anyone here into edible gardening?

[Lucretia]

Chemistry isn't fun.

Yes it is. So is math.

[mkmk]

oh don't get that started. that's another long stemmed debate on using exact amounts and "winging it"

Oh, I cook more by feel than by a kitchen scale -- but either way, it's most definitely chemistry.

[franzb69]

Oh, I cook more by feel than by a kitchen scale -- but either way, it's most definitely chemistry.

okay i can agree with you on that. just unmeasured and less scientific chemistry. =D

[Craig]

Oh, I cook more by feel than by a kitchen scale -- but either way, it's most definitely chemistry.

Not that this was a point that ever needed making (I mean seriously, do you honestly think soil samples and baking bread are the same thing?) but cooking in the vast majority of cases is not actually chemistry. Chemistry is the study of the composition, properties and behavior of matter. Cooking is almost never that, especially for a home chef like me. Cooking is the application of that science, which would make it a form of engineering.

[mkmk]

My point is that one can be a much better cook if you actually have some basic understanding of why an egg thickens in the presence of heat and acid, or why a yam roasted at high temp is not as sweet as one done at a lower temp. Being a good cook is not just a matter of following a list of instructions, since things go sideways very quickly. That doesn't mean that you need to have an electron microscope in the kitchen -- but a little understanding of the chemistry involved is invaluable.

There are multiple paths to those insights, of course. In my garden, I've been at it long enough that I can tell a lot about the soil without sending it to a lab. If I were starting someplace new, I'd probably go ahead and get a test.

[boomchakabowwow]

i'm into it.

mostly tomatoes since we learned how to can them. and peppers! this year, i am giving away homemade hotsauce as holiday gifts.

then i grow chinese bitter melons and winter melons in the annual melon size contest against my mom. my stepdad just passed, so she may opt out this year....hopefully, she is game on next year!!

[Duckfat]

Yes. 24 4x10 raised beds.

Salty is that behind the restaurant? If you ever make it to ME you should stop by Arrows. They've gone a very similar route and you can wonder the gardens. Food was pretty darn good as well (foie gras slider was awesome). They have a small page about the garden on their web site.
Last year I started growing and pickling Jalapenos. Super easy and they take very little space. I always grow Pablanos in pots as well then smoke them on the BGE before freezing.

http://www.arrowsrestaurant.com/garden.cfm

[franzb69]

anyone here do worm farms? vermiculture? i've recently been getting into it and would want to get some advice.

thanks

=D

[maxim]

Now where i am not chef anymore i have time for my garden But still lazy gardening

[boomchakabowwow]

chili peppers. do the pods get hotter as the season progresses?

i just made some mexican shrimp cocktail from my garden. four tiny jalapenos made the stuff HOT!! i now have a roll of toilet paper stored in the freezer, just in case.