Garden Fuss

Yesterday I searched the garage for the "bulb" container I used to store my Canna rhizomes and Dahlia Bulbs. I would have had success storing these if it hadn't have gotten so cold and my memory would have kicked in sooner. This is one of those situations where in hind sight I should have gone with my first mind and brought them into the house instead of thinking a little cold would do them good. Well as you can tell from my little memory sequence, I have lost several  plants due to sure ignorance and inexperience. As I held the soggy stinky mass of yuck I started to rethink the plants that fill in the space near my central air unit. I'm now thinking Zinnias for the same pop in color but they won't be as tall as the dinner plate dahlia or cannas. They'll be close to the house and easy to water so here goes a try.  Well, as more seasoned gardeners say "you win some, and you lose some" (my mother in-law that is). For now I'm going to keep moving f

The last pumpkin has been served in this delicious chocolate chip pumkin bread. 4 cups of puree remain to await their contribution to another confection or savory concoction. But for now I can't wait for game night tonight with he neighbors. SO MUCH FUN and so much good food! The Recipe for this pumpkinee dish can be found at:  http://thedishondelish.blogspot.com/2008/11/pumpkin-bread-mulled-cider.html  In case you're itchin to try it and don't want to go that far I'll list it right here. Thank you for the recipe Elizabeth! _______________________________________________________________________ Pumpkin bread 2 cups canned pumpkin (or fresh pumpkin puree) 1 cup canola oil 4 eggs 2/3 cup water 3 cups granulated sugar 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray three (medium/smallish) bread loaf pans. In a large b

Here lies the last pumpkin from the 2009 growing season. It is still sweet and was full of luscious creamy orange flesh waiting to be turned into bread and/or pie tomorrow. This makes me want to get full on into the 2010 growing season which is just now starting to heat up. Now that I think about it I have not started any Jarrhadale from seed yet. I better hop to that tomorrow as well! I and the rest of Minnesota am already enjoying almost 80 degree weather to the fullest. However, tomorrow when it does make it to 80 degrees I don't know what I'll do with myself. Oh yeah, I remember I'll be mulching and planting peppers (oh, and starting a new batch of pumpkins *wink*). YAY SPRING!!!

Mmm good!

This has been the mot schizophrenic weather here in Minnesota this year. We finally get snow and record amounts at that followed by an early thaw and almost 80 degree weather in April. Now our May has been record lows with rain and even snow......... Well, in spite of the colder conditons I have still managed to split and/or share rasberries, borage, red russian kale, pepper mint(which I should have grown in a pot), and mustard greens. The majority of our cabbage plants have been eaten or died but we have one still holding on strong. The cold weather has helped the cruciferous veggies. Although the purple cauliflower has been bitten up thank God I have extras to go in. In no time we will have tall fat brussel sprout stalks. This year I won't pull them up so soon. They love the cold and even tolerate a little snow. I can smell the picle brine already! As far as my friend the deer, she was hanging out at Fort Snelling Park near the road. Nothing spooked her, and we even saw two of he

Who likes to weed? I don't know anyone who likes it but it is essential to the health of plants you do want Not to let those plants you don't want steal valuable sun and nutrients from the soil. Today we are getting rid of the excess tasty Borage that has so generously volunteered itself all over the place. We will be trying this tasty bee food in a variety of ways this year and will keep you posted. Both the leaves and the fowers are edible and nutritious. We have several people picking these extra volunteers up today for their gardens and will probably have more than enough later in the season for those who are interested in trying this gardeners friend. Who can get enough of Tulips? I can't!!!! They are all doing their thing in the garden as well and I couldn't be happier. After having 2 years of bald patchy soil we are blessed with an abundance of blooms that the dog hasn't trampled yet. OH JOY!!!! The Pagoda Dogwood is lifting up it's beautiful leaves a

This is the BIG ~ Mini project we had been putting off due to weather and just pure plain busyness. In our exuberance and excitement over 70 degree weather we transplanted some seedlings too early and didn't heed the cool evening/morning temps nor our strict watering regimen. MY BAD!! **blush ~ blush** I thought it would work out better for me and my two cohorts (hubby and daughter) if we devised a system that could take full advantage of the not so unusual bipolar Minnesota warm then freezing weather without killing all our precious transplants in the process. So since we have ample garden and yard space we took on the task of a greenhouse. I always hear rave revues about this system and truthfully it has been working on a micro level wth the milk jugs so I figured why not? Take a look at the pictures and see for yourself the end result. DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN COMING SOON.

