http://www.tallcloverfarm.com Homeward bound on Puget Sound. Putting in a good day on Vashon Island time. Wed, 16 May 2012 17:03:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5951/crowning-kale-the-king-of-greens http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5951/crowning-kale-the-king-of-greens#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:01:38 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5951 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Kale Caesar!* Trying on my crown of kale  for size. Wears well, tastes great! A nice surprise is one of life’s little pleasures, that startling little epiphany that has you reassessing your tired old ways and preconceived ideas. As a gardener venturing ever closer to the city limits of Geezer town, I have had to [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5951/crowning-kale-the-king-of-greens/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5030/confessions-of-a-pumpkinhead http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5030/confessions-of-a-pumpkinhead#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:56:30 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5030 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Me and my Sugar Pie pumpkin: I wear it proudly (well, at least inside the house). Hi, my name is Tom and I’m a bona fide pumpkinhead. Yes, I admit it; I’m a man who loves the genus Cucurbita. Whether pepo, moschato, or maxima, they’re all pumpkins to me. Boz, protector of  pie pumpkins, when [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5030/confessions-of-a-pumpkinhead/feed 22 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4578/when-silence-was-and-beets-werent-golden http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4578/when-silence-was-and-beets-werent-golden#comments Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:34:15 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4578 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Boz: “Treats? Uh, I don’t think so.” I don’t deny as a kid  I was a little different (I’ll keep adulthood out of this debate), but in my trek to avoid the beaten path I also knew there were situations warranting a walk down the straight and narrow. Such detour awareness usually involved the presence [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4578/when-silence-was-and-beets-werent-golden/feed 33 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1838/at-stake-pole-beans-need-your-support http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1838/at-stake-pole-beans-need-your-support#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:06:55 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1838 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Boz is a big fan of green beans and the pole bean trellis (but for different reasons). Lucky for me, the green beans form  two feet off the ground.    My Fortex and Romano green beans have sprouted, and they are looking for my support–something I’ve come to expect in a good pole bean. After trying all [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1838/at-stake-pole-beans-need-your-support/feed 29 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1772/sugar-snap-peas-pack-more-pea-for-your-pod http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1772/sugar-snap-peas-pack-more-pea-for-your-pod#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:31:49 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1772 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } The snap pea is an exceptional, easy-to-grow legume. The day I discovered sugar snap peas was the day I broke up with snow and shelling peas. We still see each other; it’s just not the same. Snap peas offer the best of both: the shelling pea’s cozy row of fat peas, and the snow pea’s tender edible pod. It’s two, two, two [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1772/sugar-snap-peas-pack-more-pea-for-your-pod/feed 13 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1261/makah-ozette-potato-hash-browns-with-a-history http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1261/makah-ozette-potato-hash-browns-with-a-history#comments Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:09:35 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1261 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Plants that taste good have legs (and in some cases wings). If they strike our palate’s fancy, the world becomes their oyster (or serving dish as the case my be). The tomato, the anchor of Italian cooking, calls the Andes home. Peanuts, the perfect topper for Phad Thai, plant their roots of origin in South America. Chiles, which fire [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1261/makah-ozette-potato-hash-browns-with-a-history/feed 14 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1225/sweet-meat-squash-stores-well-tastes-great http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1225/sweet-meat-squash-stores-well-tastes-great#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:36:52 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1225 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } If I only had one culinary pumpkin or winter squash to grow,  Sweet Meat would be it.  For some varieties, beauty is only skin deep. Their color, size and weight may impress, but the flavor falls short. Sweet Meat not only has a creamy dense texture, but its flavor is rich, buttery and distinctive. It makes the best pies, the creamiest soups, the most savory [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1225/sweet-meat-squash-stores-well-tastes-great/feed 26 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1005/fortex-best-mess-of-green-beans-growin http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1005/fortex-best-mess-of-green-beans-growin#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:34:20 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1005 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Now that I’ve got you thinking about seed catalogs let me provide you with Tom’s two cents on some of the prizes found on the pages within. Indulge me as I wax on about my favorite pole green bean, a French filet or haricot vert variety called Fortex.  Even with a name that seems better suited to the [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1005/fortex-best-mess-of-green-beans-growin/feed 18 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/929/do-i-have-some-seed-catalogs-for-you http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/929/do-i-have-some-seed-catalogs-for-you#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:06:19 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=929 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } My Favorite Seed Catalogs When friends ask, “So Tom, what are you reading these days?” I have to skirt the truth. I cite something I’ve read before or some nonfiction tome that brings this line of questioning to a speedy halt. Truth be told, I do read regularly; it’s just my books of choice are seed [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/929/do-i-have-some-seed-catalogs-for-you/feed 20 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:43:25 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=405 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; }   Heirloom tomatoes: Amish Paste, White Beauty, Old German, Pineapple, Hillbilly, Lemon Boy and Sugar Lump. If I left these on the vines, October rains would sauce them for me. Some days show up like a great performance; the key players tune up to bring you a perfect mix of light, breeze and balm. Sunday [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension/feed 10 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/271/sprouting-broccoli-its-a-keeper http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/271/sprouting-broccoli-its-a-keeper#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 11:59:15 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=271 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } There’s broccoli and there’s sprouting broccoli, a cousin to the bulked-out broc we tend to knock. After some British friends of mine sang its praises, I planted it for the first time last summer. Surprisingly, it overwintered and I harvested it this spring. Two words: tender and delicious. The stalks are pencil thin with little broccoli mop [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/271/sprouting-broccoli-its-a-keeper/feed 8 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/156/toms-third-place-pumpkin-pie-recipe http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/156/toms-third-place-pumpkin-pie-recipe#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:57:16 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=156 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } How to Make a Pumpkin Pie from Scratch Using Fresh Pumpkin I made my first fresh pumpkin pie of the season, entering it in the Vashon Farmers Market annual pumpkin pie contest.  I placed third, an admirable ranking considering the winner was a cheesecake and received bonus points for using homegrown ingredients in addition to pumpkin, i.e., cream, eggs [...]

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