Got a Greenhouse!
I really wanted a greenhouse but I didn’t want to invest a ton of money. So, I went to Ebay and found this great Portable Greenhouse for under $160 (including shipping).
I was very pleased with the quality for the price. It holds lots of plants. I’m a bit concerned about how it will hold up here with our winter storms, but I’m gonna worry about that a little later. That’s Danny, my boyfriend and gardening helper.
I saw this Zebra Swallowtail on our butterfly bush the other day. Haven’t seen one of those in years, they are so beautiful! As you can see, this one is missing part of its tail? area.
Garden Update- July
The garden is looking great! All our hard work paid off. This picture was taken July 21st:
The heirloom Brandywine tomatoes I got are doing very well (super tall!) though they don’t have many tomatoes yet. I plan on collecting and storing seeds for planting next year from these heirloom tomatoes. This will be my first attempt at seed collecting/storing/planting so we’ll see how it goes.
I picked these tomato plants up locally and they already have so many green tomatoes for frying:
My indoor tomatoes, which are hanging in the arbor right now are starting to ripen:
I hope they do this well inside this winter.
We have 1 broccoli plant and 1 cabbage plant that I picked up locally jsut to see how they’d do. We also have some onions, carrots and a few pepper plants.
I think I may have the tallest oregano ever! I’m not sure if this picture does it justice or not. The sad thing is that I never even use oregano! So, send me your recipes using oregano. Those with tomatoes and oregano would be even better. christi@differentdaisy.com
Spinach Lentil Soup
When you have extra spinach laying around or a bag of spring mix that’s about to go bad, use it for this recipe.
You will need:
A can of lentil soup and some spinach
Open a can of lentil soup, you can make it yourself if you feel like working. Put it on the stove, add your spinach and let simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes.
This is really a great soup. Wuick and easy too!
Slow Turtle Relocation Program
Yes, I’m one of those people you see in the middle of the road scooping up a slow turtle for relocation to the country. I picked this little guy/gal up today. It’s so small, about the size of the palm of my hand.
Too cute not to take a picture!
Gooseberries
For those of you who aren’t familiar with gooseberries, you’re missing out! I had forgotten about this yummy little berry until I was looking for plants online and remembered eating these at my great aunts when I was very young. They’re really like no other berry you’ve ever tried. Tart but unusual. So, I had to order a couple plants for my garden. And, too my delight I already have 3 berries on one plant. Hopefully the birds won’t eat them before I can.
Gooseberries have high nutritional value. They contain vitamins A and C and potassium, and are a good source of fibre.
Now, it doesn’ t look like I’ll get a big crop of berries this year, but next year look out! I’ll be making this chutney:
Gooseberry Chutney
3 lb gooseberries
1/2 lb onions
1 lb sugar
1/2 pint water
1/2 oz salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 pint vinegar
Top and tail the berries, and chop roughly. Chop the onions finely and cook with the berries in the water until they are well softened. Add the other ingredients, and simmer until the chutney becomes thick, stirring occasionally. Bottle while hot and cover immediately.
This chutney, yielding about 4.5 lbs becomes more mellow in flavor the longer it is kept.
SOURCE: http://www.gingerich.com/recipes/gooseberry.html
Blueberries, Indoor Tomato Plants & Garden Pics
Got some long awaited plants in last week: Hotel Giant Blueberries, Indoor Tomato Plants and Scarlet Bee Balm. They came from Gardener’s Choice and though it took a while to get my order I am very pleased with the plants. They are taking off nicely. They do offer a free wildflower seed packet with every order and if you go to samples you can get more free seeds. Shipping was a little slow but I expect that when ordering live plants because they really do have to wait until the plants are mature enough to ship.
I ordered the indoor tomato plants hoping to get tomatos all year but I’m not sure if it will work. Right now I have them outside in hanging baskets so they will grow bigger but with any luck this winter they will produce in my sunroom. I got another product called a fruit salad tree. It came dormant. I planted it but I’m not sure when it will get leafy. It’s supposed to produce 5 different kinds of fruits. How exciting is that? I’m sure it will be years before I see any fruit but it’ll be well worth the wait to see what happens.
Indoor Tomato Plants (got 3)
Blueberries
Scarlet Bee Balm- Butterflies and bees love this stuff and it’s so pretty!
My red rose bush. You can see the recycled rubber mulch in the background. This stuff looks so good. It’s a little more expensive than regular mulch but is earth friendly and should last for about 12 years.
When catnip goes wrong!
I had to post this picture. I grew my own catnip this year from seed and the cats are loving it. They were just rolling around having a blast and then it got ugly!
Oprah Goes Vegan!
Wow, what a great thing! Oprah has decided to do a 21 day cleanse and eliminate animals products from her diet during this time. You can read all about it here:
http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_1.jhtml
Empty Nest
Went out to find the baby robins gone. Sure hope the little guys made it!
Tender Bits and Salad
One fo my favorite salads is made using Loma Linda Canned Tender Bits
You just cut up the tender bits, which come in a can, fry them for a few minutes with vegetable oil and some garlic salt. Then while hot, toss them into a bagged salad of your choice. I like a spring mix or veggie mix and top with italian dressing. So delicious, the blend of hot and cold!
Baby Robins
I was able to sneak in a get a couple pictures of the baby robins. I think they are just about to leave their nest. How cute are they!!
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