Apple & Maple Granola

After much recipe-hunting for granola, I decided to make my own. It's one of those things that's just hard to mess up, I realized, so I went for it! And this is what came of it:

Looks yummy, huh? Here's the recipe!

APPLE MAPLE GRANOLA

5 cups oats (NOT quick-cook)
1 to 1-1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/8 C maple syrup
1/4 C apple butter *
1/2 C apple sauce *
1 egg white
almonds (optional, but highly recommended)

dried apples
cranberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325'F. Whisk the egg white until frothy. Mix everything together except for the dried fruit. (The fruit will be added AFTER the cooking process, to prevent it from burning.) Line the mixture evenly on a cookie sheet. (Use parchment paper underneath for easy removal.) Bake for 20 minutes. Stir, gently, so that the clumps aren't completely broken up. Bake for 20 more minutes (or longer, depending on how crunchy you like your granola). Let the granola cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet (for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.) Breaking apart the granola too early will cause the clumps to fall apart, and you'll be left with flaky granola (which some prefer, but I adore the clumpy, snack-style granola that's easy to pop into your mouth). Once it's cool, add the dried apples and cranberries, in whatever quantity you like in your granola. I added a couple handfuls of each to mine.

* The apple butter and apple sauce used in this recipe were both homemade, and thus, had much stronger flavors than store bought products. If you don't have homemade on hand, you may want to add more cinnamon and nutmeg, as these are both present in the apple butter. The butter and sauce are also INTERCHANGEABLE. You should add a total of 3/4 C of apple butter/sauce combined. So if you don't have apple butter, add 1/4 C more apple sauce, or vice versa, if you don't have apple sauce, add more apple butter.

The recipe will make plenty, so feel free to nibble on some right out of the oven (once it's cool enough to eat, that is!).

Out with the Old...

Just cleaned up the garden yesterday---pulling up all the tomato plants and cucumber plants. The nights have really gotten too chilly for anything more to happen, but I did leave the peppers out there, since some of them seem to be still growing (?!). It reminds me now of the blank canvas way back at the beginning of the year... and so I've already begun to look at seeds for next year, which I believe I'm going to get from here.

The Hudson Valley Seed Library is located in up(ish)state NY. This is a double-plus in my book: heirlooms are tastier, are developed to fit a specific region over time (for NY, that means plants that can withstand a shorter growing season), and also it supports local/small-scale enterprises, rather than those giant multi-national corporations that hog so much of the seed industry now. Okay, so that might be a triple-plus... even better!

Next year I'm especially excited to try and plant ground cherries. They're supposed to be citrus flavored, and come in their own packaging! What's not to love about these lil' guys? And they supposedly make some very yummy jam...

In other news, I've discovered a wonderful farmers' co-op about 15 minutes from work. According to the lady who rang me up, it's only one of two such farmers' co-ops in the state! I was excited to discover a local source of whole wheat flour there, so a couple trips a month will become a regular part of my routine. Not to mention the prices were phenomenal: I got 5 cups of flour, 5 cups of oats, a bunch of raisins, chips, some fig bars, and pasta all for (well) under 20 bucks. More info on this as I go back a couple more times.

Also, look for some granola recipes here in the future: I've always loved it, but since it's usually rather expensive to buy outright at the health food store, I considered it a rare treat. Discovering it takes pennies for all the ingredients though, I've begun dabbling in making my own (to great success). Same goes for bread--maple-apple-butter whole wheat bread, to be exact!

Preservation

I've learned to can all sorts of things this year! The run down of what I have tucked away (so far!):

FRUIT

Kiwi Jam, in the making.

Strawberry Jam
Raspberry Jam
Blueberry Lime Jam
Wild Blueberry Jam
Blackberry-Raspberry Jam
Wild Blackberry Jam
Apple-Maple Jam
Kiwi Jam 
Apple-Maple Butter

TOMATOES
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Spaghetti Sauce (Frozen)
Sweet Tomato Relish

OTHER
Pickles
Dried Fruits & Vegis

Sweet Tomato Relish... great on hamburgers!

I'll be set for winter, that's for sure! Otherwise, on the docket, I may put away some more diced tomatoes (since I make so much stew and pizza and pasta-type dishes in winter), another batch of pickles or pickle chips (using my dehydrator) and maybe some applesauce.

