I approach the berry canes with my empty bowl. A robin flees. "Hey, these are MY berries. Not yours. Stay away, birdie."
Twenty minutes of plucking. Then a squirrel in a nearby tree starts making a racket. Now, I don't speak fluent Squirrel, but I'm confident that the speech the squirrel was giving me was identical to the earlier speech I was giving the robin.
Tough noogies. I planted. I water. I weed. (Well, sometimes I weed.) I nab Japanese beetles to toss to their deaths in my soap-water bucket. Let the squirrel be angry that I'm harvesting the berries before him.
Mmmmm, raspberries on my granola. Mmmmm.
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Potatoes Are Done
Somebody was having a grand time helping move potatoes from the bucket back to the dirt, or from the bucket into the wash-water, or from the muddy water back into the bowl of dirty potatoes. Somebody else decided to help Nanna scrub potatoes.
Grand to have such helpers!!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Garden Report
Strawberry bed is under control. It did not receive necessary attention last summer, so it was thinned-with-a-vengeance in the last couple of weeks. Soil somewhat loosened, without threatening the roots of remaining plants. A couple inches of compost applied. I have Good Intentions (TM) of treating the bed properly after the plants bear this year.
Last year's dead vines have been burned to a small pile of ash. That was no simple feat, but it has been accomplished.
Gary cleaned out the dead asparagus leftover from last year. I really should get out there and till a bit, before the new growth begins to pop up. It's weedy.
A bunch of last year's leaves have been piled deep on one of the raised beds, with potatoes planted [today] in those nice loose leaves. I've been seeing good results in both growth and harvesting when the potatoes aren't buried in dirt. I topped the humongous pile of leaves with some of that lovely old compost, partly to encourage the leaves to compost down, but mostly to keep the leaves from blowing away.
I took some of that spare compost and filled in the big hole by my clothesline. After septic-line repairs last fall, the soil has settled badly. I planted a bit of grass seed there. And I laughed at the oddball spots the tulips are popping up after last fall's visit from the backhoe and the whole dirt-rearrangement scheme.
Lots of pruning to do -- fruit trees, berries, grapes.
Still need to get a bed ready for lettuces.
Lots more outdoor work awaits, but I'm trying to prioritize tasks and to limit how much I allow myself to do. Can't overtire because of the repercussions to health.
Last year's dead vines have been burned to a small pile of ash. That was no simple feat, but it has been accomplished.
Gary cleaned out the dead asparagus leftover from last year. I really should get out there and till a bit, before the new growth begins to pop up. It's weedy.
A bunch of last year's leaves have been piled deep on one of the raised beds, with potatoes planted [today] in those nice loose leaves. I've been seeing good results in both growth and harvesting when the potatoes aren't buried in dirt. I topped the humongous pile of leaves with some of that lovely old compost, partly to encourage the leaves to compost down, but mostly to keep the leaves from blowing away.
I took some of that spare compost and filled in the big hole by my clothesline. After septic-line repairs last fall, the soil has settled badly. I planted a bit of grass seed there. And I laughed at the oddball spots the tulips are popping up after last fall's visit from the backhoe and the whole dirt-rearrangement scheme.
Lots of pruning to do -- fruit trees, berries, grapes.
Still need to get a bed ready for lettuces.
Lots more outdoor work awaits, but I'm trying to prioritize tasks and to limit how much I allow myself to do. Can't overtire because of the repercussions to health.
Thursday, August 07, 2014
Do the Mashed Potato!
Yukon Gold versus Russets.
Organic versus standard chemical-laden large-farming techniques.
Backyard versus trucked-from-Idaho.
Dug-this-morning versus sitting-in-a-plastic-bag-for-over-a-month.
They look different.
They taste different.
And yet,
I continue to buy food from the store.
The gardening is SO superior.
But it takes time and energy that I don't have (at least, not in the amount I desire).
Same for the farmer's market: I should go there more frequently, but the time, energy, and money are too often more than I can come up with.
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Lettuce, Orthaheels, and Hair
Planted lettuce yesterday. It's the wrong time of year to plant lettuce. I don't think the weather has noticed, though.
My apple trees, which haven't been bearing, grew some baby apples this year. The tree with only two apples lost them. But the other tree has a small crop we're hoping for.
My hair is long enough now that I occasionally have to brush it. That's not really saying much, though, as my dad-who-always-had-a-crewcut brushed his hair every day. But it's a step in the right direction!
My shoes -- my awesome shoes that are the only thing which make my feet not hurt -- my beloved shoes which are better than prescription insoles -- my shoes have been discontinued. The technology for them was bought by another company, but customer reviews report that the support is just not the same. So I bought all the rest of the old version that Amazon still had in my size. Also, the new company doesn't make any versions without the toe strap -- in other words, none that I can wear to work when my current work-pair finally is no more. I'm trying not to let this sink into my brain; it would be far too discouraging to realize what this means. I can only hope that these shoes will be manufactured again before my new stash wears out.
