Ruby in the garden

Take some, we've got plenty

2011-08-28T06:03:00.006-05:00

Because of my work schedule this year, I mainly planted things and then came in months later and harvested. Dear hubby did most of the work in between. It has been a bit of a rough year in the garden because of cool temperatures in the spring followed by way too much rain. Our sandy soil usually dries out easily but it was fairly wet through the spring this year.

The raspberries did quite well (and are delicious). We also have a good supply of potatoes, zucchini, ground cherries and currants. Fortunately, the asparagus always does well. However, the tomatoes, peppers and winter squash have been disappointing. My one surprise for the year is watermelon. I have at least 10 in the garden. Normally I have been able to grow exactly one melon each year so this has been fun.

Well, if I keep blogging at my current pace, I will probably be back in October to write about my 1-2 winter squash. However, for now it is back out to the garden for my raspberry breakfast. Happy gardening!

A bouquet of asparagus?

2011-05-25T20:26:00.004-05:00

The weather is cool, gray and not too spring-like but the garden is still coming along nicely. We are enjoying meals of our garden favorite- asparagus. This looks to me like a gift even nicer than a bouquet of flowers!

Happy Spring

2011-05-21T17:52:00.003-05:00

The rhubarb is ready to become a co-star in a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb wine, the asparagus has been delicious and there is the scent of freshly picked lilacs in the house. Just three of many reasons to love spring. Now back to the garden. Hope it is a happy spring in your neck of the woods as well!

Hummer Cam

2011-04-12T21:37:00.005-05:00

One thing I really miss is watching the hummingbirds. They won't be here for a month but here is a great link. If you liike to watch hummers, this is a great site to see (during the day!). Live Hummingbird Cam

A taste of summer

2011-02-25T21:15:00.009-06:00

I love to snuggle in on a cold, snowy night in front of a fire and dream of spring. Usually a few gardening catalogs help me get into the spirit. However, this taste of summer helps too. Pictured are corn, hot peppers and potatoes from last summers garden. The corn and peppers (as you can tell) have been hanging out in the freezer. The potatoes are from the root cellar (also known as our barely heated basement). They will make a tasty warm treat. I boil the seeded peppers with chicken stock (enough to cover) until the peppers are soft. Blend and add corn (off the cob) and diced cooked potatoes. I add a bit of cream, sour cream or yogurt. It is fun to have a "garden fresh" soup in February. I love it "as is" but add a little potato starch to thicken it for my husband.

Now turning to dreams of spring planting. I want at least two pepper varieties this year. It's a tough decision and Pepper Joe's catalog is not helping. I want them all!

I know I will grow a "black" tomato variety. I love their rich, tangy flavor. I have my eyes on black krim (from Penny's Tomatoes) but there are so many I would love to try.
Any pepper, tomato or potato variety suggestions appreciated. What are your favorites?

One world one heart

2011-02-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all that stopped by my blog for the One World One Heart event. I had loads of fun visiting blogs and making new friends around the world. Now to one of my favorite things to do- giving stuff away! The winners are:

One world one heart

2011-02-04T08:03:00.008-06:00

Welcome to my garden. We are buried under snow here in Wisconsin but I am surrounded by a few seed catalogs and am dreaming of spring. Care to join me for a glass of homemade wine or a cupcake fresh from the oven?

Thanks for stopping by. The winners will be announced at 9 PM Central Time on Feb. 17.

A sunny day

2010-09-25T23:02:00.002-05:00

It's been a dreary, cold & rainy week. It was fun to go out and dig potatoes today and see this sunny reminder of summer still holding on.

Raspberries

2010-09-18T22:37:00.007-05:00

Raspberries are definitely a jewel in my garden. They are also a great example of how I have come from being a totally clueless gardener to well....I guess a slightly less clueless gardener. I still have much to learn but the successes keep me going.

First raspberry attempt: Latham- A spring bearing variety. They had a few berries on them in their third year (last year) but I'm not impressed. We will probably give them one more year to prove their worth. The plant remained small for the first three years. I trimmed it to the ground last year (knowing that it would not produce this year). It really grew this summer so we will see if there are berries next year.

Autumn Britten- Awesome! It is "everbearing". We trim it to the ground in the fall and it produces large amounts of berries starting in early August. They are huge and have the classic sweet with a hint of tang raspberry flavor. This is our second year and it produced lots for fresh eating, giving away and winemaking as well. We are still picking a fair amount and will until a hard frost. The quality deteriorated slightly in September (a less tender texture) but the taste is still quite good.

Jaclyn- We planted these last spring. They have not performed as well as the Autumn Britten did in their first year but I have high hopes for them. They are also an "everbearing" variety. The plants are small and the production has been quite low but the taste is excellent. They produce a dark colored, sweet berry. They are my husband's favorite. I miss the tart flavor raspberries usually have. These are more candy-like (in my opinion). I enjoy them but most will go to my husband if they do well next year.

Unfortunately we are running out of room for berry bushes. I'd love to plant more. Maybe it's time to look for a bit of land!

Freezer Pickles

2010-08-27T22:55:00.001-05:00

It has been a bit of a rough summer for gardening here this year. The good news is that I haven't had to water much. The peppers, winter squash and cucumbers have done well. However the heavy rains we have had were rough on the tomatoes and potatoes.

I wanted to grow a mild flavored, prolific cucumber that wouldn't need peeling. White Wonder really fit the bill. We have had plenty to eat and give away with some left over for preserving. I didn't think I had time to make pickles but then a friend told me about freezer pickles. I had never heard of them but I found quite a few recipes on-line. I have about 10 servings in the freezer with more to come. They were easy to make and I have high hopes for them. Have you heard of freezer pickles? Here is the recipe I tried but there are a lot of variations too. The addition of hot peppers and or garlic sounds worth a try next time around. I may go from having too many cucumbers to running to the markets to buy more so I can enjoy these through the winter.

3 1/2 cups finely sliced cucumbers
2 small onions sliced
1 T salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar

Mix sugar and vinegar until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients. Place in refrigerator for 48 hours stirring once or twice a day. Freeze in zip lock bags. Thaw in refrigerator to serve. Serve as is or drain well and mix with sour cream.

Back to the garden

2010-08-01T13:35:00.012-05:00

We enjoyed a trip out to Montana for dear hubbies family reunion. However, it also felt good to be back home. We were away for 8 days and the garden did a wonderful thing in our absence....it grew....a lot! The corn, cucumbers and peppers did especially well. Peppers have been in every meal since we returned and I really love the two varieties we selected this year.

The Hungarian hot wax pepper is pale green and packs a bit of heat. The early ones were mild but they are getting hotter as the summer goes on. I love hot peppers so they have been delicious to eat stuffed and grilled. For other family members (with their milder tastes) they work well chopped in with other things. The plants are PROLIFIC. I have picked quite a few every day and more await.

The Jimmy Nardello Sweet Italian Frying Pepper is a real treat. If I could stop munching them raw, then we could enjoy a few more grilled. They are tasty either green or red. The plants produce well which is a good thing because the sweet delicate flavor of these peppers makes them one of my favorites.

