Aaaaahhhh! Cooler Air.

What a relief. Our weather is finally cooling off a bit and life is much better. It got actually cool last night and we were able to sleep without a fan for the first time in a month. This morning it was about 70 out and I spent a delightful two hours tidying up in the garden, pulling spent plants and planting some fall crops in the raised beds.
I've always wanted to have a garden that welcomed people in, and this year, we finally have it. Our gateway leads to the arbor, now entwined with tomatoes, scarlet runner beans, and bowered with cosmos, adding their bright energetic sparkle. It makes a nice pathway into the garden shed, so handy to hold all of our tools.
The tomatoes are still coming on slowly, just a few at a time, but with the three kinds of squash coming on now, cucumbers, new potatoes and onions, we're eating mostly out of the garden. It's wonderful to have these healthy foods coming on, and we're enjoying them a lot.
Corn should be ready soon, hopefully we can keep it from the raccoons this year. They usually raid it just before we're ready to pull it for our meal. Fingers crossed this year.

The melons are looking good in their beds. Two big cantelopes are in one bed, with other tiny ones, and the other bed nestles the sleeping giant, the moon and stars watermelon. It's already about 15 pounds, and we're told they can get up to 40. We watch it each day and can hardly wait to cut into that crisp red flesh. The yellow spots grow not just on the dark green skin of the watermelon, but on the leaves as well, giving it a really festive look.

The sunflowers are up to about 11 feet tall now, each stalk holding at least 6 or 7 yellow fringed blooms. I planted basil in everywhere, especially at the feet of the tomatoes, hoping to have plenty to indulge in our passion for it this year. I've made and frozen two batches of pesto so far, and we've had basil in so many delicious ways. I've also started harvesting and hanging some of the herbs on my rack to dry for winter use. It sure is handy having them there.

The Sungold tomatoes have been just so very good. They're coming on in handfuls, so far just a few at a time in different bunches, but there are more each day. Delicious, and so pretty chopped in with cucumbers for a salad.
Here's today's harvest of one Armenian Cuke, and one short fat pickle, one yellow summer squash and several yellow tomatoes. I had the seedbook out to pull seeds to plant. I'm soaking beet and turnip seeds to plant tomorrow, and today put lettuce, radishes and bok choy we'll grow under a shade along with cabbage, kale and Collards. I planted peapods too, and would still like to plant some regular peas for fall harvest.
It sure is a joy to work out there in the cooler breezy air.

Oh, the Beauty!

It's still ugly hot here, and we're mostly huddling inside in front of fans, but occasionally, we just have to venture outside, just to see what's going on out there. I discovered a large zucchini, hiding under the leaves, a beautiful little patty pan squash, and a riot of colorful flowers. What beauty! I'll just shut up now and let the flowers speak for themselves. Such eloquence.

Anyone know what that last flower is? We don't usually see it flowering, but it sure is pretty. It's an onion, a regular old green onion, planted as a set and allowed to grow past the time I should have pulled it. I think I'll let it go to seed and try to replant next year from my own seeds.

It's a "Berry" good day!

It's been so hot lately, like almost everywhere, that we've spent most days in the house, in front of fans, and near the one small window A/C unit we have. We venture out quickly in the early morning to check on the garden and run whatever errands we need to, then find things inside to do for the rest of the day.

This morning at 6 am it was already 80 outside, but when I looked out the window while making the bed, I could see the black raspberries hanging heavy. So I dug out the beekeeping jacket with attached hat and face net, added lightweight sweatpants and sox, picked up my bucket and belt to hang it from and headed out to pick.

Besides the constant screen of mosquitoes hanging between me and my quarry, it wasn't bad out there. The raspberries were poor this year, mostly dried out from the heat, but I picked about two pounds of them, then tackled the blueberries, just coming on now. They grow in the lowest ground we have, so have the most moisture they've been able to reach with their deep old roots, and are just wonderful, plump and delicious.

I'm sure the neighbors thought I was silly looking, with all my cover, and I really freaked out their dogs, but it worked well. I managed to get back inside with about 4 pounds of berries for my labors, dripping wet inside my cover, but pleased with myself.

I stopped out to check out the garden while I was out there, and found our first zucchini and a summer squash, so dinner tonight will be great, with fresh squash, and berries for dessert.


The garden is welcoming now, with the scarecrow in place, waving us in with pinwheels in hand, tomatoes, scarlet runner beans and cosmos leading us to the new garden shed. Things sure are growing fast out there these days. The sunflowers are up to 12 feet tall now, the beans covering almost all the fences, and tomatoes just everywhere. The corn is looking good, and the hollyhocks just look so happy!

