No, I'm not talking about 2012. I'm talking about our garden. The end is near; only a few short weeks away. We have about three weeks left and then we have to wait to plant another garden until next year. The winter is going to be long, but I don't mind that. Winter is my favorite time of year. It's cold, and crisp, snowy, and cold. I love the cold. Truly, I do.
At any rate, I'm kind of glad that the garden is about over for this year. It was a lot of work, but it was enjoyable. Now I'm ready to sit back and relax and use all the items we canned and froze throughout the year. I made some more blueberry zucchini muffins the other day. I made about 60 of them using only one zucchini. Our zucchini plants are fading now, but still using up the last bits of their energy to produce some rather large vegetables. We don't let them stay on the vine for more than a week. Well, one time we did just to see how big it would get but it didn't get any bigger than the ones we get each week, though it did have a pretty thick skin on it.
The sunflowers are on the decline as well, and we just might be a good deal of seeds from them. James cut off one sunflower to see if we could harvest the seeds, but it was still green and not ready yet. Within the next few weeks we'll take down the sunflower heads and lay them out in the sun to dry out. I'll have to update you on the end result of those.
One of the pumpkins was ready, so James picked it and he is now using it as inspiration for a Halloween painting he is doing. It's looking really good, and once it's complete I'll be sure to post pictures so you can see the amazing talent he has. The pumpkin was small, but there are several others that are about the size of the carving pumpkins you see in the store, so we know those are right on track. I can't wait to make some pumpkin pies and pumpkin chocolate chip bread with the ones James doesn't carve for Halloween, and to roast some of the pumpkin seeds. It will be good.
The watermelons are growing insanely fast. We were worried when we planted them that they wouldn't have time to grow before the season was over. I'm not sure if they have some sort of survival guide kicked in or something because every week we go to the garden they are at least three times bigger than the week before. Last week they were about the size of a cantaloupe. I'm optimistic that we'll get a decent sized watermelon by the end of the harvest time. We have so many growing, so if some of them don't make it, that's fine by me. Next year we plan on planting the watermelon much sooner. We've learned that watermelon grow fantastically well out there, so they are on the list for next year.
The tomatoes are doing well too. We've got a lot of canned diced tomatoes, and last week we were able to can about 13 jars of tomato sauce. Kudos to James' mom, though. Without her we wouldn't have so many wonderful jars of delicious fruit and sauce to use throughout the year. She has been able to keep some of the food as well and use it too, so it's a good trade off. We told her we would grow the items if she helped us can them and she agreed. So, I think in the end it was a good partnership.
Halloween is coming up quickly and James and I are so excited. We have some friends coming over soon to help us decorate and I am so looking forward to that day. I just love hanging out with that couple and being able to hang out and chat while decorating for Halloween just makes it all the better. I love Halloween, and I've actually been busy working on some Halloween projects that I'll post soon. I have a few more things I need to do in order to complete them, and then I'll post a Halloween entry. It's going to be awesome!! Enjoy your day, everyone.
Thursday, September 29
Friday, September 9
Pumpkins in the garden
I think most people we talk to about the garden are super surprised to hear how far away it is. The garden is exactly one hour away, so every Saturday morning around 7 am we drive out to the garden. We talk excitedly about what we might find out there, things we learned the previous week, things we want to do, and heaven. Yes, that's kind of an odd subject to throw in there, but like I said, it's a long drive. Most of the time it's been me, James, and my brother but there have been a couple of times when it was only James and my brother, or James and I. Whoever it is, we always have a lot to talk about. When we finally get to the garden we ooh and ahh about what has changed, and then we get excited about what has grown. My brother gets super excited about his cherry tomatoes. James gets super excited about his pumpkins.
We have five pumpkins growing very nicely, and two more that are well on their way. We have two different kinds of plants; one is a triple treat pumpkin plant and the other is the standard jack-o-lantern plant.
The triple treat pumpkin plants are just as their name suggests. You can use these pumpkins to carve, you can use them to make pies, and you can use them to dry their seeds to eat. The jack-o-lantern pumpkin plants are only for carving and not suggested for any eating. We first purchased the triple treat pumpkin seeds and planted them and waited, but after a few weeks we realized that something had actually dug up our pumpkin seeds and ate them. So we tried planting a few more, and sure enough the following week we saw that the ground had been dug up and something had eaten the seeds. Just to be safe, we gave it a few more weeks before going to the store to purchase the jack-o-lantern starter plants and we planted those in a different place in the garden.
