Garden Fuss

Ok, you are not seeing things...lol... there is a strawberry next to the ground cherry in this photo, but I wanted to show the size of these little delicacies also known by their scientific name  (Physalis Pruinosa) . The plant we are next to is stocked full of little cherries. In the next few days we should have our first real harvest (i.e. more than one lil straggler to hide from the boy I mean share with the boy) .  I am so excited about these that I have been checking the little bush twice a day. Even when I know the little man of the house will beat me to it every time. He had the first two that he described as a sweet toffee taste. I have to tell you he has developed a quick addiction to these little berries. I love fruit and I love toffee, and the thought of getting all that flavor from one small marble sized fruit is pretty enticing to me.   I have heard and read that they have a pineapple, cherry, or tomato taste but never toffee. I'm thinking that the cocoa mulc...

As a young girl I grew up in a home with the best apple tree in the world. Why was it so amazing? Well, because it was outside my bedroom window and it was perfect for climbing, hanging upside down like a monkey, and eating super fruit of course!!! Today while working on my family website and making plans for this years Cookie Exchange; I actually had time to read my email. There I ran into an article about growing apples and preserving their essence while growing by using nylon footies. You know the kind you find at famous footwear? This is one of the coolest ideas I have ever read about in my pursuits to become a better more efficient gardener. While our family currently is foregoing the planting of an apple tree, this tip may come in handy next year. It is so amazing what you can find on the web! Please check out this Regional Report from the :: National Gardening Association  called "Baggin' my Apples" to find out how you can grow and protect the most fruits of your ...

pressure from the gales first pushed the downspouts right off in a SPLASH! The poor cockerbeag shook like a leaf under my legs. The house began to shake.... Was it from the poor pooches nerves? Straight line winds, Minnesota monsoon? What ever that storm was we didn't want to be caught in it. This morning the damage is miniscule. Our old patio table made it even though it's laying on it's side missing support from the big beautiful umbrella. From where I a standing I can see something has gottentwisted in the pea section. Please let there be peas left Lord.....TO BE CONTINUED.....

Who is super excited about our first root vegie harvest? We are!!! The beets look fabo and so do the carrots. As you can see from the pictures our lil man of the house rocked on out when he saw purple, white, and yellow carrots in the bunch. Since they are 75 days to full maturity I am going to quickly sow more to have as a treat later this fall. I just could not resist grabbing a bunch for lunch this afternoon after going salsa crazy yesterday.

The slug and now grass hopper invasion started me thinking about other "green" alternatives at my disposal to turn the tides on them. Last year we hatched preying mantis babies to find a cozy spot for the summer. This year my approach is the same only something a little higher up on the food chain. While clicking through about.com for some information on companion planting and beneficial insects I came across an article about toads and other garden guests that we sometimes overlook in our pursuit of all other things green. I am not a squeemish woman (usually), and I happen to love frogs and toads and salamanders. My obsession with amphibians started at an early age. I remember every detail of  myself as a 5 year old and my 3 year old brother liberating all the red and gold salamanders from the fish tank as a child. I told them that they could sleep in my room but they thought underneath the couch cushions was a comfier option. They probably thought ...

Tomato crazy lady sounds better than Crazy lady with too many tomato plants. At least that's is what I think about the situation. After several chilly frozen months filled with planning and dreams of green all around, and weeks of caring for precious seedlings; I some how ended up with 21 tomato plants in the garden. I am an urban gardener, Translation: I do not own 10 or even 2 acres. I love tomatoes like the next semi gardening fanatic. However, these beautiful specimens have to be scaled down to a reasonable number that can be managed by a party of two. 6 to 8 plants would be optimal, but my enthusiasm kind of got the better of me, plus I had a friend or two "gift" me some of their favorites and just couldn't say no. So today I was faced with the dilemma of choosing which plants to pinch or chuck into the compost bin. Luckily for me our neighborhood recyclable team showed up before I made a decision I would regret. I was able to gift 2 mystery tomato plants...

German Baby Pancakes or Dutch Baby Pancakes 1 cup all-purpose flour 6 eggs - beaten 1 cup milk 4 Tablespoons melted butter 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/8 cup of sugar Sauce Recipe.... 1 lemon or orange 1/2 cup powdered sugar Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Insert your pan for about 5 minutes until heated through. (I use an iron skillet and/or muffin pan) Sift flour and salt into bowl and make a well in the center. Grate 1/2 of your lemon or orange into the flour mixture. Beat together remaining ingredients in seperate bowl then pour into bowl of dry ingredient. Just stir until lumpy DON'T over stir.  Take pans out of oven or off of stove and add the butter. Make sure to use a pot holder and turn pan(s) sideways to distribute melted butter. Pour batter into the hot buttered pans and  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. If you can see into your oven while baking you will notice that the pancake(s) will begin to puff up while baking. When done, you can cut your big pancake ...