Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
I’ve actually been busy this week preparing to deliver most of my once beautiful garden to the compost heap. I posted a few days ago that I pulled most of the remaining plants to prepare for further work that was needed. That work began this week with the removal of all of the fabric from the frames and the collection of more than 100 metal clips used to anchor it in place. I always take my time with this part of the job because missing a clip or two isn’t an option. Two years ago I was happily rototilling the garden until I hit a few clips I’d missed. It wasn’t pretty when those few clips were twisted around the blades of the tiller which then jerked out of my hands when the motor jammed. Fortunately when the tiller hit me in the chest it wasn’t blades first. A close call and one I never intend to repeat. Who said gardening was a safe hobby?
As I pulled the sections of fabric from the frames I got another surprise. Apparently we had a few moles that somehow made their way into the frames and under the fabric. There were a number of tunnels where they were apparently nibbling on the roots of some of my plants. My first stop next spring will be to buy something that will discourage them from returning. Dead or alive is my motto, it’s up to them. You can just barely make out one of the tunnels in this photo.
‘Here are those clips I mentioned. A necessary evil.’
Removing the fabric itself is easy enough and worth every minute of my time. Never having to weed the garden all summer saves me a lot of back breaking work every year. The fabric is a little pricy but fortunately it’s reusable for at least a couple of years. The sprinklers I currently use are removed easily enough and I’ve been using them for five years. A good value for the money spent.
‘I cleared all of the fabric, clips, and sprinklers leaving just barren frames.’
Later this week if the weather cooperates I’ll be filling the entire garden with four or five inches of dark and rich compost which has been sitting under a tarp for two years. It’s rich with all of the necessary nutrients to give the garden a good start in the Spring.
Id like to continue writing but I’ve got more work to accomplish before the weather turns really cold and the ground starts freezing. More to follow soon.
This week isn’t one I ever look forward to. It’s the week every year when I begin to dismantle our garden. It’s been a priority for my better-half and I for the last six months requiring a tremendous amount of TLC and just as much water. It actually began last winter when we sat down at the kitchen table and planned it all out. As with all plans it never seems to workout perfectly without problems of one sort or another cropping up.
First it was the damn stunk that did everything in it’s power to destroy things. It was one lucky SOB because he survived a number of night time surveillances where I sat in the dark on the deck with a loaded rifle waiting to end his life of vandalism and mayhem. He must have a really hardworking guardian angel because I seriously wanted to do him harm. After all of the repair jobs and the new fence we reached a mutual agreement to avoid each other for the rest of the summer. I smelled him a few times at night but never met him in person (Thank God).
The weather was for the most part cooperative but you can always use more rainfall with any garden. After a slow start things picked up rather well making the garden fairly productive. Was it the best ever? No. It was just an average year due mostly to the skunk.
These pictures were taken this morning and as you can see most of the plants have been harvested and removed. All of the herbs we need for the winter have also been harvested, dried, and stored. Beginning next week I’ll begin removing the garden fabric and composting all of the frames. Then it will be tilled under and left to sit for the winter to be ready for planting in June.
Here’s the final tally for the garden and all of our efforts for 2015. The pantry has been restocked with just about everything we need for winter. My one last contribution will be a large pot of my favorite chicken soup which will supply us with at least ten to twelve hardy meals during the winter.
41 Pints of canned habanero hot B & B pickles
13 Pints of Habanero Dill Pickles
3 Pints of tripleberry jam
8 Pints of strawberry/rhubarb jam
3 Pints of strawberry jam
8 Pints of blueberry jam
2 Pints of jalapeño/rhubarb jelly
13 Quarts of Four Bean/Corn chili
14 Quarts of Black Bean/Corn salsa
2 Quad Berry/Rhubarb Tarts
15 Lbs Rhubarb
5 Loaves of Chocolate/Zucchini Bread
4 Loaves of Spice/Zucchini Bread
9 Lbs of Fresh Pea Pods
16 Lbs of Cherry Tomatoes
15 Lbs of Jalapeño Peppers
7 Lbs of Assorted Hot Peppers
20 Lbs of Fresh Zucchini
13 Lbs of Assorted Lettuces
2 Lbs of dried onion chives
1 Lb dried habanero peppers
1 Lb dried garlic chives
4 Lbs of dried and assorted mints
2 Lbs of dried oregano
1 Lb of dried parsley
This just goes to show how easy it is to supplement your food supply from a medium sized garden and a few cheap purchases from local farmers. All in all not a terrible year but next year will hopefully be even better.
I always seem to be talking about Winter approaching these days and with good reason. Winter in Maine lasts at least six months but it certainly seems longer. Just two weeks ago I was sleeping under a ceiling fan for eight hours a night because it was so damn hot and humid in the house. At the time I thought that miserable hot weather would never let up. Let me tell you, it’s let up.