I've really got into the idea of trying to eat more local, in the spirit of both supporting local economies (and farmers!) as well as supporting sustainable models of agriculture. Is it harder? Perhaps. But it's worth it not only for the big-picture ideals, but I find the food tastes immensely better, and it's much better for you.

However, with snow the primary crop in the winter months, "eating local" is going to get a whole lot more difficult. Winter greens may be available from local farms with row covers or greenhouses for quite a long while, and then will reappear very early in the spring, but I need more than that to survive! I see preserving a lot of the abundance of summer and fall a way I can continue to eat local when the ground freezes over. I won't be able to eat ALL local, mind you. I don't think I could do that even now---sources of flour, sugar, salt, olive oil, and other staples of the kitchen, I very much doubt I could find locally. I mean, flour mills? Do they even exist anymore?

I'm going to be making pickles again soon...

I suppose I'll shoot for as much local food as I can! It'll take discipline not to go for the shiny tomatoes and peppers in winter, sitting in neat little rows at the grocery... but onions and garlic I can stock up on now, and same with potatoes.

One thing I am certain on... I'll never have to buy pickles or jam ever again!

End of August

August went by so fast! How could it have possibly been a whole month? Well, I have the produce to prove it at least...

The vast majority of the harvest has been tomatoes, no surprise there! I haven't been able to keep up with all the cherry tomatoes, I've found plenty that have split (and rotted, I'll spare you the pictures) on the vine. Many of the green zebra tomatoes have also been suffering from blossom end rot; more so than the other plants. Other than that though, no major catastrophes (huzzah!).

Many, many lemon cucumbers as well. You'd think from the look of things that I didn't plant any normal cucumbers... except I know I did. Perhaps they do cross breed? Or maybe the lemon cukes are just that much more virulent? Who knows! They've been (and still are) producing like mad. Many blossoms still coming, and the vines only look spotty/dried out in a couple places.

So what's a girl to do with so much produce? Time to get out the canner!

...well, not the canner, per se. I made two batches of sauce, using roughly a bushel of tomatoes, which went into the freezer.

Last year, the sauce ran out very quickly since I use so much of it during winter. That was due to the horrible tomato crop; I only managed to "borrow" a few containers from my parents.

Now I've got plenty! Should be all set. And, I have a huge new pot, and a hand-me-down stainless steel strainer for grinding up the tomatoes, so I can always make more.

I think I ended up with maybe 24 containers total? Mm... I'm thinking homemade pizza!

 Next up: pickles! I finally learned how to make "real" pickles, aka bread and butter pickles. Used a recipe from either the Blue Book or the internet somewhere... many of them are similar, I can't recall the exact recipe I used. Hopefully they turn out good; I used the lemon cucumbers in place of normal pickling/green cucumbers.

The sad thing, however, is that I now have to wait until September 15th to try them. (I made them on August 15th; you're supposed to wait 4-6 weeks to try them. Ah, patience.)

I am SO GLAD I didn't have to freeze these. Between the sauce, berries, other vegetables, waffles, and ice cream... not a lot of room.

The flowers in the background are from a seller at the Guilford Farmer's Market. I don't know what the green ones are (if they're even technically flowers?) but I thought they were awesome. A little bouquet like this is perfect for my apartment!

Speaking of flowers, my glads didn't really fair so well. One bloomed; I had it inside for a week or so (it rained really hard a while ago and decided to bring it in). Guess those florists will be happy!

And of course, I made more jam! This is 3 1/2 cups of blackberries from out back, plus 1 1/2 cups of raspberries. It tastes AMAZING. But pretty much any homemade jam is delicious.

In addition, I also canned a batch of tomatoes. No pictures, since I didn't think of it at the time, but it was successful! Seven pints are stored away for winter now... those stews will taste extra delish.

At the moment, I still have tomatoes and cucumbers coming out the wazoo, so I will likely make another batch of pickles, and another batch of canned tomatoes (or perhaps I'll try salsa? Depends on how ambitious I want to be... I've read salsa is rather difficult to make up and can).

Next update, expect some pictures of the garden! I was right some time ago... it's definitely turned into a jungle out there...

August is here, and things be a-growin'

The above is an accurate depiction of my face when I wander out to the garden these days.

