Archive for the ‘thyme’ Tag
With the Summer more than half over our garden time is more about canning, drying, and storing the results of our efforts than anything else. I’ve been asked in the past how I can get so much production from such a small garden. There’s really no simple answer. An old adage immediately comes to mind: “Plan the work, then work the plan.” Test your soil and keep it fresh, season to season, with compost. Plant your plants near compatible plants. Pull the weeds and kill the bugs. Easy peasy!
The following picture was taken this morning of my small herb garden. The total square footage is 60 ft. which isn’t all that much. I’ve noted the herbs planted there and while they are jammed tightly into the small space they are flourishing.
This small patch has been supplying us with fresh and dried herbs for more than seven years and will hopefully continue to do so. We’ve had so much luck with our herbs growing that next year we’re converting another 100 square feet of garden space for a much larger herb selection. This little patch will continue as is but the new area will be loaded with every herb I can find that we can dry and store. With a larger and more diverse collection I can begin harvesting herbs to create my own mixes for picking, canning, home brewing, and cooking.
Growing more herbs has a number of advantages over vegetables because none of Mother Nature’s little critters seem to like the herbs. That doesn’t include neighborhood felines who find fresh catnip rather interesting. That will allow me to remove some of the fencing I have in place and eliminate my current problems of ripping my clothing on the fence or constantly falling on my butt trying to climb over it. My better-half claims that I’m the clumsiest person on the planet but I dispute that. I’m just unlucky is all.
I will try to post as usual but our upcoming vacation may make it difficult. I’ll attempt to post from New Orleans if I can but after all it is a vacation. I’ll have plenty to post about upon our return.
ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SUMMER
Goodbye August! Now begins our downhill slide into Fall and the always unavoidable Winter. This Summer has sped by faster than any I can even remember.
The better-half and I spent a couple of hours yesterday canning the remaining cucumbers, jalapenos, and assorted hot peppers from the garden. With all of the canning competed I can now start dehydrating my collection of our main cooking herbs. It’s amazing to me just how many herbs we consume each winter. That’ll be my main job during the coming week because we have a large supply of oregano, tarragon, mints, parsley, and thyme to choose from.
We still have a few zucchini’s to be used along with a few kohlrabi’s and beans. The sunflowers are now in bloom and the birds are already circling. Those little beasts can strip a sunflower in a matter of hours once the seeds are ready to eat.
We didn’t feel much like cooking yesterday which means an afternoon visit to Applebee’s. For a lot of years we avoided the place because the food was mediocre and over priced. Going there now is like visiting a brand new restaurant. They’ve changed their menu to something on the order of a TGIF. The food selection is terrific, the preparation is excellent, and the prices won’t break the bank. It was Fish & Chips for me and Shrimp for the better-half. I also washed it all down with a couple of extra tall Gin & Tonics. Life is good.
After today I came to truly understand why I’d never have made a very good farmer. It’s one of the hardest working careers someone could possibly pursue. I was advised by my nursery owning friend that the final fear of frost had finally passed and now I’m free to begin planting my garden. I’ve been waiting patiently for this day for weeks which should explain just how stupid I can be.
While my garden is not a full fledged farm, it still requires a great deal of work and attention to be successful. My preparations for this summers garden started last Fall when I composted the entire garden. It’s continued until today with making the decisions on what will be grown, how much to plant, where to plant, and when to plant. I purchased the majority of the plants early but it was too cold to plant them. I’ve had them stored in a cold frame for almost two weeks until the fear of frost had passed.
I started my day today by planting kale, spinach, beets, kohlrabi, and a selection of new herbs. For the second year I’ve been forced to replace a number of herb plants that didn’t survive the winter. It’s frustrating as hell but it’s something I’ve learned to live with. I added thyme, lime basil, dill, cilantro, rosemary, and curry to the already existing plants. The herb garden is now complete for this year and I hope I can harvest enough this Fall to get us through next winter.
