Garden Notes, September End

My garden is still producing quite a bit of food. Probably a combination of all this nasty hot weather and still no frost in site. Here's what's been going on:

I pulled up all my yucky tomato plants the other day. I was completely sick of seeing that most of the tomatoes were split anyway, and I kept walking on them, squishing them in my shoes. Yuck. My roma plants never produced well all season. The fruit would get to a slightly more pink than green, but in no way ripe state, and then drop off into the dirt. I ripened a few in the house, but they tasted like crap. Fail.

My two varieties of heirloom tomatoes produced a lot of fruit, but the Brandywine's got so big, they split and tasted all mealy and gross anyway. Another variety (i forget the name) produced these weird longer shaped fruits, but never ripened. Fail.

My sweet cherries produced the most. But I don't really care for the flavor. They were just OK for eating raw, but DELISH for over drying. Last year, I dried several huge bowls full and froze them to use throughout the winter. This year, i dried fewer (i didnt have as many plants), and ate them all up (Josh loved them too!). So i didn't have any to freeze :( Boohoo.

Sun Golds- so yummy! I planted 3 plants, but planted them late and didn't really prune or stake them right, so I didn't get a huge yield.

The placement in my garden of all my tomatoes was totally wrong. I thought it would be okay, but their height resulted in complete shading out of all my winter squash! Now, i did get a ton of squash (10?) but it still wasnt right. I dug out a new tomato bed for next year. This area is against the fence on the south side of my garden area. I'm hoping that the tomatoes won't shade eachother out, since they will be in a north-south direction, but We will have to wait and see. This is where they are going next year!

My plan is to plant 4 Sungolds and 4 sandwhich/slicing tomatoes. No heirlooms, no romas. Just basic yummy round tomatoes.

Last year my generous neighbor gave me 4 heads of garlic from his garden. I planted the 16 cloves in mine. They didn't work all that well. Most of the heads have just two cloves. Some have three. There are supposed to be four. They are super yummy, however, so I intend on planting all the cloves from the heads that I grew this year (I've used several, and have about 7 left), along with several heads I'll buy at the farm stand. I'll be putting those in at the end of October.

I still have a lot of ripening winter squash on vines and my carrots and parsnips are all in the ground. My eggplants are producing a few here and there (enough for one or two more eggplant parm recipes). I have a ton of cubanelle peppers (i'm not sure what I'll do with those- probably dehydrate them?). My pineapple tomatillos are just throwing me fruit..... every day, bowls and bowls. My herb plants are still growing strong (parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme- all have to be picked and processed soon!). I seeded some cilantro last month, and there's tons of tender young cilantro growing! I also seeded for some fall snap peas and they have come up and are giving me a few pods daily- who said peas were only for spring!.

Ofcourse my pole beans will never stop. I will never plant these again. Next year- bush beans ONLY.

I seeded for some edamame and they also came up again. And I'm also getting some smaller bell peppers. Celery is all over the place, and while the stalks are dry and don't taste good, the leaves are super useful (I've already made celery salt, and I plan to dry the rest of the leaves too!).

I've been working tirelessly to move all the perennials off this slope. It lies between my chicken coop and the garden fence. It's the home to my future orchard. I've already planted a miniature sensation peach tree (I couldn't leave it behind when I found it at Agway. So cute!). Today, I transplanted a very large Dogwood bush to another area in the yard. I still have two rhubarb crowns to move, and some other stuff I didn't have the energy to move today (or the brain power to figure out where to put it!).

The next step is to haul large rocks and stones to the slope to create various areas for the trees to go. My hope is to plant two PEAR trees, one more PEACH tree and a 4-in-1 CHERRY (that's four varieties on one tree). Or, if I can just fit 2 cherries, that'd work too- just not too sure how many will fit. The slope is pretty steep it some places, and since I ripped out all the flowering things, There isnt anything holding the slope together anymore! Must get rocks :) ASAP!

