Grounded

I went outside to check the mail yesterday and ended up spending over an hour weeding the front beds.  I wish I could say it improved the appearance of my front yard.

While I was working I came across this:

I'm no ornithologist (not even a little bit), but I think this might be a makeshift robin's nest.  My best guess is that a robin was desperate to lay her egg, but couldn't get to her nest during the big snow last week.  This nest is located under the overhang of my house, and would have been snow-free and hidden from view by about a foot of snow right in front of it (and my big, tall weeds).

I suspect that this egg has been abandoned, but I am going to leave it be for a while just in case.

Jumping the Gun

On your mark...

The garden is clear of debris from last fall.

Get set...

Seeds have been planted

NO.

May 2, 2013

Spring has a sense of humor this year, and brought us 15 inches of heavy snow over the first few days of May.  I am hoping that the seeds I planted have not germinated yet, and have survived the snow.  The garlic, which was sprouting before the snow, is slightly flattened, but still going.  The rhubarb didn't mind the snow one bit.

The summer squash, cucumber, butternut, and pepper seeds are all protected under the tops or bottoms of water jugs.  My hope is that they will act like mini greenhouses.  I guess I'll know if a few weeks if any of my seeds survived the snow!

Getting the Garden Ready

This was what my garden looked like a few days ago:

 



 

Yes, snow during the last full week of April.  Winter didn't really show up (or the snow, at least) until March this year.  So much for all those garden daydreams!

But today was lovely!  I decided to get a little work done in the garden.  I had been itching to get to work, but I knew that anything I planted would croak with the weather we were having.

I had to clear out some debris from last fall.  I spent about an hour today picking up dry bean, squash, and tomato vines, and then I tilled up the soil.  I have the blisters on my hands to prove it.  I didn't get any planting done today, but at least my beds are ready to go!

Garden Goose approves.

(I left the front bed alone since it is planted with garlic.  The garlic doesn't seem to mind the weather we've been having, and is sprouting.)

A Life-Changing Discovery

Okay, so this isn't exactly a cure for cancer or anything, but I'm still pretty excited about this little discovery.  I learned how to peel garlic.

That's right.

And maybe this isn't exactly life-changing, but I'm pretty darn excited about it.

I love garlic.  I hate to peel garlic.  I was listening to a podcast of  "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" at the gym yesterday, and I heard Martha Stewart share this gem.  Incidentally, listening to "Wait Wait" at the gym can get you some funny looks.  I guess normal people don't bust out laughing while lifting weights or buzzing along on an elliptical machine.

Anyway, according to Ms. Stewart, this is the best way to peel an entire head of garlic:

First, get your garlic.  Also, give your toddler a snack cup of Cheerios to buy yourself some time.

The last head of garlic from last summer's garden.  Sad.

Next, get two mixing bowls of approximately the same size.

Put your garlic into one of the bowls.

Put the other bowl on top of the first, like a lid.

Hang onto the rims and shake.  There is no picture of this step because I have yet to grow a third arm.  That would be handy, though.  Ha.

You only need to shake for a minute, maybe less.  Admire the results.

Magic!

Amazing!  Separate the cloves from the chaff.

Now I just need to think of something to do with two heads of garlic.  I was so jazzed to test this trick out last night, that this is the second head of garlic I've peeled.

See?

Anyway, this may not change your life, but hopefully it will make it a little easier.  Or maybe you knew this little trick all along, but you never told me, in which case, why?  Why would you hide such an amazing tidbit of knowledge from me?

So pretty.

Garden Daydreams

Two things happened last week that led to mid-winter garden daydreams.  First, the temperature got up to the mid forties, it rained, and all the snow melted.  Second, I got my first seed catalogs of the year in the mail.

Cue spring fever.

I have been looking through my catalogs in an effort to choose what to grow.  Tomatoes are always on the list.  Obviously there will be garlic.  I will grow bush beans this year.  I have grown pole beans in the past, but last year my pole beans tore down my pretty plant supports, and I got a total of three beans out of them!  I always try to grow peppers, but I don't get much of a yield.  There will be basil.  I'm thinking I might try to relocate my strawberry pants to a tower to free up one of my raised beds.  Also, I lost most of my berries to weird little beetles last summer, and I'm hoping that if I get them up out of the dirt, maybe bugs will be less of an issue.  Birds are another problem all together.