After having a quick lunch I began planting the remaining plants I’ve been nursing along for all these weeks. I planted my zucchini, yellow squash, and pickling cucumbers. A few years ago I picked up a tip from an old gardener on how to grow these types of plants. He explained that when planting just place a partially crushed hard boiled egg a few inches beneath each plant to provide extra nourishment during the early growth weeks. I tried it for the first time last year with excellent results. I grew a number of plants with eggs and an equal number and type without. There was a marked difference in the size of the plants with eggs as well as the amount of squash, cucumbers, and zucchini s they produced.
After completing the planting I watered everything by hand to help them get established. I then hooked up the sprinkler system and tested it. As always problems arise at the worst times. One of the sprinkler sections refused to work requiring another hour of my time to repair it. One last job was to de-slug the garden. Our worst problem here are slugs that can be really destructive if not properly controlled. I spread a sufficient amount of pellets around each plant to begin the battle for this year. I’ll be forced to do this at least three more times this growing season to keep those damn slugs under control.
Water every day, try to chase away the deer, rabbits, and other creatures at night and maybe the garden will be a success. Expect the worst and hope for the best. I couldn’t even begin to understand how farmers with hundreds of acres ever get all of their work done but I’m glad they do.
Hopefully after today I can sit on my deck for a few months and watch everything grow. Then it will be time to harvest all the goodies and prepare the garden for next year.
I think I’ve survived my bout with the flu and it appears the worst is over. My ribs are still killing me from all the coughing but that will pass in a few days. What I need most right now is to get up and out of the house to enjoy the beautiful weather that’s expected for the next few days. The good weather and a little yard work will be just the thing to get me moving again in the right direction. It’s time to change clothes and begin my Spring in a proper fashion.
My better-half is already out and about and doing her gardening thing and she’s awaiting my arrival. The herb garden is in grim shape so that’s where I’ll start. It appears that due to the heavy snow cover this winter most of the plants survived and are beginning to poke through the ground already. I’ll just need to replant the basil and parsley which are annuals and a couple of thymes that didn’t make it. That to me is a good winter result. In almost every winter since moving to Maine I’ve found it necessary to replace on average of eight to ten plants.
The neighbor’s outdoor cat should be really happy too. The catnip is already two inches high and there are a bunch of tiny little footprints already in the area from his nightly visits. That dumb cat loves getting stoned on that catnip.
I’ve just about given up on growing thyme and I’m really tired of replanting and replanting with nothing to show for it. We use a lot of herbs in our cooking which requires harvesting and drying them each Fall for storage. I try to harvest only thirty percent of any plant because any more than that will kill them. The thyme seems to be so delicate that if I harvest any of the plant at all it doesn’t survive the winter. I could try a large number of plants and take just a little from each but we don’t use enough thyme in our dishes to justify that.
It’s noon already and I’ve cleaned at least eight bushels of dead plant material from the garden. Things are looking good here but we have a few more things that require our attention as well. My better-half loves lilac plants so last year I purchased her two as a birthday gift and we planted them along the side of the house. They made it through the winter and appear very healthy. Unfortunately the amount of sun they get in that location could be better. After some discussion yesterday we’ve decided they need to be transplanted elsewhere.
My better-half spent her morning creating a new flower bed in front of the house that receives more than eight hours of full sun each day. We just finished transplanting the lilacs to their new home and I expect them to easily double in size by the end of the summer. Once they start blooming that wonderful scent will make sitting on the deck a lot more enjoyable.
We just finished cleaning up the remainder of the debris from the backyard. It’s surrounded on three sides by woods and believe it or not trees make one hell of a mess. More goodies for the compost pile which is beginning to look more like a compost mountain. Thank God I use a lot of it each Fall to re-energize the gardens but it really does pile up quickly.
It’s early in the year but all of my better-half’s efforts from last summer are beginning to pay off. She has daffodils, tulips, and many others flowers already in bloom and the front of the house looks fantastic. It’s time for us both to put the tools away and call it a day. These kind of days are always hard work but it’s well worth it. It’s always been a great way for us both to clear our heads, forget about all of the everyday nonsense, and just dig in the dirt for a while. It’s a great stress reliever and way cheaper than therapy.
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