First preserving of the season!

Just made it. A batch of strawberry jam made fresh from strawberries I picked just this morning from my organic patch. I used organic fair-trade sugar and cooked to gelling point. I did not use pectin.

It took lots of time and effort to get these humble jars of jam, but boy does it feel satisfying to see them on my counter.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

Early June garden

(salad bed - Romaine, mesclun, and BonVivant mix)

Oregon is not short on cool spring temperatures and rainfall.

As a result, my early June garden is full of cool season plants who are loving the conditions! Green, lush edibles meet you at every step. Let me show you what the garden looks like right now....

Bush Pea Plants

Notice that they are not very tall. They do send out tendrils to wrap around supports, but grow only 12-18" high. This particular variety is one that lets you eat the shell as well as the pea. Pictured is the FIRST blossom! It would be nice to get some peas before July when I absolutely have to rip this plant out to get my tomatillos in.

Raspberry Plants

I have to say that my two favorite fruits are blueberries and raspberries. Well we have seven blueberry plants - time to get some raspberries started. I know NOTHING about planting these so I am learning for the first time. We bought four little canes from our local nursery (for $2 each!) and here we go! I'm planning on staking them onto a trellis like they do in the U-pick farms so my hopes are that they don't get too out of hand.

Peppers

This year we are growing: 4 red peppers, 2 jalapenos, and 1 poblano. They are situated in the bed right next to our house. Not only do these south facing beds get ALL DAY SUN, but the light and heat reflects off the light house and light pathways. Perfect for peppers!

Vine Shelling Peas

We had this amazing idea to employ more vertical spaces and installed a trellis over two of our raised boxes to make a tunnel. Right now we have "tall telephone" shelling peas growing on them 

Walla Walla Onions & Cilantro (with ground cherries growing in the background)

First time growing onions. I took Jami's advice from Oregon Cottage and decided to plant my onions on the perimeter of each planting bed. Pictured is my herb bed. I have 9 cilantro plants right behind the onions (I started in the bed from seed). In the very back are the ground cherries or husk tomatoes - this is the first time I've tried these. I hear they are fabulous.

Squash/Pumpkin Bed

This bed faces eastward so it gets great morning sun (which is not very hot) - it has sun on it until 3 or 4 in the afternoon - so it gets at least 7-8 hours of sunlight. Not the best growing conditions for squash plants, but this bed gives the most room for these plants to roam. I started all of these plants from seed - half of them I planted direct into the ground in mid-May and the other half I started indoors in pots in mid-May and just recently transplanted them out to the bed. I'll let you know how they grow! (I also plant sunflowers in this bed to encourage lots of bees to come to this section of the garden).

Varieties I'm growing: Jack Be Little, Sugar Pie, Casper (white pumpkins) and  Acorn Squash.

Broccoli (the ants attacked again!)

This year I planted 12 broccoli plants determined to not let those stupid black ants get to them again. Well guess what? The black ants did it again!! I lost three plants so far. They eat the roots! However, nine plants are left and doing okay so far. Pictured are the broccoli grave sites of my lost plants :( 

Bush Beans

I just planted the first three rows of bush beans (each row is denoted by the flower plant markers) - my preferred way to grow beans. I'm started with a row each of purple, green, and yellow beans. In about one month I'll start another three rows of the same varieties.

Tomatoes

Out of all the plants I started and/or purchased, the tomatoes have been the most drama. First I lost most of my early seedlings to mouse/cat attacks. Then, when I was hardening off my crops, I lost half of them to too-cold nighttime temperatures. I was able to save enough tomatoes for my own garden as well as sell 25 plants to friends who took my gardening classes.

Varieties I'm growing this year: Legend, Stupice, 2 -Beef Eater, 2 -San Marzano 'Gigante' roma, Pineapple, Cherokee Purple (all three of these varieties were shared by fellow gardening gal Di from Eugene, Or), and last but not least my most FAVORITE cherry - Chocolate Cherry. If you count - that is NINE tomato plants. Pictured below are the small babies in our south-facing bedroom planting bed where we planted our zucchinis last year.

Dill

At the front part of my squash/pumpkin bed, I decided to throw in some dill seed. You may remember that my family Loved - Capitol L-O-V-E-D the homemade dill pickles I canned last year (especially the fridge dill pickles). It really bugged me that I needed to buy fresh dill at the Farmer's Market every week. So this year I threw in some seeds and grow my own - we'll see. 

Blueberry Plants

Oh how I tried to get closeups of the blueberries developing on my plants - but no luck - I don't have a fancy camera :(  I will say this, my plants are so happy! And to think they were little twigs three years ago. Every year I amend the soil with used coffee grounds, peat moss, compost, and composted manure. They seem to love the combination. They have literally hundreds - maybe thousands of berries on them! (well thousands between all of the plants)

Last but not least - my new most favorite part of my garden. Two new clotheslines! They are located on the far western part of the garden and most mornings I hang the laundry up to dry and then work in the garden after that. How awesome and Norman Rockwell is this garden!!

Keep you all posted! Here's hoping for warmer temperatures - we've been holding steady at low 70's for the last few weeks.

I'm fine(d)

{A picture tells 1,000 words}

You can't tell because I took a screen shot of my computer from my phone, but this is my library account.


Yes, you read correctly, I owe  $21.00 in fines. *free* library isn't so free anymore.

Do your kids eat green?

How many of us complain that our kiddos - especially the toddlers -  don't eat enough greens?
Here is what has worked for me. First, I don't have a negative attitude towards vegetables. As in, I don't say out loud to my children, "I hate vegetables. Kids, just choke down your veggies because they are good for you." We actually enjoy fruits and vegetables around here - organic makes it taste sweeter and better - and we tend to grow only fruits and vegetables we really like to eat. Why grow something you dont' want to eat?


Second, my kids help plant the vegetables. A few months ago, my 3 year old helped plant seeds (spinach pictured here) and throughout the following weeks, help me water and tend to the plants - often taking samples.








Third, they help harvest the vegetables. They ALWAYS have free reign over eating from the garden. They can eat what they want since that is one of the reasons I grow it! (they especially like to operate the salad spinner)

And Fourth, I throw greens into everything. Smoothies, sauces, pasta, dishes - it is not unusual in the least to have green flecks in their food.

My recent and best discovery? I found Popsicle molds at IKEA and I will freeze smoothies into them. My favorite smoothie recipe: 2-3 cups of frozen fruit (I like the wawona mix from Costco), 1 c. of cottage cheese, 1/2 c. of milk (enough to let the smoothie mix), and a ripe banana. Once mixed up, I add 2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach. It looks green once mixed, but tastes like heaven.

Nothing artificial in this "Popsicle"!

Linking to Tuesday Garden Party at Oregon Cottage. Want garden ideas? Check the links!!