I wanted a light meal using the peppers and cucumbers. I didn't measure amounts much but I made a soup I really enjoyed. I heated a little milk with a teaspoon of potato starch and added roasted seeded peppers (3 mild, 1 hot), pickled garlic and creame fraiche and pureed with a stick blender. Chill. Just before serving, I added 2 diced cucumbers (more on those later but I have a variety of cucumber this year that I really like too). Strain (if you like) and garnish it with some chocolate cherry tomato wedges. I will make more for my lunch tomorrow. The season is so short but the garden will produce most of our food for the next 2 months or so. Hopefully the peppers will freeze well also....there really are a lot of them!

The 4th of July and Red Currant Wine

2010-07-05T10:48:00.006-05:00

Our red currants usually ripen close to the 4th of July. Since that is our wedding anniversary, we have developed a tradition of enjoying a toast with Red Currant wine and then starting a new batch for the next year. It makes a beautiful ruby red wine with a delicate slightly tart flavor. If we can manage to let the wine age for two years, it mellows to a rich flavor. The one we enjoyed yesterday was wonderful. The currants pictured at the right won't be wine for a while but we just like the way they look.

Red currants are easy to grow and are lovely in the landscape. We especially enjoy the way they look when they are loaded with fruit. They are delicious but slightly tart with large seeds. I like to crush some, strain them and make a Ruby Currantade (like lemonade but a more subtle flavor).

For anyone interested in wine-making, a great place to start is with Jack Keller. We enjoy his recipe for Red Currant wine.

Garden Happenings

2010-06-26T11:27:00.004-05:00

This photo is of a plant I'm hoping that the hummingbirds will discover soon. This is a honeysuckle I planted last year. It is doing a nice job of adding color to what was a drab corner of the garden.

It has been a busy spring but we have had fun harvesting strawberries, peas, herbs, rhubarb, radishes, lettuce, spinach and asparagus. Even though I'm sad that some of those crops are almost done for the year, it's great to look forward to the tomatoes, grapes, potatoes, raspberries and other garden gems.

I picked the first pepper of the season today. It is a Hungarian Hot Wax and will be delicious mixed in with rice & beans. It adds just a nice hint of heat. I have two varities this year. The other is Jimmy Nardello. I like to try a different pepper or two- usually one that has some heat and another that is more mild. Any suggestions for next year?

Lilac Wine

2010-05-26T21:36:00.007-05:00

We have two varieties of lilacs. One has lovely blooms and a nice fragrance but a bitter flavor. The other variety is "Miss Kim" and is a pale purple with a delicate spicy scent and pleasant floral flavor. Just about anything edible gets made into wine at least once around here. This is the second year for lilac wine. The first was excellent.

We just finished making a one gallon batch of lilac wine. We didn't get a lot of flowers on the Miss Kim lilac this year but we look forward to sipping the results next May. I'm not sure that I mind that there weren't many lilacs to pick. Pulling off the petals is a little tedious. This picture may make it look like we had a lot, but it is only about one cup of petals.

I'm sipping a little of last year's batch while I write. It has a lovely delicate flavor and is perfect for enjoying on a warm spring evening. This year's lilac wine is a lilac apple blend. It may sound a little unusual but hopefully it will equal the lilac, dried pear and elderberry blossom wine that I'm enjoying now. We have had some wines that have been a bit disappointing so it is fun when we are pleased with the results.

Cincinnati Market Radish

2010-05-22T20:41:00.005-05:00

Cincinnati Market Radishes- two that are straight, one that is knot.

We have three varieties of radishes growing this year and we enjoy them all. The early crops are a fun treat while we wait for the potatoes, tomatoes, raspberries, beans etc...

The Cincinnati market radish is crisp with a mild flavor. This is our first year growing them. Most have been straight and 5-6 inches long. They look a lot like red carrots but have a delicious radish taste.

New home construction

2010-05-15T21:30:00.001-05:00

I have 40# of seed potatoes sitting on the dining room table just waiting to find a spot in the garden. Dear hubby is always willing to make room in the garden for spuds. We have 5 varieties this year and I can't wait to try each of them over the fire pit.

The rhubarb is taking over the garden. My husband will pass on that treat while I enjoy some stevia sweetened cooked rhubarb/apples with cinnamon. It will be nice for an evening snack and on oatmeal in the morning. Not using sugar much limits the options for rhubarb recipes but I still enjoy it. I think that some rhubarb/raspberry wine will be in the works this summer. I haven't tried to make wine with rhubarb yet but I have had some made by others. I haven't been impressed but I think I might enjoy it if I go light on the rhubarb.

Lots of good stuff growing already including lupine, peas, radishes, basil, currants and lovage. I also have 2 varieties of green peppers, 4 varieties of tomatoes and ground cherries started in the basement and ready to head out to the garden after hardening off. Hopefully the peppers will fare well. I have about 3 trays (12 pots in each) but one really took a hit today. I was headed out to the garage with them took a misstep and started to tumble down the stairs. I managed to twist around and fall into the house (sounded much better than going down the stairs) and went face first into the pepper plants. I'm a bit sore but I think I did better then they did. I re-potted them and hopefully after another week or two of TLC they will be ready for the garden. Right now they look a bit rough.

I enjoyed sitting out in the garden this evening and admiring the lupine. They don't stay in flower for long but they are one of my favorites. Happy gardening!

Today's harvest

2010-04-17T11:12:00.006-05:00

Yep, this is it. It didn't exactly take all morning to haul the crops in. However, it was a nice treat to drop the asparagus in the water I was cooking potatoes in, drain, add a hint of butter and eat. A tasty, tiny snack. Half of the spear went to my husband's lunch. The rhubarb will make for a nice glass of rhubarbade.

It has been especially warm and a lot of the plants in my garden are about a month ahead of schedule. We have been harvesting lovage and chives for a while. The clove currants are blooming. I'm just starting to see a hint of the radish and spinach plants.

It was a nice morning to get out into the garden, weed and see how much the plants have been growing. I've joined the "normal" work world this year so am mainly able to garden on the weekends. Hopefully, I can get out there a bit more in the summer. There is nothing like starting the day with weeding, watering and munching on fresh raspberries. I can't wait.

80 degrees on April 1st. No fooling.

2010-04-01T21:27:00.006-05:00

I couldn't wait to head out to the garden after work. It's hard to resist the urge to get planting but I know that colder days will probably be ahead. However, it sure was fun to get out and play in the dirt. We got a lot done and enjoyed the evening. Now dear hubby heads off to work while I get some tomato seeds started. I settled for "only" four varieties this year. Well it's back to the basement garden station where we have the lights set up for seed starting. Happy planting!

Spring?

2010-03-20T17:54:00.006-05:00

Last week we enjoyed temps in the 60's and watched our snow disappear. It is colder now but the lack of snow has been nice. I've been out in the garden cleaning things up and getting the raised beds ready. I'll start the pepper and ground cherry plants indoors this weekend. This afternoon I enjoyed a trek out back looking over the gardens. I'll have to get my bike ready and continue my quest for more:

Signs of spring?