My apple trees, which haven't been bearing, grew some baby apples this year. The tree with only two apples lost them. But the other tree has a small crop we're hoping for.
My hair is long enough now that I occasionally have to brush it. That's not really saying much, though, as my dad-who-always-had-a-crewcut brushed his hair every day. But it's a step in the right direction!
My shoes -- my awesome shoes that are the only thing which make my feet not hurt -- my beloved shoes which are better than prescription insoles -- my shoes have been discontinued. The technology for them was bought by another company, but customer reviews report that the support is just not the same. So I bought all the rest of the old version that Amazon still had in my size. Also, the new company doesn't make any versions without the toe strap -- in other words, none that I can wear to work when my current work-pair finally is no more. I'm trying not to let this sink into my brain; it would be far too discouraging to realize what this means. I can only hope that these shoes will be manufactured again before my new stash wears out.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Strawberry Picking
I am SO glad we changed the strawberries last year, transplanting berries into a raised bed and putting grass seed in the former berry plot. It's made the mowing much easier because we [well, they] are no longer mowing around an odd-shaped plot. And I can help with picking/tending berries as they're easier to reach, and I can even sit on the boards at the edge of the bed. Besides, the number of weeds is minimal in a raised bed compared to the ground-level plot.
Those worker-gals (in the photo above) forgot to take their berries home with them yesterday. So instead we are going to hog the benefits of their work. We will enjoy strawberry shortcake for somebody's "birthday" today. We'll have to pick some berries and drop them off for Katie's family another day. Unless one of the other kids beats us to the next pickin' ....
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Dear Diary ...
Discharged from outpatient speech therapy last week.
Discharged from outpatient physical therapy yesterday.
Borrowed Maggie's bike yesterday and rode back and forth in front of the house for two or three whole minutes, in yet another attempt to put a smidgeon of muscle back into my legs. I did not topple over. I did, however, get off the bike and walk it up the steeper inclines.
The therapists warned me against overdoing; they said I must do a lot of "nothing." They said that's when my brain does its healing. I don't know how to do nothing. I watch tv and read and do Sudoku's. I drag myself through an easy chore or two. I'm to the point of needing naps only when I overdo a bit.
I've been watching Call the Midwife. So many friends have raved about the series. I have mixed feelings. At the beginning, it seemed like the longest one-hour show I'd ever watched. But after we got to know the characters and the setting, that aspect improved. Overall, I get to liking the show, and then an episode pops up that infuriates me. It's one thing to have a story about a brother and sister committing adultery, and then her committing suicide. It's another thing altogether to have this relationship extolled as the right kind of love and passion and fulfillment. Similarly, I can understand the reason why this series would set forth a story about a woman with "too many children" and her attempts to abort the next baby. But that story takes on a completely different aspect when the narrator bookends the story with commentary on the Pill and the need for safe abortion to protect women from the Burdens Of Childbearing. Then, when I've calmed down, I decide to give the series "one more chance" and the next episode gets me hooked again.
Andrew drove me to therapy the other day. A soap opera was playing in the waiting room. He was reading, but he caught glimpses of his first soap. On the way home, he commented on the vengeance and hatred. At my last haircut [no, I mean, the last regular haircut, y'know, in the salon, not the post-surgery head-shaving] I was sickened to see what was on soap operas today. I remember people telling me when I was in college that they were inappropriate for Christians (or even decent people) to watch. I thought that was overly legalistic. I don't know if I've changed or if soap operas have worsened that much. But now I'm inclined to agree: watching soaps today is submitting to the brainwashing of the culture. (Oh, man, I'm gonna get hate-mail now....)
The strawberries are coming in abundantly. I think we should replant healthy babies again this year, late in summer. The difference in berry-size is significant. And last fall it looked like those spindly, frail starters couldn't possibly produce anything. I had to freeze some berries because we're bringing in more than we can eat ... and jam-making seems too risky right now with my brain-scrambles and my lack of physical strength.
God is certainly doing my garden-watering for me. I did not get around to pruning the grapes, the cherries, or the apples. Right now, the grapes vines look to be producing plenty of fruit and jam and juice. The apples trees --which produced NOTHING the last three summers-- have baby apples. I must have been pruning the wrong twigs in previous years. Now, how do I figure out what I did wrong so that I don't repeat my mistake ... because these trees desperately need pruning as soon as fall's cool weather sets in.
I have not touched a lawn-mower since before my crash. Gary has borne the brunt of that chore, with some help from Rachel. We are deeply thankful that the neighbors have helped mow, and one has offered to loan his riding lawnmower to Gary occasionally!
