Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
Sixty plus degrees. That’s all I have to say about yesterday. I’m just about over this stupid virus that’s been kicking my ass for the last two weeks. Combine that with the warm weather yesterday and guess what you get. The largest most contagious case of Spring Fever ever experienced. I guess the longer and more oppressive the winter the more intense is that first burst of Spring Fever. Man I’ve got it bad.
I spent a good part of the day yesterday just wandering around the yard in a T-shirt with no gloves, no hat, and no parka. As I slowly strolled between the remaining piles of snow I could see that blessed light at the end of the tunnel and no, it isn’t a train coming toward me it’s Summer.
I couldn’t stop myself from going with the feelings and actually started cleaning up the winter debris strewn about the yard. I picked up tree branches and pine cones of which there were thousands. I’ve never seen so many freaking pine cones in my life and they will certainly require an major investment of my time to pick them all up. That should tell you just how bad my Spring Fever really is that I’m actually looking forward to doing it. I find that a little disturbing to say the least.
I then decided to get my riding mower out of mothballs and ready for use this summer. I filled it with gas, checked the oil, and reconnected the battery. I was just standing there enjoying the warm air when I was overcome with love for that stupid tractor. I hate to admit this but I found some rags, soap, and car wax, and went a little crazy. That tractor got a hot bath and a good scrubbing, was dried off, and waxed to a high sheen. How sad is my life?
I need to pace myself a little better or I’m going to lose my mind. I actually found myself drawn to the seed packet display at Walmart a few days ago. They were silently calling to me to buy, buy, buy. I maintained what little control I had left and just “Said No” and walked away. Unfortunately my better-half is worse that I am when it comes to Spring garden purchasing. We both need some sort of twelve step program to help us through the next two months and to keep us from overspending like we do every blessed year.
I just received a giant package in the mail today and had to help the mail carrier bring the box into the house. It’s the new part I ordered a week ago for my sweetheart, the mower. Now she’ll be even prettier than usual as I cruise around the yard making the neighbors oh so jealous.
Eat your hearts out people, if freaking Spring Time.
The Spring melt continues between bouts of annoying snow that keep showing up almost every morning. Fortunately it’s usually just a dusting that melts away as soon as the sun comes up. What’s been the most surprising is the speed in which the snow has been disappearing. Having four feet of snow on the ground for most of 2015 and piles more than fifteen feet high found in certain parking lots, it’s melting away much quicker than expected.
I’ve been mentioning for the longest time about the amount of ice and snow that has built up on the roof of our home. The rear of the house gets very little sunshine and the accumulation there is always an issue. Each year we look forward to the "ice fall" and this year was no different. I was working on my computer when the whole house shook much like a small earthquake. I knew immediately that the ice had dropped and OMG it was amazing. A sheet of ice between ten and twelve inches thick, four foot wide, and thirty feet long, smashed to the ground with a tremendous roar.
‘Be glad you weren’t standing here when it came down.’
After last Winter I was forced to rebuild the hand railing on the steps for the third time. When the ice drops it usually crushes the railings and they must be rebuilt. I attempted to build a replacement rail that would survive the ice drop and I was successful. This huge ice sheet hit the railing and bounced down off and landed in the yard. That’s one project eliminated from my Spring repair list.
I began today by heading to Lowe’s to purchase the materials I’ll need to rebuild my mailbox. I’ve come up with a new design that will hopefully keep those damned snowplow drivers from costing me more money next year. Here are the results:
‘Before’
‘After”
Later this week my plans for rebuilding the frames for a portion of my garden will begin. Then we’ll decide what we’ll be planting and where. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and getting outside to dig in the dirt a little. Winter can’t disappear soon enough as far as I’m concerned.
With the weather slowly but surely changing from Fall to Winter the final work to harvest the last of the herbs and to compost the garden needed to be done. My better-half had the day off and we both knew we had a few hours of hard work ahead of us. It was the last of our major tasks for the Fall.
It was hard labor for a while as we shoveled compost into our small trailer and delivered it to the garden. Not only does the compost reenergize the soil but it also helps to refill the frames with much needed soil.
We filled the trailer three times which allowed us to cover the entire garden with approximately three inches of compost. We took special precautions with the rhubarb and asparagus because they require additional protection from the coming snow and cold weather.
