I finally successfully grew basil in the garden this year. Every year I seem to kill it, but I tried this weird purple basil and I was able to harvest enough for several batches of pesto.
I used home made pesto, but I'm sure store bought would work lovely as well.
The only change I made to this recipe was to add meat.
Ranch Pesto Rigatoni Bake adapted from Mostly Homemade Mom
1 box rigatoni (or other similar tube shaped pasta like cavatappi or penne, etc)
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup prepared pesto
28 oz can diced tomatoes drained and slightly rinsed (I happened to have fresh)
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 c cooked shredded chicken/turkey or 1 lb cooked gr turkey/chicken or bulk sausage
Cook and drain pasta, return to pot. Stir in ranch , pesto, tomatoes, meat and one c mozzarella. Transfer pasta to 9x13 baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella . Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 15 min. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 min til cheese completely melted.
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Monday, November 24, 2014
Monday, December 2, 2013
Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
I grew a whole bunch of jalapenos in my garden this year. Let me clarify. By a whole bunch, I mean one plant. It was fairly prolific. Particularly considering that I don't use a lot of jalapenos in my cooking.
I figured I best get cracking at using up those jalapenos I begged Mrblocko to deseed for me. I found this recipe for jalapeno cornbread muffins from Heart Mind and Seoul that I thought would be a great stepping stone into the world of jalapeno use.
They turned out perfect. Just a hint of that jalapeno flavor. Not too much so that it was too spicy for Blockette or myself, but spicy enough to make Mrblocko notice that this cornbread was special.
Jalapeno Corn Muffins from Heart Mind and Seoul
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
3 T sugar
1 T baking powder
½ t salt
2 beaten eggs
1 c milk
¼ c oil
1 c shredded cheddar
4 ounce sliced or chopped fresh jalapenos or canned jalapenos or green chilies
Ready a muffin tin with 12 paper cups. Set aside. In med bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of dry mixture; set aside.
In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mix all at once to well in dry mix. Stir just til moist. Fold in cheddar and jalapenos. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425F for 20-25 min til wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
I figured I best get cracking at using up those jalapenos I begged Mrblocko to deseed for me. I found this recipe for jalapeno cornbread muffins from Heart Mind and Seoul that I thought would be a great stepping stone into the world of jalapeno use.
They turned out perfect. Just a hint of that jalapeno flavor. Not too much so that it was too spicy for Blockette or myself, but spicy enough to make Mrblocko notice that this cornbread was special.
Jalapeno Corn Muffins from Heart Mind and Seoul
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
3 T sugar
1 T baking powder
½ t salt
2 beaten eggs
1 c milk
¼ c oil
1 c shredded cheddar
4 ounce sliced or chopped fresh jalapenos or canned jalapenos or green chilies
Ready a muffin tin with 12 paper cups. Set aside. In med bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of dry mixture; set aside.
In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mix all at once to well in dry mix. Stir just til moist. Fold in cheddar and jalapenos. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425F for 20-25 min til wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Peeling Tomatoes
I grew a pretty fruitful tomato plant this year, so I've already had to make several small batches of tomato sauce. I'm still too chicken to can it though. I don't think I need to with only one super fruitful tomato plant. We're using up the sauce fast enough that I'm not running out of room in the freezer, so I think I'm ok.
Tomatoes are not my thing so I don't particularly care for a chunky sauce. So that means pealing the tomatoes. Do I ever remember how to do this from year to year? Absolutely not. I'm tired of searching for directions on how to do this so I'm posting them here.
These directions are basically from alrecipes, but I'll break it down on here as well.
1. Get a big pot of water boiling.
2. Make a big bowl of icy ice cube a riffic water right next to the stove.
3. While you are waiting for your water to boil. Cut an "X" into the bottom of your tomato, just through the skin. This year I grew some funky shaped heirloom tomatoes. Some of them looked like 2 mutant tomatoes growing together. For those freaky guys I cut an "x" on each section of the mutated fruits. I've also found it helpful to cut out the stemy core thingie at this point.
4. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to simmer and place the tomatoes in the pot with a slotted spoon. Try not to over crowd them.
5. Let them bob and weave in the water for about 30 seconds.
6. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and plunge them in the ice bath.
7. After the tomatoes have cooled enough to the touch, the nasty skins should peel right off.
Warning: Do NOT attempt to do this with apples. Mom...I'm looking at you.
Tomatoes are not my thing so I don't particularly care for a chunky sauce. So that means pealing the tomatoes. Do I ever remember how to do this from year to year? Absolutely not. I'm tired of searching for directions on how to do this so I'm posting them here.
These directions are basically from alrecipes, but I'll break it down on here as well.
