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A New Farmer’s Market: Orrville, Ohio

September 30th, 2008

For the past 2 Thursdays I have visited the Orrville Farmer’s Market in Orrville, Ohio, I just happened to be in the area visiting my mom. It’s a small market, winding down for the season, but there’s still a treasure of stuff there. I found things that the Carrollton Farmer’s Market doesn’t have. It seems like a lot of the booths were offering specialty veggies like blue & cranberry potatoes, mini cabbages, heirloom garlic, and arugula.




I filled my bags will all kinds of goodies including: grass fed beef steaks, zucchini, a few pints of cherry tomatoes, garlic, apples (eating & cooking), grapes, decorative squash, beets, turnips, sweet potatoes, baby cabbage, and a few delicious baked goods (granola, peach gingerbread, peanut butter cookies). Too bad last week was the last market for the year (I’m glad the Carrollton one goes through Nov) or I’d head back over to buy some more goodies, especially some grapes.

Anyone else have a farmer’s market they love?

Final Blooms

September 29th, 2008

Most blooming plants are winding down this time of year, I have a few things that are still blooming including my Endless Summer Hydrangea. It just opened last week.

How’s that for a final show?

One Last Bouquet

September 28th, 2008

I’ve always wanted a cutting garden, but have yet to actually start one. I’m too busy growing tomatoes and other edible plants. Perhaps when I get all my raised beds installed and all the fruit trees I want, I’ll finally get around to the cutting garden. Until then, I just cut a few blooms here and there from the plants in my flowerbeds. Usually you don’t notice too much if you don’t cut too many. This past Wednesday I cut my final bouquet from the garden. I was actually surprised by how much was still blooming.

After I picked all the flowers I had to decide which vase I wanted to use, round or square?

I finally decided and threw the flowers in and then onto the coffee table it went. I should put it on the dining room table where we’ll see it more often, but that’s covered with bowls of tomatoes.

So what’s in this bouquet? Some pink spray roses, a lace cap hydrangea bloom, and a few limelight hydrangea blooms.


There are also a few zinnias, I also threw in some hosta leave for some texture and some fern leaves for some added green.


There’re also a few russian sage blooms. The cats love it, they’ve been up sniffing it all afternoon, looking for bug stowaways I’m sure (they love it when bugs get in the house, tasty snacks). Do you still have anything blooming in your gardens?

Lettuce Love

September 27th, 2008

My lettuce is loving this weather (and so am I). I’m looking forward to salad all fall with this patch and another one.

I have to put a fence around my lettuce or the rabbits mow it down, but that’s ok. Next year I’m considering putting up an electric fence around the back yard to keep all the critters out, but until then my little make-shift fences work.

Anyone have any great tips to keep the rabbits & groundhogs out of the lettuce patch?

The Best Day

September 26th, 2008

On Monday we headed down to the family hunting cabin to clean up from the windstorm (the one that knocked out our electric). We met up with my parents & our 2 nieces and spent the day working at clearing the lane & the field from fallen branches. Mr Chiots and my dad cut up a few trees that had uprooted and fallen against the cabin, fortunately there was no significant damage. The Chiots loves going to the cabin because she gets to run around through the woods and she especially loves playing with the nieces. She had a blast, truly the best day of the week for her!

We even managed to have a local meal for lunch: pastured beef hot dogs from our local farm, homemade buns, sliced tomatoes from our garden, some of my canned pears, potato salad with cranberry & blue tomatoes from the farmer’s market with homemade mayonnaise made from local eggs, my mom made a batch of salsa with items from her garden. The only non-local items were a few Cokes and some Pringles (haven’t figured out how to make either of those yet).

Don’t they both look like they’re having a good time?

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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