Starting the Garden

I have taken a couple of days off work and since today and tomorrow are supposed to be optimal days for planting root crops I hoped to get some good garden time in.  Yesterday was so warm and sunny here that I began preparing the garden bed and the pots on the deck for planting.   A little Wren came by to perch on the deck rail and watch me for a while.

Most of the garden was covered with this - Dead Nettle.  I pulled and dug - it's surprisingly tenacious.  The rake and hoe didn't remove it.   I found a couple of leftover beets and onions from last year, and some Chervil had reseeded.  Today, I got some more beets in before it started to rain. 

I'm hoping it will stop raining so I can put in white turnips, carrots and several kinds of radishes, but in the meantime, I'm starting seeds indoors.  Here is how I do mine.  At Wren Cottage I repurpose things almost as often as I recycle.  The cat litter I use comes in big plastic jugs. 

Not very 'green' but they don't like the kinds that come in bags.   I recycle most of them, but they also are very useful in the garden.  When I'm ready to start seeds, cut the top off:        

Then slit the corners down about 2 inches, like so, so the top will push back onto the bottom  ...... and use the bottom of the jug to start seeds.

I happened to have some "Jiffy' seed starting disks on hand, but you could also fill the bottom part of the jug with seed starting mix.  

I soaked the disks in warm water to expand them, then - because they are waterlogged - I allowed them to drain.    Add the seeds to the expanded disks, then return them to the jug. 

The top keeps the cats out, and with the cap off, extra moisture can escape. A tip sheet from a seed supplier I bought from said to sprinkle cinnamon on the soil to battle or prevent 'damping off' - the biggest threat to seeds started indoors.

By cutting bottom off of the jugs instead of the top, they make great cloches for covering seedlings freshly set in the garden.  I have a lot of trouble with Robins in the Spring, biting off or pulling out my seedlings, but these really do the job at allowing the seedlings to grow large enough for the birds to leave them alone.  

Not all things need to be started.  These strawberries never completely died back, and now are growing back like gangbusters.

Beginning to put the garden to bed

I pulled up the San Marzano tomato plants this morning.  Once I got the main crop in during the summer, the plants grew a second flush, but they never did ripen - even in hot weather. There were lots of green tomatoes on them, full-sized ones in full sun for weeks, they just wouldn't get ripe.  Out they came.  I picked all the green tomatoes off, and composted the plants.  Compost has become nearly as important a 'crop' as anything else I grow. I found a few red  and ripening ones, a few past their prime to feed to the chickens, and maybe 20 pounds of green ones.  

I will probably make the green-tomato salsa I linked to a post or two back, because it can be canned.   I found about a dozen ripe, or nearly-so 'German Pink' tomatoes to enjoy now, and left the plants in the ground for a while longer. These did very well in their protected place last year.  It was only after a heavy frost that the foliage died and revealed even more tomatoes. 

   

This is just two plants!

After some research, I have found this is a 'vineing' variety.  Simple stakes are useless, and cages aren't much better.  They will just continue to grow taller until killed by frost.  I have thrown the vines over the fence (8 feet tall) and they have still grown another two or more feet on the other side.   The neighbor has been told anything growing on his side is his.  Lessons learned this year:  Get the seedlings started inside and in the ground much earlier so I can enjoy the tomatoes in the summer instead of fall! 



I pulled the hot pepper plants too, mostly because I'm tired of messing with them.  I got another couple of dozen jalapenos and almost that many green cayennes. Green or not, they are still hot, and will dry just fine in the dehydrator.  I got a warning tingle on my hands as I cut up the plants to put in the compost pile.  Apparently even the leaves and stems are hot too - no wonder the insects leave them alone!  I know I got well over 100 jalapenos off two plants and probably half that of cayennes off one plant.  I wish everything I grew was so prolific! 

    

My fall garden has been more failure than success, but I am not discouraged.   Cauliflower and Brussels sprouts in containers started off much better than the ones in the ground, but then were eaten to pieces by cabbage worms.  I didn't plant any companion plants with them, because I didn't think they would grow so late in the year.  The ones in the ground are catching up now, and have little-to-no insect damage, being planted with radishes!  I may get Brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving after all.   Overall this year, I did see a positive difference in outcomes with companion planting.

I am in love with French Breakfast Radishes!  I planted 3 varieties of radish this fall and all are doing well in the ground (they didn't like pots) but the French are the fastest to mature.  I looked it up, and the French eat them raw, dipped in soft butter with salt.  I tried it, but the butter on a raw veg seemed superfluous, so I just eat them the American way, raw with salt only.  They are mild and have a great 'root vegetable' taste, unlike regular varieties, which seem more like a garnish or accent.  I want to plant lots early in the Spring, and in the ground, not pots. 