1. Get a big pot of water boiling.
2. Make a big bowl of icy ice cube a riffic water right next to the stove.
3. While you are waiting for your water to boil. Cut an "X" into the bottom of your tomato, just through the skin. This year I grew some funky shaped heirloom tomatoes. Some of them looked like 2 mutant tomatoes growing together. For those freaky guys I cut an "x" on each section of the mutated fruits. I've also found it helpful to cut out the stemy core thingie at this point.
4. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to simmer and place the tomatoes in the pot with a slotted spoon. Try not to over crowd them.
5. Let them bob and weave in the water for about 30 seconds.
6. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and plunge them in the ice bath.
7. After the tomatoes have cooled enough to the touch, the nasty skins should peel right off.
Warning: Do NOT attempt to do this with apples. Mom...I'm looking at you.
Monday, June 24, 2013
June 2013 Garden Update
Here's what my garden looks like!
Below is the garden with the strawberries, heirloom tomato and spaghetti squash.
The rabbits ate several of the strawberry plants down the the ground so I've pretty much given up on them. The heirloom tomato is the tallest out of the 3 tomato plants I'm growing this year. And well, as you can see the spaghetti squash is taking over the world. I had to "prune" it back so it didn't choke out the tomato plant. So far I have one large marble sized squash from this plant.
Below is my saddest garden.
The rabbits ate my peas and beans down to the root. The green house had a sale on veggies, 50% off so I had to check out that sale. Sadly they did not have any more peas or beans so I got another summer squash and pepper plant. The squash had three inch and a half squashes and the pepper plant had 3 purple peppers. Hopefully they won't get transplant shock. The large monster of a plant in front is a cucumber plant. There are several 2"long skinny cucumbers growing as well. The pepper plant to the left of the cucumber has not even had a blossom on it yet. Maybe it's just a late bloomer.
This garden is just doing "ok." Nothing spectacular here.
Last year was a lot warmer and sunnier so the tomatoes were much taller this time last year. The tomato plant on the left has one tiny marble sized tomato on it, so that seems like a good thing. The pepper plant to the left of the tomato cages have a few blossoms on it, but it seems like it should be taller as well.
The 2 squash plants in the front are doing ok. The squash on the left is yellow summer squash. The hailstorm we got last week knocked off all the blossoms. I have every confidence that it will bounce back. The squash on the right has several large blossoms, but only one of them has a baby zucchini at the base.
All things considered, I think the garden is doing pretty well for a brown thumber like me! Hopefully we'll be overwhelmed with all the veggies by the end of summer!
Below is the garden with the strawberries, heirloom tomato and spaghetti squash.
Below is my saddest garden.
The rabbits ate my peas and beans down to the root. The green house had a sale on veggies, 50% off so I had to check out that sale. Sadly they did not have any more peas or beans so I got another summer squash and pepper plant. The squash had three inch and a half squashes and the pepper plant had 3 purple peppers. Hopefully they won't get transplant shock. The large monster of a plant in front is a cucumber plant. There are several 2"long skinny cucumbers growing as well. The pepper plant to the left of the cucumber has not even had a blossom on it yet. Maybe it's just a late bloomer.
This garden is just doing "ok." Nothing spectacular here.
The 2 squash plants in the front are doing ok. The squash on the left is yellow summer squash. The hailstorm we got last week knocked off all the blossoms. I have every confidence that it will bounce back. The squash on the right has several large blossoms, but only one of them has a baby zucchini at the base.
All things considered, I think the garden is doing pretty well for a brown thumber like me! Hopefully we'll be overwhelmed with all the veggies by the end of summer!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Garden Spring 2013
This year I tripled the size of my garden. Originally the plan was to plant the two 4'x4' gardens in the back yard. I mean we cut down our huge diseased tree in the backyard so we should have a ton of sun there. Right?
Now that the neighbor's trees all have leaves, I discovered that the ONLY place we have full sun is the area directly over Blockette's swing set. The rest of the yard gets only morning sun and afternoon shade. Not the best for growing sun loving veggies. So we are weirdos and have our veggie garden in the front yard where we get early morning shade.
Here's what we planted this year:
I just want to say that it was my family that picked out all these veggies. Well, I picked out the sweet pepper and strawberries. Blockette was the one who said we had to get peas, beans, cucumber and summer squash. Mrblocko wanted the spaghetti squash and the jalapeno.
Luckily the food pantry near us excepts surplus garden harvests, so when we have more squash than we can eat it will go to good use.
Now that the neighbor's trees all have leaves, I discovered that the ONLY place we have full sun is the area directly over Blockette's swing set. The rest of the yard gets only morning sun and afternoon shade. Not the best for growing sun loving veggies. So we are weirdos and have our veggie garden in the front yard where we get early morning shade.
