Nettle Spanakopita
I have had some filo dough in the freezer for a while with the intention of making a spanakopita with spinach. But it's spring and I have been doing a little experimenting with nettles. Nettles are frequently compared to spinach, though they definitely...
Planting Peas
Here are Anneliese and Andy planting peas. Andy previously had set T- posts 36 inches apart across the width of the beds and 24 inches apart along the outside edges of the bed to give us 10 trellises spaced two feet apart to work with. Lacing in the Trellis. 24”...
Never Too Many Sweet Potatoes
I plant 17 or 18 sweet potatoes plants every year. For the past quite a few years I’ve started my sweet potatoes using sprouts from 2-year-old roots purposely allowed to sprout in the basement. This year, I had a request from our son Geoff, who is in New Haven,...
Tomato Pasta Sauce with Shredded Sweet Potato
I'm guessing you already have a favorite pasta sauce but if you're looking to step it up a little bit, try adding a cup or two of shredded sweet potato. The shreds practically melt into the sauce and add a touch of sweetness. I don't usually add any sugar...
Horseradish Heaven
Horseradish is easy to grow. It prefers northern climates and does not do well in areas without hard freezes. It is nearly impossible to grow in subtropical and warmer climates. Wisconsin is not tropical and horseradish loves it here. It is grown as a commercial crop....
Go! Go! Grow Lights!
Starting seeds is critical to my vegetable garden. Buying live plants is cost-prohibitive and only by starting seeds can I grow exactly what I want. The flats above are bottom heated with a heat mat. A sheet of plywood between the mat and the flats mitigates and...
Dutch Oven No-Knead Bread
Several months ago I found myself housebound due to illness. I started feeling better after a while, but I still wasn't really feeling up for leaving the house. I needed something to do with my time. Maybe baking? I'd heard about no-knead bread years ago, but I truly...
Instant Pot Sweet Potato, Tomato and Peanut Soup
This recipe was adapted from the cook book 'Vegetarian Planet' by Didi Emmons. The spices and peanut butter work really well and give it a nice flavor. A lot of times my homemade soups lack depth and I add veggie broth to give them a little umami but this...
This Year’s Garden
Every garden year is different. Because I grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, I can usually be assured that I’ll get some good harvests of most things, even if occasional failures occur. Thirty-three years of growing in the same area also...
Instant Pot Vegetable Bean Soup
Vegetable bean soup is one of our standby dishes in the fall and winter. I make it every couple of weeks in the Instant Pot. Using the Instant Pot is a very carefree way of making this soup but you can certainly cook it on the stove top. The basics of the...
A Bountiful Cover of Leaves
With a lot of help from Andy, I got my garden beds completely covered with a thick layer of leaves. I do this every year. The effect on the soil is amazing. The leaves suppress weed growth over the winter and continue to be mulch in the paths well into the summer. We...
Instant Pot Hot Pepper Sauce
We had a bountiful harvest of hot peppers so I made a large batch of hot sauce. This year we used an Instant Pot. I'm happy to report it made the task a lot easier. We did the cleaning, cooking and blending outside. Trying this indoors can be suicidal, so...
Heliopsis
My gardening interest is in growing food. While I like flowers and ornamental plants, they are not my hobby. I’m definitely not passionate about growing them, learning their Latin names, or keeping up with the latest introductions. I’ve often said “if you...
Tomato Cobbler with Cheese Biscuit Topping
Tomato Cobbler with Cheese Biscuit Topping One of our favorite summer time treats using cherry tomatoes is tomato cobbler. We use a mixture of all colors of tomatoes - black - orange - red - yellow, but my favorite bite is the Sungold. I did not make up the dish...
Raining in the Garden
The year has brought us a lot more rain than we really need. The good news is that I’ve barely had to water. More good news is that water-loving plants like tomatoes, melons, and zucchini are putting out huge crops. Bad news is the tomatoes are splitting from...
Zucchini Cornmeal Fritters
HOME GARDENING - ONE ZUCCHINI AT A TIME Zucchini Cornmeal Fritters Our zucchini and summer squash plants are thriving. I've been trying to keep them picked when the fruits are small - 8-10 oz. size. When shredded, a smaller zuke yields about 2 cups which...
Golden Oyster Mushrooms
Our four-acre property is more than half wooded. Woods means mushrooms and we are now identifying more and more edibles free for the picking. Almost all oyster mushrooms are edible and these golden oysters proved to be easy to harvest, relatively clean and bug free,...
Want Monarchs? Grow Milkweed.
Monarchs love milkweed. If you grow it, and you’re in the range of their travels, you may get them to lay eggs and hatch caterpillars. I’ve got milkweed in a few areas on the property, and I always let a couple plants survive in the garden growing...
Roasted Asparagus with Mushrooms and Sunflower Seeds
'tis the season for asparagus, asparagus and more asparagus. Even though our 30-year old bed seems to be dwindling we still get our fill for a week or two. When I have more than we care to eat in one day I will cook it in some veggie broth for a few...
Setting Up a Low Tunnel for Veggie Starts
I took advantage of some really warm April days to set up my low hoop tunnel. Several years ago I stopped doing an additional potting off of my seedling starts and instead I’ve been placing the small starts directly in the soil of a bed covered with a low tunnel. I...