The Gardening Bug Has Bit

Spring has sprung a little early this year. We don't usually get 80° weather in mid-March. Nor do I usually have a sunburn on March 20th. But both are true this year. The unseasonably warm weather has me in gardening mood this week and I have been busy prepping the soil in my garden. I have also been planting seeds in pots in anticipation of adding a container garden to my already full garden space. Josh is more than eager to be my helper this year, and though I have to set limits for him, I think I'll concede a small space of garden to him to tend. My only downer is that the bugs in my garden are already prolific, which was actually predicted already by the "experts". I think this is the year that we have to call the exterminator, especially for the box-elder beetle infestation that we have. Hopefully the bugs won't deter me from planting "cool weather" seeds in my raised beds by the end of this week. I'm assuming that we'll still have some cool weather before the end of May. I mean, we have had snow in April before. But peas, radishes and lettuce sure do sound tasty!

I Like Getting Packages

Look what came in the mail yesterday!!! If only I didn't have to wait until the end of the summer to use it!

Sunflower Cutting Time

Climbing the ladder to success.

Under those spent blossoms, is a treasure trove of goodness.

Joshua pretends to be a sunflower. (Seriously.)

The flower heads were huge! This one was probably the prettiest of all.

They Were of Mammoth Proportion

My sunflowers brought me quite a bit of happiness. They were super tall and impressive. This was the first year I had these majestically tall flowers in my garden, and I don't plan on it being the last. Monday of this week though, it was time. Time to harvest the flower heads and hang them somewhere out of the relentless rain to dry. There were 27 mature flowers that were cut, put into paper bags, and hung to dry, in my parents' barn, since I didn't have enough room in my basement to hang 27 Mammoth Sunflower heads. If all goes well, in a few weeks, the heads will be dried and we can harvest the seeds, roast and salt them, and devour their tasty goodness. That is, if they don't mold and don't get eaten by bugs or mice... That is a big fear of mine.

Good-Bye Sunshine!

The first day of October came brutally, with cold wind and rain. Time for jackets! These sunflowers have long since faded, their sunny faces turned brown and cold. Their seeds are hardening and will soon be ready for harvest. This sunflower will, in a few short weeks, be tasty sunflower seeds, and who knows? Maybe you will even be able to have some for yourself!

Garden Addendums

I just want to say that I am loving that it rained today. I was so thoroughly happy to have rain. It hadn't rained since midweek last week or longer and my garden soil was dry, real dry. This year, as I may have said already, I have been working on making raised garden beds. They were finished this past weekend and filled with peat moss, compost, vermiculite and other goodies for growing. My only problem was that packaged, store bought soil addendums are very dry and dusty. I needed rain. I still haven't been able to plant my early peas or spinach because of that reason and also that my boxes are not very full. It costs a lot of money to buy good growing soil... *sigh* Maybe, I will just plant in the boxes as is this year and use the "lasagna gardening" method as I go year by year.

Anyway, this is a picture of my sad looking garden. It'll look beautiful soon! I'll have to take "after" pictures.

Growing Again

I'm eating ice cream at 9:30, just FYI. It's going to go right to my jiggly thighs...

I am so ready for another sunshiny day tomorrow. Today, it was like torture to have to go to work and leave my garden lying still under such a blue sky. If it is beautiful tomorrow, I am staying home all morning and doing garden things. I know it is only April 7th, but I am getting ready early this year. I am making raised beds in my garden and I have been working on them in my mind already for three months. I need to finish painting the boards so I can screw them together and fill them up with fresh soil. I have had such a hard time growing root vegetables for the past four years and I am ready to try something new. So I am making four 5'x5' raised beds to supplement my garden area. And I am also sooo ready to plant cool weather seeds, like peas and lettuce. The sooner, the better. I already feel like I am behind, even though I am starting way earlier than ever before. I have planted tomato seeds which are sprouting in my basement and I am anxious to get some pepper seeds sprouting as well... Again, I am hoping for a beautiful day tomorrow, because that is my excuse for skipping preschool as volunteer Mom. Even if it is not so great of a day, it would be so encouraging for me to be able to get some things accomplished at home. And we are having lunch company too. Maybe I should clean the bathroom as well?

