The Greenhouse,

is about growing matters, focusing on my greenhouse and potager. I grow mainly vegetables, herbs and spices but flowers have their given place too. From seed to table, this is the nursery for my living food, we cook a lot of delicious food and I say a potager is the cook’s best friend. The greenhouse makes it possible to grow essential, colourful, warmth loving fruit and vegetables even in this climate such as tomatoes and chillies. My main blog is Tyras Trädgård/Tyra's Garden. View my profile

Thursday

Waxing Moon

Lunar planting

or moon planting

A Waxing Moon, in the sign of the
Cancer - this is a good for germination

Cancer a water sign perfect for sowing leafy vegetables like Basil, Tomatoes, Dill, Brussels Sprouts,  Celeriac, Celery,  Kale, Seakale, Lettuce, Rhubarb, Spinach, Cabbages, Swiss Chard, but not the best time to grow fruit giving plants Aubergine, Beans etc. But when it comes to tomatoes then? It is Yes by the Synodic cycle (This is a good time to sow vegetables that produce internal seed bearing fruits. Tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, chillis, pumpkins, courgettes.) and No by the Biodynamic cycle, well... I've already sown my tomatoes...



another post about Moon planting



Här är ett inlägg på svenska i Köksträdgården om att plantera efter månens faser.

Next full moon is on the 28th of April.


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Wednesday

Purple Calabash Tomato - The Ugly One

This post, 'Purple Calabash Tomato - The Ugly One' - was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog The greenhouse in Tyra's Garden


Who said that?

It's not ugly it's rather good-looking it has... character.



I just love this photo of Purple Calabash! photo: wikipedia.


Like most of the purple tomatoes they seldom win the 'beauty contest' and this one is not an exception with it's irregular form. I don't think it is a winner for gorgeousness but then who know 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'

A perfect tomato for the kitchen, makes a tangy and wonderful salsa for the broschetta. The flavour of the Purple Calabash is rich and intense like a slowly simmered tomato sauce. Fantastic fresh, thinly sliced on a piece of bread or why not make a tomato ‘carpaccio’, this Calabash tomato really shines in pastes and sauces.



Calabash 'Carpaccio'

Thinly slice the Calabash onto a plate, sprinkle on freshly roughly shredded Parmesan cheese, parsley, spring onion and chilli pepper (medium hot) add herbs of your choice and olive oil. Flaky sea salt and (coarse) black pepper.

~ ~ ~ 

Grow Calabash in full sun, keep the soil moist and well fertilised. Purple Calabash is an indeterminate variety. I start them indoors in March and place them in the greenhouse later in May, outdoors in June. Seeds from Rare Seeds.







The story says:
"In Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, written in 1781, he lists tomatoes as produce common to Virginia kitchen gardens. Jefferson grew his tomatoes at Monticello in 1809 - the first summer of his retirement - and grew them until his death. The ribbed, bulbous, and scarred Purple Calabash tomato dates back to pre-Columbian Mexico. Here the Aztecs combined this "xitomatl" with hot peppers and ground squash seeds to make a salsa that would accompany fish and meat." Montecillo



 



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