Working at the Dust Bowl....a/k/a....the plots!!

I have been diligently working on the new plots the past few days. It's so dry & windy here that it has been like working in a dust bowl! I come home with a thin layer of dust all over. It's in my ears, my teeth, my hair, up my nose and just about anywhere dust can get. Boy, I sure home we get a good rain soon. We do have a chance of a few showers today. If that does occur, it most likely will happen when I am over there working.

Not the best pics.

The county finally moved the barrel of rocks that was in my way. I took some of the compost and put a thick layer on the edge where they didn't till. I will also add some good soil, when delivered on top. I'm going to plant pole beans and corn along the fence in this area. 

The "guys" brought me two 55 gallon drums yesterday! They also hammered the two taller stakes at the end deeper into the ground for me with "Big Bertha"! Thanks a bunch guys!!  Along the right side we have the two transplanted asparagus beds and a 13' bed in the middle for onions. I amended the soil with the bagged hummus and manure that I purchased last fall on sale for 75% off. The asparagus has been covered with straw to keep the moisture in and weeds down. I will add some good soil in the front of the beds and then plant some Parsley and I think the Fava Beans that are growing in my basement.

I transplanted a bunch of Raspberries in a large bed near the back of the plots. This bed is 5' x 20'. There are 4 rows of raspberries about 4' apart. This soil was also amended and the plants covered with some straw as well. After I took these pictures, I brought the lumber over to frame out 3 more of the beds.

Look at the gardens....boy, the gardeners have been busy!!!

There is something going on everywhere!

We have running water!

I am just amazed at how much has happened here in the past week!

There is action everywhere!

And planting!

And Whitie!! 

He is our most senior gardener. I believe he is 83 or 86...I can't remember. He has two plots, end to end. He comes and goes all day. He has his plots amended and I think he said he planted 50 lbs of potatoes!

I have been reading through your blogs. But, there's not enough time in the day right now for me to leave comments. Happy Gardening Everyone!!

Harvest Monday............04/09/2012

There were a lot of overwintered greens harvested again this past week.

17oz. of Fresh Spinach. 

I guess I can no longer complain about having difficulties growing spinach.

7 oz. of beautiful Vates Collards. 

Some of these cold frame grown collards are starting to bolt & flower. I did plant out another variety a few weeks ago. So, we will have plenty of collards for awhile.

6.5 oz. of  overwintered Kale....

and my first ever Asparagus Harvest!!! Boy these little babies were a delight!!

I moved the asparagus beds a couple of days ago and had to pick these spears. I sure hope they survive the move.!

I'll be at the plots all day today.....so, I will catch up on your Harvest Monday posts this evening or first thing tomorrow morning.

Total Weighed Harvest: 2 lbs. 3.5 oz.

Asparagus:

   Jersey Supreme - 1.5 oz

   Purple Passion - 1.5 oz

Collards Vates - 7 oz.

Kale:

   Lacinato - 3.5 oz

   Squire - 3 oz.

Lettuce - 2 oz.

 Hop on over to Daphne's Dandelions, our host of Harvest Monday to see what's going on in Veggie Gardens around the globe!!

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard..........4/05/2012

This week's Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard is all about Greens.....freezing greens and drinking greens! We have had some really nice greens & spinach harvests around here lately.

First I'll talk about freezing greens. I freeze, Kale, Collards, Spinach and even Asian Greens. It's very simple and they store very well in the freezer. The only green that I have noticed doesn't taste well after about 6 - 8 months is spinach. We had one portion of frozen spinach that was in the freezer for awhile and it wasn't very good. I really forget how long it was in there, but I do believe that it was under 1 year.

