Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day May 2011
Well it's Bloom Day again, and I'm ashamed to admit that it's been a rather long time since I last put up a Bloom Day post. Even longer still since I've posted about my own garden. It's not that I have a shortage of flowers during the "warm" months (I put warm in...
Asparagus Sauté
Asparagus, again? We’re eating asparagus every day now. I’ve been cutting asparagus tips since the end of April. At first it was every other day, now it’s mandatory cutting every day. For brunch last weekend we tried it roasted with baked eggs on top. I’d never...
Another Battle in the Everlasting War on Weeds
My garden is an experiment to prove to myself that it's possible to maintain a large organic vegetable growing area using all hand labor and with a minimum of outside inputs. Weed control is the toughest part, and not having or taking enough time to do a good job of...
Planting Boards for Raised Beds
I planted a bed of potatoes Sunday, using two new planting boards that I made from a 4' x 4' sheet of 1/2" plywood. I had been using some old scrap plywood for planting boards, but I decided I would be happier and more efficient with two boards exactly the size I...
494 Peas – More or Less
Here's me, yesterday, atop a bed, planting peas. We had a nice little break in the rainy weather, so I took the opportunity to get my peas seeded. I'm using a large piece of plywood to kneel on. The plywood disperses my weight and allows me to get right on top of...
Pierogi with Savory Sweet Potato Filling
What can I say…. we still have sweet potatoes from last year’s harvest so it was an experiment waiting to happen. It was Geoff’s idea. He’s been wanting to learn how to make pierogi. There are lots of traditional fillings that can be used but he thought it appropriate...
Pomegranate Border
Over the last few years I’ve been developing a pomegranate border along the north side of my vegetable garden. So far I have planted four pomegranate trees spaced tightly at 4-5 feet apart and plan on extending the border with another two to three trees. The initial...
Enough With The April Showers
Here's a picture of my garden beds that I took this afternoon. Had I taken it early in the morning there would have been a light layer of snow over the whole area. April has been most cruel, so far. Cold and rain are the norm and it is not expected to be any nicer...
Brand New Bed
It's been a slow start getting the beds ready for spring planting because of the frequent rain. It's not raining right now, but everything is wet and muddy. I did manage to get a brand new bed shaped up for planting last weekend. Its only 12 feet long versus the 21...
Sweet Potato Lasagna
Yes, we are still eating last year’s harvest of sweet potatoes. They are a wonder crop, and if properly stored, will last until the next year’s crop comes in if you haven’t eaten them all. I have previously put shredded carrots in my home simmered spaghetti sauce but...
Belgian Fence
This year CobraHead again exhibited at the Philadelphia Flower Show. While Anneliese, Noel and I spent most of our time in our booth in the vendor section extolling the virtues of our wares to the passing public, in the evenings I would get a chance to take in the...
Cold Frame
I built this cold frame in January with a lot of help from my friend David Peterson who built a duplicate model for himself at the same time. David is retired, lucky guy, and he has put together a really well equipped workshop with lots of woodworking equipment to...
Walnutty Green Beans
On Geoff’s last visit to Wisconsin he prepared some of the family meals. After raiding the freezer for some homegrown veggies he came up with this tasty side dish – tamari flavored ‘walnutty’ green beans. It was his version of green beans amandine, replacing the...
Plant a Heart Garden this year
Over the holidays I discovered that I have borderline high blood pressure, due in part to genetics (Gee, thanks Dad!). Although I already eat a relatively healthy diet and exercise regularly, I’ve been researching what other changes I need to make to reverse the...
Outsourcing Locally
As our little business grows we've had to develop selling aids so the stores who sell our products can display them prominently. Hopefully the displays get noticed and entice people to buy. They are referred to as POP's - Point of Purchase Displays. For the past...
Rough Earth Snake
While planting my asparagus bed the other day, I uncovered a couple of rough earth snakes. This was the third or fourth time that I have found these insect and worm eating snakes in my garden. These two were smaller, but I have seen them get as long as one foot. I...
Planting Asparagus Crowns
I decided to reserve the far bed in my garden for a perennial planting of asparagus and thornless blackberries. I picked up ten asparagus crowns at The Natural Gardener earlier this week and chose UC-72, the variety that they recommend for Central Texas. I have...
2010 Garden Reflections
Gardeners are risk takers. They have to be. Nothing is guaranteed with seeds and plants. Even with the best care failures occur. I tried several new things last year and had some successes and some failures, but as usually happens, what works outweighs what...
Oneida Corn Soup
Last week Ted Skenandore came to Austin for a visit and brought me a bundle of dehydrated Oneida White Corn that he grew at the Tsyuhehkwa Farm on the Oneida reservation in northeast Wisconsin. Ted and I used to work together at Tsyuhehkwa running the farm and...
December Bloom Day 2010
I took a couple of shots today in my east Austin yard for Bloom Day. If you don't know about bloom day, check out May Dreams Gardens