Computer Woe's

Well my blog friends, my computer is seriously ill. Please hang tight and enjoy your gardening/crafting while I work to bring things back on line! Hopefully things will clear up with in the week. Wish me good deals!

Small Batch Preserve

Sometimes when you are first starting out with your garden your harvests can be small. In Sean Conway's book Cultivating Life, he has a terrific recipe for small batch preserves. The recipe requires one cup of fruit and about four other ingredients that you are sure to already have in your kitchen. It took me 30 minutes to cook up this strawberry version. It needs to be consumed with in a couple weeks but trust me you will have no problem once you start slathering it on your ice cream or toast! I will be whipping this recipe up multiple times this season.

Don't delay, plant a tree today.....

We have lived in this house for about 6 years now. It was a foreclosure that needed A LOT of work. (Probably more than I bargained for!) This year we finally got around to planting some trees. Typically I advise my private landscape clients: "Plant your trees first!" Early on, this is always your best investment. Had I listened to myself, I would have six years of growth on my trees. Even if you can only afford a twig, time will pass quickly and you will be glad you at least started somewhere! Even little trees can reap rewards. Take for instance my new peach tree. Barely the size of my thumb but....5 peaches! My pear tree has also surprised me. Six feet tall and viola, my first pears! There may only be four but you can bet they are going to be the best pears that tree ever produces because they are the first and I wasn't expecting them!
I would also advise to keep good record of what you planted....someday you may want to know!

Unknown Pear

Red Haven Peach

Blue Spruce

Your local cooperative extension office is always your best bet for choosing varieties that are hardy in your area. If you purchase from a local nursery, this is usually not a problem. But, if you are buying from a big box store, it would be wise to do a little homework to make sure you are not wasting your money!

Cherries and Strawberries

About 4 years ago we purchased a nice Montmorency cherry tree from a nursery that was going out of business. Every year it has bloomed beautifully but no cherries. We were beginning to wonder if it was labeled wrong and not a self fertile tree meaning I would need two instead of one. Today, as I was watering I looked up in the tree and saw something shiny and red. What could that be? Closer investigation revealed not one but three perfect red cherries! I know three seems pretty lame but, nonetheless they were awesome. Unfortunately I inhaled them before I took a picture! The strawberries are also in full fruit. Last year I moved them from the garden to a raised bet dedicated to their care. As a result we did not eat many last year but I am happy to say I see some strawberry deserts coming my way this year! What is your favorite thing to do with fresh summer strawberries?

Creative Gardening

Gardening is not a static endeavor. It is a creative adventure. One must constantly think up new ways to attack the weeds, organize the layout and come up with new ideas to make it better. Well maybe not always new ideas but creative versions of old ideas. Take for example my hog panel trellis. I have planted gourds on both sides. I plan to train the vines up and over in an effort to save some garden space. Trellising is not a new idea and using hog panels is probably not either but, it is a new creative option for my garden to help me get more into my small urban lot. I hope it works well for me! I am even more excited about the fact that they are scraps from someone's yard. All I had to do was ask. They were happy to let them go, and I was happy to have them! I am all about ease and minimal effort. These were cut to size(approxx 3'x5') using a dremel. Anchored in the ground and wired at the top it took about two minutes to put them up and will take about the same to store for winter. They probably will not win any awards for attractiveness but I don't think anyone will be the wiser when they are covered in vines!

Rain Rain Rain

It has been raining here for two days solid. I am starting to get cabin fever and need to see the sun. Even the plants are feeling it.

I have a dear friend who does crop insurance. She is telling me her farmers are calling with multiple failures. First from the wicked hail that proceeded this storm and second from the four inches of rain that have fallen. I am trying not to think about it so I have been perusing Mini Farming (Brett Markham), The Backyard Homestead(Storey Publishing), and Cultivating Life(Sean Conway).
As I result I huddled into the garage to build this bamboo trellis:

I think it will look great covered in sweet peas and morning glories. I also have dreams of rain barrels and clothes lines dancing in my head. I should probably just head down to sew the wedding gift and baby gift that I am behind on but I need to get my craft room back in order from the furnace replacement. Somehow gloomy basement work is even less appealing today than it normally is. What do you like to do on a rainy day?

Tomato Wars

The long winter has driven me outside to the garden! I am very happy to spend the days in the sun and breathing fresh air! This year we have vowed to be more dedicated to the garden than ever. We will harvest more, eat more, preserve more and of course spend more time doing it. I have decided to do a little experiment this year. Everyone knows I garden so someone donated some red plastic to me. The idea is that the red color boosts tomato production. I think it is probably a bunch of hooey but since they were free and will at least keep the weeds down next to the plants I will give it a try. Do you have any secret garden tricks?