Filed under: outdoor gardening
I am sorry it has taken me so long to post something. It has been a series of most unfortunate events. But here I am, writing about my garden planning when it is still November. You may be asking why…It is my secret to have all ordered before the end of the year in order to get this years prices. It really doesn’t save that much, mostly pocket change, but that is more pocket change then I had before.
After yet another year of not getting that great of cabbage, I have decided not to grow them. The pesky little green worms (that turn into the pesky white moth/butterfly that lays more green eggs everywhere) need to find a new home. I don’t think I will grow potatoes next year either. I found a farm out in western Massachusetts where I can purchase 50 pound bags of organic potatoes for a mere $12. It doesn’t make since to grow them when I can get them that cheap. On the flip side, I was very happy with the onion bed (onions, shallots, leeks and four tomatoes) and loved the full bed of arugula that I planted after realizing the root veggies were not doing so well.
Due to the fact that I did in fact get late blight that in a span of one week wiped out my entire garden of tomatoes, I need to be extra careful where I plant them this year. The spores stay in the ground over winter. I am going to convert an extra bed into tomatoes maybe. Deron really wants me to shoot for 75 tomatoes. I told him I would be lucky to get the 63 that I had last year. I am guessing that it will be a little less, but hopefully it will be a better, drier year. So below is the start of a list I am putting together to grow next year. Next I will post about the herbs I am planning to grow next year, then the last post is my most time-consuming – I research spacing of each and lay out the beds and ground with the herbs and other companions for each. So for a simple thing, it is a little more complicated then it first appears to be.
Arugula – great no brainer that is easily grown anywhere. This is one of Deron’s favorites. We use it in lieu of lettuce for BLT’s. (I guess that makes it a BAT!)
Bush Beans – I have some calipso beans already. I would like to have at least a couple more types. Will need to research what I have and what I can get. Not sure if I have any left from last year.
Carrots – What garden is complete without carrots? I threw carrots in with the beans and with the tomatoes. They work as companions for many things.
Cucumbers – I need to make pickles next year. I wasn’t able to this year and it was hard!
Fairy Tale Eggplant – I don’t like eggplant, but I love these!
Garlic – Already planted!
Hot Peppers – Not sure what kinds yet.
Kale – great for you and another easy to grow. My favorite is to take the kale and wilt it in some hot sesame oil and combine with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Keeps me full well past lunch time.
Leeks – It amazed me that when I planted them, they were no more than a blade of grass and they slowly grew to hearty leeks. I have left a couple in the ground still. Maybe next week we will have them.
Onions – I have almost used up all that I grew last year. It is a staple that is sure not to go to waste. You don’t need to do anything for it either.
Peppers – Not a huge producer for me, but I love to grow them anyway.
Pole Beans – LOVE THEM! Very pretty coloring in the garden. My dogs love to pick and eat the beans as well. Extra treat for them. I will grow the wren’s egg and scarlet runner again, not sure what else if any.
Shallots - They always say to grow what you would save money having in the garden. This is one that I have saved a lot with. I ended up harvesting over 40 shallots. I am still using them, but they are getting a little low.
Squash – I don’t know what kind yet. I need to look at Baker Creek and see what catches my eye. It might be two kinds.
Tomatillos - Deron and I both now have grown to love these little odd balls of joy! They are great in soup with Chicken.
Tomatoes – This is the longest to plan for. I try to get only a couple of each type I plant. I have them scattered around the entire yard.
What have I forgot that you think I should grow next year? I am open to suggestions. Are there any vegetable that you crave and wish you could have? Let me know. It might just end up growing in my garden!
Herbs/vegetables ready to be hung to dry
As fall clean-up is in full swing, I thought I would blog a bit on “Green” cleaning. Having a house full of animals that lick everything, I have been forced to clean things without chemicals. In doing so, I have learned a tremendous amount. So I thought I would share some with you.
Did you know that vinegar is a mild acid. It works on alkaline substances such as mold, soap scum, coffee, rust and tea. Castile soap (made with olive oil) or vegetable based soaps attach to soil at the molecular level, so you can rinse away with water. One of my favorite soaps is Dr. Bonners. Just ignore the packaging as he was a bit of a nut case!
Remember the large bunch of herbs on the cart that I needed to bring in for drying? Well they have many uses. Besides the gifts that we give during the holidays, I use it for a sink scrubber as well. It not only works great but it smells delightful as well:
Must of the rest of my cleaning consists of castile soap (Dr. Bonner’s)/vinegar/baking soda. I tend to use peppermint or lavender soaps for cleaning. I started using tea tree soap, but found it is really bad for animals, so I went back to the original selection. So below find my recipes for Sink Scrubber, Wall Cleaner, Glass Cleaner, Pretreatment of Laundry Stains and a handy selection of helpful advice for carpet stain cleaners.
Sink Scrubber
1 cup baking soda, dried sage leaves coarsely ground and dried mint leaves coarsely ground, 1/2 cup ground rosemary leaves
Combine all ingredients and place in an airtight container and shake to blend. Sprinkle a small amount of the powder into a sink and scrub. Rinse well.