I'll wait until Spring to plant the trees. I could get cheaper trees now but I'd rather have the pick of some healthy looking ones.

I have two apple trees planted in the front yard. I'm thinking those will be enough!

I cannot wait to plant on this slope, though. It's been a huge undertaking moving everything off the slope, but I know in 3-4 years we will have bushels of fruit every season.

Season of Apples

Here in New Hampshire, it's apple season.... apples apples everywhere. There's no shortage anywhere you go. An orchard in every town (at least in southwest NH!), with rows and rows of PYO (pick your own) apples! We have been to one of the larger orchards around here several times already this season, and the kids have a school fieldtrip there this Friday. I'm sure we will go at least one more time before the season ends. It helps that on weekends, there are non-stop tractor and hayrides around the orchard, a playground, wine tastings, music, and bbq (every weekend!). It's hard to bring the kids there myself (actually, completely impossible), as Josh loves to ride the tractor ride, and eliana LOVES to pick and eat apples.

Actually, i need to stop a minute and tell everyone how much Josh absolutely has a love affair with apples. A while back when Josh started using more words, he learned he also loves apple sauce and slices. And, it seemed that whenever Josh would consume something he really liked, it was always say "Apple!" ..... "no, honey, it's not apple" would be a comment phrase used. Anyway, now he knows what an apple is. He gets a whole apple every day at school. His teachers, every day, say to me "he LOVES his apples! he eats the whole thing! just leaves a few seeds and the stem!". You know what they say "an apple a day...." Let's just say, as long as he will eat them, he will get them every day.

I digress... In any case, having either Josh scream because we need to get off the tractor, or Eliana scream because we need to stay on the tractor does not seem to make for a fun visit. I wait until family or friends visit to take them. When Matt gets back, we will be able to go.

Last year, I purchased a bushel of apples to make a years worth of apple sauce. We ran out a few months back, and I never got the amount I wanted. And the kids love it. And the kids are bigger this year than last (duh). So this year, I got 2 bushels.

Using one of those super handy apple core/slice combo things, core/slice all the apples and put them into a large pot. Add about 1/4 cup water, a little sugar (if needed), maybe 1/3 cup. Sprinkle around some cinnamon. Cook down on low heat, stirring occassionally until the apples are soft, falling apart and the peel comes off the slices on it's own.

When the apples are cooked down, I run them through the food grinder/strainer attachment on my Kitchen Aid. Thanks to my grandmother for purchasing the expensive piece of equipment and all the attachments that go with it. I haven't used the pasta maker or meat grinder yet, but I'm sure they will come in handy some day!

I put a large handful of hot cinnamon heart candy in the bottom of the bowl into which the hot apple sauce flows. They melt, and turn the sauce a hot reddish color.. gives great flavor too!

The large metal bowl is where the applesauce flowed.

The skin and other parts went into the bowl that was in the sink.

I must say that my chickens LOVED the random leftover bits from this applesauce making project! They couldn't get enough, though there was too much to give to them, so my compost pile received the rest of it.

When I was done with this project, I had a huge quantity of apple sauce. I froze it all in yogurt and cottage cheese containers I keep when we are done with them. The entire door of the deep freeze in the basement is full of sauce! Definitely enough for next year.

My kids love to dip everything in applesauce, and so do I! Our favorite meal is cornflake coated chicken thighs. I make it often, and chicken for that meal is the only meat I buy at the grocery store! Hope next year we will get some meat chickens and be able to butcher our own poultry, but That's a project for next year (or the year after). Anywho, that's the story of apple sauce! Oh! I've also made some really yummy dehydrated apple chips and ofcourse apple crisp. But I'll spare you the details of those- plus I didn't take any photos!

