Merry Christmas

For years I've been trying to convince my husband that chickens would be a lovely addition to our country lifestyle.  They'd be for eggs and as pets (I get too attached for the other-reason-which-I-cannot-name). When our neighbors asked us to babysit (okay, feed) their chickens, I thought this would be a great opportunity to try it for a week.  After the first day, my husband says, "No."  I've got a few more days for those chickens to grow on him.  Wish me luck.  And I wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.  

Winter Has Arrived

Crystal blue sky.  Long shadows.  Vast expanse of white.  That's what you see in this photo.  Frigid temperatures.  Bitter wind. That's what I felt when I took this photo.  Winter has definitely arrived.

A Little Silliness

There's not much happening in the garden now. The leaves have fallen and we're waiting for snow.  So I thought I'd post a little silliness.  A co-worker asked us to take photos of ourselves as superheroes.  Here's what I came up with...

 

Invisible Woman Susan Storm married Reed Richards. They decided to retire.  Here are some action shots of her (very brief) retirement:  raking,

cooking,

and mending

(her costume, just in case).

The Sounds of Fall

 

In this short video, you'll hear the hum of a tractor working in the field, the wind blowing, a woodpecker pecking on our house (yikes!), and a nuthatch scolding me for being too close to the bird feeder. Since I grew up in a city, these sounds are delightful to me compared to the roar of a motorcycle or the wail of sirens.  Even after living here several years, I'm still adjusting to the sounds of gunshots.  Thankfully, there are none in this video.  In the country, it seems like its always hunting season.

End-of-the-season Evaluation

This year's mailbox flowers were State Fair Zinnias--big, colorful blooms on sturdy stems.  Minnesotans have joked how summer came before spring this year.  This weather did crazy things to our growing schedule. It was perfect weather for peppers, and I have freezer bags full of them.  And I gave away just as many.  However, it was not so good for broccoli and spinach.  Both bolted before I could harvest them.  Maybe I just had bad guesses on when to plant.  Yet I had excellent luck on other plants like  basil, green beans, and carrots.  Our cooler weather has arrived and my plants won't survive this next frost/freeze, so I'm sad to see my plants go.  Normally I keep growing lettuce under a cover until there's too much snow, but we had a very hot day which caused my fall lettuce to go bitter. The gardens are going to sleep until spring.  Oh, and it was a good year for my pumpkins. Yum!

 

New Fiction Title

Please forgive this deviation from my gardening topics.  The Christmas Sisters, my novel, is  available as an e-book at amazon.com for 99 cents.  The story takes place in Minnesota, in Minneapolis and in a fictional small town. Two sisters, Holly and Noelle, support each other through tough times. While the love story is important, the heart of the novel is the family.  I'd rate this PG-13 (shirts come off!). This book is never going to be nominated for a Pulitzer prize, but my goal is to entertain readers with a likeable character who has obstacles to overcome. 

Fall Peapods

Harvesting peapods and pumpkins?  Yes! I planted the peas in early August. With the recent rain and relative warmth, I'll have a decent crop. Next year I'll plant in July so I can have a bigger fall crop. Our weather is predicted to get colder (frost and snow colder), so I've been working to clean up the garden, leaving only those items that can handle a little cold (like peapods). 

Grape Jelly

 

The raccoons and squirrels won't get many of my grapes this year...I've made them into jelly (the grapes not the critters).  This was a good year for the grape vine with clusters of sweet grapes. 

I may have picked some of the grapes early (see the green ones?), but I was in a race against the wildlife.  Besides, it's nothing a little sugar can't handle.

 

I followed my grandmother's recipe, boiling the grapes without water (see below), straining them, and boiling the juice with sugar.  The recipe is in Grow It. Eat It.

I defied the canning gods by pouring the jelly into clean jars...and not processing.  The jelly sits safely in the refrigerator.  Well, not so safely since we've eaten half of it already.  Since it's not "canned," we'll have to eat it soon.  Not a problem. Delicious!

 

Sweet Corn Experiment

My experiment with growing sweet corn in a pot is successful.  We ate several small but tasty ears of bicolor corn.  I started with a large growing bag (sized for potatoes) filled with compost.  Because the bag is made of black fabric, I had both an advantage with holding heat (from the black) and excellent drainage (from the fabric). I planted nine seeds per container.  Because of our cool, wet weather in the early spring I had to re-plant some seeds.  I added organic fertilizer about three times.  I watered faithfully, every day and sometimes twice a day.  (This is the disadvantage to excellent drainage.) The variety is On Deck Hybrid from Burpee, which is a supersweet hybrid.  The advertisement said that the ears would be 7-8 inches long, but mine were smaller, perhaps because we had cool weather while the ears were developing.  But they were delicious!

