Summer Garden Goodness

Just for fun, I thought I'd share some pictures from this years garden.

 


Hollyhocks growing along the deck.

Our wedding arbor over the garden gate adds cheer and a snug place for flowers to grow.

Rhubarb needing plenty of elbow room. One of my favorite things to grow. Diced rhubarb, cooked down with sugar. It makes a fabulous pie and cobbler filling or topper for pankaces!

 

First tomatos of the season :) We've already made salsa from a huge batch of tomatos that were given to us. I like mine with one jalapeno per batch. My mama likes three. I made sure to remember which container was hers :D

Sunflowers right after the rain.
















Yarrow and mint
drying in the kitchen

Adventures in Country Living: Winter Garden

So I know that Spring is blooming up all over. Conversation hearts are making way for Cadbury eggs on store shelves, people are sneezing like crazy (my husband included) and replacing our snow boots with flip flops by the front door has me excited for warmer days. But while California flatlanders (yes, ya'll are called that by people who live in the mountains-- particularily while driving :D) are seeing green things out their windows, we're staring at over a foot of snow and our cars are in desperate need of a washing. If only it were that time of year when we could actually hook a hose up to a water spicket. But anywho...back to spring.

While my yard is a jumble of mud and snow and kids who are covered in, well, mud and snow, I know my summer garden is a long way off. But that only means there's still time to enjoy the winter garden. This is where a greenhouse comes in really handy.

If you're now thinking, "But I don't have a greenhouse."
I'm here to tell you, "Never fear, cuz I don't either."

What I do have, is a simple garden bed built out of 2x4's that's covered with a hinged lid of plastic that surprisingly enough, can handle quite a heavy snow load. Also, it helps to be married to Mr. Handyman *grin*

He built this box for me (upon request...there may have been a little batting of the lashes) and since then, every winter, regardless if there is a storm raging outside, I can brave the snow, pry open that hefty lid and (drum roll please)...Lettuce! Now, they're not huge leaves, granted, but they are tender and just enough to get us by through winter.

I have all kinds. My favorite is the mesclun mix, sort of like the dainty green and purple mixture you see in those plastic boxes at the grocery store. Except this lettuce is never dark and slimy (you know what I'm talking about) because it's picked fresh every time we need it. It stores really nicely in the salad spinner in the fridge and is always on hand for sandwiches and little salads. Come spring, however, I'll be up to my eyeballs in lettuce and my family will not only consume a large salad every single day, but I just might be hunting you down with a bag of lettuce, pleading for you to take some off my hands. Warm weather really works wonders. Do you like my picture? That's my greenhouse...it's puurrty.

Having a winter garden is incredibly easy. The boxes are so simple to build and if you don't live where you get snow, you probably don't even need a box. Just a sunny corner of your yard were you can sow a winter variety of lettuce, spinach, chard and cabbages. And that's only to name a few. There is a surprising number of winter hardy vegetables and the color and freshness are just the ticket for warming the soul as it awaits spring's arrival.

Happy Homesteading!

Adventures in Country Living: Drying Herbs

Summer is winding down. The arid days are drawing to an end and with a few summer storms prayerfully on the horizon, gardeners and growers everywhere are putting up their garden harvests. Aside from the usual methods of preserving like canning and freezing, drying is an excellent way of storing everything from apple slices to fresh herbs.

Herbs are a delightful addition to any garden. They are relatively easy to grow, can live in convenient containers and are so rewarding to harvest. I love to toss fresh chives and cilantro onto the table as taco fixin's and making rosemary Italian bread at Christmas is a cheery gift for family and friends.

In the past I have only used herbs fresh. But this year, I've put some energy into drying and storing my herbs to use year round. It suddenly struck me one day when I was completely out of Italian seasoning, that I had all the makings of the herb blend right in my garden. So I snipped several sprigs of rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and parsley, dried them for several days, then crushed the herbs up and tossed them in a glass jar with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Yum! Not to mention, I'd always bought dried herbs from the store. I had never taken advantage of using my own herbs, but when I did, even in their dried stage, they remained bright and green and had a lovely, fresh taste.

For another project, I purchased jumbo teabags on eBay ( I felt like a bidding geek--I mean, who sits there watching the minutes and doing the math to buy a two dollar box of empty tea bags on eBay. Me, apparently) Anywho, the key to drying herbs is that not all herbs are ready when you want them, so be sure to dry them at the peak of their season. I cut handfulls of lavender and chocolate mint (my personal fav) and hung the bundles upside down in an airy spot away from direct sunlight which will kill their potency. I've got the rest of the ingredients for bath teas right in the pantry: oats, Epsom salts and powdered milk (sounds strange but oats and milk have been popular bath additions for years.)

