Garden update

This has been a fantastic year for the garden so far.  We've had heat and just the right amount of rain.  Everything seems like it is thriving right now.  Above is the cabbage continuing to head up and some spinach that is looking like it is about to bolt.

These are the tomato trellises that J built me.  Shortly after I took the picture, I put up most of the strings to support the vines. I'm really excited to see how they work out.

These are some of the Amish Paste plants.  They are starting to put on flowers, which is just amazing to me. 

This is a miscellaneous bed.  In the front are tomatoes from seed I saved last year.  I'm calling them mystery tomatoes, since they came from a volunteer plant.

The strawberries are just wonderful.  We should have ripe fruit shortly.

My potato jungle has been hilled once already and is ready for some straw.  Some of the plants are even starting to flower.  Behind them are beans.

 

Parsnips have gone to seed and are taller than Morgan right now.  They have spectacular seed heads.  If you'd like some seeds, let me know.

The pumpkins and winter squashes are looking good as well.  I'm anxious for a good crop after last years complete failure.

Lastly the peas.  Morgan thinks these are her personal snack.  I may get enough for a dinner eventually, but for now I'm thrilled that she likes them so much.  They are easily 3 weeks early.  We usually harvest peas in late June.

How are things in your garden.  I'm just amazed at how well the garden is going so far.  It's shaping up to be my best year yet. 

Strawberry love

The kids and I just got back from picking 20 pounds of strawberries.  It just so happens this is the same farm that we got our grass fed cow from last year.  He has a few fields that he uses for hay and last year he raised a few cows there as well.  He didn't do it this year, but will again next year and hopefully subsequent years.  These strawberries are destined to top pound cake, go into smoothies, fruit leathers and many will go into the freezer for the winter as well.  I may have to go get some more. 

The kids were big helpers this year.  Although they should probably have weighed Morgan before and after picking, because I think she ate about a pound of strawberries while we were there.  These are just in time for a cookout we're going to on Sunday.  Guess what I'm bringing?

Honeymoon phase

This is the time of year that I love the garden.  I walk through the paths, weeding as I go.  Everything is still so beautiful and full of promise.  I imagine the huge harvests that I'll have of everything planted.  Nothing can go wrong at this point.  Today was one of those days that I walked through feeling like a proud mama.  All is according to plan right now.  Even the fact that I had to purchase the above eggplants at that big orange store does not bother me right now. 

I love the look of cabbage.  It's one of the prettiest things in my garden right now.

The sugar snap peas courtesy of Laura are budding and we'll have peas in short order.

These are Cinderella pumpkins.  My neighbor gave me the seeds for these.  They have huge leaves already.

We've had some very high temps the last few days and the tomatoes are loving it.

There are about 20 peaches on my 3 year old tree.  This is the biggest so far.

The new perennial beds are doing well, thanks to Kiwi.  This is a Lupine and I'm very happy that I even knew it's name.  She is a fabulous flower gardener, I am not. 

Independence Days Update

Why is it that when I have lots to post about, I don't get around to posting it?  It's that time of year when I'm busily planting and cleaning and planting and playing and planting and cooking.  What I'm not doing is spending much time on the internet.  I find that I'm a much nicer person when my butt is not glued to my office chair.  My kids get more attention, my garden grows better and Hubby gets more of my time as well.  Pretty much a win- win situation for all involved, except of course my blog. 

I tried to rectify the situation and went out and took lots of pictures.  They're still on the card because my computer is on strike and won't download them.  As a result, I'm writing a long pictureless post. 

After having a gorgeous early spring, we had a brief return to normal weather and had a frost on May 10th.  I find it funny that even with all that warmth, with everything blooming at least 2 weeks ahead of schedule, that we still managed to have our (presumably) last frost on a normal day.  It makes me happy that I didn't plant earlier and risk my precious plants. So on to my update.

Plant something:  Cabbage, broccoli, cucumbers, watermelons, pie pumpkins, Rouge vif D temps pumpkins, butternut squash, gold rush zucchini, black zuccini, corn, bush beans, beets, pac choi and tatsoi. 

Harvest something:  Parsnips and eggs

Preserve something:  nope

Waste not:  Gave all my fabric and patterns that had been wasting away in the attic to my mother.  She informed me that she would happily horde fabric for me and I could deal with it all when she died. 

Want not:  Bought an inexpensive smoker to learn how to smoke my own meats.  Can't wait to try making my own bacon.  Hubby just wants the ribs, thank you very much.

Eat the food:  Can't say that I've done anything in particular.  All the preserved food from last year is gone and there is nothing to fill it's void as of yet. 

Sunbathing

The tomatoes, peppers and herbs are hardening off.  So far they look very happy in their new play spot.

Pork enchiladas with green chile sauce

As promise, this is the enchilada recipe I made up a few days ago.  It tastes very much like an enchiladas suizas to my mind.  I have some pork leftover from the pig we got last fall and tomatillo salsa that I made from my garden last year.  This is what I ended up with.

Pork Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

1 lb pork
1 jar tomatillo salsa
1 15 oz can green chile enchilada sauce
6-8 flour tortillas
2 c shredded cheddar cheese divided into 1 1/2 cup for enchiladas and 1/2 cup to top
1/3 c red enchilada sauce
sour cream for garnish

In crockpot cook pork with salsa and green chile sauce on low for 6-8 hours on low until falling apart.  Remove pork and chop/shred.  You will have a bunch of sauce in the bottom of the crockpot.  Pour half the sauce into the bottom of a 9x11 inch casserole.  In each tortilla put 3-4 T of pork and 2 T of cheese.  Roll up and place seam side down in pan.  Continue until the pan is full and your meat is used up.  Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, top with cheese and spoon red enchilada sauce over top. 

Bake at 350  for 30 minutes.  Serve with sour cream. 

These could certainly be made with chicken.  Pork is easier for us to find local and sustainable, so that is what I tend to use these days. 

My first Harvest Monday

While cleaning up the garden beds, I found some parsnips.  They look a bit hairy and ugly, but tasted lovely.  The weight came to 12.5 ounces, so I'll start a tally in the side bar.  The remainder of my lettuces and spinach are still a week or so away, but I was anxious to join in the fun at Daphne's Dandelions. 

It's been a busy few days here.  I apologize for not getting posts up in a timely manner.  We were busy with Hubby's birthday and a several other large happenings. 

The weather is continuing to be odd.  We hit 90 yesterday with muggy and 80 today.  This is July weather, not May.  The 7 day forecast seems to be showing above average temps the whole week.  At this point, it seems that our last frost day for the year will be April 28th.  That is almost 2 weeks early for us.  I'll be starting to harden off the tomatoes and peppers this week and planting the majority of the direct seeded crops as well.  Lots to do and lots of fun as well.