February 5, 2020

my onions are sown!

I always look forward so much to the first day of planting seeds. For me, that’s TODAY, February 5!! Seeds in the onion family are my the first vegetable to go in. I planted nine 6-packs. I like to grow a lot of onions for myself and I also plant some to give some to my gardener friends. The onion family (Alliaceae) includes onions, leeks, bunching onions, shallots, and others. Varieties I planted this year are: ONIONS: Red Wethersfield, Yankee, Patterson, Bridger, and Cabernet. LEEKS: Bandit. BUNCHING ONIONS: Red Beard.…

November 18, 2019

cold weather makes super sweet carrots!

Baby carrots! I harvested them last week and I’m amazed how delicious they are. Really really sweet and very crisp. I wonder if the frosts and cold weather improve their flavor. …. Internet search …. Yes, it does! I didn’t know that. “In order to defend itself against the cold, [carrots have] developed all these amazing physiological responses, including increasing the sugar content. Increasing the sugar content helps defend against ice crystal formation, which can do all kinds of terrible things to cells like dehydrate them, crush them, rupture them.…

April 25, 2019

digging parsnips in the spring

On Easter morning (April 21) I dug the last of my parsnips. I’ve never overwintered them before but was told they are really sweet in early spring. So I left half of my crop in the ground last fall. And, yes, they are excellent after overwintering! I roasted them with some red potatoes, and added olive oil, smoked paprika, and curry powder. Really delicious with our Easter dinner. Easter morning I also dug a couple overwintered leeks (I have to remember to go dig the rest of them soon), and…

February 17, 2018

onions and celery seeds are planted!!

Yeah! This is my first big planting for my summer garden. I planted celery, celeriac, onions, bunching onions (scallions), leeks, and artichokes. I also sowed some flower seeds: milkweed, aster, and chamomile. Here is the link to my 2018 planting list.

October 17, 2017

celeriac

It’s the first time I’ve grown a good sized celeriac. This one is softball size. I’ve never had one bigger than a baseball before. I gave them more space. I guess they like to spread out their roots. I put 3 or 4 in a row – about a foot or so apart. And compost, lots of compost.

September 13, 2017

Charley helps with carrot harvest

August 4, 2017

today’s harvest

July 31, 2017

beets ready to roast

Today’s fresh beets, ready to cook my favorite way! Two deep red Merlin’s and one pink Chiogga. I love to roast them in foil. It’s so simple and it keeps in all the flavor. Just clean and trim the beets, wrap them in foil and roast at about 400 F til tender, about 45 minutes depending on size of the beets. The skin peels off easy after roasting and they’re ready to eat. With these beets I made a beet salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, a nice vinaigrette, and…

July 29, 2017

garlic envy

I visited my Mom ‘s garden yesterday. I weeded her paths dense with purslane and grasses. I fertilized her tomatoes and squashes, pulled her spent pea vines, and gave Charley a bunch of old broccoli stems and a few last peas to eat. I also pulled my Mom’s ripe garlic. I had serious garlic envy last year. My heads were so small, hers were nice, and I vowed to work on my soil to get heads as big as hers. A week ago I finished pulling my garlic and it…

April 6, 2017

my potato shipment is here

I mail ordered a box of seed potatoes (Green Mountain) from Moose Tubers and they arrived today. I was surprised it’s already time for planting potatoes! Earlier, I had purchased a small box of red fingerling seed potatoes at a local garden center. They have been “chitting” on my windowsill next to the seedlings that don’t fit on my plant shelves. I’ll set up the new potatoes to chit too until I get time to plant, which will probably be a week or two yet. The weather is slowly warming…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost

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