So many projects so little time to blog!!! As an update t our earlier reuse pronouncement I am sending these pictures of some well established veggies IN reused kitchen cabinet. We knew we wanted a structure tall and deep enough to easily garden root vegetables like beets and carrots, and also allowed us easier access to lower grown veggies items like flat leaf lettuce. Right now it isn't the prettiest but it's functional. I will be adding a How We Did It section to this posting later because I have even more updates for you.

I can't tell you enough about how excited I am with this Winter Sowing ! As you can see from the pictures below the seeds are germinating like crazy in their recycled plastic containers and I couldn't be more pleased. What I notice most about this process of starting plants from seeds is the strength of the seedlings themselves. They are stout sturdy little buggers! Just as a little science/botany project I started some of the same seeds in our aquarium system. The aquarium plants are much longer and thinner than the seedlings started outside the "natural" way by Winter Sowing. I highly recommend this method of gardening for everyone. Not only will it put to use some of those annoying plastic containers we all struggle with getting rid of. It gives us a way to more easily start the process of gardening.  The pictures below if you can't read the labels are: Sweet William, Cosmos, and Sugar Daddy Peas. Here is how it all started a month ago.

 After hardening off for a few days we planted our cool weather vegetables. This includes our cabbage, brussel sprouts, purple cauliflower leeks, red and Georgia onions. In addition to these seedlings we transplanted, we also have sowed directly our collard greens, kale, and swiss chard. Thanks to a local gardener who had an abundance of plants, we now have more daylillies, and two other mystery plants that he wanted to thin out as well. We are so excited about them growing and blooming so we can identify them and give you an update. I like surprises, especially when they will grow 6 to 8 feet tall with bloom and keep my beagle from visiting the sweet young sheila two houses over. Oh and on a side note our winter sowing has been a success so far. I'm actually on my way out to water and check the progress and will be updating pictures for you later this evening or tomorrow morning at the latest. So far what I know is up and germinated are the following: Mother of T

 Apparently after looking at the huge water bill the last 2 months and listening to the *drip, drip, drip* coming from the bathroom....We are in need of a new toilet! Oh joy oh joy a new pot to....you know!!!! LOL Anyway happy planting we still have a few more hours to get out there and do some planting today. Tomorrow will be a busy day for us as we are getting a few bags of daylillies from a member of freecycle . I love freecycle you can get rid of perfectly good items and pick up items you are in need of that someone else is getting rid of like glorious daylillies. And guess what? All this for free! I love how neighbors help neighbors. How do you help neighbors in your community?

This time a couple years ago I lost one of the loves of my life. My Grandma Willie was a wonderful woman who had so many skills in the kitchen and garden I wished she had time left on the earth to share them all with me and the rest of the world. As a memorial to my grandmother I have finally gotten the guts to attempt making what I believe is a great recreation of her coconut cake. So far so good everything came out wonderfully! I have yet to taste it myself, but my daughter says it's beyond "The Bomb", and my son is sleeping but tasted the icing and loved it.  Tonight I've chosen to show the finished product first and then the step by step process of making it. I will be adding a recipe soon, but I am so beat I have to lay it down for a while. Please enjoy the beautiful photo of the cake I am really proud and humbled after this cathartic experience.

It's been two and a half weeks since we started the tomato seedlings and as you can see they are coming along quite nicely. They have been moved to a window where they can get some natural sunlight. I have turned off the bottom heater since they are so big and strong. They almost 80 degree weather we have had today makes me itch to get them outside soon. It won't be long now, and it looks like we will have a bumper crop to croon about.   The cabbage, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower are all getting their true leaves and will be going into the ground in the next two weeks or so. I am thinking that I will start hardening them off next week. They were started on or around the 3rd of March so their 4 weeks old. I will also sow a couple seeds directly into the ground for a later harvest mid summer. I didn't take a picture of the leeks but they are performing very well. They will also be planted in the garden in the next couple of weeks and are sharing a spot on the window sill

This breakfast was inspired by something I watched on food network last week. Theirs was a savory dinner version which I can't wait to try soon with some grilled pork chops or chicken and a nice gravy or sauce. Earlier I stated that "So far so good the 8 year old likes it". This is true for the hubby, and I have to admit this is going to pretty much be a staple breakfast or dessert in our home. For dessert I would add a nice dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream and some fresh berries drizzled with honey. Since this was breakfast I fried a couple eggs "sunny side up" and voila I'm done until lunch. Click Here for the recipe.