[Eyes are lemon cukes, nose is a hybrid - whoops! - of a norm and lemon cuke. Mouth is a colander full of cherry tomatoes.]

I have gotten at least two colanders full of cherry tomatoes (about 3 quarts to a colander). I lost count of the July tomatoes, but they're still pumping strong. Big Boys are turning, I've picked a half dozen of those. And cucumbers? Don't get me started! I had to learn how to make pickles because they were hanging around the fridge too long (I refuse to let anything go bad!). The picture to the right is from a week and a half ago, so imagine all that times a whole lot.

I also got my first red pepper today; I've picked several of the purple peppers already though.

On a somber note, my onions and garlic have been overrun by everything else. Poor guys, I didn't realize just how big everything would get around them! They'll still be yummy, just tiny. 

I also have come to realize that the patio cherry tomatoes aren't nearly as delectable, nor are the plants as healthy looking as the in-the-ground tomatoes. I think I'm going to cut them back soon, and plant some lettuce in the containers, or some other sort of low-maintenance crop that will last through the fall. Then after than, I bet I could even plant some garlic in them and overwinter them! Either way, I've learned tomatoes are too big for a pot. Perhaps a determinate variety, but certainly not the kind I tried out.

Next week, no surprise, it's time for me to learn sauce! Mom is hauling out the grinder for me (thanks Mom!) and I'll be churnin' away.

Also, apples are ready: http://www.lymanorchards.com/. YES.

July... Harvest!

Reddened tomatoes appeared a few days ago, and I enjoyed the first one just yesterday. "July-bearing tomato plant" is certainly not a misnomer! In total, I've plucked 8, and more are certainly on the way. They aren't as huge as the beefsteak ones (which are already huge, but alas, green still), so they work well in salads, and also even on sandwiches. Mm, tomato sandwich...

Oh, I picked the first lil' cuke today too! And a handful of beans over the weekend, which are yum. Also, peas went into a stir fry, and more are still coming, after noticing some flowers are still coming out there. Mint and sage are doing well, and the first cherry tomato is orange, which means I will be having lots of salads soon (probably a good thing). Mm... I smell an excuse for feta... XD



I also went raspberry and blueberry picking in the last couple of weeks, and have made a batch of jam out of each. I don't think I've ever had blueberry jam, but boy is it YUM. Bring on the blackberries! I hope I don't run out of room for all this jam...

Also have acquired a food dehydrator, which has also seen some use drying kiwi (they were on sale!) and apples, and making raspberry leathers (turned out very tasty). I've also used it to dry my mint and pineapple sage, which I will no doubt be glad for in the winter time. Mint especially, when I have a hankering for hot tea. Wait, what am I talking about? I have a cup of tea like every day.

More produce (and updates) to come!

Tomatoes &c.

I will be needing some mason jars before long! Take a look at these July bearing tomatoes. There's DOZENS of them! There are several long bunches just like this one hanging out from all over the plant.

And not to be outdone, there are several tomatoes on both of my heirloom plants. Green Zebra on the left, Purple Cherokee on the right.

Mm. Tomatoes.

Cherry variety will be ready to eat before long. And the beefsteaks are starting too, but they've got a ways before catching up to the July plant.

Also, I have a pepper coming along already---can you spot it in the picture? Haha. It's much bigger now, these shots were all taken a couple days ago.


My garden is officially a jungle, by the way. The tomatoes have reached the top of their cages. They've begun to grow outwards and into my paths and onto the fencing in some places. I have to finagle my way in to check on the center of the garden; they've climbed into the beans; the pea vines have latched onto them for support. Wildly warm weather is to blame, I tell you!

I have a feeling I will have plenty of cucumbers too... as soon as they start blossoming. 

Pickles anyone? Haha, we will have to see how adventuresome I get.

I sure am looking forward to trying those lemon cucumbers; they're all mixed together with the normal cucumbers, so it'll be a surprise to see what comes on.

Fingers crossed for lots of lemons!

What a dainty little pea pod!

I've been snacking on them when I go out to the garden so much, I may not get to harvest any. :d I'm trying to be patient though, I want to stir fry them up.

Mm, peas.

On a final note, may it be noted that today, June 26th, I went RASPBERRY picking. I picked not a quart, but an entire FLAT.

