I just finished making a pitcher of rhubarb lemonade and all I can say is MY OH MY! Oh, it is good! The picture I have with the recipe has red lemonade, but most of my rhubarb is green. I think in the early spring I do get more red, so that will be interesting. This was just the color of lemonade. The recipe is to take 2 cups of rhubarb, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1-1/2 cups of water and boil and then simmer 10 minutes. Squeeze about 5 lemons to get 1-1/4 cup of lemon juice. I let the rhubarb cool and strained into the pitcher with the lemon juice and added 4 cups of water. I will try to remember tomorrow to take a picture of it.
Today, I thawed some plums and pitted them. I put them through the juicer with some apples and we had that for breakfast. It was pretty good. For supper, I made the same recipe before with the beets, apples, carrots, and ginger. There were more greens with these beets, so we had a lot of juice. I had over 5 cups. I saved 1 cups for my husband to drink in the morning before work.
I am going to thaw tomatoes tomorrow and make tomato soup. I am getting excited about the garden for next year. I moved a little bit of compost that needs to finish. I cut down all the old dead plants in the new herb garden and getting ready to spread compost on it and I will do the same with the old herb garden. It will need a lot of work next year. It is still overgrown even after I moved a lot of plants to the new herb garden.
I am trying to decide where to plant greens and beets and I want to start getting it ready. I am going to put rabbit manure and compost and put straw on top of that and then when the ground thaws I will turn it and be ready to plant early. I am going to see if my son and husband can make a couple of cold frames. This year, might be the year they build a greenhouse too.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Juicing
I bought a juicer yesterday and I have been searching for recipes for fruits and vegetables. I have so much fruit in the he freezers and when spring comes I will have more. I cannot keep making just jam and jelly.
I have worried about the fiber taken out of the food, but I am going to try it. I did not buy a real expensive one, but I did get one that will juice carrots and it even juiced sweet potatoes.
The first recipe was really nice. I bought 3 beets. I had some apples and I used frozen blackberries. I think they should be thawed to get more juice out of them. I used more than a cup of blackberries and 1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger. That make enough juice for the 4 of us to get about 3/4 of a cup. It had a beet taste and was rich looking and had an excellent taste.
The next recipe I used 2 sweet potatoes peeled, 4 carrots and 1/2 inch piece of ginger. I thought it had a carrot taste. Very nice. This made 1/2 cup for each of us.
I will experiment and see what we like and how much it will take to get a cup each for a serving. I would like to get where we drink 1 cup of a fruit in the morning and a cup of vegetable juice in the evening.
I was told the cleanup would be hard and it was not at all hard. I have been told it is expensive and that it is, but I have a garden. I have blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and rhubarb in the freezer. I have five rhubarb plants that will be producing this spring. I am going to make rhubarb lemonade here in the next day or so.
Organic beets are very expensive, so my plan is to grow a lot of beets and rotate them so I can keep getting them until fall. I can freeze beets, but they will have to be blanched and that is not the same as raw juicing. I have grown sweet potatoes and I may try again, but I hate to waste the space if it fails. I can grow carrots too. The herbs can also be juiced. I did juice the beet greens with the 3 beets that I bought.
I decided that if we see any health benefits from this then I will buy a better juicer when this ones quits working. I am also thinking of buying a Vitamix after Christmas. My plan is for 2015 to be a healthy year and to make good use of our food.
I have worried about the fiber taken out of the food, but I am going to try it. I did not buy a real expensive one, but I did get one that will juice carrots and it even juiced sweet potatoes.
The first recipe was really nice. I bought 3 beets. I had some apples and I used frozen blackberries. I think they should be thawed to get more juice out of them. I used more than a cup of blackberries and 1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger. That make enough juice for the 4 of us to get about 3/4 of a cup. It had a beet taste and was rich looking and had an excellent taste.
The next recipe I used 2 sweet potatoes peeled, 4 carrots and 1/2 inch piece of ginger. I thought it had a carrot taste. Very nice. This made 1/2 cup for each of us.
I will experiment and see what we like and how much it will take to get a cup each for a serving. I would like to get where we drink 1 cup of a fruit in the morning and a cup of vegetable juice in the evening.
I was told the cleanup would be hard and it was not at all hard. I have been told it is expensive and that it is, but I have a garden. I have blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and rhubarb in the freezer. I have five rhubarb plants that will be producing this spring. I am going to make rhubarb lemonade here in the next day or so.
Organic beets are very expensive, so my plan is to grow a lot of beets and rotate them so I can keep getting them until fall. I can freeze beets, but they will have to be blanched and that is not the same as raw juicing. I have grown sweet potatoes and I may try again, but I hate to waste the space if it fails. I can grow carrots too. The herbs can also be juiced. I did juice the beet greens with the 3 beets that I bought.
I decided that if we see any health benefits from this then I will buy a better juicer when this ones quits working. I am also thinking of buying a Vitamix after Christmas. My plan is for 2015 to be a healthy year and to make good use of our food.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
How Many Hours OF Housework A Day Should We Do?