• Turnips are still promising in the pots.  It remains to be seen if they continue to grow through frosts so I can get some baby turnips before a heavy freeze does them in.  I'm in it only for the roots.  The greens go to the chickens and rabbits, or the compost.    
• Two varieties of kale planted from seed are coming up fine, but will probably have to be eaten in the baby stage. 
• The Bok Choy grew to seedlings, then stopped.  Didn't die, just simply didn't grow any more.  I will try again in the Spring - to be harvested at 'baby size.' and steamed or sauteed with other vegetables. 
• The eggplant have grown fine this fall and have very healthy foliage and blooms, but will not have enough time to set and ripen fruit before frost.  Go back to pots next year - they did fine there. Add companion flowers and herbs. 

 More lessons learned:  Concentrate on what I can grow that will produce the most in the least space or fewest plants.  As mentioned before, squash are out.  Even if I could overcome insects and disease, they are simply too big for my small space. Ditto on the pole beans.  Instead of saving space by growing UP, the plants were just huge, with few beans.  I'm going back to bush beans next year.    

My garden space is not suitable for 'floating row covers,' which are needed to garden well in seriously cold weather - to keep things going after frost and freezes to get full-sized plants and veggies.  The plants need to be grown in - uh - rows to use those. Mine are grown in clumps, more like the square-foot-gardening style. If I had started with rectangular raised beds, it might be different, but my garden stared out as a very big, deep English 'herbatious border' - stylish a the time - that evolved (degenerated?) into my small oval planting plot studded with shrubs and flowering plants, some large, some small.

Chicken update:

I'm going out on a limb and naming one of the Orpington chicks.   I have been calling her Gracie, after   

Grace Coolidge  

Gracie is a cute name that seems to fit the chick, but I confess I don't know much about the real Grace Coolidge, except that she loved animals of all kinds :-)   I chose that name not so much because of admiration for the lady, but because of this fabulous portrait.  It, along with one of  Edith Roosevelt  are among my favorite First Lady portraits.  (Yes Edith, TRs wife, although Eleanor's portrait is very innovative) 

And here she is - little Gracie herself - trying to get away while I try to take her picture.  She is very shy, and hides behind Abigail much of the time. I'm still working on winning her over. I got her on my lap the other night, and after a minute she decided she liked it, and started to trill.  She has no comb or wattles to speak of ......and I hope it stays that way.   

On the other hand, look what Dolley has grown in the last month!  

  

A very impressive set of comb and wattles (comb looks even bigger on the other side where her feathers are flatter)  Even her earlobes are bigger.  She had smaller wattles and comb before, but I could literally see them getting bigger every day.  This change roughly coincides with putting no-name chick in with her.  I don't know if it's a hormonal thing, or if she is really a he!!!   If that's the way it turns out, I'm going to be very upset!!!    These aren't the only indicators of gender.  She hasn't started to crow or try to mount any of the other chickens - but then she's not laying any eggs, either....at about 8 months old!  That's not unheard of, according to what I read on Backyard Chicken Forum - especially this year, there's been a lot of that.  I don't use organic feed.....I wonder what GMO stuff they might be putting in there, and if it's having an effect on our livestock?   Sigh.......if Dolley 'turns into' a rooster, as long as there continues to be no crowing - she's staying.  I'm much too bonded now.

Here is little no-name below.  I'm still waffling nearly daily on this one - does have a pretty big comb, has wattles, but small, pale unless excited, not displaying obvious roo behavior, like crowing or mounting other birds.  It is much more outgoing than Gracie.  Not really brave though, in fact, if I try to pick it up, or it gets upset about something, it does it's best "henny penny / the-sky-is-falling" imitation.  It's hysterical - both the chick's attitude, and my amusement.  Abigail wants nothing to do with it anymore, poor thing, but it's getting bonded to Dolley.    

The chicks are 9 weeks old today, and are nearly the same size as the older chickens.  If you consider Dolley is mostly feathers, no-name probably is the same size. It's amazing how fast they grow.

Holly-bunny (who would not let me take her picture, because she is partially plucked and not looking her best) gave me a scare this week, when it seemed as though some of her legs were partially paralyzed!   After giving her a thorough going-over and watching her move, I think she has hurt her back somehow, but not seriously.  This is not uncommon in rabbits, due to the length of their spine and the extreme power of their back legs.  They can actually break their own back while playing, and die.  Holly is gradually getting better, and while not being her usual snotty-diva self, she has not relinquished her "Princess" title, and is relishing all the extra attention.   

 Those are the updates from Wren Cottage .....

There are some advantages...

...to living in a townhouse.   1) I never have to mow the grass, and   2) when it's time to replace the roof, I don't have to bother with arranging that, it's just done for me.