The rest of the day will be spent inside, for sure. It's HOT out there.

We've Got Garlic!

Whew, life sure does move fast lately. I've missed posting for way too long now and we've gone through all the early spring stuff, all the way to summer.

The garden's going gangbusters now, with little tiny tomatoes hanging everywhere, the potatoes in their tubs are reaching out for the sky, and the beans are on their way to the top of anything within reach.

Last fall we ordered garlic and carefully planted it, in hopes of finally growing our very own supply of that essential flavoring. This week, they all bent over and laid down, turned brown on the bottom, and looked ready to harvest. I looked up when to harvest your garlic online and decided that was the day. What a kick! It was fun, carefully loosening the soil around each plant and lifting them out. I gently knocked off the majority of the dirt and piled them into a basket to carry inside to dry. The heads weren't as large as I'd hoped, but not bad, and they were all in great shape, no insect damage to the plants at all.

Our little greenhouse has a sun cover on it this time of year, so heat doesn't build up too much on the south side of the house, and the metal rack shelving inside made the perfect place to lay out the garlic to dry.

The air can circulate all the way around it there, and the open window on the end of the greenhouse allows fresh air all the time. The bonus for us is the great garlic odor we smell each time we walk past that window.

We're really fond of garlic here, and use some almost every day. This should be enough garlic to keep us supplied for at least most of the coming year. Now I'll just need to shop more carefully for the bulbs I'll plant this fall for next year. I wanted to plant hardneck garlic, for the larger heads, stronger flavor, and the scapes they grow, but apparently was shipped softneck this year. At least I should be able to braid this kind, and be able to hang it for storage.

Yummmmm-Garlic! Just makes you feel good all over!

It’s almost Spring!

Poof! Three months gone, just like that! It’s almost Spring!

I can’t believe my last post was just before Christmas. Seems like, as the years go by, we’re having a tougher time dealing with these long cold, dank, dark winters. I can feel my life slowing down, and I go into semi-hibernation. Then, this morning, as I trudged out to collect the sap from the maple trees, I stepped outside, and it was spring!

Not totally Spring, and there’s still snow in places on the ground, and not a lot is up and blooming yet, but it’s there, quivering on the edge of becoming……Spring! My step grew faster, breathing was a bit deeper, I’m sure I grew at least two inches taller and my heart grew two sizes, right then and there.

I collected the sap from the 5 trees we’re tapping this year, then set the bucket down and went straight out to pull up some tiny sassafras trees for our annual rite of Spring—Sassafras tea. The ground is so soft here in old sand dune country that I can pull these tiny trees right up out of the ground, especially the ones that the deer have nipped the tops off of. While it was steeping, I made a quick trip around the yard to see what other signs of Spring were out there ready for me to see.

The flowers were peaking out from under the leaves at the foot of the greenhouse.

A robin watching me from a nearby tree.

I pulled the cover off the raised bed in the garden and the peas and garlic I planted last fall are coming up and ready to take off. Lots of weeds in there to clean up soon.

The new garden storage shed that Jim’s building has three side walls on it, ready soon to store hoses and all those tools, right at hand in the garden for use.

The snowdrops are up and smiling, and the owls are hooting in a hormone influenced dizzy frenzy of mating time lust.

I’ve already planted marigolds, herbs and the cabbage, broccoli and bok choi seeds in the greenhouse, and they should be up soon.

So I’m back! As I sip my spicy sassafras tea from my favorite froggy flower pot mug, I feel the happiness growing. I'm waking up from the long cold sleep of winter and ready to face the joy of Spring again. It may snow again, it’s still early, but the sun shone down its promise on me today, and better times are ahead. I’ll close with pictures of my beloved grandson, who thinks outside is pretty cool, and loves to go out in his oversized sweater and sweep the patio or follow Grandpa around the yard.

Life is very good! And it's going to get better.

Ok! NOW I'm in the Christmas Mood!

No pictures with this post, because I didn't think to take along the camera last night, but we had such a marvelous time, that I just had to share my thoughts with you. We’re in the Christmas mood after a terrific concert last night. We live out here in the country in northern Indiana, and the closest town to us is across the state line in Michigan. It’s a tiny town, with one stop light, two bars, four churches and one gas station.

Lately it’s been having a changeover from sleepy little farming town to an artsy community. Part of the energy in the change came from one place, the Acorn Theater. Two men from Chicago, with lots of experience in theater, bought an old factory that used to make corset stays out of turkey feathers, and changed part of it into a theater. It’s a good sized stage, a huge Barton pipe organ with pipes hung all around the room, and seating that changes with the shows from some intimate tables and theater seating to all the chairs they can squeeze into the place and it holds about 250. They have all kinds of amazing acts come in to entertain, plus open mike nights, videos and special celebrations that are such fun.