Happy Spring!

It feels great to be back home...sort of

2010-02-27T20:51:00.008-06:00

Even though I was in San Antonio for a conference (which was great), we found time to get out and about to enjoy the city too. I loved the restaurants. I enjoyed delicious meals and awesome Mojitos. Friday was the nicest day of the week. We only had time to hit the touristy type places close to the convention center but still it was a blast to walk around the city.

There aren't too many cities I am in a hurry to head back to but San Antonio leads the list. Next time I would like to bring my hubby along and get a chance to see some of the surrounding area. The first three pictures were taken in San Antonio on Friday. The last one was taken this morning. It shows the weather that was waiting for me at home. We love Wisconsin but I sure would like to garden outside of zone 4 someday.

Sigh, I think I need to go take a look at some gardening catalogs until I get over this urge to immediately fly back to Texas. Last week I placed the last of my 2010 seed orders (no really, this time I mean it!). I'm looking forward to their arrival and having some time to plan out the seed starting and planting dates.

Happy Gardening!

Chris

Everyone wins!

2010-02-21T17:49:00.003-06:00

You might have heard about the recent One World One Heart event. If not, scroll down for some info about it. It was fun and featured three things I enjoy: visiting blogs, giving things away and winning stuff. I won the jackpot on all three. I found some really fun blogs to follow and met new friends. The event would have been successful for that alone. However, I also won a prize at three blogs. Pictured is the first of the three to arrive. It is from Craftymoose and she does very nice beading work!

I also enjoyed the chance to give gifts. It is fun sharing things that I like using which includes the magazine and "smart pot" that were in my giveaway. Most of the bloggers in this event make wonderful crafts. I sure don't fall into that category. The closest I get to crafts is designing seed packets for the seeds I save and give. However, I loved the chance to participate anyway.

I'm really looking forward to this next week. I'm headed to San Antonio for a conference. Although the weather doesn't sound too warm, it will be an improvement over what we have here. It is a city I have very much wanted to visit so I can't wait!

♥♥♥Happy Valentine's Day♥♥♥

2010-02-14T00:00:00.002-06:00

A valentine's day greeting featuring two things we love, Wisconsin dairy and potatoes.

Need more space, always need more space

2010-01-29T21:25:00.001-06:00

One might think that that 12 raised beds and two large garden areas would be enough. They are not! I'm always looking for one more spot to tuck in a plant (or a few dozen). In addition to my usual annuals, I'm looking forward to putting in more raspberries, blueberries, currants and horseradish.

This year we will grow potatoes in a 4X8 raised bed garden, 10 smart pots/grow bags and quite a few large plastic pots. Potatoes are so easy to grow in most anything. I have heard of people growing them right in bags of soil. I've also seen them in a wide variety of containers including tires. I am always looking for a place to grow more potatoes. We have some food grade buckets we may use this year too. Drill holes in the bottom, add some good dirt, spuds and water then watch them grow!

Have you tried or heard of any unique methods for growing spuds? More ideas are always appreciated!

One World One Heart Giveaway

2010-01-25T00:00:00.015-06:00

2/16/10- Prizes have been sent. Happy Gardening!

2/15/10- I have selected the winners. Congrats! It has been so much fun meeting everyone. I sure enjoyed the magic carpet ride!

1/26/10 update: for every 100 entries, I will be adding another prize.

Gift # 1: One year subscription to the Heirloom Gardener Magazine (added January 25). Won by Judy

Gift # 2: One 15 gallon fabric "Smart Pot". Perfect for growing potatoes above ground even if you have little space (added January 27). Won by Theresa

Gift # 3: A single sample copy of Heirloom Gardener Magazine (Added February 3). Won by Crystal

I enjoy chatting with gardeners around the world and learning more about them and what they grow. Garden blogging is a great way to bring people together who might not ordinarily meet. That fits well with the goals of The One World One Heart event which seeks to bring bloggers together. It is a great chance to meet people and the giveaways are an added bonus.

So on to my giveaway in this event: The Heirloom Gardener magazine is a virtual magic carpet ride around the world. It features articles on an intriguing international collection of seeds and plants. So it seems like a good gift to share with one lucky winner in my little corner of the One World One Heart event and this year's Magic Carpet theme. I find each issue of this magazine to be an adventure and would love to give a one year (4 issue) subscription to one person anywhere in the world (I don't have any ties to this magazine, I just enjoy reading it!). The winner will be selected at random on February 14 at midnight and announced on February 15, 2010.

All you need to do is comment below and include a link or e-mail address so I can contact the winner. It would be fun if you write something about your gardening experiences in your comment but it is not required. The Heirloom Gardener is a fun read whether you have never gardened or if you are a pro. Grow some unique flowers, herbs or vegetables and have your own adventure.

You may also enjoy visiting the One World One Heart link to find a world of interesting blogs.

Tomatoes

2010-01-24T00:42:00.002-06:00

More dreaming of spring......

I've bought my tomato seeds and that's it. No more! Unless I find another variety I absolutely cannot live without.

Last year I was given free seeds for Chocolate Cherry Tomato. They were richly flavored, sweet, delicious and also made a great addition to one of our wines. I didn't really want to grow it again (just because I like to try new varieties) but my hubby convinced me to include them in the 2010 garden. They did ripen early and produce well through the summer. That was a pretty good feat since last summer wasn't great for my other tomatoes.

I wanted to try the Black Plum Tomato this year. I haven't grown it before. The description of the sweet tangy flavor sounds tempting and we have never been disappointed with the dark colored tomatoes.

The Cour di Bue tomato was a free sample that came with a seed order. I wasn't sure if I would keep them or give them away. However, the mention of them being good for saucing convinced me to give them a try.

I would love to hear about your favorite tomatoes. I've thought of trying a green variety and I'm sure I can always find just the right spot for a cherry tomato or another tomato for sauce. Any suggestions? A larger garden might be the first place to start!

Spring planning

2010-01-18T06:01:00.000-06:00

Another spud post? Sure, why not. My favorite way to deal with winter blues is to place my seed orders. Picking out the potatoes to grow this year is especially fun. This photo is of our 2009 harvest. Hopefully 2010 will be a successful potato growing year. The 2010 spuds are:

LaRatte- supposedly creamy when pureed so I'm looking forward to trying it in soups and sauces like I did with the Rose Finn Apple potato. The "rich chest-nutty flavor" sounds worth a try.

Purple Peruvian- a purple potato? I have to try it just because it should look great on the plate. Hopefully it tastes great too!

Peanut- I like the description of it being firm after steaming so it can be sauteed with other vegetables. Sounds good. I enjoy potatoes tossed with peppers, onions and tomatoes and topped with a hint of smoked cheese. Should be a nice fire-pit spud too.

Irish Cobbler- "makes the greatest mashed potatoes". What other reason do I need!

