Planting Day !!!! March 17

 Oh how I love planting day!!  This year I was a week early. With the false spring we had, actually it was just damn early, I felt like I was late.
  Everything in my garden has broken a full month earlier .My apricot , plum and pomegranate trees all have fruit starting. I have also added 2 more trees, an Anna apple and a local nectarine variety. 
  One of this years projects is making homemade solar dryers for the fruit. I plan on using  some old kitchen cabinet drawers found at a yard sale. I'm sure it will be posted later in the year. 
   On the road side of the trees I have seeded some corn and soybeans. I plan to keep corn in the flood plain but will rotate it with soybeans. I am staggering blocks of corn planting them 2 weeks apart. The first seedlings have broken ground and next week I will plant the second block. No sign of any soybeans yet. 

The grapes are growing like a weed and already have tons of fruit. This year I will plan on trying some white grape jelly . I was overwhelmed last year with grapes and not prepared. Looks like Garden Girl needs a new face!

 The main garden is getting an overhaul. Due to intense planting the last 5 years I am seriously rotating my crops. I have moved the jalapeño and yellow peppers to the far side and added an extra row of potatoes. I did enjoy growing them last year . No more crazy straw planting or big potato bins. Hilling  with dirt is fine. I have plenty of garden space and they grow well that way. 
  I have planted pea seeds in the former pepper rows. It will be interesting to see how they grow and hopefully they will renourish that area. My kale is still growing great and I see no need to pull it up as I just keep cutting the tops off. 
   I am also growing zucchini, only 2 plants as it is more than enough for us , and I have increased the spaghetti squash to 6 plants. That was an enjoyable vege for us last year. 
  The eggplants were reduced to 2 as I'm the only one who eats them and In its place I have increased the asparagus plot. They are doing well and maybe we will get enough for a dinner or 2 this year. 
  The tomatillos have been moved  to the outside of the pen along with the Roma and San Remo Italian cooking tomatoes . This will increase my growing space  and I can use the pen sides as support. Last years planting of onions between the plants was a great success. I will definitely do that again.

 

My citrus looks like it has finally bounced back . Even the tangerine has blossoms. Hopefully we will have some citrus and they will start to grow. I wanted dwarf plants but geesh this is ridiculous .      The onions are growing like weeds . I let them go to seed last year and am  thinning them as I use them. My Bell peppers and Anaheims will be next to the onions as well as a slow  bolting form of lettuce I found at the nursery.

The most exciting thing of all is that my Hass avocado is blooming. Crossing our fingers for Avocados this year !!!

FRIED GOOSE EGGS ????????

  Yup I finally did it. I made a fried goose egg. So far Mother Goose has laid 5 eggs. As I get strange looks anytime I try to give them away and my husband has threatened to leave me if I feed him goose scrambled eggs , I gave frying a shot. To be honest it is not something I will do again. I have no problem with over easy runny yolks but this one is about 1/4 cup of yolk. Too much yolk for me. In addition the white has a strange spongy consistency after being cooked. No more goose fried egg for me.

Hummingbird heaven!!

  Yes I have a little bit of hummingbird heaven right here in my garden. the bees and butterflies appreciate it too!   It just seems like yesterday, actually 2 months ago,that I cut this back to the ground . With this false spring we had , actually an early spring, it has really taken off.
  

                                                                       

  Good thing too because this little hummer has returned to the nest built 2 years ago on an extension cord. Excited for more baby hummingbirds !!!

Broccoli, broccoli and more broccoli !!!!

 The broccoli in my winter garden grew great guns and I am ashamed to say I did not take advantage of my bumper crop. We had an extremely early spring and the 80 degree weather in February caught me off guard. A large portion of my plants bolted before I had a chance to eat all of it .I did have some very happy chickens as most of the month broccoli was on the menu. 
                                 

At the end of it all I had a lightening bolt idea! I should try and freeze some! DUH !!! Well all I can say is next year I will be more prepared. The reason for keeping this blog.