I let that comment stand on its own! Bluberries are also ripe, but I will leave those for another day. (Assuming they're still in season!)

Mm, berries.

How to Make Strawberry Jam

This weekend, I learned how to make jam from my grandma for my birthday! For future reference, and to share what I learned, I thought I'd make a post about it.

First step! Pick one or two quarts of berries. Two to three quarts will yield 10 mashed cups, which will give you over 70 ounces of finished jam. You'll want to pick more than two quarts though, berries are really yummy. C:

Then you'll have to wash them and hull them. That's rather self-explanatory.

Before I move on, you'll need:

A large bowl, a big pot, a masher (like the ones you use for mashed potatoes); canning jars, lids, and rings; pectin, sugar.

You'll also want something to take the jars out of the hot water with; I have jar-grabbers but an over mitt will do. A funnel is also handy, to pour the jam into the jars with. It makes a mess otherwise.

Okay! Now, taking a few handfuls of berries at a time, mash them up in a large bowl. This will give you small bits of the berries in the jam, which is what I like. You could use a food processor, it will just give you fewer berry pieces. Chop them how you like them!

Measure 5 cups of the mashed berries into a large pot. Make sure there is enough room for the berries to boil up; they will boil over if your pot is too small!


Next, pour one entire package of Sure-Jell pectin into the berries, and mix it all together. If you want to use a different kind or brand of pectin, you may want to refer to the specific directions that come with it. Using a lower amount of pectin will give you runnier jam. On my directions, it called for considerably less pectin; 50% less, in fact. I prefer my jam pretty thick (like the consistency of Smucker's preserves). You can also add a small amount of butter at this point (like a small tablespoon) to reduce the amount of foam that will appear later.

While stirring, let the mixture come to a rolling boil on the stove top. Keep stirring all the while, and don't cover it. You will know it's come to a strong, rolling boil when it still bubbles away while you're stirring.

Now add 7 cups of sugar, slowly, to the boiling berry/pectin mixture. Keep stirring. After a few minutes, the berries will expand and come up considerably. There may be quite a bit of foam on top, you can just scoop this off and into a small bowl. Turn off the burner and remove the berries (you can stop stirring now).

Now, in the meantime you should have washed and scalded your jam jars, the covers, and the rings. To do this, you can just put them through the dishwasher. If you're like me, and you ARE the dishwasher, you can wash them all by hand and boil the jam jars. You should NOT boil the covers, however. Just run those under very very hot water from the tap.

With your jam jars set out, take your funnel (if you have one) and start filling the jars with the soon-to-be jam. Fill them up just below the ring outlines on the jars. If you're messy (like me), take a paper towel and clean the jars around the ring-outline.

Plop on the cover (make sure you've just grabbed on, sometimes they stick together) and screw on the ring, as tight as it will go. You can flip them over once quickly to burn off any bacteria from the inside cover, although it's quite rare to have any issues with spoilage.

Next, bring a large pot of shallow water up to a boil. Take each of the jam jars and boil them for 10 minutes (less if the jar is really small). The water shouldn't cover the top of the jam jar; just a couple inches of water will do. This process is just to ensure the jam jars seal properly.

Remove the jars from the water (with jar grabbers or an oven mitt). Set them aside to cool. You'll hear little popping noises as the tops of the covers seal. Should one not seal (the top isn't pressed down), just stick it in the fridge and use that one first. Chances are, you'll want to use one right away anyway, so it's no big deal.

As the jam cools, it will jell together. The process might take an hour or two, depending on the size of the jar, but if you have extra in the bottom of the pan, feel free to try some right away!

The batch I made at my grandma's house was really good, I can't wait to try some other recipes! Wild blackberry jam from these bushes behind my apartment perhaps?Strawberry mint jam, using my mint plant? I'll have to hunt for some good recipes.

Busy!

No updates for the last several days, because I've been busy! And it seems as though my garden's been just as rambunctious as me. Pictures galore, see for yourself!


So I have, at the moment, 4 Better/Big Boy (I forgot which, whoops!), 1 July, 2 heirloom, and 6 cherry tomato plants. For the math challenged, that's 13 tomato plants. THIRTEEN. I'm going to have to learn how to can tomatoes, for sure.

Three of them already have bunches of blooms on them already, so I'm sure I'll have a few to show off come July.

