It’s going to be 99 degrees in Denver today. Buddy doesn’t seem to mind. He’s running around in the grass under the shade of the willow tree with a piece of wood in his mouth, munching on it like it’s the most tasty treat he’s ever had. A lot has happened here in the last couple weeks. The garden is now ringed with a beautiful cedar picket fence, and the garden shed is almost done. The shed will be a great place to store garden tools for easy access and to do transplanting. I can’t wait until it’s finished!

Today, I want to emphasize how important it is to plant successive crops throughout the summer.

Here, I have a crop of spinach that is getting very large leaves. They’ll be fabulous in a stir-fry for dinner. But, a second crop planted just a couple of weeks ago has smaller leaves that will be great in a salad or as baby greens to accompany another dish.

This bed has a luscious crop of several lettuce varieties and mustard. They look amazing right now, but the long summer days and heat will cause them to bolt soon. So, last week, I sowed a new crop of lettuce.

Lettuce is notorious for not germinating when the weather is warm, but I’ve worked out a technique to get it started even when temperatures are in the 90’s. Simply sow the seed as usual, then water it well and place boards over the top of the bed to shade and cool the soil.  This reduces the temperature of the soil and keeps it from drying out so fast. Once seedlings emerge, remove the boards to let more sunlight in. Using this method and picking the lettuce young (so it doesn’t have a chance to get large and bolt), you can have lettuce growing for salads all summer long. This also works to get other cool season veggies started when it’s warm. Some cool season varieties with long crop times, like cabbage, should be started now, so they can mature in the cooler weather of fall.

Sometimes getting a little behind in chores can actually be helpful. For example, my early crop of cilantro has bolted. I haven’t pulled it yet, but I’ve sown fresh seed around it. The shade the mature plants provide will help the younger seedlings get established. Once the new crop is established, I’ll pull out the older plants. Since I’m behind in weeding, my young fennel plants are surrounded by purslane. But, it helps to shade the soil and has shallow roots, so it will be easy to pull out when I’m ready. I’ve heard that purslane is edible and high in omega-3 fatty acids. Though it’s becoming increasingly popular as a nutritious garden vegetable, I haven’t decided to add it to our seed line yet, because it’s still a ‘weed’ to me. Have you tried purslane? What’s your favorite way to eat it?

There are pockets of interesting color combinations all over the flower borders now. Here are a few pictures of some of my favorite combinations:  Desert Bluebells with Nasturtium ‘Alaska’ and Poppy ‘American Legion’ with Delphinium ‘Pacific Giant’.

And, finally…a photo of the most asked about plant in my garden right now. It’s the Italian Red Onions from last season that have bolted. I love how architectural the blooms look, and they make a striking accent in the garden. Visitors are in awe when they see them!

Basil is not a one size fits all herb. It comes in various colors, sizes and aromas. So make sure you use
the right kind. Italian basil, sweet basil and Greek basil will all lend themselves as perfect varieties for
many Mediterranean dishes. Some are stronger than others, so experiment with them to discover
which ones you prefer the most. Here are 3 easy Italian recipes for using your fresh basil:

1. Mozzarella Basil Salad
Normally, we think of lettuce when we hear the term salad. But this recipe is very simple and
can be put together as a wonderful snack or appetizer in no time at all. All you need is:

A ball of fresh mozzarella. You can buy these typically in the deli section of your grocery store.
Because they are fresh, they are often in the form of a ball. Keep any leftover cheese in a
container full of water. Change out the water daily and the cheese will be good for a few days.

A handful of fresh basil. You can leave whole or slice them lengthwise. If you choose to slice
them, do so just before you serve the salad, because they will begin to turn brown on the edges
if left too long.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It is best to use extra virgin because it holds less acidity than regular olive
oil – which is why it is often used in salads such as this one.

Start by slicing the mozzarella into ¼ inch slices. Place on a plate. Overlap them just a little if
you are short on space. Sprinkle the sliced (or whole) basil leaves evenly over the cheese. Then
drizzle the olive oil over the cheese slices 3 times around the plate. Keep refrigerated until
needed, but it is best to serve immediately.