Gary drove Maggie and me to the library last night. First trip since my crash. The library had notices about a town meeting that would deeply impact that future of the library. Turned out the meeting was due to start just a few minutes before we left the library. We drove straight over to town hall. Both Gary and I ended up testifying briefly. I'm glad we went. Most of the citizens there were of the opposite viewpoint. I think it was encouraging to the town board to hear us few taxpayers/voters in agreement with them. It's probably also good that ALL the citizens attending were not of the one opinion, but that some of us agreed with the board's decision. (I'm kind of scared to see how the local weekly paper quotes me: it's not exactly the most accurate news-reporting I've ever seen.)
We have lots of new members at church. It is such an encouragement to see them arrive to visit, and revel in the liturgy and the preached gospel, to see their eager attendance at Bible class. And they come back and bring friends. Lovely!
You know what? If you don't dust for long enough, you can't dust. You have to use a wet, soapy cloth to scrub dirt off the furniture. Each day I tell myself that I'm going to do a little housecleaning. Just a little. And it's harder to clean stuff than I expect. Partly because I'm weak. Partly because the dirt is thicker. Ick. (Thing is, before my daughters get any bright ideas to come over and help, I have to sort and file and toss and eliminate ... so that cleaners can find the horizontal surfaces in need of cleaning.)
At symposium last week, I found myself boasting to out-of-towners about the people at church. We have done very little cooking since I arrived home from the hospital. Our fellow-saints are preparing meals and bringing them to us. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity. And the delicious cooking.
I began weaning off the shingles drug (the one for nerve pain, aka my arachnoiditis). Going from 3 pills daily to 2 was okay. Going from 2 to 1 pill has been a bit much. I thought I'd be weaned off the drug entirely before seeing the neurologist for my follow-up visit. I doubt it now. I'm too whiny about the nerve pain again. I look like a dope, carrying a pillow around with me, so I don't have to sit on a hard pew or chair at church. Too bad. Dopey-looking is better than whiny and suffering.
That's enough update.
I have all these scribbled notes for things I want to put on my blog/diary.
But there's only so much sitting at the computer that my body can take.
So now I'm stopping and heading off to find a pain-pill.
Have a happy day!
Discharged from outpatient physical therapy yesterday.
Borrowed Maggie's bike yesterday and rode back and forth in front of the house for two or three whole minutes, in yet another attempt to put a smidgeon of muscle back into my legs. I did not topple over. I did, however, get off the bike and walk it up the steeper inclines.
The therapists warned me against overdoing; they said I must do a lot of "nothing." They said that's when my brain does its healing. I don't know how to do nothing. I watch tv and read and do Sudoku's. I drag myself through an easy chore or two. I'm to the point of needing naps only when I overdo a bit.
I've been watching Call the Midwife. So many friends have raved about the series. I have mixed feelings. At the beginning, it seemed like the longest one-hour show I'd ever watched. But after we got to know the characters and the setting, that aspect improved. Overall, I get to liking the show, and then an episode pops up that infuriates me. It's one thing to have a story about a brother and sister committing adultery, and then her committing suicide. It's another thing altogether to have this relationship extolled as the right kind of love and passion and fulfillment. Similarly, I can understand the reason why this series would set forth a story about a woman with "too many children" and her attempts to abort the next baby. But that story takes on a completely different aspect when the narrator bookends the story with commentary on the Pill and the need for safe abortion to protect women from the Burdens Of Childbearing. Then, when I've calmed down, I decide to give the series "one more chance" and the next episode gets me hooked again.
Andrew drove me to therapy the other day. A soap opera was playing in the waiting room. He was reading, but he caught glimpses of his first soap. On the way home, he commented on the vengeance and hatred. At my last haircut [no, I mean, the last regular haircut, y'know, in the salon, not the post-surgery head-shaving] I was sickened to see what was on soap operas today. I remember people telling me when I was in college that they were inappropriate for Christians (or even decent people) to watch. I thought that was overly legalistic. I don't know if I've changed or if soap operas have worsened that much. But now I'm inclined to agree: watching soaps today is submitting to the brainwashing of the culture. (Oh, man, I'm gonna get hate-mail now....)
The strawberries are coming in abundantly. I think we should replant healthy babies again this year, late in summer. The difference in berry-size is significant. And last fall it looked like those spindly, frail starters couldn't possibly produce anything. I had to freeze some berries because we're bringing in more than we can eat ... and jam-making seems too risky right now with my brain-scrambles and my lack of physical strength.
God is certainly doing my garden-watering for me. I did not get around to pruning the grapes, the cherries, or the apples. Right now, the grapes vines look to be producing plenty of fruit and jam and juice. The apples trees --which produced NOTHING the last three summers-- have baby apples. I must have been pruning the wrong twigs in previous years. Now, how do I figure out what I did wrong so that I don't repeat my mistake ... because these trees desperately need pruning as soon as fall's cool weather sets in.
I have not touched a lawn-mower since before my crash. Gary has borne the brunt of that chore, with some help from Rachel. We are deeply thankful that the neighbors have helped mow, and one has offered to loan his riding lawnmower to Gary occasionally!
