First Pickin'

Of course I had an eager helper.
*love that*
We looked for red tops popping through the soil.
And we found...

Radishes!

Crunchy
Crisp
Bit of 'Bite'

YUM!

Planting

is easy with the EarthWay planter!
My husband purchased it several years ago for me.
I love it!
You can find more info here.

I planted the Saturday before Mother's Day. It was a beautiful day to be out & the dirt felt wonderful between my toes.
Every year I have big dreams for my garden, this year was no exception. I am laughing now, because, there is no way I will be able to keep it weed free this summer. Tilling is pretty much out for this pregnant mama. The funny thing is, I don't really care. Weeds or no weeds, we will still have yummy produce to eat.

I planted Sweet Corn for fresh eating & Indian Corn, wellllll because it looked fun.
My dad plants a couple acres of sweet corn for us to freeze each year, my measly row of sweet corn won't provide much for my hungry tribe of sweet corn lovers, but it will satisfy a few meals.

Every year when I plant,
I doubt
I question
Will those little tiny seeds really sprout?
Will they grow into plants that produce?
Year after year, I get the same results...
about 10 days later, little green flecks start to line my garden.
Why do I doubt?
Because I can't see what is taking place in the seed under the ground.
I don't understand what happens as the soil houses the seeds, the spring rain nourishes, and God's miraculous engineering unfold.
It's a lot like our lives.
We speak Truth into those around us


French Fillet Green Beans are our favorite.
We have 4 rows of them!

Tenderette Green Beans produce later in the season & longer than the French Fillet.
We have those too.

Hopefully soon, green shoots of:

Radishes Peas Lettuce Green Onions Onions Cucumbers Pumpkins Corn Green Beans Brussel Sprouts
Potatoes

Will be popping!


There it is, minus the tomatoes, peppers & herbs.
Those will be going in today or tomorrow.

Now, to keep the weeds down...
Any suggestions?

Sweet

Potatoes
The size of a pie pumpkin!

After scrubbing them yesterday, Ashlynn was trying to decide which one to pick up to take inside for me.

She finally decided on the biggest one, of course.

But it proved to be a little bigger than she could handle.

I have no idea how my potatoes grew to this size.
We have a few so immense I'm sure not they're fit to eat.
I've never seen potatoes so big.
There is more out there.

Sweet potatoes anyone?

Just Veggies

Doing a lot of this lately...

and trying 'new' preserving techniques.
I'll let you know how they work out.
************
Have you ever watched a bouncy ball in a box before?
The ball randomly hits one side, then another, it just keeps going back and forth up and down.
These thoughts have been doing that in my brain this week.
Ponder them.

'Sometimes the Lord asks us to step out of our comfort zone for the sole purpose of blessing us.'

'The size of our prayers reflects the size of our God.'

'Get God out of the box you've put Him in.'

Caffeinated Randomness

....F.R.I.D.A.Y....
We've had so much rain this summer, my garden is a jungle.
Yesterday was the first I was able to work in it this week. Most of the day I spent weeding, tilling and harvesting.
This is what we found.

Plus a few enormous cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash.
The boys enjoyed boasting their tremendous strength by cracking them over their heads.

Ah yes, the joy of extra large produce.
!Silly Boys!

I can't believe my baby is one.

She is such a little pumpkin.
.Love her.

How can summer be almost over. I'm not ready for fall yet. Do you remember being a kid and the summer taking forever?
Why isn't it like that anymore?

I really need to decide on our school material and get it ordered. Then I need to pick a start date. I'm not ready for that yet either. Anyone else homeschooling? I'm indecisive on our English program. What do you use?

Did I ever tell you I took my kids to the zoo, two hours away, and forgot shoes for my 3 year old?
Yip I did. They didn't sell shoes at the gift shop either.

So we made due with socks. Red snake socks and a pink outfit.
.Beautiful.

