A Good Garden Week

Hello, friends.  Last week, I pulled homemade black bean burgers from the freezer, made fries with our potatoes, and used our lettuce in salads.  I had a ticket to go with friends to a concert in Charlotte on Tuesday, but came down with a cold on Sunday, and still wasn't up to it on Tuesday.  A friend and her new husband were having a gathering the same night, before they head to NY to live.  I was disappointed I didn't get to attend either event, but self-care took priority, and the fact I didn't want to pass on the cold.  Laundry was hung on the line.  The veggie broth begun on the woodstove was canned, adding a dozen pints to the pantry, and the excess frozen as cubes.  I went through Swagbucks for 2% back on a business purchase.  We had lots of dribs and drabs of leftovers on Wednesday, so I combined a couple of things, and we made a meal out of it, to not waste any food.  

Cilantro was harvested several times.  While organizing a top shelf in part of my pantry, I found a casserole dish I haven't used in years, which was added to the donate box.  A book I requested was picked up at the library.  Our asparagus and lambs quarter was used in breakfast scrambles.  My water bottle was taken on all trips away from home.  I placed an order at Vitacost, and received 15% off the total, in addition to 10% and 15% off some of the items, plus another 8% by going through Swagbucks. Counting on the forecasted rain, I planted many wintersown red veined sorrel in shady spots.  Two pieces were divided from a hosta, and planted in a bed in front of my workshop.  I also transplanted a volunteer dyer's coreopsis, and repotted the Northern Sea Oats into larger, individual pots. 

I was asked to show a pic of the garden, so this is the original, main garden, with mizuna in the foreground, lettuce beyond, and another row of lettuce to the left.  There's a bed of cilantro and parsley to my right.  In the distant right is the winter squash trellis, with a row of basil, eggplant, sweet peppers and tomatoes to the left of it.  Moving left, there's are rows of tomatoes, garlic, onions, potatoes, and beyond are two rows of sweet potatoes.  Close to where J is standing, there's a small trellis of cucumbers.  There are concord grapes (& weeds) on the fence to the right, and kiwis in the left corner.  As per usual, one kiwi is full of blossoms and pollinators, but the male is not blooming.  This is probably their last chance.  The raised beds are along the fence in the far right, and a good sized, unproductive strawberry patch is in that corner as well.  We intend to plant winter squash, melons, and possibly crowder peas in our other garden.  

kiwi blossoms

After an appointment, I went by Hallmark, and got a free card, plus two birthday cards.  I then headed to Harris Teeter to mostly stock up on foods for another round of cleansing, which I started Friday.  This cleanse was timed so that I could harvest lettuce, asparagus, cilantro and kale for it, saving on food costs.  I received 5% off my total for the senior discount at Harris Teeter.  Asparagus and peas were harvested, and eggs were gathered.  I went through the last of last year's garlic.  Much of it was too far gone, and was composted.  Of the remainder, I kept a little aside, and dehydrated a tray's worth.  It seems like it's lasted a good bit longer than most years, which is wonderful.  A few weeks back, I bought a NWT window planter at a thrift store.  I didn't realize it was missing a bracket, but J fabricated one, and hung it under my workshop window.  He then made an insert for it from some green flashing we had on hand.  Now, what to fill it with?  He'd recently seen a tiller attachment he felt would made his work easier, for $250, and instead fabricated one of them, which he's already used several times in the garden.  I sure love my handy husband.  

Last fall, I was given a small clump of sweet grass, which I promptly ignored.  I didn't care for the scent, wasn't sure where to plant it, and left it sitting in a little pot until now, when I finally got it in the ground.  The comfrey tea started a couple of weeks ago was ready to use.  In pouring some from a mason jar into my watering can, I pulled out a few stray bits of plant matter, and was reminded to always wear gloves when working with it.  It smells quite potent, and lingered on my hands after numerous washings.   I went around the edge of a flower bed near the road with a mattock, to delineate the edge and create a break, then mulched it.  There's a lot more weeding and work to do in various beds out there, but I'm glad to have that piece done.