The view out my kitchen window

Of course it's pretty noisy, with people walking on the roof, the scraping and then the nailing.  At the first unusual sound, all of the cats disappeared into whatever hidey-hole they have found for themselves.   The bunnies are unconcerned.  The chickens did a little frantic "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" skittering around, but settled down quickly and are now ignoring it. As for me, I'm going to escape to a CLUCK meeting for a few hours this afternoon.  A guest speaker is going to talk about feather condition and how it relates to overall health in chickens.     

Abigail is done with the mom thing.   Don't get me wrong, she is still a good mom to the chicks, she just isn't single-mindedly dedicated to them anymore.   One evening when the chicks were screaming and jumping all over her, I thought I detected that familiar harried look one sees on the faces of mothers of youngsters from time to time.  I took her out of the coop and put her on her favorite perch by the window, and could almost hear her sigh with relief. Those perch sessions have become more frequent, and she doesn't act all that eager to go back in with the young'uns. 

Abigail also started laying again this week.  While I wasn't getting eggs, I bought Chelsey's Eggs  at Good Foods.  After viewing a video (which I will NOT be posting here) of a commercial hatchery, I don't think I can ever eat grocery store eggs again.  These come from pastured chickens in Pleasureville, KY.  They are good and very big.  Sometimes the carton will hardly close.   Here is Abigail's egg next to one of the Chelsey ones - 

Store-bought egg on the left - Abigail's egg on the right

Not bad for a bantam, huh!

I split up the little family today.  There was a bit too much sparring going on, and one of the chicks looked like it was having some feathers picked out.   The coop is also getting a little crowded, since the chicks are nearly half the size of the hen now. I split up the two I think are boys, and put one in with Dolley.  After a couple of sharp pecks to let it know who's boss, she seemed to like the change.  Chickens are flock animals, and she has wanted to join the family all along.   This week Abigail actually let her join them in their cage for a little while!  That's how much she has mellowed out.

( I like the big round eyes on the Cochins)

The little one had some periods of peeping and pacing, but also settled down sometimes to scratch and peck in the litter.  I'm less sure this week that it's a cockerel than I was last week.  The comb  isn't growing and the wattles are barely there.  But then I look at the "girl," and she looks very different than the other two.......  See why I haven't named anyone yet?  I am so convinced of the girl though that I have been running through First Lady names, to see if one fits. There haven't been any takers on the feelers I've put out on the other two though.  I hope I have some time to find homes for them before one or both starts crowing or .........you know.

My fall crops have really liked the rain and cool temps we had this week. It was perfect for germinating the seeds.  I haven't had anything to harvest for a while though - no tomatoes in over a week.  I had some San Marzanos I picked last week I hadn't done anything with yet, so I made a pan of these.  When I first the tasted them, the skins were very apparent, and I thought I might try to skin them first if I made them again.  I put them in a jar in the fridge rather than the freezer, since I didn't have that many, and this morning tossed some in the pan with my breakfast eggs.  Yum!!  Skins had softened and they just needed a bit of time to meld the flavors.  Today I made a batch of this.  It filled a quart jar with a little left over.  She's right.  It's so good I wanted to just sit down with a spoon and dig in.  I'm planning upcoming meals with this in mind as a topping.     

This Week at Wren Cottage

Is it just me, or is it starting to seem like Fall?  It's still hot, but my garden is definitely looking fall-ish.

This week, out came the broken-down pole beans.  In went turnips, beets, and radishes. I still need to find a spot for lettuce.  I salvaged enough beans for a couple of servings, so not bad.   I tore off the ratty foliage remaining on the chard, and hope cool weather will bring another flush of leaves later.   The replacement basil and eggplant, and the bok choy are doing nicely.

This is one of the Comfrey plants, allowed to flower.

In real life, the little bell-like flowers look exactly the same shade as the Petunias planted beneath them



The "roma" tomatoes are slowing down.  I've been calling them Roma all this time, but I looked at the packet and they are "San Marzano."  Still a paste-type tomato.  I've got enough to fill the dehydrator again today.  I've already got lots dried for making "sun-dried" tomatoes.   This is one recipe  I want to try with them.  

The German Pinks are ripening and I LOVE them.  I hadn't tasted a tomato that tasted like the ones I had when I was young, since I left Ohio.  I thought it had something to do with the minerals in the soil - and it might - but this one really takes me back.   The plants don't produce many fruits, but the ones that are there are really big - 1 to 2 pounds.  Meaty, not many seeds, with tender skin - they are yummy!   I think I'll enjoy all of these fresh, and if there are leftover green ones at the end of the season, I found a recipe for a green tomato relish here .  I like that it is salty and tangy - the way tomatoes should be. 