In a day or so I’ll add some lime to the compost as well as a general fertilizer. Then I’ll rototill the entire mixture thoroughly and let it sit until Spring.
I wanted to dry and store more herbs but a surprise hard frost last week killed off ninety percent of my basil plants. Fortunately I harvested some of the plants before the frost but it still irritates me to see any of them go to waste. Mother Nature always seems to get her fair share of things whether we like it or now.
It’s difficult here in Maine for cold-sensitive plants to survive the winter but I’ll never stop trying to find a way. Instead of harvesting all of the Rosemary and Parsley I decided to compost the plants heavily and then later in the season cover them with a thick layer of leaves. I’m hoping that for once I can have a Rosemary plant that survives the Winter and is able to get larger and stronger each year. Probably just wishful thinking but we shall see.
‘Harvested, Cleaned’
Only about fifty percent of this parsley was harvested in the hopes that it would retain enough energy to regrow in the Spring. I cleaned and washed the parsley, removed the stems, and placed everything into the dehydrator. In four hours it will be dry enough to crush and place into air tight jar for later use.
‘And Dried’
Our harvested black beans have also been dried and stored. There seems to be more than enough for a few good meals. It was our first year growing them and we haven’t decided whether to plant them again next year.
Once all of the days labor was completed we sat down to relax, have a drink, and discuss possible improvements and repairs of the garden for next year. One of the most interesting possibilities is the construction of a much larger cold frame that will be eight feet long and two feet wide. This would allow us to grow a variety of lettuces and radishes well into late October and even early November. Anything we can do to extend the growing season is well worth the effort.
We’re almost ready for that damn snow. Bring it on…..
Well to continue the story as I promised in the last post, we (my better-half and I) were in dire need of pumpkins. Why, I honestly don’t know but we can’t live without them apparently. We especially need to find those ever so illusive white pumpkins which are just ghostly enough to make Halloween worth celebrating. After checking prices at Walmart and Lowes the decision was made to go elsewhere so as not to feel any more extorted than normal.
These days the prices continue to climb on just about everything. The love of the almighty dollar leaves little regard for us customers and with the advent of the big box retailers the days of lower prices at roadside stands are slowly disappearing. The farmers no longer try to beat the prices of the larger stores but are certainly happy to match them. That translates to an end of bargain prices for all of us.
Fortunately if you want to spend the time and effort there are still a few farmers who’ll sell their wares at a decent price, collect their profits, and retain their customer base. It’s one of those places that we headed to after our drive to Kennebunkport and the southern coast.
As we arrive at the farm there are piles and piles of pumpkins and squash of all sizes and kinds. These folks cultivate just over a hundred acres every year and they always seem to have excellent results. They actually sell a large portion of their products to local school districts for the kids lunches. I’ve always been a firm believer about "buying local" and supporting the farmers in our area and it’s folks like these that make that happen. They also give me an excellent place to take incredible Fall pictures. Here are a few.
My better-half made her purchases of an assortment of orange and white pumpkins with a promise to return and pick up a few cornstalks and a bale of hay or two. She feels the need to reassure me that we’re almost ready for Halloween and the Fall season. I’m so relieved.
I really do like the Fall of the year. It ends a rather busy season that I also enjoy but at times it’s a relief to see it end. The better-half and I finally decided to call it a day with the garden. We began the process of pulling up the plants and removing the fabric from the frames. Then delivering those plants to the compost pile for use as fertilizer two years from now.
The last cherry tomatoes were collected, the remaining cucumbers were picked and should keep us in salads for another week or so. I’ll miss them as I always do once the snow fly’s and because I’m not all that crazy about veggies shipped into the county from south of the border somewhere. Thanks for nothing Walmart.
The remaining jalapeño peppers have been left whole, cleaned and canned for use in the future. They should still retain some crispness since they were only cooked long enough to kill the bacteria on their skins.
Some of the cayenne peppers made their way to the dehydrator and will be dried and ground into a fine powder. A number were also strung on thin copper wires for displaying in the kitchen. They make for an attractive curiosity once they start turning into that bright beautiful red color.
The only things remaining in the garden are the herbs. In a week or so just before the first frost I intend to further harvest a quantity of oregano, sage, parsley, rosemary, basil, and tarragon. Once dried they’ll be used to replace older herbs we have in storage. I’ve discovered that if they’re stored in air tight containers they remain useable for up to two years. Once they’ve lost their fragrance and flavor they need to be discarded and replaced.