Remembering

I can't believe that it's been one year already. Today I thought of the last thing my Grandpa taught me. I was out in the garden with a pitchfork in my hand loosening the soil around the carrots so the kids could pull them up. My Grandpa taught me how to do that. That was only a few days before he passed. He had been sitting on the couch and he was tired. Even the bowl of peaches he was trying to eat was wearying him. But he was thinking of the hard work he had put into his garden that year. He told me exactly where to find the pitchfork, in his well kept wood shed. Grandpa explained how to poke the fork in around the carrots and loosen the soil just a bit... And he sent me off on a mission to see if those carrots were ready to be harvested... My Grandpa and I had always shared a love for gardening. We compared the progress of our gardens during the summer. His was weed free and the weeds growing in mine were nearly sky-high. My garden was large. His was small. His tomatoes were dying and so were mine. Our gardens gave us something in common. He was more than willing to hear about how things were growing at my house, though I was always a little nervous that he might stop by unexpected and see how I had let the weeds grow too. I thought of my Grandpa probably every time I was out there in the dirt this year. I think I tried extra hard to keep the weeds out this time. This year was the best that my garden has ever looked and I blame Grandpa for that. Even though he wasn't here to see it (and even if he could see it, I'm sure he'd be preoccupied with praising our Lord), I think my garden would've made him proud this year. Especially my "prize-winning" Brussels sprouts, which have been producing edible sprouts since July.... I can't wait to see him again.

We've Been Canned! (Last week's edition)

It had been a busy week. It all started last Sunday. I spent two days in Binghamton canning peaches with a dear friend. I have tried canning peaches for the past two years, but they never turned out great. The peaches were mushy and very unappealing. I had tried some of my friend Stephanie's canned peaches this past summer and made the passing comment that we should can some together when the appropriate time arrived. She took me seriously and called me up a few weeks ago and we made plans to can our peaches together. I am so glad she called. I purchased the three bushels we thought we would need and drove down to her place. Once there the two of us set about canning our 40+ jars of peaches. Stephanie showed me how to cold pack the peaches, which produces a much tastier finished product than the hot packed peaches I had been making. We spent all day canning. Honestly it was so much fun having someone to share the big job with and we thought we were making good process. By the time we had our jars filled, our feet were getting tired and our bellies getting hungry. But we still had at least a bushel left on the table... I ended up having to make a run for the store to buy more sure jel, sugar, and jars. We made an additional four batches of peach jam before hitting the sack for the night. And even after four batches of jam, we had enough left over peaches for both of us to put some in our freezers. It was such a great time and I believe that we'll do it again next year, though I think we'll only purchase two bushels then... I have some lovely pictures of our jars of fruit, but alas, they are not on this computer, so I will add them later. The jars are so pretty filled with their golden peaches all lined up in a row. And the peaches are delicious. Cold packing is definitely the way to go!

When I returned from my peach packing adventure, I was raring to go! My garden has been producing tomatoes by the basket full and since I don't eat too many tomatoes in their fresh state, they were dangerously close to going bad. I have never canned tomatoes or sauce before, but since I was on a roll already, I went to task making very basic tomato sauce. Adam loves to make his own sauce when we have pizza, so I just left the seasoning all to him. I'm sure he'll do a good job at it, when the time comes. I was feeling so good about using what was in the garden, and being slightly concerned about everything going to waste in the next week and a half, I blanched and froze three bags of Brussels sprouts and a few bags of green beans as well. The only thing I didn't put up this past week has to be my cucumbers. But then again, I had already done a batch of Kosher dills and a batch of bread and butter pickles. I can't wait to put up the pictures of my shelves filled with tasty garden treats. I just hope that we won't forget about all the hard work that we put into those jars... I can't imagine letting all that good food sit down there forgotten all winter. That's the only thing I worry about... But if you fear that I will forget that good food, just invite yourself over to try some for yourself. I'll be more than happy to share. :)

