2019 Garden Plans

My favorite part of spring is starting to plan the gardens.  So full of hope and possibility, even when the garden boxes are still covered in snow!

My Mom came over the other day and we started to plan what seeds I need to start so that we can have items ready to transplant come the end of May.  Some things grow really well at her house (like beets, cabbage and squash) so she is going to grow those for me in exchange for me starting some seeds for her.

Such a great trade, if you ask me!


My plan for this year is as follows:

Onions - small amount - never been able to grow these before so going to give them another try

Snow Peas - small amount - only for fresh eating

Spinach - fresh eating only

Cabbage - Mom to grow two cabbage for me (process to kraut)

Radishes - a very small amount - for fresh eating on salads only

Beets - Mom to grow as many as she can for me.  Then help me can them as my stash is running low.

Potatoes - try to grow a few hills - never tried before!

Leaf Lettuce - fresh eating only

Carrots - grow much less than last year!

Chard - double the amount from last year

Green Beans - grow as much as I possibly can!

Sweet Corn - 1 row in the outer garden

Popcorn - 1 row in the outer garden

Cucumbers - try a direct sew this year - growing enough to make a few quarts of dill and refrigerator pickles is the goal!

Zucchini - 1 plant - fresh eating and shred for quick bread

Summer Squash - 1 plant

Peppers - 1 jalapeno, 2 poblano, 2 orange bell, 2 cali wonder (start seed for Mom too)

Tomatoes - 2 Barry's Crazy Cherry, 1 Mini-Bel (for Great Grandma) 2 Roma/Amish Paste for both Mom and I, 2 German Johnson for both Mom and I

Pumpkins - 1 hill of Mini's, 1 hill of Jack-o-lanterns, 1 hill of Pie


Additional Goals:
Fill in the two open beds with soil

Install Landscape Fabric, Pea Gravel and three long, narrow beds.

Plant raspberries, blueberry bushes and strawberries into the three long narrow beds!

One additional apple tree - Choose from Honeycrisp, Cortland or Wolf River.

Apple Trees - 2016

Appears we have a slight chance to get some apples this fall...  Last year we only had 4 blossoms and none of them resulted in a single apple.  This year they are loaded and you can hear the insects buzzing around them.  So excited to see how things turn out and if we get a small crop of apples from these two trees!  I sure wish I knew what type of trees they are!

Southern Tree

Northern Tree

October 14, 2015

Edward loves hummus!

Ice Fishing & Eddie

We spent the afternoon out ice fishing on Saturday. 


The first lake we headed to didn't seem to have any fish, so we headed to another one that was close.  Set up some tip-ups and then put up the portable shacks and started fishing. 


I was in our shack when I heard someone say my name and so I headed over to Bryce's shack thinking Eddie probably needed a diaper change.


I was wrong.

Eddie and Uncle Bryce - February 7, 2015

Turns out, he stepped into the hole and got wet!


Uncle Bryce and Auntie Leah had already stripped him out of his jacket, snow pants and boots and were trying to dry out his sock in front of the heater! 


Eddie was of course okay so I headed to find out if we had some spare clothing in the diaper bag and grabbed his extra pair of boots we had brought along.  He got to spend the rest of the day in the truck watching a movie or sitting in one of the heated ice houses helping us fish!


We did (well, William did) catch some pan fish, so last night he made up a big batch of fish for dinner with some fresh green beans and broccoli.  A delicious dinner made even better by the fact I didn't have to cook it!

Yummy Vegan Meal - The Roasted Buddha Bowl from Oh She Glows

I made a delicious vegan meal this past week.  It was from the Oh She Glows website and is called the Roasted Buddha Bowl.    The absolute best thing I ate all week long. 

The Roasted Buddha Bowl

Who knew some simple vegetables, chick peas and a easy sauce could be so very delicious?  It was even great as leftovers for lunch the next day heated up in the toaster oven at the office - I did add some quinoa for the noon meal to give it the substance needed to hold me over until I got home from work. 


I am really enjoying trying out new vegan recipes - even when William does say it needs some spicy sausage mixed in with it...  What can I say, he likes to have meat with his vegetables. 

Small Business Saturday

Libby and I headed out on Small Business Saturday to do some shopping locally.  She wasn't really that interested in the shopping (I was though!) but she did enjoy a Morning Bun at a local café. 

She had to ask me how to eat the bun - it was so large!



She had it figured out pretty quickly!



"Mom, must you take my picture AGAIN???"



Almost done!



So close - I can't believe she ate the whole thing!



Last bite!

She is so fun to shop with! 


We found a lot of great gifts - now just have to wrap them up and get a couple more items and we will be officially done with Christmas Shopping for the 2014 year!!!

2014 Deer Hunting Season - Success!

William was able to shoot a deer on the 28th this year - in the morning.  So nice to know we will have a freezer full of venison to enjoy over the year!


It was a large buck - would have been a 9 point if it wasn't such a fighter - most of the tines were broken off from fighting!

William showing Edward his buck!  Eddie loved it!

Little Chef

He helped me make bread and rice tonight.  Then proceeded to eat all the broccoli stems (raw) as I was getting some ready to steam for dinner.  Such a wonderful little helper!

Say Cheese!

He would smell the dough then say "delicious"!

Garden Harvest - July 16

We had a great garden harvest last night for this early in the year (Zone 3).

1. Enough garden peas for a meal (blanched and frozen last night)
2. Enough kale for two large pots of soup (blanched and frozen last night)
3. Two cucumbers - which will be sliced and eaten on crackers tonight
4. A few small carrots from thinning out the patch (most were eaten directly in the garden!)
5. Enough beans for two large meals (my absolute favorite summer vegetable!)