I feel a little guilty wanting to see the garden end after all of the time and effort we’ve put into it but at the same time I can’t wait for it to be over so I can kick back and relax for a while. I see Winter as the time I require to rest, recharge my batteries and begin the process of planning an even better garden next year. I’m already considering building a small greenhouse, a larger cold frame, and even some sort of in-ground irrigation system. For me half the fun of having a garden is the process of improving it each year and experimenting with new plants we’ve never grown before.
Our Winters here in Maine can seem endless if your not occupying yourself sufficiently. Snow shoveling and snow blowing will only get you so far.
Today will be a general update on a few of the useless things I’ve been doing or trying to do. I’m happy to report that the highchair restoration has been completed. It was a relatively simple project that took only a week to accomplish. The last posting on the chair had me sanding my heart out to remove the old layers of paint, stain, and shellac. Once that was completed I then pulled out my handy-dandy Dremel tool and wire brushed all of the hinges and other hardware. Fortunately I was able to remove almost all of the corrosion.
I discovered quite by accident that this highchair was made from an assortment of woods glued together and painted. This made my staining job a bit more difficult but I persevered. The results were satisfactory but not as good as I’d hoped. Once the stain was on then came three coats of a good polyurethane and a few days to let it dry.
I installed the new modified safety straps which put me one step away from completion. The toughest part of the project was finding the proper decals for the chair. The original had some sort of cutesy puppy on it which I immediately sanded away. A little too lame for me or any kid who might eventually be using it. After visiting a few dozen websites and a few actual retail stores I found two stickers that I felt were acceptable. I installed them yesterday and officially declared this project complete.
Now to the garden which is slowly coming to an end. I harvested the remainder of the kale yesterday. I picked the plants, cut and cleaned the leaves which left me with a large bag full. The process included washing the leaves twice, blanching them all in boiling water, dropping them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, and finally a last thorough washing. A spin dry in the good old Salad Spinner and it’s into the vacuum bags and then the freezer. The process took a little longer than I liked but it’s important to keep the food as clean as possible at all times.
‘In the Garden’
‘In the Wash’
‘Into the Freezer’
Another week and I’ll start the final cleanup of the garden to get it ready for winter. That includes removing all of the fabric from the frames and composting the entire garden with three or four inches of prime compost. Once that has been rototilled in I can concern myself with the remaining yard cleanup and storage of all lawn furniture and equipment for the winter.
Just another slowly fading Summer week here in Maine.
Today’s my day to brag a little. We finished the last of the canning yesterday which means that within the next three weeks I’ll begin to close down the garden for this year. I have to say it’s been a great gardening summer with more enough rain to keep the plants happy and a level of production at least 30% better than last year. This first list is the approximate amounts of veggies we harvested over the last three months.
- 10 – pounds of cherry tomatoes
- 6 – pounds of jalapeños
- 2 -pounds of cayenne peppers
- 6 – pounds of snap peas
- 4 – pounds of black beans
- 30 – pounds of zucchini
- 2 – pounds of kohlrabies
- 50 – pounds of cucumbers
- 4 – pounds of Beets
- 5 – pounds of radishes
- Two additional plantings of lettuce.
- Two additional plantings of snap peas.
- One additional planting of radishes
We then took most of them and processed them into the following list of usable foods for the winter months.
- 10 – pints of hot mustard dill pickles
- 15 – pints of pickled zucchini
- 12 – pints of pickled jalapeños
- 8 – pints of pickled veggie mix
- 24 – pints of hot B&B pickles
- 1 – pint of pickled jalapeño/habaneros
- 13 – quarts of roasted corn/black bean salsa
- 9 – half pints of radish relish
- 18 – large loaves of zucchini bread
- 5 – quarts of pickled kimchi
- 12 – quarts of chili for freezing
- 4 – pounds of kale, frozen
This last list are the herbs I harvested during the Summer to help refill our stocks for winter. We use a great deal of them in every meal we make and we also supply to to family and friends when requested. They’re extremely easy to grow and dry and taste great.