  I guess my winter broccoli never did this well. I am planning more broccoli next winter and will definitely give the seal-a-meal it's work out. I have used all of the broccoli bags but one and it was definitely acceptable. 

                             

                          

                                       

As I had a lot of almost blooming broccoli and stems , soup came to mind. Honestly it did have a bit of a pithy texture but very tasty and it froze excellent as well. I have enjoyed many tasty  quick soup lunches the last month or so!!!

 

More pickle recipes !!!! Does this woman ever stop?

I have been making these for a few years now.  They are the Better homes and Gardens Bread and butter pickles. My mother loves these .She says they are the closest to her childhood pickles. She can eat a jar of these at a time. Yes they are a bit time consuming but my Moms worth it.

 

Classic Bread & Butter Pickles Read Reviews 23Kviews 16 users rated this recipe an average rating of 4.0 Makes: 40 servings Serving Size: 1/4 cup Yields: 5 pints Prep: 1 hr Chill: 3 hrs to 24 hrs Ingredients 12 cups 1/4-inch thick slices small cucumbers (about 4 lb.) 2 medium onions, thinly sliced 6 tablespoons kosher or pickling salt 4 cups crushed ice 3 cups granulated sugar 3 cups cider vinegar 2 tablespoons mustard seeds 2 teaspoons celery seeds 4 1/4-inch thick slices slices unpeeled fresh ginger Directions 1. In a large bowl gently toss the cucumbers, onions, and kosher salt. Transfer to colander set in extra-large bowl, layering with ice, and finishing with a layer of ice. Weight with heavy plate. Chill overnight, up to 24 hours. 2. Meanwhile, for pickling syrup, in large nonreactive (stainless, enamel, or nonstick) saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and ginger. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool, cover, and refrigerate until ready to proceed with recipe. 3. After cucumbers have chilled, remove any unmelted ice and discard any liquid in bowl. Transfer cucumber mixture to nonreactive Dutch oven. 4. Strain syrup through a large sieve lined with cheesecloth over cucumbers. Bring mixture just to a low boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. 5. With a large spoon transfer cucumbers to hot sterilized pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Bring syrup in Dutch oven to boiling. Ladle hot syrup over pickles to cover. Wipe jar rims with damp cloth. Put on lids and screw bands. To seal, invert jars until cool. Store in refrigerator. Makes 5 pints (40 1/4-cup servings).

Wahoo!!!! More pickle recipes!!!!

This is my husbands favorite! Reminds him of home. Yes it 's just good old pickles and onions in vinegar. Who doesn't remember these. I don't know why or how they dropped from my dinner menus. They were a staple in my house too. In fact my father still makes it to this day. 


Quick Pickled Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 2 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Cook's Note

Salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 4 hours.

Directions

1. Step 1

   In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, red onion, sugar, and rice vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

This recipe was from Martha Stewart, normally I don't like her recipes but I was unsure of quantities and this seemed to work well. Used regular vinegar however.

Pickles anyone?

 I grew 2 types of cucumbers this year. A regular one, sorry don't remember the name, and Armenian cucumbers. The Armenian cucumber, also called the snake cucumber,  is an interesting variety. They grow to 24" long and are approximately  2" wide. Mine never really grew that long as I would pick them early when they are firm.

 

This was the year of the pickle experiment. Above was my first try. It was a countertop brewing method. Didn't really care for it as the pickles were cloudy and that freaked me out. I'm a big botulism scardy-cat. The taste was alright but I eventually found a refrigerator pickle that was more suited me.  
 
I used the Armenian cucumber the most. As I am the only pickle eater in the household now, miss you Erin, I would make them in pint jars and slice them in chips. The Armenian pickle was small in diameter and very firm so it was best suited to the smaller jar. It was so fast and easy to make I would make 2 per week and always have pickles that were ready .

