Summer Shishito Peppers, Heirloom Cucumbers and Here Come those Dahlias

Shishito Peppers, the hottest food trend to hit the American garden since Kale, mature on attractive plants which I am raising in clay pots on our deck stairs.

Golden cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen on the vine. Few seem to make it into the kitchen, especially when they are drenched in a late day summer thundershower.

‘Kelsey Annie Joy’ Dahlia. Almost, too pretty. Almost.

Dahlias are a bit of an obsession this year, but not all is going completely well with them. The 100+ dahlias which Joe and I purchased so eagerly this past winter, are all progressing but with mixed results. Raising dahlias for show is a completely different thing than raising dahlias for cut flowers. They are quite prone to insect damage, virus, rust and fungus. There is daily disbudding to do, and endless staking and fertilizing. Joe’s field out back is proving to be too shady and weedy, and even though my 60 or so plants near the greenhouse are doing better, they need almost daily watering since we are experiencing an epic drought this year.

Most of the dahlias in my exhibition bed – the bed where I am raising dahlias for local dahlia shows – are just beginning to bloom. This beauty is named ‘Wowie’. Indeed. My days (or, after work evenings) are now are spent disbudding, staking and trimming away unwanted stems, all are efforts which help the plants focus on producing larger and more perfect blooms.

This one is an anemone form – always a very pretty form in my book. Meet dahlia ‘Alpen Fury’.

In the vegetable garden, things are doing much better, although, I now wish that I had dedicated more space to tomatoes than dahlias! The hits this year are my new raised beds – the Elevated Cedar Planter Box – which I purchased at Vermont’s Gardener’s Supply Co. But more about those in a later series of posts – as I fell in love with that product last year – so much so, that I actually wrote them, proposing that I would love to write about them more. Now, I have four.

A collection of Rhizomatous Begonias on the back porch, where they love the cool breezes and protection from full sun a rain. The perfect porch plant, these were small 2 inch pots in march, but quickly have grown to fill 6 -8 inch clay pots. Left to right- ‘Desert Dream’, ‘ Northern Lights’, ‘Kit Kat’ and ‘Autumn Ember’.

This one is a rare species (one with a question mark on the label, which I purchased at a Begonia Society show last September). I really like its water lily -like foliage, and now, it is beginning to bloom.

Check out these miniature tomatos – a variety with an off name –  ‘Geranium’ .  It is so dwarf and perfect, that it almost defies description – all of the fruit are born near the top of the plant, which is not taller than 1 foot. Perfect for these raised beds (the Elevated Cedar Raised Planting Box from Gardener’s Supply – in which I raise many miniature or dwarf vegetables. The fruit are often the same sized as standard crops, but the entire plant size is smaller.

My dear friend Abbie Zabar in New York City has a penthouse garden which always inspires me to add more topiary and especially olive trees, which she trains into tall standards. She once lived in Provence, so if anyone knows about these sort of things, it’s Abbie. This motif feel complete, with some vintage terra rosa pottery planted with a mandarin orange, lavender, a myrtle, rosemary and an olive tree. A dreamy corner in the veg garden which is very Euro-chic, and without really trying.

Are you getting inundated with vegetables from your garden? Tis the season for zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers, not to mention beans, other summer squashes and peppers. Bring it on!

I am raising a preponderance of pickles this year thanks to these raised beds. Pickling cucumbers to be precise and they really appreciate the warm soil.  Left to right,   ‘Delikatasse’,  ‘Solly Beiler’ , ‘Miniature White’, and ‘Dar’. All heirloom and open pollinated varieties from Baker Creek. Not available for this photo – the giant red ‘Sikkim’ cakes which are just starting to fruit. I can’t wait to see what those will look and taste like.

Pickling cakes are some of my favorite veggies to eat, and these white heirloom ones are so tender and crispy that I don’t even need to peel them. This variety has a rather unassuming name ‘ Miniature White’, but among all of the white varieties, this one lacks the bitter flavor often associated with these types of cucumbers.

These raised beds are deep, and 8 feet long so roots thrive in deep, moist soil. I could have planted standard sized zucchini but this dwarf variety is large enough. The fruit is a bit smaller, but who really wants zucchini larger than a baseball bat? I always pick them small anyway, and now I have ‘just enough’.

Each plant of zucchini produced about 8 fruit, so 24 fruit was plenty for two of us. This week, I plant to pull the last ones off, and I will pull the plants, preparing the beds for fall crops which should take us into the late autumn, if not winter. Ordering seeds today for kale, micro greens, Chinese or Napa cabbage, and lettuces to sow now, since they germinate best in mid to late August. Maybe turnips, too.

Shishito peppers are definitely getting a lot of attention this year. If you haven’t heard about them yet, you will. I added them to my list of 2016 summer projects, and I am so happy that I did. (I planted currants and a collection of Gooseberries as promised, as well).

Shishito and Padrone peppers frying in a hot skillet.  I’ve heard that they are the perfect accompaniment with a cool summer cocktail. Gonna try that!

Shishito’s are so popular at the hippest Japanese restaurants on the West coast, that they often sell out before the night is over. They are not hot (except maybe 1 in 100 they say, but I have yet to find it.). Closely related to the Spanish Padron pepper, it’s a tender, thin-skinned treat. Cast iron skillet, hot and seared in a drop or two of olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon and sea salt – yum! Mild, sweet and tender. Seeds and all.

The last of the lilies are blooming – surely, a sign that summer is nearing the end.  (OK Bruce, this IS a lily, which IS a flower. But I could cook and eat the bulb if I wanted to!).