Hello my fellow gardeners! It's been three months since my last Hive Garden post. So much has changed in three short months, and now everything is growing by leaps and bounds. My eating habits have had to change too, now that I try to eat primarily from my garden, or the gardens and farms of my friends. How I love to fashion my meals around what I have, not what I can buy at a grocery store! And how I also love not having to go to grocery stores much at all. If I could grow coffee, bananas, chocolate and lemons, I would very rarely have to go to those places, where I always get alarmed about the sorry state of the American diet, and the toxins that are slathered over most peoples homes and bodies.
Enough sadness! It's time for the Joy of Gardening, in upstate New York State, USofA.
My daughters gave me a wonderful Christmas gift this past year, a harvesting apron. I can gently gather lots of stuff in this thing, much like a voluminous skirt can gently hold the tenderest of veggies, but I have both hands free. I just love this thing.
I put in a new asparagus patch along my back fence this year. Unlike my previous patch, which was blocking too much of the western sun on my raised beds and had to be moved, I did the whole shebang: amended the soil to raise the pH, added bone meal, dug trenches to lay the roots in, and covered the shoots up repeatedly as they grew. I'm a bit worried the patch doesn't get enough sun, but we'll just have to wait and see.
When friends visit my garden, they often ask "What do you do with okra?" My fondness for okra goes back to the days of my youth, and one particular summer that I spent living with my recently divorced and very unhappy Aunt Jane. She was an avid gardener, and grew all sorts of interesting things, one of which was okra. We pickled it, fried it and put it in summer stews. I grew to love it madly, kind of like how many people, inexplicably if you ask me, love kale. I've been trying, and mostly failing, to grow the stuff for six years now, and this year the three plants of "Heavy Hitter" look healthy and have already started to produce. I'm delighted!
This is my first year planting bush beans, and boy do they ever look like I'll have a bumper crop. One eight foot row seemed like a modest amount when I planted them, but if each of these blossoms produces a bean, I will be canning and freezing and pickling green beans until I never want to plant them again. I actually did not plant any cukes this year for that reason - I had way too many last year, from only four plants!
I'll be feeding a few extra folks at my lake house this weekend. How proud I will be to serve up food I grew myself! Here's the harvest from yesterday. Nice big fat beets are under there somewhere.
Here it is folks, nearly my entire yard. In this tiny space I am growing a lot of my food. I learned how to can a bunch of stuff last year, mostly pickles, and also learned that I cannot live on pickles alone. This year, I bought an electric pressure canner, and will preserve foods that are not pickled, including meats.
I supplement my diet with meats, eggs, dairy and veggies from local farmers who practice what I preach, regarding nourishment of our bodies as well as of the land.
I'm a little old lady people. If I can do this, you can too. Plant something today!
This is my entry to the Hive Garden community's monthly garden journal contest. Please come show us your garden!
Thank you!!! Much appreciated! @ewkaw you rock!
Ah ha, Only yesterday I was wondering how your garden was doing and hey presto, here you are. I'm becoming a true master of this manifestation thing:):)
I was listening to a farmer in the UK recently saying that he could plant little this year as many of his last year's crops were still stuck in the fields along with his heavy machinery. He was predicting serious food shortages. Not for me or you though. I have enough food here to feed a multitude.
I'll bet you do! How has your peas harvest been? I only planted a short row of snow peas, which made so many peas I got sick of them. Next year, I hope to get busier with peas, the shelling kind, which I adore. Do you do anything besides freeze them? Dehydrate maybe?
I've also got three bags of potatoes going, three varieties. I haven't eaten many potatoes in my life, because store bought tastes so awful. But after growing some and seeing the difference there, I've tripled them. I think of you every time I look at my potatoes, and imagine your eating them dripping with good butter.
You've probably got enough food for years. If the apocalypse happens this year, I'll be good for one year only.
Hey if you make a garden journal post for this month, there's a prepper's prize. There's a few days left.
No, I do nothing but freeze them. I tried to get an interest in canning but it looks far too complicated for my meagre abilities. I have loads of potatoes planted but there have been so many blight warnings it'll be interesting to see how they do. The weather here has been horrendous and peas need sunshine. I count myself lucky to have the dome and greenhouse for cucumbers, melons and greens. I've even tried a few potatoes inside.
I'll do a post tomorrow if it's not lashing rain. I've been meaning to do one for weeks but I've been so bloody busy, doing what I'm not sure.
Speaking of potatoes and food shortages, our farmers in Idaho have been ordered to not water their fields. Say buh bye to potatoes this year. I'll have a bunch though! Last year I had potatoes in storage into December, and hope to have them around a bit longer this year. I wonder if they pressure can well. I'll try it!
