
Poor poor Shermen......evil wife undercooks chicken, husband suffers.
Had our first major snow storm last nite, around 8-10 inches, snow day for both of us today, which was awesome. We both got a lot done. The chickens are now happily housed up with the sheep, and we have been collecting about 3 eggs per day. The cats are happy in their new home down in the cellar, guarding our corn from the mice.
The first seed catalogue for the 2009 growing season has arrived! Now it's time to start a file, compare prices and options, and create the wish list.
We have a few somewhat "theme" oriented garden beds scattered around the property. The original garden was a rectangular shaped combination of a flower and herb garden laid out in a fleur-de-lys design in front; and parallel rows or raised vegetable beds in back. This year, the original- or Fleur- garden is to be devoted almost entirely to flowers, herbs, garlic and strawberries. It will be expanded to wrap around our old, unused silo, which will be a great place for storing the tools I use every day in the garden. The silo will also make a great trellis for climbing beans and flowers.
At the end of fall, I rebuilt the raised beds, and broke down one row in the center, leaving it an open space. On summer mornings we like to host little breakfast parties outside. For a couple years, we would set up a table next to the garden; last year Shermen built the wonderful paved, patio area where we can sit and enjoy a great view of the gardens, waterfall, fields of blowing grasses and the hills in the distance. However, we always think it would be nice to be able to sit and relax right in the garden, that's what I will be creating in the empty space next year. On a more practical note, last year's attack of insects, blight, rust, and powdery mildew made me think maybe my rows were a little too cramped. Some www research informed me that the too-close-rows probably didn't allow the plants to shed moisture quickly enough after rains, which can lead to disease. I have visions of a little bistro table and chairs, maybe a small couple of shelves, an area to sit and enjoy a break while working in the beds. The herbs and flowers seemed the least susceptible to disease; they will be taking over those beds, creating a lovely, hopefully healthy and fragrant environment to relax in.
Last year was an extremely wet season. We "lost" the front flower beds full of seedlings twice to dammed up water that submerged and drowned the seedlings. This fall I built a mulch dam at the rear of the garden to stop the water from pouring in, we also tore down the earth a bit at the front to allow any excess water to be released more quickly. We are also thinking of lining the paths with stones this year, rather than bark mulch, which floats.
Veggies such as tomatoes, eggplant and cucumbers will be moving to areas where they can have more room, and easier access to water. The other thing I learned from the web is that those wonderful "freebie" tomato plants sometimes called "volunteer" tomatoes….the ones that just pop up from last year's fallen seeds….they are bad, vulnerable to disease such as blight, which then spreads like crazy. We have a couple of those big old metal livestock watering troughs with holes rusted in the bottom- lousy for holding water- but great for drainage. I'm thinking those will be our tomato planters, kind of cool looking, easier to maintain and control. The tomatoes were my biggest problem last year due to blight. Next were the cucumbers. Two years in a row now of failed cukes. Year one, they were awesome, tasty and sweet, we'd slice them and salt them and people would just rave. The next year, some sort of chemical disease inside so they looked just lovely, but were too bitter to eat. This year, bugs, nasty endless bugs and weird bulb shaped fruits. Not enough regular water was part of the problem….so they cukes will be closer to the water supply this year. We already have a nice little wooden structure next to one of the water pumps; we will probably just expand upon that. My eggplant did okay, we did have some aphids or something that were pretty aggressive, but all the plants still produced fruit. Only problem was not enough. I also discovered that those Thai eggplants, the long tubular ones, are really great for sautéing because you don't have to dice just slice. Found a great tip on cooking eggplant in one of my favorite cooking magazines "Cooks Illustrated," which suggested you dice, salt and sweat the cubes for about 10-15 minutes in the microwave prior to cooking with them to avoid excessive oil absorption. Worked great!
Planted about 10 different varieties of garlic this weekend. Sherm tore the entire front face off the house to prepare for the 4-Seasons room installation. We are now living in a real log cabin. The new roof is tight and dry, lovely, lovely, lovely. Our duct work in the cellar hasn't been reinstalled yet, and we haven't tested the corn furnace to see if the replacement parts have brought it back to life after the flood; but we are still toasty warm inside with the wood burner and new little corn burner. First hard frost was a couple weeks ago now, oct 2nd and 3rd I believe. All the tom's are off the plants, either stewed up in a jar in the cellar, or rotting on the compost pile. The only produce I managed to save/process this year were beets and toms and a few eggplants. My cuke's had some horrid disease, all the squash were planted too late, and had squash beetle infestation.
Planning already for next year….for sure we'll find a spot for some pumpkins, and other "Autumnal" themed plants….decorative corn, straw flowers for drying, decorative gourds. Beans for drying, mid-season crop of onions. Etc.
I am adding a variety of garlic bulbs to my fall planting repertoire. I've noticed the local grocery store garlic, while inexpensive, seems to be losing it's "oomph," growing more and more bland. I like the idea of braided garlic hanging next to the onions in the cellar.
My research sources have primarily been www.gardenweb.com and the Sept 2008 issue of Herb Companion.
Here's my pre-planting info…
The braiding kind is the soft-neck, what you usually find at the store….not ideal for super cold winters. Hard-neck has a flower stalk which needs to be removed or the bulbs get smaller.
Plant in fall, pointy end up, 2-3 inches deep, 6 in apart in rows 10 in apart, in loose "loamy" soil w/near neutral PH. Cold winters need a loose mulch, but remove in spring to prevent slugs/mold.
Water well but let dry out about a week before harvest. On the hard-necks, cut off the "scapes" (flower stalks) after they curl down and before they uncurl. You can eat these in soups, salads etc.
Harvest when about 5-6 leaves remain green, cure in well-ventilated area out of the sun in bundles of 6-12 for several weeks. Store in netted bags.
Severe winter tolerant garlic = Purple Stripe, Porcelain, Marbled Purple Stripe, Rocambole.
Creole varieties have good flavor and store well.
Silverskin is best for long storing. Long storing varieties do not have the flavor complexities you find in other garlics.
Sources for info/ordering
www.GarlicFarm.com
www.FilareeFarm.com
www.TheGarlicStore.com
www.HoodRiverGarlic.com