The Garden in March

Peach tree blooming in mid-March.

March. A totally unpredictable month in terms of weather. Some years it's warm, some years it's cold, but always, it seems to be windy and it rains. Our anticipated last frost isn't until mid-April, so, weather permitting, March is the month I finish the winter garden harvest, plant spring veggies, and work on preparing the beds for the summer garden.

Newly trellised asparagus and blackberry bed

The asparagus bed above was plagued for years with volunteer wild blackberries. Last year, I finally gave up and let them grow. I harvested quite a few, so it was a good decision. But since they sprawled, I thought a trellis would be useful. The first garden project of March was to put up the t-post and cattle panel trellis you see in the photo above.

My next project was to tackle the hoop house.

Weeding the hoop house

I have mixed feelings about the hoop house. I found that covered with greenhouse plastic, it would get too warm when we had mild, sunny winter days. But it didn't stay warm enough to protect tender warm weather plants. Plus, it added an additional watering chore. In summer, the raised beds dry out pretty quickly.

Working my way down the beds.

This year I've decided to try planting squash or melons in the hoop house beds. Another experiment.

In most of my winter garden beds, some of the plants are allowed to go to seed for collecting. In the photo below, turnips are blooming. 

Turnips blooming (for seed).

These are Tokinashi turnips, a new variety for me.

Photo from January.

According to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, this was the variety that Fukuoka Masanobu grew. We really like them! The turnips are mild even when large, and the greens were tasty even as they were bolting. The greens had an interesting flavor. Almost honey flavored, but not sweet. No other way to explain it! It's a keeper.

Snow peas are coming up in the turnip bed.

Chickweed grows in that bed too, a favorite for salads and my homegrown goat mineral mix. 

Foraged chickweed.

Chickweed salad with kefir dressing and chopped pecans.

Other winter garden hangers-on include fava beans.

The favas had no problem with our freezing cold spells.

Last year, I started harvesting these in April. This year, I tried a different variety, Sweet Lorane. 

Loads of fava bean flower buds.

It's said to be lower in tannin, so there isn't a need to remove the inner pod. We'll see!

My strawberries are also starting to bloom. I don't have many plants left, so every berry is a treat.

Strawberry, garlic, and teeny baby lettuce.

I thought my Savoy cabbages would make it. Half of them survived the winter and started to grow, but then we got a streak of days topping 70°F (21°C) and they thought it was time to bolt!

Bolting savoy cabbages. Multiplier onions in this bed too.

I cut them down and sauteed them for dinner. Mild and tasty. They will likely send up seed shoots, so I'll collect some seed then.

Early spring planting includes trays of broccoli, more collards, some herbs, and lettuce, which will already be transplanted by the time this blog post publishes.

Jericho lettuce seedlings.

I also got an early start on my tomatoes, although I'm not impressed with the germination.

Tomato seedlings.

More experimental (for me) varieties: Black Krim and Eva Purple Ball. Both were described as being heat tolerant. I know it's said that tomatoes like heat, but they don't like too much heat, as evidenced by a drop in production in my garden every year when our heat cranks up to sweltering. 

So that's it for March. I'm happy to have gotten so much done. Next weekend, we're forecast to drop back down into freezing overnight temperatures! The weather has been so nice that I was tempted to get an early start on my warm weather veggies. I'll have to wait until mid-April when were out of danger of frost. I'm looking forward to that. 

End of month parting shot - 1st asparagus!

How about you? What going on in your garden?

The Garden in March © March 2021

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Cold Weather Canning

As soon as it gets cold enough to want the wood cookstove going all day in the kitchen, it's time to start my cold weather canning. This is when I start emptying out the freezer, pulling out things that have been stored there for future canning.

First up was bone broth.

Bones with about half-a-cup cider vinegar, onions, & celery. It needs
a slow simmer over several days to extract minerals from the bones.

This takes the longest so I start it first. I just toss our bones into a bag in the freezer, and later pull them out to make the broth. After they're defrosted I pick off any bits of meat I can find. It was quite a lot, actually, almost 2 quarts of a mix of chicken, chevon, duck, pork, and squirrel. Usually I use this is soups, but I think I might make another batch of scrapple with this.

Once that got going, I started in on some strawberry jam.

After that it was peach jam.

Stirring in the sugar. I'm guessing most folks would consider mine
fruit spreads, because I only use about 1/3 the sugar of jelly and jam.

This was the first time I've made peach jam. I didn't get more than a pie's worth of peaches at any one picking, so besides eating fresh pies I froze peach pies, raspberry-peach, and blueberry-peach pies. Then three quarts were gradually collected in the freezer for the jam.

I used my frozen cushaw to make pumpkin butter.