That same week, I was in a store in town and the baby exploded all over my arm. I didn't have extra clothes for her. We were headed to swimming lessons after the store.
.Lovely.

I really like raw yellow squash and zucchini. They go especially well with ranch dip or garden fresh salsa.
.YUM.

Last night for dinner we had all day baked bacon beans, fresh salsa, corn chips, fresh produce and watermelon. It doesn't get much better than that!

Did you see the pineapple in my garden picture. I said it was a jungle. Just kidding, I'm not growing pineapple, just seeing how awake you are :)

Have a terrific Friday!

Cucumbers to Pickles

One day of friends over to swim + major 'put together' project + two days of rain, lots of rain, + hot humid weather= No time in the garden.
Which means the garden is most likely turning into a jungle.
I'm a little scared to go out.
But today is the day.

I'm sure we'll have more of these to can. However, I'm not sure how many more I can take.


We've already done 40 jars. Sadly, that won't even last us half of the year. My kids go crazy over pickles.
Here is our favorite recipe.
I tried a new pickle recipe this year. It's an old fashioned pickling one. I'll share it soon.
Now, I'm off to the garden.

Creepy

These bugs are plain creepy.
I will not touch them, even with gloves on.
Check out those claws.
Who knew bugs had claws anyway!

They will do this

to a plant like this, within days.

So I sprayed with my Gardens Alive bug killer.
Hope it works!!

Zucchini Stirfry

Call me crazy, but one of my favorite parts of summer is walking out to the garden, picking produce, taking it inside and serving it up.
Very satisfying for the soul and taste buds.

My family could eat stir-fry type dishes every meal. Plus, they are quick, easy and delicious. Your children can help by picking the produce and cutting it into slices. Uniform slices will cook the best, but when little ones are helping anything goes :)

You will need:
zucchini
yellow squash
onions or chives
olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

approx 1/2 - 1 tsp of all or some of the following:
(vary to your families taste buds, I starred the combination we like to use the best)
*basil, *oregano, *thyme, *rosemary, *sage, savory, parsley and marjoram. If you choose to use fresh herbs, increase the amount to 1 T.

Place sliced vegetables in a skillet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle herbs over top. Mix. Stir-fry on high heat until tender crisp. Make it a main dish by adding pieces of thinly sliced chicken breast, shrimp or pork loin, stir-fry protein first, then add veggies. Don't over cook your meat, the thin strips will cook fast.

I think I Can

It's a lot of work, but worth it in the end.

Just the beginning

.Lettuce.
.Apples.
.Squash.

.Grapes.
.Berries.
.Zinnias.

Garden...

DONE
Last week
The radishes and a few beans are poking up!

This is my favorite gardening gadget.

Do you have one? If not you need one!
Read more about it here.
I didn't purchase mine online, I bought mine locally. No matter where you get one, you will love it! It saves time and seeds.

Gardening

Have you planted your garden already?
Have you thought about your garden for this year?
I don't plant my garden until one of the first weeks in May. I feel it is beneficial to let the soil warm... ok, maybe subconsciously I am really postponing the weeding part ;) Even though I don't plant as early as the Amish do, my plants catch up rather quickly and we always have plenty of produce.

How I prepare my garden for planting....
In the fall I take off most of the old plants, leaving some of the plants and the unused produce to decompose into the soil.

Before my husband or FIL tills, they dump a load of cow manure on the dirt. Then they till the decomposed produce from last year and the manure into the soil.

Next I figure out where my plants will go. To do this I consider two things.
1. Where my plants were last year, I will rotate them this year
2. Which plants grow best next to each other. Some plants tend to naturally help or hinder other plant growth/production.

By rotating the plants each year, you protect the nutrients in your soil, which will lead to a better crop and better soil conditions. Each plant takes different nutrients from the soil and will put different nutrients into the soil as green manure. In larger gardens, crop rotation also aids in pest control.

A few 'What to plant wheres'...