Living nearby are singers with the Chicago Opera Company, and they’ve started doing Opera at the Acorn, a series of Opera based events that bring world class entertainment, out here in the middle of nowhere. Last night was their 5^th Annual Christmas show, billed as the Jolliest Christmas Show Ever. They brought along a harpist, classically trained pianist from the Ukraine, a guitarist and a violinist, to accompany the incredible singers.

When we arrived, someone was outdoors roasting chestnuts, grown on their own trees, and handing them out to everyone. It was such fun to see an event like this in a small town, because everyone was there, from the moneyed lady in the full length chinchilla coat, to the teenaged goth girls, in their black hair and lipstick. Hugs everywhere, and everyone visited so that it was tough to move through the theater to our seats. They started with songs from Handel’s Messiah and ended the first part with a sing along of the Halleluiah Chorus, accompanied by the booming organ. They handed out the sheet music, but like most, we can’t follow it, so we just picked a singer we liked, and sang along with that one as best we could. It was a wild musical romp and somehow sounded goosebump-raising great!

After that they took a break, and an older gentleman climbed up onto the seat of the organ wearing a peaked elf hat, and played traditional carols. The second part of the evening was a mix of all the performers favorites, some great, O Holy Night, and I Wonder as I Wander, to the ridiculous, like I Saw Daddy Choking Santa Claus. What fun that was. They ended the night by bringing their three dogs out onto the stage wearing antlers while we all sang along to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. We feel so lucky to have this kind of crazy, talented people in the area, and glad we can afford to spring for tickets now and then.

Seems like each year, I need a good strong dose of Christmas music to get me jump-started in the holiday mood. That sure did it. I'm in the mood now, and think I'll probably get those presents wrapped today. Merry Christmas, and God Bless us All!

More Lessons From the Greenhouse

We're having such fun trying to extend the growing season in our little unheated greenhouse. Now I know that tomatoes are heat-lovers, but with dreams of savory home-grown tomatoes in winter, I snipped the tips from some growing plants in the garden, and rooted them in soil to bring inside to try.
They rooted well and started to grow, but just couldn't make it. Two of the plants took on the strangest coloring. Their leaf veins started turning purple! We also had aphids and whiteflies on some of the plants, so I thought that there was some kind of infestation going on there too, but finally found that it was just too cold for the poor tomato plants. When the soil gets too cold for them, they can't take up the calcium they need and they turn purple, starting with the large leaf veins, and spreading out into the edges. So the tomatoes have now come inside to the living room bay window.The green beans were a semi-success. They did well for a while, blooming and actually growing a few small beans, but as it's gotten colder, they've now given up and will have to go.
The hot peppers seemed to be aphid magnets, and no amount of soapy water would discourage them, so they had to go too, as did the other plant with whiteflies.

So, with those out of the way, we now just have cold loving plants in the greenhouse and they're doing well. Slowly, but well. The pea pods are doing very well, growing out of their pot and down the wall of water filled heat storage buckets. I'm so looking forward to picking pods off of them for winter salads.We have spinach, collards, onions, three different kinds of lettuces, herbs and some radishes and beets. The radishes seem to be all tops, and the herbs are doing just fine. The greens all seem to be growing well, just in slow motion, which is fine.We have no added heat out there at all, but the double polycarbonate glazing and a stapled up layer of plastic with dead air space on the south side help gather what sunlight we do get and at least insulate. The temperature maintains in the 40's while outside it's been down to 16 and is usually in the 30's during these days of high wind and blizzard. Jim just checked the temps, and it's 6 degrees above zero this morning, and 33 out in the greenhouse. That's the coldest it's gotten so far. Not bad, for no added heat at all.
I took these pictures before the blizzard hit and we only had a few inches of snow. For the past four days it's been snow and high winds and we couldn't get out for 3 days of that time.
Last night I went out and harvested a salad for us for dinner. Just enough for a generous salad for two.

This greenhouse has been such a fun experiment. Even if we can't grow all the good things we want to in there, it's been a nice thing to step into that space on these dreary days and see green things to greet me. We keep three florescent lights going for about 12 hours a day to help the plants along, and that costs us very little. We gain a bit of protection on that side of the house because of the greenhouse there, and that wall, which has always been cold to the touch in the wintertime, is warm now.

We're really looking forward to time to start our seedlings on those shelves in the early spring. That's when we'll really enjoy it. We're already making our list for our first seed order of 2011.