Garden Friday

It seems like it takes no time at all
for Friday to get here.
Every week is busy with house hunting, doctor appointments
and tooling around town, trying to get to know the area.
The garden isn't as far along as I had hoped,
but finding a homestead has naturally been a top priority.
We're making progress and I hope to be able to share good news soon.

The abundant rain here has done wonders for our crops.

The curly kale is finally looking greener.

No doubt the compost tea gave it a boost.

This is the first time I've grown this type of kale,

so I'm not sure how big it's supposed to get.

These small icing containers seem to be a good fit though.

Big news on the cruciferous front.

Our first broccoli head is forming.

Ya-hoo!

We are hoping to get a good-sized head 

and many, many, many side shoots.

We started this crop from seed.

This variety, known as Pacman, is well-known for it's generosity of edibles.

The leaves can be harvested as well, and added to salads or sandwiches.

And of course, broccoli is one of the most nutrient-packed veggies out there.

This is snowball cauliflower and it is just forming fruit.

These seedlings were acquired from a local farmer

at the market here in Denver (NC).

This is a new crop for me,

and I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into it!

I'm thinking roasted cauliflower, carrots and beets.

Speaking of carrots,

the bucket is bursting with carrot tops.

Hopefully, the butterflies won't be laying eggs on these,

so I can harvest them for garnishing.

Swallowtails, especially, enjoy munching on these green, leafy morsels.

Bigger stakes are needed for the snap peas.

They are growing out of their containers,

so I will most likely pick up a couple of bamboo poles

and set up a baling twine wall for them to climb.

I'm doing it.  

I'm really doing it!

I'm growing tomatoes!

They were transplanted into the front bed a couple of weeks ago,

and are now filling out the cages that I placed them in.

Tomatoes are something that I've had mixed success in growing.

I have kind of a deal going with myself,

that I will consider myself a true farmer

 if I can successfully grow delicious, juicy, flavorful maters.

So far, so good!

I'm feeding crops every three weeks with the compost tea

I made from the turkey poop gifted me by my farmer friends back in Florida.

They supplied us with enough fertilizer to last a while.

It looks like it's working!

As spring has awakened,

the ornamental plants around here are struttin' their stuff.

I have no idea what most of them are,

as they are very different than what I grew in my Florida-friendly garden.

It's a revelation to see these beauties come alive,

knowing that they have their own internal timer that triggers the brilliant display.

Fascinating!

I certainly hope you're enjoying your own spring wonder.
Take some time to find something new in your surroundings.
It'll brighten your whole outlook.
Enjoy your weekend, y'all!

Garden Friday

We've had a marvelous mix of cool nights, sunshine and a blast of rain.

On Wednesday, it gently rained almost all day,

giving the garden a good dose of just what it needed.

I'm not sure if it's the season, or the rain, or a combination of things,

but the seedlings seemed to be very happy in their little containers. 

Yesterday, transplanting was in order.

Our side yard garden is making good progress.

I've been harvesting the Romaine lettuce for the last couple of weeks.

 The snap peas are tall enough to need staking.

Did you know you can eat the tendrils and leaves too?

It's a good idea to let them grow big and tall before using them.

They make a tasty addition to any salad.

 The bucket o'carrots is starting to fill in.

As soon as I get another large bucket, I will be sowing more.

 The first beets will be a welcome addition to the table.

We've planted both red and orange.

It's been a while since I've had home-grown.

 The broccoli doesn't mind being in a 5-gallon bucket.

There are a few more seedlings to find containers for.

I was hoping to acquire buckets from our local grocery store,

but they seldom have them available.

I'll need to find another resource.

 This styrofoam packing material came with a recent order.

It'll come in handy in the garden.

It gets broken into large pieces and placed in the buckets.

This allows us to use less potting soil,

which saves us money and also keeps the pots lighter 

in case they need to be moved. 

It also keeps the soil from washing out of the containers.

We should have an abundance of lettuce to harvest in a few weeks!

 Another task that needed attention 

was the transplanting of these sunflowers.

We used our toilet paper rolls to sow the seeds.

They always germinate well.

These are the Mammoth sunflower variety.

The only thing you need to remember 

is to unfold the bottom before placing it in the hole.

This allows the roots to find their way into the soil.

Some got planted this way in the front of the house.

We will most likely add them in a few other spots

and use the direct sowing method.

Sunflowers are one of the easiest things to grow at this time of year.

They make a great first impression on young gardeners,

especially when they mature and tower over them!

This beautiful jasmine bush frames the front porch.

The smell is heavenly.