I watched an old movie made in 1930s or so. A doctor stated that most of his patients could be healed by doing 6 hours of housework a day. His patients were rich women who laid around all day and had maids. When the movie was made they did not have dishwashers, washing machines,dryers, vacuum cleaners, so I can see how we have it easier than they did and it might not take us 6 hours. Last week I made applesauce and apple jelly. I stared washing the jars, put the water on and sterilized the jars, got the apples ready, and while cooking, I would wash dishes and clean areas I needed. The jelly took the longest it seemed. I was getting tired. With the jars, the apples, the dishes, and then cooking supper, I was in the kitchen for 8 hours. The next day, I really wondered about all this gardening, canning, dehydrating and is it worth it.
I finished the asparagus bed today. The bed is covered with leaves and some old hay. I raked and hoed weeds. I spread some compost. It was only about a 10 x 10 area. I also cleaned up the spot where the big rhubarb plant is. I put some compost down and I will cover that area with some old straw tomorrow. I worked outside for 2 hours and staggered in and got the fire going. I started washing dishes and by the time I was done, I was getting another attitude about all this housework.
I washed clothes and I sure am glad I did not have to boil a kettle of water to wash clothes. I do not think that all that work made women slim and trim. When I was a little girl, two women lived across the street. They were sisters. They were old. They wore clothes that looked like from an old western show. It was the 1950s, so they were born in the late 1800s. They had an outhouse. They had an old wringer washer on the porch and hung clothes on the line. They had a big garden and I would watch them bent over going down the rows working and neither one of these women were slim. There is more to it that work.
I finished the asparagus bed today. The bed is covered with leaves and some old hay. I raked and hoed weeds. I spread some compost. It was only about a 10 x 10 area. I also cleaned up the spot where the big rhubarb plant is. I put some compost down and I will cover that area with some old straw tomorrow. I worked outside for 2 hours and staggered in and got the fire going. I started washing dishes and by the time I was done, I was getting another attitude about all this housework.
I washed clothes and I sure am glad I did not have to boil a kettle of water to wash clothes. I do not think that all that work made women slim and trim. When I was a little girl, two women lived across the street. They were sisters. They were old. They wore clothes that looked like from an old western show. It was the 1950s, so they were born in the late 1800s. They had an outhouse. They had an old wringer washer on the porch and hung clothes on the line. They had a big garden and I would watch them bent over going down the rows working and neither one of these women were slim. There is more to it that work.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
What I Did Today
Today, I went out and started cutting down the asparagus ferns and pulling weeds. It was raining a little, so I did not finish. Tomorrow I will finish pulling weeds and put some compost in the box and some straw to mulch for the winter.
I took a few pictures. I did not make applesauce today, but I took pictures of some of the other that I made before my daughter eats it all.
She loves applesauce. I made one batch plain and the other with cinnamon. I have enough apple jelly, so I will not make anymore of that and it will make the applesauce canning a lot easier and faster. I might make some apple/plum sauce too, but with Thanksgiving, I am not sure when I will get this done.
I decided to make something healthy tonight to go with supper. I thawed some chicken broth, chopped an onion, minced garlic, chopped some celery, added dehydrated parsley, thyme, and kale. I thought it was really good and I will have some for lunch tomorrow.
I am going to be out of dehydrated thyme and oregano long before spring, so next year I know I have to start earlier dehydrating these. I have two herb gardens now and they both need a lot of work. The oldest has oregano and several kinds of mint, thyme, chives, sage, and also some flowers. The new herb garden has rhubarb, parsley that I hope comes back next year, a big pretty anise hyssop plant, a lot of mint, thyme, oregano, chives, and I hope the lemon balm returns. I have a couple of different kinds of thyme. Herbs are one thing that I find that are of great value to grow. I cannot get this taste from herbs bought from the store. There is something about cutting the herbs and bringing in and using right then or dehydrating immediately. I am going to expand and improve the herb gardens next year.
I did not really get a lot done today, but I feel like I got some exercise. I was working in the garden for over an hour. Maybe, I can finish the asparagus tomorrow.
I took a few pictures. I did not make applesauce today, but I took pictures of some of the other that I made before my daughter eats it all.
She loves applesauce. I made one batch plain and the other with cinnamon. I have enough apple jelly, so I will not make anymore of that and it will make the applesauce canning a lot easier and faster. I might make some apple/plum sauce too, but with Thanksgiving, I am not sure when I will get this done.
I decided to make something healthy tonight to go with supper. I thawed some chicken broth, chopped an onion, minced garlic, chopped some celery, added dehydrated parsley, thyme, and kale. I thought it was really good and I will have some for lunch tomorrow.
I am going to be out of dehydrated thyme and oregano long before spring, so next year I know I have to start earlier dehydrating these. I have two herb gardens now and they both need a lot of work. The oldest has oregano and several kinds of mint, thyme, chives, sage, and also some flowers. The new herb garden has rhubarb, parsley that I hope comes back next year, a big pretty anise hyssop plant, a lot of mint, thyme, oregano, chives, and I hope the lemon balm returns. I have a couple of different kinds of thyme. Herbs are one thing that I find that are of great value to grow. I cannot get this taste from herbs bought from the store. There is something about cutting the herbs and bringing in and using right then or dehydrating immediately. I am going to expand and improve the herb gardens next year.
I did not really get a lot done today, but I feel like I got some exercise. I was working in the garden for over an hour. Maybe, I can finish the asparagus tomorrow.