The third use for herbs is medicinal purposes. Now I am not an herbalist, so I have a hard time figuring out the many uses and properties of herbs, but its easy to look on the web and find great sources. My particular favorite is the Bulk Herb Store (check out their Eden Salve. LOVE IT!) This is where I got the recipe for a tincture that is designed to draw out poison and toxins, things like bug bites and beyond. So far it has worked great. I bought a pound of dried plantain and soaked the herbs in a jar of apple cider vinegar for three weeks. After straining away the herbs that have now relinquished their potency to the vinegar, I labeled the jar and it comes in handy all the time.

Drying herbs is fun, satisfying and this is just the beginning. I'm excited to add new and different herbs to my garden each year and study up on their medicinal uses, skin care qualities and yummy recipes for the fam.

Happy Homesteading!

My Garden ~ Growing Potatoes

The hardest part about this blog post was not preparing my scraggly spuds for planting, it was looking up how to spell the word "potato". Growing Potatoes...hmm to "e" or not to "e" that is the question. Once I figured out how to spell that bugger of a word, I was ready to proceed with sharing my experience on growing potatoes.

I wish I could say that I have an abundant crop of potatoes enough to feed an army, but that's just not the case. I'm not quite sure where I have gone wrong, but they just don't seem very impressive...I mean, its quite clear from the photo that they are all large, of similar size and color, ok, just kidding.

So what spurred me onto the idea of growing potatoes? Well I read that potatoes are one of the worst vegetables to buy through conventional growers--meaning, they're quite covered in pesticides from the soil. Ick! And since I don't live near a farmer's market (sigh) I decided to dedicate some space in my garden to these multi-eyed babies.


This year, our garden contains red potatoes, russet and Yukon gold, one variety which is residing in a half-barrel so all we have to do is dump over the barrel once they're ready and harvest with ease. Its still too soon, but I'll be back to update this post on the success of that method. Seed potatoes come pre-sliced and ready to plant, but you can also buy organic potatoes, slice them in chunks and let the cuts dry out for a few days before planting. I've tried both methods and have had up and down results no matter what I try. So while I am still far from being crowned the spud expert, I think potato growing is fun and relatively simple. Now I just have to master the art of reaping in abundant crops of the little guys and I know that if I keep trying, in time I will!

The other day, I skimmed from several different locations to come up with our dinner and I think a mixture of different varieties makes for a nice presentation. We wrapped the potatoes, a handful of green beans, (both green and yellow!) and some amazingly good carrots--all from our garden =) in tinfoil, topped with garlic salt, pepper, and butter then cooked the little package on the BBQ. It made for a beautiful array of summer veggies, which I am quite proud to say that my children thoroughly enjoyed. (Woohoo! My kids eat vegetables.)

Disclaimer: they only really eat them if they are out of the garden. I guess that goes to show that there truly is a difference in taste! They plowed through my spring peas like they were candy, and fight over carrots that I pluck, rinse and offer them whole. My 1-year-old likes to hold them by the green tops, making for a rather droopy, difficult, yet completely adorable method of eating.

The point is, what my potato crop lacks in quantity, it makes up in taste and texture! The great thing about home grown potatoes, is that the skin is quite tender and very delicious. If you're not in the BBQ'ing mood, just rinse 'em carefully and cook them in a little water with the skin on, then saute them a minute with butter, salt and pepper and garlic or fresh herbs. I promise you, if you give potato growing a shot, you will not regret the quality of your home grown potatoes and will never look at those gigantic store bought spuds the same again.

Adventures in Country Living: Backyard Garden

Ah, my garden. I could just sit and stare at it all day long. Seriously, I can. I don't know why it brings me such peace and joy, but it does. Maybe it's the feel of diving my hands into the warm earth or the sight of the first blossoms in my pea patch, but my garden is a place of refuge and quiet, a place my children can dig (safely away from my plants, please) with their tractors and shovels. We're together, working as a family, growing organic fruits and vegetables for our table and it couldn't be more fun.

Starting a garden was daunting for me for several years. I never quite had it all together and it wasn't until I figured out one secret that my garden finally became a success. Shh...I'll tell you...GOOD SOIL!

No matter how much sun or shade or water or TLC a plant gets, if it's rooted in poor soil, it WILL struggle. For years, it seemed, I would water my plants day in and day out only to keep them barely alive. Then I discovered composting and incorporated manure into my garden (ick! you say? I said the same thing until my garden doubled in size. Now I am manure's #1 fan :D) Let me explain.

When we first moved to our home several years ago, we could have sold our garden soil as low-grade concrete. Once the rainy season was over, anything short of an axe would not penetrate the ground. Hence our plants had little to no hope. But with my husband's help (and brawn) we built raised beds, and sprinkled in thin layers of leaves (thanks neighbors across the street for letting me haul a trash can back and forth like a crazy lady), grass, compost, manure, dirt and anything else we could get our hands on. Now, or soil is light and fluffy and the garden is bursting at the seams. Every few days, it seems to double in size like a bowl of dough left to rise--and I love it!

