Harvest Time Series-Broccoli Tips

We wanted to give you a head's up about an upcoming giveaway!

Mary, from Mary's Heirloom Seeds 
will be sponsoring a giveaway on 
The Maple Hill Hop 
next Tuesday.
Be sure to stop by and enter to win a fabulous gift package.
While you're there, we hope you'll join the HOP party!
See you then!

We're starting a new series today called 
Harvest Time.

We'll feature tips on how best to reap what you sow,
so that you get the most from your veggie and herb gardens.

Today's focus is harvesting broccoli.
Here in Central Florida, this crop is started mid-fall.

By the time winter rolls around,

we are picking fully-formed heads.

If the gardener is careful and efficient,

this generous crop will reward you well.

Execution is everything.

We talked about cutting the main head at an angle here.

This allows rain or irrigation water to shed easily away from the stalk

in order to prevent disease problems.

Once the head is removed,

the opportunity for tips emerges.

If you enjoy eating broccoli,

you will have as much as you can stand!

This is one of the tips that grows from the space provided.
They are even more tender than the head.

You can see where the new tips are growing.
It's kinda like The Sorcerer's Apprentice,
they just keep making more, and more, and more.
When you cut the bigger tip off,
you want to make sure you don't disturb the new tips forming.
Again, cutting the tips off at an angle will ensure that tips keep on comin',
and prevent disease issues from occurring.  
Lynn uses a sharp pocket knife to cut across the base of the stem,
and then stops just short of going all the way through.
He then gently pulls up what's left,
allowing the leaves and new tips to continue to form.

This is one crop that just keeps giving.
Knowing techniques to help make your harvesting easier and more efficient
is what this series is all about.
We hope to continue it as the season progresses.
Enjoy your harvest!

Thrifty Thursday-Shard Feeders

We enjoy the daily visits of various birds in our garden.
A variety of plants allow our feathered friends to not only grace us with song,
but find cover from predators when needed or a place to build a home for future nest-building.
While we do provide some natural resources for water and food using native plants,
we also supplement with other forms of birdseed or fruit, like oranges.

 

The bird feeder we were using kept falling apart,
so it was time to think of something new.
The other problem we had was that a feral cat
started hanging out near the feeder.
It had already been chased out of our yard once,
dangling a bluejay in its mouth
(the bird was able to fly away).
Instead of buying a new feeder, 
I wanted to figure out some way of using what we already had laying around.



These terra cotta shards are usually used for drainage in the bottom of a container,
where the holes might be too big to keep the soil in the pot.
The idea came to me to use them as bird feeders.

The birdseed fits in it pretty well,
and the porous nature of the clay will help any water leech out.
They aren't sharp enough to harm the visitors.

One was tucked into an air plant that is hanging in one of our trees.
It fits snug as a bug.

Another was nestled into some tree branches.
I wasn't sure they would eat out of this one,
because it was so open with no surrounding shrubbery.
It is still pretty high off the ground,
away from feline claws.
They weren't a bit deterred,
and we've been able to watch cardinals, doves and mockingbirds feasting.

 

 Breakfast is served!

Check out these ideas at the Good Housekeeping website!

The Maple Hill Hop 71

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Please link back to Maple Hill 101.*

This weekend, we hosted a plant giveaway!
The garden was overflowing with Florida-friendly and native plants 
and I am making more room for food crops.
The ornamentals are vital to a healthy garden, 
as they attract beneficial insects and pollinators.
I just didn't need so much, 
so I posted an ad on Craig's List for free plants.
Remember the phrase,
"If you build it, they will come"?
Well, they did.
They cleaned me out!
In a good way.

Now I have room to plant more food,
and the satisfaction of knowing that other folks
will be taking good care of the plants I no longer needed.
It feels so good to commune with other gardeners.
One couple even brought seeds to trade,
which I thought was so sweet.

With all the seedlings given me by Faye & Lynn,
I'll have a good start on two of the new beds I want to create.
They gave me extra broccoli, dinosaur kale and tomatoes,
so they'll get planted this week.
With the extra daylight hours, 
I'll be digging until dark.
Whoo-hoo!
This gardening bug is one thing I don't mind spreading!

What's going on where you are?
HOP to it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thrifty Thursday-Lemon Aid

Lemons are one of our favorite things to get from The Hill.

They are pesticide-free and so delicious.

That's not always true of what is found at the grocery store.
With the season being just about over,
we thought we'd share some ideas about
this amazing and versatile fruit.

When we get a bag full of lemons from the farm,

we bring them home and scrub 'em up good.

We have found so many uses for lemons.

Aside from using it for creating yummy things to eat and drink,

they can be used to clean anything from cutting boards to rust stains on clothes.

We've even used them in homeschooling science experiments.

Those with the best-looking skins get zested,

jarred, and the containers are placed in the freezer.

It lasts well over 6  months this way,

but it doesn't usually stick around that long!

We use zest on chicken, fish, and in muffins and sweet breads.

Of course, the juice is squeezed using an old-fashioned metal reamer.
We bottle it and keep it in the freezer until needed.
Lately, I've been using it to add to my water kefir.
It adds a brightness to most any dish.
If you have a garbage disposal, 
grinding the skins up keeps the kitchen smelling fresh.
Naturally, any remnants from your stash of lemons can be composted as well. 



Making the most of what you have is one of the cornerstones of homesteading.
We so appreciate being able to have pesticide-free citrus,
and we don't want to waste a bit of it.

Here are a couple of ways we use Meyer lemons.

Honey lemonade
Watermelon lemonade

The Maple Hill Hop 70

Welcome to 

The Maple Hill Hop.

This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.

Feel free to post about anything that's going on

OUTSIDE

in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.

(Please share only outdoor posts.)

*Please link back to Maple Hill 101.*

Eggplant is a fall crop here,
but we're still growing it heading into spring.

We've got two varieties growing in the garden.

This is the Epic variety, also known as Dusky, from the Jung Seed Company.

My farmer friend Lynn introduced these to me,

and I haven't looked back since.

With around a 60-day maturity rate,

these beauties will produce multiple fruit on one plant.

Once you see these sweet flowers show up,

you know you're soon in store for garden bounty.

This heirloom variety, Listada De Gandia, takes a bit longer to mature,

and produces much smaller fruit.

These are thinner-skinned, so peeling isn't necessary.

The bright purple-speckled skin is too pretty not to keep!

Not sure what happened to this one, but who cares, as long as it tastes good!

I never tire of reading about different varieties of veggies.

Seed catalogues are a source of fascination and rapture.

The more I learn, the more I feel the pull toward growing heirlooms.

It just seems like the right thing to do.

A third variety of eggplant will be added to the mix this weekend.

We'll give an update on that before long.

Once I get some of these goodies harvested,
you can be sure I'll be whipping up some of 
Mimi's ratatouille.
I know she'd approved.


What's going (growing) on outside where you are?
HOP ON!

An InLinkz Link-up