what is this?
9 Comments
This tree (or a large bush) grows along the path Skippy and I take to the swimming hole. I’ve often wondered what it is. Does anyone know? The leaves remind me of a chokecherry, but these fruits are very unusual.
unwanted pop ups
Blog Polls I don’t really have a lot of time to work on this problem. But I posted an inquiry here. You can follow the thread to see if I get any help.
garden update
Well, I’ve been sick in bed with the some kind of bug :~( I guess its that’s time of year. The gardens are waiting to be tended. Very chilly temps predicted for tonight, 30*F for Belmont (brrr). My sidebar countdown says the frost is right on schedule. I got all my orchids in this morning. Here’s a list of chores I’ll do this afternoon: Pick the last of my green beans, shell beans and cucumbersBring in a big bunch of fresh herbsPick the mature beans drying on the vines seeds…
the 2009 Topsfield Fair
A beautiful sunny day. I think this is where all of New England was on Sunday. Crowds. Fried food. Roller coasters. And giant pumpkins! I grew up in Topsfield and always went to the Fair, but haven’t been in years. It was fun to reminisce. I used to enter lots of veggies in the 4H division – way back when. Here are lots of photos: The Poultry Barn: The Vegetable Barn: Do these tomatoes have a bit of late blight??? Pumpkins!
how to make popcorn
how to make popcorn… Plant seeds in the spring when the ground is warm. Pick the ears when silks are very dry. Pull back husks and let the kernels dry. Test kernels. When they pop well, share them. Remove kernels by pushing them off the cob with your thumb, starting at tip. Put about 1/2 cup of kernels in a big pot with cover. Add a bit of oil. Heat on high, shaking constantly ’til popped. Add melted butter. My niece and nephew had a lot of fun with this.…
pumpkin bread
Recipe: 1 cup spelt flour 2 cups white flour 1 tsp each baking powder, baking soda, salt 1/2 tsp each nutmeg, ginger dash each ground cloves, allspice 2 tsp cinnamon 4 eggs 1 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla 4 cups grated fresh pumpkin (peeled) 1 cup raisins 1 cup walnuts Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Combine eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla and mix. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture. Add grated pumpkin, raisins, and nuts. Stir well. Pour into 2 generously buttered loaf pans.…
Gretta’s late blight advice
At the Seed Swap last weekend, Gretta (a local farmer, Shared Harvest CSA) talked with us about Late Blight. Her advice is to compost or dig in the tomatoes but make sure you remove all potatoes. The potatoes are the potential for spreading spores next year. Late Blight can overwinter in live plants (i.e. the potato tubers). – DON’T let ANY undug potatoes sprout next year.– Plant low crops in your old potato bed, so you can see and remove any sprouts.– Try to dig ALL your potatoes this fall.…
end of the season harvest
(click on the photo for vegetable names) It was a good day for harvesting. Sunny and dry. No frost is in sight yet, but the days are getting so short and the warm weather crops aren’t growing any more. I spread everything out before packing it into bags. I picked all my chiles, eggplants, squashes, onions and pumpkins. Many of the onions hadn’t bulbed, but they are nice “spring onions”. These beds are now ready to clear, compost and seed with cover crop. I picked two heads of savoy cabbage…
garden notes
I’m way backed up on recording my garden activities. I have about 500 photos to sort, maybe 10 topics to post. I’ll gradually get to posting these in the next few days (I hope). Here’s a quick summary. – A writer and photographer from the Boston Globe came to my house yesterday to see my garden produce and check out my pumpkin bread recipe. They may do a story on this soon.– I harvested most of my community garden crops on Monday. SO MUCH! What a bounty.– Need to figure…
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy
weeks and counting until my last spring frost
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
