Halloween 2013

It's impossible to not take a thousand pictures on Haloween.

Lady Amelia dressed as a little strawberry.

She's actually wearing the same dress she wore last year that was way too big on her, plus a strawberry tutu dress that I quickly made.

We took Amelia to our church Trunk or Treat on the Saturday before the big day, so she could get the hang of trick or treating. She was a little confused at first, but quickly picked up on the concept of getting treats and putting them in her basket.

On the actual night of Halloween she was pretty excited. We practiced saying "trick or treat" during the day and she totally knew what was coming! While she could say "trick-tree" at home she would get way too shy to actually say it at the door. It was still adorbs.

And she definitely knows how delicious candy is now. Shoot.

 

 

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Harvest Monday 6.24

 

This week we had a few new garden treats -- like broccoli! I've never grown broccoli before and now I wish I had. The heads that I harvested were minuscule. So.Tiny. But so delicious. The broccoli had a rough start from seed and I think I transplanted them a little late. So I'll do better this fall and next spring.

Look -- we had enough raspberries to actually take some in the house! This happened twice this week. That never happens. Usually we just stand at the bush and eat three times this much in one standing.

• And I harvested a bunch of overwintered onions. These usually want to start flowering due to our crazy not warm enough all the time spring/summer weather. And they end up so small. But they still take great! There are plenty more that are bulking up well in the new sunnier spot for this year. The red marble looks particularly yummy.
• The rest of the pac choi was also pulled as it was starting to flower. I froze it for future stir fry's.
• We picked two new potatoes. One blue fingerling from last year and another red potato from a potato left over from the grocery store. Amelia and I gobbled these up for lunch.
• Of course, we've also been snacking on small mountains piles of sugar snap peas. There were a few Dakota shelling peas that weren't snacked on garden side that I ended up cooking in a curry.
• Lastly, Amelia has picked every last strawberry to be found. Man...we need more of those things. STAT. I hope I get another late summer harvest. I'm not sure what type of berries I have.

 

Overall, things are growing...slowly, but growing.

• The tomatoes haven't really started fruiting yet. Just a few green cherry's and grapes. I just gave them a little fish fertilizer, so hopefully they will takeoff.
• The beans are flowering and there are tiny tiny little beans growing. Can't wait for fresh green beans!
• And I think my 1 zucchini plant has a load of baby fruit. So that should be exciting in the next couple weeks.

• Next week, I anticipate pulling a garlic stalk to see if the rest are ready to pull. They are starting to fall over and yellow a bit. But I harvested my garlic mid-late July last year. I'd really like to use the space for something else. Maybe another summer squash or some carrots or even fall brussel sprouts or broccoli?

 

Check out Daphne's Dandelions for more delicious harvests!

 

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Harvest Monday - Lettuce and Chinese cabbage

I always wait too long to harvest all the lettuce. I worry it will go bad in the fridge...so instead I let it bolt--oops! But I managed to pick all the rest of it today before it gets too bitter. I'm really loving the small miniature butter heads, the ones with the crinkly leaves. Although I can't remember what it is....Victoria? Little Jem (I think this is the mini romaine) or Tom Thumb?I have some growing in labeled containers so I hope to figure it out this time around.

The raspberries are finally ready! This is the best part of summer...going out every morning to pick a handful of berries.

These are a few Dakota shelling peas. I should have planted way more. Also, not pictured are all the snap peas we've eaten. Those never make it into pictures or the house.

And these are only 1/4 of our strawberries. Every day for the past week or two we've been eating at least 6-7. Amelia has learned to pick the ripe red ones and quickly shove them in her mouth. It's about the cutest thing ever.

And I have two big heads of Chinese cabbage that's ready. Plus 3 bunches of bok choy. This is my first year growing it and it did really well in the garden. Now I just have to figure out how to eat it, other than in stir fry's. Although, the stir fry I made last night was totally delicious. So I'm glad I chose to grow it this year.

 

Today, I also noticed the broccoli heads starting to form. Wahoo! This is my first time growing broccoli. This is typically my lettuce/greens bed because it gets more shade.

Everything else is looking good. There are even a few green fruits on my tomatoes. Although the plants aren't very big.

As usual, the pretty cilantro is taking over. The garlic will be ready soon and I just filled that bare patch where the cabbage was with some late zucchini.

I'm excited about all the onions this year. I never get very big bulbs, but at least this year I'll have a ton (for our little family anyways) even if they are small.

I also have a row cover that I move around. Right now it's over some peppers, since its a little cooler today

And I'm excited to try a few new varieties of beans this year.

 

So far I'm really enjoying our garden this spring/summer.

Check out Daphne's Dandelions for more delicious harvests!

