Tripod Orchard Ladder
I've wanted an orchard ladder for a long time and I finally got one. They are also called fruit picking ladders or tripod ladders, but there are other tripod ladders out there that are not designed specifically as orchard ladders. The better orchard ladders are...
Roasted Red Peppers – Ajvar – with Neufchâtel/Feta Cheese Spread
I first tried canned, or shall I say jarred, ajvar many years ago at a potluck. Since then our friend Michael Ball has developed his own recipe and it is his potluck specialty. This Turkish dish has many versions and can also include roasted eggplant. Served with a...
Stopping Leaf Cutting Ants
Last month I noticed that a two foot section of sugar snap peas had been cut down almost to the ground. I inspected the damage expecting to see evidence of squirrels or some other mammal, but instead discovered that my arch-nemesis, the leaf cutting ant, had...
Interplanting Snap Peas and Chinese Kale
It's January in Austin and already time to plant early spring crops. I took advantage of the tomato trellis that I used last year to support this year's snap peas. While cleaning out the bed, I worked around a lemon balm plant. Once I got the bed cleaned out, I added...
Stove Top Braised Carrots
We still have about 4 or 5 pounds of garden carrots in the refrigerator. Noel started a late crop the end of August and harvested what was left of them mid December. We scrubbed and bagged them in clear plastic bags and found a spot in the refrigerator...
Extra Early Sweet Potato Starts
I had two sweet potatoes left over from last year. I had used them to grow cuttings for last year's garden. They were starting to shrivel up but both had put out numerous long sprouts. The sprouts were rather anemic and one plant had an aphid infestation, but I...
Last of the Leeks
I took the opportunity of a nice afternoon yesterday to harvest the leeks remaining in the garden. I had piled up leaves around them to prevent them from freezing. I could have left them in a while longer, but with rains today and tomorrow, to be followed by some...
Compost Mountains
Geologists tell us that Wisconsin was once a land of huge mountains with crests as tall as the Rockies. That Precambrian topography has since gone through quite a few changes. While the state still has some gorgeous and impressive hills, spectacular snow capped...
Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca
I recently had the privilege of spending the month of November in Oaxaca, Mexico. I was there to work on improving my Spanish, but I also had the opportunity to do a bit of cultural exploration. Right in the heart of the city is the Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca...
Sweet Potato Black Bean Avocado Salad with Lime
Since we had a record harvest of sweet potatoes this year I’m trying to make a point to serve sweet potatoes once a week. This salad was an experiment based on a magazine recipe I tried a couple of years ago. The only thing I remembered was that the sweet potatoes...
Cold Frames Ready for Spring
These two cold frames should be in production right now, but as can happen, I never got around to seeding them this September. If I had, we'd be eating salad greens, right now. I've had several plantings with some excellent production out of my one frame: ...
Thai Carrot Salad with Peanuts
We are still pulling carrots directly from the earth. Noel planted beets and carrots in one of his raised beds in August. When cold weather set in, he covered the plants with ag fabric, and put a mini hoop house over the entire bed, covered with clear poly. The...
Marinated Brussels Sprouts
Marinated Brussels Sprouts make a great do-ahead side dish for Thanksgiving dinner or any other meal for that matter. They’re also great for snacking on in between meals. We’re still picking them out of the garden but before it gets too cold and stays that way I’ll...
Advantages of Open Raised Beds
As I work on putting my garden to bed for the winter I'm realizing how much I like working with open raised beds. I've been working with them for nearly thirty years. Soon after starting my Wisconsin garden in 1986, I knew that, for me at least, maintaining a...
Veggie Reuben Open-Faced Sandwich
Here’s a relatively quick lunch that makes use of the sauerkraut that I talked about in a previous post here. It consists of 1 or 2 pieces of your favorite bread, toasted, and spread with your favorite stone ground or Dijon mustard. Top with Swiss cheese – we used...
CobraHead LLC and Green Bay Drop Forge Keep Garden Tool Manufacturing in Wisconsin
We are happy to have had a relationship with Green Bay Drop Forge since the inception of our company. Below we tell more about the challenges and benefits of keeping our manufacturing in Wisconsin. Cambridge, WI – November 2012 -- Bucking the trend of shifting...
Double Covered Hoop Tunnel
Carrots in Hoop TunnelI planted a bed of carrots and beets on August 12th. Here are the carrots, eleven weeks later. They're doing great and we're harvesting some fairly large ones, already. The beets are doing just fine, too. I'm hoping to keep the harvest going...
Reallygoods Live up to Their Name
It’s not often that I feel the need to shout to the world how great a product is, but I’ve wanted to do just that about Reallygoods for quite some time. I first encountered Reallygoods about a year and a half ago when Noel and I were on a road trip through central...
Sauerkraut in a Quart Jar
It’s never too late to learn something new. I’ve always wanted to try making my own sauerkraut or ‘fermented cabbage’ as they say now days. I did try making it in a quart jar a couple of years ago but when I saw a little mold on top I threw it out and never tried...
Year Old Sweet Potatoes for Dinner
Continuing the discussion of sweet potatoes which I started with a post about my harvest a couple days ago, these are the last two sweet potatoes from the 2011 harvest. Sweet potatoes, when stored properly, last a long time. We've frequently kept them well over a...