Grape Juice

I planted a concord grape vine on a trellis next to the front door a few years ago. For the past 3 years i've let the thing sort of run wild, clipping the ends off when they started pushing their way into the house (ha). Two years ago, i picked some of the grapes and make jelly. I didn't know what I was doing, but followed a recipe. I dont really like grape jelly, so I just gave it to my neighbor. She seemed to love it. Fine. Last year, Eliana and I sort of ate some of the grapes. The thing about concord grapes is that 1) you can't eat the skin really, and 2), the inside of the grape is a like a ball of hard jelly in which there are a ton of little seeds. So, the only way to really eat a concord grape is to suck the jelly ball out from the skin. Then squeeze the jelly through your teeth, separating it from the seeds. Yeah, it's TOTALLY ANNOYING..... why. did. i plant. a. concord. grape. vine.

Anywho, this year, I pruned so that the vines didn't go everywhere, and it sort worked, and I ended up with an ok yield. I don't spray or feed them or anything and find that the grape clusters are favorite places for spiders to build webs and creepy other insects to hide out. It's gross and makes me really hate that thing. I was jumped on by a spider once.... and a pincher bug thing pinched me on the pinkie finger. I swore so loud i think the whole street could hear. It HURT!

I picked all the grapes today and made grape juice. Mixing it with some soda water makes a yummy sparkling fizzy drink! I hope the kids and I will be able to drink it all in the next few days and I can close the books on this year's concord grape harvest. Eh.

end of summer already?

Summer came and went. Kids have started school this week. Both are going 4 mornings a week, 8:30-12:30. This gives me oodles of time to myself! I havent had this much time to myself (16 hours of daytime!) since something like 2003 (senior year at Brandeis, and then I worked 3 days a week for a year, so I had 4 days off then!). After that, I was in Grad School, and when I wasnt in class, i did have an internship. Then, I worked full time right up until I went into labor with Eliana. Then, it was baby baby baby baby (I think there were 3 months between the time when Eliana started her school program and i gave birth to Josh, but let's be honest- I was so big for that pregnancy, I could barely move, let alone enjoy the time she was in school!).

So, here it is, me + 16 hours a week = pure bliss! My plans? Getting into shape, finally (2001 style (my peak fitness time)). Also, getting my yard to be the way I want it (ie gardening till i drop). The idea of doing errands without dragging the kids along is also quite a nice idea, right?

Maybe next year I'll attempt to find a little part time work, but Matt and I have agreed- this year is for me .... for me to remember what it's like to have a life, be able to do what I want, when I want, and on my own (for 16 hours a week). I'm glad he agrees I need a dependable break (more than him taking the kids for a few hours here and there)! I need consistency!

I deserve this! with a travelling husband, i'm on my own 100% of the time, half the year. So for the first time in a long time, I really feel like I'm getting a break! Plus the kids are learning awesome stuff and getting to play with their friends, and other great benefits!

On another front, I've been at work learning how to preserve various foods. Obviously the bulk of work had to happen before the kids gave me the aformentioned break, so I was only able to do what I could during Josh's dwindling nap time, or during the times I give in and let them watch TV. Pickling zucchini and beans (yummy), dehydrating fruits and veg..... freezing berries...freezing herbs, drying herbs, making tomato sauce, making apple sauce, oven drying tomatoes, and making jam! Ive enjoyed making jam but it does occur to me that no one else in my house actually eats jam. So all that Peach, Peach/Rhubarb, and Cherry jam that I canned with either be eatten by just me, or given as gifts (my mother-in-law will NOT complain about that- she LOVES jam! Merry christmas!).

Much of my garden was a huge FLOP.

~Corn didnt grow (well duh- who grows corn in a 4 inch window box? yeah, I know. Next year I'll put it in the ground).

~ None of my cukes grew. I had some in a deep pot. They were eatten by the ground hog a while back and just never recovered. I planted 6 more plants after that, but they never grew either! What's up with that!

~My watermelons got to the size of softballs, then died. No good (i grew some in a deep box (2 feet deep) and some in the ground (but those were shaded out by squash!).

~From 4 plants, I got two cantelope the size of softballs too. And they couldn't be eatten anyway. AH!

~ My broccoli bolted before it produced any heads (boo!)