Gary drove Maggie and me to the library last night. First trip since my crash. The library had notices about a town meeting that would deeply impact that future of the library. Turned out the meeting was due to start just a few minutes before we left the library. We drove straight over to town hall. Both Gary and I ended up testifying briefly. I'm glad we went. Most of the citizens there were of the opposite viewpoint. I think it was encouraging to the town board to hear us few taxpayers/voters in agreement with them. It's probably also good that ALL the citizens attending were not of the one opinion, but that some of us agreed with the board's decision. (I'm kind of scared to see how the local weekly paper quotes me: it's not exactly the most accurate news-reporting I've ever seen.)
We have lots of new members at church. It is such an encouragement to see them arrive to visit, and revel in the liturgy and the preached gospel, to see their eager attendance at Bible class. And they come back and bring friends. Lovely!
You know what? If you don't dust for long enough, you can't dust. You have to use a wet, soapy cloth to scrub dirt off the furniture. Each day I tell myself that I'm going to do a little housecleaning. Just a little. And it's harder to clean stuff than I expect. Partly because I'm weak. Partly because the dirt is thicker. Ick. (Thing is, before my daughters get any bright ideas to come over and help, I have to sort and file and toss and eliminate ... so that cleaners can find the horizontal surfaces in need of cleaning.)
At symposium last week, I found myself boasting to out-of-towners about the people at church. We have done very little cooking since I arrived home from the hospital. Our fellow-saints are preparing meals and bringing them to us. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity. And the delicious cooking.
I began weaning off the shingles drug (the one for nerve pain, aka my arachnoiditis). Going from 3 pills daily to 2 was okay. Going from 2 to 1 pill has been a bit much. I thought I'd be weaned off the drug entirely before seeing the neurologist for my follow-up visit. I doubt it now. I'm too whiny about the nerve pain again. I look like a dope, carrying a pillow around with me, so I don't have to sit on a hard pew or chair at church. Too bad. Dopey-looking is better than whiny and suffering.
That's enough update.
I have all these scribbled notes for things I want to put on my blog/diary.
But there's only so much sitting at the computer that my body can take.
So now I'm stopping and heading off to find a pain-pill.
Have a happy day!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Fighting Wasps
AfterBite is amazing stuff. So is baking soda. I usually keep AfterBite in my purse. But this past week I emptied the container and had to buy a new tube.
"They" say to deal with wasps at dawn and dusk when the pests are less active. However, there is a problem with this plan. When the boogers get hacked off that you're there, and they land on you, you don't realize this until they begin stabbing with their stingers. Yeah. And then you're FULL of bites. Do NOT try this. "Dawn or dusk" should be when there's still enough light for you to see your enemy.
Wasp spray is better than flying-insect spray.
"They" say to deal with wasps at dawn and dusk when the pests are less active. However, there is a problem with this plan. When the boogers get hacked off that you're there, and they land on you, you don't realize this until they begin stabbing with their stingers. Yeah. And then you're FULL of bites. Do NOT try this. "Dawn or dusk" should be when there's still enough light for you to see your enemy.
Wasp spray is better than flying-insect spray.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Time to Dig Potatoes
Ouch! Shhhh: don't tell the bees and wasps where I am. I'm hiding indoors, behind screens, waiting for them to chill out. One little sting and two humongous stings/bites, and I'm a little worried about finishing the potato-digging. Those angry fellows and their stingers had a ground hive (of which I was unaware until 10 minutes ago!) in my compost pile masquerading as a potato patch.
Apparently, I should have dug potatoes sooner. Next year, Susan, do not wait until the vines dry up. Go out and dig when the potato vines BEGIN to wither and dry. This year, the red potatoes did okay. [Rachel, Rachel: warning. Do not swoon or puke at the rest of this paragraph.] The Yukon Gold, however, with their tenderness and their thin skins, were a feast for the centipedes. Yuck yuck yuck. I did keep some that were unmolested. But it was icky to dig in a spot where there should've been several potatoes and find only a swarm of fat centipedes. Or to pull out three nice potatoes with a couple of slimy ones that were half eaten. Next year, be earlier!!
About a month after planting potatoes this year, I had a huge pile of wood ash from the burn pit. I spread it on half the potato patch, not knowing whether I was helping or hurting. It was mind-boggling to see how the potato plants thrived where the ashes had been added to the compost pile. But would the huge showy greenery mean lots of top and not much potato growing underneath? Turned out there wasn't much difference between the two sections of the patch. If anything, I think maybe the end with the ashes resulted in more food for the table.
Well, time to head outside and see if I can finish the task. But this time, I know what I'm up against. I expect to disturb the wasp nest and make a run for it! And if that doesn't work, I suppose the centipedes will enjoy the rest of my potatoes.
