Archive for the ‘The Growing Season’ Category
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Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
No shortage of tomatoes going on around here. We are eating them all the time. I love all the different types of tomatoes we are growing, including several varieties of heirlooms. One of my very favorite dishes is a simple tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad.
It is so easy to make. Slice up whatever tomatoes you have on hand. I have been using combinations of yellow pear, orange grape, mortgage lifter heirloom, and japanese black trifele heirloom. Gently toss with some good-quality organic extra virgin olive oil, a dash of sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and freshly chopped basil.
Potted basil plants on our front stoop.
Add some pearl-sized fresh mozzarella balls and gently combine.
And you are done. A great end-of-summer side dish. Also fantastic on top of a garden salad or as a bread topper.
Tags: basil, gratitude, heirloom, summer, tomatoes
Posted in Cooking Adventures, The Growing Season | No Comments »
the mid july garden
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Still reallllly hot here today. In the 90s. It’s that very humid, hot, sweaty kind of day. You try to get by wearing as few clothes as possible. I came home from work to find my tomato plants wilting. I watered and gave them a long, cool drink. Here are a few pics of what else is going on in the garden in mid July.
I planted a ton of Bacherlor’s Button from seed back in early April.
The blueberries are starting to ripen!
I cannot keep up with the cilantro. I cut and it flowers. We have been using tons!
About 2 weeks ago, I cut the garlic scapes. Now the garlic plants are maturing and soon will be ready to pull!
Hot hot weather is very tough for the tender lettuces, but they are hangin’ in!
Supposedly this heat wave will break tomorrow. I truly hope so. It has been sticky!
Tags: blueberries, cilantro, gardening, garlic, garlic scape, gratitude, herbs, lettuce, organic, summer
Posted in The Growing Season | No Comments »
raised garden bed tomatoes
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
Somehow in the craziness of my camera not working over the past month, I failed to document the planting of our tomato bed. But fear not! For I am playing catch up and wanted to show you this year’s tomato project.
It all started with trying to figure out what to plant in our back raised garden bed. Last year I had cantalopes and watermelons and green beans in this bed. So this year I thought… tomatoes! And not just any old tomatoes but organic heirloom varieties!
First we had to tackle the monstrosity of weeds in the bed.
This weeding was accomplished over Memorial Day weekend. Once the weeds were out, I turned all the soil with a pitch fork. Then I added fresh heaping amounts of compost.
Craig and I trekked out to our favorite local farm/garden center and perused their amazing long list of heirloom and organic tomato varieties for sale. It was like a tomato menu, and we wanted to try everything on the list!
Photo courtesy of Lull Farm, Hollis, New Hampshire
We finally settled on a few fun varieties and got to planting.
The front of the bed is a Yellow Pear variety and a Cherry variety. The middle front of the bed are two Tomatillo plants and an heirloom variety called Green Zebra. The middle back of the bed are Romas. And the back of the bed has more heirloom varieties including a Japanese Black Trifele, Pink Lady, and my favorite name… Mortgage Lifter. Apparently the dude who propagated these seeds did so well that he was able to pay off his mortgage. How could I not sow a Mortgage Lifter heirloom tomato plant?
Right away the tomatillos started to flower their cute, bold yellow blooms.
After two weeks of on and off rain in the latter part of June, my tomatoes have gone to town, growing taller and fuller each day. I had to stake the matoes over the weekend. I used bamboo stakes that I had bought last year when I tried in vain to create a homemade trellis for my green beans.
I cannot wait to see how these plants do! I am hoping for happy, healthy tomatoes and no diseases this year. Wish me luck!
Tags: gardening, gratitude, heirloom, organic, raised garden bed, summer, tomatoes
Posted in The Growing Season | No Comments »
a july kind of long weekend
Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
Happy July to you! I hope that you are enjoying this lovely, long weekend as we usher in the month. I love long weekends. Can’t say enough about how amazing it is to have 3 days off in a row. In fact, I think we would all be happier, healthier, and more productive beings if we had 3-day weekends more often. With 3 days, you get one day to just relax and be lazy and restore your mental well-being. You get one day to be busy and productive getting things done on the to-do list. And you get one day to get outside and be active and social. Plus, I am entirely convinced that we could all get as much accomplished in 4 days of work versus 5. Maybe even more, just KNOWING that there is a 3-day weekend reward at the end of it all.
Who is with me?
