Recently in Garden Category

My cold/cool weather vegetables are coming along nicely this year.

Ruhbard.

Spinach and Butter crunch lettuce.

More lettuces.

Brocolli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and various cabbages.

What are you planting?

I harvested the jalapeno peppers and the chili peppers. The heated goodness nearly filled a four gallon bucket. Another pink bucket harvest!

They recieved a nice cold bath before I sorted them in to lots of reds and greens so the hot pepper jelly would not have a motled color. While the peppers drained I then made sure to put on a good pair of kitchen gloves. Peppers will give you a chemical burn that is in no way fun. I have burned my hands before and I do not ever want to do that again. Seriously. With the amount of peppers I handled had I not worn gloves I would be unable to type and would be in severe pain right now. If you make hot pepper jelly make sure you wear gloves.

I took off the stem ends and split the peppers down the middle. I wasn't aiming for take your head off hot so, using a small spoon, I scooped out the majority of the pith and seeds which toned down the heat.

I ran them through the food processor. I like bits of peppers in my jelly so I did not puree them. I just don't like green pepper water. It can also make the jelly look cloudy that way. So just a few pulses. This measured out at 4 cups chopped peppers. To that I added 6 cups of sugar. Over slow heat I began to bring it to a boil. If your peppers are not super juicey you'll have to add a little water to help melt the sugar. To my mixture I added 3/4 c. water.

I let the peppers boil for about two minutes. Then I added 1 box pectin to make sure the peppers jellied. Stir without stopping after adding the pectin for another two minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully pour the hot jelly into your scalded jars.

Heat your lids in boiling water to sterelize them.

Place the lids on the jars and seal tightly with rings. Process jars in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. Take out and set on a cloth to begin cooling. You will hear the lids pop as they seal.

Red and green pepper jelly. It is so pretty and festive it makes me think of the approaching holidays and how I need to get busy with my plans and preparations. I also made a batch of cranberry-pepper jelly which I will share with you later.

The best part of making pepper jelly is the really cute little helper who is far too busy for his own good. Since he was so cute and sweet and really needed something that wasn't hot pepper jelly I baked him a pie.

What was left of the peppers I set about and pickled them.

Totals for the day - 9 pints red pepper jelly - 9 pints green pepper jelly - 8 jars cranberry-pepper jelly, 1 quart hot pickled peppers, 2 apple pies.

And how did your day pan out?

I cooked the very last of the purple cabbages and red beets for our supper last week.

The cabbage was the last thing that came out of my garden from the spring plantings.

The peppers are prolific this year! I have never had such a harvest.

The way they are producing I can't justify pulling out those plants no matter how tired of them I am and replacing them with something else.

From here on out the hot peppers will get canned by pickling or jellied and the bell peppers (as they ripen to red) will be chopped and put in the freezer.

It was nice to say goodbye to most of those spring time plants. It was even nicer to say hello to all the new things I have planted for fall. I still have room in my garden for a few things.

I plan to put in an asparagus patch this fall. Asparagus for fall planting isn't available until October 30th. So I have plenty of time to get the beds in tip top shape while waiting for their arrival.

I also am hoping for a garlic patch. Garlic is available now. I do have my beds ready for planting. I am thinking on a softneck variety that I can braid into long beautiful displays to hang up -and use!

I also plan to expand the artichokes but I think that really has to wait until spring.

Rosemary is in the dehydrator. This is my second batch. It dries out after several hours. Then I strip the stems and seal it in a airlock bag.

Today I will try to work with the peppers getting them harvested. We are still in a drought and my new little garden for fall is so very thirsty. I am watering for 20 min. in the mornings rotating sections by the day. I hope things survive.

In other news, and I have no idea why I am telling you all this - especially YOU, you crazy animal lovers out there. We have been over run by stray and/or feral cats and kittens. I have no idea where all of these beasts have come from. We are setting cage traps and taking them off to the county animal shelter one by one. For all of you who think I should just keep the pretty kitties, kiss my @$$. I mean that in the nicest way. LOL

There are upwards of 15 cats -some with kittens. After the sun has warmed my front porch all day the bricks are giving off radiant heat through most of the night. This is where these strange animals gather after dark. During the day they lay in wait in the hedges and try to ambush birds and rabbits -which is a good thing because rabbits would eat my garden - however, these things breed like rabbits which is a very bad thing.

I am not and have no desire to be a crazy cat lady. This place is not a feline farm either. So, out of here is the way they are going. If you want a cat I have some free ones if you want to try and catch one.

As if you haven't figured it out by now -

I don't like cats. At all.

I do tolerate one for the barns and keeping down the mice population come fall and winter.

In more other news and developing saga I have ordered my meat birds for fall. 25 cornish cross rocks. These birds will grow to giant size in eight weeks and be ready for the freezer. They should arrive next week. I plan to keep close accounts of them because of the speed of their growth. I think charting the development will be an interesting project. These birds when dressed will easily weigh around 4lbs each. Those that have to wait to the end while we process will be 5 -6 lbs. Like small turkeys!