It took a little while for the plants to become accustomed to the new soil, and I didn't think they were going to make it, but sure enough they did and very quickly they started to stretch out their tendrils and begin to flower. In fact, it wasn't long at all until new little pumpkins had started to emerge.
However, one day, while picking zucchini, James noticed that one of the zucchini plants had little vines on it. I knew that wasn't possible and so began our search to figure out what type of plant it was. Perhaps it was a leftover plant from something that was planted the year before (before we were there), or perhaps it was a weed in disguise (we got a lot of those things). We decided to wait it out and within the next week it too had a pumpkin starting to grow on it. That's when we figured out that one of the triple treat seeds must have been sheltered by the zucchini plant and was able to grow without anything eating it. And truth be told, I think there are two triple treat plants next to our zucchini. The only trouble we have is trying to find out which one is the triple treat and which one is the jack-o-lantern, because when we transplanted the jack-o-lantern starter plants we put one in the front of the garden and one in the back where the triple treats originally were. Did I lose you yet? :)
I know for sure that this one is a jack-o-lantern plant since it is right up front:
And these ones I am not sure which is which:
Regardless of which is which, I just have to tell you how excited James is for these pumpkins. He is thrilled to pieces, and I love, love, LOVE watching him get so excited about them each week. He has been known to drop whatever he is doing in the garden and rush over to the plants whenever anyone mentions there is a new pumpkin growing. He can hardly wait to carve them for Halloween, and I can hardly wait to watch him pick them from the vine, like a kid in a candy store. Our only trouble is that they stop watering the garden either on the first frost, or the first of October, which ever comes first, so we aren't too sure how long pumpkins last off the vine before cutting into them. I'll have to do some research on that, but for now it sure is fun watching them grow and watching James get so excited about them each week.
We have five pumpkins growing very nicely, and two more that are well on their way. We have two different kinds of plants; one is a triple treat pumpkin plant and the other is the standard jack-o-lantern plant.
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| Baby Pumpkin #1 |
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| Baby Pumpkin #2 |
It took a little while for the plants to become accustomed to the new soil, and I didn't think they were going to make it, but sure enough they did and very quickly they started to stretch out their tendrils and begin to flower. In fact, it wasn't long at all until new little pumpkins had started to emerge.
However, one day, while picking zucchini, James noticed that one of the zucchini plants had little vines on it. I knew that wasn't possible and so began our search to figure out what type of plant it was. Perhaps it was a leftover plant from something that was planted the year before (before we were there), or perhaps it was a weed in disguise (we got a lot of those things). We decided to wait it out and within the next week it too had a pumpkin starting to grow on it. That's when we figured out that one of the triple treat seeds must have been sheltered by the zucchini plant and was able to grow without anything eating it. And truth be told, I think there are two triple treat plants next to our zucchini. The only trouble we have is trying to find out which one is the triple treat and which one is the jack-o-lantern, because when we transplanted the jack-o-lantern starter plants we put one in the front of the garden and one in the back where the triple treats originally were. Did I lose you yet? :)
I know for sure that this one is a jack-o-lantern plant since it is right up front:
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| What a great looking pumpkin |
Thursday, September 8
Canning
Since the grasshoppers attacked our garden, we didn't get to can as much stuff as we had originally hoped. As I mentioned earlier, we were able to get a small crop of red Norland potatoes (which were so creamy and delicious) with one plant still alive and hopefully producing more. We love eating green beans and hoped to get a bunch of green beans canned. However, those pesky grasshoppers took them out in one blow, along with our pole beans that were just starting to grow. Even though they took out most of our garden, we were still able to harvest a lot of vegetables and fruit.
