I swear I am working on a real post. If I could actually tell you about my real life right now you would swear I was living inside of a Telenovela!!!!

Look into those sweet puppy eyes and then go vote for me please. I know this is annoying and I hate actually having to annoy you all but this really is the best way for you to help me ever. Plus puppy wants a new toy.

Remember that you can vote every day up until the 30th. It doesn’t show you how many people have voted. No one will know the winner until September 8th!

In April the word I would have described how I felt before I started growing my Home Farm was apprehensive. I was after all the woman who killed a cactus and pretty much every other plant I have ever grown. But now here it is August and my word moved from apprehensive to amazed. I am seriously blown away by how well the majority of the plants did! It was certainly not the results I expected if I am being truthful.

I learned many a thing through all of this. Number one of course is that you really can grow your own food whether you live in a small apartment or on a spacious acre farm. Number two the kind of soil you use makes a huge difference. I think above all I feel this made a difference. My neighbors had given me a flower as a gift, it was a very pretty blue bell in a blue pot. That flower got the same treatment as my Home farm except that it was planted in different soil. Using the Gardner & Bloome BLUE RIBBON BLEND Premium Potting Soil: Natural & Organic Premium All-Purpose Indoor or Outdoor Container Mix and Dr. Earth Organic Vegetable Garden Fertilizer was the smartest decision I made (well, got talked into, the garden guys did that). For sadly my little blue bell plant did not survive. And I am starting to think that all these years it wasn’t that I have such a black thumb but bad soil and being uneducated. Like I had no idea until this Triscuit Home Farm project that you had to fertilize to keep things growing…now I know. It’s amazing what you can learn when you read.

Next to soil I think the most important things about container farming is the size of the container. I found that the larger the container the better my plants did. As an example all the herbs that I grew in smaller pots died, but all the ones in the larger pots flourished. So much so that I really did run out of room on the patio for my farm. Next year I know to plant a little less and in larger pots.

I think of all the crops I grew, nothing got used more than the romaine lettuce. I used it for sandwiches and salads almost daily. I would cut it down and it would grow right back. The parsley and chives got used often as well. Though I must say that both the snap peas and the broccoli were my favorite of all the crops. See I had been able to grown herbs in the past so I knew I could do it, I just didn’t know about the vegetables. Plus the broccoli plant started so small and each time I would go out I would be just so in awe and excited as to how much it had grown in a day. It was so fun to watch. And I loved the peas just because of my name…that and they are fun to watch from going to flower to veggie.

I regret that I never got my pallet garden up and going. I just didn’t have the space so that is the number one thing I want to do for next year. I think I will try cauliflower as well now that I know I can get broccoli to grow.

This has been one of the more enjoyable learning experiences in my life. I had to do a lot of research since grown living things was never my thing. But there is something so amazingly satisfying about growing your own food. And it really does save you money!!! If you didn’t start a home farm this year I highly encourage you to do one next year.

And now for the contest. Many of you have said over the past few months following my divorce how you wish you could support this blog financially to keep it running but didn’t have the money yourself. Well, this is your chance to help me! I NEED your vote. I need your mom’s vote. I need you mother’s sisters cousin twice removed VOTE! If my farm wins 1st place I can win $1000 and I can keep this little blog you like to read so much running for quite some time off of that. So please VOTE!!! Please help me spread the word to vote. To vote go here. By the way, did I mention to vote!!! You have from August 15th through August 30th, 2011 to vote for me! And I believe you can vote once every day!!!!  The winner will be announced September 8th.

I’ll leave you with a few recipes that can be used with the herbs I used in my Home Farm this summer. I can’t emphasize enough what a rewarding experience it was to not only grown my own food but to do it in such a small space. If Peabody can grow it….so can you!!!!

As always, Triscuit compensated me for this post, but the ideas, words, bad grammar, and opinions are all mine.

Cheesy Chive Bread

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (it depends on what cheese and add-ins you’re using)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces shredded smoked Gouda cheese
3 ounces shredded smoked Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup minced chives

Put the flour, baking powder, and in a large mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients together to combine.

Put the eggs in another mixing bowl; whisk for about 1 minute, until they’re foamy and blended. Whisk in the milk and olive oil.\n\n3. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and, using a sturdy rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, gently mix until the dough comes together. There’s not need to be energetic beating the dough toughens it not do you need to be very thoroughly. Just stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Now, stir in the cheese and the chives. You’ll have thick dough. Turn the dough into the buttered pan and even the top with the back of the spatula or spoon.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the bread is golden and a slender knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, wait about 3 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn the loaf over onto the rack; invert and cool to room temperature right-side up.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Drunken Melon and Raspberry Salad

½ cup orange flavored vodka
½ cup orange juice
1 TBSP sugar
1 small ripe honey dew melon, peeled, seeded and balled (if you don’t own a melon baller just cut into bite size pieces)
1 TBSP finely minced fresh mint
½ cup fresh raspberries

In a large bowl, whisk together the vodka, orange juice, and sugar.

Add the melon and the mint and use a spatula to combine the ingredients.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

Fold berries in at last minute when ready to assemble.