Women At Home
I
neglected my blog all summer. I was busy, but also I stopped blogging because
my blog looked so exhausting. It seemed to be a long never ending list of jobs. I have been considering why do I garden and is it worth it. I kind of perked up the other day while
outside planting garlic with geese flying over and honking at me on a chilly
November day.
So
many like to tell women their place is in the home. In the home doing
what? They are to cook and clean and let
the men be in charge, but in charge of what?
I stayed at home to raise my children and to homeschool them. Is this
the future for my daughter? What kind of woman will my son marry?
The world is a crazy place anymore. When I was younger and my mother was
home, she always was busy and our house had people coming and going. Most
of the people were neighbors. We sat outside at night and talked.
My friend Theresa would come to get me to sit in her kitchen and watch her
pressure canner while she had to do something else. I had no interest in
canning back then. She was older than I was, but we always were busy doing
things. She was married and I was still a teenager. We went
fishing, rode horses, and her family and mine would go to church. We did
not compete with each other and why we were friends, I do not know, other than
we did not judge each other. Maybe, we really did not even know a lot about
each other. I think people know each other too well or they think they do
by reading between the lines of texts and messages. They cannot hear the voice or see the face to
know if somebody is even joking. Today,
neighbors do not need you for a friend. Most people do not even go
outside in their yard. They have jobs, family, computers and cell
phones.
It
was not unusual for women to be at home all day cooking and taking care of
children when my mother was a housewife. They did not homeschool back
then. I would come home and find Theresa talking to my mother and they
talked of making supper and desserts. For me, this does not happen.
I have been homeschooling for years and stayed home. Neighborhood
children came to play. I am not sure what my kids would have done if we
had lived way off outside of town. I know what would have happened. I would have joined all kinds of things to keep them busy and I would have been on the road back and forth to town. With me being home, the neighborhood kids could play in our yard. The mothers went to work and the dads were home and then when she came home the dad would go to work, if there was a dad. There were
not any women at home canning, growing a garden, worrying about minerals in the
soil, or GMOs in their food. My son had 2 friends that were
brothers. For about a month they ate chicken nuggets and French fries
that their mother brought home from her job at a fast food place. The
same happened years earlier when my daughter's friends ate hamburgers for a
month when their mother went to work at a fast food restaurant. I
remember the kids kind of lost and the husband too. Then, the mother came
home with the sacks and off they ran to meet her and the doors shut and they
stayed in visiting with her and eating their food in a sack. The job
would last about a month and then she would be home again and the husband would
work and the mother would be wandering around not knowing what to do. I
see so many girls that say they need a job and they have a home and children to
take care of. I really do not know what the young people are going to do
for jobs in this country.
I
have lived here in this house now for over 6 years. The house behind me
has seen several families come and go. An older man just moved in and he told my husband that he likes what we have done with the garden and he wants to do the same with his yard. I have met several of the other
neighbors. I know a couple of names. We smile and wave. I
have another a few houses away that I talk to outside when she comes out in the
spring and summer to plant her small garden. The house on the other side
has an older man. He is gone all the time and he will talk for a short
period of time if you see him outside.
There are not any like minded women to
can and cook with. I talk to my friend Ellie about what I cook and can,
and she tells me all about what she is doing. She lives in another
state. My own family does not want to hear about the tomatoes or the
green beans. They do not want to know about the weeds. They sure
do not want to hear the cherries need to be pitted. We almost had
World War III over pitting cherries last summer.
I had a fit. It was all poor me and nobody appreciates me and the food is being wasted. I had such a fit that after son and daughter went swimming, they sat under the tree pitting cherries in their wet clothes. They looked so sad, I almost felt sorry for them. Well, I did end up feeling sorry for them and decided to freeze the cherries with the pits and make juice later. They are small and there are 3 bushes. The first year there were a few and we were so excited to see cherries and could not wait to make a pie. The next year, not so excited and this year, I think everybody did all they could to not even look in the direction of the bushes. I decided it was best I pick them and go get some exercise and sun. I would pick a quart and put them in the ice box. I would hope a certain daughter would see them and pit them for me, but they would get pushed back and then the next quart would come in and then I ended up pitting them. My son looked so upset at the idea of pitting them that I did not even want to go through seeing that face.
I had a fit. It was all poor me and nobody appreciates me and the food is being wasted. I had such a fit that after son and daughter went swimming, they sat under the tree pitting cherries in their wet clothes. They looked so sad, I almost felt sorry for them. Well, I did end up feeling sorry for them and decided to freeze the cherries with the pits and make juice later. They are small and there are 3 bushes. The first year there were a few and we were so excited to see cherries and could not wait to make a pie. The next year, not so excited and this year, I think everybody did all they could to not even look in the direction of the bushes. I decided it was best I pick them and go get some exercise and sun. I would pick a quart and put them in the ice box. I would hope a certain daughter would see them and pit them for me, but they would get pushed back and then the next quart would come in and then I ended up pitting them. My son looked so upset at the idea of pitting them that I did not even want to go through seeing that face.
What
is my job? Should I take the time to make jelly or applesauce? I
never buy applesauce anymore because it has fructose corn syrup. I do not
want to spend money for organic and most of the jelly has corn syrup.