- 1 – quart jar of dried oregano
- 1 – quart jar of dried parsley
- 1 – pint jar of dried habaneros
- 2 – quarts of dried chives
- 1 – quart of dried garlic chives
- 1 – pint jar of dried jalapeños
- 2 – quarts of dried kale
- 9 – pounds of dried sunflower seeds
- 1 – quart of dried Cilantro
- 1 – quart of dried Basil
All of this was from a 350 square foot garden.
Gardening is not as easy as most people think but the rewards make it well worth the effort. My better-half and I really want to know what we’re putting into our bodies. While it’s almost impossible to do that 100% these days, it gives us a little more peace of mind than the average person. Along with gardening we’ve become two of the biggest pain-in-the-butt label readers anywhere. It’s something everyone should learn to do because it’s enlightening and at times a little scary.
The better-half has a few batches of jam to prepare in the next few weeks but there’s no rush. All the necessary berries are in the freezer and can be used at any time. I always look forward to the blackberry jam made from the berries we picked, there’s nothing better.
Happy Labor Day for what it’s worth. It’s one of those holidays that has slowly morphed into something it was never meant to be. It currently is the day to celebrate the end of Summer instead of a celebration of the citizens that made this country great. I understand that everything is destined to change at some future point but sometimes it’s not all that great.
My better-half had the day off which is always something to celebrate so we decided to do a little cruising around southern Maine to enjoy the sunny and warm weather. Cameras in hand we made our way south along Rt. 202 towards the city of Sanford. I enjoy returning to Sanford because I lived there as a single parent to my cat for nine years. It was fun to cruise around and see all of the changes that have taken place in a town that really needed a lot of change.
In the small village of Alfred, ME we made a quick stop at the Notre Dame Monastery. This is a religious group of Brothers who maintain and work a large farm as well as a bakery and a small gift shop. Much of the money raised by the sales of baked goods helps to fund the York County Community Shelter. It’s home to some homeless folks, victims of domestic violence, and a variety of court ordered individuals.
We love stopping to get pictures of their large sunflower patch and to visit the bakery. We picked up an incredibly delicious loaf of wheat bread, a cookie for her, and a raspberry crisp for me. Everyone needs a little sweetness once in a while.
We decided we should stop in some small out of the way place to enjoy a good hearty breakfast. Years ago we occasionally lunched at a little hole-in-the-wall located just outside of Sanford that unfortunately went out of business shortly thereafter. It’s since been reopened with a new owner and a really nice face lift. It’s now called Mel’s Raspberry Patch.
The place is small with maybe ten small tables and six stools along a counter. We plopped at the counter, ordered coffee, and then our meal. Some things haven’t changed. The food is still great, the people are still friendly, and the morning newspaper is still free and readily available for reading. I had my standard breakfast: Two eggs sunny side up, two sausage patties, crispy home fries, toast coffee and jam. The better-half ordered the same meal with bacon and the food was delicious. The conversation with the waitresses was light and fun and it was a nice start to our day. The total bill with tip was less than $20.00.
From there we headed south through Sanford with the intention of cruising east along the border with NH to visit some old haunts and see the sights. We visited the towns of North Berwick and Berwick before ending up in Somersworth, NH. Actually Somersworth is the other half of Berwick which straddles the state border. We’ve always enjoy riding through this somewhat rural farming community which offers lots of opportunities for picture taking.
We cut cross-country and made our way slowly northeast to Rochester, NH where the better-half had an attack of shopper’s withdrawal. I was forced to stop at the local K-Mart so the better-half could run free for an hour. I just have to let her loose occasionally or she gets testy just sitting in the car. I don’t totally understand her need to run since I always leave the car window cracked just a little.
I think her whole point of cruising today was to finally end up in Lebanon, ME that as a town has little to be proud of except for a longstanding flea market. It was located approximately ten minutes away from Rochester but on the way we ran into another flea market (junk sale) in the parking lot of a small strip mall. I was once again strong-armed into pulling over to spend twenty minutes handling a lot of junk that was cheap, dirty and more than a little disgusting. I think the better-half feels she’s required to make a purchase of at least one item no matter where we stop. She threw her questionable purchases into the trunk and we moved on down the road.
We made a really short visit at the flea market in Lebanon but was once again disappointed. It was Labor Day and we expected a large crowd. We were the crowd. We made a quick stop, one minor purchase (required) and headed home. All in all a pretty nice day.
