This is last years garden in July. I got a really late start last year and didn’t plant anything until early June. Since I had no indoor starts and I went to the nursery and bought what I could find for plants. We had tomatoes, squash, peppers, dill, cilantro and a few radishes, carrots and peas. Not too bad for no planning.
This year I started in February with my indoor starts. I have planned a lot and have five beds instead of three. I have also used those black things for potatoes and moved the compost to a different spot.
This year I am also going to try my hand at raspberries, grapes and some rubarb. I bought two kinds of raspberries and three kinds of grapes. But I an afraid one of the raspberries and one of the grapes might be dead as they have not sprouted while the others have.
Here’s B with a carrot we found growing. Amazing, it survived the winter and started sprouting again. We only found it because I recognized the green leaves.
When I did the raised beds this year I though I had transplanted all the strawberries but I must have missed a few. These have started growing between the beds.
If you happen to follow my modernorganicmama.com blog you might have seen the beautiful sunflower we had in the middle of the garden last year. Well it must have dropped a few seeds and they survived the double digging and raised bed making this year because here they are.
I also had some dill and cilantro I let go to seed in this bed last year and here is the proof. I now have Dill and Cilantro growing on the outside of the bed.
I also have some sprouting in the middle of the bed. Dill is like a weed. A yummy weed though.
In my blog surfing, I was on Mark Bittman’s blog and read about swine flu and CAFOs, I stumbled across an interesting new site, Civil Eats. It’s a great blog site with lots of catagories covering all aspects of well, civil eating. Categories include, grow your own, in the kitchen, food policy and more. Check it out.
Yeah! the radishes are sprouting. WARNING if you have chickens fence them out of your budding garden.
I went out this AM and the chickens had gotten into the bed and the radishes are no more. Oh, and make sure your fencing is secure. My chickens just pushed the fence out of the way. I am beginning to think they don’t realize how big they are, one got stuck in the bush today and I had to get her out. Baby’s got back!
I love onion soup. Its pretty basic and a great way to use up stale bread.
Ingredients
5 red onions, sliced
2 white onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
few sage leaves
3 Shallots slices
butter
olive oil
salt
2 pints broth (chicken or veggie)
Cheddar Cheese
hearty bread sliced
Put the olive oil in a deep heavy bottomed pan with garlic and sage. Suate for about a minute. Add the onions and shallots. Cook for 50 minutes over medium to low heat. This helps give you some caramel and sweet flavors don’t rush it.
When the onions are clear and a little caramelized add the broth. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste.
Prepare in a glass bowl with toasted bread slices on top. Place slices or shredded Cheddar cheese on top and place under the broiler until bubbly and a little brown. Enjoy. Just be careful the bowl will be really hot! This is a lot more filling than you think.
So we planted our first outside seeds this weekend. We have planted radishes, carrots, peas, leeks, onions, cilantro, scallions, beats, and califlower.
Of course I bought cauliflower and broccoli plants that we put out as well. I don’t know how well they will due. It depends on if it stays warm or not. Of course it is windy too.
We added compost to the beds but decided not to fill them mostly due to cost. I will be filling them up over time with compost anyway. BK has been very helpful and has taken a real interest in the garden. The boys helped for about five minutes and then lost interest.
I took BK to the store and let her pick out some of her own seeds and we are going to dig her a small beg of her own to take care of.
Yeah! My seeds are starting to come up. I have to admit I go in and check on them at least a couple times a day. It’s definately spring the chickens have even started laying again.
It looks like the Eat The View Campaign is a success. Alice Waters played a role too, Thanks for your open letter. It’s nice to see this in the general news.
It is amazing the buss there is about recession gardens right now! Just Google Recession Garden’s and see what you get. Also here’s another kitchen garden type blog called The Slow Cook. Enjoy.
I have 170 sq ft of garden space. Four 8 x4 beds and two 3 x 7 beds next to the south house wall. The wall serves as a great heat catch and I plan to try some four season gardening there this year. I’d also like to plant some berry bushes this year along with some patatos but we will see what the finances look like as we go along.
So far I have invested $95 in the four 4 x 8 beds and $65 in seeds and starting supplies. I am going to try starting some seeds this year as well. There is a great little video on the basics of seed starting over at OG.
The last frost here is generally around May 15th but that depends on your elevations and your yard (slope, sun, etc.). I have figured out which plants I want to start inside when so that I will have plants to out in the garden in May. Different plants have different needs so make sure you read the labels. Some need to be soaked or scratched.
I am going to try some experimenting with different plants that aren’t necessarily normally started indoors. Since I live at high elevation with cool night temps there are some plants that are harder to grow from seed. So check back and I will fill you in on my successes and follies.
This year we decided to put in raised beds. I was very please with the soil and double dug it since I wouldn’t be doing that again. B was quick to pitch in but its had to shovel when you have no weight to put into it. BK was eager to help too but didn’t get to far with the hand trowel. Daddy rabbit was the construction contractor with his crew of chickens. Luckily they work for worms and thought that this was all for them. We had to break for lunch union rules. I thought BK was going to smack B a good one when he got too close to her gelato! All in all it was a good days work. All we need to do is add more soil and compost and we will be ready to plant. Now to get those seeds started.
We are in the midst of garden planning. I am planning on doing some raised beds and 4-season-gardening this year. So I thought I might Join the Seed to Seed Challange.
Head on over and check it out if you want to give it a try. Grow something new and grow it from seed to seed. So next year it will be free! Yeah!!!
I found a great new blogger. She has three different blogs and I found her in my quest to bake a good loaf of bread. I love to read about other peoples kitchen gardens. For me personally gardening and cooking are intertwined. Of course gardening in Santa Fe like baking can take a little bit of creativity and knowledge of the desert and high altitude. But like backing gardening lets you try, try and try again. So I hope you enjoy the links.
Hi I am a mother of 3 married to a great guy and we are trying to live a more conscious life style. This blog is to record my adventures in living local in Santa Fe, NM. I hope to bring you information about eating local and resources for those ... Continue reading »
So I am finished with my garden planning. At least for now. It’s always changing. Here’s what I have decided to plant.
