more bug bites.

our very small, but happy little crop of potatoes has finally been dug, some fall crops started (see cabbages above), and we have eaten quite fat off the land the last week or so. i made a fantastic carrot/coconut soup, tons of pesto, and a few yummy summer pastas featuring squash/eggplant/tomatoes. the news has finally come through and we officially own 1/3rd of an acre close by to our house. the work really begins in the next week or so as we start building fence, mowing everything down, and tilling. i am fairly useless during most of this process, but i will help by very best! there is sooooo much work to be done, but our goal is to have some fall crops from that space, and if nothing else, it will really begin it's action when we plant garlic in november.

rickey has done the only canning in the house so far, he made some pickles last week from his momma's cucumbers. she sent us home with a crazy amount of the squash we grew at her house, tons of her own canned items, and more cucumbers this weekend.....i'm not sure if we'll catch up.

as of now though....i'm really just waiting for those watermelon.

heat, weeds, and secret plans.

the last few weeks have been interesting. cabbages have been stolen, husbands have stepped on bees, 2nd plantings of carrots and beans have taken place, and the great re-organization/remodel of the garden shed has been completed. after completing the drying of the garlic, i found myself researching the best way for preservation. the garlic braid was born. after a few beers on the porch, i emerged with my best Little House ONP project to date. as for the other images... we made some amazing beet "hash browns" grilled some red-dragon carrots, and have slowly been watching our chinese 5 color peppers emerge into greatness and our tomatoes make their turn.

there is a secret project that is in the works. i hope to announce it's official-ness by the end of the month. let's just say if it comes through, we will have a lot on our plates...

garlic, etc.

as my desire for fresh tomatoes grows stronger, i find myself encouraging the little green guys in the mornings. fresh out of bed, coffee in hand; explaining how happy they will make me when they grow up big and red. in the meantime, i pull a jar of canned tomatoes from the previous summer to make a "holdover" gazpacho. this week has meant a lot of time with appliances. a batch of walnut pesto, which made for some delicious sandwiches and tomato blendin started it off. then another semi-failed attempt at bread. too dense still. more practice. god bless you kitchen-aid.

ah...the garden. we began lifting some garlic. they are beautiful and it's wonderful to finally see the first thing we ever planted together come out of the ground. oh, and the zinnias are making their appearance, FINALLY! still waiting on the big blooms to show their stuff on the now 3 FOOT TALL marigolds. it just seems so wild that they have achieved such height, but without big bloomin. meanwhile, chard still maintains, sugar snaps are growing to a close, and carrots got a bit of extra mulch this week.

oh, and cross your fingers for a touch of rain.

beeting the heat. wow, i didn't know i could be so lame.

first post solstice post:

it's f-ing hot. lucky for me we have air conditioning and water. the garden has recently been spotted with a visitor that i have identified as a groundhog. he is most definitely unwelcome, as i find carrot tops missing occasionally. although, i didn't mind him snacking on some bolting lettuce, however, i fear for his life if rickey ever comes across his fat, furry body.

looks as if the garlic is ready for drying. after pulling the pea trellis, we used it to dry a few cloves for storage.

the beets have been fantastic. the most recently harvested were roasted on the grill. they store very well in the fridge, and have been pulled out for occasional salads. the photo above features the roasted chiccoggas with goat cheese in a homemade honey balsamic dressing.

peas.chard.carrots.

it's almost time to say our goodbye's to the most northern pea trellis. our purple podded beauties were gorgeous but not heavy producers. we are still deciding what to rotate in. no surprises, my husband wants a 3rd crop of radishes. the kale is growing like crazy. leaves reaching close to 2' long at times, four plants is BEYOND enough for two people. pulled a few carrots last night as an experiment. one was already trying to make it to seed, and after pulling it we realized it was sick with root fly. we nervously pulled a few more...everyone looks fine, but tastes as if they need some more time in the ground. potatoes are blooming, and if reality is anything similar to the bizarre dreams i have had recently, we will be blessed with more potatoes than we can handle.

now that weeding is really at a minimum and the worst of the work is over, we watch things grow and plan for all the preserving. half-pint, pint, quart, and half gallon jars litter all the space in our house. we received a dehydrator for the wedding from my mom, so i anticipate some dried tomatoes and fruits as well. the freezer is already stocked with several bags of strawberries from rickey's parents' alongside some cookies i made recently. the tomatoes are blooming like crazy, so the next week or so will be dedicated to finding the perfect salsa recipe.

rainrain

recently i've been thinking about creating a garden blog. we began a journal as we started seed, but it seems this isn't the most effective way for me to keep up with the details.

so, this space will be a record of growth events and failures, along with what happens in the kitchen with the results (not only from our space, but also our friends, family and neighbors at market).

recently; we have finally weeded/aerated out the madness of the garlic, made lots of green eggs with kale and chard, killed many slugs, had many visitors, and i've had crazy potato dreams.