As in many places, the weather has been unusual this spring, with hot and cold fluctuations, and storms.  Each time I think we've had our last fire, I've been surprised.  There's a day forecast to be 94 next week, which may mean the start of a/c season.  While it was raining Saturday morning, I caught up with the SoulSeeds paperwork.  Then I headed out, and harvested peas, asparagus, lambs quarter, kale and lettuce.  The peas were more than we'd gotten so far this year, but still not much, so I blanched and froze them, as well as the lamb's quarter.  While garden wandering with J, he spotted a nice patch of mock strawberries, so I picked some nice fat ones for the chickens.  They love them.    All the new plantings are looking happy, after the rain, except for a bed of parsley and cilantro, which is being munched by critters.  My guess is pill bugs. 

 

Recently, my sister had been telling me about the bargains she'd been getting from Belk.  Each time she'd redeem a $10 reward, spending just slightly above that, they'd send another.  She suggested I get their cc, to take advantage of these deals, so I did.  I was sent a $10 reward with the card, purchased a pair of Columbia socks and a T shirt on clearance for $3 oop (saving $34.68), picking it up at the store when in town to avoid shipping fees.  I'll pay off the cc each month I use it.  My sister adds a lot of her purchases to her gift closet, and I plan to do the same.  Only about half of the tromboncino and cucuzzi squash came up, so I replanted, and also planted some yellow and zucchini squash seeds.  J prepared spots, and planted butter beans and purple pole beans, and mulched the tomatoes, peppers and basil.  It was a good week in the garden.  

Brain Games & Colder Days

Hello, friends.  Last week, I redeemed Swagbucks points for $25 via Paypal.  Another round of alfalfa sprouts were started.  I harvested kale and parsley for pesto, cilantro for a smoothie, and mint for water.  The pesto was new to us, a MM recipe, which we both liked.  I served it with our favorite GF pasta, rather than veggies.  Two banana peels were chopped, and dug under a rose bush.  Of course, I did find McNibs pawing at it later that day, but after telling him to leave it alone, it appears he has, thank goodness.  The first peas were picked, but only two, three or four pods at a time.  Some were added to a salad, and others to veggie scrambles.  I noticed the deer had nibbled the tops off of several of the pea plants.  Oh, the challenges of gardening.  I'm enjoying The Forest of Vanishing Stars from the library.

 

Joseph and I, and friends who share the same anniversary, had a quick little getaway.   We went to Elkin to see a concert, had a nice dinner, and spent the night at a very reasonable and quite nice motel J found.  On the way home, we stopped by Ollie's.  We didn't find any food we wanted, but made a few small business purchases.  For a veggie scramble, I used our asparagus, opened a frozen bag of lamb's quarter, and finished a frozen bag of sweet peppers.  I've begun spring cleaning my studio.  Some things were set aside to give to our GD, and a box of things will be donated.  Winter and summer clothes were swapped out.  While the dresser drawers were empty, I was reminded of these vintage images on the drawer bottoms.  They remind me of the newspaper clippings shared by gDonna.  

I was happy to find out that the northern sea oats recently purchased are a host plant to several of the skipper butterflies.  They're the only plants from the plant sale that haven't been planted.  I'm leaning towards putting them on the slope in front of the solar panels, but that area is still being cleaned up.  As far as the other plantings last week, there was lettuce, parsley, cilantro, mullein, and black hollyhocks.  I also transplanted volunteer sunflowers.  I've been enjoying playing Wordle every morning, and a couple of weeks ago, I started playing the spelling bee that comes up with my Wordle score, and enjoy that even more. The goal is to make as many words as you can from 7 letters.  The only challenge is I'm playing the free version, and it cuts me off at random times, at which time I either have to subscribe or come back the next day.  It's still fun, though, and both are good brain games.   