Should I care about corn syrup? Everybody else eats corn syrup.
Everybody else does a lot of things I do not do. I did not see a big
benefit this year with exercise for me. I like to say that I am going to
garden and lose weight. Well, that did not happen. I think the garden
does keep me busy where I am not just sitting all day. I have a lot of
chores to do and I think that is good. I don't want to make my family
take care of the garden since they do not enjoy it. Well, my husband does
when he has time. He would be out in the garden all the time if he was
retired.
I
type medical reports all day from home. I am a medical
transcriptionist. I have noticed in the last few years more and more
people with heart disease at earlier ages. There are so many strokes that it is
frightening. I have noticed more birth defects and thyroid disease is so common
that normal thyroid function is going to become rare. My parents took care of
me when I was born. They went out of their way to buy raw milk. I was given
vitamins and the best quality they could find.
I can remember my mother snapping beans, shelling peas, shucking
corn. My mother was always cooking
greens. She would get so excited about
somebody bringing her fresh greens that I look back and she reminds me of
Granny Clampett cooking in her kitchen.
I will be 60 in a few months and I have no disease with a name. I do not think I did so well with my children
and I regret it. My parents were blind and my mother cooked from scratch and I
have two eyes and wonder if I should do the same?
I
regret not starting my children on raw milk. They had formula. They
were allowed to drink way too much pop. We had a lot of fast food hamburgers
and chicken nuggets for supper without salads or anything green. They ate a lot of breakfast cereal. I did put them on raw milk when my son was
only about 2 and when I could not buy raw, I did buy organic to stay away from
hormones in the milk.
I suppose my picky son might think all this is worth it if somehow
I create food that tastes good, looks good, and is healthy too. I do not want the garden to be all about saving money or stocking up on food. I would like to see us
have more energy and see some type of health benefit from the garden this next year. It is my job to see that they are healthy and
I just do not feel I have done my best. I
am going to make the most of 2015.
Monday, November 24, 2014
What Grew And Did Not In The Garden
I started out with a lot of energy and ideas for the 2014 garden. I seemed to not have as much time this year. I did not take as many pictures. I need my own camera. Next will be all the clean up. The garden produced so long that the plants were still in the garden in late October producing. Usually, the garden clean up is going on in October. I think I will just list what I planted and what happened. Overall, it was an exceptional garden.
ASPARAGUS
It was 2 years old and produced well, but it is really planted in a bad place. The ferns are shading other parts of the garden. The ferns are huge. I am going out in the next day or so to cut them down and to put compost and mulch done to get ready for spring.
BEETS
Hardly any. I have no idea why. The only time I did have success with beets was when I transplanted them. My neighbor had some and I saw how she planted them. Her daughter started them in the house and she transplanted to the garden. I am going to start them in the house and transplant to the garden early, early spring.
CARROTS
I did not plant very many and all I got were a few short ones, but very sweet.
CELERY
This was the first year I planted it and I started it from seed and I only planted a few to see what would happen. First, I did not have room and it was planted in a bad spot, but it grew and I actually ate celery from my own garden and have some in the freezer. I will plant more next year.
BUSH BEAN
They were planted too close together and fell over, but they kept on producing. It was a mess to deal with and I am not sure I will plant bush beans again after the success I had with pole beans.
POLE BEANS
UNREAL! I do not know how much I harvested, but daily I picked 2 or 3 pounds and sometimes more. They were on poles about 7 feet high and strings tied on the poles than hung to the ground for them to grow up.
ONIONS
I planted a million. I worked hard and I planted them in rabbit manure. I could not get in to weed them, but they grew so tall. They were waist high. A wind and rain storm came and blew them over and with all the weeds, I could not stand to look at them any longer, so I picked them. I still have onions and they taste great, but they were small. I am not sure where I will plant them next time, but somewhere that I can get to them and weed them better.
TOMATOES
I planted some on the north and some on the south side of a fence. The south did a lot better. The ones on the north also had the pole beans. They still grew, but not as well as the south. I still got them all mixed up, but a few of them I did recognize. The cherry tomatoes did well. The pink brandywine took forever to ripen. I liked the Bloody Butcher that I planted, but I did not get very many. The San Marzano produced and produced. I will grow them again.
PEPPERS
I planted a lot of peppers and I got a lot. They were amazing.
PARSLEY
I started some from seed and I bought some curly leaf because I read that it will reseed and come back next spring. I have quarts of parsley dehydrated. I was pleased with both kinds.
GARLIC
I planted a lot. Then, I planted peas too close. Then, the weeds came, and I had a hard time weeding and taking care of the garlic. I harvested a lot. I just planted the garlic for next year. I almost did not get it done. I only had one place in the yard that was not froze. I hope to keep the weeds out of this.
POTATOES
The blue potatoes were small again and like the year before there were a lot of them. The white, red, and Yukon were pretty good size.
LETTUCE
I had a lot of lettuce. I really enjoy lettuce from the garden.
KALE
The kale was a success. I waited a little too long to harvest it. There is a lot in the freezer and a lot dehydrated.
