I Got a Juicer!!

As of last Friday, the first week of 2013, I now own a Juicer.  With some Christmas money I received I bought a Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor!  Yeah it sounds complicated but I spent days researching which juicer I should buy.  I ended up paying a little more than I budgeted for but so far I'm thrilled with my decision!  The Breville juicer I bought is about $150, a medium cost juicer, the cheaper ones go for around $50, while the more expensive ones can cost you up to $500 or more!!

What sold me on this Juicer was its good reviews, apparent easy clean up process and the fact that it had a high speed and a low speed! The reason why the two speeds became a deciding factor is because all juicers in my price point, $150 and below, aren't great at juicing leafy greens, however with the lower speed it's possible with this juicer (not the most efficient, but better than nothing).  So far I've been very happy with the Juicer and surprised myself because I really enjoy the tastes of the juices I have made!

So what does a Juicer have to do with Gardening? 

 It has a lot to do with gardening!  The best fruits and vegetables to put through a juicer are organic produce and what's better than organic produce from your own backyard garden!!!  Plus some of the best vegetables to juice include leafy greens (kale and spinach) and harder vegetables like carrots and cucumbers.  Although a backyard garden might not supply the daily needs of a juicer it will surely supplement and offset some of the prices of vegetables in the summer months!!!  It also gives me another reason to grow Swiss Chard and Kale next year!!! To add to the benefits, all the pulp which is leftover after the juice is extracted is great for my compost bin!  Although there are some neat recipes to use the leftover pulp as well.  In addition I have to admit I had a number of cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes last summer that met a tragic end rotting on the shelf from mold rather than processing through my stomach.  This summer any extra produce which I can't consume whole can now be juiced!!!   So I think it's a great addition to any gardeners kitchen and a great way to fulfill some of those 2013 New Year Resolutions!!

Below are some photos I took throughout the process of juicing!  

Strange Cucumber harvest! 9/1/12

Today was a small harvest but then again it's already September and the garden is starting to slow down! I got some strange shaped cucumbers today but I'm pretty sure it's due to the inconsistent watering as of late.

Today's harvest:
1 heirloom tomato
2 Juliet tomatoes
2 cherry tomatoes
3 cucumbers

Weird harvest 8/15/12

Today's harvest was a decent size but with some weird attachments including a tomato shape and size CUCUMBER!

On top of the weird fruit, my tomato plants are beginning to break under the torrential downpours of the past week .


Today's harvest:
2 heirloom tomatoes
3 Juliet tomatoes
3 cherry tomatoes
2 cucumbers
6 hot peppers

Cucumber plants and watermelon growing strong!

The cucumber plants I started from seed the first week of July 2012, which I then transplanted into pots for my container garden are doing great! Below I have pics from the day I transplanted and today the last day of July. They even have some flowers on them!

As for the watermelons that surprised me last week they are still growing strong! Except they're two different colors which is interesting!

July 16, 2012 Harvest

We finally got some rain last night and a cool lightning show last night! The rain gave a good soaking to my garden. This morning I picked two small cucumbers because they were close to being ready but covered in dirt splashed up by rain. I figure it would be better to pick them and clean them now instead of leaving them coveted in dirt. One of my yellow peppers also fell off the plant and had some holes in it so I placed that in the compost bin. Good news though eggplants are growing! I have a female bud on my pumpkin vine! The bean plants are starting to grow! And more zucchini on the way!

First Flowers!!

Towards the end of June the vegetable plants began to flower! The summer squash (zucchini), the cucumber plants, watermelon, and most recently eggplant!