Plant carrots after squash or potatoes.
Squash and potatoes are sometimes referred to as 'cleaning crops' because the way they grow naturally leads to fewer weeds. By planting carrots, a hard to keep weed-free plant, in the spot where squash or potatoes were the previous year, you have given yourself a head start on weeding because there aren't any weed seedlings to sprout. Weeds will still grow, just not as many.

Plant tomatoes away from potatoes and corn
Tomatoes and potatoes are members of the same family. It is best not to grow vegetables that are closely related to one another near one another. Tomatoes like warm soil. Your soil temperature should be at least 55*-60* before planting. If the soil is too cold, your plants will turn yellow, be stunted and will be slow to bear fruit.

Plant Cucumbers with all beans, peas, & dill
By planting cucumbers with dill plants, you will help repel pests and attract beneficial insects. Some studies even claim dill stimulates a better flavor in cucumbers.

Plant Lettuce anywhere!
Lettuce will grow good anywhere and won't effect other plants.

Plant Garlic and Onions away from all Beans and Peas
Onions and garlic will stunt the growth of these plants.

Grape Juice

Start with clean, fresh picked grapes.

Fill the top section of your Back to Basics Nutri Steamer with clean grape clusters, you don't need to stem them. Fill the bottom section with water. Clamp the tube closed. Place entire 3 section pot onto stove. Bring to a boil and boil for about one hour. The grape juice will collect in the center section.

Push on clamp to release the juice from the hose and begin to fill your jars. Be careful, the juice coming out is very HOT!

Sweeten with desired sweetener. We like Agave Nectar.

Process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes for quart jars and 10 minutes for 1/2 gallon jars.

Let sit to cool. Store in a cool dark place.
The juice is fairly concentrated, add water to taste when serving.

Pizza Suace ~ Canned

There are many ways to can sauce. This is the way I like to do ours...
Start with fresh, ripe tomatoes. Wash and rinse them.

Dip tomatoes in boiling water for 1-2 minutes to loosen the skins.Remove from boiling water and immediately plunge into ice cold water. I normally boil all my tomatoes, and then begin to remove the skins. It is ok to leave the tomatoes sit in the icy water.
Once the tomatoes are all boiled, drain the water and begin to remove the skins. The skins should easily peel off.
After the skins are all removed, blend the tomatoes. I blend seeds and all. Pour approximately 55 cups blended tomatoes into a very large stock pot.
Add the following:

1 cup dried onion

1 cup dried red and green peppers

4 onions diced

1/2 - 1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup dried pizza seasoning

1 T paprika

2 tsp red pepper

1 T cumin

3 T oregano, rounded

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh garlic

2 T garlic salt Simmer the sauce for 2-3 hours or until it is a rich red color and thick. Stir every 15 minutes or so to prevent scorching. make lunch :) After sauce is a rich red, add tomato paste, simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Stir constantly. Pour sauce into clean jars.

Top jars with new lids. Tighten rings. Place in a hot water canner. Bring water to a boil. Boil 15 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.

Carefully remove jars. Let sit on your counter until cool.

PIZZA SAUCE

55 cups peeled tomatoes; coarsely blended

1 cup dried onion*

1 cup dried red and green peppers*

4 onions diced

1/2 - 1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup dried pizza seasoning

1 T paprika

2 tsp red pepper

1 T cumin

3 T oregano, rounded

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh garlic

2 T garlic salt

30 - 40 oz tomato paste (depending on how juicy my tomatoes are, I add more)

1/2 cup myra clear if needed, (I normally don't use)

Mix all ingredients except paste and myra clear. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until thick and deep red. Add paste and simmer for about 15 more minutes. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. Add myra clear if needed to thicken. Process pints 15 minutes in a hot water bath. Yield 27 pints.
*Adding dried peppers and onions will help thicken the sauce.

Pizza Suace and Peaches, a preview of what's to come...

We've been working hard at canning again this week.
Peaches

Pizza Sauce

Next week I'll post a step by step and the recipes.