Before you send me bunches of hate mail let me remind you that we operate a small scale farm. Every thing here has a job and a purpose. Animals are part of the food chain. The dog is a pet and if she didn't exist before my time she would not be just a pet. She would be a working dog.

Now I am off to do my weekly volunteer duties at the local food bank.

It will grow.

Really. It will.

Back in March I had gotten pineapples from the grocery store. I cut the tops off and stuck them in some empty pots of dirt. This pot is 18 inch diameter. Just add water, sunshine and the occassional plant food and voila!

Some of you might remember the pots of herbs I started in tiny pots in my kitchen when snow was on the ground.

They long ago outgrew those pots.

Thyme

Lavander

Parsley

Rosemary

Spearmint

I am clipping some of the herbs and tying them in bundles to dry for use this winter. I might even pull out my old food dehydrator and see if it still works. Most hearbs dry in about 4 hours in the dehydrator. Drying herbs in the dehydrator causes their aroma to be released into the air. It can be perfectly delicious.

I love the scent of rosemary the most. I am thinking about using some of it to make a batch of homemade rosemary soap. Mmmmm. The scent of romasemary - sigh ... This aroma is one that tends to stimulate the more sensual receptors of my physical being. It is going to be a pretty interesting day here on the farm. :)

Is there an herbal scent that gets your motor running?

I always eagerly anticipate the planting of an early spring garden. I love spending the summer harvesting and enjoying the fruits of my hard work of keeping the weeds at bay. I love being able to share the first fresh leaves of lettuce, lovely yellow squash and cucumbers. I eagerly wait for the very first red tomatoes.

By the end of summer I have begun to tire of some of the things in my garden. A body can only eat so many bowls of salad before it begins to revolt. I was actually sort of happy when the lettuce began to bolt in the coming heat of July. We haven't had a craving for or the want of a salad since then. I know very soon I will be dreaming of those crisp fresh leaves of lettuce to go with the last of the struggling tomato vines trying to make it until the first frost comes in November. So for fall lettuce is a must have.

This week after cutting the grass and mowing and cleaning up around my barns in preparation for the coming wintry months I got busy with the overrun plants in what is left of my summer garden. Out came all of the dwindling eggplants, okra, cabbage, squash and bean vines. I tilled the earth, turning it over fresh and clean.

A new canvas was ready to paint with the beautiful colors of fall seedlings. Rows of purples from cabbage, deep greens from collards, vibrant bright green from romaine lettuce and the mixed blue-ish greens of brocolloi, kale and brussel sprouts.

The tree on the edge of the garden is a mulberry tree. The kids love the fruits in the spring. So do the birds as is evident by all of their mulberry colored and staining poop. I have another mulberry tree much larger close by the garden as well. I am told and from what I read my larger mulberry is defying the laws of mulberry trees and should have come to the end of its live by now. It is a very large tree. I trim the low branches to keep them out of my way when mowing and tilling. I then take the branches and put them in the goat field. The goats can clean an entire limb of leaves in just a couple minutes. They eat like hogs!

Yesterday morning I began filling that clean slate with some of the vegetables that grow so beautifully in the fall.

I planted:

9 hills of brussel sprouts, 9 hills of broccoli, 9 heads green cabbage, 9 heads purple cabbage, 27 hills of collards, 27 heads of romaine lettuce

Yeah, I am planning on my appetite for salad to return in full swing very soon.

Are you planting a fall garden? It's not too late to get started in most parts of the country. Even in more wintery places there is something that will grow even in a cold frame or long flower pots in a sunny window.

I have grown lettuce in hanging baskets in front of a big bay window. I have. LOL

You can, too.

I have had a lovely crop of bell peppers this year. This is the first time I have really had bell peppers that grew to much of any size. I have planted red, yellows, greens and purples. Right now we are getting the greens and one red. I made peppers steak one night for supper and it was delicious! Green bell peppers usually give me the worst heartburn. But not the home grown kind. They are sweet and mildly flavored. The pimento peppers have really surprised me as well. I have never had much luck with them but this year that are supplying me with plenty. I am still getting plenty of yellow squash. I put 11 quarts up this weekend. We have had them sauteed with banana peppers a few time. That's good eatin'. The hot peppers are abundant this summer. I have done two jars of pickled peppers, hot chili peppers and jalepeno. They both have good heat packed into them. They will be awesome this fall with collards. I have squash and beets waiting to go in the freezer. I'll try to show those to you tomorrow. I have so much to share. My new silkie chicks and polish crested chicks. My new guineas. My new turkeys. And my baby ducks. The ducks are great at three days old. I fill the kitchen sink and let them swim in there for 15 or 20 minutes. They love it. Are you intrigued? If you saw the photos of my first little chicks you may be surprised to see how quickly they have grown. This is my white wyandotte rooster at the ripe old age of 5 weeks old. How cool is he? All of the farm work has been good for Steve. Isn't he looking buff and hunky these days? LOLThis is one of my buff orpingtons. They are sweet and gentle girls. The kids and I go out often and hold and pet them. They come running to the door when they hear us approaching the barns. Steven usually takes a seat by the feeders and waits for them to come to him. More tomorrow. Goodnight.