~ I have to better learn how to grow carrots. they are OK but not really big enough after all this time.

~ my eggplants didnt start actually producing fruit (mostly flowers that just dried up) until a few weeks ago!

Things that worked:

~Tomatoes- they did well, but I'll get different varieties next year. I wasnt pleased with the Brandywine (they got too big!), the Romas i got didn't work out too well- they turned yellow and then fell off the vines, so i had to ripen them inside, and I had too many cherry tomatoes. Next year I will get sungolds and a slicing/sandwhich tomato variety.

~The pineapple tomatills (or ground cherries) were prolific. They grew in a way i wasnt expecting: all over the place! I will put them in pots next year, so I can keep better control of their size.

~Pole beans- OMG these beans are insane! They grow all over, I have additional strings running from the top of the bean tower to other places in the garden so they can keep growing. I have so many beans I don't know what to do with them (i have been pickling them mostly- they are yummiest that way)

~Winter squash- The vines went everywhere, Luckily I planted them in a place where that is okay. I have about 7-8 of them. Some are small, some are medium and some are large. I'm pleased with them (though I think I'll have to plant them differently next year (running theme here- plant differently next year!).

~The edamame were delicious. I planted a whole seed pack. But the production was only enough for two meals worth for the four of us. Next year, i will plant at least twice as much, closer together, and plant them in two plantings (since they all mature at the same time).

~peas did OK, but next year I will plant them in a different area, and plant at least 4x as many.

~Herbs- all did amazingly well. Some things bolted, but I just planted more from seed (i have a TON of cilantro growing right now!). I'll have enough dried rosemary and thyme for the winter (as I usually do), and I have plenty of basil for pesto, and frozen parsley. I also froze basil leaves whole. I have 10 plants of sage, and never cook with those. Not sure what the best use is, really. They just get bigger and bigger every year. Also, have a ton of frozen scallion and chives. Those will come in handy all winter for omlets, salsa, dressing, and other stuff.

~Celery did okay, but i didnt use it much. ahh well.

~lettuce- I got so sick of salads by June, I havent touched one all summer long. Too many spring salads I guess.

~Zucchini. I had planted 4. Needless to say, I ripped up all but one by mid summer (to make room for the growing winter squash plants). Next year I will plant a few Zucchini plants, but not in my garden. Somewhere else in the yard where I dont care about how big it gets. I don't like zucchini much, so I don't like having it take over in areas I want other stuff to grow.

I've planted two apple trees and a sensation miniature peach tree. I'm working to move around my perennials to make room for two more apple trees and maybe a cherry tree. That is HARD work. I have a lot of perennials that must be split and moved. But i'll be happy when they are somewhere else. I will also have to move my two rhubarb plants to make room for the trees, though i havent figured out where to put those yet. I plan on planting A LOT of asparagus next spring (since I tilled my previous asparagus bed- dummy).

My raspberry and blackberry bushs are doing great in the front yard next to the driveway. My grape vines are doing OK but didnt have a good year this year. My blueberry bushes ( i have four) have never produced any berries. Not sure whats up with that. The bushs look great. I'll have to find a solution for that next year.

In other news, we are getting about 7 eggs a day from our 9 hens. Unfortunately, our rooster attached my neighbor (for the second time), so we had to send him away to a nice farm (i hope) in Westmoreland. Things are a lot quieter around here, but everyone (including my neighbor) misses him :( But we didn't have much of a choice since we couldnt have him just attacking any person walking down the street when he is out (about 100 kids a day walk by the house after lunch from the Waldorf school down the street on their way to the park for playtime). He was just doing his job, protecting his ladies, but still- we can't take any chances! luckily my neighbor doesn't press charges!