Hey y'all I'm Ebony (Bugzy for short...lol), and I'm excited to say that this is my first post and there will be a lot more coming. While franksgreengirl (mom for short) will be keeping you up to date with the garden, I will be adding the seasonal recipes our family makes with the produce we harvest from our garden. The recipes that I post will be easy and delicious. We will both be adding information on the different ways to preserve your fruits and vegetables for the winter season. Mom likes to make jams, jellies, pickles and preserves so expect to learn a lot about those. I hope that these recipes will get you excited about growing your own garden and using your own produce. In addition to all of this I will be covering the different mini projects that happen around our house both in the kitchen and out when mom is still toiling away in the garden. I hope that you find this information helpful and make your time in the house and/or garden just a little more enjoyable.

There has been quite the debate in my family of late on whether it is possible to successfully use the winter sowing process for warm weather plants like Okra, tomatoes, peas and so forth. Winter Sowing is a process where you use recycleable containers as miniature green houses to start "hardy" seedlings outdoors during the winter months. This is supposed to be an easy method of germinating seeds that if done successfully will allow you to save #1. money, #2. time, and #3. time & money. First off it is very feasable financially to buy seeds and germinate them by direct sowing, in-door starting, and/or winter sowing. The cost to start your garden whether vegetable, herb, or flower could start to break the bank if you are purchasing plants instead of seeds. Starting seeds on time for the upcoming growing season can take a lot of work and planning and if inexperienced can also take a bite out of your wallet. Expenses that can sneak up on you are things like

I was reading an article in the local paper about how many people are planning their garden for the first time in our area and around the country. I think that people garden for so many reasons and it's not always about being strapped for cash and needing food to eat. For me gardening has been a way for me to become more mobile, bridge the generation gaps between me and older adults in my family, and a way to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life. I hope this small blurb about my interest in gardening will make you think deeply about why you garden and how important it is to pass on this valuable knowledge to future gardeners big and small. When we moved into our home 3 years ago I knew I would be digging into the unknown soil and cultivating something edible if only a cucumber or tomato. Now I'm cultivating relationships with all the neighbors on my block as well as beautiful and tasty heirloom flowers & vegetables. Our first growing season our family ha

The Rhubarb is already poking it's pretty pink heads through the ground. I can't wait to harvest it since last year was pretty much for show since it was a new transplant to our garden. This year we get to harvest 1/2 or it and next year all of it. I'm thinking about adding more to our garden in the back, or a huge pile in the front. It's great to eat in a crumble with strawberries and rasberries which we also grow in our garden. I love spring!!!!

I couldn't resist another picture of this fabulous meal. It started with the left over turkey the hubby fried for New Years that we froze bones and all. I then made a stock with the bones and residual meat. I added garlic onions a new herb mix I'm trying out, and the glorious plump purple hull peas straight from Mississippi my in-laws brought back. Combine everything after removing the turkey bones and make your best home-made cornbread. Follow that up with a nice Zinfandel or other white wine to knock off the Minnesota chill. What did Julia say? BON APETIT!

Happy Friday it is so cold today after a long beautiful week in the 50's and above. It's time for a little comfort food while I contemplate what seeds to start next.

So I made a trip to mother earth garden center to get the grow pellets for the tomatoes and they already had tomato plants thriving on their in-door display shelf/nursery. I was going to wait until next week to start but became so encouraged by what I witnessed I had to start right away. We will be starting some tomatoes in the pellets and some in the organic potting mix tonight. As with the other plants we grow we will keep you well informed of our status. The types we are starting today are: Black Krim (heirloom) Old German (heirloom) Speckled Roma (heirloom paste) Beefsteak (heirloom sandwich tomato) Chocolate Cherry Large Red Cherry Ground Cherry (physallis or husk tomato for jams and jellies)

Today I have started the task of killing.... I mean thinning all the viable seedlings that have just overcrowded their small pots. I enlisted the help of the hubby and I think it was harder on him than it was for me. Many gardeners beginning or otherwise feel a little like they're choosing one child over the other (which you are kind of ) and it's a little disturbing at first. However, I tried to put it in perspective for the hubby by citing what happens in nature and that it's called "survival of the fittest". As you can see from the photo we have two purple cauliflower in one container. One of these has to be cut down with scissors at soil level to just one plant or transplanted to it's own pot to become the fittest.  One strong plant in it's own pot can develop fruit or flowers later on and won't have to compete for nutrients with several other plants. Also, plants that are crowded in pots don't get enough air circulating around them or water an

It's so gloomy today that I needed something comforting that would fill me up knock off the chill and remind me of the great green things to come. Since I'm trying to watch my waistline too this recipe hit the spot.