Here's what we planted this year:
I just want to say that it was my family that picked out all these veggies. Well, I picked out the sweet pepper and strawberries. Blockette was the one who said we had to get peas, beans, cucumber and summer squash. Mrblocko wanted the spaghetti squash and the jalapeno.
Luckily the food pantry near us excepts surplus garden harvests, so when we have more squash than we can eat it will go to good use.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Timber!
Well, we finally did it.
This weekend we got the tree in our front yard removed.
I was very sad about it, and tried to use every argument in the book. The tree was diseased and needed to come down, and me ignoring that wasn't going to change the fact that the tree could fall over and hurt someone or something.
Here's the before picture of our house:
I was standing across the street in our neighbor's yard, tilting the camera to try to get all the tree in. I'm noticing now, that I missed a few feet at the top!
The red arrow on this picture is to show this particular branch. That particular branch, which was about the length of the arrow when it was cut, fell across the entire street and knocked leaves off the tree that was about 3 feet behind where I took this picture. The tree is a lot bigger than it looks!
You can totally tell from this picture that there is something wrong with the tree. It has no leaves and all it's neighbors are barely turning colors.
Here's the after picture:
Poor sad nekkid little house.
The pile of wood that is there was all that the tree removers didn't turn into wood chip.
Not a lot of wood. Basically the trunk and the lower big branches.
We took a few of the smaller pieces for our fire pit, and the tree removers took the rest. At least that was the plan. They went to cut down another diseased tree a few houses down, and they said they were going to pick up the wood when they were done. We had 3 people, including the mailman, ask if they could have the wood not 15 minutes after the tree cutters drove down the street. Two people just came and loaded up their car trunks without asking, and another person came to the door to see if we were selling the wood. Who knew that wood turned people into vultures.
Here's a good picture of what the Emerald Ash Borer does to your tree:
I didn't peel that bark away. It fell off in the tree removal process.
That's what those pests do. They lay their eggs in the tree and the larvae burrow their way around and eat their way out. The bark gets detached from the interior wood and the tree dries out and rots and then falls over and goes smash.
If you look carefully you can see little holes in the two logs next to the squiggly log. Those are from our friendly neighborhood woodpecker. He was none too happy that these men were cutting down HIS tree. He was still trying to eat the bugs when they whipped out their chainsaws. Poor little guy.
Well, I guess he could just go in the back yard and snack on the bugs in the ash tree back there.
This weekend we got the tree in our front yard removed.
Here's the before picture of our house:
The red arrow on this picture is to show this particular branch. That particular branch, which was about the length of the arrow when it was cut, fell across the entire street and knocked leaves off the tree that was about 3 feet behind where I took this picture. The tree is a lot bigger than it looks!
You can totally tell from this picture that there is something wrong with the tree. It has no leaves and all it's neighbors are barely turning colors.
Here's the after picture:
The pile of wood that is there was all that the tree removers didn't turn into wood chip.
Not a lot of wood. Basically the trunk and the lower big branches.
We took a few of the smaller pieces for our fire pit, and the tree removers took the rest. At least that was the plan. They went to cut down another diseased tree a few houses down, and they said they were going to pick up the wood when they were done. We had 3 people, including the mailman, ask if they could have the wood not 15 minutes after the tree cutters drove down the street. Two people just came and loaded up their car trunks without asking, and another person came to the door to see if we were selling the wood. Who knew that wood turned people into vultures.
Here's a good picture of what the Emerald Ash Borer does to your tree:
That's what those pests do. They lay their eggs in the tree and the larvae burrow their way around and eat their way out. The bark gets detached from the interior wood and the tree dries out and rots and then falls over and goes smash.
If you look carefully you can see little holes in the two logs next to the squiggly log. Those are from our friendly neighborhood woodpecker. He was none too happy that these men were cutting down HIS tree. He was still trying to eat the bugs when they whipped out their chainsaws. Poor little guy.
Well, I guess he could just go in the back yard and snack on the bugs in the ash tree back there.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Thankful Thurs #40
1. Cheering on my niece at her last track meet of the season.
2. Not getting horrified when Blockette kicked her fit up to 11 at the above mentioned track meet.
3. Perfect weather for both Blockette's soccer practice AND her game.
4. Blockette seems to finally be getting the hang of this new big girl version of soccer. While she hasn't scored any goals, she isn't chasing the ball around the field so much, and opening herself up to passes.
5. Finding time to read over the weekend.
6. Being able to go on CROP walk on Sun.
7. Naps.
8. The huge eagle that soared over the street at work this AM.
9. The girl who very shyly gave me a fun size snickers bar as she crossed the street. (She is a 5th grade Patrol who helps the younger kids get to class. I come early specifically to get her safely across the street.)