I know I am in the minority on this subject, but two things that should never be said in the same breath, much less put in the same recipe are tomatoes, and sugar.  I know your Momma put just a teaspoon in her spagetti sauce "to take the acid out,"  but I'm sure every Nonna in Italy would blanch at the idea.  Tomatoes are meant to be tangy.  Ragu spagetti sauce (and others like it)  must be the most disgusting things ever put in a jar.  One of the primary ingredients is .....high fructose corn syrup.  blech!  (stepping down from soapbox and changing subject.....) 

Before I had to have a new muffler installed on my car  (which really needed to be done, but didn't fix the problem.  Now I'm thinking tune up / points and plugs)  I bought some more silk from Wooliebullie on Etsy. (and since she gave me a 20% off coupon when she sent my previous order)  The hankies are called "Veggie Tales," which is funny but true, since they are exactly those colors.  I'm not afraid of the really intense colors, because once they are drafted thin and/or mixed with something, it tones them down.

The roving at the top is called "Maple" and is spectacular. I want to just sit and look at it.  I have some brown Corriedale I can mix with Truffle's beige fiber, and either spin this separately and ply it, or card it in.  It would go a lot farther if I did the latter, but there's really a lot there for only weighing 2 oz.

Lastly, on the bottom right is .....something about Titania and Midsummer's Night's Dream... I can't remember the name exactly, taken from a painting the artist saw.   I wouldn't have thought to use those colors together (I rarely mix 'cool' and 'warm' colors) but I really like it.  That might go with my black Angoras - which produce mostly gray wool. 



Whatever I do, I will be sure to save some shreds in case we have someone doing a wet felting class at KSFF next Spring.  Now to figure out how to have my rabbit booth and take a class?

No real news about the chicks this week. Looking more and more like dinosaurs. I'm pretty convinced I only have 1 pullet and 2 roos.  If I'm right, anyone want a bantam buff Orpington rooster?  They are said to have nice, laid-back personalities......

Until next time, from Wren Cottage .......     

Planting for Fall

I've started planting fall crops.  Since this is my first fall garden, it will be an experiment.  I may get some things, or nothing, but I hope to learn.  I got ruthless and pulled some things out so I could put others in.  Out came the squash plant that didn't produce one squash, and in went Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  Two more of each of those went in tubs to see where they do better.  Turnips (to be harvested as 'baby' size), bok choy (ditto), and another planting of basil have gone in.  The basil is not a fall crop, and neither is eggplant, which I put in a couple of weeks ago, but if it's hot, like it usually is here in September, I may be able to get another crop in.  The original basil has been allowed to go to seed.

I can tell the days are getting shorter!!  Now if I go out to the garden in the evening, half of it is in shadow!  Maybe that is fueling my need to plant more crops before cold weather sets in.

There was a bean emergency here over the weekend!  Friday evening we had a thunderstorm which brought very little needed rain, but plenty of wind.  When I went out Saturday afternoon, I found my bean teepee had blown over and broken one of the poles.  Some plants were pulled out by the roots, and others plants mashed when the beans fell on them.  I propped up the beans as best I could on 2 poles by leaning it against the big rose, and covered the exposed roots with compost.  The beans have been disappointing again too.  This is my second year for pole beans - last year a heritage bean, and this year Kentucky Wonder. Lots of blossoms, but few beans.  There is no denying I get better yields with bush beans, but they take up so much room, and I don't know if they have non-hybrid varieties.  I will look next Spring.

One thing that is a huge success is the compost pile! (balance the 'browns' and 'greens') I got about 3 wheelbarrows full of finished compost over the weekend.  Since my townhouse neighborhood started offering recyling, it has been gratifying to see how many people use it, and between that and the kitchen stuff going to compost, it's amazing how long it takes my trash can to fill up!

I'm still running the dehydrator like crazy.  I dehydrated this big platter full of tomatoes - along with carrots and mushrooms - over the weekend, and still have plenty more tomatoes if I want to make sauce. (note to self: make Roma tomatoes a mainstay in the garden)  Of course the things I don't need much of, like hot peppers, are producing like crazy.  I've lost count of how many dozens of jalapenos I've dehydrated so far - many!  I powdered them in my coffee/spice grinder and it only came to 1/2 of a 1/2 pint jar!  I've got all the cayenne I will need for a long time too, so I can use that spot in the garden for something else next year.

The peeps are growing like weeds.  They were 2 weeks old last Friday, have doubled in size and are starting to feather out.  They do some really cute things.  They spar and chest bump, then freeze with their neck stretched out into a stare-down position.    

"You wanna piece 'a me?"

I hope that's not male-only behavior!  Dolley used to do it with the little roo who came her with her, though.  Abigail is a good mom, and will step between them to break it up.  One or the other always

'blinks' first and they wander away.  I wonder if that's why they call it playing 'chicken!?!' 

