Fresh Eating
There’s something quite wonderful about harvesting something and eating it it within minutes, or while in the garden as I do with black raspberries and other things. Yesterday I was going to fry up some duck eggs for breakfast and was trying to figure out what to have on the side. I considered zucchini & mushrooms, but we’d had those for dinner the night before. Then I remembered that it was time to start harvesting new potatoes.
I have read that harvesting new potatoes actually increases yield since it allows the potato plants to put more energy toward sizing up the remaining smaller potatoes. I’ve never harvested a lot of new potatoes before so we’ll see how many tiny potatoes I have when harvesting this year. It’s not quite as easy as “reach into the soil around plants and pluck a few potatoes for your basket”. I don’t know what kind of soil these people have that write these tips but there’s no “reaching” into the soil. I use a trowel and gently search for a potato or two around the base of each plant. These potatoes were sauteed in bacon great with a few leeks and garlic and sprinkled with some parsley when they were finished.
Do you harvest new potatoes? What’s your favorite way to eat potatoes for breakfast?
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The Everblooming Primrose
This primrose was one of the first plants I planted in the garden, a few months after we moved in over nine years ago. I saw a basket of primroses on clearance at the grocery store, bought them, brought them home, and planted them in the garden. Most of them didn’t make it through the first winter, except for this one. It’s generally the first thing to bloom in the spring, usually while there’s still snow around. It will also bloom again in the fall and the flowers will hang on until the first snowfall. So it’s usually one of the last plants blooming in my garden as well.
This spring I moved it because it was being shaded out by a ‘Limelight’ hydrangea. Ever since it was replanted it’s been blooming – all summer long – which is kind of strange. I hope it isn’t wasting all of it’s energy and will still survive the winter as I’d hate to lose it.
Do you have any plants that have surprised you this year?
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A Helping Hand
I talked about my love of watering in the evenings last Friday, mostly because we’ve had a really dry June/July here at Chiot’s Run. From my records we’ve had less than an inch of rain over the last 6 weeks. As a result things are dry, dry, dry (at least it’s raining while I’m writing this post so that’s a welcome change). Most of the time I don’t worry too much about my gardens, with the leaf mulch and the soil improvement I have to water less and less each year. This spring however I planted 350 shrubs for a hedge around the perimeter of the property, I’ve also added 15 new hydrangeas, 50 crowns of asparagus, 17 new boxwoods, and 20-30 perennials. These plants are not established and need a good dose of water each week to make sure they get well rooted in to be drought tolerant in the coming years. That means I’ve been spending a lot of time hauling watering cans and using the hose to make sure I don’t lose any of these new plants.
Since I’m a busy person, I have come up with a few ways to maximize my time watering. Beside some of the new plants, I added small garden hooks that used to have hanging solar lanterns on them (I have 8 of them). I hang the hose over the hook pointing at the plant and turn the hose nozzel on a low spray. While the plant is being watered I can use my watering cans on other plants that need watered. This way I can be watering two different things at once. I usually wear a stop watch and set the timer for 10 minutes, then I switch the hose to the next plant.
This works like a charm if you have specific plants or small garden areas that are in need of more water than other areas and you don’t want to set up the sprinkler to water large portions. This does a better job at spot watering to save water, and is especially handy because you can weed, or do other garden tasks while the plants are being watered.
Do you have any great time saving gardening tips?
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Quote of the Day: Kristin Kimball
Food is the first wealth. Grow it right, and you feel insanely rich, no matter what you own. A frenchman once told me.
Kristin Kimball from The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love
I’m feeling exceedingly rich today as I stroll through my edible garden looking at all the bounty that will be in my harvest basket this summer. The golden peas are at their end, only a few more remain to harvest, the rest will be left for seed. The tomatoes are hanging heavy on the vines, promising a bounty of tomato soup and BLT’s later this summer. I harvested the potato onions and am happy once again to have homegrown onions in the pantry, they will be joined by a variety of other onions as summer goes along.
It’s very true that growing your own isn’t just about the good food that you provide for yourself, although that is the greatest reward. You truly feel rich knowing that you don’t have to spend money on fresh vegetables. Growing your own food gives you a sense of freedom, a sense of security knowing that you can provide for yourself should it ever be a necessity.
How does growing some of your own food make you feel? secure? happy? rich?
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Future Butterflies
Last week I was at my mom’s and she mentioned that she had some yellow swallowtail caterpillars on her fennel. I had seen a few tiny caterpillars on my dill, but they were too small to tell what they were yet. I’ve been keeping my eye on them, and sure enough – they’re going to become yellow swallowtails. These caterpillars are quite striking with their lined and bright colors. They’ve been munching away on a bronze fennel plant I have growing in my front flowerbed. It’s amazing how quickly they grow!
This is one reason to include a wide variety of plants in your gardens. Fennel seems to be attractive to a lot of insects, as does milkweed. My mom has been working on establishing a nice stand of milkweed for the last 15 years and last year she was finally rewarded with monarch caterpillars on hers.
Do you have any herbs or plants that seem to attract certain insects?