 

Heat Advisory

We're in a heat advisory, which means especially hot and humid temperatures.  Minnesotans aren't used to this. (I'm not used to this!) The dew point yesterday was 78 F, which is the normal high temperature.  I've been watering my garden early in the morning.  The pots in the sun need more water, sometimes twice a day.  After some cooler than average temperatures, I am happy to see my tomatoes and peppers ripening.  I was nervous that I wouldn't get ripe pumpkins, but this weather helps.  The photo is yellow pear tomatoes. 

Wild Blackberries

I had one awkward moment when picking this morning. The thorns of one cane caught my pants, the thorns of another cane caught my sleeve, and I moved my hand without looking, the thorns of a third cane catching my flesh. Thankfully, no one heard my yelps of pain. I know, I know, I have to get rid of these nuisances, but I'm going to wait until I get one more bowl of berries. 

Embrace the Mushrooms

We have over 60 of these babies growing in our front lawn.   I don't like eating mushrooms; however, they grow with abandon in our yard and woods.  Fungi are nature's way of cleaning up.  With one caveat--making sure that little ones or pets don't eat mushrooms that are poisonous--I say let them grow!

Flowers Finally!

The cosmos in the garden and zinnias by the mailbox are finally flowering.  I planted them from seed late this spring since the ground was soggy and cold.  This is the latest for my garden that the flowers are looking good. 

The zinnias in pots have been looking terrific since I could control the moisture and temperature and planted the seeds earlier than the others. This is Zowie Zinnia, planted in three pots that border my garden. In pots by the front of the house I had planned on impatiens, but when they died, I replanted with red geraniums.  It's a little shady for them, but they look great.  I hope for a late, late frost so I can enjoy these beautiful blooms a long time.   

Green Beans

This is an early morning photo. We are in a heat advisory today and I might melt.  The green beans seem to love this weather.  I picked lots of beans today, and this photo shows the blossoms of  Slenderette, a variety which is both prolific and tasty.  So tasty!  In the middle of the winter I will occasionally splurge on fresh green beans, trying to re-create this wonderful sensation of freshly picked beans. No garden?  My advice is to visit a farmer's market or beg some beans from a friendly neighbor. 

Visit to Two Public Gardens

This weekend I visited the Japanese Garden at Normandale Community College.  My husband joked that we should both get jobs there, but it's not a good idea.  With a garden like that, I'd spend more time outside than indoors.

I also visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  The tree is Japanese Lilac Tree, which is the last lilac to bloom and blooms every other year.  I'm looking around my gardening spaces trying to figure out where to put one--along with many of the other plants and trees and shrubs that caught my fancy during this visit.  If I ever move to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, I want to be close to the Arboretum so I can visit during every season. 

Late Lilacs

This is the latest that I've seen lilacs blooming that I can remember.  This has been a weird gardening season.  Over three days, seven inches of rain fell here. The rain has compacted my garden's soil, and everything is waterlogged.  We were lucky because we lost power for just five hours after strong storms.  My bok choy and spinach plants have bolted before they were ready to harvest.  (I will collect seeds for  a fall crop.)  Many seeds have simply rotted in the ground.  I had grand plans for my garden this year, like every year, but mother nature has the last word.  I chose this photo because if you look carefully, you'll see two bumblebees.  We love lilacs!

Hawthorn Blossoms

Everything is so slow this year--wild flowers, perennials, even cool weather crops like peas.  During this cool, wet spring, I have seen an occasional wasp or bumblebee, but nothing that makes me think many of our pollinators survived this winter.  However, yesterday as I was working outside, I heard a low but steady buzz, as though I were near a hive.  I searched the ground, I looked in crevices, and then I looked up.  Bees covered the wild hawthorn in full bloom. Bees may not have emotions, but they sounded happy.  And I am happy to bring you this garden update with good news.

birds at the feeder

This isn't a good photo of the bird feeder...I took it through a window. See the sticky note? That's to prevent birds from flying into the glass. I have never seen so many song birds at one time! I think this may be a once in a lifetime event. I counted seven tanagers, four orioles, an indigo bunting, and a couple of grosbeaks. This is in addition to the regular line up of our woodland birds--nuthatches, finches, chickadees, and woodpeckers.  I suppose our feeder is on the migration route this year.  And it's spectacular.