Saturday I found all 3 cuddled in their feed bowl, enjoying a sunbeam........but because of the 2.5 second delay in my shutter speed, I only got one. (still cute)  It has been hard to get photos of them all along.  They can really hear the tiny noises the camera makes and dive under or behind mom. 

Abigail used to let them sit on her back all the time - sometimes 2 at once.  She's weaning them from that now though.  When they hop up, she ducks her head or raises it while she ducks her bottom, so they slide off.  In the shot above one is about to get dumped.  Chick-watching is better than TV!

The KY State Fair has started, and this weekend is a 2-fer as far as I'm concerned.  Both rabbits and poultry are being shown then.  Sheep aren't until the next week. :( 

See you at the Fair!  From Wren Cottage.....     



Victories and Disappointments - A Mid-Summer Review

I candled Abigail's eggs today for the second time, since I couldn't resist candling them the day I got them for a baseline.   Two of the eggs definitely have veins and a chick embryo - one of the Cochin eggs marked "MF"  (Mille Fleur?  Whoo-Hoo!) and one of the buff Orpingtons.    There is no guarantee either will make it to full gestation.  Often eggs, just quit in mid-incubation.  The other Cochin egg looks like a dud - infertile, nothing at all going on in there.   The rest - 4 Orpingtons - I'm not at all sure what I'm seeing.  Either the shell is too dense,  my mini-LED flashlight isn't bright enough, or I have no idea what I'm doing.  It could be any of the above, but I'm leaning heavily on the last one.   I put all the eggs back under Abigail because she was getting agitated, even though I took them out 2 at a time so she wouldn't miss them.  I also think she can count, because she didn't settle down until all 7 were back under her.

There don't seem to be any absolutes to hatching and candling eggs.  As I read Backyard Chicken Forum and other sources, some say don't think about touching the eggs for at least 10 days.  Others say by that time the indicators of a fertile, growing chick can't be seen any more.  I am concerned that the dud  - or the four I  am unsure of - will really go bad, break open under Abigail, and contaminate them all. (that really does happen, under hens and in incubators) I have a question posted on BYC, and I'm waiting for answers. 

On to the garden:
I am still harvesting something nearly every day, but in dribs and drabs.  The  Roma tomatoes are loaded with fruit, but no ripe ones yet. The German Pink tomatoes are big, have had to be tied up, with lots of blossoms, but I don't see 'maters.  There are two volunteer tomato plants that I am waiting to see what variety they turn out to be.  One of the advantages of not using hybrids, is they will 'breed true.'   They will be something I have grown before.

Roma tomatoes

There are lots of peppers on the Jalapeno and Cayenne plants too.  I've dried about a dozen Jalapenos, and plan to grind them to powder - to use like Cayenne powder, when I want a little 'kick,' but not as hot.  The kale and chard, that I thought would bolt or go bitter when hot and/or dry weather came, have not, and are still giving me meal after meal.   I have gotten two generous servings of white potatoes, and one of red from my pots.  It is so much fun to dig around in the pots, pull out a few potatoes, go inside, wash them and put them on to cook!  There is a difference in flavor! 

I don't see any blossoms on the beans yet, but they did go in awfully late.  The pattypan squash at their feet is huge, but I haven't got any squash from it yet.  Some of those leaves are as long as the length of my forearm, from elbow to fingertip!  A little too much nitrogen from the bunny poo - giving lots of foliage but no fruit? 

The oregano is growing a third crop, but I think I will let this one go to seed.  I have plenty, and don't want to stress the plant too much.  The Chervil plant from earlier in the Spring, has been done for a while, but has reseeded itself already, and 2 small plants have come up. 

The squash in pots are a failure, I'm afraid. After losing two or three tries to squash bug last year, this year's squash in pots have had it already.  Too wet, too dry, roots too crowded, who knows, but they are going limp and kicking the bucket after only giving one or two squash each.  I won't repeat this.  Darn!  I really like squash, and would really rather grow it than buy it!   

I'm also bummed at reading that the heat and air flow while dehydrating kale destroys  the Vitamin A and C - the reason kale is such a powerhouse in the first place!  I've been drying it like crazy for a couple of weeks. I'm thinking I may have to plant an autumn garden this year - something I have never done, except garlic - to keep the fresh food coming as long as possible    

 I'm not giving up on dehydrating though, because some nutritional compromises are made no matter what form of preservation is used.  I read Mary Bell's Dehydrator Cookbook  recently.  I liked it, but it kind of showed it's age.  It was written nearly 20 years ago, and a lot of the content had a 'quaint' feel to it - and no photos!    Still, it gave me some ideas for things I would not have thought of dehydrating - shrimp, pickles, watermelon?!?   I tried the shrimp, which turned out great, the pickles were way salty, and I haven't tried the watermelon yet.  She has another book "Food Drying with an Attitude," that seems to be the same text, only with photos added.  (?)  