Apparently, I should have dug potatoes sooner. Next year, Susan, do not wait until the vines dry up. Go out and dig when the potato vines BEGIN to wither and dry. This year, the red potatoes did okay. [Rachel, Rachel: warning. Do not swoon or puke at the rest of this paragraph.] The Yukon Gold, however, with their tenderness and their thin skins, were a feast for the centipedes. Yuck yuck yuck. I did keep some that were unmolested. But it was icky to dig in a spot where there should've been several potatoes and find only a swarm of fat centipedes. Or to pull out three nice potatoes with a couple of slimy ones that were half eaten. Next year, be earlier!!
About a month after planting potatoes this year, I had a huge pile of wood ash from the burn pit. I spread it on half the potato patch, not knowing whether I was helping or hurting. It was mind-boggling to see how the potato plants thrived where the ashes had been added to the compost pile. But would the huge showy greenery mean lots of top and not much potato growing underneath? Turned out there wasn't much difference between the two sections of the patch. If anything, I think maybe the end with the ashes resulted in more food for the table.
Well, time to head outside and see if I can finish the task. But this time, I know what I'm up against. I expect to disturb the wasp nest and make a run for it! And if that doesn't work, I suppose the centipedes will enjoy the rest of my potatoes.
Thursday, August 08, 2013
It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Not hot. Not cold. Not humid. Not dry. A sweet softness to the air.
Picked raspberries to go on the breakfast oatmeal.
Ate the first tomato sandwich of the year. Big fat slice of tomato from the ONE tomato that's ripened so far. With avocado and onion and cucumber-from-the-garden and homemade mayo and freshly made pesto (with just-picked basil from the garden) on homemade whole wheat bread.
And lettuce salad for supper. With cucumber salad. And the first potatoes I dug this year.
Is this heavenly, or what?? You go out to your garden and bring in fresh food and feast on it!
When I began to realize that heaven was far more than fulfillment of every hedonistic desire (that is, fruit salad galore, chocolate chip cookies without getting fat, seafood chowder, etc), I began to think that the food of heaven would be the Lord's Supper. And only the Lord's Supper. Although that certainly is the primary feast, it is also true that God made the world and said it was good. So maybe we do get fruit salad in heaven! And tomato and avocado sandwiches!
Picked raspberries to go on the breakfast oatmeal.
Ate the first tomato sandwich of the year. Big fat slice of tomato from the ONE tomato that's ripened so far. With avocado and onion and cucumber-from-the-garden and homemade mayo and freshly made pesto (with just-picked basil from the garden) on homemade whole wheat bread.
And lettuce salad for supper. With cucumber salad. And the first potatoes I dug this year.
Is this heavenly, or what?? You go out to your garden and bring in fresh food and feast on it!
When I began to realize that heaven was far more than fulfillment of every hedonistic desire (that is, fruit salad galore, chocolate chip cookies without getting fat, seafood chowder, etc), I began to think that the food of heaven would be the Lord's Supper. And only the Lord's Supper. Although that certainly is the primary feast, it is also true that God made the world and said it was good. So maybe we do get fruit salad in heaven! And tomato and avocado sandwiches!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Recently
Symposium last week. Lots of friends. Some fun house guests. Parties. Theology lectures. Good times!
Work. Boy, the job sure gets in the way of my to-do list.
Washing the eaves. Seems dumb. But, hey, during winter's roof-raking I noticed spots that could've been dirt or could've been mildew on the eaves. After living in the parsonage, I passionately hate mildew. Kids washed half the eaves one week and I finished the other half this week with a bleach/soap solution.
Grass seed scattered and being watered daily in one portion of the lawn burned in last summer's drought. (Funny. Last year "they" kept telling us that the grass would survive just fine. Don't water it. It will be fine. Don't waste water on the lawn. This spring, the landscapers were all offering to fix lawns which obviously need fixing. If the government propagandizes about something piddly like lawn-watering, why should we believe what "they" say about anything else?)
The lettuces are finally coming up. So are the turnips, beets, basil, zucchini, cucumber, and cilantro. Memo to self: forget the seed-saving. The germination rate is awful. Short of catastrophe, just buy the seeds new each year.
Fewer strawberry plants + fewer rows = bigger berries. Nice. Clusters on the grape vines look great at this early stage. Blackberries have been pruned, but still need more whacking back. One cherry tree looks to be nearly ready for a nice harvest.
Loads of weeding to do. Katie and Maggie have helped a lot. I need mulch. Tons of mulch. The strawberry bed this year (with the between-spaces covered with a few layers of newspaper and many inches autumn leaves) has been quite easy to weed. I want everything else covered in that much mulch. But mulch is heavy. We can go at it slowly, though, with free wood chips and free compost from the town's compost site. The mulching may be a huge amount of work, but the weeding is its own frustration, especially in the front where the flowers are, where the previous owners put layers of gravel which is now under a bit of soil. It just plain needs to be fixed!
Pretty boring, huh? That's the way we like it!
Work. Boy, the job sure gets in the way of my to-do list.