2. Tomato & Mozzarella Salad
This recipe is similar to the mozzarella salad in that it is very simple to make. What you need :

Two fresh tomatoes. Try to use ones that are meaty tomatoes, such as Roma or Italian varieties.
A handful of fresh basil. Never use dried basil. Fresh is the best for this. I recommend chopping
or slicing the basil.
A ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, chopped in ½ inch cubes. Fresh mozzarella cheese is key for
this dish. You can get the cheese at nearly any deli.
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Remember, the extra virgin has lower acidity content
therefore, making it practical for such purposes.
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar.Do not use flavored vinaigrettes because the flavor of the basil
is all you will need. Adding in such flavors as rosemary or oregano will completely change the
dish.

Chop the tomatoes and place in a medium bowl. Add in the sliced basil and cheese. Drizzle the
olive oil around the bowl about 4 times, and do the same with the balsamic vinegar, but only
two times – approximately 2 Tablespoons. Mix well with a spoon, cover and let sit for a little
while before serving to allow the juices to absorb all the flavors. If you do not like balsamic
vinegar, you can omit it and the salad will taste just as good.

3. Pasta Sauce with Fresh Basil
Although I am a fan of homemade sauce, there are some fairly decent commercial brands out
there. When I have had to resort to buying premade sauce, I always look for a basic plain
tomato sauce which I can doctor up. One of the herbs I use is basil. This applies even with
homemade sauce. When heating up your pasta sauce, add some fresh basil leaves and let cook
for about 10 to 15 minutes over low –medium heat allowing the leaves to cook down. Serve
over a bed of fresh pasta in a pasta bowl and top with some grated Parmesan or Romano
cheese.

This article was contributed by Elizabeth Krause from www.simpleitaliancooking.com a website which specializes in Italian recipes. For weekly recipes and tips, join her newsletter. She first discovered Italiancooking while traveling in Italy. Here she saw the simple lifestyles of the Italians, however noticed they did not sacrifice quality. Every household still had espresso daily, but did so by using stovetop espresso makers rather than always going to a local shop.

I have so much Arugula, it’s a good thing that my family loves eating it! Today, Catherine wanted to share a simple family recipe that makes great use out of the abundance of Arugula. After I’m finished harvesting my share, I’ll shear back the Arugula to about 1” – 2” tall, and it will continue to produce into the summer! I’ve also seeded another row of Arugula this week, so there will be plenty to enjoy for weeks to come.

Is anybody else feeling like this?

“Aaaaagh!!!”

It’s early June when the garden goes wild and the chores are stacking up. I still have plants to get into the ground, the perennial border to weed, delphiniums to divide, weeds to pull, and a load of mulch to distribute. Did I mention weeds to pull???

This time of year, things are popping up like crazy, and a lot has grown since last week. In another two weeks, the garden will look dramatically different again. It’s a transition period from spring to summer when there’s still so much to do.  The spring blooming plants like Alyssum Basket of Gold and Candytuft are done blooming and need to be sheared back to keep them compact—another chore to add to my list. Aaaaagh!!!

Since, I’m so busy, I’m delegating a little blog talk to my daughters today. Sophia is 9, and Catherine is 17. They’re going to do a quick interview with me about some of their favorite things to eat from the garden.

“Sophia, do you like to help plant in the garden?”

“You do the planting. I do the eating!”

“What’s one of your favorite things to eat from the garden?”

“I love peas—any kind of peas!” Her blue eyes get as wide as her smile as she points to the shelling peas and snap peas that will produce tasty crops in just a few weeks.

“What else do you like to eat out here?”

“Strawberries.”

“What about this spinach over here?”

“Mmmm…strawberry and spinach salad with poppy seed dressing.”

“I bet I know another one of your favorites. What about kale?”