wintersown red veined sorrel that needs planting

With temps in the low 40's on two nights, J lit a fire in the woodstove the morning after the second night.  I took advantage of it, and started a pot of broth with veggie scraps, as there were already 2 1/2 gallon bags of scraps since the last recent round of broth making.  We had two storms that came through last week, both with strong winds, and one with pea-sized hail.  Lots of limbs and sticks came down, and a few plants were blown over or broken, but the garden thankfully wasn't affected.  Sweet potatoes were baked on one of the cold nights, and on a warmer day, I made fried sweet potatoes.  I usually aim to have our sweet potatoes baked and eaten before hot weather, but the fried ones are so quick and easy to make, it will be a great way to use them up in the coming weeks.  I weeded the new asparagus bed, and harvested lettuce and nettles twice.  The first nettles picking was chopped, and a batch of glycerite started.  The next batch was dehydrated.  I cut the last of the butternut squash in storage, kept one bag out for a squash crumble, and froze the rest.  I hope you Mamas of children, animals, and any other type had a lovely Mother's Day.

Garden Days

Hello, friends.  Last week, our native Atamasco lilies and fringe trees began blooming.  I hand washed several wool items, hoping I won't need them again until Fall.  I contacted Swagbucks about points I didn't receive for a purchase, equivalent to $3.69, and they made it right.  I took photos and listed an item in my shop.  With several days in the 80's, I closed up the house in the morning until it began cooling off in the evenings, and haven't used any a/c yet.  We're supposed to hit 86 a couple of days next week, and I expect it will be turned on then.  I mulched four of the garden beds with hay.  J worked up the rows, and planted sweet potatoes.  I mended 3 wool sweaters.  I got my summer clothes boxes down from the attic, and wanted to be sure those sweaters were ready when I packed up the winter things.  For a business purchase on ebay, I went through Swagbucks for 1% back.  

The chicks were moved into the little broody area of the coop, where on warm days, they can get outside.  A hen or two showed a little interest in them, but didn't want to mama them, so we've pretty much given up on that hopeful idea.  For salads, I gathered lettuce, chickweed, catbrier tips, and dandelion greens, which I was recently reminded is possibly the best plant source of probiotics.  I went to a free Excel class offered at the library.  I knew some of the basic things, but wanted to expand my knowledge, which this did.  Thanks to a reminder from Patsi, comfrey was harvested, and a bucket of "tea" was started, to be used as fertilizer once it works a bit.  I melted soapmaking oils on the woodstove, saving propane, probably the last time of the season.  Our daughter sent a beautiful early Mother's Day bouquet.

Thirteen of the lettuce started from seed were planted in the garden, and wintersown poppies were planted around the new crabapple.  The two wintersown artichokes were planted, along with parsley and cilantro.  Before throwing away a well-used sponge, I wiped down baseboards and the trash can with it.  J tilled up another row for tomatoes, and planted them, including some I had started from seed.  I provided minimal help in moving our trellis to another spot in the garden, as the tromboncino didn't do well in the somewhat shady spot it was in last year.  I planted squash seeds, our own and store bought tromboncino seeds, and cucuzzi seeds, which is a Sicilian variety and one my Mom used to talk about.  The bed with dye plants was cleaned up.  Strawberries were weeded, and some runners were chopped from the mother plant.  Shortly after I was working in the strawberries, J saw a large king snake in them, which we both watched slither away.  

Doing my best to make sure we don't have food waste, we had a meal of leftovers on Saturday.  Wintersown cilantro, parsley and artichokes were planted in the garden, using some of our compost.  I enjoyed free music on Pandora, and listened to podcasts while working in my studio.  Laundry was dried on the line.  Paper and cardboard were shredded, and a pan of crushed egg shells were added to the compost bin.  Much of Sunday was spent gardening.  J planted cucumbers and hoed the sweet potato rows, and I planted many things in anticipation of rain. These included yarrow, spilanthes, blue sage, coleus, thyme, stevia, and maxima rudbeckia.  J grilled a yummy meal, the first of the year, using our potatoes and asparagus.  From our gardens to yours, happy May!