Refrigerator Kosher Dill Pickles

   

  By price403

Ingredients:

Serves: 16

Yield:
Yield 1.0

1

Yield

• quart

quart

Units: US | Metric

Pickling Liquid

• 1 1/2 cups water, boiled and cooled
• 1 cup white vinegar, 5% acidity

For each quart jar add

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons dill seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 -6 cucumbers (depending on size)

Directions:

1.  
   Add salt and spices to each jar. Add cucumbers sliced, whole (ends trimmed) or spears, packing them in tightly. Fill jar to within 1/2 inch of the top. Add pickling liquid to cover the cucumbers. Put a lid and ring on the jar and shake for a few seconds to distribute the salt and spices evenly. Refrigerate for 7 days, shaking the jar for a few seconds every day. These will last approximately 6 months in the refrigerator.

This recipe is for a quart jar, I would put 1/2 of the spices in each pint jar. I also would not use the red pepper flakes. As I love a bit of heat , I don't care for them in pickles. Honestly they are no Clausen but for the the freshness and money you spend its a great deal. I have continued to make these with store bought cucumbers. Its nice to know whats in my food!!!!

                     

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It's still Christmas in my garden!

The avocados were planted the first year of the garden rebirth. I had read an article on planting 3 varieties close by each other and keeping them short. You can't see the poor little tree behind these two because the Mexican Avocado , Jose,  is a stick with 3 leaves. Erik refuses to let me change him out until all the leaves are gone. The man does possess eternal hope. 

  Last year we had a prolonged frost that heavily damaged the avocados and citrus. They bounced back but this took a heavy toll on production.
 Growing fruit and citrus is not for the impatient . 

Patience has never been a word to describe my husband Erik. As he dug the holes for the trees a part of him was invested in the garden. He loves those trees .So much so he has created the arsenal of heat to protect them. 

We now have not only a propane heater , but also have draped them with red old time Christmas lights. One day we will get an avocado.

Hopefully.....

Celebrate the little things in life!

Finding this little volunteer cilantro plant amongst my onions reminded me to celebrate the little things in life . Good things happen to us every day !     

Also that I'm half way  to salsa!!!!!

Update on winter garden ...oops is it January already!!!!!

After harvesting the onions the first week of September I planted a seed mix of salad greens .Mainly Arugula came up but we did have an interesting curly leaf green also sprout.  Think it was escarole. A bit tough but an interesting addition. I don't know if you can tell but my onions reseeded themselves. I decided to just let everything grow where it wanted.  

  As you can tell the onions are growing great guns. I plan on moving them as they get bigger. Most of the arugula has already bolted due to our strange warm temps. I cut it back and I'm sure it will continue to grow.

In the main garden the first week of September I planted broccoli, kale, spinach, bokchoy cabbage, purple cabbage and Brussels sprouts. All of these were from 6 pack plants. As I did not plan the drip for the winter season I decided to double back on shorter rows and water 1/2 as much. Worked great.

Now its the first week of January, I have broccoli to spare. My bokchoy bolted along with the arugula. I have decided to use the lower leaves still and keep the flowers to collect seeds for next year. Bokchoy has proven to be very easy to seed outdoors in the fall .I'm trying to keep seeds of plants that do well in my area and this is one of them. The cabbage is doing ok .Its just a slow grower and due to the cabbage moths /worms arriving when it starts to grow I'm not so sure it will stay in my planting rotation .Were not big cabbage eaters anyways.

This is my first year with brussell sprouts. They are doing well .Hopefully I can make them properly. I saw a bacon onion grilled recipe on a cooking show. That is my plan ,Erik will eat anything with bacon on it.

Another great surprise was the kale. Yes its there next to my monster broccoli. Its smaller because I pick it all the time. I tried kale chips but they were quickly given the thumbs down by not only my husband but also the dog. Trust me this dog eats everything, everything but kale chips. So what I do is eat it raw as a mid morning snack and hide it in stir fry and salads.

Hopefully now that the summer / Holiday selling rush is over I can catch up on the blog. I have lots of pictures I took and need to make notes on . Plus next years plan!!