10. I got all the tomatoes picked before the hard frost hit.
2. Not getting horrified when Blockette kicked her fit up to 11 at the above mentioned track meet.
3. Perfect weather for both Blockette's soccer practice AND her game.
4. Blockette seems to finally be getting the hang of this new big girl version of soccer. While she hasn't scored any goals, she isn't chasing the ball around the field so much, and opening herself up to passes.
5. Finding time to read over the weekend.
6. Being able to go on CROP walk on Sun.
7. Naps.
8. The huge eagle that soared over the street at work this AM.
9. The girl who very shyly gave me a fun size snickers bar as she crossed the street. (She is a 5th grade Patrol who helps the younger kids get to class. I come early specifically to get her safely across the street.)
 |
| The bananas are just for size reference. They really didn't do any attacking. |
10. I got all the tomatoes picked before the hard frost hit.
(See photo above of my bounty. I had to toss 36 wonky, cracked, buggy, or rotting tomatoes.)
Saturday, June 16, 2012
June Garden Update
Woah my tiny little veggie garden has exploded with life since we planted it just over a month ago!
This is what it looked like in the middle of May:
And this is what the garden looked like two days ago!
And lookie:
Stuff is actually growing!
Now if I could only say the same for the flower garden.
Some sort of bug has been gnawing away at all the flowers! So far they aren't total goners. A few of them have sickly little blossoms. Hopefully they will spring back from whatever issue they are having and bloom like mad in July!
This is what it looked like in the middle of May:
And this is what the garden looked like two days ago!
And lookie:
Now if I could only say the same for the flower garden.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Garden Update
Things have been going wild in the garden. Here's a picture of the Salvia and Sage competing for who can take over the garden completely. The bumble and honey bees are loving all the little flowers though.
Maybe, just maybe, we'll have some strawberries bigger than a pea this year. They usually have green baby strawberries like this around mid July. Grow little berries! And critters stay away!
I planted some purple Irises this fall, and they are already blooming like crazy. Irises are one of my favorite flowers. We had some at our old house and I loved them. I don't know why I waited so long to plant some here. It's not like we're been living here six years or anything!
Speaking of our old house...we drove past it this weekend. It was the first time I'd seen it since we moved out. The current owners painted the trim this super ugly ultra bright blue and ripped out the side garden!!! I was so angry. Mrblocko had to remind me that the people who lived there could do that, because it was THEIR house and THEIR garden. I told Mrblocko I could be angry if I wanted cause the current owners were dumb, and that side garden with the flagstone walk way was awesome. Why don't people know beautiousness when they see it?!
Ok, Rant off.
Back to the garden for the house that we actually live in right now.
For Mother's Day I told Mrblocko I wanted a raised garden. I found this little 4x4 foot kit at Home Depot that seemed easy enough to assemble. It was designed for non handy folks like us I think.
I wanted to get the dirt at Menards because I thought it would be cheaper, plus I had this $10 rebate card, and we had a bag of cement to return that we wound up not needing for the fence. Dirt wound up being on sale! AWESOME!
Blockette's school had a plant fundraiser and the plants arrived on Thurs. From her school I bought 3 different tomato plants (Roma, better boy, and grape), and 2 pepper plants (Sweet and bell). I knew that those 5 plants probably wouldn't fill up the tiny garden, so I thought we would look at Menards, since we were there already, just to see what they had. Their plants were on sale too! They had packages of 6 plants 2/$3. That's a great deal around here for plants. If you buy them from the greenhouse, they usually run about $3 a piece!
So I went a bit hog wild and got a pack of cauliflower, kohlrabi, and broccoli.
The plant packages didn't say how big they were going to be, so I planted 3 kohrabi, 3 cauliflower and 6 broccoli in my little garden. I'm hoping I didn't plant them too close.
I decided, instead of just chucking the remaining kohrabi and cauliflower plants, to plant them in my side garden. The side garden only gets about 3 hours of sun a day, so we will see if that is enough for these little guys.
Hopefully, the neighbors won't mind the garden. We put it in the front yard. I'm hoping it won't look too tacky. Our back yard is full shade, all day so there was no hope for any kind of veggie garden thriving back there. The spot where we planted the raised bed gets morning shade, but sun the rest of the day. Hopefully that won't be too much sun.
If this garden does well, we will buy another raised garden kit this fall or spring. The kits can be combined to configure the raised bed in whatever dimensions you want. The plan is to just make the existing bed longer. We have enough room in the front on the side to make the garden 4 feet wide by 12 feet long. I figured it would be best to start out small so I don't get overwhelmed.