We've had a TON of zucchini and a good amount of squash:
We've had a lot of pickling cucumbers that we canned and divided up amongst James' family and us:
We've grown basil, thyme, sage, and parsley on our balcony and been able to use it not only in our everyday meals, but dry it as well to use later:
We've also been able to harvest about 65 or 70 tomatoes so far and James' mom was able to can whole tomatoes with the first round, and then we all canned diced tomatoes last week with half of what we picked that day. The other half was still a little unripe, so James' mom will be canning those into diced tomatoes once they ripen:
And James' mom also made us some strawberry jam as a surprise. It was a very welcome gift as we both love homemade strawberry jam:
I think I have about 35 bags of shredded zucchini and squash in my freezer, which makes me happy because I can use it throughout the winter for soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, breads, brownies, muffins, and cookies. Yummy!! So, even though the grasshoppers took out a good part of our garden, it makes me very happy that we were able to harvest so much out of the few remaining crops.
We've had a TON of zucchini and a good amount of squash:
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| This is one week's worth of vegetables |
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| 17.5 inches and 10 pounds! |
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| These are a small sampling of our pickles |
We've also been able to harvest about 65 or 70 tomatoes so far and James' mom was able to can whole tomatoes with the first round, and then we all canned diced tomatoes last week with half of what we picked that day. The other half was still a little unripe, so James' mom will be canning those into diced tomatoes once they ripen:
And James' mom also made us some strawberry jam as a surprise. It was a very welcome gift as we both love homemade strawberry jam:
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| Look at all that strawberry jam in front |
Tuesday, September 6
Sunflowers
Ok, so I know that I have been slacking here lately on posting things to my blog. I'm sure you all think it's because I'm super busy and have so many different things to do that I just simply don't have the time to update my blog. Well, I wish that were the case. See, I don't really feel good about 90% of the time, and the 10% of the time I do feel good is spent doing more important things like cleaning and organizing my home, spending time with my husband, and going to the garden. I'm sad to say there were two weeks I wasn't able to go to the garden due to being ill. However, my husband and my brother both went and took pictures and have just been working their little hearts out on our little piece of land. Want to see our garden grow? Check out this slideshow:
The grasshopper epidemic of this summer has since died down. They have successfully eaten all our carrots, onions, bush beans, pole beans, corn, marigolds, most of our potatoes (though we did get a small crop and have one plant still standing), my brothers broccoli, his carrots, his corn, and most of the petals on the sunflowers. They have not eaten our zucchini, crookneck squash, tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, my brother's cucumbers, his cherry tomatoes, our pumpkins, the horseradish, or the watermelons. Even though our garden (and all the others in the nearby vicinity) were hit hard by the grasshoppers, I am still amazed at how resilient some of our plants are. Case in point: the sunflowers. Let's talk about those for a minute.
The sunflower seeds we bought were Mammoth Gray Stripe Sunflowers. We purposely planted them as a trap crop, meaning that we would plant and grow them and use them to attract all the harmful insects and birds that would inevitably invade our garden. We had no intention of getting any other use out of them except for that. In essence, they were our designated sacrificial plants. We thought it would be cool if we could get some seeds out of them, but we wouldn't be upset if they were eaten, used, and abused by the bugs and animals and ended up dying all together.
And used they were. Once the swarm of locusts hit we were sure those poor sunflowers didn't stand a chance. Those wretch-ed pests just kept eating the leaves and hovering around the top of the plant where a flower was just ready to emerge. I will admit, it was a little heartbreaking to see such great plants be struck down by such vicious little beasts. One flower we lost all together, but the rest stood resolute in their places while grasshoppers feasted on their tender leaves.
Each week, as we drove out to the garden, our thoughts would turn toward the sunflowers and how we were sure this was the week we would find them all dead, their broken stems lying in the mud like small trees being cut down in a tiny forest. And each week we would be pleasantly surprised to not only see them still standing, but to see they had grown another foot as well. Those sunflowers just kept going! Finally, we saw a flower, but the grasshoppers had gotten to it before we even had a chance to take a picture and by the next week it was dead. Yet, still the sunflowers persevered.
Now, there are flowers popping up all over the place, and even some that have regrown their leaves and appear to be much stronger (if that's even possible) than the first ones hit. Some of the petals are still being eaten by the grasshoppers, but they still grow. The sunflowers still stand. They are still the bright spot in our garden.
