Day 13: Blackened Chicken Salad

 A girls gotta take advantage of warm days in December. So, grilled chicken it is! 

I wanted lots of variety in today's salad, so I picked lettuce from three different spots in our hoop building. 

For some extra crunch, I added some purple kale. Green onions are a must. Then, because this salad has a Mexican taste, I grabbed some fresh cilantro. Carrots were already picked and ready to use, and cherry tomatoes came out of the freezer, roasted for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. But you could use fresh cherry tomatoes, too.

I had to buy the avocado. You can't win them all.

Blackened Chicken Salad

4 chicken breasts

1 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin 

2 T olive oil

1/4 lb assorted lettuce (about 4 cups), washed and chopped

1/2 c cherry tomatoes

2 green onions

4-5 stems cilantro

4 yellow carrots, chopped

2 avocados, chopped

tortilla strips, optional

shredded cheddar cheese, optional (but always at our house)

1. Preheat grill.

2. Mix together in a large bowl the paprika, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, and olive oil.

3. Add the chicken to the spice mixture and cover chicken thoroughly.

4. Place chicken on preheated grill. Grill chicken for 7-9 minutes per side, cooking to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

5. Meanwhile, combine the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, carrots, and avocado. 

6. Remove chicken from grill. Allow to rest 2-3 minutes, then slice into strips. 

7. Serve on top of lettuce, with your favorite salad dressing. (Catalina is my go-to for this salad.) Add tortilla strips and shredded cheese, if so desired.

Day 13: Blackened Chicken Salad

Just thought I would share some pics of what we have growing. These are about a week old, but you get the idea. Tomatoes Cherry Tomatoes 2nd planting of lettuce, starting to pick this week 3rd and 4th plantings of lettuce outside Outside tomatoes and peppers, still more to plant! Inside Peppers Potatoes Hilled up Garlic Inside Squash Inside little cucumbers Sweet potatoes and okra Jay

Plastic Mulch

This year I am experimenting with using plastic mulch.  I have been using drip tape for several years,  it really changed how I water my crops.  Last year I used landscape fabric for Sweet Potatoes and Okra.  I was hooked.  Less weeding and earlier crops, I knew I am using more of this next year.

This year I am planting Tomatoes, Peppers, Okra, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Sweet Potatoes, Watermelon, and Canteloupe all in plastic mulch. 

It takes me 30 minutes to 60 minutes per bed to lay the plastic.  The plastic in the high tunnels is much easier than outside. 

Why Plastic Mulch? Here is a nice list of advantages from
http://uconnladybug.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/plastic-mulches-for-the-vegetable-garden/

Advantages:

1. Increases soil temperature, allowing earlier planting and earlier harvest, and promotes plant growth in cooler climates.
2. Soil compaction is reduced which improves root growth.
3. Fertilizer leaching is reduced because excess water runs off the plastic.
4. Water logging from excessive rain is avoided.
5. Drying of soil from evaporation is reduced.
6. Crops are cleaner and less subject to disease caused by soil-borne pathogens because they are not in contact with the soil or rain-splashed soil.
7. Weed control with black plastic eliminates the damage to roots caused by cultivation to remove weeds.
8. Weed control (black and colored mulches).
9. Harvest of crops can be 2-14 days earlier with black plastic and as much as 21 days earlier with clear plastic, depending on the crop and the temperatures.
10. The “chimney effect”:  CO₂, which is required for photosynthesis, builds up under the plastic and can only escape through the planting holes, causing a higher concentration around the growing leaves.

There are some disadvantages too.

 1.   Cost of mulch and irrigation equipment.
2.    Soil erosion can increase between the mulched rows.
3.    Weeds may grow through the planting holes close to the crop plants.
4.    Must be removed from the garden annually, along with the drip or   soaker hose irrigation tubes.  

However I believe the advantages over power the disadvantages.

 Here are some pictures from this year, so far.

Here is "Hoop B"  the big tomato building.




Cherry tomatoes


Cucumbers and Zucchini




Peppers




Watermelons








Okra




Sweet Potatoes





Enjoy!

Plastic Mulch

No Rain, Day 44 and Counting

The title says it all.  Today is day 44 without significant rainfall.  We had 20 or 30 drops several times, but that doesn't count.  To go with that, we have been having highs in the 90's and south winds at 25-35 sustained for the past 4 days.  Starting to understand what the Dust Bowl went through.  Wheat harvest is starting, (a month early), center pivots have been running non-stop and dryland crops look poor.  Nonetheless, I am pushing forward. 

I have been watering almost around the clock to stay ahead, most things are looking good. We are really starting to harvest a crops and sales are picking up at the markets. 

How dry is it, I spend 4 plus hours today putting down plastic mulch for my outside peppers.  I had to run the tiller back and forth to pulverize the clods.  I ended up with a decent bed, but the soil to cover the plastic looked like this.


Here are the 4, 70 foot rows.  The plastic mulch is covered with dust, that is why it is gray and not black.


The peppers in the high tunnel are really looking great!





Pickling Cucumbers are looking really good and I am picking every other day to keep them at the right size. I have sold out for the last three markets.  They are blooming and setting like crazy!



Inside Zucchini is looking good, Kinda concerned, it isn't blooming as much as normal. 


We have been picking zucchini outside for two weeks too.


Cucumbers are looking rough, the wind has really hurt them. I am hoping they start producing soon.


Not planted in this picture, but I got half of my melons planted and they are up. I hope they didn't fry in this heat in the plastic mulch.


Not planted in this picture either, but my Okra is really popping up.


Sweet potatoes went in on Thursday, not in this picture. Waiting for the last 100 to come in the mail soon.


Inside onions are looking nice, some really huge onions in there too!


Outside onions are bulbing up nice, like the crack in the ground?  They got a good soaking after this picture.


My pride and joy, tomatoes are LOADED!


Picked a few Cherry tomatoes tonight, big ones aren't quite ready.


Sold our first Green beans of the season on Saturday also planted the 4th planting on Saturday. 


Still need to transplant peppers (later this week), get more cucumbers and zucchini planted. 3rd planting of tomatoes are suppose to go in this week.  Also need to weed some things and dig potatoes (plants are already dieing too hot!)  I also have 3/8 of an acre of winter squash to plant.  Finally, I have to get thing harvested and sold.

Sorry for the long post, but I need to share some success.  We have had too many failures already.

Enjoy!

Jay

No Rain, Day 44 and Counting

We have been busy!

I finally have some time to take a few pictures, We are really planting like crazy. It is time to move the movable buildings this weekend too!

Lettuce


Mid February planted carrots


Outside Carrots (just coming up)


Radish, Haikuri Turnips, Beets, Onions


Onions in Movable building




Broccoli and Cauliflower in movable building




Outside location, to be moved to this weekend


New plot, 16 by 160


New plot 12 by 100


Peppers will fill this building the first of the week



Late planted Leeks in new movable spot


Potatoes


Potatoes


Leeks and Potatoes


Onions


Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, Carrots



Potted tumbling toms, Romaine lettuce, Tomatoes


March 20th planted tomatoes, Bell peppers to be transplanted next week, radishes


More TOmatoes, onions, head lettuce


Cabbage on the outside, haikuri turnips, tomatoes, Napa Cabbage


I think that is about it! We still have 4 more spots to till and plant. Green beans, cucumber, zucchini, sweet potatoes and more.

We have been busy!