Wall Cleaner
Combine 1 part water to ½ part vinegar. Tip: clean from the bottom up to prevent unsightly drip lines.
Glass Cleaner
Combine 2 quarts water and ¼ cup white vinegar into a spray bottle and use as you would a commercial cleaner. Try wiping with an old newspaper instead of paper towels to eliminate streaks.
Pretreatment of Laundry Stains
1 part distilled white vinegar to ½ part salt. Combine in a squirt or spray bottle and apply to stains before washing. For heavy stains, soak for an hour or so before washing.
Carpet Stain Cleaners
Although the best two items for carpet I have found is salt or cream of tarter, here are some helpful ideas:
Red wine stain: Pour white wine on top and allow to sit a bit. Or try pouring salt on top, let it sit for 20 minutes than vacuum.
Mud stains: Put salt or baking soda on top of it and let sit for 20 minutes, then vacuum.
Pesto before frozen
Deron and I spent a weekend up in Maine for his high school reunion. As we were on the way home I noticed something big and wet and wait…did I see that right?? Yes, I believe it was big white things coming down. Yuck. I can’t believe already.. Ichy. So much for a garden anymore I mumbled under my breathe. Deron took a deep breathe and told me to do something with the marigolds and arugula that I had been milking. It was time.
So out in the snow I was picking arugula and thinking about what I might possible do with it. Then it hit me…Pesto. I could make it, freeze it and use it whenever my heart was content to. So I set off to research the arugula recipes. This is what I decided.
The first was compliments of In My Kitchen Garden. I needed to add more oil and cheese, but overall it was quite nice taste. I placed them in my rubber ice cube molds and froze them. Once frozen, I then popped them out and sealed them so not to get freezer burn. The second was compliments of Baking Pi. I added more garlic because the last one I didn’t really taste the garlic. I liked this one as it gave me an option without cheese. It was packed full of flavor. Before freezing, I have to say this was my favorite. We will have to see what the flavors are like after freezing. I will keep you posted.
Filed under: Cooking/Canning/Drying, Herbs, Indoor Gardening, outdoor gardening
My husband and I were traveling back home one night when our conversation was turned to the fact that it was 6:30 and by the car temp it was already in the mid 30’s. I didn’t think too much of it until we pulled into the house….and the light bulb that seems to never want to light turned VERY bright. OH MY is was going to frost!
Pile of Greens
Without changing (I happened to be wearing heels that day) I ran out to the garden. It was dark already so I turned on the garage light and the deck light and grabbed a flash light. I needed to save some stuff! I started at one end of the beds and ended with the bean bed. I pulled most of the carrots and turnips, trimmed all of the lettuce, gave the arugula a nice haircut and set out to grab herbs.
I cut the mint and lemon balm first. I knew they are touchy around the cold for me in the past. I then went down the line and took some sage (not much as it has been snow on the ground and I still had sage) chives, parsley and the remainder of basil. I also grabbed some horehound as this is the first year that I have grown it so I don’t know how touchy to the could it really is. I guess I will find out.
Herbs hanging in window
After spending over an hour washing prepping freezing and hanging to dry, I could see my counter again. It was a grand thing seeing the windows full of herbs. Nothing makes me more at home that seeing them in the window.
It is official. I have moved. Well not that kind of move, but I moved my shelving and lights down in the basement. I think it will be nice as I will have most of the basement dedicated to the plants. Deron is going to install a water spout down there for me to use in watering the little seedlings. It will be a great set-up when I am all done with it.
I have decided to bring in the hot pepper plants and start my winter experiment. I believe that I can have peppers year round if this works. Stay tuned for more information throughout the experiment.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Due to the fact that I have this urge sometimes to look on Craigslist, my planting station is going down. Downstairs that is. I am kind of excited about what it will be when I am finished. I am also going to have a guest room again. Now if I could just get a guest to enjoy it…
The Steamer Trunk
It all started when I found this wonderful steamer trunk. I had wanted one since a little girl when my sister got one. So all of a sudden I was presented with this trunk for $25. Now not only is it extremely cheap, it is in mint condition. Deron didn’t even see where this was going. We got it and then I needed a bed to go with the trunk. This prolonged my use of craigslist. Why not. I wasn’t finding anything in my neck of the woods, so I decided to go further west in the state. That is when I found exactly what I had been looking for. A black iron and brass bed with the original springs. So we rented a vehicle, drove over one and one half hours and picked it up. I have to say I was in my glory! (Please excuse Hunter my cat from the picture. He can’t help but lay down between pillows.)
The perfect bed
So now I am setting up my basement. I quickly set up the shelves and lights so I could bring stuff inside before the frost. I have decided to conduct an experiment and dug up some of the pepper plants (hot that is) and am going to try keeping them growing throughout the winter. I will post pictures and updates of the downstairs soon! But in the meantime enjoy the guest room finds!
Filed under: outdoor gardening
It has been too long since I last posted. I have had a series of events which have kept me away. But here I am again. I had been procrastinating when it comes to clean up with my garden. But it finally came down to the line. I had to clean up to plant the garlic for next year.
