Garden Fuss

For weeks I have debated on how I would plant this lone peanut plant. Believe me when I say it really was a task coming up with something because there have been casualties....... Well, until I drove by a local urban CSA whose name is escaping me just now I had no clue how to keep this plant safe. This CSA is using a form of straw bale gardening (which I would love to know more about) for their produce. As I drove by the light bulb just FLASHED! So one morning this week as I contemplated activities for myself and the little one to accomplish.(I guess that was Monday) I found some old chicken wire I was hoarding for such an occasion and popped the strings on our newest seating arrangement (the straw bale); opened up two bags of composted manure and went to town with this container?.... After ripping up and tossng the 5 poor looking bokchoy that freakishly went to seed with barely 4 leaves I began making a double loop or tube which I secured into he ground with no less than 4 garden stak

After investigating frothy masses that were showing up on the thyme and savory in our herb garden we found that we had red aphids and a bug I never remember seeing before called spittle bugs. Thanks to the genius of google (yes that was a shout out) I was able to not only find pictures but great descriptions and tips on dealing with these honery bugs. After spraying the plants with water last week as suggested I saw no improvement in the spittle population. So being proactivethis year is my resoluton so beneficials were the first thing to pop into mind. This meant a trip to our local nursery Mother Earth Gardens where they seem to always have what I need for the job (accept for nasturtium seeds today but they'll be more soon). With us and the rest of the country experiencing record heat or close to it I picked up some much needed straw bales to mulch in the now super sized strawberry plants and our garden walkway. Sitting on the counter was a bag of busy freshly hatched or molted l

Today included a busy morning of sowing some of the last seeds, corms, and seedlings into the garden beds. I am so excited about the addition of more perrenial herbs to the herb section in the middle of our large veggie bed. Sorrel and lemon grass are the latest additions as well as a red cilantro I picked up from the "Friends School Plant Sale". So far so good as far as the early peas go. They are about an inch to two inches tall now. If it doesn't get too hot too fast I see lots of nummy pods in our future. Some of the seeds sown today included georgia collards, parsnips, edmame soy beans, green beans, burgundy beans, purple hull peas, swiss chard (red), turnip, kholrabi, and golden beets. The plants we put in (Eb came home from work in time to provide a much needed assist) included two types of mystery tomato plants. Which could be old german and/or chocolate cherry.(one ofthe kids lost the tags when moving to greenhouse). This brings our current tomato plant count to

Not 1 minute into prairie grass planting

It's taken me a few days to get this recipe typed and ready to go. I sure hope you all have survived the wait and are ready for a taste of summer? Without further a do here is the recipe. Quantina's Mango Bread Pudding with Coconut (c) Ingredients: 1 loaf (4-5 cups) old cinnamon bread (no raisins) cubed 4 slices of day old white bread 2 cups milk 1 1/4 cup evaporated milk 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 - 14 oz can condensed milk 1/4 cup dried coconut flakes (unsweetened) 5 large eggs 1 cup sugar 2 ripe mango's diced Method: 1. Scald 2 cups milk & evaporated milk 2. Add one can condensed milk & vanilla 3.  Whisk 4 large eggs & 1 cup sugar until all sugar is dissolved  4. Slowly combine 1/4 cup of milk to the eggs continuing to stir as to temper them 5. Add egg mixture to the rest of milk (stirring so you don't get scrambled eggs) 6. Add Mango & Bread 7. Let mixture sit at least 1 hour in the refrigerator 8. Pour pudding into well buttered bakin

Speaking of the market again, I think I need to mention again the many cheeses to be had. To nosh on a fresh curd made this past Wednesday, a fresh garlic cheese that is buttery smooth *my favorite btw*. A peppery jalapeno, and sharp sharp cheddar. That's all I had time to try today but I look forward to the smoked cheddar and ghouda which I hope to have with a piping hot smoked sausage from the sausage shop down the way. Follow the links to some of the closest markets in our area, and be sure to stop by and support locally farmed, raised, and produced products. Minneapolis Farmers Market   Midtown Farmers Market Kingfield Farmers Market Mill City Farmers Market St. Paul Farmers Market Who knows maybe we'll run into each other and fuss and discuss this whole food revolution.  :o)