Visited Stark Bros. Nursery yesterday

We had a family outing yesterday.  I can’t believe it has been 3 years since we went to the Stark Bros. Nursery last.  We came home with a truck full of awesome plants.

My wife got the best ferns ever. They are in 12 inch hanging baskets, but are so big and bushy they are about 4 feet wide. It might be a pain to keep them watered. I wonder if we could get them a bigger hanging pot?

I came home with an apple tree that is going to be espaliered. I wanted a McIntosh, but they didn’t have that variety, so I settled for Honey Crisp, which is also delicious.  I have room for 2 espaliered apple trees, so I’ll add the McIntosh later.  I got the bottom two rows of training wires set up against my back yard fence on the inside, but we still need to plant the tree.  That will probably happen tomorrow evening. I really hope this works out, but I think it will. I’ve done a lot of reading and have a good grasp on the concept and process.

I also bought some six packs of tomato seedlings, because I killed most of mine in the seed starting room this year by overwatering them.  I have backup seeds started, but they haven’t even germinated yet.

It was an excellent weekend outing and was just what we needed to make a cool overcast day better.

Hibernation over

It’s spring. Time to wake up the blog again. I need to shake the dust off.

I’ve been outside adding compost to the asparagus and cutting down last year’s dead ferns.  I’m replacing rotten garden bed frames with new wood and removing one completely to make room for a shed.  The seeds for new herbs and tomatoes have been growing under lights for a few weeks and I received an order of Gooseberry bushes from eBay.  Most of my arborvitae died after their second year of drought, so those will have to get cut down and hauled away.  $$$$$ Oh well.

I’m looking forward to post again this spring, summer and fall.  Thanks for reading!

Venison in the Freezer

One thing I have been up to is deer hunting. I tried last year and didn’t see anything. I had much better success this year and now have over 90 pounds of meat.

Small-Audience “Blogging” – Cook Book Notes

I don’t trust the memory of my future self.  I learned this the hard way many times.  So I write notes to…ME…in all our cook books.  Surely I’m not the only one?

Below you can tell which pieces were fried after I figured out the missing ingredient in this recipe.  Both are fried, but the left side is more my style.

New Cats

 

Here’s something new around our house.  Our former roommate went away and did not return on a nice evening about 7 or 8 months ago.  These two kittens are–comparatively–quite a handful at the moment.

26.5 ounce Cabin Tomato

WOW!  I have never grown such big fruits from this variety before!  If you just joined this web site, let me fill you in.  I have been saving seeds from “Cabin” tomatoes and regrowing them for the last few years.  The plants seem really disease resistant, and I love the taste!

I have saved one batch of seeds, which was about the amount that covered a small dinner plate.  Those are in the freezer now, and will be tested for viability soon.

I have a second batch of seeds fermenting in a quart jar right now, and that should provide another few hundred seeds.

I plan to send out up to 50 (give or take) envelopes of seeds for this variety of tomato to folks willing to send in a picture of their efforts to grow it in 2013, and who will try to save seeds for the next season.

Some have already sent me their addresses (thank you!), and I hope to collect a few more.

It’s dead, Jim.

Cucumbers

Sweet Potato Vines

 

Brussels that didn’t sprout

Gourd Vines

I am giving up on much of the garden for the next few weeks. Isn’t it nice that when there is a drought I can just run to the grocery store instead of worrying about how I’ll live until spring on a few gourds?

Yes, I am done watering everything except two of my four tomatoes, and MAYBE my sweet potato hills, we will see.

Bigger Cabins

16, 17, and 20 ounces

20 ounce Cabin tomato on the scale

Compare this with an average of 6 to 10 ounces during the last 3 years and you can be sure that I had them in a much shadier spot before.  I didn’t save seeds from any of these.  We ate them!  And they are good.

Drought Stricken Tomato Giving Up

One of my two Cabin tomato plants is giving up the fight for water!

The basil is badly gone to seed as well. It’s hard to convince the plants to play nice when they are seeing extreme weather and all they really want is some water.

However, on the other other end of the patio, this Cabin tomato is looking healthier than ever.  It’s basil is horrible, yes, but the tomato is doing FINE.  It has just reached 8 feet tall and I expect it to live through fall.

Tell Me About Yourself Award

I have been chosen for a blogging award!

There are 2 things I will now do:

#1 Thanking Corinna

A hearty Thank You to Corinna from Cooking with Corinna for nominating me for this award. Make sure you have a look at her blog for some ideas for some really good recipes and tips on cooking meat properly.

#2 Seven things about me that I haven’t shared on this blog yet:

1. I’m Swedish by paternal surname, but only 25% by blood. I’m also descended from people in London and Belgium.
2. When my wife and I met, she was 13 years old.  We have been together 21 years now.
3. When I was 9 or 10 I started a backyard “Science and Nature Club” and planted several trees that are now 25 years old.
4. I have lots of movies and TV shows that I used to enjoy, but absolutely nothing that I watch regularly anymore.
5. I’ve read every word of fiction that Arthur C. Clarke wrote before he died, and much of his nonfiction.
6. If it weren’t required for my job, I wouldn’t have a smart phone, or actually, any cell phone at all.
7. My first name isn’t Jimmy, it’s Matthew.

Thank you Corinna, for giving me this honor.  I really appreciate that you find my blog worthy!