Washing the eaves. Seems dumb. But, hey, during winter's roof-raking I noticed spots that could've been dirt or could've been mildew on the eaves. After living in the parsonage, I passionately hate mildew. Kids washed half the eaves one week and I finished the other half this week with a bleach/soap solution.
Grass seed scattered and being watered daily in one portion of the lawn burned in last summer's drought. (Funny. Last year "they" kept telling us that the grass would survive just fine. Don't water it. It will be fine. Don't waste water on the lawn. This spring, the landscapers were all offering to fix lawns which obviously need fixing. If the government propagandizes about something piddly like lawn-watering, why should we believe what "they" say about anything else?)
The lettuces are finally coming up. So are the turnips, beets, basil, zucchini, cucumber, and cilantro. Memo to self: forget the seed-saving. The germination rate is awful. Short of catastrophe, just buy the seeds new each year.
Fewer strawberry plants + fewer rows = bigger berries. Nice. Clusters on the grape vines look great at this early stage. Blackberries have been pruned, but still need more whacking back. One cherry tree looks to be nearly ready for a nice harvest.
Loads of weeding to do. Katie and Maggie have helped a lot. I need mulch. Tons of mulch. The strawberry bed this year (with the between-spaces covered with a few layers of newspaper and many inches autumn leaves) has been quite easy to weed. I want everything else covered in that much mulch. But mulch is heavy. We can go at it slowly, though, with free wood chips and free compost from the town's compost site. The mulching may be a huge amount of work, but the weeding is its own frustration, especially in the front where the flowers are, where the previous owners put layers of gravel which is now under a bit of soil. It just plain needs to be fixed!
Pretty boring, huh? That's the way we like it!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Garden Report
It's that time of year when we go through a LOT of hand soap, trying (somewhat in vain) to clean hands when we come in from the garden.
Two raised beds have been cleared of overgrown walking-onions, shoveled, fluffed with half-rotted leaves underneath, and the soil on top raked smooth. A couple of mini-rows of lettuces have been planted.
The compost pile has been turned into a potato bed. Last year we accidentally grew a nice batch of potatoes from some Yukon Gold that were supposed to be rotting in the compost pile. Because the compost pile was lighter, airier, fluffier than typical garden dirt, the potatoes grew bigger, cleaner, and prettier-shaped. Hey, I could use an accident like that again! So I put a 15" layer of last fall's leaves on top of the compost bed. In each spot where I was going to plant the potatoes, I put a pint of dried manure, the potato, and another pint of manure. I then sprinkled a very thin layer of manure across the top of the leaf bed, just to finish off the bag. On top of that, another 8" of leaves. On top of that, about 3" of gunk off the burn pile (wood ash, dried leaves, leaf ash, and lovely rich dirt from stuff that had been at the bottom of the pile for a few years). Now, will it work? Will I grow a lovely batch of organic potatoes? Or have I spent my energy today for no food, but just a day outside, enjoying the fresh air and the SUNshine and the birds singing? Oh, and some sure-to-be-sore muscles. ;-)
Eighty-percent-dead cherry tree is down. Gary managed to knock it over without a chainsaw or ax or anything; that poor thing was in sorry shape (and yet somehow still quite productive). The baby next to it is up and budding. It was a sucker that we left to grow, and for two years it bore fruit just like the parent-tree.
I gathered the icky, wet, half-rotted, gucky leaves off the garden and put them in black 30-gallon garbage bags. I hear tell that in the space of several months they should rot into leaf mold. A) Now the garden soil can begin drying a bit. B) Stunning that I can be so hyped over the prospect of rotting leaves -- woo hoo!
One of the lilacs looked pretty rotted-out too. So I knocked that over. Boy howdy, we have a LOT of wood to burn!
Two raised beds have been cleared of overgrown walking-onions, shoveled, fluffed with half-rotted leaves underneath, and the soil on top raked smooth. A couple of mini-rows of lettuces have been planted.
The compost pile has been turned into a potato bed. Last year we accidentally grew a nice batch of potatoes from some Yukon Gold that were supposed to be rotting in the compost pile. Because the compost pile was lighter, airier, fluffier than typical garden dirt, the potatoes grew bigger, cleaner, and prettier-shaped. Hey, I could use an accident like that again! So I put a 15" layer of last fall's leaves on top of the compost bed. In each spot where I was going to plant the potatoes, I put a pint of dried manure, the potato, and another pint of manure. I then sprinkled a very thin layer of manure across the top of the leaf bed, just to finish off the bag. On top of that, another 8" of leaves. On top of that, about 3" of gunk off the burn pile (wood ash, dried leaves, leaf ash, and lovely rich dirt from stuff that had been at the bottom of the pile for a few years). Now, will it work? Will I grow a lovely batch of organic potatoes? Or have I spent my energy today for no food, but just a day outside, enjoying the fresh air and the SUNshine and the birds singing? Oh, and some sure-to-be-sore muscles. ;-)
Eighty-percent-dead cherry tree is down. Gary managed to knock it over without a chainsaw or ax or anything; that poor thing was in sorry shape (and yet somehow still quite productive). The baby next to it is up and budding. It was a sucker that we left to grow, and for two years it bore fruit just like the parent-tree.