‘Ahhhh Memories’
As of last night I’m convinced Winter is much closer than I thought. The last few nights we’ve had temperatures in the low forties which are wreaking havoc on what remains of the garden. I was reminded early this morning when the cold air in the room jolted me awake. Last night was the first official #5 night for my electric blanket. Unless some sort of Indian Summer happens it could mean an early arrival of the season which includes an unwelcome amount of our favorite white stuff.
Fall is probably my second favorite season of the year after early Spring. I love the vivid colors of the foliage just like every other photographer on the planet. Maine is already known for it’s beautiful scenery along the coast and inland in the forests and around the many lakes. Throw in millions and millions of colorful leaves and it becomes for a short time an effing paradise.
My cameras and lenses are cleaned and ready. My snowblower’ been taken out of mothballs, gassed up, and ready to go. All that’s left for me to do is the unpacking of my unfashionable and ugly winter clothing. It’s almost impossible to look good wearing three layers of clothing, a hat, gloves, a scarf, and big clunky boots. . . and unfortunately I’m just talking about the women. The men look even worse as they let their beards grow out and suit up with their favorite snowmobiling outfit. There’s nothing better than hanging around an ice fishing hut with a few of your buddies telling tall tales about fishing, hunting, and sexual prowess and guzzling as much beer as you can drink.
The never-ending number of hunting seasons always irritates me a little. There are times when entering the woods around here to take pictures can be a life threatening situation. If you not wearing bright red or fluorescent green you could easily be mistaken for a moose, a turkey, or even a cow. It’s a little like Vietnam out there if you throw in a few cases of beer to make things interesting. Scary doesn’t even begin to cover it.
As you can see from my remarks, I’m neither a hunter nor a fisherman. I’ve never been all that crazy about killing helpless animals with high powered weaponry and high tech fishing paraphernalia. I prefer to do all of my shooting with a camera. I also hate the thought of eating wild game thanks to my father who insisted I try to eat a little of everything he ever shot. Yuck!
Time to Crank up the electric blanket and hunker down for another six months of snow, sleet, and ice. I only hope I don’t slip and fall this year and break any additional bones. Trust me, it’s happened before.
How often do you open your eyes in the morning and spring out of bed to face the day? If you do, congratulations, but if you don’t then you’re like me. I lay there for at least ten minutes with my eyes tightly closed and not moving a muscle. If I made any movement my big hairy alarm clock (the cat) will pounce on me in a flash. He wants fed and watered and won’t take no for an answer.
If things are really quiet I know my better-half has already left for work making it possible for me to ease into my day. I make my way to the WC, take care of that business and then to the kitchen to feed the effing cat and get COFFEE!!!!. Without the promise of coffee I’d never leave the bedroom.
I made a trip to Lowes yesterday and purchased some lumber for today’s project. I decided to get a jump on 2016 by making a few alterations to the garden before the snows arrive. I’m hardy ever this motivated but I convinced myself to get off my butt and do something useful.
The better-half and I discussed making garden changes last week and I think I even surprised her a little yesterday. I decided to add two side frames to the garden that will be used to grow nothing but sunflowers. The total square footage will increase by only 32 square feet but that’s more than enough room for a lot of sunflowers. The better-half loves them almost as much as the birds that eat them do.
The first chore was to dig up the existing grass for removal to other areas of the yard to re-sod a few bare spots.
The soil in this area contains a lot of clay and it makes growing things difficult. That’s the reason for the frames. They are are to be filled with a lot of good topsoil and fertilizer to help those sunflowers along.
It’s takes a lot of work and time to carefully move the sod. We have one section of the yard that’s refused all of our efforts to grow grass. I’m hoping this effort today will finally solve that problem once and for all. After all of that work I’m left with two area like this:
Come April and May I’ll be so glad I finished this project today. Thank God for dark roast coffee.
Do you have a favorite food? I think everyone does but unless you ask you may never know what it is. For most of my life bacon was my favorite but as with all things, changes can occur. I still love bacon and will eat it until I die regardless of the possible consequences to my health.
‘My favorite pie.’
I now have a new love in my life that captured my attention about ten years ago. For me it was like finding the Holy Grail. I’ve been obsessed with it ever since and there’s no end in sight. What is it you ask . . . Habanero Peppers. They’ve changed my life as well as my taste buds, FOREVER!!
Many people love hot food laced with Cayenne, Serrano, or even Ghost peppers but heat isn’t everything. I require as much heat as possible but I also want flavor as well. I’ve tried almost every hot pepper I could find over the years and even came up with a few exotic mixtures in my lame attempt to find excellent flavor with head-sweating heat.