Until next time from Wren Cottage ...... 

One potato, two potato........

My eggs are due to arrive today by Priority Mail, but to say I have had trouble with the Post Office and my mail is an understatement.  I know from the tracking number that they did arrive in town, and are supposed to be delivered today......  So while I wait for the mailman, I thought I would write a post to keep my mind off it.

Finally!!  I got some potatoes from my potatoes-in-a-pot!

They are on a saucer, so they aren't as big as they appear - new potatoes, after all

Even though I've got potatoes - how many remains to be seen - I don't know if I will keep on growing them.  They do take up a lot of room, and with no root cellar, if I had a bumper crop, storage would be a problem.   I have all winter to decide. 

A few of the vines were yellowing, so I dug and pulled them out - and found a few potatoes there!  I cooked them up and had them for supper!!  Yum, they were good.  My favorite way to eat potatoes since childhood is boiled, mashed flat on a plate with a fork, with butter, pepper and salt.

Marisa over at Backyard Farming  did a really interesting post on salt yesterday.  It seems all salt is not equal.  One commenter posted a link to an even more interesting article  http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/07-31-2006.php.  

His comments that during processing, salt is rendered into a completely different chemical makes sense to me (someone who did not take chemistry in school).  I have high blood pressure, my mother had high blood pressure and her mother had high blood pressure.  I'm supposed to limit my salt intake.....but I love salty things.  I'm not saying if I start using the salt they recommend I can go off my meds, but I will probably try it.   Perhaps, as they theorize, the different chemical makeup will not aggravate my HBP.  Getting all those trace minerals - from a natural source - has to be good.

later....They're here!  The eggs arrived safe and sound, and are resting in a warm place for a few hours (per breeder recommendation) and will go under Abigail this evening.   Let the countdown begin!!  

Smarter? .......redux

Just now in the cafeteria lunch line at the hospital where I work:

visitor:  Succotash?   What is succotash?   I don't even know what that is!

me:   It's a mixture of corn and lima beans 

visitor:  Oh.  I thought it was some kind of vegetable.

me:  It is.  Corn.......and ......lima beans 

visitor:  Oh.  I meant a vegetable that grows on a plant or something.    

I had to walk away.........

Not kidding.  Verbatim.  Again, middle-aged, well-dressed woman.


Humor aside, WHEN did the American public become SO disconnected from their food supply?

It is heartening that many are waking up, and backyard gardens / urban farming are booming.  For most people though, they seem perfectly content to feed themselves and their children an increasingly narrow choice of chemical-laden, GMO foods that are shipped from who-knows-where.  AND they never consider those foods may not always be there, in any variety, at any time they want them.  (pale, hard 'fresh' tomatoes in winter? Ick)

June is Bustin' Out All Over.......

Overall, I am very pleased with my garden so far this year.   We got about an inch of much-needed rain today.  As wet as the Spring was, it had been weeks without a drop, and that meant brown, crispy lawns and having to water the garden.

As promised, I worked on a way to water more efficiently. I punched holes in the bottom of several plastic juice bottles and placed them next to the plant I wanted to water. My first attempt was a total failure. The holes were small, but there were way too many, and I watched my bottles empty in seconds, when they were supposed to seep water to the roots of the plants. That a pot could swallow 1/2 gallon of water that quickly told me how much I was pouring on my plants, too. I'm saving up more bottles and next time will only put one or two small holes in each.  In extremis, I could also save 'gray water,' (stopper up the tub while showering, then scoop it out with a bucket) and use that to water.  I've done it in the past, but it hasn't come to that.  

There are those who will tell you not to water your plants at night, due to the risk of fungal diseases. They have a point of course, but I compromise.  I go out about 7-ish, when the heat of the day is past its peak, and the sun has dipped lower, and water then.  I water at the base of the plant, and try to avoid wetting the leaves.  That way the plants have a while to dry off if they did get wet, and all night to soak up the water, minimizing evaporation loss.  If  you water during the day it will 'burn' off much of your water through evaporation, and droplets on leaves can act as a prism, allowing the sun to burn holes in your foliage!

True, water soaker hoses are a good solution, but pricey, and not very do-able in pots.

I've been harvesting all Spring, mostly herbs.

But some of the bigger stuff is coming on now too. 