 

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July 6th 2012: Garden Update

(note: reader beware...i fully intended to just post pictures and somehow its morphed into a giant novel about vegetables. I sincerely apologize in advance.)

I've been a little slack on my garden updates. Must be because I have something else to grow and take care of :) And she is much cuter!

I mostly want to post details and pictures for my own record keeping, so ignore the excessive descriptions of vegetables and the photo bomb if you'd like.

Up until recently the weather has been really crappy. Barely into the 60s-70s and rainy! Now that July has hit we are almost into the 80s and it's forecasted to get into the 90s within the next week or two. Yippee!!

The garden definitely needs some heat.

I don't have harvest pictures, but at this point I've been eating mostly A TON of snap peas. So glad that I planted nearly 7 ft of them (thanks to my sister who helped me while I was pregnant!)

I've also been nibbling on a few raspberries and strawberries, neither of which have made it into the house or to Dan (sorry!).

The kale as you can see below is doing amazing. If only I knew a way to keep up with eating it. It has been frequenting our smoothies regularly though. I think I'm going to harvest a bunch soon and blanch and freeze it for the winter and soup season.

We've also of course been enjoying fresh cilantro (although I like to let it flower because the white buds are so pretty and delicate!) and lots of lettuce. I have a super bad habit of wanting only the freshest of lettuce and not picking it in time before it bolts. Oops! Thus, Dan and I ate a slightly bitter salad for dinner tonight. Oh well!

Also, I never really got a good batch of spinach going this spring, so I'm banking on putting in a nice sized fall crop (I like how I use the word "crop" like I've got acres and acres of land...oh in my sweet sweet dreams!)

Also, this year I've planted cucumbers in mass because I can never seem to get the plants to grow big enough before the bugs get them. So hears to lots of pickles!!

Ummm...the corn is teeny tiny. Not enough sunlight. Pathetic. Also, it went in a bit late after the chinese cabbage - which was a bust, btw. Too many slugs. I hate those things. I wouldn't be sad if I never saw another slug in my life...so sooo slimy. And they eat everything! Anyways, I'll try the cabbage again this fall. Probably need to start it now...hmmmm.

Beets - hahahahahahaha! (that is the beet god laughing at my ridiculous repeated attempts to grow the darn things! I can't for the life of me grow them!)

Potatoes - we planted the organic blue version. Um, not sure how they are doing. They give me anxiety. I felt the same last year and didn't know how exactly to maximize the yield (again, what am I some kind of cash crop farmer?!?!). Hilling them stressed me out. So let's hope they are somehow growing big and beautifully blue. Thankfully, a few french fingerling volunteers from last year sprouted. They were so delicious that I completely forgot to save some to plant this year!

Carrots - I would be exaggerating if I said I had 2 of them growing. What the heck happened this year? I sowed them 3 times and nothing! Grrrr! But I'll stupidly keep trying...

Tomatoes - actually they are just starting to take off. I have faith in trusty territorial seed. Ive got quite a few green fruits growing on 6 different plants. I think this time last year I only had a couple of my very early cherry tomatoes ripe, so we are not too far behind.

And beans! Oh the green (and purple!) beans we will soon have! The first rotation of bush beans are practically ready and I can't wait! I'm also super eager to try the Royal Burgundy beans. They are the purple ones and look fun to eat.

I'm also growing pole beans this year and it's amazing watching them climb the trellis. I'm going to have a ton of runners climbing soon!

Well, I guess I just made up for all my missing garden posts. Haha!

Now wake up and go do something productive with yourself. No more blog hopping!! :)

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Love the purple color of the cabbage! My cauliflower is nearly ready!

Veggies are in full growth mode!

Too excited for this Oregon cherry tomato to grow and ripen!

My sugar ann snap peas are filling out the trellis. I probably have 15+ that I  can soon pick. I don't have bowls and bowls of snap peas, as I'd like, but I'm satisfied with crunching on a few peas every other day or so. Never has one made it into the house, as I've eaten them all immediately, on the spot! I will definitely plant A LOT more next year (HOLY COW...I'm already excited for next year....)

Totally enjoying all my baby greens. As the weather gets warmer, I'm trying to eat as much as possible to prevent bolting. Who wants a salad?

For example, here is some arugula (the tall, spindly plant on the right that immediately started to bolt on our first 65+ day!  Luckily, I had already harvested most of it.

Growing strawberries. I will have way more strawberries with these 2 plants than the 4 plants I had last year.

A beautiful 75+ degree weekend allowed me to plant my very last 2 beds.  These two beds have mainly tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot) and squash. 

Enjoying the harvest. Lettuce + Radishes.

Thai Hot Chili Pepper - should be in full bloom any day!

Happy Summer to Everyone!

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