‘Red-Savina’
After a few years I began hearing about a type of habanero pepper called red-savina. I ordered some from a place in New Mexico and my life was changed forever. Since my discovery I’ve made many batches of chili and salsa using red-savina’s as the heat. The flavor is incredible and the heat is a killer. The perfect pepper for me. It’s difficult to find them in regular markets but my solution was to periodically purchase a red-savina mash on–line. It lasts a reasonable length of time in the frig and I can get a half pint for approximately $10.00. That will last me a good six months.
Recently I found myself running out of red-savina’s and was forced to temporarily fallback to using the standard habanero peppers. Some were grown in my garden and the remainder were purchased from a local food store. Then it was time to get to work. I put on my extra thick latex gloves and began the process.
‘My babies.’
‘Sliced and Diced’
‘And Dehydrated’
If you’re going to try this make sure you wear the appropriate mask to keep the dust from your nose and sinuses as you’re grinding it. You’ve been warned, it really is painful. The end result is a small jar of habanero dust good to use with almost any meal you’d like to prepare.
I’m working on a new recipe which uses habanero soaked bacon strips laid across a stack of tasty pancakes covered with maple syrup. Sinfully delicious and hot enough to make you cry.
With Summer slowly fading away our daily routine changes once again. The nights have been cold enough recently to require a little help from my electric blanket. I rolled over the other morning and found my cat snuggling up against me, something he almost never does unless his fur coat isn’t getting the job done. I touched his back and it was ice cold so I threw a blanket over the little dummy and went back to sleep. Another real indicator of Winter like caterpillars with extra thick fur.
I’m forever raving about how great I think Maine is but I’ve never shown any photographs of it’s main export. While I’m not a lobster lover my better-half is. We had a family cook-out yesterday with all the normal grilling food, burgers, dogs, sausages, and as extra added bonus . . . lobsters. As you can see these poor fellows look pretty contented in the first photo but not so much in the second. They are now just a memory but left my better-half, her daughter, and son-in-law with dribbles of melted butter on their chins and a smile on their faces.
‘Before’
‘After”
Our menial tasks continued this week with the canning of more pickles, the making of more zucchini bread, and the drying of more herbs. Over the next few days I’ll be harvesting and drying batches of tarragon, basil, parsley, and chives. I have so many damn chives growing everywhere it’s getting ridiculous. If I dry too many I’ll just have to package them up and give them to friends and family members.
I hope to begin removing plants from the garden next week. I have a lot of work ahead but would like to get it done as soon as possible. Once the plants are removed I can begin making a few changes to the garden. I’m expanding the rhubarb area because it’s growing so fast I can’t contain it. I’m also adding on two additional frames, one abutting each large frame, to help expand the sunflower areas. We both love having as many sunflowers as possible in the garden and the birds will be thrilled with all of the extra food. I thought it best to do this construction now rather than in the Spring.
Life in Maine continues.
I’ve spent the last few days making friends with my new camera. My Nikon D3200 is by far the best camera I’ve ever owned but it’s size becomes an issue at times. If we happen to be in town or shopping the D3200 is cumbersome. It has 24.2 megapixels which allows me a great deal of freedom when editing and I still plan on using it as much as I possibly can. Also my collection of lenses for that camera gives me more flexibility than I’ll ever need.
All that being said, I decided to purchase a small point-and-shoot camera that can easily be carried in my pocket. I know your wondering why I don’t just use the camera in my smart phone. Two immediate problems caused me to scrap that idea. While the telephone’s camera is already being carried everywhere by me it lacks lens flexibility. The default lens is useful but not as useful as I’d like. Secondly, the camera in my phone has only 13 megapixels which for me is inadequate.
My search began on-line and I must have looked at a hundred different styles and types of cameras and brands. After all of that research I decided to stick with brands that I’m already familiar with such as Samsung and Nikon. I then began my visits to local retailers to see the actual cameras and get a little hands-on experience.
After those visits my choice became easy to make. I finally purchased a Nikon Coolpix L32 for a more than reasonable price. It has everything I was looking for and then some. It uses a standard SD card making the transfer of photo’s to my computer much easier. It’s zoom and focus capabilities were impressive for such a small unit and it’s 20.1 megapixels make it just about perfect for my use.
I then made a few field trips in the area to do a little experimentation with the new camera. It was a bit confusing at first but within a few minutes I was taking some reasonably good photo’s. I returned home to snap a few more pictures in and around our garden. These photo’s will be easy to post on this blog and with a little image resizing can be emailed without a problem.
For a change I feel like I actually got a good value for the money spent. All too often in the past after making purchases I get the feeling I’ve been had. I have to say that all of my Nikon purchases over the years have been excellent and reliable. Check these snaps out.
With both of these cameras in my bag I should be able to handle any situation or location and still get really decent results.
It’s beginning to feel like Fall already and I’m certainly not happy about that. We’re just a couple of weeks from Labor Day and then it’s all downhill from there. Most of the smaller nurseries are already closing down except for veggies being shipped to the local grocery stores.
