Stuck In La Nina

We are in a awful weather pattern .. every other day brings rain or snow showers .. it's been like this for several months including ten degrees below normal temperatures.  Our last 60 degree day was in November.  There is a slim chance that Easter Saturday will be hovering around 60 .. but then we slide back into the cooler wet weather pattern.  Makes for little news to blog about.  Just ho-hum going on here.  I am still recovering from the flu (which I imagine was the swine or similar variety).  Although no loner contagious .. and I did visit the doctor .. my strength has not completely returned. 

Hubby and I have one last raised bed to set in place and fill with garden soil.  I hope to get the potatoes planted in the next day or so. What's the weather like in your neighborhood?

Coaxing Spring (hurry up already)

Our weather of late has been fickle.  Most of March found rain showers, gray skies, a few snow showers .. and April is only a little bit 'more promising' ... Our teeny tiny dining room plant nursery has expanded and now includes a sturdy new shelf unit sitting in front of one of the many windows.  All of our plants have sprouted .. even the pepper plants after getting a good warm start in the little plastic covered greenhouse rigged with warming beds and a grow light. 

Hubby and I worked on building 10 of 14 raised garden beds last week, some extra deep and outfitted with quarter inch wire mesh underneath and soon to include hoops made from curved electric conduit to support different coverings.  We have them stacked and draped outside on a slope until the actual garden ground is ready.  It will be at least another five weeks or so before we are frost free and can transplant the seedlings. 

Through all of this soggy weather, I picked up a flu virus that ended with acute sinusitis and over two weeks of feeling exhausted.  Saturday I finally broke down and visited the doctor to get some meds and am almost up to feeling 100% better.  The thought of lying on the backyard hammock in the warm summer air sounds like heavenly therapy; can't wait!

Teeny Tiny 'Baby' Nursery

Oh .. so waiting for the final bit of 'white stuff' to melt!  Our yard is snow free for the most part .. except .. for the last little holdout in the veggie garden.

Meanwhile .. I've got the start of my plant nursery set up in the dining room.

This little greenhouse is equipped with a heater .. albeit .. it sits directly over a heater vent in the floor .. and has the use of my heating pad .. and a grow light.

A few things are sprouting .. and my tropical plants seem to LOOOOVE the attention (read warmth and frequent water mists).

Our neighbors have graciously said I could use some of their outdoor greenhouse so I placed my wireless outdoor thermometer inside of it .. and from the comfy of my living room I can check the temp 24/7.

Having been everything green deprived for the past few months .. this little nursery is a JOY!

Mrs. Mac Of Late

... hopefully, not to be confused with the 'late Mrs. Mac ..

It's just been a bit dreary in the North Woods that my creative side has been stifled .. 'stuffed up' .. er .. whatever .. As soon as the sun decides to peek out from under the ongoing veil of storms .. I'll be back posting .. and I have a blog award to post.

Yesterday I managed to get to the garden center and buy some seed starting soil and peat pots . .. maybe that will get the fire going in my heart for SPRING!

Until then ...

Out And About .. the garden

Backyard compost bin .. November, 2010

Today I needed to empty the overflowing kitchen compost container .. in our garden bin.  I was able to uncover my snow/ice flattened covered tunnel of Swiss chard .. even with the weight pressing down on the plants left to over winter, there are new leaves ready to grow.  It's about the only green thing in the backyard (other than the pines).  I'm hoping in a few weeks to harvest a little for fresh greens.

Chard pic taken prior to snow ... November, 2010

salad/sandwich sprouts are easy to make each week.

This winter I've not purchased but two heads of lettuce from the market.  Instead I'm buying organic green and red cabbage .. it has a much longer storage life .. mine sits covered in a plastic bag and terrycloth towel on top of the freezer in our cold garage .. along with cauliflower, rutabagas and 25 pounds of carrots.  The garage is the perfect cold storage area for winter hearty veggies.  We eat a lot of tangy coleslaw during the cold months.  It's more filling .. and the cabbage doesn't mold or wilt like lettuce; none of it goes to waste. It's our green of choice chopped finely on tacos year round.  For sandwiches we're enjoying the salad sprouts grown on the kitchen counter.

While winter foods are hearty and filling just thinking about our summer garden is making my mouth water!  Eating foods in season .. sure gives a person cravings .. and an appreciation for change.  Do you eat seasonally .. or do you purchase out of season produce?  It's been ages since we had a good fresh tomato .. but I will longingly wait and savor summer's goodness all the more when  the time arrives.

Mid-Week

We've had a few morning visitors the past two days.  Black-Jack and his wife have been nibbling on our scrub maple trees for breakfast.  Of course, this sends my dog in a tail-spinning tizzy as she observes them from our glass windowed door in the dining room.  Tomorrow I'll have to venture out and see how our little fruit trees are holding up .. and whether or not the 'moose' cages I put up around them last spring (and nearly ruined my shoulder over) are working. 