Inca Gold- I love the yellow color. We might appreciate the fact that it is described as a good keeper if we manage to not eat all the spuds in the fall.

The question is: Will I manage not to give in and buy just one more (or 2) variety of potatoes to grow this year? Only time will tell.

Potato review

2010-01-15T21:30:00.006-06:00

Although we don't care too much about store bought potatoes, my husband and I are hooked on the wide variety of spuds we can grow ourselves. Unfortunately, this picture is of the last of the potatoes from this years crop. However, we are left with tasty memories and fun plans for next year. This year we grew Adora, Carola, Mountain Rose and Rose Finn Apple potatoes. Although they would all be worth trying again, we will be growing 5 different varieties this year. I just want to try every variety of spuds I can get my hands on at least once if possible.

If I ever decide to grow a variety I've tried before, it is likely it will be Rose Finn Apple. It is a fingerling and was wonderful roasted whole on the grill or fire pit or used as a thickener. I peeled them and pureed the Rose Finn's into soups and sauces. It makes for a smooth and delicious thick soup.

The Mountain Rose is just a beautiful spud. The rose coloring makes for unusual but lovely mashed potatoes. They were creamy and delicious. This potato was also great fried in slices or wedges on the fire-pit. I like them for the taste alone but the pretty rose color is a nice bonus. They really dress up a plate. A spoonful of the pink Mountain Rose mashed potatoes looked nice next to a spoon of the mashed golden yellow Carola spuds. I can't say much about the storing qualities of either the Mountain Rose or Rose Finn Apple, we ate them up before they could be put to the test.

The Adora and Carola are both good potatoes but I wouldn't rush to grow them again. They were good on the fire-pit (all spuds are) or boiled and the Carola made a richly flavored mashed potato. Both were excellent keepers. We don't have a root cellar yet (it is in the dreaming stages) but they stored well in a slightly cool basement.

I haven't found a potato we don't like yet but there are some we really love to grow. Our favorite treat will always be digging new potatoes, splashing them with the garden hose and putting them on the fire-pit without them making a trip into the house. Although we enjoy trying to eat a "Hundred Mile Diet", nothing beats the 50 foot diet. You can't get more local than that.

Incentive

2010-01-02T15:31:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I am very motivated to work out. Unfortunately, this winter isn't one of them. Once spring comes, it gets much easier and more fun to exercise. However, I have a plan that is working well. Garden catalogs! As soon as they arrive, I bring my favorites downstairs and put them on the rack of my bicycle. I can only read them as part of my cool-down after a spinning workout. I'm so addicted to my garden planning that I don't procrastinate working out like I tend to in the winter. Weird plan but it works. I sure never expected that I would get this hooked on gardening.

Time to go seed shopping...
I mean bicycling.

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

2009-12-29T20:38:00.004-06:00

....but the books are so delightful. My hubby and I received many wonderful gifts this year. We especially enjoy anything to do with bees, birds, butterflies and growing our own food. I'm looking forward to spending the cold winter evenings by the fireplace- reading and dreaming of spring.

Enjoying the harvest

2009-12-02T16:05:00.004-06:00

It has been a while between posts. We have been keeping busy with cleaning up the garden, enjoying our harvest and a new job for me.

Using our harvests has included lots of grilling and fire pit meals along with some wine making. The potatoes have been great cooked over the fire. Our favorite has been the fingerling we grew- Rose Finn Apple. We look forward to trying several different fingerlings next year. It has been fun to grow them in pots and any other containers we can find. We just empty them into the wheelbarrow and have delicious spuds without the digging. I especially like the versatility of the Rose Finn Apple. It is wonderful grilled and for thickening soups and sauces.

Our fruiting plants are still a year or more away from being fully productive but have already provided delicious for fresh eating and wine making. Yesterday we re-racked our Ruby's Garden wine. It is made from all the garden left-overs including black currants, raspberries, strawberries and black cherry tomatoes. Don't laugh. It has a delicate, fruity flavor and it is definitely a one of a kind wine. The black currants lend a lovely red color.

Although we still have plenty to keep us busy, I'm already working on the garden plans for next year. Definitely more raspberry and blueberry plants. I also will give my ground cherry plants a head-start indoors. The toughest decision is which potato varieties to try. We want them all!

Harvest time

2009-09-23T02:40:00.009-05:00

Better with chocolate

2009-09-16T21:16:00.011-05:00

Ground cherries have a subtle pineapple flavor and are great alone or made into salsas, pies and relishes. They are simple to grow and are fun to experiment with in recipes. I saw a few blog posts over the winter featuring ground cherries dipped in chocolate and couldn't wait to give it a try. The cute "paper wrapper" they grow in makes a great handle for dipping. I also rolled few completely in chocolate. Since I had the chocolate all melty and ready to go, I figured that a few raspberries should make the plunge as well. They were all delicious.

Fresh from the garden: Raspberries!

2009-08-27T21:56:00.009-05:00

When we were putting in 25 plants on a hot spring day, I don't think my husband was too impressed with my idea of planting raspberries. However, it was worth the effort. We are getting some every day and will soon have enough extra to save for wine and ice cream. This years "special" will be a raspberry, black currant, elderberry and grape wine because well.... that is what we have. It is fun to be able to make wines that are entirely from our "vineyards". Our other plants are doing well too but this cool summer has affected things. The cucumbers, ground cherries and tomatoes are very slow to ripen. Hopefully we have enough warm weather ahead to still get a good harvest.

Ground cherry adventures

2009-08-18T21:05:00.008-05:00

Ground cherries have been an interesting plant to grow. The first year we had them I bought a few plants from a garden center and they did well. The next year, I started some from seed and had volunteers all around the gardens from the previous year. Both the ones started early indoors and the volunteers did equally well. It was a bumper crop for fresh eating, wine-making and recipes. So this year I decided to just count on the plant reseeding itself. I left ground cherries where I wanted plants and figured they would take care of the rest themselves. Well, it didn't quite work that way.

I have ground cherries in odd spots where I never grew them and ZERO plants where I encouraged them. The ones I have are gangly because they popped up among the squash, tomatoes, beans, raspberries and other plants that shaded them. We will get some to try in recipes but not as many as I was hoping for.

Next year, I will go back to starting some indoors to make sure they grow where I want them to. Oh well. Never a dull moment in the garden. Besides I had an appetizer of just picked "chocolate cherry tomatoes" and raspberries tonight out in the garden so I am happy!

Tree house?

2009-08-12T17:48:00.003-05:00

We saw this on our travels through Chippewa County in Wisconsin today. Couldn't resist stopping for a picture. It was a gorgeous day for traveling through the scenic Wisconsin countryside.

Happy gardening

2009-08-10T14:12:00.006-05:00

Another happy day harvesting and weeding out in the garden. Now it is time to put together a meal including a cucumber from a neighbor, a small white/yellow cucumber, mountain rose potatoes, salad burnet and a few other herbs from our raised bed gardens. I snacked on a few raspberries without sharing. Please don't tell my family. The grapes are Swenson Red and are nicely turning color. I'll share those.........maybe.