It really wasn’t that bad. Just needed patience. So, I set out to do it in the morning. I have found I am most likely have enough patience in the morning. Let’s just say the later in the day the less time I have for something tedious and slow.
I cleaned and raked the area. We decided that why not have the entire right side of the ground planting (18 feet) garlic. We eat a lot of it so why not. The thing about garlic is that is only needs approx. a fist between plantings. I decided I would enlist the help of Deron for the actual planting. That didn’t produce much help, but I did manage to get a little. So we took a stick and started poking holes in the ground approx. 3″ deep. After the holes come the fun part of placing a clove down every hole. Then I counted. And recounted. And realized I am NUTS!
To make a long story a little shorter, I planted 105 cloves this morning. That means 105 heads next year. When I asked Deron what in the world were we to do with the garlic, he just smiled and said “You can just sell it somewhere, you know like your stand outside and at work” I don’t know which one of us was more insane. I place my chips on him!
Sometimes hot peppers are a nice addition to whatever you are cooking. I planted a lot of peppers but due to the lack of heat and sun this summer most are not doing well. But the one that I just thought was very pretty is.
My pretty little devil plant - a black perl
It seems that when a pepper is so hot most people could not handle it, they label it Oriental peppers. Well, the Black Pearl is no exception to the rule. These little peppers are a little deceiving. I mean they are so little and cute. I let them ripen to the fullest extent and then I did it. I could no longer ignore them. I was watering the garden and I popped one of the little peppers in my mouth to try it. I mean just how hot can a little pepper be. There isn’t much to it, it should be fine right? Well, not really. One hour later, I regained some of my taste buds although the throat was still burning some. Atleast I already had the hose going for water.
Moral of the story: Oriental peppers that have been ripened fully hurt a lot! Think twice before eating.
I have never been a great lover of eggplant. I tolerate it when I must, but for the most part I don’t eat it. It has little qualities that I look for in a food. But for some reason, I really wanted to grow eggplant in my garden this year. So I purchased two types of eggplant, black beauty which is the standard large one and a little known eggplant called Fairy Tale Eggplant.
Some Fairy Tale Eggplant harvested
Who could resist a name like Fairy Tale Eggplant. I obviously could not. And I am very happy that I didn’t. Although I am torn as this is a hybrid, I have placed it on the list to grow next year. Little work was needed for a continuous supply of little sweet, creamy eggplant – no bitterness here!
I harvest the eggplant when about 4″ long. You need to be careful though. Around the stem are very sharp, little thorns. Take it from me, they hurt.
I took the eggplant and cut it in 1/2 and fried it in some hot seasame oil and then added a bit of water, covered the pan and let it go for 30 sec. or so. Then I took my trusted stirfry sauce and poured it over it for a “glaze” of sorts – the results were terrific. I can’t wait until I can make the next bunch.
Filed under: Cooking/Canning/Drying, Tomatoes, local eating, outdoor gardening
What does German Johnson, Cherokee Purple, Paul Robeson and Orange Oxheart have in common? Easy. Not only am I growing and eating them, they are all classified as heirloom tomatoes. The great thing about heirloom tomatoes is that the seeds can be saved and grown year after year after year. I urge all readers to take part in this. This will produce your own tomato use to the soil and geography of your location. But it also helps save the seeds. (read this article for more information on why to do so)
Cutting Board of tomatoes before I canned them
So, while I am busy eating loads of BAT’s (Bacon Arugula Tomato sandwich) I am saving the seeds. Alvin my neighbor who has been doing this for years told me how. I take a tomato and cut it in half. I spread a paper towel out and scoop seeds onto it. I then take a spoon and gently smush them around. That’s easy enough. Let it sit and after it is dry (about 3-4 days) wrap up the towel, label it and put it in an envelope. You now have seeds for next year. It is that easy!
But when I am not saving the seeds, I am trying to can them. This past weekend I canned 4 quart jars of tomatoes. It takes approximately 7 tomatoes for 1 jar. That is a lot of tomatoes I got in one week! Wondering how I do it? Continue reading.
To can in a water bath, you will need to have a few items. A canner, jars with lids, an extra pot full of water, a small bowl to put the lids in, a bowl for the skins and a medium bowl full of ice water. Fill the canner with the jars and water. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, put the extra pot full of water on another burner and bring to a boil. Drop a couple of tomatoes in the boiling water and wait for 1-2 min. if large, less time for smaller ones. Take a jar out of the canner and pour the hot water over the lids. The skin should start to split. Fish the tomatoes out and place in the bowl full of ice water. Let set for a few seconds so that you can handle them and peel the skin off. The skins should be saved for your compost bin. Place the tomato in the jar and lightly smush it. Continue until you have about 1/2 inch headspace. Because we are just using tomatoes in their own juice, we can use a water bath. Otherwise it is preassure canning bound! Wipe the rim with a towel. Put the lid on the jar and repeat until finished. When finished, place back into canner and process for 40 min. (See here for helpful hints in canning and processing)
