http://www.foodinjars.com/2010/09/slow-oven-roasted-roma-tomatoes/
http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/02/pear-vanilla-jam/
http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/09/urban-preserving-italian-plum-jam-with-star-anise/
(I used anise seed instead of star anise because that’s what I had in my cupboard)

I’m considering the IBC aquaponics where food is grown on the top layer and fresh water fish in the lower layer (and they feed off each other!) The water from the lower level full of the fish “nutrients” are cycled to the upper level of plants in the top level, which then filters the water and returns it to the “pond” below.

Thanks.

I found that site from a previous post of Kris’s so I know she reads it.

Anyway I’m thinking of growing in my roof if I stay in town. Anybody here trying that?

The container is a resin square about 4-5 feet per side with a dome tent frame. Has a cloth cover for the summer and a plastic one for winter. Hookups for hoses and a lock for the dome. Sells for about $300 and needs hoses, timer, a ladder… prolly $400 total.

Is it worth it from a monetary point of view? How long can it take me to break even if i’m growing, say, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, mint, chives, bell peppers? Obviously I’m not asking for precise figures but some ballpark guess… if it can be made. Labor is calculated at $0 though (“free workout”).

Thanks in advance, whatever the answer!

Your hobby is a great way to both save money and have fun watching your produce grow.

Out of your entire garden, if you were to choose the easiest and fastest things to grow, what would they be?

Nice post.

I was a total slacker in the garden and with the canner this year, but I am so jealous of your pear trees!

This year’s tomato varieties: Beefsteak and Big Beef, Sungold (cherry), Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Kellogg’s Beefsteak (a yellow, but disappointing), 5 varieties of Roma/paste type for canning purposes, Crimson Cushion, and an Early Girl that turned out to be some mystery tomato instead.

Most of the cleanup for the vegetable garden goes in our yard waste container for curbside pickup that goes to the city compost.

Pear-Almond Cake

1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp almond extract
1 ½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cup flour
2 sliced Bartlett pears, with peel on (you’ll use about 1 1/2 pears)
1 tbsp. sugar, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9″ or 10″ cake pan (I use a silicone pan).
2. Blend sugar and butter. Beat in eggs. Stir in extracts.
3. Add salt and flour and mix well.
4. Spread 1/3 batter into pan. Top evenly with sliced pears. Add rest of batter, spreading carefully so pears are not disturbed, and add more sliced pears on the top. Sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing from pan.

This cake is also nice baked with a layer of Italian prune halves on the top instead of the pears.

This year was very bad for our garden. Weather pretty well decimated many things. The herb garden is flourishing though, and it looks like the sweet potatoes may be doing fine.

We do have a lot of success growing basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage and tarragon though.

I’d love to learn more about growing vegetables successfully.