See how my garden is growing!

Things are growing in my gardens and how!  Check it out.

The onions are coming up like gang busters.  We have planted yellow and red onions. 

The peas I planted in the tire are doing well.  There are 4 shoots so far and I put some more pea seeds in there not long ago.  Can't wait to have fresh peas.

And look how big the potatoes have gotten!  WOW! 

This evening we are planning to tackle the pumpkin garden and maybe pull some weeds in the herb garden.

Garden season is upon us!

I have the spring fever bug bad.  I have been itching to get started on my garden work for almost 6 weeks now.  So much so that I had started many of my herb and veggie and even some of my flower plants inside.

Anyways, this past week the winds were too high to get a proper start on the garden.  However, this past weekend was the PERFECT time to start.  And with highs in the 60s-80s for the next week and a half, I am so ready.

I started with my 4'x8' garden box.  I have brocolli, cauliflower, tomatoe and pepper starters inside already, as well as some garlic starters.  Those went in the box.  Then I started lettuce, spinach, nasturtiums, and beets from seed.  Top it of with some marigold plants to help with pest control and voila!  My garden box is in and growing.

Lee and I had heard that planting potatoes in old tires worked realy well.  Since Lee knows the tire guys in town, he inquired about getting some old beat up tires for this purpose.  I planted two kinds of potatoes in tires as well as one tire of peas.  All are coming up like gang busters now.

I also dug out the old dead foliage from last season from one of my flower beds.  I put in some new dirt and peat moss and planted African daisies, black petunias and snapdragons.

And this is just the start of my gardens.  Wait till you see the new herb garden addition, the pumpkin patch and the veggie bed.  There's so much more to do yet.  I'll keep you all updated.  SQUEE!





What I've been up to this summer

In case any of you out there have wondered if I fell off the face of the earth.... the answer is no.  Well, then what on earth HAVE I been doing to keep me from my diligent blogging?  Glad you asked!

Let me tell you something I learned this summer.  There are literally dozens of fruit trees in the city where I live.  They are growing in people's back, front and side yards.  And most of them are over producing this season due to large spells of heavy rain and hot humid temperatures.  Wanna know why this is important?  Most of these people.... don't even PICK the fruit from them.  So, I have been picking fruit all summer and putting it up in jars. 

I'm talking preserving folks.  That's right, the art of preserving fruits and veggies in jars and now freezer vessels for later use.  The list of fruits I have had or will have access to this season are apricots, cherries, apples (many varieties), peaches, mulberries, strawberries and sandhill plums.  My veggie garden and my bf's garden have also yielded MANY peppers and soon will be heavy with tomatoes so the canning continues.  We've also had a bumper crop of herbs... when we can pick them before the grasshoppers eat them. 
Jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters and pie fillings have emerged from my humble kitchen in record numbers.  And I have enjoyed every minute of it.  I've also put up a couple of jars of pickled peppers and am going to be making marinara sauce this evening. 
I also became a member of my local farmer's market.  I bring all my wares, jewelry included, down to the local market every Saturday morning from 7am-noon and have made some extra $$$ selling things.  Anywhere from leftover produce I could not get put up in time to the canned goods I've been turning out lightning fast. 
I will be blogging in more depth about these things in my upcoming entries.  Keep you eyes here for more information about canning, preserving and the sometimes ellusive and coveted Kansas Sandhill Plum.
Are you curious now?  Good!