I enjoy growing squash, but the vines tend to escape the raised beds and intrude into the lawn, which irks my husband.  I am looking at some A-frame type structures to grow my squash on.  Maybe I will be able to grow some cooler-weather vegetables (like salad greens) under the squash frames.

Once I move the strawberries, I will have nine 3' x 5' beds to fill.  I have used a square foot gardening inspired method in the past, so I can grow a surprising number of plants in each bed.

Here's my veggie list so far (items I have not grown before are in italics):

• Tomatoes
• Beans
• Squash (butternut or sweet dumpling)
• Strawberries
• Basil
• Thyme (already in the ground)
• Garlic (already in the ground)
• Rhubarb (has its own bed, and is in the ground already)
• Carrots
• Peppers (maybe)
• Beets
• Parsnips
• Kale
• Salad greens

Any other ideas?  I have tried to start tomatoes, peppers, and basil from seed the past few years, and I end up with very mediocre results.  Either my cats eat the seedlings, or I kill them in a failed attempt to harden them off.  I think I need a grow light (and a cat-free zone).  This year I plan to just buy my plants at a local nursery.  They usually have really good deals on six packs of small tomato and pepper plants.

The temperatures have dropped again, but the snow is gone.  I don't mind winter, but I sure enjoy it a lot more when there's enough snow to go play in.  My cross country skis haven't seen much use the past few winters.

2013

'Tis the season for resolutions, though any day can be a new start if you choose to make it so.  My biggest goal for 2013 is a continuation of a goal I set for myself when my son was born.  I will strive to be the sort of person my son can be proud of, and I will lead by example and be the sort of person I wish my son to be.  I will be patient, kind, creative, fun, compassionate, faithful, and generous.  No problem, right?

It's a big goal, but I have someone around all the time to hold me accountable:

He's got his eye on me.

I have a few smaller goals for 2013, as well. 

I want to learn to sew my own clothing.  And I will not give up on myself when it's not perfect the first try.

I will grow a larger quantity and greater variety of produce in my garden this summer.  I will stay on top of harvesting and preserving it, and if I don't have time for preservation, I will at least bring my produce to the local food shelf so it does not go to waste.

The garden, summer 2011.

When I get stressed, or anxious, or angry, I will remember what actually matters and chill out. 

(This matters.)

Happy New Year, everyone.

Preach it, Jean-Luc!

Squash Puree

What a drizzly, cold autumn day.  What's a girl to do?

Oh hey!  A big pile of winter squash.  I know these buggers are supposed to keep well as they are, but last year I had a bunch go all squishy on me (all over the windowsill of the bow window), and if there's one thing I hate, it's wasting food.  Besides, any project where I get to use a meat cleaver and a rubber mallet is totally worth my time.

Why the meat cleaver and mallet?  Well, squash are kind of tough to cut up, the roll when you least want them to, I am clumsy, and I would really like to keep all my digits.

Cleaver placement.

Part way through.

Ta-da!

To cut apart the squash, center the cleaver on the top of your squash and tap it with your rubber mallet.  Don't be like me and smack your thumb with the rubber mallet.  That hurts.  This is the best I could do for action shots.  Despite being a mom, I have yet to grow that third arm that I so desperately need.  I am also still waiting for the eyes in the back of my head to show up.

For the butternut squash, I just cut off the necks with a knife. 

After cutting all the squash you want to roast, scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.  I find a grapefruit spoon to work best for that icky task.  Then put your squash cut-side down in baking dishes, and put about an inch of water in each dish.  This helps to keep the squash moist, and keeps it from fusing to your dishes.  Bake at 350 degrees and check it after about an hour.  It's done when you don't feel any resistance when poking it with a knife.

Allow the squash to cool a while.  No one wants blisters on their hands.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a food processor and whiz it up.

You can package your squash puree however you prefer, but I like to measure it so I know what I'm dealing with.  Two-cup portions works well for me, so that's how I bag it.