SQUASH
The squash started out beautiful and then the birds came. This is the first time it ever happened, but the young birds were pulling the leaves off the seedlings. I replanted and covered with netting for awhile. I did not get a lot of squash, but enough. I tried a new one called Cube of Butter and I thought it was very nice. I also tried Horns of Plenty, but I really did not get a lot of the plants, but it might have been where they were planted.
CUCUMBERS
The cucumbers were the same story as the squash with the birds. I usually do not get a lot of cucumbers, so I planted a lot after the bird problem and they really produced. I made freezer pickles and dill relish and sweet relish. I will have enough relish to last 10 years. I made ice box pickles and gave my brother loads of them to eat. I will not be planting very many cucumbers next year.
ELDERBERRIES
This was amazing. The biggest year for the 5-year-old bushes. The branches were so loaded that my husband had to support them and tie the branches up because they were hanging all the way to the ground. One of the branches still broke. I have a lot in the freezer to make jelly and using some to make elderberry syrup to keep the flu away. I also picked some in the mountains for the first time this year and gave some away to friends. I dehydrated mine.
RASPBERRIES
The raspberries were amazing also. I have gallons and gallons of them. I bought gold raspberries and planted in May and they produced. I like them, but I am not sure what to think of them yet.
BLACKBERRIES
These are out of hand. The canes need trimming now. Some of the branches broke. I have gallons and gallons of blackberries. I made a few pies. I am going to make blackberry jam and jelly soon.
CHERRIES
Stella the sweet cherry tree is 5 years old and will be 6 this spring. We got enough to eat handfuls of cherries. They are very sweet. The Nanking pie cherries almost caused fights in my house. There were so many. I would pick them a quart at a time and it takes forever to take the pits out. Son and daughter did not want to help. I finally had such a fit that they did help. They sat out under the tree in wet clothes from swimming and pitted the cherries for me. I finally decided to just start freezing with the pits. I guess they will be turned into juice later.
STRAWBERRIES
I have had a lot of trouble with strawberries for the last 2 years. I put them in a different place, but they did not get watered as much since they are in an out of the way place. I weeded them and weeded them, and still there were weeds. They are all covered with leaves right now, so I will see what happens next year.
PLUMS
The trees produced a lot of small plums. They are sweet. One tree we just ate off the tree what we wanted, but the other tree ripened earlier and I harvested and mixed them with some that a friend let us pick from his plum tree. I made a lot of plum jam and jelly. I still have some frozen.
CABBAGE
I had a few purple heads that were pretty good. I had a lot of slugs this year, but they do not seem to like the purple cabbage. I am not sure I want to grow purple again. I planted 100+ day cabbage and should have planted an early variety.
RHUBARB
Again, UNREAL! I have rhubarb all over the place and growing well. It is possible that I may have too much, but I am not sure that is possible.
HERBS
I dehydrated cilantro, parsley, sage, mint, basil, and not sure what else. I have a lot of weeding and work to do in the herb garden, well gardens since now there are two.
PEAS
This was crazy. I finally figured out what kind of support they need and I guess I will plant some next spring. They grew at least 6 feet tall, fell over the fence and grew another foot or more. They shaded the garlic, and the kale supported them on the other side. We ate peas daily and I have some froze. If they had not fallen over, I think we will still be picking them. I had another row that did not get as tall, but still fell over. I just did not have the right kind of fence for them.
Then there is the applesauce and apple jelly. I did not take pictures of that, but I will be making more in a few days. I have been dehydrating onions, potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, and even peppers and squash. In October my husband worked hard to get firewood. He had help from our son this year and a little from my brother and even me and our daughter.
ASPARAGUS
It was 2 years old and produced well, but it is really planted in a bad place. The ferns are shading other parts of the garden. The ferns are huge. I am going out in the next day or so to cut them down and to put compost and mulch done to get ready for spring.
BEETS
Hardly any. I have no idea why. The only time I did have success with beets was when I transplanted them. My neighbor had some and I saw how she planted them. Her daughter started them in the house and she transplanted to the garden. I am going to start them in the house and transplant to the garden early, early spring.
CARROTS
I did not plant very many and all I got were a few short ones, but very sweet.
CELERY
This was the first year I planted it and I started it from seed and I only planted a few to see what would happen. First, I did not have room and it was planted in a bad spot, but it grew and I actually ate celery from my own garden and have some in the freezer. I will plant more next year.
BUSH BEAN
They were planted too close together and fell over, but they kept on producing. It was a mess to deal with and I am not sure I will plant bush beans again after the success I had with pole beans.
POLE BEANS
UNREAL! I do not know how much I harvested, but daily I picked 2 or 3 pounds and sometimes more. They were on poles about 7 feet high and strings tied on the poles than hung to the ground for them to grow up.
ONIONS
I planted a million. I worked hard and I planted them in rabbit manure. I could not get in to weed them, but they grew so tall. They were waist high. A wind and rain storm came and blew them over and with all the weeds, I could not stand to look at them any longer, so I picked them. I still have onions and they taste great, but they were small. I am not sure where I will plant them next time, but somewhere that I can get to them and weed them better.
TOMATOES
I planted some on the north and some on the south side of a fence. The south did a lot better. The ones on the north also had the pole beans. They still grew, but not as well as the south. I still got them all mixed up, but a few of them I did recognize. The cherry tomatoes did well. The pink brandywine took forever to ripen. I liked the Bloody Butcher that I planted, but I did not get very many. The San Marzano produced and produced. I will grow them again.