I am just so amazed at how strong those sunflowers are. Sometimes I think about how it would be if I were a sunflower. Following the light of the sun all day I would absorb the rays and light as best I could. I would grow my roots strong and deep, and ration my water in times of drought. What would it be like to see the waves of locusts headed my way and not be able to move to a more sheltered location? Facing adversity under sheltered conditions takes some strength, but knowing what is coming, actually seeing the onslaught coming your way and facing it head on takes straight up courage. I know you're probably thinking that I'm being silly, that plants can't just pick up and move so they don't really have a choice. However, I think plants have the ability to fight. Our carrots, onions and sunflowers were all attacked by the same insect. The same swarm ate their way through most of our garden and the carrots, and onions were taken right out and didn't put up much of a fight. But those sunflowers did, and not only did they put up a fight, they continued to grow and found a way to cope with their circumstances.
The sunflower is my favorite flower and has been since I was a kid. Growing them in my garden this year has shown me a lot of different things about being strong through adversity, and still trying to thrive in even the worst of conditions. Next year I plan on planting a whole row of these flowers and see what sort of lessons they can teach me then.
The grasshopper epidemic of this summer has since died down. They have successfully eaten all our carrots, onions, bush beans, pole beans, corn, marigolds, most of our potatoes (though we did get a small crop and have one plant still standing), my brothers broccoli, his carrots, his corn, and most of the petals on the sunflowers. They have not eaten our zucchini, crookneck squash, tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, my brother's cucumbers, his cherry tomatoes, our pumpkins, the horseradish, or the watermelons. Even though our garden (and all the others in the nearby vicinity) were hit hard by the grasshoppers, I am still amazed at how resilient some of our plants are. Case in point: the sunflowers. Let's talk about those for a minute.
The sunflower seeds we bought were Mammoth Gray Stripe Sunflowers. We purposely planted them as a trap crop, meaning that we would plant and grow them and use them to attract all the harmful insects and birds that would inevitably invade our garden. We had no intention of getting any other use out of them except for that. In essence, they were our designated sacrificial plants. We thought it would be cool if we could get some seeds out of them, but we wouldn't be upset if they were eaten, used, and abused by the bugs and animals and ended up dying all together.
And used they were. Once the swarm of locusts hit we were sure those poor sunflowers didn't stand a chance. Those wretch-ed pests just kept eating the leaves and hovering around the top of the plant where a flower was just ready to emerge. I will admit, it was a little heartbreaking to see such great plants be struck down by such vicious little beasts. One flower we lost all together, but the rest stood resolute in their places while grasshoppers feasted on their tender leaves.
Each week, as we drove out to the garden, our thoughts would turn toward the sunflowers and how we were sure this was the week we would find them all dead, their broken stems lying in the mud like small trees being cut down in a tiny forest. And each week we would be pleasantly surprised to not only see them still standing, but to see they had grown another foot as well. Those sunflowers just kept going! Finally, we saw a flower, but the grasshoppers had gotten to it before we even had a chance to take a picture and by the next week it was dead. Yet, still the sunflowers persevered.
Now, there are flowers popping up all over the place, and even some that have regrown their leaves and appear to be much stronger (if that's even possible) than the first ones hit. Some of the petals are still being eaten by the grasshoppers, but they still grow. The sunflowers still stand. They are still the bright spot in our garden.
I am just so amazed at how strong those sunflowers are. Sometimes I think about how it would be if I were a sunflower. Following the light of the sun all day I would absorb the rays and light as best I could. I would grow my roots strong and deep, and ration my water in times of drought. What would it be like to see the waves of locusts headed my way and not be able to move to a more sheltered location? Facing adversity under sheltered conditions takes some strength, but knowing what is coming, actually seeing the onslaught coming your way and facing it head on takes straight up courage. I know you're probably thinking that I'm being silly, that plants can't just pick up and move so they don't really have a choice. However, I think plants have the ability to fight. Our carrots, onions and sunflowers were all attacked by the same insect. The same swarm ate their way through most of our garden and the carrots, and onions were taken right out and didn't put up much of a fight. But those sunflowers did, and not only did they put up a fight, they continued to grow and found a way to cope with their circumstances.
The sunflower is my favorite flower and has been since I was a kid. Growing them in my garden this year has shown me a lot of different things about being strong through adversity, and still trying to thrive in even the worst of conditions. Next year I plan on planting a whole row of these flowers and see what sort of lessons they can teach me then.
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