| Blog series by MsDebbieP consisting of 32 parts so far |
Part 1: Fruit & Nut Trees
March 2, 2008I am enjoying Catspaw’s journal of his seeds and I thought it would be nice to list what I am growing so I can go back to this next year. Whether I keep it up and refer back to it is another issue all together but I won’t know unless I try. So here goes. Fruit & Nut Trees (Thus Far) Apple: dwarf apple tree. “Deb…” something or other. Purchased because of the name. VERY delicious apple. Last year Rick did a big pruning job on it and it was...
Part 2: Fruit Bushes
March 2, 2008 Fruit Bushes (Thus Far) Red Currant: Two bushes. One bush was here when we moved in over 25 years ago. It is huge and is covered in berries each year. The second bush is about 5 years old and also provides a lot of fruit. We’ve never done much with these bushes except prop up the branches. Raspberries: We have two rows of canes, both planted about 3 years ago. Last year we had an abundance of fruit in the fall as well. Rhubarb: not a bush but since it com...
Part 3: Blueberries
April. 28. 2008 I finally got my blueberries! After years of “someday” 2008 was going to be the year that it happened. I tried ordering them from the place I got my strawberries but they were all out already. Doh… there was a moment of panic, let me tell you—for a brief moment I worried that I wouldn’t be able to find any bushes (silly thought but I thought it anyway). Friday, I bought three bushes at a garden centre and some peat moss. Yesterday I picked u...
Part 4: Frittata Recipe
Rick and I were watching a cooking show and a delicious looking dish was created that just got our mouths watering. So, adapting the recipe to use what I had on hand this is what I came up with: 1. heavily butter a cake pan (so frittata will come out easily after cooking) 2. put a bunch of spinach in the bottom (lots)—I have several spinach plants that came up from last year and I was able to get enough young leaves to do the trick3. add layer of chopped (boiled) potato4. add layer o...
Part 5: It's Planted!
May 24, 2008 Yes, indeed – the garden is in. It’s not completely finished (that will be done tomorrow) but the majority is done. Woo hoo.. Finally. That’s it.. short and sweet—and no pictures. We’re off to bonfire night at my brothers. See you tomorrow!!
Part 6: Cucumbers
July 1, 2008 (Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadian, by the way). Yesterday as I was weeding my cucumber garden I was surprised and thrilled to see this little guy peeking out at me. He’s not very big yet but I can already taste him. Now, for many of you, this really isn’t that exciting but you have to remember the history of my cucumbers. First plantings were destroyed by the cat and the dog. These plants were some saggy leftovers at the grocery store – some un...
Part 7: Salad Garden
July 1, 2008 I had purchased some triple mix for a front flowerbed but changed my mind and decided to add another veggie garden in the backyard. We simply laid down some cardboard/newspaper, placed some old logs around the edge, filled it with the soil, and then planted sections with seeds for salad ingredients. We have some kale, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and mustard greens. (I forget when we actually through this together but the seedlings have come up nicely and will soon have s...
Part 8: Tips From My Brother
July 5, 2008 Today at bonfire breakfast I gave my brother a tour of the yard and got lots of little tidbits of information from him. (He’s in the fertilizer business.) Let’s see what all I can remember: when the leaves of onions bend over it is a sign that the soil lacks calcium. watch for some little worm creature in the barley/grains/grasses (mine is doing fine. woo hoo) bind weed has to be in flower before you can hit it with Roundup (or equivalent) and then becaus...
Part 9: Peas
July 9, 2008 First Pickin’s What, you say? Not many peas in that dish? Well, uh, I have to admit that there were a lot more when I was finished harvesting them. (Yummy) I love my fresh peas. I admit it; I don’t apologize for it and I rarely get any peas into the freezer or even onto the table. They go right into my mouth! This year, I planted lots of peas -with the intention of freezing lots for the winter. Well, my first pickins were from a bush pea and even thoug...
Part 10: Red Currants
July 10, 208 (No pictures)Today I picked red currants. (The mosquitoes were horrific when I started.) The branches weren’t as covered as they were last year, even though there are tons of berries again. Perhaps if I leave them a few more days they will all be big fat red luscious berries. Anyway, today, I was selective in my pickings (whatever was easy). I ended up with about 5 cups of juice. Next pickings I will probably leave the currants whole to be used for jam perhaps. ...
Part 11: Weeding my "Salad Garden"
Yesterday I went out to weed my “salad garden” and all was going well until I felt something biting my leg. I look down and my foot is covered in ants. I had obviously disturbed a colony and they were NOT happy. They didn’t touch my left foot, only my right and I had a devil of a time getting them off and getting them to stay off. Ouch; ouch.. and more ouches on my foot, ankle, and calf of my leg.