PEPPERS
I planted a lot of peppers and I got a lot. They were amazing.
PARSLEY
I started some from seed and I bought some curly leaf because I read that it will reseed and come back next spring. I have quarts of parsley dehydrated. I was pleased with both kinds.
GARLIC
I planted a lot. Then, I planted peas too close. Then, the weeds came, and I had a hard time weeding and taking care of the garlic. I harvested a lot. I just planted the garlic for next year. I almost did not get it done. I only had one place in the yard that was not froze. I hope to keep the weeds out of this.
POTATOES
The blue potatoes were small again and like the year before there were a lot of them. The white, red, and Yukon were pretty good size.
LETTUCE
I had a lot of lettuce. I really enjoy lettuce from the garden.
KALE
The kale was a success. I waited a little too long to harvest it. There is a lot in the freezer and a lot dehydrated.
SQUASH
The squash started out beautiful and then the birds came. This is the first time it ever happened, but the young birds were pulling the leaves off the seedlings. I replanted and covered with netting for awhile. I did not get a lot of squash, but enough. I tried a new one called Cube of Butter and I thought it was very nice. I also tried Horns of Plenty, but I really did not get a lot of the plants, but it might have been where they were planted.
CUCUMBERS
The cucumbers were the same story as the squash with the birds. I usually do not get a lot of cucumbers, so I planted a lot after the bird problem and they really produced. I made freezer pickles and dill relish and sweet relish. I will have enough relish to last 10 years. I made ice box pickles and gave my brother loads of them to eat. I will not be planting very many cucumbers next year.
ELDERBERRIES
This was amazing. The biggest year for the 5-year-old bushes. The branches were so loaded that my husband had to support them and tie the branches up because they were hanging all the way to the ground. One of the branches still broke. I have a lot in the freezer to make jelly and using some to make elderberry syrup to keep the flu away. I also picked some in the mountains for the first time this year and gave some away to friends. I dehydrated mine.
RASPBERRIES
The raspberries were amazing also. I have gallons and gallons of them. I bought gold raspberries and planted in May and they produced. I like them, but I am not sure what to think of them yet.
BLACKBERRIES
These are out of hand. The canes need trimming now. Some of the branches broke. I have gallons and gallons of blackberries. I made a few pies. I am going to make blackberry jam and jelly soon.
CHERRIES
Stella the sweet cherry tree is 5 years old and will be 6 this spring. We got enough to eat handfuls of cherries. They are very sweet. The Nanking pie cherries almost caused fights in my house. There were so many. I would pick them a quart at a time and it takes forever to take the pits out. Son and daughter did not want to help. I finally had such a fit that they did help. They sat out under the tree in wet clothes from swimming and pitted the cherries for me. I finally decided to just start freezing with the pits. I guess they will be turned into juice later.
STRAWBERRIES
I have had a lot of trouble with strawberries for the last 2 years. I put them in a different place, but they did not get watered as much since they are in an out of the way place. I weeded them and weeded them, and still there were weeds. They are all covered with leaves right now, so I will see what happens next year.
PLUMS
The trees produced a lot of small plums. They are sweet. One tree we just ate off the tree what we wanted, but the other tree ripened earlier and I harvested and mixed them with some that a friend let us pick from his plum tree. I made a lot of plum jam and jelly. I still have some frozen.
CABBAGE
I had a few purple heads that were pretty good. I had a lot of slugs this year, but they do not seem to like the purple cabbage. I am not sure I want to grow purple again. I planted 100+ day cabbage and should have planted an early variety.
RHUBARB
Again, UNREAL! I have rhubarb all over the place and growing well. It is possible that I may have too much, but I am not sure that is possible.
HERBS
I dehydrated cilantro, parsley, sage, mint, basil, and not sure what else. I have a lot of weeding and work to do in the herb garden, well gardens since now there are two.
PEAS
This was crazy. I finally figured out what kind of support they need and I guess I will plant some next spring. They grew at least 6 feet tall, fell over the fence and grew another foot or more. They shaded the garlic, and the kale supported them on the other side. We ate peas daily and I have some froze. If they had not fallen over, I think we will still be picking them. I had another row that did not get as tall, but still fell over. I just did not have the right kind of fence for them.
Then there is the applesauce and apple jelly. I did not take pictures of that, but I will be making more in a few days. I have been dehydrating onions, potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, and even peppers and squash. In October my husband worked hard to get firewood. He had help from our son this year and a little from my brother and even me and our daughter.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Thanks to Bethany at Liberty Or Death for nominating me for the Beautiful Blog Award! It has taken me a few months to get back to my blog, but here are my answers.
My questions are:
1. If
you could have an expenses-paid vacation to anywhere in the world, where would
you go and why?
Alaska because it is so
wild and beautiful.
2. What
would you like to accomplish by the end of 2014?
To
have a plan for the garden for 2015.
3. What are a few of your favorite quotes?
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Thomas Jefferson.
My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And
I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand.
My
Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand.
I
and my Father are one. Jesus Christ.
Ye are
the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do
men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven. Jesus Christ.
The Beatitudes in the Book of Matthew. Jesus Christ.
4.