I package my squash in quart size Ziploc freezer bags.  I find it helpful to label each bag with what it is, the quantity, and the date.  Squeeze out the air, and flatten the bags out.  I freeze mine on a sheet pan, then store them upright in a box once they are frozen solid.

Since I didn't add any seasonings to my puree, I can use the squash in sweet or savory dishes.  I can make soups, pies, or just serve it up plain.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy those winter squash!

Planting Garlic

My garden:  It's a mess.  The whole thing froze about a month ago, and I am most of the way done with tear-down.  It's kind of a bummer time of year; the harvest is over.  No more fresh tomatoes.  But wait!  It's the perfect time to plant garlic!  I put garlic in darn near everything, and nothing beats garlic from the garden! 

First I churned up the soil in my chosen garden box.  Garden Goose keeps watch.

Next I got my garlic.  This is my second year growing my own garlic.  My Plan A had been to use some of this year's harvest as seed garlic, but I decided that I would rather eat it.  I ordered 3/4 of a pound of garlic online.  I chose two varieties of Porcelain garlic, hardneck garlic with only four to five large cloves per head. 

Then I separated the cloves.  Forty big, fat cloves of garlic.  Oh, did they smell good. 

I decided on spacing next.  Four rows of ten seemed like easy math to me.

 

My favorite tool for creating the little ditches for the garlic to live in is a pointy trowel, by the way.

I tucked the little buggers in.  This should be obvious, but make sure the cloves are set pointy side up.  They don't like to grow upside down.

 

Lastly, I tossed a layer of leaves over top for mulch.  Garden Goose will keep an eye on my garlic for me this winter, and with any luck I'll see delightful green shoots come spring!  Ah, something to look forward to.

 

Few things make a girl (or this girl, at least) happier than getting to play in the dirt for a while. 



The CSA Adventure: 2011

Spring got off to a slow, wet start this year, and I had big plans to revamp my garden.  Back in March I was concerned that I might not be able to get my new raised beds built and planted in time, so my husband suggested that we join a CSA (community supported agriculture) to ensure a supply of fresh veggies this summer, and to take a little pressure off me and my project.

For those of you who don't know, a CSA is essentially where you buy a share in a local farm.  Each week during the growing season the farm delivers a box (usually to a local dropsite, in our case, Rochester Produce) of whatever is harvestable that week.  So I get guarenteed fresh, locally grown produce, and the farm gets guarenteed revenue at the start of the season.  I also get the satisfaction knowing that I am supporting a farm in my own community, which is think is a pretty good thing.  Our CSA happens to be with Featherstone Farm.  For more information on CSAs in general (for Minnesota, at least), go here.

Well, as it turns out, I had plenty of time to get my garden built (more in a future post) and we just started getting our fabulous boxes from our CSA.

This is what week one looks like:

Week One: rhubarb, asparagus, green onions, salad greens, radishes, and spinach.



I enjoy fruits and vegetables, but I am rarely inspired to buy them when I am grocery shopping.  They end up being an afterthought or obligation (oh, I guess we need a veggie with our steak, huh?).  One culinary skill I am very proud of, however, is that, when presented with a pantry/freezer/etc. of various ingredients, I can usually cobble together a pretty great meal.  This probably stems from my former life as an archaeologist, when I lived in the boonies and would do anything to avoid unneccessary trips to town (often 20 or more miles away).  That and I'm a lazy homebody who would do anything to avoid unneccessary trips, period.    So, being presented with a box full of produce that I did not need to select myself should turn out to be a pretty good thing. 

Here's what our first meal out of our first CSA box looked like:

Risotto!!



It isn't the prettiest thing ever, but it was mighty tasty.  Risotto with asparagus and green onions, and a spinach and basil pesto.  The basil was found in the freezer, part of last year's garden harvest.  I also used homemade turkey stock, also found in my freezer.

Damian (the hubbs) and I decided to go for the "Grande" box instead of the "Chica" box, because more is more (we are Americans, after all) and the price difference wasn't that big considering we were getting twice the produce.  I was a little worried at first that we might not be able to eat all of that produce, but I don't think we'll have much of a problem, at least not this week!