Berries, wines and other garden treasures

2009-08-06T23:16:00.003-05:00

This isn't the first raspberry from our garden this year but it is the first one we didn't munch before we could take a picture. We planted these this year and so far we are pleased. It is called Autumn Britten and they are huge with a delicious tangy sweet flavor. It looks like we should have a good yield with plenty for eating and sharing with a little left over for wine making.

We started a wine this week with our red currants and blackberries from a friend. So far the flavor is very good. Hopefully the delicate fruity taste will survive the fermentation process.

Our cool weather this summer is slowing down the tomatoes a bit. However, a few are taking on a hint of blush and we hope to have some ready to eat by next week. The green peppers look good even without warm temperatures.

I planted one squash variety this year: Thelma Sanders sweet potato squash. The seed catalogs identified it as being "enormously productive". That is proving to be true in my garden (maybe I shouldn't have planted so many). I hope they store well! I guess it is time to get my husband working on improving our basement storage area for squash and potatoes. However, I also don't want to distract him from his latest project which is making more raised bed gardens for me. I definitely need more room for corn and potatoes next year.

Happy Birthday

2009-07-30T22:50:00.000-05:00

It can't be just a coincidence that the beginning of my potato harvest occurs within one week of the birthdays of the only 2 guys I know that would consider mashed potatoes to be a great birthday gift!

These are the adora potatoes and they are delicious. They have been especially good baked and as oven fries. Next week they will be making a short trip from the garden to fire-pit with just a brief stop at the water hose.

The weather has been a bit cool for the peppers and tomatoes but it has been nice to get some rain. We have picked the first two Autumn Britten raspberries and they are wonderful. Hopefully there will be many more to come. We put in 25 plants and 22 of them look like they are doing very well.

Hanging out at the vineyards

2009-07-13T22:31:00.004-05:00

We think it is cool that we are finally getting grapes on the vines. I guess that the term vineyard might be overstating it a little since we have about 10 bunches of grapes. They will probably be for fresh eating this year.

Our big success is the red currants. We enjoy the tart slightly sweet flavor and think they are very pretty as well. We have started harvesting them and are looking forward to making them into wine. Last year we had a smaller yield and they were mixed in with other fruits. The currant and strawberry wine was a real treat. It looks like our raspberry plants will produce well and they should be good mixed with the currants. We hope to have more red currant bushes next year so we can also make sauces, relishes and other treats with them. They are perfect for a slightly shaded area we need to fill in. The hard part is harvesting them when they look so nice on the plants.

A work in progress

2009-07-07T22:58:00.018-05:00

The good news is that we have a lot of room to work with in our yard. The bad news is that the weeds can easily fill in the spaces before we do. Our lawn wasn't in great shape when we moved in and hasn't been worth the effort for us. We prefer our flower gardens, fruiting shrubs and raised bed vegetable gardens. Three of our favorite projects are pictured above. The hollyhocks bring back special memories because they are from seed collected by my mother-in-law years ago. The bee balm pictured in the center is a favorite of ours because the hummingbirds love it. The red currants are special because every year near our wedding anniversary, we pick them and make a one gallon batch of "Ruby Lady" wine to be enjoyed the next year for our anniversary. The yard is definitely a work in progress with much left to do. However, we are enjoying ourselves along the way.

Rhubarb, rhubarb and more rhubarb

2009-06-26T01:03:00.004-05:00

I'm very pleased with how the gardens are doing. I've been picking a lot of peas, lettuce and herbs this week. The rhubarb is doing especially well. I haven't had time to try any new recipes but have come up with a tasty way to use it up. I have mixed rhubarb and dried fruit with juice and cooked it over medium heat until it begins to thicken. I add a little stevia or other sweetener if needed. Chill and serve. Tonight's combo was dried mango, cranberry juice and rhubarb. Yesterday I used dried apricot, rhubarb and orange juice. I didn't measure very carefully but it seems to work with a little more than a cup of chopped rhubarb, a little less than a cup of dried fruit and about 3/4 cup of juice. I look forward to experimenting with more rhubarb ideas until the tomatoes, beans and potatoes begin to take over the garden.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:35:00.003-05:00

I had just enough time this morning to weed and then harvest a tasty breakfast of snap peas, alpine strawberries and lettuce. It went nicely with a glass of "Rhubarb-ade". Now I'm headed to Minneapolis for a nice celebration with family.

Why do I garden?

2009-06-20T01:27:00.006-05:00

These pictures answer that question! Yesterday morning, I was able to walk bleary eyed out to our garden and pick fresh snap peas for breakfast. Add one deviled egg and it was the perfect start to the day. Just last weekend we saw the first bloom on the snap peas. A few days ago there was one lone pea pod to be harvested (I broke it in half and split it with my husband). Today they are really taking off. In theory I plant these mostly to give to my Mom. Giving them away seems like a great idea.......until mealtime :)

Wines from the garden

2009-06-12T11:26:00.006-05:00

Some of our cool and rainy days this week weren't good for doing much in the garden but were perfect for wine making. We are getting ready to bottle our elderberry wine and have enjoyed a bit of it already. Its rich flavor went very nicely with grilled buffalo steaks. I'm hoping to be able to get some more elderberries this year for an elderberry grape wine.

I just started a gallon batch of the wine that only I seem to be excited about. It is made with lilac flowers, elderberry flowers and dried pears. It is just starting to ferment and has a very delicate flavor that shows promise. Now if you just can't wait until next year to try your own batch of lilac wine, you might even be able to order it on-line. My husband and I have found a few fun North Dakota wineries in our travels. Maple River Winery has some good sounding wines including Lilac, Aronia, Pumpkin and Honeycomb Plum (I've only tried one of their wines so far but look forward to getting more on our next ND trip). They also have Dandelion Wine which is something I was sure I wouldn't like. My brother-in-law made a batch once that had a lovely delicate flavor which has left me wanting another sip of dandelion wine but not wanting to spend hours picking off the petals to make it.

All of our wines have been fun to try although I do have a tendency to prefer making the quirky ones. My husband prefers the plain fruit wines which is why I planted 25 raspberry bushes this year. I on the other hand am eyeing a recipe for Pea Pod Wine.

Remarkable Rhubarb

2009-06-07T10:31:00.002-05:00

Rhubarb is pretty impressive nutritionally. One cup of diced rhubarb has 26 calories, 6 grams of carbs, 2 grams fiber, 9.8 mg Vitamin C (16% DV), 105 mg Calcium (10% DV) and 351 mg Potassium (10% DV). Unfortunately it seems to be at its best when loaded down with sugar. I'm still looking for savory rhubarb recipes. I just came across "The Rhubarb Compendium" which is filled with recipes and information. I am especially interested in trying this page of recipes. The Pork with Rhubarb sauce sounds interesting. I will have to try a few of the recipes and report back on the results. I just have to save enough for a batch of rhubarb wine. I may well go from wondering what I'm going to do with all the rhubarb to wishing I had more to experiment with.

