Mediocre Start

Went to the garden this morning to check and see if the tomatoes needed watering. They didn't, but they are not thriving. I definitely expected them to be happier with the sunlight they're getting. I do think they will eventually perk up, though I may even lose a few. Weird. I will drop by tonight and hit them with a dose of fertilizer. Absolute worst case I have to buy some plants at the local greenhouse. Hope not.

Aaaaaand we're off!

Due to just miserable rainy weekends, I was off to a bit of a slow start this year, but things are looking pretty good now. I missed the last frost date target by a few weeks, but was good by Memorial Day. Thought it might be good to revisit some of my New Year's gardening resolutions and see how I'm doing so far.

1. Landscape fabric - Found some at a yard sale. Not increibly thick, not sure how good of a weed block it would be. Haven't laid any down yet. Got a ton of straw from a friend, so it's somewhat less urgent.
2. Fertilize - I will do the first dose tonight. My plants seem to be not exactly thriving, though I'm certain they'll perk up soon.
3. Diversify - cukes, beans, kale, potatoes, zucchini - Kale in full swing. Zucchini plants but not up yet (slightly worried). Cuke seeds to be planted tonight. Maybe do beans at home. May pass on potatoes. Never do a very good job with those.
4. Potatoes - Meh.
5. Garlic - Had some volunteers pop up, tried separating and replanting, I don't think they took very well to it. May just need to wait until fall.
6. Raised beds - Nope.
7. Pruning - No need yet.
8. Kale square - Kale square is planted and some coming up already. Will try to stay on top of weeds.

So in terms of score, I'd give myself half credit on 3 and 5, full credit on 8, and not count 7. So about 2/7 - 29%. So a low F. F--. *sigh*

Pretty pleased with current progress. There were a ton of weeds, mostly this vine thing that looks like Creeping Charlie (great guide I found online that has a lot of the weeds I see in my plot - https://www.bhg.com/gardening/pests/insects-diseases-weeds/types-of-weeds/ ). It's pretty easy to pull most of it, but tough to get all of it.

How things looked when I'd just started...

Ack!

Kale Square

And currently...

Still needs work. But better.

Three types of kale.

Scones, Part Two!

Another round of scones, this time the third recipe but with a cup of cake flour instead of all all-purpose. And with a bit less additives, and this time half chopped pecans and half chocolate chips. They were great.

Chocolate chip pecan scone

Slight detour - scones

In the past I've used this blog to record non-gardening info, like my detour into attempts to craft the ideal baguette. Though I didn't achieve perfection, I felt like I vastly improved the quality of my bread and recorded the key steps that made a big difference.

This post with document my attempts at scones. Before I even begin I have to admit that I have never actually eaten an actual scone. So I have an utter lack of reasonable preconceptions about what a scone actually is going into this.Not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Scone One - Maple Pecan with a Maple Sugar drizzle

My first attempt was based on this recipe. The result was pretty good, but a bit dense. Again, not knowing what a legit scone tastes like and what kind of texture it has, I was a bit in the dark. But I would make the recipe again - if I wasn't on a quixotic quest for the ideal scone. The drizzle was nice, though made it a bit messier.

Scone Two - Raspberry

The second scone was very light and airy, which just didn't seem right. I think the use of some cake flour contributed to the lightness. I enjoyed the texture, but the gourmands I offered them to (the kids) were disappointed, particularly after enjoying the first scones so much. They were also a lot more crumbly. And the raspberries didn't hold up very well, I could barely taste them at all, and only rarely happened upon any raspberry bits with enough texture to be distinguished from the surrounding scone. Perhaps more raspberries would have helped? Maybe that's not the right fruit for scones.

Scone Three - Chocolate Chip

The third and perhaps final scone was definitely the best of the lot. I put the call out on facebook to find a good recipe after the second attempt went south on me. One friend answered with this recipe which was just about perfect. It's done in a food processor, which leads to a much finer texture to the scone - both others seemed a bit more clumpy. The only deviations I took from the recipe was to fold a bit more (I used too many chocolate chips and it took a bit to incorporate them), I used a bit more cream (as written the dough was too dry and did not come together), and I had to bake longer - they weren't completely done in the center even after 20 minutes (!) though likely that is a function of my oven more than the recipe. Next time I will crush up the chocolate chips a bit, add fewer of them, and add some crushed pecans. But overall very pleased with the third attempt. 

Maybe I'll even try a real scone and see how far off I am.

New Year, New Resolution

My eternal battle cry - "I'll do better next year!" Well, here it is next year. And so far I've kept my promise. The seeds are sprouting on wet paper towels as we speak. Then we had a snow storm. So the peas have to wait a little while before I can plant them. I am a bit behind in planting the sproutlings and firing up the underground garden. My nice long fibreglass planters are still sitting on the deck with last years dead weeds in them. But I'm still ahead of the game.

Things to do this year:

1. Landscape fabric - weeds make the whole garden experience a chore instead of pleasant. I need to cough up a little cash to keep them more in check.
2. Fertilize - I feel like if I keep the weeds down and the fertilizing up, I'll get a much bigger harvest.
3. Diversify - I get bored with monoculture. That seems to be how things go at the community garden, it starts with a few different veggies, then ends with an unending stream of tomatoes. This year will try to get cukes, beans, kale, and potatoes going at the garden. Plus the old reliable zucchini of course.
4. Potatoes - Plant them early, experiment with a potato tower.
5. Garlic - I love having garlic in the garden, but I blew it off last fall. Will do better this fall.
6. Raised beds - They're so good! I need at least do a prototype at the garden.
7. Pruning - Tomatoes do so much better if properly pruned. I need to do this!
8. Kale square - I loved having so much fresh kale. I need to revitalize my crummy 3' x 3' kale patch.

Number 12

Attempt #12 was unimpressive again. I believe I'll just try a different recipe next time. Basically, I used the unmodified KAF recipe. I did use the baker's couche I ordered a while back for the first time - it worked well, though not sure how necessary it is. I was also a bit more gentle with the dough. I was rewarded with slightly more airy crumb. But again my nemesis - scoring issues. I feel like leaving the dough uncovered for proofing did dry out the skin a bit so it was slightly easier scoring. But the I now feel like the issue might be overproofing. Well, maybe not proofing exactly. First I let it rise for 90 minutes, perhaps a bit longer. Then I formed them into balls and let sit 15 min. Then I proofed for like 30 minutes and the finger dent test suggested it was overproofed. Maybe I should have shortened the initial rise.

Anyway, here is the result - tasted good.

Interesting

Read an article on breadmaking ( http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/bread-making-basics-everything-you-need-to-know-to-start-baking-awesome-bread.html and followup links), couple of interesting thoughts.

• "Very coarse salt won't dissolve properly, which will inhibit the development of dough structure later on." Well jeez, I use coarse sea salt often.
• Autolyze. Just water and flour first, for a while. Don't add salt, it sucks up water and prevents proper hydration of the flour. Don't add yeast, it needs to do its work later.
• Don't beat it too hard. *snicker* Seriously though, mixing on high speed may tear the gluten network that you worked so hard to develop. Furthermore, once it's all pulled away from the side of the bowl it's done. Interesting. I am a big violator of this one. And it seems to be counter to the effect I see in say, a ciabatta bread, where a long savage beating gives a strong gluten network. But worth a try. Maybe a side by side comparison.

UPDATE:

• Scoring - "If the blade drags excessively, this can be a sign that the dough has most likely proofed for too long and has started to lose structural integrity. Proof the dough for less time, or at a lower temperature, next time."
• Possibly proof with the dough uncovered, so the skin of the dough dries out making scoring easier.