I gathered the icky, wet, half-rotted, gucky leaves off the garden and put them in black 30-gallon garbage bags. I hear tell that in the space of several months they should rot into leaf mold. A) Now the garden soil can begin drying a bit. B) Stunning that I can be so hyped over the prospect of rotting leaves -- woo hoo!
One of the lilacs looked pretty rotted-out too. So I knocked that over. Boy howdy, we have a LOT of wood to burn!
Friday, September 07, 2012
The Pressure Canner
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I've had my fill of tomatoes. Wow! Even two weeks ago, I didn't suspect that it would be possible to get tired of tomatoes. Ever. But sadly, the tomato sandwich no longer calls to me, enticing me, whispering that I should have a second, or a third, or a fourth.
Now the work of continuing to put them up.
Earlier this week I made a huge batch of chili. BEST chili I've made in years. I put seven quarts into the pressure canner. Phooey. Every single one of them leaked. The seal on three lids stayed, but I am suspicious of those jars anyway. Tonight I hauled out one of the jars that didn't seal; after 90 minutes in the canner, the flavor had changed. It's still perfectly acceptable, but it's not blow-your-socks-off yummy any more.
When I canned the salsa, I forgot to add the lemon juice. (These days, the low-acid tomatoes require added acid to ensure safety when water-bath canning.) So I don't know whether to put those salsa jars in the refrigerator, or whether they will be safe enough in the basement pantry for a couple of months.
I know that it's supposed to be better to can your food than freeze it. I know canned food is safe even when the freezer fails. I know it's easier to heat the canned food quickly. But if I spend hours of work canning, only to botch it up and have the taste go downhill, is it okay if I just cross my fingers and hope the freezer keeps doing its job to preserve my goodies?
Now the work of continuing to put them up.
Earlier this week I made a huge batch of chili. BEST chili I've made in years. I put seven quarts into the pressure canner. Phooey. Every single one of them leaked. The seal on three lids stayed, but I am suspicious of those jars anyway. Tonight I hauled out one of the jars that didn't seal; after 90 minutes in the canner, the flavor had changed. It's still perfectly acceptable, but it's not blow-your-socks-off yummy any more.
When I canned the salsa, I forgot to add the lemon juice. (These days, the low-acid tomatoes require added acid to ensure safety when water-bath canning.) So I don't know whether to put those salsa jars in the refrigerator, or whether they will be safe enough in the basement pantry for a couple of months.
I know that it's supposed to be better to can your food than freeze it. I know canned food is safe even when the freezer fails. I know it's easier to heat the canned food quickly. But if I spend hours of work canning, only to botch it up and have the taste go downhill, is it okay if I just cross my fingers and hope the freezer keeps doing its job to preserve my goodies?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Kitchen Herbs
Tomatoes are beginning to trickle in from the garden. I want basil to go with it! But my basil plants are a whopping 1-2" high right now. We looked at the local grocer. Of the two stores in town, one didn't carry fresh basil, and the other had a tiny, skinny box of organic basil for $3. Three bucks for about 10 basil leaves? [gasp, hyperventilate, preparing to rant...]
We asked one of the employees, "Is there any non-organic basil? The organic is a bit pricey." No, they didn't carry any other brands, but they carried live kitchen herbs, including basil. Wow! I bought a pot of basil and a pot of rosemary. Even if the basil didn't grow, even if all I harvested was what was on the plant that very day, it was still twice as much fresh basil for a smaller price than that expensive little boxful.
The basil is doing great. The rosemary has dried up and looks pitiful. But if I can make this work, it may mean basil and fresh cilantro through the winter. It's a 3x3x3" container (with holes in the bottom) with several basil plants growing in it, and it sits on a dish. The instructions say to keep snipping off the tops of plants to harvest leaves, and to keep water in the saucer/bowl so that the soil soaks up the moisture.
Huh. I always was pulling leaves off the sides of my herbs. I guess I should've been chopping their tops off. Well, this is good to know, whether for inside or outside herbs.
Basil on my sandwich tomorrow!
We asked one of the employees, "Is there any non-organic basil? The organic is a bit pricey." No, they didn't carry any other brands, but they carried live kitchen herbs, including basil. Wow! I bought a pot of basil and a pot of rosemary. Even if the basil didn't grow, even if all I harvested was what was on the plant that very day, it was still twice as much fresh basil for a smaller price than that expensive little boxful.
The basil is doing great. The rosemary has dried up and looks pitiful. But if I can make this work, it may mean basil and fresh cilantro through the winter. It's a 3x3x3" container (with holes in the bottom) with several basil plants growing in it, and it sits on a dish. The instructions say to keep snipping off the tops of plants to harvest leaves, and to keep water in the saucer/bowl so that the soil soaks up the moisture.