Sweet Spring Days

Hello, friends.  Last week, we had a little over two inches of rain, which made all the newly transplanted plants look happy.   I found that one raised bed held lots of little kale volunteers, which is lovely.  As has happened for the past several years, large black ants decided they'd like to make a nursery in the birdseed barrel.  Though I'd initially tried putting sprigs of mint in the barrel, and rubbing it along the top edge, that wasn't strong enough, but peppermint essential oil works like a charm every time.  With all the reports about fertilizer, my husband found organic fertilizer online which was less than the one we normally use, and ordered enough to do us for a year or two.  Hopefully, it will feed our garden well.  I used a $20 off $50 offer, on food and supplements.  

I read an interesting post on the history of polio.  Some colder days had the woodstove going again, so two pots of veggie scraps were simmered on it for broth, then canned, again using mostly reused lids, and all sealed.  Shredded tromboncino was pulled from the freezer for an orzo dish, and maitake mushroom was pulled for mushroom gravy over rice for my lunches.  Our garlic was used in both dishes.  I harvested parsley, oregano, thyme, lettuce, mizuna and asparagus.  I saw a post on stuffed artichokes, which gave me a hankering for them, and I already had two large artichokes in the fridge.  Though I couldn't make them with Romano cheese, like my grandmother and mother did, I did a little research, and came up with a winning combination, using GF bread crumbs, lemon zest, garlic, lemon juice, fresh parsley, and chopped green olives.  A bit of work, but so good.

The annual NC Herb Society plant sale returned this year.  It's a tradition for a friend and I to go, so off we went.  She's an herbalist, and got many more plants than I, but I came home with Northern sea oats, stevia, black hollyhock, Mexican marigold, mullein, thyme and Victoria blue sage.  While perusing the tables, I looked up a number of the plants online.   The sea oats were listed for $39.59 a container online, and I bought five starts for $4.  If they all survive and thrive, that's quite a savings.  Laundry was dried on the line.  I'm reading The Last Bookshop in London, from the library.  I used the last of our largest potatoes for home fries, made black bean burgers, and salad with our lettuce.  The extra burgers were frozen for future meals.  I pulled another bag of pesto from the freezer, and we enjoyed pasta with salad another night.  Last year's garlic was fading, so I dehydrated most of it, and made garlic powder.

I wonder if you might have any strawberry suggestions for me.  The plants appear to be thriving, and are spreading.  There are many blooms, many plants, with a wide variety of pollinators on them, but I never get berries.  It often looks like there is the beginning of a berry, but they never get any farther than that.  I wondered first if it was birds or slugs, but I should still see some berries.  I've tried fertilizing them, and not fertilizing them, with no difference.  I've had them long enough that I don't remember the variety, and they were moved where they are from another spot.  I understand that a plant will only produce once, and then you encourage a runner.  There are many runners, though I don't detach them from the original plant.  Is that the problem?  I've watched hummingbirds at the feeder, and heard the summer tanagers song here and on walks this past week, making me appreciate these sweet spring days.  Wishing you a bountiful week.

A Nice Tax Surprise

Hello, friends.  As we're still working on eating down the freezers, I pulled spaghetti squash and lambs quarter, to have with leftovers one dinner, and pulled strawberries to have in my oatmeal.   J is thinking there's a good chance two of our four "pullet" chicks are roosters, from the way they're growing.  Lord, I hope not!  We've got three more roosters than we need already.  Temperatures warmed, so we were able to do without a fire for several days.  I paid off my Lowe's CC when it came, to avoid any interest.  When we recently had our taxes done, we found out we were eligible for a credit for our solar system, 26% of the total, which was a wonderful surprise!  Our accountant is worth every penny, and she charges less than most.