As the summer continues to wind down we’re slowly preparing for the end of the garden and this years growing season. We still have a few tasks that need to be completed before I take it down for the last time. We have what seems to be an endless supply of cherry tomatoes this year which we’ll be eating steadily until the first frost. My better-half has taken steps to can a few quarts of those tomatoes and they’ll be delicious during the upcoming Maine winter. Even though they’re canned they taste better than those hot house selections available in the food stores.
This is the first year we’ve grown black beans and I have to say they grow fast and in great numbers. We spent a hour yesterday shucking the beans and delivering them to the dehydrator. We can store them for a longer period of time once they’ve been sufficiently dried.
We also planted three varieties of kale which are in need of processing in some fashion. Earlier in the summer we blanched a quantity which went directly into the freezer. I harvested what I thought was a large quantity of kale leaves yesterday thinking I would dehydrate them and store them in jars much like dried parsley. Then they could be used in soups or sprinkled on almost any food as a flavor enhancer. I really do love the smell and taste of kale and look forward to using it as often as possible. Unfortunately once dried and crushed my large pile of leaves turned into a single quart jar full.
‘Picked’
‘Blanched’
‘Iced’
‘Finished Product’
I’ve been maintaining a fairly accurate record of what our garden has produced thus far and I’ll be posting that list within a week or so. I feel the need to brag a little because this garden has produced more than we could ever have hoped for.
As you can see the concord grape wine has taken one more step towards final bottling. It looks and smells wonderful and I managed to sneak a taste and it was excellent. A few more weeks and this batch will be finished and bottled.
My better-half has announced a day-off today so we’ve planned an outside workday at home. Believe it or not Fall is just a few weeks away and we’ll be starting the process of closing down the garden soon. If we do a little each week then it won’t be such a challenge.
I really was in denial about Summer being over until yesterday. We were driving around enjoying the nice day when horror of horrors I noticed a few trees whose leaves have begun to turn red. I was a little surprised but a few days before I’d also noticed a large flock of birds gathering in a wooded area near our home. Both signs of an impending season change.
I guess it’s time to plan the work for today. Job #1: Cut the grass. That’ll have to wait until afternoon when the grass has dried somewhat. All the rain we’ve been receiving of late makes cutting in the morning impossible.
This morning will entail us working in the least favorite job we have. If you’ve ever seen the movie Apocalypse Now, you’ll remember that famous quote of Robert Duvall’s, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Here in Maine during this time of the year we have a quote of our own, "We love the smell of compost in the morning." If you’ve never had the opportunity to work in compost you don’t know what you’ve been missing. There’s nothing that says Fall like standing knee deep in a large pile of decomposing vegetable matter that oddly smells like an outhouse. If on a hot, sticky and humid day you took a rotten egg, wrapped it in a smelly old sock, then wrapped it in a really nasty pair of old filthy underwear, and rubbed it under your nose, you’d understand. That will be our morning today.
‘Piles 1, 2 and 3”
Pile 1 will be used for the garden in 2015. Pile 2 will be used in two weeks. Pile 3 will be used 2016.
A compost pile is crucial to keeping your garden happy and healthy. It replaces many of the nutrients needed to grow vegetables and they must be replaced every year. Unfortunately there are certain things a compost piles needs. It needs vegetable matter, water, heat, and stirring. Stirring is just taking the pile and turning it over with a pitchfork to allow more air to get into the mix and to help grow the bacteria that accelerates the decomposition process. That being said the reality is that it smells bad, really bad. After working in it today I’ll be smelling that smell for a day or so. It’s gross and more than a little disgusting. A typical day in the life of most farmers and part-time gardeners like us.
‘A big moist and steamy pile.’
I need to get to work soon but I wanted to tell you about my fun yesterday. Each year we do a large amount of canning but we always like to try new recipes we’ve found or created. Yesterday I made for the first time a batch of hot Radish Relish. It takes a few pounds of radishes, vinegar, habaneros, sugar, salt, and a few other spices. The result as you can see is a beautiful and savory red relish that will be great on burgers, hotdogs and can add a little zing to your tacos as well. Sometimes these experimental things fail miserably but not this one. I look forward to making it many more times in the future.
‘Start’
‘Finish’
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