In a week it will be time to do MAJOR grocery shopping.  We are scraping the bottom of some barrels and I've got just enough $ to buy some milk and eggs without dipping into next months budget.  My family seems to be getting on board .. the financial diet plan .. and are not complaining too much.  We will be stocking up on wheat and a sundry variety of pantry staples.  I hate running out of stuff .. but it's good to stretch our meal planning and be creative with what's available.  Last week's bread was turned into crunchy croutons and used in a quiche type egg casserole that included farm fresh sausage, Swiss chard (pulled from the freezer from last autumn), etc.  There's not much waste in our kitchen any longer .. leftovers are often packed in lunch boxes quickly in the mornings .. or added to supplement the dog's diet. 

I've been working on perfecting making the water kefir.  So far I've made three batches and use it as a base with a few tablespoons of fresh juice added to a six ounce glass.  It's a good way to 'stretch' your juice supply as well as get the health benefits of the kefir.  I promise to post pictures and instructions soon. 

To Market To Market To Buy A Fat Pig

....home again, home again ... jiggity jig!

Our recent family vacation is fading into the photo album and memory bank.  It was so nice to visit a warm weather destination, but the comfort of home was calling to me all the while.  Traveling with a special needs child is EXHAUSTING!  Today will bring the challenge of getting Nathan back into the school routine.  My day will begin in about ten minutes when I have to wake him up to catch the school bus. 

The morning will be spent unpacking, sorting laundry, putting away various travel items, and making out the grocery list .... then heading out to the market. 

A good basic turkey soup will be on the menu for dinner ... pulled from the freezer will be deliciously prepared turkey frozen in stock.  It will be a easy-frugal dinner.  Soup, green salad, home baked rolls. 

Afternoon chores should include inspecting the garden grounds, taking stock of the compost pile, turning over some bare soil that I hope is thawed. 

It's so good to be home.

Hubby was approached by a co-worker that raises (egg) laying hens. They are free-range, not given hormones or antibiotics ... fed a vegetarian diet. I can now get fresh eggs each week for $2.00 a dozen. A very good thrifty find!

I am eagerly waiting for spring to get here so I can gather some dandelion greens to make some tea. For some reason ... I'm craving it and probably need to detox.

This week I've been tweaking recipes to make them healthier. It's not that hard to substitute whole grain flour for some of the white flour .. add frozen huckleberries to freshly poured waffle batter, use sunflower oil instead of butter, etc. Tonight I peeled a large yam, cut it into French fry sized pieces, drizzled just a bit of EVOO on top with a sprinkle of seasoned sea salt ... roasted at 400F on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes ... Nathan thought they were carrots (because I told him to eat his carrots ... he's now a fan).

I just finished up my last few sprays of 'non-stick' cooking oil last week. That is a product I will not purchase again. In its place I will use just a tiny bit of cooking oil and apply it to a pan or hot waffle iron with the use of my silicone pastry brush. I tried it this morning and it works great.

Trash to treasure gardening :)

Progress is happening in the portable greenhouse set up in my dining room. The French door provides light to all of the shelves in the unit. You can see here how the newspaper pots turned out holding some beefsteak tomato plants.

My 'oven' proofed seeds have sprouted. First popped up the marigolds. The beefsteak tomatoes are just emerging. A few petunias are sprouting as well. I have taken off the lid of the paper egg carton and placed the marigolds under a lamp for 'sunshine' and a little warmth. With some birthday money I picked up a patio sized 'greenhouse' with about four shelves and a plastic zippered covering. It needs to be assembled. the shelves are far enough apart to grow stacked trays of lettuce all summer long without using the cover. By placing the growing trays on the shelves, water should trickle down from the first tray and water everything growing on the lower trays.

Photo: style of greenhouse purchased at sprawlmart for $38

Recycling for the garden. I've been collecting odds and ends to use for the garden. Empty toilet/paper towel tubes, plastic take home salad containers, paper egg cartons, yogurt cups, and dryer lint to name a few. Also the compost bin is filling up with veggie and fruit scraps, along with said lint, and strips of newspaper. In another day, this bin will be finding a dumping off spot in the back forty under a tree that has some dirt poking through the snow. The top two pictures show my tomato, petunia, and marigold seeds that I've planted using household 'trash'. I also discovered that my oven's lowest setting for proofing yeast bread makes to perfect temperature for germinating seeds (75-85 F) ... so don't be alarmed seeing my starter trays in the oven :). Let's just hope I don't forget about them and accidentally turn the oven on ;) After they sprout and get a bit bigger, the plan is to make little biodegradable pots from newspaper to plant them in while they continue to grow indoors.

Bottom photo: indoor compost bin. this gets dumped in a old kitchen waste basket mixed with newspapers just out the back door and later dumped again onto bare soil.

Snow bound.
My garden is asleep under waist high snow.
I know where a beehive is hidden in my garden wall, now covered shoulder high with snow. Everywhere I look, the frost has a grip til the sun's rays can melt and give warmth to renew.
Drip, drip, drip. I want to see all of my home's roof 'neath the snow drape.
Still snow bound.

by: Mrs. Mac
January 1, 2009
A toast to all good things learned from tending my garden this new year!