The only problem is that this one isn't good for reclaiming fridge or freezer space with this product, because it is a huge no-no to can this stuff. It must be stored in the fridge or freezer according to government safety recommendations. I reckon there's a small gain because when it's cooked down it takes up less space, and it's worth it because I love this stuff! It won't last long.

Then blueberry jam

My canning kitchen (on the back porch) is not
 heated so the hot jars and jam were steaming.

I only used part of my frozen blueberries. There are still plenty in the freezer for blueberry pancakes and muffins.

Also elderberry jelly

Using a wine press to squeeze out every last drop.

I only got about a gallon of elderberries to freeze. The birds got the rest.

Fig-orange jam was next.

Fig combines nicely with several other fruits, but we particularly
like the orange-fig combination. This batch was made with my
 homemade apple pectin, so I'm cooking it down in my slow cooker.

Last up was raspberry jelly.

Love this cheerful color.

I didn't get quite enough juice for a batch of jelly so I mixed the raspberry with apple juice for the jelly. The raspberry flavor predominates, however, and it is so good.

This year's cold weather canning efforts.

Does that seem like a lot of jelly and jam? It's definitely more than a year's worth, but we had such a good fruit harvest that I took advantage of it. Also, one of our favorite breakfasts is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with toast. So all that jam and jelly will be put to good use.

I did my pizza sauce last October, so that wraps up my cold weather canning for this winter.

Cold Weather Canning © January 2017 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Peach Upside Down Cake

Can I redeem myself for my last not-so-beautiful recipe? (Although I have to say it was a really tasty fresh veggie side dish. In fact, please scroll to the bottom of the post for an updated photo of the same salad. :)

My second peach tree has begun presenting me with ripe peaches, so I've still got peaches to play with. Some I'm freezing and of course we're still enjoying the harvest. This was a quickie dessert for which I wanted to save the recipe (hence this post!)

Peach Upside Down Cake

Topping: put in bottom of 8x8 inch baking pan.

• 1/4 C melted butter
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cups sliced fresh peaches
• small handful of fresh raspberries if you've got them

Batter: Mix and pour over topping.

• 1/2 C softened butter
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 and 1/4 C flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 C sour milk (or whey, yogurt, or kefir) 

Bake at 350°F (180°C) for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool about 10 minutes then invert on platter to serve.

And the new photo of the aspic?

Same stuff, take 2.

What do you think?

Peach Upside Down Cake © July 2016 by

Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Garlic, Raspberries, and More

June means...

garlic harvest,

the beginning of raspberry season,

green tomatoes,

apples blushing,

elders blooming,

popcorn needing weeding,

peaches almost ready (I should have thinned them!),

first picking of green beans imminent,

and a bowlful of wild blackberries.

What does June mean to you?

Garlic, Raspberries, and More © June 2016 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Peach Problems & The Sink Window

Photo of my peach tree, taken 31 May 2012

Last year about 98% of my peaches were infested with Oriental Fruit Moth (also called peach moth) larvae. This year, I've found them in less than half. This year's problem I've identified as Brown Rot.

Brown rot is a fungus which infects the tree about three weeks before the fruit ripens. It starts with a small, soft, brown spot on the fruit which spreads quickly. The fruit literally rots away on the tree. It's not uncommon in humid weather, and our spring has certainly been that, with all the rain we've gotten.

This would have been something to address before spring growth (chalk up this year's crop to another valuable learning experience. :) The Organic Gardner's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control recommends inspecting for and removing any gummy lesions on twigs and branches, before the tree starts it's spring growth. A sulfur spray helps protect the flowers when they begin to open, with a second application later, to protect the fruit. Copper spray is also said to be helpful. I admit I would not have known to look for this beforehand, but will know better next year.

At first it wasn't too bad and I managed to salvage enough for fresh peach slices on our breakfast cereal every morning, and a delicious pie...

Our first (and only) fresh peach pie of the year

There wasn't enough to can, so I opted for dehydrating some.

I dried about a quart's worth of this year's peaches

While canning requires enough for a canner load (7 quarts for a standard size canner), drying and freezing are good for small amounts. I froze about three quarts worth. Another nice thing about freezing is that I can use as is, in smoothies, in baked goods, or make jam later on. Sadly, the remaining peaches are going bad before they have a chance to ripen. Sadly, my second peach tree, which ripens later, is a lost cause. War is officially declared for next year.

While I was busy with the peaches, Dan was busy trimming out the window over the kitchen sink....

The shelf helped solve the problem of how
the window fits between the cabinets.

Stool, apron, and a closer look at the trim.

That's another thing checked of the kitchen project list. I get to do the painting. :)

Peach Problems & The Sink Window © June 2012 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/