouth on things. What do you want to put a chemical on your furniture for? You know, I'm just thinking that way. I don't know. That's how I always thought.

JackieMarie

00:14:39

I don't know. Like I am not usually, that's funny because I posted a thing about brands like that's why. Like I have like two brands that I like Dawn dishwashing soap and Pledge. Like I don't, I don't like all the other stuff, I pretty much buy generic, but those are like two of the only brands that I actually buy. But I'm going to throw the Pledge out and, and try that clove oil. That sounds so good.

Aileen

00:15:05

Clove oil. I have peppermint, I have Lemon. So, and they're expensive. So you open, you only need a little bit, a little bit goes a long way, you know? Cause really the rag is picking up. The duster is picking up most of the stuff, you know what I mean? This is just kind of nourishing the wood so it doesn't dry out, you know?

JackieMarie

00:15:25

Well, that's what I use it for too. My art desk is that is made of wood. And I like to, I like to do it on

Aileen

00:15:33

That. Yeah. That's really a good idea. So anyway, that's the two things. So you had a nice recipe with zucchini. My husband making that sauce with the clovs is just unbelievable. Unbelievable.

JackieMarie

00:15:49

I was just looking, Mike was giving me what he needed. I need, I want to say, what did he say? Whole all spice. He's cause when I go to town, I'm going to go to the store. He needs cinnamon sticks for the pickled beets, whole all spice. I'm not sure what that is.

Aileen

00:16:05

Yeah. So that allspice but that might be kind of the same thing. It's got all the spices in it. I'm assuming, I don't know. We don't usually buy, you know, a lot of things. So, you know, Robbie has all the staples in there.

JackieMarie

00:16:19

Is it different than like ground allspice like that you buy when you put in an apple pie?

Aileen

00:16:25

Yeah, I would think so. It might, it might be. I imagine maybe he wants to grind it up or leave it whole because it's just going to dissolve better in the pickling juice. You...