“Yes! Dinosaur kale!” Her sister confirms that they both eat big bowls of pasta topped with Italian Nero Toscana kale sautéed in olive oil and garlic.

“So, Catherine, my budding chef, what are some of your favorites from the garden?”

She immediately walks over to the beds of lettuce and holds her hands wide. “Lots of different kinds of lettuce for salads.”

Catherine is hoping to go to chef’s school in the future and frequently rewards us with her yummy dishes. I have one of her delicious homemade rhubarb pies on the kitchen counter right now.

“What else do you like?”

“When I’m cooking, it’s really nice to be able to run out here and grab a handful of fresh cilantro. The carrots are also good. Carrots fresh from the garden taste totally different than the ones in the store. It’s awesome to just pull one up, dust the dirt off and eat it right here.

There, you have it. My kids eat vegetables! They may not be into planting, but they sure do like to eat the fresh food from the garden. It’s another incentive to keep up with my garden chores. At this time of year, the girls often complain that they don’t see me much, because I’m always out working in the garden. It all happens so fast in May and June. I still have more seeding to do, and my salad greens are growing so robustly that they need to be thinned again. I wish I could have someone over for dinner every night to help me eat them. I guess having too much to eat is a problem we gardeners love to have!

Here are some photos from the garden today:

Hello summer! It’s hot! Lows are predicted in the low 90’s today, but since weather is predicted in the 70’s to 80’s for the next few days, I’m not discouraged by this early brief heat wave. It’s prime sowing season, so I’d like to talk a little bit about sowing depth and watering.

Improper depth is one reason for germination failure. If seeds are planted too deep, they won’t have enough strength to emerge. If they’re planted too shallow, they may dry out.

Some seeds need dark, and some seeds need light to germinate, so it’s very important to follow the recommended sowing depth.

1/4″ is a common depth for a lot of small vegetable seed varieties including carrots, endive, escarole, and lettuce (1/8″-1/4″). If you think about it, this is really shallow! Today, I’m planting all the above varieties. My method of planting these varieties is to scatter the seed into nicely tilled soil then pat them in—you really don’t need to bury them. Simply take a clump of soil and lightly scatter it over the top to cover the seed and water it in. The water will help settle the soil in around the seed.

½” is a common sowing depth for mid-sized vegetable seeds like beets and Swiss chard. To sow them, I poke them lightly into the soil then scrunch a light amount of soil over the top. After you water them in, a few seeds may float to the top. Just poke them back down into the soil. A unique fact about these two varieties is that the ’seeds’ are actually fruits. There are multiple seeds inside each fruit (seed). Imagine planting an entire orange with multiple seeds inside. When these seeds germinate, you may need to pinch off the extra seedlings.

Large-seeded varieties like beans need to go deeper. They need to be sown around 1″ deep. To plant them, I first erect a teepee made of three or more tall stakes inside the raised bed. Then, I make a little trench around the base of each pole and scatter the beans around each stake. After that, I correct the spacing to make sure they’re at least 2″ apart and fold soil down on top of them.

Keeping new plantings watered is critical to germination success. It rained last night, but because it’s hot today, it’s not enough to keep the seeds that I planted the other day from drying out. When I poke my finger in the soil, I can tell that the top ½” is dry. That means that I need to water. A hose with a soft spray nozzle will allow you to water gently. Keep moving the spray around, so no areas are flooded and make seeds float and clump together. You may need to water twice a day if that top layer of soil is drying out too quickly. Once the seedlings emerge, you won’t have to be quite that diligent, because the roots will be deeper in the soil and able to find moisture below the top crust.

I’m moving on to planting broccoli and quinoa next. This time of year, I’m tempted by so many wonderful varieties, but the limits of space and time keep me in check. I’ve been known to go overboard! It’s hard not to daydream about the lovely fresh meals I’m going to enjoy from this simple garden. This daydream has inspired me! I think I will thin the lettuce again and make another fresh salad with the pretty chive blossoms, so I can invite the neighbors over to dinner and share it with them.