Yesterday we had that sort of restorative day at home. I slept in as best as I could, but our porch painters were here bright and early working on painting the exterior. The sound of your porch paint being scraped is a tiny bit jarring. However, I will NOT complain! Finally the weather is cooperating and the painting can commence!
I used yesterday as an opportunity to finally find the USB cable for my old camera so that I finally have the ability to snap pics and download them to the ’puter again. I puttered about the yard, checking out the flowers.
Our lilies out front are in full bloom!
I love their shock of bright, brilliant orange.
Lilies are the perfect emblem of summer!
Meanwhile, I also paused to admire Craig’s handiwork. He got home early on Friday and set about hacking and trimming our front hedges. Now they are neat and tidy once again!
He not only trimmed the hedges, but he also de-weeded much of them. It was quite an undertaking. His arms and legs are pretty scraped up from all the work, and something he touched definitely irritated his skin. Not quite like poison ivy, but definitely some sort of rashy thing developing on his arms and legs. Oops. Oh the sacrifices we make to try to maintain the curb appeal! :)
Today we headed north to hang out with family at Craig’s Aunt and Uncle’s lake house. We had a blast going for boat rides and eating wonderful summer foods like pasta salad, corn on the cob, watermelon, and steak tips. Plus, I got to watch Craig go tubing. There may not be anything better in the world than witnessing the gigantic grin on his face as he is crossing the wake behind the boat on a giant tube while catching air on big waves, holding on for dear life as his Uncle skillfully maneuvers the boat to give him a thrill-seeking ride. I could not stop smiling and laughing. I laughed so uncontrollably that tears were streaming down my face. It was pure joy all around.
I only wish I’d had my camera with me to capture the action. Craig hung on and never got dislodged, though he came close a few times. And the grin on his face never faded. I do think his arms will be quite sore tomorrow.
But it was entirely worth it. Did I mention how much I love long weekends?
Tags: gardening, gratitude, lilies, summer
Posted in The Daily Balance, The Growing Season | No Comments »
wide awake with wonder
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
It is late. And I need to go to bed. But I cannot fall asleep! It is the end of June, and I find myself pausing to take in the wonder.
The beauty of Summer finally here after such a long and weary winter. The smell of fresh-cut grass after Craig mowed tonight. Our little house slowly transforming itself with new floors, a new fan in the living room, a porch waiting to be loved, walls waiting to be painted. Our car finally inspected after having to get the windshield replaced today after it cracked this winter. Our fridge stocked with freshly picked lettuces and baby spinach and sugar snap peas and garlic scapes from the garden. A new jug of straight-from-the-cow raw milk that my Mom picked up from the farm today. Bills all paid for the month. My running shoes taking a break after a hearty workout. Stacks and stacks of books piled neatly on the dresser waiting for me to dive into them. Work completed today and still more work just waiting for me to tackle tomorrow.
I am so thankful for how busy and wonderful and productive June has been. I have been making such a conscientious effort to be more efficient and productive this month. No matter how often I get frustrated or how often I feel overwhelmed with how much I have to do and all that I want to get done, I have been trying harder than ever to go with the flow and take very slow—yet very deliberate—baby steps to get more things accomplished in my day-to-day. I am a lover of to-do lists, but they often get recycled from week to week and not much ever gets crossed off.
But not this month. I set out with some pretty ambitious goals, and I made them happen one small step at a time! And that is worth celebrating! Here are a few highlights:
• refinish hardwood floors in living room and dining room
• buy ceiling fan for living room
• get ceiling fan installed
• remove knob and tube wiring in the attic
• rewire upstairs hallway light
• install new outside outlet near driveway
• rewire basement
• get rid of old couch
• get quotes for painting living room and dining room
• decide on new paint colors
• weed garden
• plant tomatoes
• clean gas grill and use it!
• fix cracked windshield on car
• get car inspected
• make and keep dentist appointment
• make and keep doctor’s appointment
• make and keep annual exam
• make running a priority
• remember to take vitamin and fish oil
• reorganize and de-clutter basement
• get porch repainted! (working on it… TBD… asap!)
Phew. It’s been hectic and rewarding and awesome around here. But right now I should be asleep! Still so much swirling around in my brain. Taking it all in. I feel good. I feel relaxed and invigorated and satisfied… albeit wide awake.
Some old habits die hard I suppose. Happy June to you! I hope your month has been everything you wanted it to be!
Tags: exercise, gardening, gratitude, home improvement, housework, mindfulness, summer
Posted in Household Management 101, Let's Get Physical, The Daily Balance, The Growing Season | No Comments »