Happy Family Day

Mike, the girls and I spent 4 hours in the kitchen together today using up my picking of yesterday. We froze down 7 cups of beans, 6 cups of basil, 4 cups of oregano and 2 cups of mint.  We also froze a large pan of apple rhubarb bars and kept the other one up for breakfasts. In addition to that, we got a lot of canning done.

• 6 large jars pickles
• 6 500 ml jars of apple butter (using our neighbour's crab apples)
• 7 500 ml jars of chutney
• 4 small jars pesto

We also spent the day eating amazing food from the yard. We had banana "ice cream" with berries from the yard and zucchini-saskatoon loaf for breakfast. For lunch we had a fresh salsa from the garden on rice, served with some garden carrots. I made a riata to cool things down, and Anywn also made a mango-peach smoothy. For supper, we had a potato and corn soup from the garden with fresh pesto on crackers. I made us a Greek salad using garden tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and peppers. Leora used the last of the lemons from canning to make mini-souffles, actually cooked in the lemon rinds.

It was a really great day. We had some much fun with the girls, and relaxed and watched some of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy as the rain came down. It was one of those great family days where you just really enjoy each others' company.

I'd still like to make some stewed rhubarb before the end of summer, and there will be more pickles and some salsa ahead of us. We also need to plant our garlic and fall pea shoots next weekend. I can feel fall coming and have spent as much time outside as I can. Last night we had a fire in the fire pit and I thought what a great day to myself it had been. The family time today made it a spectacular weekend.

What I learned this year

Well, all that rain was pretty hard on the yard, and last night with a risk of frost in parts of Saskatchewan, it feels like fall although it is the end of August. What a short season! All in all, it has been the worst gardening year I can remember. But the year has taught me a couple of really important things.

• I have learned that we were under watering our tomatoes and our carrots. None of my tomatoes have the blossom end rot they some times get, and my carrots are more plentifully than they've ever been before.
• If I am not going to use any chemicals on things like kohlrabi and I see the white butterflies, I have to cover the rows with mesh. By the time I see the caterpillars, the plants are done.
• My squashes and melons don't do well on the back fence. Even when we take the tree out, there just won't be enough sun.  I need to save that spot for peas and beans.
• The south side of the house did really well for cucumbers - I have never had so many, even with so little sun. I think I will put in a one or two foot square foot bed up the south side of the garage to see what I do with cucumber there next year. However, I would keep them in the greenhouse much longer and acclimatize them better. They were fried once and cold-stopped once.
• The green house peppers didn't get pollinated nearly as well as the south side ones, even with doors and windows open. We need pollinate in there by hand or move all plants except basil out.  The basil, bu the way, was awesome, even with no real sun.
• My rhubarb by the clothesline is not getting enough sun. I need to move it into the front if I am hoping it will produce as well as my other plant.

Today I puttered about my yard pulling spent plants and picking for about three hours. I made myself bouquets of flower and picked a large ziploc each of beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and corn. I also picked our last apple, more Merlin-free strawberries (my nephew who even eats the white ones), lots of peppers, some zucchini, and dug some more carrots. We'll need to buy milk products next week, but not much else.

This weekend I still want to pick rhubarb and freeze more herbs, but my day reading a book in the hammock and puttering around the yard is the most relaxing time I have had in weeks.

Worse Vices than Vegetables

In the midst of chaos, the garden carries on. My flowers sustain me.Our last two weeks have seen (links are related pictures) much need for sustenance in some form. We have been dealing with

• no running water down the kitchen sink for 11 days straight because of the plumbing disaster and resulting mold
• violent illness of all family members except me (nothing like vomit and diarrhea with no sink)
• 4 house guests for 8 days (some of whom had the illness)
• re-roofing the house
• Mike's trip to a wet Alberta
• me starting a brand new job

Wendy, you say, how did you carry on in this madness?  The answer, I was watching my fruit, vegetables and flowers grow. 


Currently eating

• more cucumbers than we ever had (Mike's already made 11 jars)
• tomatoes
• beans (yellow and climbing)
• peppers
• strawberries
• potatoes
• corn
• all herbs
• chard
• zucchini (I've been able to freeze down so much zucchini that my husband has made me promise no more)
• beets
• kohlrabi (hard hit by caterpillars - I'll need a net next year)
• carrots
• apples

This week I made bruchetta, Mexican soup, roasted vegetables, salads, raita etc. entirely from our own yard. Mike will make Pizza that way Friday using our tomatoes and spices for the sauce. I've also made great food featuring our food. We used the apples and zucchini in so many things, and I'll start using rhubarb again soon too. Yes, I know it is crazy to cook so much with guests, illness, no sink and roofing.  But you have to cope somehow, and there are worse vices than vegetables.

More than a bit wet, but only inside

The last ten days have been the driest of the summer, so you may wonder why the title. Well, we had Jodi and Brad visiting, then the next day Teela came to stay. Many lovely things happen. Teela admired my flowers, adored my vegetables, and watched fondly as her children loved the yard as well. Merlin ate my berries, walked the special path under the tree and played on the play set. Teela's only complaint was that her room smelled damp. I said it had been locked up a lot while Jodi and Brad were here (we keep it clean of cat dander for them and the closed door is the only good solution). Teela said that wasn't it. I thought it might be diapers and Mike washed the bucket of rags he had been soaking. Teela said that wasn't it, and thank goodness she did.

Saturday evening after homemade pizza we were all looking at pictures on the downstairs computer when Teela called us into her bedroom. There was a huge puddle along the north wall of her room. Further investigation found the wall was wet by the main drain pipe from the kitchen. Our closet wall was also wet and had some mold. Poor Teela and her three year-old and three-month old were packed up at bed time and sent to Liz's. We cleaned out all the damp areas, then I researched how to claim the insurance and Mike pulled apart the wall to see it he could find the issue.

The long and short of it is that it looks like the insurance will cover things based on my pre-claim stuff, but I will find out more on Monday when it is actually business hours. Teela's good nose saved any furniture from damage, although I had to wash some sheets and blankets. We now have guest room renovations to add to the roof and deck (it will be a stressful last three weeks of summer).

On the upside it has been so dry outside that we watered with the sprinkler for the first time this week. I have been able to get into all my beds and am loving up the yard each day. I love sitting out at night by candlelight and eating breakfast on the deck. My backyard has clematis, yarrow, cream lilies, sweat peas and cone flower that I am admiring the most. In the front, Leora's sunflowers are my favorite.

Currently eating:

• red currants (all the extra rain really helped them)
• peas (shell and sugar snap)
• beans (yellow and green)
• chard, beet greens, romaine, rocket and spinach
• baby carrots
• green onion
• raspberries
• strawberries
• apples (4 buckets so far)
• peppers (bell, baby bell, chili and jalapeno)
• all the usual spices
• cucumber (pickling and slicer)
• cherry and patio tomatoes

I am eating something from the yard in most meals, and loving all the fresh flavor.