 I have 2 yellow squash plants in this pot, and two squash that will be ready to eat this weekend.   As the plant grows, I hope to use the deck railing as a trellis.  (we'll see how that goes :)

I also have 1 zucchini in a pot and 1  Patty Pan Squash that was in a third pot, but got transplanted into the garden under the pole bean tee-pee.  I finally gave up in the battle with the robins pulling up all my seedlings, and put a more grown-up plant there. The advantage of having the potted ones "up close and personal" on the deck is maybe I can keep a closer eye on them and avoid baseball-bat sized zucchini. 

I had Kale with dinner last night

and Chard the night before.  I am not one for 'long-cooked with a ham hock, pot liquor and cornbread' style greens - although I love the cornbread part.  Just not slimey greens.  (It must be my Yankee genes)  I gave them a quick saute - long  enough to wilt them, season and eat.  Yum!  

The Roma tomatoes (from purchased plants) are well up and setting fruit

The 'German Pink' tomatoes, started from saved seed well after the Romas, are coming along - interplanted with Opal Basil, Nasturtium (said to repel Tomato Hornworm - we'll see) and Marigold - to repel nematodes.

My 'potatoes-in-a-pot' are huge.  A few blossoms, but not the real thing yet.  These are the white potatoes, and I have a pot of reds at the top of the steps.  If I had something to go around those plants, and then added soil or straw, I cold have potatoes growing the whole length of those stems :(   I didn't get one potato last year though, so I guess I should wait to see if I get any before I complain.     

The Basil is ready to be cut and preserved!  

Last year I bought a dehydrator, and preserved lots of things that way, besides freezing a few more in my tiny above-the-fridge freezer space.  It's hard to remember to use them though!  I could blame it on being  someone who doesn't cook all that much at home, but I've read a bunch of  'family' blogs this season that are saying the same thing.   

Earier this week I pulled out a jar of store-bought baby Portobello mushrooms that I dehydrated and saved last year.  I put some warm water on them to rehydrate them, and they were great - but there was an unexpected bonus..... 

This lovely bit of mushroom broth that could be added to stock. 

I'm going to use it tonight to make Mediterranean Couscous .  I got the recipe from Homestead Revival,  and I make it a lot. It is one of those go-to recipes that can be added to or altered, depending what you have on hand.   I sub canned white or cannelonni beans for the garbanzos, because I like them better, and use regular, not whole wheat couscous.  She calls it a side, but with added veggies, mushrooms or greens, I eat it as a vegetarian main dish.  

The animals are fine, Abigail is back to an egg-every-other-day laying schedule, and Ivy now has solid black peachfuzz-fur on her backside.  Niko is the only one who still needs his summer haircut, and if I would ever get up from this computer.........

Until next time from Wren Cottage.... 

        

Don't Hate Me Because .......

I've gone "commercial."  I've added a widget on the bottom of the right column, linking to Amazon, recommending books having to do with urban farming / sustainable living, etc. I am a reader.  I love information, and 'read up' on things (usually) before I begin a new venture. I own and have read each one of the books shown on the list. (Amazon does not have free rein to show anything they want)  I have liked some more than others, but like all of them well enough to recommend them.

FULL DISCLOSURE:  If someone links to a book through my blog, then buys it, I get a small 'finder's fee' from Amazon.  I use Amazon, have recommended Amazon here on this blog, and we have a large distribution center here, so for me, it is form of 'buying local' and keeping local people employed.

There.  Done.  Unless I add something new and especially want to recommend it, I hope that is the last you hear from me about it.

If my 'hit' counter is to be believed, a LOT of people read this blog - or have at least taken a look at it once. (But don't leave comments?  Go figure)  That tells me a lot of folks are interested in some of the same things I am.  Yesterday, Mike at Backyard Farming displayed this graphic:

Home Gardening

I don't think it will enlarge by clicking (I don't know how to do that) but if you click on the link, it should  take you there. It is interesting in many ways - the most grown foods, the financial return, a 7 million person increase in gardening in one year, but most of all that its women over 45 leading the way for home gardening!  Woo-hoo!  

Next time from Wren Cottage - water conservation.

Breakthroughs

There have been a few breakthroughs here in the last few days.  First, Abigail laid an egg yesterday!  Finally!  I was wondering if she would ever lay again.  For all I know, she could be a 'golden girl' chicken.  I don't know how old she is.  Last fall I got an egg every other day, so I'll hope for that again.

I've taken the chickens outside a couple of times, but they would just stand still, and not move.  They would look around, and seemed to like it, but were rooted to the spot.  I was going out to work in the garden this evening, and picked up Abigail to take out with me.  It took a while,  but she finally waded into the garden a little bit, ate some dirt, scarfed up some grit, and had a good time being a real chicken.  I know Dolley has never been out or on grass except the couple of times I took her.  Maybe Abigail has the same history - bantams are often cooped.

just like a kid on the the edge of a pool.....

" I don't know about this....."

wading into the shallow end.....