What Bible character do you relate to the most, and why?
Of the women I
would have to pick Ruth because she cared for her mother-in-law and I cared for
my mother, but also I had a friend that was elderly. I started out working for
her and then we became friends and I took her shopping and helped her when she
became older.
5.
What is your dream car?
A
truck that is paid for with 4-wheel drive.
6.
Are you a morning person or night owl?
Apparently
a night owl, but not by choice, but because of schedules with jobs.
8.
Do you have a favorite plant or flower?
Hollyhock
and morning glory.
9.
What are some of your favorite foods?
Chocolate
anything would have been my answer a few years ago. I still like chocolate, but
I enjoy fresh food and greens more than I used to. I also will usually order
fried chicken when at a restaurant.
10.
What cause(s) are you most opinionated about?
Vaccines,
abortion, the Bible, I guess I am opinionated. I really do not speak out like I
did when I was younger. I also feel strongly about politics and growing food
without chemicals and GMOs, but as I get older, I try not to be so stern.
People learn by example and I will try to be a good example, I guess.
11.
What is the best advice on life you can give in up to 3 sentences?
Love
God and ask forgiveness when you do wrong. Thank Him for his Son.
Thank Him for everything.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Plants, Plants, Plants
I have been so busy and I have neglected my blog. I have peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, basil, celery, thyme,parsley inside and outside onions, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, bok-choy and flowers.
I need to finish transplanting the inside plants. I have a lot of different varieties and I will list them later.
I planted spinach and lettuce out in a box and transplanted a few strawberries. Andy and I dug up some rhubarb from the neighbors that are moving and then Jacob and I got some more. I gave some to a neighbor and some to a friend at church.
Rachel and I made more raspberry jam and we made elderberry jelly. I dehydrated more cherry tomatoes and squash too.
I want to make blackberry jam, blackberry jelly, strawberry/rhubarb jam, raspberry/rhubarb jam, just plain rhubarb jam.
Jacob and I got the garden staked and we planted the blue potatoes that had sprouted. The box
behind this was full of them too. We put the lattice up for the peas and he drove fence posts in and getting other areas ready for planting peas. I should have had them planted by now, but it is not too late.
. The garlic is coming up real nice. I just wish I did not plant it like this, but had made a single row around the garden to save space.
More later. I hope everyone is having nice weather and getting their gardens planted.
I planted spinach and lettuce out in a box and transplanted a few strawberries. Andy and I dug up some rhubarb from the neighbors that are moving and then Jacob and I got some more. I gave some to a neighbor and some to a friend at church.
Rachel and I made more raspberry jam and we made elderberry jelly. I dehydrated more cherry tomatoes and squash too.
I want to make blackberry jam, blackberry jelly, strawberry/rhubarb jam, raspberry/rhubarb jam, just plain rhubarb jam.
Jacob and I got the garden staked and we planted the blue potatoes that had sprouted. The box
More later. I hope everyone is having nice weather and getting their gardens planted.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Potatoes And Jam Finished
The potatoes have cooled and we have them in the jars now. The raspberry jam are all sealed and have their labels now and ready to go into the cabinet.
We are dehydrating strawberries and raspberries today. Jacob said he could only find 2 bags of strawberries, but I think there are a lot buried in the bottom, so we have about 7 pounds of strawberries and 2-1/2 pounds of raspberries.
Some of the raspberries have a lot of little pieces, so I am not sure how that is going to turn out. I read where one lady said that if her tomato slices were too small, she had a hard time scraping them off the liners. That does not sound too good.
I have more tomatoes coming up. The eggplant are coming up now. I am not sure about the peppers. I went to the store and bought some bell pepper seed. Seeds are going on sale now, so it is hard to resist. I am starting more even of eggplant. With this dehydrator, I feel like I should plant a lot. I hope I do not end up tilling up all the grass and expanding more! I don't think the kids would like that.
We are dehydrating strawberries and raspberries today. Jacob said he could only find 2 bags of strawberries, but I think there are a lot buried in the bottom, so we have about 7 pounds of strawberries and 2-1/2 pounds of raspberries.
I have more tomatoes coming up. The eggplant are coming up now. I am not sure about the peppers. I went to the store and bought some bell pepper seed. Seeds are going on sale now, so it is hard to resist. I am starting more even of eggplant. With this dehydrator, I feel like I should plant a lot. I hope I do not end up tilling up all the grass and expanding more! I don't think the kids would like that.
Raspberry Jam
While the potatoes were dehydrating, Rachel and I decided to make raspberry jam. It has been several years since I have used the water bath canner. Andy started looking for all the supplies and has been bringing in different things that had to be washed. I went out to the garage and found a dozen brand new half pint jelly jars. They have the lids and bands. We could not find our magnet and the Ball Blue Book recipe I was going to use for the jam called for 1 pouch of liquid pectin. I have not used this before, but I wanted to follow the recipe. The box comes with 2 pouches. I found it at several stores and it can get a little expensive at some of the stores.
The recipe only uses a quart of raspberries, so we am going to have a lot of jam to make or dehydrate a lot of raspberries. We are using some for the kefir, so I will keep some frozen also.
I bought 25 pounds of cane sugar while I was out shopping. I am going to be needing a lot. I have blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, elderberries and rhubarb to use. Rachel was busy washing things and getting the kitchen ready while I was shopping.
