In the Organic garden - Tomato cages & Storms

 On the 4th of July we had a couple of storms track across our area. The second storm brought pea sized hail with extreme wind and rain. The damage was quick and disastrous for many plants. My Japanese lilac in the front of the house lost a large section which came down very quickly at the start of the storm. Our neighbor had a very large dead tree land in the backyard of the next neighbor, and my garden was really whipped into a frenzy of destruction.

This is the front of the house right after the tree lilac went down. You can see the hail starting to collect (the white stuff on the ground).

This is the poor pepper plant that lost all of its leaves. You can also see the smashed squash behind it. That's pretty much the look of the whole garden. 

   Only one of my 

cherry tomatoes fell over but for the most part they fared better than the garden.

Since the "A" frame I usually try to secure the cherry tomatoes with was not really working well

I decided to get some 6' galvanized fencing and build my own  cages. First I measured the circumference of the top of the pots and then gave them another 6 to 8 inches overlap. I cut them halfway in the rectangles in order to give me a wire to make the hook from. I wanted it to hold but not be so difficult to undo at the end of the season. 

I kept the tomato stake in the middle and only had two of them needing to be wired a little to straighten them out. My hand is small enough to fit in between the wires but you could easily cut some of the in between wires to make a larger opening if need be.

So there you have all 4 varieties of cherry tomato in their new cages. I hope that they will be more stable and give the plants more support too. I will hopefully remember to give an update later on. If you are wondering, I usually grow my cherry tomatoes in pots to keep all those falling tomatoes from becoming weeds next season. If you are wondering the varieties of  cherry tomatoes they are Yellow Pear, Sunsugar, Sweet treat, and Jasper. I start all my tomato seeds the end of Feb. or beginning of March inside the house. 

Now I will wait and hope my garden can recover enough to produce something. 

As always, happy gardening!

Baby Quilts

Just finished 2 little baby quilts. The top one was a lot of fun with the tessellating stars. The bottom quilt is a surprise for a Kindergarten class teacher. Each child in the class decorated a square to be sewn into the quilt so they would all be part of the gift. If you are wondering, I don't really follow specific patterns, I just pick blocks or colors and go from there. They all turn out different sizes as well. 

Disney Quilt Refurbished

This quilt was a combination of taking an old and well loved Disney quilt, cutting it apart, and using the whole squares (some were partial) to put together a new Disney quilt that will hopefully last another lifetime.

Enchilada Soup

This is my take on Enchilada soup. Squash is such a nice addition with so many valuable nutrients like vitamins C, A, E, & B-6 as well as a good source of potassium and fiber.

Enchilada Soup

6 c. vegetable broth                                                1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 small can hot enchilada sauce (if mild add 1/2 tsp. red pepper)

1 small can crushed tomatoes                                 2 small cans black beans (or 1 can, what ever is preferred)

1 butternut squash peeled & cubed                          1 tsp. salt

1 small can chopped black olives                         1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1 tsp dried

1 tsp. ground cumin                                                1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cup sour cream                           

Shredded cheddar cheese & tortilla chips optional

*optional: 2-4 cups chopped coocked chicken

* Place broth in large soup pan over medium heat. Add onion and

  squash first, then add beans, cilantro, cumin, oregano, tomatoes, 

enchilada sauce, black olives, and salt. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes or 

until squash is soft. (Add chicken if desired)

* Ladle out about 2 cups of the broth into a small mixing bowl. Take

sour cream and slowly whisk it into the broth until well combined.

Add the sour cream broth into the large soup pot.

*Serve with some cheese and/or crushed tortilla chips if desired.

** If making with chicken, chicken broth can be used in place of veg. broth.

Peanut Soup

This recipe for Peanut Soup is inspired by a friend who made something similar for me while I lived in the Des Moines area. For my soup I used a Bon Bon squash, but just about any squash from Hubbard, Butternut, to pumpkin would be nice. I thought it was a delicious combination of ingredients and am finally getting it out to you!

Peanut Soup

1 bunch green onions             1 med. sweet bell pepper

1 T. peanut oil                        2 T. chopped ginger root

4 tsp. minced garlic                2 tsp. ground coriander

1 T. soy sauce                         2 tsp. ground cumin

 1/2 tsp. salt                            1 tsp. crushed red pepper

5 cups vegetable broth           2 cups cubed squash

1 cup creamy peanut butter    1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 can petite diced tomatoes    1 15oz. can crushed tomatoes

4 cups chopped kale               Chopped peanuts garnish

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

* Cook diced bell pepper and sliced whites of onions in hot

 oil for a few minutes over med/high heat in soup pot.

* Add to the pot, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, black pepper,

and red pepper. Stir for 30 seconds.

* Add broth, squash, kale, tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, salt,

and soy sauce. Simmer 15 min.