Today's harvest

2009-06-02T21:42:00.004-05:00

I spent an enjoyable day with friends making (and snacking on) delicious butter and ice cream along with a bit of Sangria (homemade and awesome) and breads. I had to head back home to sleep before working the night shift tonight. After all the good but rich foods earlier today, supper was light and fresh from the garden. We have been picking quite a few hailstone and french breakfast radishes. The greens are also at their peak. All I needed to add was a dressing made out of lovage, basil, salad burnet and chives. It was good with a glass of rhubarbade ( made with stevia). I'm still looking for good rhubarb recipes if you have some. I try to limit sugar (although I wasn't too good at that today) but it is hard to find good ways to use rhubarb without sugar. Of course, we will make rhubarb wine one of these days! We have bought rhubarb wine before but didn't like it much. We will probably try to make it with strawberries or raspberries.

Lupine & Columbine

2009-05-31T19:38:00.006-05:00

We have had such beautiful weather the last few days that it is much more tempting to head to the garden after work than to the computer. However, I have been wanting to post a few photos. We don't grow many flowers because we concentrate on edible landscaping but we do have a few things planted for the hummingbirds and butterflies. We haven't seen any butterflies around the lupine but the hummingbirds have taken to the columbine. Now I'm headed back out to the garden to work in the last bit of daylight. Hope all is growing well wherever you are!

Spring report

2009-05-16T20:59:00.007-05:00

Today marked my official end of grad school for now and the beginning of gardening season. The yellow rose was part of the graduation ceremony and seemed just ready for a photo.

It will be nice to have some time to get out into the garden. However, the lows here may be close to freezing tonight so I'm not going to put tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash out yet. I hope things will warm up next week. The front yard has the scent of lilacs while the fragrance of clove currants is wonderful in the back yard. The alpine strawberry plants you see in the picture are doing well. They are a bit tedious to pick but are a wonderful treat. Even though it is still early in the season, we have been able to harvest lovage, baby greens, asparagus and rhubarb. We are even thinking of "harvesting" the lilacs after having seeing a recipe for lilac wine. Sounds good or too weird to try?

Perfect

2009-05-07T17:24:00.002-05:00

We spent the afternoon transplanting herbs and flowers

Our meal was asparagus straight from the garden

The lilacs will be in full bloom in a few days

Sunny day with wisps of clouds in blue skys

Temps in the mid 70's

Perfect

Just waiting...

2009-05-07T01:21:00.008-05:00

I love growing herbs. They are an easy way to add a lot of flavor to a dish in no time. I always include room for thyme, dill, rosemary, chives and lovage in the garden. However, basil is one of my favorites. This year, I started bush basil plants from Pinetree Garden Seeds for my garden and to give away. The plants will be lovely, delicious and just waiting to be picked as they sit in a pot by the front door of our house. I can wait to toss basil, rosemary and salt with tomatoes fresh from the garden!

The basil plants pictured here are just waiting for warmer weather before they head outside.

Introducing: our first veggie of 2009

2009-04-24T16:33:00.005-05:00

A few days ago, we were concerned that our asparagus bed wasn't going to produce at all. Yesterday we were seeing little hints of greenish white poking through the soil and today we have a few lovely spears. The 80 degree days and rain have really helped. Now it will be wet and cold for a few days.

This is our third year with this bed so we will harvest lightly. I ate one raw while I was working in the yard. There is something special about munching veggies while still out in the garden. Although asparagus is great raw, I would also love it if you have any good recipes to share.

Urban Garden Project

2009-04-22T16:34:00.008-05:00

The Urban Garden Project is relatively new but I find it to be a great resource. They have had interesting posts and great "how-to" videos for projects. Their goal is to encourage and catalog the creation of 100,000 urban gardens by 2020. If this sounds at all interesting to you, I recommend checking out their blog.

We started gardening in 2002 with the goals of seeing how much of our food needs can be met from our gardens and reducing the amount of grass we grow. It has been a fun project that was greatly helped by turning over our backyard to raised bed gardens. Soon after we moved in to this house, we decided that a small scraggly patch of weeds/lawn directly in front of the house was not worth the effort of trying to grow grass. We dug it up and planted red currants, alpine strawberries and flowers. One of the fun parts of it has been the red currant wine we make each year. This years red currant strawberry wine has been a real treat. Definitely an improvement over lawn which I suspect does not make a good wine.

Next we turned our sights across the sidewalk to our good sized front yard. It would be a bit unusual in our neighborhood to use it all as a garden so we have taken this slowly. At first my husband reluctantly agreed to a few feet of garden next to the front sidewalk. This small garden has taken off and creeps forward a foot or so every year. It has a variety of flowers in addition to ground cherries, lemon balm, sage, thyme and lovage. This summer I'm ready to add some marigolds, dill and rosemary.

I was out working in the front yard gardens today and it is great to see many plants growing already. The loveage and chives are doing well and I harvested some of both that I will make into a salad dressing tonight. My seed starting has gone well too and the marigolds are just waiting for our last frost date before making their appearance out in the gardens.

Writing about this garden brings me back to the Urban Garden Project. They had an interesting post on Front Yard Gardening in case you are thinking of giving up the lawn. If this sounds interesting to you, you are already lawnless or even if you plan to keep your lawn, I would love to read your comments here.

Growing potatoes

2009-04-10T01:15:00.011-05:00

Do two people really need 20# of seed potatoes? Apparently my husband and I believe that we do! Last year we grew Purple Viking and they were very good. They made especially tasty mashed potatoes but we enjoyed them roasted over the fire pit as well. We ran out of them in January but they stored that long fairly well. We also planted some Russets. We hadn't planned on that but our co-op had some on sale that were sprouting so we grew those too.

This spring we will plant Carola, Adora, Mountain Rose and Rose Finn Apple along with Purple Viking. It sure looks like a lot of potatoes to grow in a small area but it works well. Last year we used five Smart Pots and a 4x4 raised bed for potatoes planted in a mixture of leaves, grass and soil. We hilled more of the same mix on top as they grew. We really liked the Smart Pots because we just had to pour them into the wheelbarrow at harvest time. The russets were planted right into the soil in one garden and then hilled with more soil later.

I know that spuds are cheap at the grocery store but there are so many fun varieties to try that we will only get by growing our own. Next year 30# of seed potatoes?

Spring!

2009-04-05T19:43:00.005-05:00

What a difference a few hours makes. I worked the night shift, went for a snowy bike ride this morning then went to sleep. I woke this afternoon to SPRING, or at least what passes for spring here. I went for another short ride. It just feels great to be back to outdoor riding. The picture was taken with the nearby Chippewa River in the background. Not even a hint of snow was left on the ground. I also made it out to the gardens to continue preparing the raised beds and listen to the birds singing. A good day!

Spring?

2009-04-05T09:20:00.008-05:00

Just another beautiful spring day. Looks like a great time for a bike ride! Maybe I better bring out the mountain bike tires again. I thought I could retire them for the season. Well at least the snow is likely to be gone by later today. That is the best thing about spring snows.