Oh, we also planted a blonde raspberry bush sort of near the fence. This area gets enough sun for lilies to grow, but we will see if it is enough for a raspberry bush. I don't even know if the darn thing will grow or not. It was in the plant section of Mejiers marked half off. The "bush" is essentially two sticks poking up out of the ground. I'm not holding out much hope for them.
The directions on the package said to plant them as soon as it starts to get warm. On a normal year, now would be the perfect time to plant, but with our crazy weather, the bushes should have been planted in March. I guess that's why they were so inexpensive. IF they do somehow grow, it will be about two years before the bushes will bear fruit.
Wish me luck!
Maybe, just maybe, we'll have some strawberries bigger than a pea this year. They usually have green baby strawberries like this around mid July. Grow little berries! And critters stay away!
I planted some purple Irises this fall, and they are already blooming like crazy. Irises are one of my favorite flowers. We had some at our old house and I loved them. I don't know why I waited so long to plant some here. It's not like we're been living here six years or anything!
Ok, Rant off.
Back to the garden for the house that we actually live in right now.
For Mother's Day I told Mrblocko I wanted a raised garden. I found this little 4x4 foot kit at Home Depot that seemed easy enough to assemble. It was designed for non handy folks like us I think.
I wanted to get the dirt at Menards because I thought it would be cheaper, plus I had this $10 rebate card, and we had a bag of cement to return that we wound up not needing for the fence. Dirt wound up being on sale! AWESOME!
Blockette's school had a plant fundraiser and the plants arrived on Thurs. From her school I bought 3 different tomato plants (Roma, better boy, and grape), and 2 pepper plants (Sweet and bell). I knew that those 5 plants probably wouldn't fill up the tiny garden, so I thought we would look at Menards, since we were there already, just to see what they had. Their plants were on sale too! They had packages of 6 plants 2/$3. That's a great deal around here for plants. If you buy them from the greenhouse, they usually run about $3 a piece!
So I went a bit hog wild and got a pack of cauliflower, kohlrabi, and broccoli.
I decided, instead of just chucking the remaining kohrabi and cauliflower plants, to plant them in my side garden. The side garden only gets about 3 hours of sun a day, so we will see if that is enough for these little guys.
Hopefully, the neighbors won't mind the garden. We put it in the front yard. I'm hoping it won't look too tacky. Our back yard is full shade, all day so there was no hope for any kind of veggie garden thriving back there. The spot where we planted the raised bed gets morning shade, but sun the rest of the day. Hopefully that won't be too much sun.
If this garden does well, we will buy another raised garden kit this fall or spring. The kits can be combined to configure the raised bed in whatever dimensions you want. The plan is to just make the existing bed longer. We have enough room in the front on the side to make the garden 4 feet wide by 12 feet long. I figured it would be best to start out small so I don't get overwhelmed.
Oh, we also planted a blonde raspberry bush sort of near the fence. This area gets enough sun for lilies to grow, but we will see if it is enough for a raspberry bush. I don't even know if the darn thing will grow or not. It was in the plant section of Mejiers marked half off. The "bush" is essentially two sticks poking up out of the ground. I'm not holding out much hope for them.
The directions on the package said to plant them as soon as it starts to get warm. On a normal year, now would be the perfect time to plant, but with our crazy weather, the bushes should have been planted in March. I guess that's why they were so inexpensive. IF they do somehow grow, it will be about two years before the bushes will bear fruit.
Wish me luck!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
En Garde
Get it? En garde. Fencing. And this post is about our fence.
Good one. Right?
I'll give you a moment to collect yourself from that knee slapper.
So our fence is now officially finished. It's nothing fancy, but it's not going to fall over if you sneeze or even think about looking at it.
You'll notice half the fence has rotted away. Very classy looking.
Ta DA! Now we have a big almost 6ft wide gate on this side. This gate is so big I can barely open and close it. It's nice to have a wide gate. You never know when you might need it.
Too bad half the giant lilies got trampled on. If they come up next year, I'll have to find a place to transplant them.
This side wasn't nearly as bad as the other one. But the gate was just awful. The door was too low to the ground, so in the winter the door would freeze itself into the mud. It also had no latch. And no handle. The wood was so rotted that it would fall off after a few uses. Last year I got tired of reattaching it so I just left it off.
The new gate opens the other way, I'm not sure why. Builder's choice I guess. Now it has a handle, and here's the cool part, the gates can only be locked and unlocked from the inside. Seems more secure this way to me.
I didn't take a picture of the back because the guys who put it up came over and had it down before I realized I should snap some pics. You'll have to take my word that it was pretty rotten, visually and literally. I mean one of our neighbor's tree's had grown into the fence. That doesn't do much for the structural integrity of the fence.