Plum Blossoms

I thought this photo of a wild plum might be a more interesting spring picture than the typical tulips and daffodils (though I may add those later).  At least I think it's a wild plum.  We didn't plant it, though I suppose it could have been planted by a human before us.  More likely, a squirrel did the honors.  Thank you, squirrel, because I like the fruits (if I get any before you devour them). With the rain and the warmer temps, everything is popping open at once. Obvious statement of the day: I like spring!

Siberian Squill

On days like today, I wish I didn't have to go to work.  I like my job, so that makes it easier.  The temperature is in the 60s F, the sun is warm, and the breeze is light...perfect gardening weather.  This is pretty late for my Scilla to bloom, but they look great.  They are quite tiny, barely above the grass (see the photo that shows I have to rake my yard).  The close-up photo shows their delicate blue flowers.  Pollinators have been enjoying their blossoms as much as I have.

A Tale of Two Seasons

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...that's April in Minnesota.  Sure, the season is officially spring, but winter does not go gently (sorry, mixing literary references).  Here are the photos that prove our crazy weather.

snowing--April 18-19

melting--April 22

snowing--April 23

melting--April 28

blooming! April 28

No sitting on the porch yet

Because of all the wind, I am not sure how much snow we have.  In one place I measured almost 12 inches.  Also, the temperature has dipped. It says 24 F on the thermometer below.  So I won't be sitting on the porch anytime soon.

P. S.  For a look at my garden, visit Richmond Library (Minnesota) on Monday at 6:30 pm where I'll be presenting.   

 

Guest Blog Appearance

A special thanks goes to Natalie Rotunda for her invitation to be a guest on her blog.  You can read it here.  http://theorganicpantry.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/yes-you-have-time-to-garden-by-linda-larson/ It was a fun piece to write since it got me thinking about spring.  Ah, spring.  With high temperatures currently ten degrees below normal, I think we're all ready for some warmer weather.  This photo of forget-me-nots is a reminder of the warm days ahead. 

It's not spring yet

But I dream of warmer temperatures and the first spring flowers, like this Siberian squill from a different spring. Somewhere under the ice, the bulbs are ready to grow.  In book news, I had an interview over at the Albany Enterprise office with Emily Gruenke.  She is writing a piece about my garden and books for the March 31 Home and Garden edition of the Shopper.  Shameless plug--be sure to pick up a copy! Here's their website http://www.albanyenterprise.com/

My New Gardening Book!

First, I want to thank all you who have been loyal readers of my blog and those of you who have been so supportive of my writing.  This book could not have happened without you.  I truly appreciate the kind words.

Though the title says one year, this book has been years in the making.  After many ups and downs and lots of hard work, my book is now available. (Insert happy dance here!) Click on this blog's page "A Year in My Garden" for a description.

It is available here now.  https://www.createspace.com/4158226

Here is the amazon link.  https://www.amazon.com/author/llarson

I wish that the paper version wasn't so pricy, but full color and paper are expensive.  Yet the e-book is more affordable.  Here are the prices: 

ISBN print 978-0-9889467-1-2 $25.95

ISBN e-book 978-0-9889467-0-5 $4.95

 

What do white-out conditions look like?

I took this photo during the recent snowstorm.  This gives you an idea of how much snow was falling.  However, this is just a percentage of real white-out conditions, conditions where snow and wind combine to make visibility low. I can see a tree near me, which would have been obscured during a real blizzard (which happened just to the west of us). The snowflakes fell heavy and wet, so I stood in a sheltered spot when I took this photo.  Spring seems far away. 

Winter Uninterest

I don't know why I think it's so funny that gardening magazines promote "winter interest" in the garden.  I feel an obligation to try, and it doesn't work.  Here is Joe-pye weed, a six-foot tall flower with a feathery seed head.  It's a source of food (for birds), so I keep them up.  In fact, you can see a stake with a curve, which was my attempt to keep them standing.  Between the snow, the wind, and the bitter temperatures, these poor plants collapsed.  The seed heads are buried and encrusted in an icy covering of re-melted snow. Who knew my winter interest attempt could be so uninteresting?