Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Plant Fest - Part II

As promised here's the vegetable edition from the festival. This is asparagus growing. It's very similar to asparagus ferns but a little more frilly and obviously a little more upright.
I tried a close-up picture but it didn't turn out too good.
I'm not a fan of Radicchio but this looks pretty good.
I've never seen papaya growing before. I have always wanted to taste this fruit and finally did this past summer. Truthfully, I wasn't too impressed. Neat looking plant though.I thought this was an interesting way to grow spinach. I've never heard of this type spinach before but I took a little pinch and tasted it. It was very good. It almost had a buttery taste.
We saw every kind of tomato imaginable but I have never seen a tomato plant this tall. My husband is over 6' and this one towered over him.These were probably the most beautiful collard greens I have ever seen.

I grew broccoli and cauliflower this past spring and trust me, mine didn't look anything like these guys. The amazing thing about this vegetable garden was there were no weeds or any type of mulch to help keep weeds out. Unfortunately we were not allowed to pick anything. They are having a u-pick day this Saturday but I have to work so, so much for fresh veggies.
Last but not least was the "cornmeal man". He was taking corn and grinding it into meal and grits.
I was so happy I was able to purchase both freshly ground corn meal and grits. Of course, what's a festival without boiled peanuts. I use to not like these but my husband has gotten me to liking them.

Hope you enjoyed the vegetable garden as much as I did!

19 comments:

Meadowview Thymes said...

Wow--what great veggies. I sure wish I could grow asparagus--it is one of my very favorites! I'm told you need lots of patience to grow it.

beckie said...

Susie, just gorgeous! Almost makes me want to do a veggie garden again. The papya really is unusual-no leaves to hide the fruit. And that spinach is the oddest thing. Fresh grits, one of my favorites, but you can keep the boiled peanuts. This was really and interesting show. So much growing and so much looking good.

Unknown said...

Susie, I took a leisurely stroll, taking time to check out all the veggies. They look so yum!
That's the spinach I'd written about in my earlier post. It's just that mine's the smaller variety but the taste , the colour, the seedheads--the same. Glad you liked the taste.

Thanks for the show. What a wonderful chance for me to see something like like this from halfway across the world.

Unknown said...

That was very interesting. What a tall tomato plant.

Becky said...

Yummo on all of it! What amazed me is how the asparagus grows. Are the tips in the ground? I didn't see them. And that tomato plant, WOW!!! I'm on my way to spoil babies today! And yes, I have a BIG spoon with me! HA!!! Love you sissy!

Susie said...

Meadowview-I love asparagus as well. I think you do have to be patient to grow it. I think I have seen where you plant the roots one year and the next the plant produces.

Beckie-Grits are wonderful. I especially like them with cheese.

Kanak-That's interesting that is the same spinach you wrote about. I had forgotten that. I'm going to go back and look at that post again. I'm glad I got to see the spinach you grow. How neat that is!
The taste was really good too!

Darla-I've never seen such big tomatoes. The plants were all gorgeous and the tomatoes themselves looked delicious!

Sis-This asparagus was actually grown out meaning the airy foliage was the tips. Hope that makes sense to you.

Ya'll have fun with the babies. Give'em kisses and hugs for me!

Anonymous said...

Those veggies are fantastic Susie. They must really have some great soil because everything looks healthy and huge. The tomato plant that towered over your hubby was impressive. You need a ladder to pick those maters! :)

Susie said...

Racquel-That tomato plant was huge. I can't imagine growing something like that but I would definitely be happy if I could get one to grow that large.

RURAL said...

Susie, so nice of you to drop by, and say hello. Glad to have you visit, come by anytime. Loved seeing your veggies, and what yummy radichio!
Jen

raccoonlover1963/Lisa Myers said...

Hi Susie. Okay, I have my salad plate ready!
I never used to like asparagus, but my sister-in-law showed us a great way to fix it. Spread fresh asparagus onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with sea salt(I use coarse ground sea salt). Broil for 5 minutes. If you have a charcoal grill going, toss the asparagus on the grill after removing from broiler for about another 5 minutes or so to get the smokey taste. YUM!
Okay, now I've made myself hungry!
Have a great week.
Lisa

flydragon said...

Susie,
They grow husbands pretty tall down there, too. Must be all that sunshine and good eats.

Susie said...

MBD-Thanks for dropping by! I always enjoy new visitors as well. That radicchio was a beautiful plant.

Lisa-Thanks for the recipe. We both love asparagus! We grill lots so I might just have to try this.

flydragon-Girl, nothing but good living goes on down here!!! You believe that, right??? Now, if I can just convince myself!

marmee said...

hey susie, i thought i left a comment a day or so ago. but alas it is gone. anyway this is a great looking festival. too bad you won't be able to get any fresh veggies. thanks for sharing.

Susie said...

Marmee-Yeah, I would love to have some of those tomatoes or anything else I could have gotten my hands on. Everything looked so great! I think next spring I'm going to have to plant more veggies.

Sandy said...

Delicious looking post! The vegetables are beautiful.

Thanks for popping in this morning and for your precious comment. Creating for me is as much a pleasure as gardening is for you, it is my joy not work. If you change your mind, let me know.

Have a sweet day!

DP Nguyen said...

What awesome vegetables that you saw. I enjoy papaya, but i've never seen the plant before. How cool!

I'd love to eat some of that spinach-looks great and what a cool way to grow it.

Susie said...

DP-So glad to get a comment from you. The veggie garden was wonderful and that spinach tasted great!

Rose said...

I'd like to know their secret for keeping out the weeds without any mulch! And I'd like to know how they keep the bugs out of the broccoli:)

We Northerners may not be familiar with boiled peanuts, but luckily my daughter's best friend was from Georgia so I have sampled them--different, but tasty.

Susie said...

Rose-The first time I tried them I thought, no way. I didn't like the mushiness of them but now. Not sure why I changed my mind but I really enjoy them.