After a short ride, it's nice to head down to the basement to check on the seed starting projects. The dill, parsley and basal look great. It is still about 5 weeks til our last frost date but it is nice to see some green. I hope things are a little more springlike in your neck of the woods!

We have a plan!

2009-04-01T11:47:00.019-05:00

It snowed overnight, the skies are gray and the temps are in the upper 30's. Not a great day to work outside but nice for planning and dreaming.

Gardening and yard work became much more fun once we decided to reduce the amount of lawn we have and add raised beds. However, I have been too busy with school to really use our gardens to their full potential. This summer will be my first in a while without homework so I am planning on really having fun with gardening. We especially enjoy growing fruit and vegetables. Here are the areas we have to work with. I hope to report much tasty success with this years projects:

The Fenceline Garden: Has wild blue lupine, lovage, red currants, black currants, blueberries, raspberries, ground cherries and rhubarb. With a little luck I will get some butterfly weed to survive and thrive next to the lupine plants. I also plan to add some coral honeysuckle.

The Triangle Garden: is new and will have raspberries planted along with miscellaneous vegetables.

The sunny part of the 4 Tree Garden has elderberries, raspberries, lovage and horseradish and I will plant swiss chard. The rest will be ferns and other shade lovers.

The Postage Stamp behind the deck has hollyhocks, bee balm and false dragonhead.

The middle of the yard is our raised bed gardens. The blue squares and rectangles represent what we already have. The purple shapes are on my “dream list”. I’m told by my builder/husband that they will appear late this summer or next year.

The diagram is a little rough and not to scale but it gives some idea of what we are working with. We also have 2 garden areas in our front yard. Overall, we don’t have a lot of space to work with but it is not bad for an in town property I guess. I can’t wait to post the tally of this years crops. The hardest areas to work with have been the shady spots. They still need work but have been a nice cool place to escape to during a warm day of yard work.

If I could only have one garden tool...

2009-03-27T21:00:00.007-05:00

Well I really couldn't choose just one tool but I definitely have a favorite. I bought the Twist Tiller last year and really used it a lot. The feature I found handy is the cross bar at the bottom where you can use your foot to push it into the ground. The tiller is very durable and easy to use. I was out with it yesterday getting some of my garden areas ready for planting. It won't replace our mechanical tiller for big areas but it is nice for working on the many little spots I have to till. No this isn't an advertisement. I just like my little tiller. I would love to hear about what item is indispensable in your garden.

Happy Spring!

2009-03-21T09:34:00.003-05:00

The weather in Wisconsin can be so weird and wonderful. Two days ago, all the snow had melted and it was perfect gardening weather. Last night we had a very pretty snowfall of huge, fluffy flakes. Today it is back to being comfortable gardening temperatures again. This morning I was out crunching through the snow and gardening in t-shirt and shorts. Happy spring!

Garden Therapy

2009-03-18T11:23:00.016-05:00

Temperatures are in the mid 40's this morning and the sun is shining bright. I had no choice but to do a little work in the garden today! It was so relaxing to be out there again. It's way too early to plant but a good time to start cleaning things up. I will have at least 10 raised beds to work with this year and I'm really looking forward to it. We have a relatively small space but are trying to grow as much as possible in it.

So far the raised bed tally is:

(2) 4 X 8 beds
(6) 4 X 4 beds
(2) 3 X 8 beds

Still to come this year or next:

(2) 4 X 4 beds

(2) 4 X 8 beds

Ground Cherries

2009-03-16T22:45:00.011-05:00

This evening I was looking over recipes using some of the things we grow. We planted ground cherries a few years ago and are finding as we expected that ground cherries are forever. They reseed very easily but that is fine with us. They have been nice for fresh eating, wine making and chutney. I just ran across a recipe suggestion for chocolate covered ground cherries. I will have to give it a try. This year I will also make a ground cherry pie. I usually don't eat wheat but this looks like a nice recipe to make for guests. They can eat the pie while I sip on some ground cherry and pineapple wine. If you aren't familiar with ground cherries

click on this site to learn more.

Ground Cherry Pie
2 1/2 cups ground cherries
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
1 (9 inch) pie shell

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Wash ground cherries and place in unbaked pie shell. Mix brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour and sprinkle over cherries. Sprinkle water over top. Mix together 3 tablespoons flour and 3 tablespoons sugar. Cut butter in until crumbly. Top cherry mixture with crumbs.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 375 degrees F and continue to bake for 25 minutes.

Looking for Ruby

2009-03-03T22:03:00.014-06:00

As I noted in my last post, my husband loves to have plants that attract butterflies. For me it's the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird I look forward to seeing. Sure a feeder placed on our deck has been an easy way to attract them but I'm trying to plant flowers they may like too. They always check out our hollyhocks that are by the feeder but avoid anything low to the ground that I would usually expect might attract them. This year we will add a few planters on the deck rails and try some new plants too. I've ordered Lonicera sempervirens (coral honeysuckle) 'Major Wheeler' from Niche Gardens and I have hopes that it will both fill in a large open area we have along a wood fence and bring in the hummers. I always enjoy watching their spring trek to my backyard at this site.

I've had fun looking over my seed packets and getting ready for my April seed-starting. However, I am especially eager to get my plant orders this spring. I will be done with school and have a little more time for gardening. So far I'm planning on adding more elderberries, raspberries, strawberries, plums and blueberries in addition to quite a few perennials I will start from seed. It will be a lot of work and I can't wait!

Butterfly weed (or the things we do for love)

2009-02-24T15:27:00.007-06:00

I wouldn't say that I didn't like to garden until recent years, it's just that the thought never occurred to me. However, in 2002 we were blessed with our first house and a lot of yard space to fill in. We fought to have a lush lawn but the weeds were stronger than the grass seed and our poor soil. However, with some soil amendments and a few raised beds, a pair of gardeners were born. My husband has a farm background, patience and a green thumb so he has done well. I possess none of the above and yet have managed to help a few plants begin their new life. In general I stick with plants I like that I have had success growing. Occasionally I will try something new. However, if I haven't done well with growing something, I'm not eager to try it again. The exception will occur this year. My husband enjoys butterflies and would like to have butterfly weed growing. Our previous two attempts have failed. However, I am trying to put together a butterfly garden for him so we will see if the third time is a charm. As we are getting more plants that butterflies are attracted to, I'm beginning to enjoy watching them too. Stop by our garden this summer and see how the butterfly weed is growing. Perhaps you will find us in our lawn chairs by the wild blue lupine hoping to spot a Karner blue butterfly!

A little bit of everything...

2009-02-18T12:39:00.010-06:00

Winter weather started with a roar this past year. We were hit with both cold and snow early on. However, lately the weather has been mild and the landscape was getting to be a bit grey. This morning's snow was perfect for perking things up. It would have been great for building a snowman or a snowball fight but I settled for getting out and taking pictures.