Fresh Corn Bisque

3 ears fresh white corn (yellow works too), kernels removed
1 TBSP unsalted butter for sauté
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper (white) to taste
Herb Oil:

1 TBSP chopped fresh basil
1 TBSP chopped fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup vegetable oil

To make the soup:
Melt 1 TBSP unsalted butter in a large skillet. Add corn kernels and saute for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add corn to food processor and pulse 3 times. Slowly pour in butter while machine is running.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Pulse one last time to incorporate salt and pepper.

Pour into bowls and top with fresh corn and herb oil.

*If you would like your soup to be thinner, add water not chicken stock to thin it out. Using chicken stock or vegetable stock takes away from the corn flavor.

To make herb oil:

In a food processor, add all ingredients and blend until herbs are infused into oil.

Well, I am 3 months into my Home Farm project and even with some recent setbacks I can say that I am still overjoyed with what my Home Farm has taught me (and produced) this summer. Setbacks you say? Yep.

My first setback was one I didn’t account for as I always assumed that sun and warmth would be a good thing. And while they are to some degree, we had one really warm day which produced me a TON of snap peas (peas for Peabody!!!) but also caused my broccoli to form flowers. Once the broccoli grows flowers you can’t eat it. As you can see from the picture I got flowers. Luckily for me though I still had quite a few other stalks, though I panicked at the idea of not getting to use them. So I probably prematurely chopped some of them to make soup. But I wasn’t missing my chance to make Broccoli Cheddar Soup with broccoli from my very own patio! So even though many of my plants when planted said that they needed 5-6 hours of sun, they seem to like the rainy overcast weather better.

Setback number two I definitely did NOT account for was that my Home Farm is doing SO well that I am running out of space. Things are growing much faster than I can eat them or the plant is getting so large and mingling over with other plants. While I love the growth I only have so much space to work with, especially now that I own a grill that is out there as well.

Setback number three is that the majority of my plants that were planted in small pots have reached their demise (moment of silence please). The only survivors were the mint, because mint I believe is the cockroach of the herb world, you have to work hard to kill it off. So I bought another big pot (this was before I got a BBQ) and plan on planting something new. Suggestions? What do you all think ? What would you like to see me try and grow?

Despite my few setbacks I am not giving up. This is after all an experiment of sorts and you are going to have the good with the bad and you learn from all of it! How about you? How is your Home Farm coming along? If you don’t have one, summer is only half way done, if you did plants and not seeds, you could still join the Triscuit Home Farm movement!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 lb. fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (use GOOD quality cheese)
salt and pepper

Sauté onion in 1 TBSP butter. Set aside.

Cook 1/4 cup melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half.

Add the vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.

Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender but I don’t. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

Recipe adapted from Panera Bread Company
If you are interested in seeing other ideas, please visit the other bloggers who are participating in the Home Farming Movement which you can find at the Better Homes and Gardens Home Farming Challenge Page.

As always, Triscuit compensated me for this post, but the ideas, words, bad grammar, and opinions are all mine.

It’s time once again to check in and see how my container farm is coming along. I must say it was pretty cool when realizing I forgot fresh parsley at the grocery store for my Bolognese sauce, that I had some just outside. And with a couple of snips, I had the amount needed for the recipe. There is something extremely satisfying about using food that you grew yourself.The weather is still my main issue around here, as we tend to not get above 50F on average…it’s May! But the peas and Swiss chard don’t seem to notice at all, they are growing nicely. The broccoli and lettuces are also responding well to the weather. What doesn’t seem to be growing all that well so far is the spinach (which I am a little sad about) and some of the herbs, especially the dill. I’m not giving up on them of course, I know they wish they had more sun (5-6 hours ideally), but they will just have to work with what the Pacific Northwest is giving them.

Now that most of my produce is planted (I’m going to try a couple more things…more on that later on), the next thing I have been working on is giving my farm character. Because of my small space, my farm not only acts as a viable source of food, it acts as beautification for my patio. Which is why when choosing my pots, I went for bolder colors since the majority of the plants I am growing are all green. One thing I knew I wanted was to make markers. I had just planned on making them out of Popsicle sticks, but my friend Jill was quick to find a much cuter idea for me. I have no crafting ability whatsoever, so she was kind enough to make them for me. She found vintage graphics and what she couldn’t find she made using clip art. We used spoons, forks, and even a pie server, which were all found quite cheaply at the local Goodwill. You definitely don’t need them to match. If you have any interest in making them for your farm, here is a link that shows you how to do it. For those wondering how they hold up in rainy weather, so far so good! I also felt that my farm needed a sign to make it my own. I found someone to make me a funky sign using old license plates. I think it fits nicely into the theme of my farm, don’t you?

One of my big concerns was watering. I am the girl after all who killed a cactus by over watering it. So it was really important to me to learn when and how much I should be watering my farm. Triscuit Home Farming website has a great instructional video about watering that was very helpful. If you are growing a farm and haven’t checked out the videos yet, you should. Lots of good information in those videos.

I have one more idea I want to try out. I found a pallet garden a couple weeks back and loved the idea. The original idea was for flowers, so I am not sure how it will do with herbs and veggies, but I think it is worth the try. I am also tossing around the idea of edible flowers. As you can see from the photo, the palate is still in the process of being built. So stay tuned to see how that project will be turning out.

How is your farm coming? If you don’t have one, it’s still not too late. It doesn’t have to be a container garden either. If you are interested in seeing other ideas, please visit the other bloggers who are participating in the Home Farming Movement which you can find at the Better Homes and Gardens Home Farming Challenge Page.

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