After delivering an order, I stopped at Hallmark, using several coupons, which brought the $13.54 total down to $4.97 for 11 cards.  I then stopped and picked up swiss chard plants, which I can't seem to grow lately.  They were $3.99 a pot, but I picked some that had multiples, getting 8 plants from 4 containers.  Still not cheap, but I really want to have it growing in my garden this year, and these were fairly large, healthy ones.  I wanted basil too, but I can usually grow them, so did not buy any and planted seeds the next day, which I picked up at Dollar Tree for .25.  I also planted the cilantro and chard seedlings, using a mix of compost and our chicken litter.  I transplanted black eyed susan and dyer's coreopsis that had grown outside the beds, planted wintersown marigolds in the ground, and transplanted wintersown parsley, lettuce and cilantro in pots to let them have more space to grow.  

For a dinner, I fried our potatoes with peppers and onion, used our sprouts in a salad, and our broth and garlic in sauteed spinach.   I've been going round and round with Co. Living magazine for months, with them saying my subscription is expired, though I have another year on it.  After multiple tries with their customer service and getting nowhere, I reported them to the BBB, attaching proof of the Feb. '23 expiration date, shown on all the magazines & correspondence they send.  After six weeks, I got a response, denying my claim, so I refused their response, and attached a copy of the posted check from last year, which extended it to Feb. '23, and somehow didn't get mentioned in their denial.  I get so aggravated with poor service such as this, but I'm staying with it.  The worst part is they did this to me once before, and I stopped subscribing for several years, but really love the magazine, so gave them another try.  I am not impressed.

A friend who gifted me elephant's ear last year mentioned she'd like some comfrey.  I dug up five plants, and dropped them off after picking up a book I'd requested at the library nearby.  The new to me drill press was used for the first time, to drill holes in lids, which are destined to become compost crocks.  It went off without a hitch, which is wonderful, as on J's large drill press, I had around a 10% crack rate.  Mine is much easier to use as well.  J did lots of prep work in the garden, tilling up some areas, then making hills for more lettuce, and two long rows of sweet potatoes.  He'll be planting them soon.  The peas have started flowering, so hopefully the first of the peas won't be far behind.  If you celebrate Easter, Passover or Ramadan, I hope your celebration was a lovely one.

April Days

Hello, friends.  Last week, I listened to podcasts while packing orders.  Business cards were ordered, using a 15% off code.  I forgot to mention that the batch of  alfalfa sprouts did well last week.  I'm not getting many, but I expect it's because the seeds are getting old.  This week, I finished another batch, and started another.  I'll use these seeds up first, and get more.  We enjoyed the first batch in a salad.  I stopped and picked up books requested at the library.  J picked up some tomato and cilantro plants while getting chicken feed.   My watering can developed a small crack, and I used epoxy to repair it.  

We've been working on emptying out the outdoor freezer.  Much of what was taken out was okra from 2016-2018, the year J became allergic to it.  I've eaten it a few times, but it's difficult to use things he can't eat, so that was a frugal fail on my part.  It did all get composted, and the ziploc bags were washed for reuse.  A bag of pawpaw from that freezer was used in oatmeal, and a bag of butter beans were used in a dinner.  I made vegetable soup using leftover beans, pasta sauce, rice, and spinach, jars of our canned tomatoes, broth, tomato juice and cabbage, our garlic and frozen shredded squash.  It was quite tasty.  It did get me thinking about the possibility of needing to make soup more often, if current reports of the food supply come to pass.  The pomegranates were pruned, and a little weeding was done, mostly pulling out invasive honeysuckle vines.  One of the ear pieces on my headphones came undone.  J repaired the hardware portion of it, and I added super glue to secure it.

Laundry was dried on the line.  As I was hanging out the laundry, I pondered using the dryer more, now that our electricity is free, and I may, to a small extent, but I enjoy hanging laundry on the line, it smells wonderful, and I've read a number of times that the items last longer than in the dryer.   So, it makes sense to hold on to that habit.  I made home fries to go with a veggie burger for me, and chik patties for J.  I harvested asparagus and lettuce, and gathered greens for the pups and the chickens.  Our potatoes are coming up nicely, with the majority of plants up now.  We're still saving eyes for any spots that don't come up.  J took scrap metal to the salvage yard, with prices up quite a bit, and made a nice profit.