I have checked over my seed starting supplies and inventory of perennials that will arrive in a couple months. I can't think of a variety I need but that probably won't keep me from ordering something else. I am especially eager to try growing strawberries and to grow another variety of raspberries this year. The black currants should be producing well for the first time. I would love to see some elderberries but that might be too much to ask for. Hopefully we will soon be growing enough fruit for wine and fresh eating. Speaking of wine, what do you do when you are given over 10 pounds of ripe bananas? Yes, banana wine of course. We started it yesterday and the aroma is wonderful. I just added the yeast. It is always fun to see the fermentation start which should happen in a day or so. So what does one serve banana wine with?

Seed inventory and more dreaming of spring

2009-02-08T12:34:00.006-06:00

Gardeners in warmer zones may be starting seeds indoors soon. I'm still just dreaming of spring. Today I'm enjoying a good cup of coffee and looking over my seeds in front of a warm fire. We already have a nice selection of vegetable, herb and flower seeds ready to start under the lights in our basement. We are especially looking forward to trying a watermelon from seeds saved from a variety my father-in-law grew this past year. Our favorite plants have been from seeds shared by friends and family. Those seeds bring forth special memories and wonderful plants. Just when I think there can't be another type of seed I need this spring, I always come up with "just one more" plant I would like to try. I still would like to find a winter squash to add to this year's garden. Any suggestions?

Home-made Root Beer

2009-02-01T20:30:00.007-06:00

Ok, this post isn't exactly about gardening but it does include one of our favorite garden memories from last year. It was a hot late August day and we had just finished tending to our gardens including harvesting beans, carrots, tomatoes, greens, potatoes, dill and basal for dinner. We sat down on the bench after starting a fire (picture the fire-pit scene from my previous post without the snow and surrounded by lush gardens) and cracked open a frosty home-made root beer. Add a the sounds of songbirds and few hummingbirds zipping past. It was great.

The root beer: We think that nothing is better on a hot summer day than home-made root beer. We make ours from extract, sugar, yeast and water. There are probably a few good extracts available but we like Shank's. It takes about 10 days to make but is worth the wait.

Quick root beer: Sometimes we either want to avoid the sugar or don't want to wait to brew our own. The quick version we like is to mix sparkling water (or club soda) with root beer extract and stevia. Chill and drink. It is pretty good for a quick sugar free treat. One hint, don't add everything right to the bottle unless you want to create your own mini volcano (and a bit of a mess).

Real root beer: I have only tried this once and so far haven't acquired a taste for it. The version I tried included sassafras, licorice, wintergreen leaves, vanilla and yeast. I'm still looking for a recipe I like for "real" root beer.

I can't wait for summer.

Asparagus anyone?

2009-01-26T18:56:00.008-06:00

The asparagus plants look nice over winter and I'm eager for the first harvest this spring. Year before last we finally gave up on trying to keep the backyard looking good and put in quite a few raised beds. Asparagus, strawberries, potatoes, tomatoes, greens, cucumbers, squash etc... are much tastier than a lawn!

Relaxing by the campfire

2009-01-25T09:56:00.007-06:00

It's one degree out and I just got home from working the night shift. However, for some reason it seemed like a good idea to trek into the yard and look around before going to sleep. I went back in the house after 15 minutes with warm memories from last summer and cold fingers. Last year my husband put together this fire pit and we really had a lot of fun with it. This year I am hoping that he will find some interesting plans for making a garden bench. He would like to do more work with stone and brick and I am more than happy to encourage him to keep building things for the garden.

Homemade Wine

2009-01-17T22:33:00.006-06:00

I started this blog to write about my garden. However, since garden news is scarce this time of year, I’ll tell about our main winter garden related activity which is winemaking. We can’t yet supply enough winemaking ingredients from our garden so we have also benefited from fruit shared by friends. Plums, raspberries, elderberries, apples, ground cherries and pears are some of the freebies that have become wine. We haven’t made a lot and often only do 1-2 gallon batches. Just enough to sip a little and give the rest to friends and family.

Denim clad wine? The wine (called must at that point) starts its life in a primary fermenter (plastic bucket) and later goes into the secondary (we use one gallon glass jugs) and is fitted with airlocks. We cover these bottles to protect the color of the wine. My Mom made these “denim jackets”. They protect the color and look kinda cute too.

Warm thoughts on a cold night

2009-01-16T00:37:00.005-06:00

It is -19 degrees and getting colder out. I'm going to take a break from homework and look over my garden catalogs. My main criteria when shopping for seeds and plants are: will hummingbirds be attracted to it, can we eat it or will it make good wine?

Speaking of good wine. We took a sample of the Red Currant Strawberry from the primary fermenter tonight and it has very nice flavor. Now it will go through the usual stage where it doesn't taste very good. Then it starts to get better and better until we finish with a pretty good wine. Even though we know this, we always get discouraged as it gets a "rough flavor" before it ages a bit. Maybe winemaking will help me to learn to be patient!

Backyard cardinal

2009-01-14T23:37:00.006-06:00

With all the snow on the ground, it is nice to enjoy some winter color. I wish I could claim to have taken this photo but the credit goes to my nephew Andrew. His patience paid off with some very nice photos in my parents yard.

Better with age

2009-01-14T00:14:00.007-06:00

We started two new batches of wine tonight. I am especially looking forward to the red currant strawberry wine in about a year or so. We grew the currants and like to use things from our gardens for wine whenever possible. Over Christmas we enjoyed sampling three of our wines that have been aging for two years or more. The coffee wine tasted like sherry although I liked it better than my husband did. The "Christmas Wine" is a mix of whatever we had around the house when we made it on Christmas day and didn't want to run to the store when we didn't have enough fruit, juices or white sugar. Although I don't recommend that method, it was good. It is made with cherry juice and a mix of other fruit. The third wine was habanero which was better than you might think. Aging has given it a mellow, smooth flavor that finishes with a little heat. Not all of our wines are unusual but we have made some quirky ones and they have often been my favorites.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:42:00.003-06:00

Lovage

2008-12-31T09:10:00.010-06:00

One aspect of edible landscaping I especially enjoy is trying new things. A gem I found along the way is lovage. It is a lovely bushy plant and great for cooking. Most sources I have read state that one plant is enough for a family but the two of us will easily use up all of the leaves from our three plants. I am making a stock now with it and love the its scent. I froze a lot of lovage this fall and enjoy using it for soups and other recipes. It has warmed up to 0 degrees outside. I have it easy today. I'm cooking soup while my husband goes out to battle the snow and ice in our driveway.

Dreaming of spring

2008-12-28T15:52:00.001-06:00

This seems an odd time to start writing about gardening. I look at my yard and struggle to picture how it will look this spring. I try to visualize a raised bed filled with strawberries, another of asparagus and raspberries, cucumbers and tomatoes scattered throughout my gardens. But all I see is snow and ice. However, I am looking forward to spending some time today in front of the fireplace reading seed catalogs and the first of several gardening books I was given this year. I have just started to look over "Landscaping with Native Plants of Wisconsin" and it looks interesting. While reading, I can almost picture how the Ostrich Ferns I will plant this spring will look in the corner by the fence.