The biggest ones are a foot and a half to two feet high, about up to my knees. Thank you summer-come-early! It's been 80s several days the past week or so.

The lettuce is edible! I thinned it out a little (yes, this picture is of THINNED lettuce) and made a couple salads, and had some on a hamburger. It's a 'Buttercrunch' variety, and it's got a real good flavor. Way better than the stuff I'm used to from the grocery. I think I've been converted.

[Remember, this is what it looked like just a couple weeks ago...









 ...so wow.]

Cucumbers are finally growing! I won't jinx myself, but the seedings are coming up, and the transplants have taken. The really warm weather helped, I'm sure, but just to make sure I have some BT coming in the mail. Turns out it was some fly larvae chewing out the cuke and bean stems from underground. Eww.

I'll put the trellis in later, once they've gotten a little bigger. This picture (as are all here) was taken yesterday, and even now their second set of leaves have started to come on. Sweet!


Garlic, Peas, and more pictures... I'm getting lazy, so I'll let them do the talking. One note though, I went to the farmer's market, and saw some peppers. I had ripped up two of my pepper plants, cause they looked wimpy/sickly, and wanted replacements. A small thing of six cost $1.50 (!!! I should do more shopping at the tail end of the season). So... I planted the extra four around my other plants. I now have a total of 11 pepper plants. Four Cali Sweet, One chocolate, Six (the newbs) Purple Sweet. Yeah... I hope I can can peppers too.

And, because I feel like it, a tally:

Tomatoes: 13
Peppers: 11
Onions: 19
Garlic: 5
Cucumbers: 10 (more TK)
Glads: 10 (more TK)
Lettuce: lots!
Peas & Beans: 12ish

Totals: Priceless

( /dork =] )

Show & Tell

I got LOTS of awesome things done in the garden today!

First, the cherry tomatoes. I have SIX of them. Yes, that's probably too many, but oh well! Tomatoes are cool.

Today, I took two of the biggest ones and put them into big containers. The taller of the two I protected, taking some bamboo stakes I had previously purchased (to keep the tree shelters flying away, for my in-garden tomatoes) and wrapped cellophane around them. It was just windy and I didn't want to look over and see the poor thing horribly mutilated. I'll removed it once the plant is a bit stronger. The other one seems just fine, likely because it's got some protection from the lip of its container.

Next up are two tomato plants I bought yesterday.

"But wait!" you ask. "Don't you already have FIVE tomato plants planted?"

Yes, indeed I do. Didn't I mention tomato plants are awesome?

These, however, are EXTRA amazing. They're heirloom plants, which is to say, they are grown from old fashioned seeds, kept and bred generation after generation, to differing ends. (Saving and planting seeds from hybrids doesn't work like that; it's like beating a dead horse. The seeds are sterile.)

The closer plant is a Cherokee Purple, which will, hopefully, turn out purple and crazy-shaped fruit. The farther plant is a Green Zebra, which will be a lighter green with darker green stripes running through it. I'm still not sure how I'm going to tell if the fruit is ripe or not. I suppose I'll know once I try eating one!

Also, doesn't that lettuce look lovely? There's one in the bottom corner that didn't want to line up with his friends, apparently.

The peas are also coming along nicely. Nothing grand happening here, I just thought the picture came out nice.

In the corner there, at the top of the picture, is where I just came in from sowing some cucumber seeds. My first try was transplants, which died. Second try, a transplant, also failed. Seeds that I sowed nearly simultaneously, my third attempt, dried up. A handful of seeds that I tried a week later, rotted from too much wet (and chilly) weather, so my fourth attempt also ended badly.

I am nothing if not persistent.

This time I sprouted seeds inside, in a wet paper towel. They took less than 24 hours to germinate (22 hours, if you're counting), so I know that these seeds want to grow, if I can just get them the right conditions. I planted about 8 seeds of lemon cucumber and 8 of normal cucumber, each in their own row so I'll know which is which. Water, warmth, and a quick prayer and hopefully they'll survive. My sleeves are almost out of tricks, after all.

Speaking of failure, several of my onions rotted in the soil (curses! spoiled again!). So, on venturing to the garden centre down the road, I was pleasantly surprised to see onion sets on sale! Way too many than I'll use, but a nice deal nonetheless. And I scored the last bag! I always hear a little evil laugh in my head when that happens: Mwahaha! The onions! They are all mine! *Rubs hands together deviously*

So I planted 8-10 of them. I have 4 that have come up really well, plus 2 that are just starting to come along. So I should have a dozen, at the very least.