How to Freeze your Greens:

1. Go out in the garden and pick some really nice greens.
2. Wash them and then drain them in a colander or you can place them on a towel. I wash mine off, shake them a bit and then place them on a towel.
3. Next, I start a big pot of boiling water on the stove
4. While I'm waiting for the water to boil, I chop off any woody parts of the stems and then chop the greens a bit. You don't have to chop them. I don't chop the spinach.
5. When the water starts to boil, prepare a big bowl or your sink with very cold water & ice.
6. Next, you blanch the greens in the boiling water. You will find that the recommended time for greens is about 3 minutes for collards and 2 minutes for other greens. I don't blanch my greens that long. I blanch them about half the recommended time. I know that according to "you know who"....this is a no no. But, that's the way we like them.
7. Once the greens are blanched, immediately put them in the cold ice water for a couple of minutes. This stops them from over cooking.
8. Remove the greens from the ice water, drain thoroughly and then put them in Freezer Bags or Vacuum Seal them. 

I freeze all of our vegetables in portion sizes for the two of us. That way we don't waste any nice veggies. Another tip is to use a stainless colander to hold the greens in while blanching and cooling.

That's all there is to freezing greens!!!

Now, How to drink your greens. We have been having some great Kale shakes around here lately. I have to say that they are absolutely delicious!!

How to drink your Greens:

1. Go out and pick yourself some nice greens. We have been using Kale. I guess you could use other greens too.....but, Kale is so so good for you
2. Get out your avocado green blender from the 1970's
3. Chop those greens up, about 2 Cups for one big shake
4. Put a little crushed ice in the blender
5. Add the greens, 1 Cup of Soy Milk, 1 Organic Banana (or other fruit of choice) and blend!
6. That's it....now drink those wonderful nutritious greens.

You can also add about 1 tablespoon of  flax seeds to your drink before blending for some added nutrition and fiber.

I just love this shakes.....and I don't even like bananas! I think this would be a great way to get the little ones to eat more greens.!

What have you been making with your harvests, stores or putting away for another day???

Working on the Plots & Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!

I have been so so busy lately that I feel like I'm neglecting all my Blogging Buddies out there. I have been reading through your blogs. But, haven't been commenting due to my busy schedule. As you know, I spend a few hours each morning taking care of my neighbor. Then my sweet neighbor girl, Sophia, has softball games a couple of times a week. She lives with her step-father and I am her mommy figure....so, we can't miss those important games!! Then there are all those seedlings to tend to.....I think you get the picture!

I have been spending time at the plots and things are progressing! I've managed to get the fencing up on three sides.

The 4' fencing is up on the left side....

and on the right side.

Yesterday I was only able to spend two hours there. I managed to dig down and install 20' of bunny fencing along the one side. I also turned the soil and marked off that part of the bed. If I don't, my friendly garden neighbors tend to walk on the soil. 

It definitely takes time to install the chicken wire. I have another 20' to install tomorrow along this side. I can't get over there today to finish. I have too much to do at the home garden, there are sprouted seeds to be potted and Sophia has a softball game this afternoon. 

Once the chicken wire is installed. I will dig a trench and amend the soil with composted manure. This is where the Asparagus beds & a lot of the Onions will be planted. I went to the old site on Monday and the asparagus is coming up! I sure hope that it survives the transplant!! 

Miss Banana Plots

I know what you may be thinking....it's April Fools Day. Yes it is....but, it is also Miss Banana's 10th Birthday! Now she is older then me in cat years!

This is my Miss Banana Princess Girl!!

OK, now on to the plots part. I spent about 5 hours at the plots today until it started to rain. I wanted to get the posts & fencing up on three sides. 

I put 6' posts in the four corners. Then I put 5' posts along two sides. I'm also going to put 5' posts across the side along the road where the gates will be located. The county  put large drums on pallets for us to put our rocks in. I already filled up the one by me with the one pile of rocks from 2 weeks ago.

The posts were pretty easy to get in the ground. I only had 3 that I had to move a bit due to rocks.

Across the back I put in shorter posts and 3' fencing that I had from the old site. 

Tomorrow I am planning to install the 4' fencing along the two sides and remove the gates from the old site.