Ground Nesting Wasps

In a July Harvest Monday posting, I mentioned a bug bite while mowing the lawn.  I speculated it was maybe a spider bite.  Eightgatefarmnh suggested in the comments that it might have been a ground nesting wasp and after some thought, I agreed.  But didn't think much more of it.

Yesterday afternoon while clearing the dead lily stems from one of the daylily patches, I was slightly swarmed by wasps and ended up with three sting bites - two on my right forearm and one on my lower stomach (right through my pants).  Thankfully I don't have a fatal allergy to stings but enough that it causes a lot of discomfort.

After 24 hours, the sting area continued to swell up.  I took some antihistamine immediately, but didn't realize a specific antihistamine was needed.  I purchased some Benadryl this morning as that is what the pharmacist suggested. 

I decided to limit my work in the garden today for a variety of reasons (Benadryl makes me crazy drowsy, the swelling made it hard to grasp plants with my right hand, good excuse to have lazy time on a very hot afternoon).   So I diddle-daddled around the yard.  What a coincidence to find a ground wasp nest right by one of my flower gardens!  I'm guessing this is exactly what I will find when I get brave enough to check out the daylily patch again.

I haven't figured out what to do about these yet, but at least I know what to watch out for.  It looks a lot like the holes chipmunks create - surprisingly big for small insects!

Kale and Walnut Pesto

I've said it before, but will repeat ... pesto can be made with anything!  Many combinations of greens and nuts work, and I've even made it with sun-dried tomatoes and pumpkin seeds.

So here's yet another delicious version that I've tried.  Many similar recipes called for the kale to be blanched first.  I chose not to as I generally lightly saute any pesto I'm using in a heated pan to warm it up before tossing it with pasta, potatoes or serving warm over eggs.  So I did not blanch it.  But I will say that when the heat first hit the kale pesto, I suddenly smelled cabbage!  It definitely needs a bit of heat to mellow out the bitterness, so if you prefer to blanch it, that's good.  But my method worked very well and seems easier.

And reading recipes calling for "1 bunch of kale" is useless to folks like me that grow kale in their backyard - what the heck is a bunch?  So I've measured mine here to help you out.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole walnuts
2-3 large cloves garlic (or less to taste - I love garlic)
4 cups (lightly packed) chopped Tuscan (Lacinato) Kale leaves
1/2 cup + of extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese (or other aged cheese), if desired*

*As noted in previous recipes, I never add the cheese.  Often I freeze it and would never add cheese in that case.  But even if I'm cooking it, I tend to just add the cheese to whatever dish I'm using it in.

In a food processor, process the walnuts and garlic until smooth.  Add the kale and begin to pulse.  It will soon get a bit thick to process.  At this point, start drizzling in olive oil.  You'll need at least a 1/4 cup just to get the processor moving smoothly, then continue to add olive oil until it reaches the consistency you want - you don't want it thick nor thin, somewhere in the middle.

I heated the pesto in a pan and tossed it with some shrimp and macaroni (just because that's all I had in the cupboard).  Not so pretty but tasted delicious!

Test Harvests: One Successful, One Not So Much

I was checking some crops for "readiness" this past week.  First up was the Golden Bantam corn.  Now this is my first year growing corn, so I don't really know what I'm doing.  I've read about when corn should be ready, but I'm a bit anxious to get it picked before the critters get wind of it.  Like this guy here who I caught on my trail camera (night shot, hard to see, I know) - to be honest, I was checking for the very large groundhog that I spotted in my garden a couple of weeks ago but no sight of that one since.  I already knew I had a skunk as my trail camera had snapped it near the compost earlier this season.

So back to the corn.  I picked an ear.  It felt a bit small (like the husks weren't quite full) but I was actually not expecting it to be ready, I just wanted to take a look.  And what the heck, the kernels looked pretty plump to me! 

So then I cooked it.  Still looked okay.

Then I took a bite.  Blech ... mushy and tasteless.

I mentioned it to a gardener friend.  He told me I was too early - like a few weeks.  He said I would know when it was ready ... the stalks would all be knocked over and there would be nothing left because the critters will know it's ready before I do.  Ha ha.  Thanks Paul!

But my next trial was a success.  I picked one of the dried pods of the Black Turtle beans I am growing (also a first for me).  And they look just like I would expect them to.

But I picked a pod earlier in the week and the beans inside were still pretty purple.  However, after sitting on my table for a few days, they have continued to mature and are looking pretty reasonable as well. 

So, yay, I think I'll probably being pulling the beans this weekend but I'll check a few more to be sure.  I'm very excited about these beans which are definitely the bean I use the most, so I'm really looking forward to that harvest time.

If you have any advice on either the corn or the beans, I'd be happy to hear about it!  And here's a funny parting shot that was also snapped on my trail camera last week ... nothing but neck and head.