It's nice to actually have privacy. Before you could totally see the neighbors through the rotted gaps in the fence.
The fence is far from perfect, and a few people asked if we were going to paint it. I like it the natural light color. Sealing it only darkened it minimally. I'm sure it will get darker with age, but I'm going to enjoy it the way it is for now. The backyard seems so much brighter than it did before. I guess getting rid of a huge grey run down mess will do that!
Good one. Right?
I'll give you a moment to collect yourself from that knee slapper.
So our fence is now officially finished. It's nothing fancy, but it's not going to fall over if you sneeze or even think about looking at it.
 |
| Before: Left side |
You'll notice half the fence has rotted away. Very classy looking.
 |
| After: Left side |
Ta DA! Now we have a big almost 6ft wide gate on this side. This gate is so big I can barely open and close it. It's nice to have a wide gate. You never know when you might need it.
Too bad half the giant lilies got trampled on. If they come up next year, I'll have to find a place to transplant them.
 |
| Before: Right side |
This side wasn't nearly as bad as the other one. But the gate was just awful. The door was too low to the ground, so in the winter the door would freeze itself into the mud. It also had no latch. And no handle. The wood was so rotted that it would fall off after a few uses. Last year I got tired of reattaching it so I just left it off.
 |
| After: Right side |
The new gate opens the other way, I'm not sure why. Builder's choice I guess. Now it has a handle, and here's the cool part, the gates can only be locked and unlocked from the inside. Seems more secure this way to me.
I didn't take a picture of the back because the guys who put it up came over and had it down before I realized I should snap some pics. You'll have to take my word that it was pretty rotten, visually and literally. I mean one of our neighbor's tree's had grown into the fence. That doesn't do much for the structural integrity of the fence.
It's nice to actually have privacy. Before you could totally see the neighbors through the rotted gaps in the fence.
The fence is far from perfect, and a few people asked if we were going to paint it. I like it the natural light color. Sealing it only darkened it minimally. I'm sure it will get darker with age, but I'm going to enjoy it the way it is for now. The backyard seems so much brighter than it did before. I guess getting rid of a huge grey run down mess will do that!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
It's the middle of April!!
Those of you in more warmer temperate climates won't understand why I'm so jazzed about the fact that it is mid April. Usually the daffodils are just starting to bloom. They are long gone, and so are all but the late blooming tulips.
I think this tulip looks sort of like a peony if you squint. I just love the little hint of pink.
Speaking of pink...My bleeding heart bush is blooming nicely too.
Every year I"m convinced that I've killed it. It's in a mostly shady part of our yard, so it usually doesn't do well. As the plant has had a lot of warm days before the trees have gotten their leaves, it's got more than it's usual share of sunlight. Dare I hope for a second bloom from this little guy.
And most amazing of all...
I noticed that my strawberry plants have started to flower!!!! Crazy!!!! Maybe I'll actually get some strawberries this year!
I think this tulip looks sort of like a peony if you squint. I just love the little hint of pink.
Speaking of pink...My bleeding heart bush is blooming nicely too.
Every year I"m convinced that I've killed it. It's in a mostly shady part of our yard, so it usually doesn't do well. As the plant has had a lot of warm days before the trees have gotten their leaves, it's got more than it's usual share of sunlight. Dare I hope for a second bloom from this little guy.
And most amazing of all...
I noticed that my strawberry plants have started to flower!!!! Crazy!!!! Maybe I'll actually get some strawberries this year!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I took these pictures today...
Please keep in mind that it is JANUARY 5th. And I live just outside of CHICAGO where our average temperature this time of year is a high of around 30F.
Forecast for tomorrow is 50F.
What's going to happen when winter finally comes? Is my garden doomed?
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| My Black Lace Tree has buds on it. |
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| The Crocuses are up and the Hyacinth also has begun to form buds. |
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| Parsley anyone? |
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| Hello Sedum. |
What's going to happen when winter finally comes? Is my garden doomed?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
My Bountiful Harvest
So I finally bit the bullet and plucked all the tomatoes off their vines. It's been getting near freezing every night for about a week. I figured it was now or never.
This is the extent of my harvest. What a bumper crop, eh?
I think there's hope for the large Romas, but the baby cherry tomatoes...I'm not gonna hold my breath.
Blockette and her friend M both think the tomato in the lower right hand corner is hilarious. They say it looks like it is pooping out another tomato. Ah, to be six again.
This is the extent of my harvest. What a bumper crop, eh?