My sister and I spent a day together, doing some thrifting and having lunch.  We stopped by the Tractor Supply, and looked at their plants, but they seemed high, at $4.99, where J paid $2.75 a 4-pack.  Neither of us bought any plants.  I did buy a metal feeding bowl, and have started an experiment in soaking chicken feed, as others have said it cuts down on the amount they eat.  If it works, that would seem to be a good thing, especially these days.  It doesn't sound as if there are any unfavorable effects, but we'll see.  At the thrift and consignment stores, I found a cute $2 summer dress, a thick flannel shirt, which J requested, and two canisters I'll turn into compost crocks.  The carrot patch planted in the fall was weeded.  I've started a library book I'm finding fascinating, Underland by Robert Macfarlane.

Saturday was cold and windy, so it seemed a good day to bake some sweet potatoes.  While the oven was on, I baked a double batch of pecan sandies, then made MM roasted brussels sprouts... so good.  I opened a jar of our canned crowder peas to round out the meal, cooked with onion and our garlic.  Earlier in the day, I sanded and stained the countertop where my drill press will sit.  I wanted to seal the wood, as I spray soapy water as part of the drilling process on the compost crocks.  J went through our tomato seeds, planted a half dozen varieties in our truck tool box greenhouse, and I planted three  varieties, our oldest seeds, in peat pots.  He also planted peppers and eggplant in the toolbox.  On Sunday, I roasted our asparagus, and made mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy for dinner.  It's a good feeling to be using our produce in so many of our dinners.  Two coats of sealer were applied to the shop countertop, so I should be good to go on Monday.   Wishing you a peaceful and productive week. 

New Chicks & A Birthday

Hello, friends.  The Medical Medium says oatmeal is a neutral food until you add fruit, which turns it into a health-supporting meal.  I always add raisins, and depending on what's available, pawpaw, figs, berries, or banana.  Anthony William, aka Medical Medium, says raisins are more powerful for your health than goji berries, which have been touted as a superfood.  Raisins are always in my pantry, and other fruits are added as available.  Three more tomato sprouts were planted, and three wintersown lettuce.  My co-op gave 25% off your entire purchase to celebrate it's 46th anniversary.  Though it's close to an hour away, I took advantage of it, and picked up mostly produce, but also a couple of goodies for J's birthday.

For J's birthday, I made German Chocolate brownies.  We took a little road trip, which included a picnic at Pilot Mt. State Park, and a tasting and dinner at a winery.  There was also an Amish store, which disappointingly had very high prices.  So I could join in on the festivities, I made a MM spice cake with cashew frosting for myself.  For a dinner, I made our mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, roasted asparagus, and a green salad with pear, dried cherries and pecans, and homemade salad dressing.  Another dinner was pasta with our tomatoes, garlic, summer squash and basil in the sauce.  Breakfast scrambles included our asparagus and lamb's quarter.  Laundry was dried on the line.  I used some more of the thrifted tulle to make a cover for a raised bed with a cabbage and several kale.  The feed and seed got in Blue Australorp pullets, and J picked up 4 on his way home.  It's fun to have little chicks again.  They're staying in a box in the house until it warms up.  

Some years ago, I was excited to find a volunteer autumn clematis underneath one of the pear trees.  It flowered so prettily, we moved it front and center, in the area in front of our shed.  That wasn't the best decision, as it turned out to be a thug, sending up shoots throughout the bed, and out into the lawn.  I'd had enough of pulling up its progeny, so J dug it out, and we planted a Chestnut crabapple in its place.  My brother and SIL had given us the crabapple for Christmas, and it arrived last week.  It's a beautiful, healthy sapling, and we hope it will thrive there.  We did our best to pull all the roots of the autumn clematis, and plan to mulch the bed, though I won't be surprised to be pulling it up for a while yet.  Sunday was a beautiful day, with some nice breezes.  I cleaned out a flower bed, then cleaned the chicken coop.  A mixture of spearmint, catnip and southernwood were gathered for the nest boxes and as strewing herbs in the coop.  It's definitely more pleasant in there now.  Happy April, friends.