Drying Blueberries

I had a pound and a half of blueberries given to me the other day that were just begining to go bad. After removing a few bad ones, I still had almost the entire pound and a half. So now, what to do with them? I won't eat them fast enough right now to have them gone before they all go bad, I have enough things in the freezer and I don't have time right now to bake.

After a few minutes of thought, problem solved. I got one of my dehydrators out and dried them. They are so good this way, like candy. But I think that I may use them for baking later.

BTW.....this is what a pound and a half of blueberries condenses down to when dried.... sort of looks like a jar of allspice, doesn't it?

Wanting Summer

While still stuck in NY, I thought I'd post this picture that I took over the summer. But I can't wait to get back home to Florida. I've had enough here for the year.

Save Those Pumpkin Leaves!

Bumble Bees

The bumble bees are loving the hollyhocks. About 5 of them were flying in and out of the blossoms last night. You can see how one is just full of pollen. It was all over him!

A Papaya Forest

In the Florida garden, we decided that we wanted a papaya tree, and as they are pretty fast growing, decided to begun from seed.

Now, knowing what the seed success ratio can be, we decided to just throw all of the seed that we pulled out of the fruit, into a small raised bed. We figured we'd get a handful to successfully start. What we got, was a forest of baby papaya.

So, now we are selecting, thining and giving away. It is amazing as to how many of those seeds took. I stopped counting!

Cukes Blossoming

The first blossom on the Japanese cucumber plant (as it isn't a "vine" yet). Except for some of the various wild berries, this is the first garden blossom for the year!

Onion Chives

The onion chive blossoms are out and as usual, not disappointing in taste. Tried on this morning and it tasted just like a piece of fresh onion! I look forward to these every year.

Dandelion Head Harvest

Harvesting dandelion heads today for seed. I want to have a controlled patch, so I thought I would go out and gather heads that have gone to seed. Because there is no dew this morning (meaning it will probably rain today), it was a good time to get the dry heads before the seeds scattered.

A Garden "Re Use"

I like to recycle/reuse when possible. Sometimes creativity and other times the new use is staring me right in the face, as with this crappy old clothes rack that I found in the barn. It should be the perfect trellis support for my Japanese cucumber. It isn't pretty, but it should be getting covered in the very near future anyway!

Violet Time!

The wild violets that I leave in the garden at the 1840s Farm are coming in nicely. Unlike the violets you buy for the house, these flowers are edible. They can be candied, sugared, used in salads and as a garnish.

Onion Tops are Done

The first batch of young wild onion tops are dried and packaged. I left this bunch whole, but the next will probably be chopped afterwards and stored in a spice jar. I use them just like chives and store out of the light so they don't lose their color.

Time to Start Drying

Had to mow today up at the 1840s farm (I'm up here in the Finger Lakes for a bit working on my latest book). Now, anyone who really knows me, knows I absolutely HATE mowing lawn, and I put it off for as long as I possibly can.

Well, today the grass was long enough that I had to grit my teeth and get the lawn tractor out. But before I did that. I went around the lawn and trimmed off the young wild onion tops so that I could dry them. I already have a big patch by the house and those straying into the lawn would be lost anyway. So, I cut off the tops and use them like chives. Sometimes fresh, sometimes dried.

Now,  I'm filling one of my dehydrators with wild onion tops. I have 4 machines, and fortunatly brought on with me. One is a very basic, bare bones, 1 has a fan, and 2 have adjustable temperature controls with fans. And depending how much I have to do, there are times when I have had all 4 going at one time! My favorite thing to make? Jerky, of course! But this year I plan on making some tomato powder and garlic powder as well.

EPCOT Flower and Garden Show

Upon entering the Flower and Garden Show at EPCOT, we were greeted by no other than farmers Mickey and Minnie!

ASAP Garlic Relish

If you love sweet pickle relish and you love garlic, but have no time on your hands to make it fresh, here is a great shortcut that is sure to please.

Simply purchase your favorite commercial sweet relish, or pull a jar of your homemade off the pantry shelf, and add 3 to 4 peeled, FRESH, average sized cloves of garlic! Mix the whole cloves right into the relish, cover and let sit. (Clove numbers may vary to your taste and jar size. This is based on a 12.5 oz size.)
Within a few days.....sometimes within 24 hours, the fresh garlic will begin to permiate the relish, giving you a wonderful garlic flavor to your relish!

Leave the garlic cloves in till you have the desired flavor, or as I usually do,  leave the garlic in the jar until it is almost empty, then finely chop the garlic for use in tuna salad or any other culinary use you may find, as the sweet relish will have permiated the garlic as well!

Garden Post Update

I just wanted to present an update on one of our advertiser's products: My Garden Post.

About a week ago, we ended up with tornado warnings one night and very high winds. Because the warnings came later at night, we were able to grab some smaller pots (that could possibly blow away) and pull them in, as well as a few of the younger, more delecate plants that could face severe damage, but we did not have time to tie the Garden Post to the large jasmine bush by the time the heavy rains began.

Next morning we went out, expecting the worst, however, the My Garden Post came through with flying colors! Yes, it did tip over as we expected and the pots did come off of the post. However, that said, neither the post nor the pots were in any way damaged. We just stood the post up, put the pots back on, returned the bit of dirt that came out of the pots, to the pots and all was right with the world! Even the plants survived pretty much unscathed despite their traumatic experience.

So, not only is the My Garden Post great for small spaces and fun to use, it is a well made product that can take a beating in unexpected, damaging weather conditions, then go right back to work.

Hydroponics at Disney

When I go to Disney, I take the greenhouse tour every year. So many neat things going on there. It is also where I purchased my vanilla orchid.

This picture shows eggplant. Although this is hydroponic, my goal is to work in conventional gardening to get some of these same results for the home gardener.

By Scent

Did you know that many times you can tell what type of citrus tree you have by the smell of the leaves?

If you have citrus and are unsure whether you have oranges, limes,  etc., just pick a leaf, break it in half and smell. It will usually smell like the fruit that the tree bears. So far, it has worked for me when I've tried it.

Allspice

My allspice tree is looking nice, although it does seem to be a slow grower. I still haven't found out all the information that I need on it, the biggest being do I need a second for pollination. Some articles say yes, others seem to say no. And if I do need a male and female tree, which do I have?

The leaves do smell really nice, however. They have the allspice scent and may be used in cooking just like the berries themselves.

It is funny that, when I tell people that I have an allspice tree, they are surprised as they thought that allspice was a blend of spices!

I also have started some paddle cactus in the open space of the container. Love pickled cactus so the goal is to get enough paddles to make a batch.

Vanilla Orchid

Earlier in the year, I purchased a vanilla orchid culture at the Land at Disney World. This is my third attempt as they seem to be tricky, but so far so good at this point.

I do hope that it will continue to grow well and eventually get beans from it. (From what I read I will need to hand pollinate but that's ok!)

Although the plant doesn't look all that large, it started from a culture only a few inches high!

Starting from Seed

I like to try starting things from seed. So, I thought I would try my hand at some citrus. My key lime tree is over a year old, and the smaller seedlings are orange trees.

I do seem to be running into a slight problem with the key lime, as you can see, some of the leaves are folding in on themselves. Usually means that something is up with it. Now I have to pin it down.