Blockette and her friend M both think the tomato in the lower right hand corner is hilarious. They say it looks like it is pooping out another tomato. Ah, to be six again.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Fairy Garden Update
My uncle gave Blockette some accessories for the Fairy garden for her birthday. The set came with a birdhouse, beehive, 2 urns, a fire pit, 2 chairs, wheelbarrow, shovel, rake and arbor. I've been meaning to post a picture on here but whenever I remember, it's raining out. So I finally get out there and look what I saw!
The nasturtiums are climbing up the fairy Arbor! Hopefully you can tell that from the picture. As all the fairy stuff is brown, it sort of blends into the ground. Fairies like that sort of thing though.
Blockette wants me to inform you that what we thought was a fairy house is too small to be a fairy house, so it must be a fairy shed. It does make since to have a shed in a garden. But if that is a fairy shed...where is the fairy house????
Blockette wants me to inform you that what we thought was a fairy house is too small to be a fairy house, so it must be a fairy shed. It does make since to have a shed in a garden. But if that is a fairy shed...where is the fairy house????
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
What's the Deal?
First off, to the guy smoking a cigarette who was stopped at the light next to me the other day when it was finally nice enough to drive with the windows down: What's the deal with you sticking your arm so far out of your window that your cigarette was practically inside the passenger side of my car? I realize you don't want the stinky smoke inside your own car. Trust me, I want it in mine even less than you do.
Second, cat, what is the deal? What makes you think it is suddenly ok to sit on the Dining Room table.
Just cause you are a senior kitty doesn't mean the rules have changed.
Third, Hey Pepper plant? What is the deal? Where are my sweet red peppers? Don't you know it is the second week in August?
What happened to those 2 cute little blossoms you had four weeks ago? Let's get on the ball.
Fourth, that goes for you too tomato plants. What is the deal? Last year I was swimming in little wee grape tomatoes. This year? Nuthin. Not so much as a single blossom. Your leaves look healthy enough. We make sure you get enough water, so what is the deal???
At least the Zinnias and Marigolds seem to be enjoying themselves. Blossom away little ones. Blossom away.
Second, cat, what is the deal? What makes you think it is suddenly ok to sit on the Dining Room table.
Third, Hey Pepper plant? What is the deal? Where are my sweet red peppers? Don't you know it is the second week in August?
Fourth, that goes for you too tomato plants. What is the deal? Last year I was swimming in little wee grape tomatoes. This year? Nuthin. Not so much as a single blossom. Your leaves look healthy enough. We make sure you get enough water, so what is the deal???
At least the Zinnias and Marigolds seem to be enjoying themselves. Blossom away little ones. Blossom away.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tomato Plant Idea
I just saw this cool idea for people who don't have room for a garden (or maybe if the ground in your yard is perpetually too hard to till?)...Tomatoes grown in a bag of dirt! Brilliant!
Head on over to Cooking with my Kid and check it out.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
One of these things is not like the other
Lookie lookie! A strawberry the size of a tomato! It's HUGE!!!! 
This is the second year I've had strawberry plants. Usually the bugs or birds get to them before they've fully ripened. I consider this a very small victory. Blockette won the eating rights. She was so full after eating this massive fruit that she couldn't eat anything else for 12 days. No, wait. That was 12 seconds. I always get those mixed up.
This is the second year I've had strawberry plants. Usually the bugs or birds get to them before they've fully ripened. I consider this a very small victory. Blockette won the eating rights. She was so full after eating this massive fruit that she couldn't eat anything else for 12 days. No, wait. That was 12 seconds. I always get those mixed up.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
First Harvest
Ever try to take a picture of a 4 year old holding something? A wriggly squirrelly 4 year old? You get 27 blurry pictures before everyone's patience wears out. At least in the photo below you can tell Blockette is holding a tomato and not a pink blob with a red blob in the middle.
Blockette was so excited about our first cherry tomato. Every time we went outside we had to check to see if the tomato was red enough to pick. When we decided it had ripened enough I asked her, "So, are you gonna eat it?"
Then I said, "But you grew it. You grew it yourself and you don't want to eat it?"
"Well yeah! I DO want to eat it!" Blockette exclaimed.
Mrblocko cut the tiny cherry tomato in half so they could share in the bounty. I told Blockette to pop the whole piece in her mouth. She actually listened. At first, she made a funny face, but then when I asked her how it was she said, "I like it mommy. It was delicious."
Blockette was so excited about our first cherry tomato. Every time we went outside we had to check to see if the tomato was red enough to pick. When we decided it had ripened enough I asked her, "So, are you gonna eat it?"
Then I said, "But you grew it. You grew it yourself and you don't want to eat it?"
"Well yeah! I DO want to eat it!" Blockette exclaimed.
