by Noel | Oct 25, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that potatoes may not be the best value for work input for a home grower. High-quality organic potatoes from the market are quite inexpensive, and certainly a better pure cost value than our homegrown spuds. However, I have no doubt that planting two beds of potatoes every year is a good fit for my garden. Potatoes are usually a very reliable crop. I’ve got my planting scheme down, and I see the rotation of potato beds through the...
by Judy | Oct 25, 2022 | CobraHead, Recipes
If you have ever considered planting raspberries in your home garden I highly recommend it. Once they’re established, other than once-a-year pruning, they are relatively carefree and can last nearly forever with occasional transplanting. And you can stand up to pick them! Here in Wisconsin, our ever-bearing variety keeps producing through a couple of light freezes. I just picked a few on October 24th. Just be sure to do a little research and select...
by Judy | Sep 14, 2022 | CobraHead
Every year the tomatoes take over the kitchen. Besides our usual plain tomatoes and spaghetti sauce for the freezer, we’ve built up a collection of recipes that use this fabulous fruit. Here are just a few. Maybe you’ll find something new or be reminded of past favorites. Enjoy! Tomato Cobbler with Cheese Biscuit Topping Roasted Green Beans and Cherry Tomato Pasta Garden Tomato Salsa (canned) Fresh Garden Salsa Garden Tomato Soup Roasted Salsa with...
by Noel | Sep 14, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening, Vegetable Growing
The picture represents a very small fraction of the total tomato yield. I have forty plants growing in two beds. The 20 different types I grow our mostly heirloom varieties and a lot are started from saved seed. One hybrid I have grown for a lot of years is Sungold. This small yellow/orange cherry tomato is always the first tomato to produce and it remains very productive right up until frost. We grow several varieties of cherry tomatoes, different paste...
by Judy | Aug 31, 2022 | CobraHead, Recipes, Vegetable Growing
This has been a great year for cucumbers. We’ve had rainfalls mostly at the appropriate times so production has been steady. I’ll be making refrigerator pickles with a lot of them but marinated slices are an easy and fast fix for dinner. Here goes: 2-4 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced 1/2 – 1 tsp. salt 1 T. white wine vinegar or to taste Using a mandolin (if you have one) slice the peeled cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt, give a quick stir and...
by Noel | Aug 30, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening
For our first, and probably last, annual award for the worst weed in the garden, this year goes to bindweed, hands down. Weed of the year requirements are simple. What weed is causing me the most grief or the most work to control in the garden? This year bindweed is way ahead. It’s hard to kill, it has deep tap roots that easily snap off. After breaking off the plant from the root, the root quickly puts out new growth. The stems wind around other plants and can...