* Nearing the end of the cooking, scoop out about a cup of the

broth into a small mixing bowl. Wisk the peanut butter into

the broth, then stir into the soup.

* Serve hot with a garnish of crushed peanuts and green

onion tops chopped finely.

In the Organic Garden; Birds and Butterflies

Now is the time we start thinking about what we need to clean up in the garden. I can tell you from experience that leaving most of your flowers go to seed and leaving them in the garden is a good thing to do. There are many birds that love to eat those seeds as you can see the finches on my zinnias. The finches also adore cone flower seeds. I will also leave perennial flower plants as they die right where they stand to provide some protection from the frigid winter months. There is plenty of time to clean up any left over plants the bunnies didn't eat in the spring. 

 Now lets talk butterflies. We all know about the migration of monarch butterflies for the winter months, but did you know that leaf litter (fallen leaves) is extremely important to many other butterflies? Yes, it is true! There are some butterflies that over winter in the form of caterpillars, a chrysalis, or even a few leave their eggs in the leaves. I encourage people to leave as much leaf litter in your areas, in, around, and under plants and trees to assist our friends the butterflies.
I also have as many leaves as possible mounded on my raspberry patch area to not only mulch but feed them as well.

http://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/the-butterflies-of-winter

Here is one web site you can check out if you want to learn more about butterflies and how they overwinter. I am sure there are many other places on the web to learn more as well. 

Enjoy our last gasp of warm weather! I saw a flock of geese flying south on Oct. 15th, so we know our winter is not too far away!

Happy gardening!

Organic Garden; Swallowtail in the garden

This time of year there are so many beautiful things in the garden from your favorite juicy tomato to some sweet visitors. This butterfly is a swallowtail and I believe it may be the Tiger Swallowtail. These are my very favorite butterflies. In order to entice them to visit my garden I always plant parsley and carrots. These butterflies lay their eggs on carrot greens and parsley and their caterpillars eat them before transforming into a chrysalis. I can tell you that I don't grow the best carrots because our soil isn't really sandy enough, but I always plant them in the hopes of seeing swallowtail butterflies and caterpillars. I also plant zinnias somewhere close by too because the adults love them as you can see in the photo. So if you want to help this butterfly, plant carrots,parsley, and zinnias, you won't be sorry!

This is also the time of year that some blight might take over those tomato plants. We are far enough along in the season that I don't really worry about it, and hope that my vines have set plenty of fruits.

Take the time to enjoy the rest of our warm summer weather. It will be gone before you know it!
Happy gardening!

Organic Garden; Clean up that blight, pick some veggies

Today is the first day that I have seen a couple of monarch butterflies visit my flower gardens. It gives me hope for the future and I hope others continue to help the butterflies by planting flowers they love.

Now is the time to go around and cut off all those branches near the bottom or any place on your tomato plants that are showing blight.  Then they should be set for the rest of the summer as they should have set plenty of fruit. I was finally able to pick some green beans today! Slowly but surely the beans, pepper plants, beets, cucumbers, and collard greens are coming around. The Deer Stop spray has kept them out of the yard, and saved my garden and other plants too. 

I am excited to finally have 1 tomato ripen. It is only an orange sunrise but none the less it's a signal that there will be more to come soon. My eggplant looks great as well! Now the garden seems to be in full swing yielding many zucchini, pan squash, and a few cucumbers too. I love summer so much! 

Happy Gardening!

Organic Garden; Sometimes a set back

Today I was out in the garden surveying the damage one hungry deer made. And although I do not enjoy the fact that my beets, beans, peppers, and collard greens are eaten off, I realize that with gardening as with life you expect the unexpected. There is always something to learn, and this year I learned that a hungry deer can jump the outer fence and find my garden.

So the thought enters my mind, why do I garden? I don't have to, I want to, but with gardening there is so much more than just planting. It's a real connection with nature and soaking it all in even when completing tasks. Today I was tying up my tomato plants as they have grown higher, and while I am quietly working I hear the little wren yelling at me as I am too near his nesting box, a humming bird or two wiz by to check out the newly blooming bee balm, the chick-a-dee is telling me their name, a beautiful butterfly softly lands on a kohlrabi leaf, and the gentle wind is rustling the leaves on the trees ever so gently. These are the oh so meditative moments I soak in while I am outside. They are calm and soothing and good for the soul. It truly helps me center and recharge. 

So I will keep on gardening even if I encounter an uphill battle. I am interested in finding out if those plants can recover enough to produce this season. Time will tell! I will keep you posted.

Happy gardening!

Organic Garden; Thin the carrots

Now is the time for thinning the carrots, beets, and anything too close together. I will thin carrots and beets about an inch apart, then thin again in a few weeks.

These carrots are too small to do much with but bunny loves them!