One telltale sound indicating Fall here in Maine is the sound of tractors pulling hay wagons down the road past our house. It’s a distinctive sound which has been steadily increasing in recent weeks. This is a common place scene in this area these days:
The large bales of hay covered in plastic will be appearing by the hundreds almost everywhere over the next month in preparation for Winter. It appears to have been a great summer for hay production which should keep the animals happy and healthy until Spring.
We’ve been tending our garden more often of late because the veggies are ripening rapidly. There are a few things every day that require picking as you can see:
These items went from that basket directly to our table for dinner. The three white turnip looking items are kohlrabi’s. As I’ve mentioned in the past these vegetables aren’t available in stores very often. Most people have never tasted them or even heard of them. These were picked while they were still young and tender. The larger they grow the harder they become to peel and eat. As you can see by the photo, they grow fairly large but this is the best size for harvesting:
This kohlrabi was immediately peeled, sliced, diced, and added to our salad for dinner. They have a wonderfully mild flavor reminiscent of white radishes and are absolutely delicious. I’ll be sure to return them to the list of plantings for the 2016 garden.
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I feel like I’m in a rut of late which means this posting may ramble a bit. I seem to spend most of my time these days doing yard work, gardening, fighting with my computers, exercising, and reading endlessly. I’ve complained for decades that I never seemed to have enough time to read as much as I’d like and now I do. I should know by now to be careful what I wish for.
I set a goal for 2015 to read two books a week. I thought that was an unreachable number but something still worth shooting for. Believe it or not I’m ahead of schedule for the first seven months with a total of fifty-eight books read. I must have been out of my ever-loving mind. Since we decided to eliminate cable TV from our lives my reading time has increased ten fold. I’m making Amazon really happy because my purchases of Kindle books has also increased dramatically.
My better-half agreed to work a special two week schedule for Lowe’s requiring her to wake up at 3:00 am and to return home at 2:30 pm. Of course that also means she’s asleep by 7:30 pm giving us approximately five hours a day together. Just what I didn’t need was more free time to read.
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I still love reading but OMFG. This home has become a flop house for a cat who sleeps eighteen hours a day and for me who reads almost that much.
With the fiasco of Windows 10 making me crazier than usual and frustrating me beyond belief I immediately fell back to reading as a way to clear my head of all things “computer”. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d say something like this but I have no choice . . . Microsoft sucks!
Things have gotten so bad of late that I’ve actually considered going back to school just to have something to do. For someone who absolutely hated every school he’s ever attended, that quite the admission.
I’ve even thought about going back to a daily posting of this blog but decided against it. I’d rather start a new blog entirely to take a more critical look at current events and politics from my unusual and sarcastic perspective. I’m feeling a little meaner these days and with Obama on his way out the politicians of all parties have once again become fair game. It’s what our military would describe as a target rich environment.
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So to summarize . . . I’m freaking bored.
I’m asked one question more than any other, “Why do you work so hard to have a garden?”. It’s not a simple answer but I’ll try to explain as best I can. For me gardening gets me out of the house, allows me the freedom to work hard, sweat a little, get dirty, and remember my later father in his garden. Having a healthy and happy herb garden accomplishes the same things except it was my mother’s favorite thing to do. She taught me almost everything I know about herbs and growing them.
Gardening is hard work with preparing the soil, planting the plants, fighting off bugs, other critters, and dealing with good old Mother Nature. After all of the hard work she can easily ruin your garden with one severe storm. It helps me appreciate the good things the garden provides and this week it begins. The plants are producing and the harvesting can begin albeit in a limited amount.
The cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen and we’ll be enjoying hundreds of them over the next couple of months.
Eating healthier has been our mantra for the last few years and the garden makes that so much easier to do. Tonight’s dinner will be supplied totally by the garden except for the chicken breasts. I just harvested this kohlrabi which is the size of a large softball. Many people aren’t familiar with them but they are similar in taste and texture to a radish.
This was was peeled and diced and set aside. It was firm and tender and I was forced to eat some immediately with a little salt. The following items along with the diced kohlrabi were used to prepare a delicious collection of flavors, wrapped in aluminum foil, and slowly warmed over the grill while the chicken breasts were cooking.
Fresh Chives & Parsley
Fresh Green & Purple Basil
Diced Kohlrabi
Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Pea Pods
Radishes
The finished product was plated and served on the deck with a pretty decent Chardonnay. This is the type of meal we eat for most of the Summer and Fall. Our hard work gives us fresh food, delicious, organic, and priced just right.
As the production increases the meals will become even more interesting. We’ve started canning and freezing a number of items for use this Winter already, with more to come.
The saddest thing about having a garden is to see it end every Fall. You can be sure our freezers will be filled, our herbs dried, and our pantry shelves filled with new canned goods. We’ll be eating healthy all Winter.
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