The Gourmet's Garden

Flower & Garden Magazine, April, 1999 by Andrea Ray Chandler

Love to cook recipes from foreign lands, but can't find the pricey produce? It's easy to grow your own garden-fresh vegetables and herbs! Just follow the example of European and Asian gardeners and use raised beds. These allow you to work with a smaller garden for larger yields. (See sidebar on raised beds.)

You'll also want a trellis for the upward growth of climbing crops. Trellises minimize the amount of ground space needed, and make harvesting and pest control easier. Some climbing crops are pole beans, tall peas, cucumbers and smaller melons. Trellis frameworks can be made of bamboo, electrical conduit, PVC pipe or a host of other materials. Both jute twine and nylon prewoven webbing are good choices. The jute can be removed with the vines and composted. The woven nylon webbing can be reused for several years. Be sure to put the trellis on the north side of your garden so it won't shade the other crops.

Those little 3-feet-tall tomato ring cages are fine for small potted patio tomatoes, or to support fragile peppers and fruit-heavy eggplants. But the best cages for indeterminate tomato plants are galvanized wire rings that are 6 feet tall with 4-inch squares (large enough for your hands and the tomatoes). Cut the wire into 10-feet lengths, leaving "prongs" on one end; then wrap into a cylinder and bend the prongs over to secure. You'll also want to stake the cages, because a tall cage full of heavy tomato plants is prone to blowing over in strong winds.

Most European and Asian vegetables are grown no differently than traditional American vegetables. Bay laurel and rosemary are only winter-hardy through Zone 8. So, in cooler climates, they should be grown in large pots and brought indoors during winter.

On the following pages, you'll find lists of vegetables and herbs that will help you create your own Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Italian or French garden. There are also a few recipes to get you started. So forget the pricey produce, and stock your garden with everything you need for your favorite gourmet recipes.

RELATED ARTICLE: RAISED BED BENEFITS & TIPS

The traditional American method of gardening in long, widely spaced rows with power equipment does not use space, time or materials very efficiently. Fifty percent to 75 percent of the garden is taken up by pathways! It seems kind of silly to rototill a large portion of the back yard to get the soil loose and crumbly, and then walk all over and squash the soil down again when planting, weeding and harvesting.

With a raised bed, you won't have as much ground to weed, since you aren't walking on the growing area. You won't have so much watering to do because the garden isn't as big. It will also be easier to keep an eye on pests and diseases because you can get close to your plants. Plant crops in solid blocks in a checkerboard or honeycomb pattern, using the same equidistant spacing as recommended for rows.

Raised beds with hard pathways are also good for gardeners who are disabled or have impaired mobility.

Most gardeners prefer beds that are 4 by 4 feet or 4 by 8 feet. This size allows you to move around the bed quickly and to reach the center of the bed without stepping inside.

The extra earth needed to raise the soil level can be either topsoil or compost mixed into the existing soil. If you have heavy clay soil, you may want to add sand to loosen it. But beware! A little sand added to clay soil makes concrete. I prefer to create a mixture of 1/3 clay soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 sand, which creates a loose, nutrient-rich mixture.

It's a good idea to add walls to your bed, so they don't spread out and to protect your soil and plants. You can make the walls out of rocks, bricks or boards. Cedar, cypress and redwood are all naturally rot-resistant woods. Recycled plastic soda bottle "lumber" is more expensive, but as we all know, plastic lasts forever!

RELATED ARTICLE: Recipes

THREE-FLAVOR OIL FOR CHINESE COOKING

Skip the mincing of garlic, chives and ginger, and get right to the heart of your dinner stir-frying.

2 cups peanut oil
2 inches of ginger root, chopped
6 large scallions or 8 large Chinese
  chives, chopped (no roots, all of
  the white, 2 inches of the green)
6 large cloves of garlic, minced
Optional: 2 cayenne peppers

Put oil in pan and saute the seasonings under LOW heat. They will sizzle slightly as the water is cooked out. Cook for about ten minutes. The oil will become aromatic, with that "Yum! What's for dinner?" smell. Keep from browning or charring. Cool, then strain the oil through a sieve. Keep it in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator. Peanut oil naturally becomes thick and cloudy when chilled, and it will thin out again when heated. Next time you want to cook, simply heat up the oil in your wok, and add your vegetables, meat and/or tofu.

BAKED FISH WITH ROSEMARY

4 fish filets
olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 pound shallots, peeled and
  minced
1-1/2 pounds tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  (or 1 tablespoon dried)

Lay the fish filets on a greased or nonstick baking dish. Then brush the filets with oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper, shallots, tomato and rosemary on top. Bake until the fish flakes (10 to 20 minutes, depending on thickness).