Greenhouse - June 2013

Greenhouse photos from 06/17/13

The dill is monsterous...I must have planted a different variety than I usually do.

The tomatoes have grown like crazy the last couple of weeks and I spied a couple of little ones growing yesterday.

About half of the beets have been picked and canned...8 pints worth.

The kids usually eat a couple of carrots a piece each day.

The melons have pretty much completely filled in all those bare spots since earlier this week when I took photos. We also found a bunch of watermelon growing. They are about softball size already.

Sweet corn will be ready in no time.

We picked a huge bowl of cukes yesterday...now to make some pickles.

My dear husband put of the cattle panels for the cukes to grow up onto...it's working awesome and I love how it works.

Over the last week, we have picked a bunch of green beans and peas. I've froze 8 quarts of peas and 6 quarts of green beans. We are on our way to filling the freezer.

And...it takes a long time to shell peas, but they are worth it...yummy!

God bless!

Greenhouse - May 2013

The greenhouse...May 23rd, 2013

The greenhouse is kind of like the 5th child around here...needs a lot of attention, but everyone likes to help out.

Spinach

Peas

Dill, Parsley, Cabbage

Carrots, Beets, Carrots, Green Beans

Littlest Helper

Spelt

Tomatoes

Sweet Corn

Watermelon

Celery...started from the ends of store-bought

God Bless!

Recipes ~ Tried and Approved

I have found some great ideas, recipes, etc on Pinterest. Here are a few of the recipes we have tried out and enjoyed...

**Updated - I forgot some very yummy recipes (I'll blame it on pregnancy brain)...

Pumpkin Pie - Pumpkin pie made with maple syrup

Caramels - Butter, honey and cream...what could be better.

Monkey Bars - Banana bars with browned butter frosting...delicious and easy.


English Muffins - I've made these a few times over the last few years - before Pinterest. I just made them last weekend again and was reminded how easy and yummy they are.

Baked French Toast - I made this baked french toast for Christmas brunch with my family and it was a hit all around. I used a cinnamon bread rather than the sourdough and it was delicious.

White Bean and Kielbasa Stew

Gluten Free Carrot Cake - I made this gluten free carrot cake a long time ago, but we all loved it - more so than the gluten filled one I normally make. It did taste better a couple of days later after it sat for awhile. I used honey instead of the agave and I used a mix of butter and coconut oil instead of the grapeseed oil. I also increased the cinnamon and decreased the nutmeg a little.

Caramel Corn - This caramel corn is yummy and easy to make. We made a bunch and gave it as gifts for Christmas as well.

Homemade Ketchup - This homemade ketchup is super easy to whip up and it's yummy too. I add everything to a quart jar and mix with my hand blender. I go light on the seasonings and my family seems to like it better.


I know it's not really canning season right now, but here are a few new things I did this past year...

Canning Dry Beans - You need a pressure canner/cooker, but canning dried beans was super easy and so nice to have some on hand.

Rosemary Rhubarb Jam

Pineapple Zucchini - It's basically zucchini canned in a lot of sugar and pineapple juice and the end result tastes just like canned pineapple you would buy in the store. My kids have been eating it up...they do think they are actually eating pineapple though. Charlie would probably decline if she knew she was eating zucchini.


Happy Eating!

Greenhouse - April 2012

 04/26/12 - Greenhouse is pretty much full

On the left - sweet corn, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers

On the right - potatoes, melons, cukes

 Carrots and red cabbage

 Lettuce and a few onions amid the weeds

 Watermelon

 Cukes

 Potatoes

Baby boy

...think I could grow a couple more of him?...

It is the end of April and the greenhouse is basically planted for now. As the season goes and we harvest things, I will plant other things but for now I am done planting in the greenhouse. It is pretty full.

I also still have plans to plant some things in our normal outside garden. I'm pretty sure it will be full too. I will get the onions planted in the next couple of days. I'm also planning on planting some popcorn, squash, spinach and some herbs next month. 

My name is Holly and I may just be a food hoarder and garden addict.

God bless!

Garden/Greenhouse - March 2012

My little seed organizer

I'm having fun playing in the dirt in the greenhouse. It seemed so overwhelming earlier this spring...just so much space and I wasn't sure where to start planting at. I've gotten over that and now feel like I need more room to grow more things. 

I started by planted some sweet corn, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage in the early part of March. Those rows are coming up really well right now. 

Around the 23rd of March, I planted 12 rows of potatoes, watermelons, muskmelons, cucumbers, green beans and more sweet corn. These things are all starting to come up now. 

My plan is to get tomatoes, peppers, celery and maybe some sweet potatoes planted on Saturday. I will planted a bunch of onion sets early next week and some pickling cucumbers too.

I will post some photos next week...it's kind of crazy to see sweet corn growing already. 

God bless!

Menu Plan - 12/19/11 to 12/25/11

My plan for meals this week is ~

 

Monday 12/19 - Homemade pizza...I'm trying Pioneer Women's pizza crust, I hear it's wonderful.

                          Baked tilapa and roasted veggies for baby Joseph and I. (...still not eating dairy or gluten)

Tuesday 12/20 - Sloppy joes (out of freezer), homemade french fries, veggie

Wednesday 12/21 - Leftovers

Thursday 12/22 - Garlic roasted chicken , rice, veggie

Friday 12/23 - Chicken wild rice soup, beer bread, salad

Saturday 12/24 - Supper at Dan & Susan's. I'm bringing mashed potatoes and gravy, dessert - brownie, pudding, whip cream and raspberry trifle, and butternut squash soup

Sunday 12/25 - Lunch for our immediate family will be ham, cheesy potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, salad, and homemade crescent rolls. In the afternoon, we will head to the Neaton celebration. I will bring any leftover soup and any leftover dessert and a relish/veggie tray with ranch and hummus.

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas week!

Greenhouse

We have been talking about buying / building a greenhouse for the last couple of years. We plant a fairly large garden, but have always thought it would be nice to be even more self sufficient. I'm looking forward to being able to extend the growing season and spread some things out so that I can spread out the preserving I do.

Earlier this fall, we found a new greenhouse on Craigslist and bought it. We loaded up the kids and headed out on Sunday afternoon to pick it up. We went intending to buy a 30 ft x 50 ft and ended up buying a 30 ft x 96 ft. It looks huge, but I have a feeling we will have no problem utilizing all the space. 

Getting loaded up for the drive home.

 

Staking and measuring out the spot in the yard (and yes, Cori is pant-less).

 

 

Putting some tile-line through the front yard.

 

Putting in the retaining wall where the back of the greenhouse will be.

Spreading lovely black dirt and compost.

Main structure going up.

Girls helping.

 

Back wall up, a bunch of the bracing and purlins up.

Front wall on.

Today, Joe finished up the rest of the channeling on the front wall and is working on putting the large garage door on for the front wall. Then we pretty much have just the installation of the exterior plastic and a few smaller odds and ends.

And I need to do some major planning, etc. for future planting.

God bless!