Part 12: This one is my own fault!
July 25, 2008 I take full responsibility for this mishap! Finally we have had a day of sunshine and so this morning I hit the gardens with my weeding tool. All is going well and then it happens… as I’m weeding around my “Frog pond” (with my three metal frogs playing musical instruments) my metal tool hits the metal frog and ”ch-chang”. “So??,” you ask? Well, this is the third year my frogs have been there and both other years the ...
Part 13: Carrots (continued)
July 26, 2008 Let’s review the history of my garden regarding “carrots”. 1. last year’s crop of carrots did not come up.. not a single one! 2. this year we built a “raised bed” and planted three varieties of carrots3. the dog laid in the carrot bed and I’m sure hauled off most of the seeds in her fur4. the cat continuously used the carrot bed as its own private kitty litter box and tossed around all the dirt and seedlings leaving us with a barre...
Part 14: Grains
July 27, 2008 Today I started weeding and my path wound around by my first planting of quinoa .. which sure does look like big ugly weeds. Since my daughter brought home a big bag of the grains and I can get more when I want them, I took a deep breath and pulled the big plants out and tossed them. The pond sure looks nicer without them there! Following the walkway I ended up at my Barley and I decided that it was time to harvest. So I took the grain and did my best to get the seeds off ...
Part 15: Amaranth
July 31, 2008 For the last couple of years I’ve grown flowers called Amaranth and Rick and I both enjoy them. This year I planted “Amaranth” as a grain. The seeds are “multi-hued” and so I have the red and green. I don’t know if I’ll harvest the seed for eating. I didn’t pick the leaves when they were young so I missed having them in salads. I don’t think I’ll plant these again as “edibles”. But they are pretty t...
Part 16: New Fruit Trees
Aug 15, 2008 The other day Rick and I went to London to buy some things at Lee Valley and Busy Bee. While we were in the area we went a little further and stopped by Canadale Nursery. We had been talking about adding some more fruit trees to the property and so we went and had a look. Their fruit trees were on for “3 for $99” so we bought three. We bought: Sunrise Apple Santa Rosa Plum Satsuma Plum. The apple tree had two wee little apples on them. I had to try...
Part 17: Chili Sauce
Aug 31, 2008 I just did up a batch of 12 pints of chili sauce. YUMMY. This batch is a little watery because I’ll be adding it to ribs, roasts, and other dishes. This recipe is from my mom’s recipies: 12 quarts tomatoes8 medium onions4 sweet peppers2 handfuls of pickling salt1/2 tsp celery seed2c cider vinegar. Cook til almost thickAdd 8 c brown sugarcook til thickJar.
Part 18: 2008 Harvest
September 2, 2008 Freezer (approximate amounts) two dozen packages of sweet corn two dozen packages of asparagus two dozen packages of peas one dozen packages of green beans one dozen packages of strawberries one dozen packages of raspberries one dozen packages of red currants Jars 32 pints of chili sauce 12 individual bottles of apple juice (for lunches) 6 pints of lemon balm jelly 8 quarts of pickled beans 22 quarts and 4 pints of pickled beets 42 pints ...
Part 19: Is It Oregano?
I was given this plant and was told that it was thought to be oregano. So, I’ve come to the experts to confirm 1. Is it oregano?2. Is it a perennial? and therefore do I harvest and dry the leaves or do I plant it out in the garden for next year.. or both, I guess.
Part 20: Planning for 2009
What better time to plan for next year’s season than when you are are just wrapping up the current year’s gardens? The list of what went where this year, what worked and what didn’t, and what you loved vs what wasn’t inspiring is all fresh in your mind! For 2009 at MsDebbieP’s House: plant a second apple tree, getting better odds of a good harvest, if one tree doesn’t produce (tree already planted) move rhubarb, allowing more room by the shed (use ...
Part 21: Recipe: Lemon Balm Salad Dressing
This recipe started with the following: 1 c. lemon balm, shredded coarsely1/2 c. red wine vinegar1 c. olive oilsaltpepperWe all thought it was kinda … humdrum.. and I added to the dressing for a greek salad recipe I was making:so to the above I added: “heaps” of dried oregano .. probably put in about a tablespoon4 cloves chopped garlic Quite tasty. I thought it would be too much garlic but it wasn’t.
Part 22: Recipe: Quinoa Salad
July 21, 2008 This year I planted Quinoa. (pronounced keen-wa) Hadn’t heard of it before but it sounded interesting. Well it looks like a weed and isn’t really a nice addition to the garden, in my opinion. I love the barley that I planted and will be planting more of it next year. But the quinoa, even though I like the nutritional value I don’t think I’ll grow it again—especially since my daughter found a bag of it in the grocery store last week. Yesterd...