Also tried to plant garlic. I had some in my cupboard, and I saw in Crockett's Victory Garden (thanks for the book, Dad!) he says you can just buy garlic from the market and plant the cloves. So... hey, why not, right? I planted 5. Worst case is they'll rot. Or sit there and do nothing. I've got a whole bulb left for fending off vampires, so I should be set.

Let's end with some pictures of my strawberries, shall we? I'll let them speak for themselves.

Lettuce & Peas & Farmer's Marketing

So not too much to report on in the garden: the tomatoes are inching up toward the tops of the tree shelters; the cucumbers are still unhappy with the weather; the peppers are still present and accounted for; beans haven't sprung up yet. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my glad bulbs poking up through the soil though! They were terribly dry---almost presumed dead---when I tossed 'em in.

Both the lettuce and the peas have taken off, despite really crazy weather (read: wind gusts of 50+ mph, fire warnings from dry air, hot & humid 80s over the past week or so). Overall, the nights have been cool though, and they're both cool-weather crops, so I suppose this isn't a HUGE shocker. Still, it's fun to see something really growing in there!

Lettuce as of May 1st, versus what it looks like today, May 9th:

And peas! They grew as much if not more than the lettuce in the past week.

I'll probably still get some different kinds of lettuce from the farmer's market, since I've got just the one variety in there. In fact, the farmer's market in Madison just started this past Friday! (Heheh, I am pretty smooth with those segways, eh?) I got a few things---bread, cheese, pesto, pie, jam---but no lettuce, since I already had some from the grocery store. Amazingly, there were some strawberry plants there with already ripe berries on them! HOW DID THEY DO THAT!? Haha, mine are still pretty dinky. They're getting there though...

In other news, the wild blackberry bushes are starting to fill out! I am definitely getting a bit of netting to ward of all these pesky birds once I start seeing berries. The little birdies look cute, but never let that fool you...look away and a swarm of the devious little buggers will descend on those bushes in no time.

Oh, and the last post? Yeah, did most of that last weekend. 'Cept checking on the water sitch. It's rained every couple days, so I haven't had to worry about it. I'm sure that'll change come summertime.

Also: I am not looking forward to the frost warning tonight and tomorrow. :C

Plans

Things I must do this weekend:

Paint the trellises I made last weekend

Remove dead tomato plant (killed by gale-force winds...!)

Direct-sow some cucumber seeds (I don't think the ones I have in are going to make it; combination transplanting shock and poor weather)

Transplant lettuce (I think they'll do better outside)

Leave cuke outside to harden off (planted one about a week ago, and now it's already getting big for its container!) 

Go to the nursery and purchase:
    1 new tomato plant, maybe 2 if they have neat varieties
    more fencing to keep the cat out
    possibly something for next to the gladiolas; broccoli, carrots, melon? Only if something catches my eye...

Things I might have to do this weekend:

Build or assemble a rain water barrel. The hose (that I assume is used to water the grass) has no external on/off switch. Rather, it leads directly into the side of the building, into the back of our laundry facilities (remember, I DO live in an apartment). Unfortunately, that room has been locked recently. It hadn't been before... too bad I never went exploring earlier. I'm pretty sure it's just storage space. Therefore I may not have convenient access to a water supply. I'm making trips with the watering can for now.

Trip to the hardware store. If I do have access to the water supply, I'll only need to purchase an on/off switch for the end of the hose. Of course, unless I catch the building supervisor to ask her about it (she's really nice, but I think someone has her on fast-forward) I will continue with the ol' watering can technique until next weekend.

Happy May!

Garden is IN

Saturday morning I finally got to put my garden in! (With a little help. Thanks Dad!) It's a plot in an area that was formerly just weeds and tall grass, but the condo association removed all that recently and put in grass seed (which I am very skeptical of working, since they didn't put any hay/protection on it, nor have watered it at all, as far as I've seen–the birds seem to like it though). Lucky me, it's all very rich loam-y soil, which I amended with a 5-10-5 fertilizer, although I've got some miracle grow up my sleeve too.

