Saturday, August 1, 2009

Giants in the garden



That's a six foot fence in the background. The corn has tasseled out and a few ears are forming. The plant in front is a yellow crook neck squash. It looks like it's out in front, but really, it's planted four rows into the corn.

What looks like the end of the raised bed is the back bed, empty now. I am sheet composting it in preparation for next year. I thought about planting fall crops in it, but decided the soil needed a rest.

Beets from it are canned; onions are hanging and curing. Green beans are in the freezer, greens (beets, lambsquarter and dandelion) have been canned. So you can see what I've been up to!

8 comments:

  1. How do you can greens?
    I've only freezed greens.
    Johanna

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  2. Johanna, you should be able to find the times and instructions for canning greens in the Ball Blue Book, or any book of information about canning. You handle them pretty much the same as you would to freeze them.

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  3. Hello Pat, it's me again!
    I have overgrown and overblossomed radishes and yesterday I noticed there were little light green-pinkish pods too. Do you know can they be eaten cooked or uncooked?
    (I didn't know who else to ask.... :-) )
    Johanna

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  4. Yes, ma'am, you can eat radish seed pods raw. They're usually very good, but it depends on the radish and growing conditions. They're a tiny bit spicy, less so than the radishes. I love them in salads or to just eat out of hand. I always let some radishes go to seed just for that purpose. Also, you can let the seeds mature until the pods are dry, then save them to plant for radishes next year, or you can sprout them and eat the sprouts in salads or sandwiches.

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  5. Thank you so much!
    :-)
    Johanna

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  6. Hello Pat,
    Great looking Veggies.
    I hit the jackpot in seeds a couple of days ago. Going through a store and noticed seeds high up. 25 cents a package. Several were heirloom variety. So I got a mix mostly veggies but some flowers to put in with the veggies. 20 packets in all, and all different. When I got to the till they were on sale , and with taxes it came to $3.36 for 20 packets of seeds. I have put them in my metal can and put them in the coolest dry spot in the house for next springs garden.
    I am saving some seeds from my garden that are heirloom for next year as well. So my garden costs will be potatoes, and perhaps some onion sets for next year! My veggy garden is 40 by 40 feet, plus a 12 x 8 green house. ( cost under 35$ and lots of free scraps to make!).
    I hope to live off most of the veggies year round from this garden. My goal is to grow a full garden free one year.
    Thanks for all the great ideas you give us.

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  7. Awesome, Annie! Sounds like you're in good shape for next year. When you do a garden for free, let us know about it.

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