Posted on 01/08/2016 1:36:46 PM PST by greeneyes
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It is in the 40’s here & raining lightly - heavier rain on the way. You can see your breath .... it’s that damp, raw kind of cold that goes to your bones (ugh!).
Monday, with some temps in the teens overnight forecast the next couple of nights, I went out and harvested my winter garden ... 3 kinds of kale & collards. I left the red cabbage - the “heads” are about the size of a walnut so not much there. I cut out the ribs and sauteed the kale/collards down & then put them in the fridge.
Today, I am making batches of soup using the kale. It’s supposed to be delicious and just taste-testing, it’s ‘good’ to me. I’ll keep out a couple of bowls and freeze the rest. Nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter’s day. :-)
I’m already dreaming & planning of spring & the garden - got some ideas, going to do a little expansion, hope to start canning ... at least making things like hot pepper jelly, herb jellies, but would also like to put up tomatoes, etc. Both of my grandmothers were excellent canners so I think I should follow in their footsteps (plus I prefer canned to frozen veggies). The spring garden seems a long way off, but time is also flying by these days.
I’m putting down some small fines in front of the garage. I’l sprinkle some cement over it, rake it in, sprinkle more cement, then sprinkle with water. That will be my place for large pots to grow my salads, lettuces and even some flowers in smaller pots. I’ve still NOT straightened the shelves in the garage, but that is my next project. There is so much JUNK on them and they are slap happy shelves, I’m a nit picker, so it has to be right, according to my way of doing it.
In the community garden, we’re thinking of putting various tomatoes in the syrup pots and other plants. I’m going to use one pot for 2 cantaloupe seeds and their vines will be supported to grow upward to the sun. Isn’t gardening fun?
My summer squashes will grow toward the sun also, the cukes the same. I’thinking of doing some watermelons in very sandy soil and grow them on expanded metal, give the melons some good strong support.
You can tell I have been receiving my seed mags. So many nice looking things to grow. Have to be careful though, I tend to see too many great looking plants.
Well, as long as there is a window or grow light, a couple of pots can be planted and taken with you when you leave, if you haven’t eaten the green stuff before then.
You can go back to Florida, or any other place you’d like, especially once the house is sold. I am sorry that you are stuck in such a cold climate under such sad circumstances though.
Well, hubby will help now and again, but only when we run totally out of silverware, plastic forks, and paper plates. LOL
I have good success in front of the patio sliding doors too. I usually add a grow light in late afternoon and into the evening to simulate summertime light.
I would have a light of some sort on anyway, so using the newer grow lights which use less electricity would be a good option.
Hobbies sometimes have a way of doing that. LOL Now and again, I get ideas of how to make a few bucks with the gardening.
However, I quickly sit down and rest until I get over it. I don’t want a full time job. There’s not enough hrs in the day to do everything I need to do and want to do as it is. LOL
A handy man’s work is never done! Glad you’ll have some heat this time.
I apologize: I've asked this question before and I'm not trying to be repetitive. I'm just posting it hoping that random passers by might see it when they haven't before!
Otherwise, cold and rainy here. I've marked up the Baker Creek catalog and I'm almost ready to order.
Yes time flies. I blinked and it was all of a sudden 2016. I especially prefer canned green beans over frozen. But I do like the frozen corn best.
I too, tend to order too much. So before I order this year, I’ll have to see what I have leftover from last season, and those will be the seeds I start in doors.
I really like the way cukes turn out when letting them grow up the fence.
Anyone got any recommendations on pumpkins that are good for eating cooked-up like squash (not pie)?
Preferably “heirloom”/non-hybrid.
My mom was asking me about using coffee grounds in the garden/flower beds last week ... this just showed up in my January E-News from Viette’s today:
Coffee Grounds in the Garden
http://www.viette.com/v.php?pg=965
true...I hope we get a buyer soon, before the february blizzard season! :-)
Hi, g! My dishes are doing the very same thing. Could this be the beginning of an outbreak? Something which cannot be contained? Are we dooooooomed? And would you happen to know a good source for iceberg lettuce seed?
Can you post a photo of your dog? I bet he’s beautiful.
Don’t get used to the 70 pounds. We have a pyrenees/shepherd/coonhound who has topped out at 120.
Gonna start on onion seedlings this week, then move up from there...
I don’t mind doing the dishes, as long as I have good pair of rubber gloves.
I’ve got nothing going on right now, other than blooming (forced indoors) Paperwhites and Amaryllis that are ready to pop!
I’ll start some salad greens under lights in a bit. I’ll be spending this upcoming season selling my little farm and moving to our ‘real’ farm. Not sure how much time I’ll have for gardening, but I’ll do what I can.
I can’t NOT! :)
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