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After picking up “Mr. Clean” (Silverado) from a successful state inspection, we headed off to check out the Walmart Garden Center to specifically look for Lantana & jalapeños.

I found a couple of Lantana in solid yellow. I want the multi-colored ones, but since I have 3 pots, I bought one anyway. I could not be persuaded to spend $4.98 on any of their sad looking jalapenos.

Off to the country market & flower stand down the road. They were just finishing up moving their plants out in the sun. Due to the threat of frost, all had spent the night under cover. They had Lantana, but sold out this weekend - same with jalapeños. The truck to restock was due in the afternoon - not sure what will be on it. I’ll go back tomorrow & see what they have.

Next (and last) stop was the Farm Bureau. They had a couple of yellow lantanas & one a deep red/rust. Not what I wanted & the price was over $6 so I passed. I found some jalapeños & bought 4, 3 different varieties. I haven’t heard of any of them before. They were $4.98 each & from a local grower. They were 3-4 times as tall as the Walmart ones & will need support when they go outside in the wind. Considering the lack of jalapeños, this was a ‘panic’ buy so I at least have something growing.

No straw bales anywhere to be found at the Farm Bureau or anywhere around here. I will have to buy bales in the Fall for next year. I’m not disappointed because right now, about all in the vegetable family I can tolerate is green beans & asparagus. I’ll have to buy veggies for mom at the local farm stand(s).

I did look at lavender plants. I either don’t like the variety or the price. Of the 2 I transplanted last year, one is totally dead. The other has one green ‘branch’. I am going to take cuttings from that live branch before I dig up the rest of the dead plant & see if I can root some new plants - supposed to be easy & worth a try. The lavender from Walmart last year that bloomed all summer survived the winter in fairly decent shape - I’ll try cuttings off of that one, too.

My cousin gave me some fresh asparagus - fried them up for dinner with ghee/avocado oil & finished with fresh lemon juice & kosher salt. SO good. I wish I had a patch!

PS - hounds are so handsome!

Kale Soup / Cheese Toasts
A comforting hearty bowl of soup in 25 min. Cheese Toasts soak up smoky flavors, add texture.

Ing 6 c kale leaves, fine-chp, 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes 5 c chix or veg broth, 8 oz cooked sausage, black pepper or red pepper flakes to taste. Cheese Toasts baguette or firm crusty bread (use 3 small slices per bowl) 2 oz cheese, 1/2 tsp dried thyme or Italian seasoning

Method BTB diced potatoes, broth, then lower to med; cook almost tender, about 6-8 min. Add chp kale and sausage discs. Cook 5 min. Add pinch pepper or red pepper flakes. CHEESE TOASTS: Slice baguette thinly. Pile on grated cheese evenly. Broil 3-4 min; cheese is bubbly. bread is slightly browned. SERVE: Ladle soup into bowls, a few cheese toasts on top. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes: use Lacinato kale, aka Dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale (milder, sweeter) or curly kale (peppery, slightly bitter). Sausage options: cooked Andouille, Mexican Chorizo or Hot Italian Sausage smoky: Kielbasa, Chorizo or smoked Andouille milder: Bratwurst, sweet Italian sausage. Cheese options: Provolone, white cheddar, Havarti, Muenster or Gruyère, Asiago, Pecorino, Parm.

Make ahead Delicious the next day as flavors meld; kale is darker greenish brown, potatoes get softer. Add cheese toasts at service. Leftover soup keeps fridged airtight 3-4 day. Dont freeze.

I found the two Bonnie Jalapenos I wanted at Walmart last week, but they had no Lavender, so I am still on the hunt for that.

Yesterday it rained most of the day, so I did ‘inside stuff’ but it was SO WINDY that I moved tomatoes back inside; they didn’t get any rain water, but the rain barrel (which I had completely emptied) is fuller than full again, so there’s rainwater in there for them.

Windy as in: Blew my rocker off the porch and broke one arm (easily fixable) blew one of the Fern baskets off it’s hook (it landed flat on it’s bottom, which was a miracle - no harm, no fowl) and amazingly no damage to the greenhouse vents which always take a beating. The poor Orioles were having a heck of a time landing on the rapidly moving jelly feeder - kinda entertaining. We also had two male Bluebirds at the feeders which we have never had there before; they must’ve ‘blown in.’ ;)

Grocery run today; didn’t feel like going out in the rain yesterday, even with my Senior Discount, LOL! I’ll see what Walmart has for plants and report back if anything is of interest.

And now I want some Lantana! :)

My 2 Jalapeño plants last year were rescue projects: One died, the other thrived, and is still going strong, having overwintered successfully. When I bought them, there seemed to be little to choose between the two. Whether I get any production this year, out of the survivor, we shall see, but, it IS flowering.

Of the two Jalapeño varieties I bought at Menard’s sale yesterday, one is a “Mammoth Jalapeño”. I guess we’ll see just how large the fruits really are. The other is a “Coolapeño”, said to have the flavor of a Jalapeño, but without the heat. Another experiment is a pair (in one of those 4-1/2” pots) of “Sungold” tomato plants - those are already split and in my soda bottle pots, and 2 pairs (in those 4-1/2” pots) of “Patio” tomato plants. Those were a bit dry, so I’m giving them a good day’s soaking B4 I try to split them.

And speaking of days”, we are having ANOTHER “bluebird day”, our 3rd in a row, after a few (but not so consecutively) last week. It was cloudy last night, but that cleared off this morning. I have plants I’d brought out, kept in partial shade several days, and thought were ready for more sun, but apparently this much sun (and very low humidity) is too much —I’m having to move some plants back to shadier spots. “Somebody” should have arranged another eclipse! ;-)

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