It seems to be happening in Australia too, farmers being ordered not to water crops. Scary stuff.
which vegetables you grew you also eat those vegetables as food. It is a proud thing.Happy gardening!
There is nothing better than gardening. I always feel so happy after even a few minutes out there. Thanks for stopping by!
I used to grow some of my food, not I barely grow any of it. Some of my friends that grow theirs share and fortunately there are some local farmers markets. I'm still eating grocery store food as well though. I do understand about the condition of what we buy and it does make me sad that dirty'ing up the food chain has been allowed.
"If I could grow coffee, bananas, chocolate and lemons, I would very rarely have to go to those places" Wouldn't that be nice ?
I wouldn't touch okra as a child, but as an adult, I love it fried. That is about the only way I will eat it though as the inside texture is unappealing to my tongue when served nearly any other way. Fried though.... I really love it.
I love the idea of your harvesting apron. What a thoughtful gift.
My daughters buy me the best presents!
I love to use just a few sliced okras in any kind of veggie stew. They thicken the sauce nicely, and add just a taste of flavor. They are not slimy if cooked well, and look so pretty.
How useful that apron, also totally agree about producing our veggies and fruits, but it's kind of complicated. That little garden is a beauty.
Thank you! I'm very happy with it this year. So much food, flowers, and interest.
Wow! You are working very hard to make your garden a beautiful and productive good harvest. the lady finger/okra plant looks very nice. Thank you for sharing. Have a nice weekend. :)
Thank you, same to you!
Wow, that garden looks wonderful (and makes me miss my garden). I tried growing asparagus but never had much luck, what's the secret?
We won't find out if I know the secret for a couple more years! But I haphazardly planted some a few years back, treated it very badly, and still it produced quite a lot of spears this year. I ate them all, because I want that old patch to die out. I did hear asparagus needs a pretty high pH, sbut I didn't do anything to raise it, other than to not put any coffee grounds in.
Coffee grounds might have just done the trick! I didn't get anything the one time I tried to grow it. If we end up with a yard eventually I'll give it another go.
I love seeing how much you can fit in your little plot! We keep adding every year to our beds, but it's always great to see how much you can do with just a little bit of space and good planning.
How nice to see you can grow okra up there! It is of course a staple here in Georgia, though I have yet to try growing it in our garden. The farmers at the market have it in abundance, but perhaps it would be a fun one to try growing one of these years.
I agree on the grocery list--there's not much produce I buy in the store anymore, having been spoiled by local, fresh goodies. While our garden got hit hard by the hot, dry weather this last month, at least I can always stock up at the farmers market and get the next best thing to homegrown.
I had the hardest time with beans this year, and didn't get any to grow, so I'll definitely be envious of your crop!
This is my first successful year with beans, after two disastrous ones. I'll be putting my first few, with the last few snow peas, my own fattening onions, garlic scapes, one okra pod sliced to visual advantage, and handfuls of basil into a stir fry tonight.
Putting a garden in a small space has been like doing a giant long term puzzle for me. The tomato seedlings, being the last seedlings to go into the ground, always get smushed somewhere. I now know enough about tomatoes to give them lots of space on all sides and sun on at least two, so they get choice spots back in the wild flower garden as those spaces develop. It truly is a food forest back there. So much fun. I go out there to play, not work. What a gift, playtime. Not just at recess, or after homework, but all day long. That is the way to teach and learn, play.
Yuhh looks like you have an excellent harvest! And harvesting apron looks very useful ;-)
It really is! There's a little pocket for a tool or two. So far my harvest have been more than enough for me. Doesn't get better than that.
Your garden is looking lovely this year @owasco!
I love that harvesting apron!
I've been trying to do this a bit lately, just make meals from what I have. It's certainly very gratifying, especially when the food comes out delicious.
How did the weekend go at the lake house? I bet the food came out delicious, nicely done my friend!
I'm very happy that my daughters both eat the same way I do, and that they were very happy with the food I provided them. Now I have way more food that I can eat though!!! I gotta get going on preserving more of it. Beans, onions, raspberries, blueberries, beets, carrots, okra, lettuce, snow peas, jalapenos, potatoes and cabbage, all ripe right now, today, this minute. Yikes!
I love your garden, you really don't need a lot of space to grow and that harvest is great. Love the harvest Apron, I'll be on the lookout for one.
I've been harvesting some courgettes, my tomatoes are nearly there as well as my melons and pumpkins. It's really the best, isn't it.
Big hug to you lovely xxx
It really is the best! Until I have too much food, and have to start preserving it. I give some away which is also the best. xo
Thank you so much for the tip! I appreciate you!
The garden looks amazing and I know you are going to get an abundance of food from it.