All in all, a good summer :)

made jam!!

i couldnt help myself. i made my first jam today. cherries with some blueberries. it came out wonderfully.

the batch made 4 1/2 pint jars, which didnt seem like a lot, but should last me a long time since Matt doesnt really like jam, and josh doesnt either. Not sure about how eliana will like it.

it was quite an undertaking actually, mostly because i had never made jelly (actually i did make a concord grape jelly a few years ago but boiled it too much and it was hard and too rich!), and the first time i ever canned anything.

I have a Ball canning kit and pot but i couldnt actually get the water to boil in the huge pot on my stupid electric stove that kept cycling on and off. eventually i scrapped the canning pot and i just used my regular pot and just put the cans inside, not on any rack or anything, but it still worked like a charm. and the final result is yummy!

Also today, i planted my miniature peach tree, and made a rock border around my two apple trees. Everything in homestead-patriquin is slowly coming together!!

Kids are still recovering from camping trip :) so they just hung out today :)

canning plans temorarily foiled

Tried some family camping last night. A local park with some nice campsites. Another family and us, in the great West Keene outdoors. 100 feet from the bathrooms, 100 feet from the local "highway." Some rain, some bobcat (?), some s'mores, etc etc. Needless to say, camping with a 19 month old and two 3.5 year olds for the first time was an..... interesting.... time. Elianas friend had to be taken home to sleep around 3am. I had to take Josh and Eliana both home to sleep by 4:45. (they had gone to bed fine around 8-9). Something about a 3 and 1 year old being completely 100% wide away at 4am just eats away at one's sanity. Slept for 2 hours at home, then went back to the campsite to have breakfast and pack up and go home.

Needless to say, this was an exhausting day. I had originally had planned a "canning party" with a few friends to do some pickles but considering i dont trust myself carrying anything hot, sharp, or breakable, I figured I should postpone.

Folding laundry it is. Hope to be sleeping by 9. I'm sure i'll have two very perky kids come early tomorrow morning!

I was able to make a delicious salsa using tomatoes, pineapple tomatillos, cilantro, onions, garlic and hot pepper from my garden... and lime juice. Yum! Tomorrow I need to plant this most adorable Miniature peach tree i bought the other day. it's crying to be in the ground and i can hear it from my bedroom right now. wait, that's mr. rooster.

Goodnight

Welcome to Discipline

Can I actually be disciplined enough to write a blog regularly enough to mean anything? We shall see. I will try to write in a way that turns the mushed up thoughts in my brain into actual comprehensible sentences.

Lately I've become interested in a number of things. I'm attempting to embrace the rural New Hampshire way, mini-homesteading... As much as I can on our 0.39 acres near downtown Keene. Cooking with local ingredients and trying to use everything I can from the garden has been a fun challenge, mostly because my husband doesnt always like the food (he doesnt like fruit or berries, for example) and Josh won't eat vegetables unless made into a sauce (he loves pesto, and lasagna), or tebouleh. Eliana is my little vegetarian, so she appreciates everything... though torturing Josh while I try to cook does not help me much.


The kids are at ages (1.7 and 3.7) where they sort of play together but mostly prefer to wrestle and fight. So when most of my words to them include "stop biting him" "stop pinching his face" "get off him" "give that car back to your brother" and "LEAVE HIM ALONE," the day can seem like it will never ever ever ever end.



Josh loves water. If there's a puddle, he will sit in it. If there's a pond, he will try to run right in. If we go to the beach, he doesnt get out until he turns blue from the cold. He has a blast, but it's not always fun for the rest of us. That and his limited vocabulary make short trips anywhere kind of a nightmare sometimes!

Eliana loves being defiant. "Honey, do 'this'."..... "NO!" (eliana runs in opposite direction and hides.

This is life right about now. We have had a fun summer though. Matt has been home for a few months (those of you who know me, know he travels a lot) and it seems like we havent stopped Doing, Cleaning, Moving, Organizing, Driving, Seeing, Eating, Spending, visiting family, family visiting..... since he got home. Something makes me think that come the end of August when he travels and the kids are BOTH in "school" I will enjoy my 12 hours of weekly alone/peace time like no other!




Josh was busy doing this