The temperatures have–and will be–pretty mild, averaging around 40 overnight. It may look pretty barren right now, but there's a lot buried under the soil (or just too tiny to see)~! Here's a view looking down from the second floor of my apartment.

Here's a bit of a close up. Right now I've got the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers protected in little semi-translucent shelters. They'll grow up and out in no time, and then I'll have to get them fashioned with cages and trellises.

I also have several marigolds tossed in among the plants. They help keep all sorts of little buggers out, plus they look pretty. Double win!

Since I can reach most of my plants from the edge, I only really needed one path–you can see it there in the corner of the picture. I suppose rows are more traditional and all, but what can I say? I'm a rebel.


And, just to prove there ARE plants in those plastic things, here's a close-up of a pepper plant.







There are a couple places where there's still some room to put things in. I have some cherry tomato plants growing inside, since they're still a bit too small to plant out yet. They won't quite fill out the space though, so I'll have to think of one other thing I might like in there. Melon? Broccoli? More lettuce? Hm... so many choices!

The other exciting thing I discovered are some wild blackberry bushes growing just behind my garden, between our yard and the neighbor's. The tallest cane was well over 8 feet tall, probably closer to 9 or 10 feet.


I read that canes should be trimmed back to around 4 feet to encourage lateral growth (not to mention more berries, and that's the important thing). So I went out and clipped off the tops of the highest canes today.


I have more pictures on my camera, so expect another post on blackberries in the future!

Herbs n' Things

I recently received a cookbook. It's very pretty, the food looks yummy, and for the most part the recipes are doable. Oh, and at least a dozen recipes in said-book list fresh mint as an ingredient...

...so that's my excuse for buying myself a peppermint plant.

I already nibbled on a leaf, and WHOA is it minty...yum! It's a little small for regular 'harvesting' though, so I'll have to be patient until he's a wee bit bigger.

I also plan on using it in tea and jam, so this guy's going to be put through its paces. You can even dry the leaves and make tea solely out of the leaves. I'm thinking iced tea, mojitos and mint juleps for summer!

It's funny too, I never liked mint-flavored things when I was really young. I even avoided it in toothpaste for as long as I could. (Sadly, they do not make bubblegum or fruit flavored adult toothpaste readily available.)

While I was at the same nursery I also picked up a Pineapple Sage plant, to the right here.

"Why oh why do I need a Pineapple Sage plant when I already have a traditional Sage sitting on my kitchen windowsill?"

The answer, my friend, is that this smells EXACTLY like pineapple. When you rub the leaves between your fingers and sniff, it's like you dunked your hand in a tub of pineapple juice and stuffed it in your mouth.

I can tell you right now this is also going to end up in teas and jams, not to mention some chicken recipes.

Oh, and it may look small for the container at the moment, but the lady at the nursery said they can get pretty big, so I'm being optimistic.

The other item  bought yesterday was... strawberry plants! Unfortunately, the plants that were the sad subject of this post, I gave up on and tossed. They were still infected after I checked later that week, the plants were not growing as I felt they should be, and even some of the new growth was dying back.

Looking on the bright side of things though, the pot was salvageable. I rinsed it, left it outside for a week (in rain, shine, and freezing temps) and then gave it a good second wash before transplanting. No buggies in sight (before, when I watered, they would bounce around, or swim around on top of the water).

Looks much better than before!

They're an ever bearing variety, as opposed to June bearing, which wouldn't have done well in a container I think.

For those that don't know the differences, June bearing gives one crop of berries in June. Day neutral gives two crops, one in June and one in August. Ever bearing produces throughout summer/fall.

I originally wanted a day neutral variety, because I read somewhere that they usually produce a higher-yield overall. BUT ever bearing was a close second in my mind, because I am impatient when it comes to yummy things.

Also, it's already got some berries on it!

The flat come with six plants. I planted two in the top (pictured here) then two in the middle-pockets and two in the bottom-pockets, leaving a couple pockets empty so it has a "back." That way I won't have to worry about turning the pot and evening out their sun-exposure.

It's sitting outside at the moment, cause it was outside at the nursery, and I want to make sure those berries get all the pollination and sun they can get! I get to eat them sooner that way. And that's the important thing.

And lastly, some seedling pictures! I'll let them speak for themselves.