Huh. I always was pulling leaves off the sides of my herbs. I guess I should've been chopping their tops off. Well, this is good to know, whether for inside or outside herbs.
Basil on my sandwich tomorrow!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Slugs in the Garden
After I planted lettuce in April, one of the big rains must have washed some of the seeds to the other end of the raised bed. Eventually, lettuce was popping up in places I hadn't sown seed. I left it to grow.
The lettuce I did plant needed thinning. Week after week I didn't get to it. We came home from vacation to ready-to-pick heads of Romaine. The ones at the far end of the garden --where there was plenty of room to spread out-- grew beautifully. Where I planted, however, was crowded. The heads were thinner and several were spindly. But what surprised me most was the slug damage.
Where there was room to spread out, where air and light circulated around the veggies, I had no chew-marks from the slugs. The most crowded part of my lettuce-row was the holiest.
Same thing in the strawberry patch. I overthinned last fall. But hey, no slugs this year!
The lettuce I did plant needed thinning. Week after week I didn't get to it. We came home from vacation to ready-to-pick heads of Romaine. The ones at the far end of the garden --where there was plenty of room to spread out-- grew beautifully. Where I planted, however, was crowded. The heads were thinner and several were spindly. But what surprised me most was the slug damage.
Where there was room to spread out, where air and light circulated around the veggies, I had no chew-marks from the slugs. The most crowded part of my lettuce-row was the holiest.
Same thing in the strawberry patch. I overthinned last fall. But hey, no slugs this year!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The Strawberry Bed
So the picture on the left is what the strawberry bed looked like on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday afternoon, Maggie and I worked for less than an hour.
By Tuesday evening the patch was shocking. No weeds. Just lots and lots of dirt. Maggie worked really hard. Andrew helped too. Wow -- it's beautiful! Aren't they awesome?!
On Monday afternoon, Maggie and I worked for less than an hour.
By Tuesday evening the patch was shocking. No weeds. Just lots and lots of dirt. Maggie worked really hard. Andrew helped too. Wow -- it's beautiful! Aren't they awesome?!
Wood Sorrel
There's a reason to yank these beautiful flowers out of my strawberry patch.
But tell me again why I'm pulling them from my flower beds?
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Monday, May 07, 2012
Strawberries
I guess we'll be buying them this year instead of eating delectable homegrown ones.
After that warm spell in early March, the weather seemed to go into refrigeration mode. My strawberry plants didn't know what to make of it. After lots of pruning away last year, they needed to replenish themselves, but haven't been able to. When I checked the patch today, I saw that the plants were already blooming and quite a few of the strawberry flowers had black middles, which I suspect means they were killed by one of the recent frosts.
The small cherry tree suffered the same fate. It looks pitiful. The larger, older cherry tree blooms later and will probably bear a little. Luckily, the apples haven't bloomed yet.
Y'know, this isn't the solution I was wanting for carpal-tunnel problems that result from hulling strawberries and pitting cherries.
After that warm spell in early March, the weather seemed to go into refrigeration mode. My strawberry plants didn't know what to make of it. After lots of pruning away last year, they needed to replenish themselves, but haven't been able to. When I checked the patch today, I saw that the plants were already blooming and quite a few of the strawberry flowers had black middles, which I suspect means they were killed by one of the recent frosts.
The small cherry tree suffered the same fate. It looks pitiful. The larger, older cherry tree blooms later and will probably bear a little. Luckily, the apples haven't bloomed yet.
Y'know, this isn't the solution I was wanting for carpal-tunnel problems that result from hulling strawberries and pitting cherries.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Where Did THAT Come From?
In the gravelly dirt, just outside the garage door, next to the driveway:
It's the middle of November. We didn't try to plant this. It's not even in tilled soil. I just happened to notice these pretty little leaves yesterday while carrying in groceries. Surely they couldn't be ....? Could they? I tasted one. Sure enough, it's delectable baby spinach. All I can figure is that we unwittingly knocked some spinach seed off a dried plant when cleaning up the garden.
Bible class on Monday night was about creation. Pastor was making the point that God's creative word spoken so many millenia ago still has the power to create. Yeah, I know, I know. At least, I thought I knew. Why then is it so striking to see spinach growing --seemingly of its own accord-- in such a stupid spot for anything other than weeds to grow?
It's the middle of November. We didn't try to plant this. It's not even in tilled soil. I just happened to notice these pretty little leaves yesterday while carrying in groceries. Surely they couldn't be ....? Could they? I tasted one. Sure enough, it's delectable baby spinach. All I can figure is that we unwittingly knocked some spinach seed off a dried plant when cleaning up the garden.
Bible class on Monday night was about creation. Pastor was making the point that God's creative word spoken so many millenia ago still has the power to create. Yeah, I know, I know. At least, I thought I knew. Why then is it so striking to see spinach growing --seemingly of its own accord-- in such a stupid spot for anything other than weeds to grow?
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