We measured a quart of frozen raspberries and put them on the stove on warm to start to thaw. The recipes calls for mashed raspberries, so I mashed them.
We had the canner filled and getting hot and the jars and bands washed and hot in another pot.
In another pan we had the clean lids and you cannot let these get too hot.
When I thought the water in the canner was getting close to being ready, we heated up the raspberries and when they were bubbling we added the sugar, all 6-1/2 cups of it!
After the sugar was dissolved, we added the liquid pectin and brought it to a boil and let it boil for a minute. We then filled the jars using the funnel, wiped the rims, put the lids and bands on, lowered down in the water and the recipe said to boil 10 minutes.
We took the jars out to cool and could hear them pinging. All 7 jars have sealed so far. I am a little worried about it, but it should be okay, but the lids are over 7 years old and have been stored in the garage. I am not even sure I bought them new. We had collected jars in 2007. Andy and I just went nuts looking for jars at thrift stores and gathered up probably 1000 jars or so, so I do not remember where they came from. We had a neighbor who cleaned out her shed and gave us all her jars too and she had not canned for years.
This was a lot easier than the apple jelly and all the apple peeling we had to do. We are going to get an apple peeler/corer/slicer before we do that again, but as soon as I find apples at a decent price, we will make apple rings with the dehydrator and I will save the cores and peelings and make apple peeling jelly. I hope to find enough apples and make applesauce too.
The recipe only uses a quart of raspberries, so we am going to have a lot of jam to make or dehydrate a lot of raspberries. We are using some for the kefir, so I will keep some frozen also.
I bought 25 pounds of cane sugar while I was out shopping. I am going to be needing a lot. I have blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, elderberries and rhubarb to use. Rachel was busy washing things and getting the kitchen ready while I was shopping.
We measured a quart of frozen raspberries and put them on the stove on warm to start to thaw. The recipes calls for mashed raspberries, so I mashed them.
We had the canner filled and getting hot and the jars and bands washed and hot in another pot.
In another pan we had the clean lids and you cannot let these get too hot.
When I thought the water in the canner was getting close to being ready, we heated up the raspberries and when they were bubbling we added the sugar, all 6-1/2 cups of it!
This was a lot easier than the apple jelly and all the apple peeling we had to do. We are going to get an apple peeler/corer/slicer before we do that again, but as soon as I find apples at a decent price, we will make apple rings with the dehydrator and I will save the cores and peelings and make apple peeling jelly. I hope to find enough apples and make applesauce too.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Dehydrating Potatoes
The dehydrator arrived yesterday and today was the day for dehydrating.
It comes with a manual and a dehydrating book. I am watching videos on different sites that really explain how to dehydrate and there is a lot of information, which makes this very easy. I think having the right equipment for slicing the food will be very important and make it where you have the time to actually do this.
We bought the 9-drawer model. I really have no place to put this. It is sitting on the kitchen table. It may stay there forever...
The first thing that we dehydrated was shredded potatoes for hash browns. We boiled 10 pounds of potatoes with the peelings. They were still a little firm, but I think we did let them boil a little too long.
We shredded the potatoes with a cheese grater and put them on the trays. It did not take long at all.
The instructions say to dehydrate at 125 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 to 8 hours. At 6 hours they were looking good. I let them go another hour and took them out, except there was enough for 2 trays that had some not quite done. I put those 2 trays in for another hour. I am going to let them cool overnight and I have jars washed that I want to make sure they are good and dry before I put the potatoes in. I will have the finished pictures of the potatoes in the jars tomorrow. I am trying to decide what to dehydrate next.
This was very easy. I am planning on just storing the potatoes in canning jars with the lids and bands on, but not sealed. I have read if they are dry that they should last a couple of years at least. I still have not made up my mind on exactly what I plan on doing. I really do not want to use the mylar bags or a FoodSaver, but I may change my mind on this with more research.
It comes with a manual and a dehydrating book. I am watching videos on different sites that really explain how to dehydrate and there is a lot of information, which makes this very easy. I think having the right equipment for slicing the food will be very important and make it where you have the time to actually do this.
We bought the 9-drawer model. I really have no place to put this. It is sitting on the kitchen table. It may stay there forever...
The first thing that we dehydrated was shredded potatoes for hash browns. We boiled 10 pounds of potatoes with the peelings. They were still a little firm, but I think we did let them boil a little too long.
We shredded the potatoes with a cheese grater and put them on the trays. It did not take long at all.
The instructions say to dehydrate at 125 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 to 8 hours. At 6 hours they were looking good. I let them go another hour and took them out, except there was enough for 2 trays that had some not quite done. I put those 2 trays in for another hour. I am going to let them cool overnight and I have jars washed that I want to make sure they are good and dry before I put the potatoes in. I will have the finished pictures of the potatoes in the jars tomorrow. I am trying to decide what to dehydrate next.
This was very easy. I am planning on just storing the potatoes in canning jars with the lids and bands on, but not sealed. I have read if they are dry that they should last a couple of years at least. I still have not made up my mind on exactly what I plan on doing. I really do not want to use the mylar bags or a FoodSaver, but I may change my mind on this with more research.
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