Part 23: Barley
October 6, 2008 Looking back over the summer I think the plant that gave us the most pleasure throughout the season was the Barley. Looking back through my notes (that I thought were quite thorough) I wanted to see when I planted my Barley. I remember thinking, later in the spring, that I could have planted it even earlier. Unfortunately I did not write down the Barley planting date. I did however say that I planted the Quinoa on April 23. The Quinoa didn’t like being out in the o...
Part 24: Tidbits on "Onions"
October 8, 2008 We were chatting with my brother yesterday about garden crops and dirt nutrients and the conversation ended up talking about onions. Info I came away with: onions like a consistent, steady level of water during their growing season dry spells mixed with bursts of water result in the onion getting an outer skin embedded between layers of “onion” the uneven watering also results in the rotten areas in the middle of the onions. I had posted other advi...
Part 25: Amaranth
October 10, 2008 This past week has brought us a couple mornings with frost and so it was time to tackle my Amaranth flowers, to gather their seeds. In the past, without knowing what I had planted, I just let the flowers cascade to the ground and drop their seeds. We did get some survivor plants grow the following year and that was fun. This year, I planted the Amaranth because the seeds (and leaves) are edible. We didn’t touch the leaves this year. I’m not much for salad...
Part 26: Beets
October 18, 2008 Oh the yummy beat – especially when it’s pickled!!! In the “Open” magazine, Fall 2008 issues there is an article by Michael Fisher, Whole Food Nutritionist. here are some of the key points in the article: very good for the heart helps measure intestinal transit health: the red pigment of the beet should take 18-24 hours to pass through the system very high levels of iron and so is good for the blood according to Chinese medicine, it i...
Part 27: Cherries
October 18, 2008 I can’t wait for our cherry tree to have cherries on it! We’re getting close. Maybe next year we’ll have a few handfuls, if we can beat the birds to them. The following is from the Fall, 2008 issue of “Open”; the article is by Lee Anne Andriessen according to the Cherry Nutrition Reposrt, cherries contain 19 times the beta carotene of blueberries and strawberries they also have: vitamin C/E, potassium, magnesium, iron, folate, fibre ...
Part 28: Green Beans
October 18, 20008 My best crop, this year, I’d have to say were my green beans. Now, I’m not a huge fan of green beans, but since I’m trying to live off my land as much as possible, I’ve made myself enjoy them. Other than “fresh off the vine”, I think I’ll save next year’s crop mostly as pickled beans. This year was the first time I’d even made or eaten pickled beans and I love them! The recipe I used turned the beans into the equiva...
Part 29: Anise Hyssop
October 18, 2008 This year I purchased some “Anise Hyssop” seeds from Salt Spring Seeds. My daughter and I tried some licorice flavoured tea last year and although I don’t really like tea I did almost enjoy the flavour. After planting the seeds I forgot all about it – until I smelled the flower in the garden. The aroma of licorice reminded me that I had planted it on purpose – and to make tea. Even without using the plant, I will probably plant this agai...
Part 30: A Tomato For Bob and Dan
October 19, 2008 I was out in my garden today and I found this tomato lying in the dirt.When I downloaded the photo I saw a surprise image in the image
Part 31: Beet Salad
I haven’t tried this yet but it sure did sound yummy. Perhaps for tonight’s supper. 1/2 lb red & candy-striped baby beets1 tbsp olive oil1 tbsp minced shallot1 tbsp red wine vinegar1 tsp grated orange zest1 tbsp virgin olive oil1 tbsp chopped parsley1 tbsp chopped chivessalt & pepper To prepare beets, preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse beets. Wrap colours separately in foil, drizzle with olive oil and roast in middle of oven until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool t...
Part 32: Chicken Soup For The Home Gardener
Nov 12, 2008 Yesterday I wasn’t feeling well and so I made some home-made chicken soup. In it I put some of my home-grown barley. I’m not sure what made me feel better – the chicken soup or knowing that I was eating some of the barley that I had grown in my yard this summer!! Regardless, it warmed my body, my heart, and put a smile on my face.
veggies, flowers, pond, and gazebo - the highlights of my backyard
By subscribing to the RSS feed you will be notified when new entries are posted on this blog.
Blog Series
- Bonfire Breakfasts - 1 part
- GT Talk - 2 parts
- My "Turtle Island" - 6 parts
- My Carolinian Forest - 4 parts
- Our "Edibles" - 32 parts
- Our Flower Gardens - 22 parts
- Our Gazebo - 10 parts
- Our Pond - 9 parts
- Spring - 4 parts
- The Winter Season - 6 parts
Your Online Garden - Your Support Is Greatly Appreciated - Your Gardening Showcase - 3 Ways To Help, Financially - Your Gardening Community