Badger calls it Garden Pr0n* but pr0n does nothing for me and erotica does a lot for me and so does gardening so umm it's Garden Erotica** over here. These are up-to-date photos of my garden. I took them last night as I finished up with the composting. One-third left to finish but not today. It is raining here so I get a little break. I have rested today. No house work. I am T - I - R - E - D. This is the view looking down the length of the main garden patch. The grayish compost is just dried out from the first of the week. The dark black is fresh and only been on the ground about an hour. These pea arbors are 6ft by 6ft to give you some idea of the size of this garden. The plants are spaced 18 - 24 inches apart. I did not plan this garden plot. I needed to mix things up and move things around from last year so plants are tucked in where they will fit. Five types of tomaotes, hot and sweet peppers, green and red cabbage, romaine and leaf lettuce, crooked and straight neck yellow squash, eggplant, 3 types of cucumbers, 2 types of zucchini and 2 types of peas. The potatoes are doing well. Some of the tops are four inches tall. Artichokes are planted here, too. The big patch to the rear has corn, peas, beans okra, etc. Nothing much has begun to sprout. We sowed the seed straight in the ground and did not start the plants like we did the other patch. Even though we have 80+ degree days I don't think it is yet warm enough for the seeds to germinate. This little red truck holds about 1 cubic yard of mulch. I have spread 6 of them this week and have 1 waiting out the rain. I thought my arms would be screaming sore after the first day. Not at all. Lucky me. Today is Colby's 20th birthday. 20 years old. I can hardly believe it. She has no conception of me at her age. I was married with a baby. She doesn't realize how good she has it. Her only obligation is school and her job. I tell her often to enjoy her days of youth and freedom. Because having kids sucks it all out of you and leaves an empty hull. Hahahahahahaha! *Go away weirdos. GO. AWAY. **No way in hell you would find Fabio or similar here either. Yucky Yuck, yuck, yuck! You might find George Strait or Tommy Lee Jones sweaty and shirtless with a garden wench under the blazing sun if this was the cover of a trashy novel.

We make our own compost. It is not hard to do. You can do it in an outdoor plastic trash can with a lid. We just do it on a larger scale. Warm, clean and free. Our compost is a mixture of the remnants of about 15 giant round bales of hay that were left scattered in our field and around the fence line by the previous owners, animal poop, yard clippings, orchard clippings, weeds, and the kitchen garbage of vegetable matter only. Pile it up, mix it up, wet it down. Keep it turned, keep it damp. The bacteria present will begin to get very active. On a cold morning you can see steam rising. When you turn it you can feel the heat. It can get hot to the touch. Natures way of cooking makes a very clean, dark brown dirt. The cabbage have tripled their leaves in a week. Yesterday I spread 15 scoops from our front end loader in the garden and around the grapes and fruit trees. The peas have doubled their size in a week. All of the plants love the nice rich tea that runs off when it rains. Compost tea is full of all the nutrients your garden plants need to grow and produce. I know it sounds gross to think of things rotting and decaying but when the cycle is complete compost is clean, doesn't stink at all. It smells fresh and clean. The corn hasn't sprouted yet. We are very careful not to put any meat scraps, oils, etc into the compost pile. We do not want to attract wild animals or rodents. Neither do you. If you make your compost use only vegetation and plant waste. The potatoes are peaking out from the soil. They are purple skinned. When I was spreading the compost I found some things we did not put in there. I have no idea where they came from. It is sort of gross but interesting, too. First, I shoveled up a scull. I have no idea what it came from. It looks to have the beginnings of horn bumps on the top of the scull. Second, I came across a jaw bone with teeth. It is not the same or part of the scull that I found. This was found in a different section of the compost pile. Third, I found a fully intact sea shell. Both halves still closed and the membrane sealed together. Do you think a bird could have dropped it? It takes me longer to do tasks now than it used to. When Colby is home in the mornings she watches Steven and the tasks roll right along. When she leaves for work and its just me and Steven things slow down and sometimes come to a grinding halt. Some days he is content to wander and play in the grass. Some days he climbs on the tractor and 'drives'. There are times he plays in the dirt. Then there are the days when he will not stay close to me. Days when he runs off the minute I turn to do something. Days when he is bound to fall head first into the koi pond. Those are the days I give up and we go inside. The past few days have been pretty productive. Today is already looking like it won't be so productive. Steven has been up since 4am whining and tossing and fretting. He only gets still and cat naps when I am holding him. It is 7:15am. I am already exhausted and pushed to my limit. I have so much that needs to be done today. Anyone want to come play with him while I get my chores done? P.S. - I know I have a ton of email and comments to answer but I haven't had time. But I will. Maybe this afternoon or tonight.