We have so much lettuce, I'm about to beg my neighbors, "please take some lettuce home with you!" We have had a salad everyday for months thanks to the cold frame my hubby built--with a couple of two by fours and some corrugated plastic attached to a hinged frame, come snow or snow or snow, we still had winter lettuce and spinach growing underneath.

With a small container garden, comes the obstacle of space. But we are learning new and fun methods of growing an abundance of fruits and vegetables in a small space. From the creek bed, we cut down willow and hauled it home. From the large pieces, I formed rustic obelisks for green beans, a trellis for cucumbers and used the smaller pieces as stakes along the pea patch. I think the effect is charming and quaint. Not to mention cheap. And as we would say in our family "That's sooo Martha Stewart!"

So if you've been intimidated by starting a vegetable garden, give it a shot. Get your hands on free seed catalogs that explain which vegetable varieties grow best during the different growing months. I highly recommend the book, "The Edible Garden" from Sunset. It has amazing photos and great tips for building and growing your garden. Talk to friends and neighbors who garden--chances are they'll have tips and plants to share--gardeners love sharing their plants. I've gotten rosemary, rhubarb, oregano, chocolate mint, strawberries and blackberries (to name just a few) from friends and neighbors. Gardening doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn't have to be daunting. Grow what you like to eat--if you and your family don't like it don't grow it. (Sorry squash and zucchini, you might find better luck with a different family:-)

Happy Homesteading!

Strawberries and Honey

Today is a beautiful day. Birds are chirping outside my kitchen window and although I have no name for the bouquet of wildflowers on my kitchen table, the purple blossoms are distractingly beautiful. I have jars of them all over my house. I say jars, because I own very few vases. Instead, glass jars of varying shapes and sizes cover nearly every surface of my house from the tiny daffodils in the bathroom to the kitchen sink with orange blossoms and Irises to the small oak table with the purple flowers that I must find a name for. The humble vases are the perfect vessels for wildflowers. They are my favorite vases--large clear pasta sauce jars, small wine bottles, green ginger ale bottles and pretty little bottles that once held yeast with the prettiest golden-brown hue, I could never bring myself to throw them out. Every time I use a jar, I'm addicted to tearing the labels off and throwing them in the dishwasher. Our cupboards are overflowing with glass jars, they practically spill out every time I go searching for a dish. Sometimes when my husband does the dishes, I'll open the dishwasher the following morning to find a glass jar on the top rack--it makes me smile, it is his quiet way of telling me he loves me.

Thanks to our chickens, the children and I had a breakfast of eggs whose yolks were so orange I felt bad for those who will never get to taste a farm-fresh egg. And considering that it is easier to keep chickens than a dog, they will always be my pet of choice. There are five of them in our little coop. I let them out every day. Right now, they are running around in the sunshine looking for worms. There are four rusty red ones and one that is burgundy. It makes me wonder who their mother's were and if their mother's were friends. The burgundy one is enormous. If she were a woman she would be wearing a muumuu. She lays the fattest eggs. I think she is my favorite.

The children played for awhile after breakfast. My son sat at the kitchen window drawing on construction paper. He decided to draw on the walls. Three-year olds make impressive wall washers if you give them a wet rag. I doubt he will ever do it again. He asked for his usual PB&J for lunch, but he settled for some toast with left over sweet potatoes. There was enough cream and brown sugar in the sweet potatoes that I doubted he would complain. Of course he didn't. I was craving some Greek yogurt. It is so thick and creamy, it is another addiction of mine. But it must be served in my favorite bowl. A little blue and white bowl that says England on the bottom. I've named it my porridge bowl because I imagine thats what it was once used for. Everything tastes better in that bowl. I sliced some strawberries and drizzled honey on top. My son watched me and asked for some. He now loves yogurt with honey.

My son and I went out to the garden. He ran around with the hose, getting his socks wet, while I picked perfectly green spinach for a salad. I noticed my green beans were popping up. Somehow, by the miracle of God, I planted dried green beans and after a few weeks of watering, little plants emerged with their heads still stuck inside the bean. They look like little bent over soldiers, trying to take their helmets off. They are my favorite vegetable. My mother-in-law is Italian. She cooks them with olive oil, red onion and fresh tomatoes. She sprinkles salt and pepper on top and when you're done with the beans, you really wish you had a straw to slurp the seasoned oil off your plate. She made them for my birthday party last week. I will request them every year.

I've decided that, today, I'm satisfied with the simple things in life: my flowers, my garden, and my children. I love my children most of all. I love that they are still in their jammies and my son's shirt is not only inside out, but also backwards. He dressed himself. My daughter smells like sunshine and baby powder though I don't know how that is possible as she hasn't gone outside today and I never use baby powder. But she smells that way everyday and I love it.