"Hey! This is all right!"  

Abigail being a real chicken...

"why can't we come outside to play?"  

(l to r:  Yoshi - Michu - Ciaran)        

Second, Michu got up on the bed!  "Huh?" you may be asking yourself.   My two newest kitties both have some strange quirks.  Michu loooooves to be petted, but only when she is standing on the ground.  She doesn't like to be picked up, and has never gotten up on the couch or bed with me, no matter what I did to encourage her.  Last weekend she came into my room one morning because she wanted me to get up and feed her ... well, that day she responded to me calling her up, and for the first time gave in to the niceness she found there!  She gets pets, ear rubs, belly rubs...and she's been getting up with me ever since.  Sweet girl!  I've only had her for two years.  Patience finally won.

On the bunny front, Ivy doesn't have any fuzz on her bare spot yet, but she is getting some dark patches of 5 o'clock shadow under her skin.  I think it's going to be OK.  The boys are going to get haircuts this weekend.  They have both slowed down on eating - not completely off - but that's my sign they've had enough, and want it OFF!  They are all so relieved when they get clipped down, even though they look funny.

In the garden, the beans, eggplant, tomatoes and more herb seedlings are in!   I might stick a few more seedlings in here and there, but overall, it's in for the summer!  Hooray! So far I'm seeing a definite improvement in my crops through companion planting, except the eggplant.  I put them in the planting bed this year instead of a big pot, and some kind of bugs are eating them to pieces.  I can't find a companion to ward them off.

These are some mighty happy looking strawberries - berries, blossoms and buds all over the plants.  These are the everbearing plants.  The June-bearing plants are looking very healthy, but no blossoms yet.     

That's the latest from Wren Cottage.  Until next time....



Derby Day in the Garden

 There is no rain (yet), but it is overcast and the temp is mild.  A great day for working in the garden!

I created two new small planting places this morning:

This place at the foot of the deck stairs has always been soggy.   The downspout is on that side of the house, and the way the yard drains, water would always run this way and some would collect here.   I've read that Comfrey likes the wet, so one or two plants will go in here.   Today is rabbit pan clean-out day, so I will just dump buckets of poo there.   

I have a theory.... a couple of rains wash any urine out of the poo, and (I think) also kills weeds and grass underneath.  Call it the lazy-girl's method of 'lasagna' or compost gardening.   I have also read this spring that some folks don't like the cardboard base that one is supposed to start the lasagna layering with.  They say it doesn't break down fast enough.  My 'big' bed is doing well with the dump-and-leave-it method, so I'm going to see how it does here. That is a very pretty pink-flowering geranium you see under the steps.  If it starts to look like it is being shaded out or overwhelmed by the Comfrey, I'll move it.

This is the corner where I planted my German Pink tomatoes last summer, and they loved it there.  This year, instead of them having to fight for space between the rose and the compost pile, I moved the pile over a couple of feet, and will plant in the compost left behind.  The cement edging used to go all the way around the big bed, but I thought it was ugly, and changed that to fieldstone.  Frugality is winning out this year, so I hauled it out again and made some practical and weed-wacker proof, if not attractive edging for the new planting areas.     

These have to go - out of the big bed anyway, but they are just too pretty to get rid of, so I think I can fit them in on the other side of the rose from the tomatoes.  When you are an urban farmer, it's all about using all the space you have, no matter how tiny! 

This nice low-growing shrub that I can't remember the name of, has the sweetest white flowers.  It roots anywhere the branches touch the ground, so I have it several places, including the bed across the front of the house.   I like the way it adds to the potager feel, so it will stay.   You can't see it on the rose in the background here, but they are crammed with buds, as are all three of my roses in the backyard. Some are ready to burst open: 

As for the vegetables and herbs, I added a couple more chard plants.  I like it better than spinach, and they  can be used interchangeably.    I planted the Roma tomatoes and jalapenos, cut back the Feverfew by about half and harvested an armload of Lemon Balm to dry.  The Feverfew isn't good dried, but always used fresh, so it just went to the compost pile. With all the rain though, it was about to take over the garden. 

I need to get another stake, then I will plant a pole-bean tee-pee (is tipi pc now?) with eggplants at the base. There hasn't been one big planting orgy this year.  Everything has sort of trickled in.  But it's only early May and there should be plenty of time.   The oregano could be harvested.  It's higher than it looks here - about 2 feet.  It needs to be clipped before it flowers.  I might be able to get 2 (or more?) harvests this year.     

                    

Well it's off to Tractor Supply for some feed and bedding for the chickies.....I want to get back in time to watch the 137th running of the Derby!  I picked a couple of 20-1 shots in the office pool this year, and with no outstanding favorite, I'll just cheer for the winner, whoever it is!