I'll have to remember to collect some seeds to take with us when we move.

What's growing in your garden on this fine spring day?

Remember, 

tomorrow 

is 

EARTH DAY!

Kitchen Sink Pasta (Vegan option)

Wednesday night is pasta night around here.

Being of Italian descent, it was a staple growing up

and it is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods.

This is called "Kitchen Sink Pasta" because it is concocted

with everything and anything leftover in the fridge.

In just 30 minutes, a delicious meal can be had.

As the pasta was cooking (20 minutes), 

I reserved about 1/4 cup of the liquid to add later.

After draining the pasta, I threw in 2 fresh tomatoes (diced) into a little olive oil,

some salt and Italian seasoning,  2 cloves of garlic, the reserved cooking liquid and about 1/4 C vegetable stock.

This got simmered until the tomatoes started to break down (8 minutes).

The pasta got added back in to the pot and I threw in

some cooked white beans, goat cheese (omit for vegan option) and steamed broccoli.

We didn't add any other type of cheese, 

but you certainly could top this with some parmesan or nutritional yeast to keep it vegan.

Any of your favorite goodies can be added for a combination your family will love.

The bonus is that this tastes even better the second day.

What's your favorite pasta medley?

Mower Deck Repair

Although we are only renting,

this property is our responsibility.

We are required to cut the grass and maintain the shrubbery.

With the weather cooperating,

Big K decided to give the riding mower a workout

for the first time since we moved here in December.

He got more than he bargained for.

The mower deck got torn up on some big branches

that were hiding in the grass.

He was not a happy camper.

But,  being the handy guy that he is,

he set out to repair the damage.

He used these boards on the shed entrance

to raise up the mower to make it easier to work on.

He set up our antiquated handy umbrella

to shield him from the sun and got to work.

A thin piece of steel was purchased from a local hardware store.

This one measures about 1/8" thick
and about 1 inch wide.

He cut it to length using a dye grinder with a cutting wheel 

and fastened it with 2 bolts he had laying around.

Making sure the blade had the needed clearance,

it was another job well done.

Other options for this job would have been to:

1.  contact a dealer for the brand mower we own

and see if they could order a new mower deck,

            2.  see if we could scrounge up a used mower for parts,
 3.  buy a new mower,

4.  have a metal fabricator repair the deck,
or 

5.  turn the yard into a jungle.

Part of homesteading is being able to make do with what you have,
which includes repairing instead of replacing every little thing that goes wrong.

Big K is about the handiest person I've ever known.
He has such a gift for repairing and refashioning,
and he has saved us so much money over the years.
He's a real keeper.





Simple Saturdays Blog Hop

Garden Friday

 With regular rainfall, things are turning green again.

 
Although our temperatures fluctuate from the 30's to almost 80,
the sunshine and rain are abundant.

It doesn't seem to affect the flowering bushes,
but the veggies, I think, are a bit confused.

 The broccoli is making some progress
and we have a couple of others started in tin cans.
The snap peas planted 2 weeks ago are starting to pop.

 The kale got transplanted into bigger pots 
and fertilized with some of our secret sauce turkey poop compost tea.

The cauliflower on the stoop is growing well,
probably due to the amount of sunshine hitting the front porch. 

 The Tin Can Garden is slow growing,
but hopefully, with more consistent temperatures
in the next few weeks, we'll see some improvement.

 The beets didn't germinate as I'd hoped,
so both varieties got reseeded.
We are hoping for a bucket o'
beets in another couple of months.

The need for sunflowers hit me,
and I decided to go ahead and get some started.
I used paper towel and toilet paper rolls for containers,
that way they can be transplanted directly into the soil when they are ready.

 With colder temperatures expected this weekend,
they will be kept indoors for another couple of weeks.
They have a sunny window near which to sit and stay warm.

Some Shasta daisies were planted here in the side yard.
I noticed them growing in a field across the street the other day
while on my daily walk. 
I also sowed some cactus zinnias in this same bed.

Someone who lived here before planted a lot of dianthus
and we've enjoyed seeing them come back to life after the winter cold.

 So many of the plants are unfamiliar to me,
and without blooms appearing yet,
it's hard to determine what is what.
This looks like it may be some type of lily or iris.
Time will tell.

 Some things will be a total surprise,
as growing here is new to me.

 These alliums planted around the base of a tree
are beginning to strut their stuff.

The other garden project was to make a few
of these suet feeders.
I will sell them along with my daisy totes
at my first farmers' market here next month. 
A new adventure to look forward to.

How's your spring garden coming along?