I am going to get everything possible out of this garden before August 15 when we have to be out of our house for the closing.  Everything I can get my fingers on will be preserved or eaten.  Of course, the garden looks great this year too - hopefully the new owner will appreciate it. 

Eddie and Libby helped me pick the green beans - Libby picked beans, Eddie picked plants.  I know he wants to help, but it is hard for me to see him pull up an entire plant that is heavy with blossoms, knowing we will not get to eat those beans!  He also tried to pull out my sunflower plant.  Luckily, I stopped him in time!

On a side note, so far my use of grass clippings as mulch to keep down the weeds is working wonderful.  I need to have William save a few more loads to mulch the kale and carrots, now that they are properly thinned.  Should have had him do it last night when he mowed!

I am going to miss my little garden.  But I am going to enjoy creating a new one!

Making Simple Freezer Meals

I took some time this weekend to make a few meals for the freezer.  We have been so busy lately during the week that once I get home from work, trying to make something healthy doesn't always seem possible with the limited time frame we have to work with. 

 

 

 So I made a few meals for the freezer to get us through the next few weeks!

 

- Chicken Salsa Pockets (Cooked Chicken, Salsa & Cheese wrapped in a Pizza Crust)

- Beef Taquitos (Beef, Beans, Rice, Salsa, Sour Cream & Cheese)

- Bean and Cheese Burritos (Refried Beans, Cheese & Salsa)

- Cooked Chicken Breasts (To use on Salads or in Casseroles)

 

I love having these quick things in my freezer to pull out and throw in the oven.  Even easier for me than ordering take out or a pizza (at least in the area where I live!). 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth's 4th Birthday Party

We had Elizabeth's 4th Birthday Part this past Saturday evening.  It was a very small affair, but was plenty nice and I think she really enjoyed it!  Lots of presents and some money and gift cards to use in the future for her!

Elizabeth's 4th Birthday Cake - Carrot Cake, Cream Cheese Frosting

Miss Elizabeth with her Butterfly Wings

Fancy Hair from Grandma Connie

Playing with her Polly Pockets from Tiffiny

Eddie waiting patiently for a bottle during the party.

Playing the Fishing Game from Grandpa Ed.  It is such a hit!

The Barbie Lover! 

Dinner was Beef Chili and Fixings - Very Tasty!


 

Sunday Morning Breakfast

My kids love cereal.

I don't really like them to have it all that often as it is expensive and not very nutritious.  

But Sunday mornings before church seem to be a perfect match for cereal.

It's quick, easy and starts them out thinking they got a treat for breakfast.  

Yep.  Peace and quiet were over with the pinching of the cheeks.

Gardening: 2013 Round Three

Our garden continues to grow.  Everything has sprouted now (except the parsnips, which maybe didn't germinate) and it is starting to look like a real garden!

Lettuce is up and the carrots are poking through the ground!

Summer squash and zucchini

Green beans, peas, corn and beets (plus two sunflowers)

The tomatoes and peppers are looking strong!

The hostas have come up beautifully.  I wasn't sure how they would do after being transplanted last year.

The backyard is finally starting to look the way I have always wanted it to!  It only took 9 years!

Gardening: 2013 - Round Two

Things are finally starting to grow a little bit at our little homestead. 

The garden seeds have been in the ground for over a week now and the lettuce has finally started to show signs of life.  Nothing else has sprouted yet, but those generally take a little longer as they are planted a little deeper into the ground.  All seeds were purchased in previous years (2010 and 2011) so I hope all will still work out okay.  They are heirloom seeds, so if I stored them properly, they should be okay.  I purchased my plants this year instead of starting from seed.  Someday I would love to have a small area in our basement to have some grow lights and a table to get things going.  My ultimate goal is to be able to save seed and always have the security of knowing I have the ability to plant a small garden to help supplement our food.

The former strawberry bed now hosts two zucchini and two summer squash.

I cannot wait to grill the zucchini and summer squash!  And have it in soup.  And raw on an antipasto pizza.  And shredded in muffins and quick breads. 

Parsnips, Carrots, Thyme, Chives (Regular & Garlic) and Lettuce sprouts.

I am so looking forward to my first big salad with homegrown lettuce!

The purchased plants.  Four tomatoes, four peppers, four basil, one parsley and one rosemary.

Everything looks to have taken well to the transplanting process! 

No signs of corn, green beans (from saved seed), sunflowers, peas or beets yet!


This post is shared at the Homestead Barn Hop hosted by New Life on a Homestead.

Dinner Antics

Every meal at our house is an adventure for one reason or another.

Usually, it is because Libby doesn't want to eat, but last night it was because Eddie didn't want to eat his food and decided to play with it instead.

In his defense, it was a new recipe, and while good, it wasn't the best I have ever made.  Korean Beef over Brown Rice and Punjabi Cabbage.  Beef was too salty (next time I will cut the soy sauce with water to help with this problem and add more fresh garlic, cause I love it) and the cabbage was a little too spicy (I will cut the amount of cayenne pepper added next time).  We will try the recipes one more time to see if the modifications make them better and more palatable. 

Food up to his elbows is a good thing, right?

... and in his hair too!

Teething boy chewing on his wrist.  He left teeth marks.

Practicing blowing "raspberries" with food in his mouth is fun.  And messy.



For cute!



Smiles with TEETH!  Loving this stage with him!



Libby didn't eat more than a half bite of that carrot for dinner.

But she is pretty cute even if she drives me crazy by not eating!