Mrblocko cut the tiny cherry tomato in half so they could share in the bounty. I told Blockette to pop the whole piece in her mouth. She actually listened. At first, she made a funny face, but then when I asked her how it was she said, "I like it mommy. It was delicious." I asked Mrblocko how it tasted. He shrugged and said, "Like a warm tomato."
Well yeah...I just picked it and it was hot out. Of course it was warm. When the other cherry tomatoes ripen I'll pick them earlier in the day and let them cool off in the fridge a bit before dinner.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Mother's Day Plants Take Over the World!
A few weeks ago Mrblocko asked what I wanted for Mother's Day. I decided that last years gift of plants would be a good gift this year as well. Since Mrblocko is even more clueless than I am when it comes to plants, I went to a few greenhouses and picked out some stuff that I wanted.
Last year I bought marigolds, strawberries and violas. This year I opted for herbs. The sage, oregano, thyme, chives, lavender and strawberries all came back this year. My parsley, cilantro and basil did not. So I picked up some flat leaf parsley, cilantro, and sweet Italian Basil. I also bought 2 cherry tomato plants, peppermint, and rosemary. Then at the last nursery I went to I saw this guy:
It's purple curly leaf basil. I never heard of such a thing! It may be just a shorty short pants guy now, but it is going to get to be hugemongous. Aaaaand it's going to get pink flowers in the summer. When I told Blockette that they were going to get pink flowers and we could eat the leaves, she said "Oh Mommy, you gotta get that one."
Then in the same aisle, there was this little cutie:
Aw, don't you want to just eat it up? Well you can, cause it is ginger mint. Yes. Mint with an under note of ginger. I never heard of that either. I love the stripy yellow and green of the leaves. In addition too all that great stuff, it's going to spread and be great ground cover.
Last year I bought marigolds, strawberries and violas. This year I opted for herbs. The sage, oregano, thyme, chives, lavender and strawberries all came back this year. My parsley, cilantro and basil did not. So I picked up some flat leaf parsley, cilantro, and sweet Italian Basil. I also bought 2 cherry tomato plants, peppermint, and rosemary. Then at the last nursery I went to I saw this guy:
It's purple curly leaf basil. I never heard of such a thing! It may be just a shorty short pants guy now, but it is going to get to be hugemongous. Aaaaand it's going to get pink flowers in the summer. When I told Blockette that they were going to get pink flowers and we could eat the leaves, she said "Oh Mommy, you gotta get that one."Then in the same aisle, there was this little cutie:
Aw, don't you want to just eat it up? Well you can, cause it is ginger mint. Yes. Mint with an under note of ginger. I never heard of that either. I love the stripy yellow and green of the leaves. In addition too all that great stuff, it's going to spread and be great ground cover. Speaking of ground cover, I bought one non herb-y plant. It called to me from across the nursery. Seriously. I saw the orange five or six aisles away from where the herbs were. I had to check it out. It's a Houttuynia cordata, or a chameleon plant. 
Please don't bite my head off if you are a gardener. I know this plant likes to spread and spread and spread. I guess it's illegal to plant in Australia and New Zealand, as it is such a pest there. The climate here is nothing like there, so I "think" I'll be fine. I also planted it in partial shade, so hopefully that will help keep it in check. If not, you can say "I told you so" and I will acquiesce.
Seriously, I must have a thing for invasive plants. One of my favorite plants at our old house was the vinca, or periwinkles. Those babies wanted to go everywhere. There were lots of them that we had all over the front, side and back of the house as ground cover. The chameleon plant is just one solitary lonely little fella. It won't get as crazy as the periwinkles. Famous last words right?
Monday, April 19, 2010
More tulips!
Last week I said I was going to post a picture of the tulips in the side garden. I like these flowers even more than the ones growing in the front of the house. Toward the end of the day, the sun hits the orange flowers so they look like they are glowing from the inside.When this garden was first planted last spring, it was intended to be a shade garden. My neighbor got a little friendly with his saw and did some major hacking to the tree that you can see at the top of the picture. Now this garden only gets shade in the middle of the day. When the tulips are shaded, the orange ones are such a deep dark orange they look like they are almost the same color as the red ones.
If you click on the picture you can see to the left of Blockette is my "Blood falling plant." (Blockette can never remember that it's called a Bleeding heart.) It already has 3 rows of cascading flowers. I think I realized why I had forgotten my mom gave it to me last year. The plant must have gotten transplant shock. It didn't bloom at all last growing season.
Blockette has such a sweet expression on her face in this photo. If you think this shot was easy to achieve, you've probably never met my daughter. I'm so glad I've got a digital camera that lets me see the picture immediately. I cannot imagine the rolls of film that would have been wasted by her inability to sit still and restrain herself from making a cross eyed puffer fish face.
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