Pleasant Produce

The garden seems to be producing bountifully this year. I'm not sure if it is due to the nice, hot weather or the chicken poop I put in there this spring. The "Market More" cucumbers are sure living up to their name. I picked another large bowl full of them this evening. And I planted Brussels Sprouts for the first time ever and I am wondering why I had never done it before. We have already eaten three meals worth of them and this evening, to my pleasant surprise, there were quite a few more mature heads waiting to be picked. I had thought the sprouts wouldn't have been ready until September. My tomato have grown so large their cages couldn't contain them. The thin wire cages toppled under the pressure of the thick, green stalks of the tomatoes. I am thinking of doubling my garden size next year so I can put some of the produce out front to sell to my neighbors. I am excited about the asparagus we will have in the spring of next year. And I am already looking forward to more strawberry shortcake. Maybe next year, I will have enough strawberries to freeze or make jam with. *sigh* Gardens make me so... pleased.

The Blessing of Rain

The great outdoors was beckoning me this evening. There were dark clouds looming over the western horizon. My lettuce plants and asparagus were waiting patiently to be put in the ground. It was the perfect time. The cool of the evening was refreshing as I took out my shovel and began to dig. I needed a trench about twelve feet long for my asparagus. The clouds began to roll in as I placed the tender roots in the earth. The cool wind picked up as I decided where to mound the dirt into rows for my arugula, lettuce, and Brussels sprouts. I mixed in composted manure into the ground for each individual plant. I reminded myself of an old man I had often heard about as I growing up. He was a farmer, a gardener through and through. He worked in his garden no matter what the weather: sun, rain, sleet or snow. My Great-Grandfather. His love for plants and dirt has managed to be passed down through the generations and I just can't keep my hands out of the dirt either. As I finished my last row of plants, the rain drops began to fall. The darkness of the evening had also crept in, nearly catching me unaware. I scurried to get my tools put away before the clouds unleashed their fury into the night. I had accomplished what I had set out to do. And now the gentle rain would water the earth and it's tender plants throughout the night. Praise the Lord for his blessings.

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Baby Trees or rather Trees and Babies

I wanna go see the new baby. Please, can we go see the new baby? I want to snuggle him and kiss his smooth baby cheeks. I want to hear him cry his little baby cry. Please??? (Adam says I'm obsessed with the baby and that it's not healthy. I think he's silly. Every woman is obsessed with babies.)

Yesterday we planted our apples trees. Yes, we bought apple trees. And pears trees too. Last Sunday we took a drive to the nursery and we bought an Empire, a Twenty-Ounce and a Honey Crisp apple tree and a Red Anjou Pear and a Bartlett. They are one year trees, so it will take them several years to bear any fruit. Hopefully we will stay in this house long enough to enjoy the fruit of our labor. I plan to espalier our trees, for two reasons. Maybe three. 1.) We have limited yard space. 2.) I would like the trees to actively function as a border/fence on the southern side of our yard. 3.) Just because it is possible and I would like to see if I can do it. I suppose I'll keep you updated. Maybe even with pictures.

Now I am off to make BLT's for supper and hope some more about seeing that new baby. Whose name is Simon Elias. *sigh*

Waiting Earnestly for Spring

Well, I must admit it. I am a wack. Yes, that is me in the photo to the right. I am admiring the beautiful flowers in my garden. The sun has not yet risen past nine o'clock and the dew is still resting on the grass. It is the most beautiful time of day for a spring lover. Or should I say a lover of spring. Look closely and you can see the Jack-in-the-pulpits, the tulips, the ferns, and the lovely bleeding hearts. I always look so forward to spring and now that it is March (and counting) I have the warm weather itch or what you may know as spring fever. I find myself with the desire to get my hands dirty and watch the little spouts, that I worked so hard to plant and prepare, finally poke their heads through the earth. My heart beats faster when I anticipate the new sights and new flowers I shall see growing outside my new home. Yes, I shall miss the beautiful gardens at my dear old home, but I am hoping that, under the dirt, in the small garden near our steps, there may lie a tulip bulb or daffodill bulb just waiting to reach its green, tender shoot out and push it through the soil. What a wonderful welcome to spring. The bright flowers that greet the fresh, cool, mornings after the snow has finally left us for good and the birds have returned to stay for the season. Suppose I could go on and on, but I can't. I must go and determine what kind of veggies and flowers I shall try my best at growing this year. Maybe something new and exotic or maybe just one of my old favorites...