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

Better Than Fig Newtons

Every year I can a lot of figs, but I dehydrate some too. I'm not much in the habit of using my dried foods and decided I need to remedy that. The other day, I researched recipes for homemade fig newtons that used dried figs. I ended up combining three recipes and the results were excellent! Here it is, so I can make it again.

Better Than Fig Newtons

Fig Filling:

• 2 cups dried figs
• 1¾ cup apple juice
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• ¼ cup sugar

Mix in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed and the figs are moist and plump.

Crust:

• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• ½  cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large egg

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and dry ingredients. Pat half of the dough into a greased 8" x 12" baking dish. Roll out the other half into an 8" x 12" rectangle. Spread fig mixture over bottom crust. Place top crust on top. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. When cool, slice into squares.

Recipe Notes:

• Orange juice is the "secret ingredient" that gives these that fig newton flavor.
• Of course, you can substitute a different juice or use water to rehydrate the figs.
• You can substitute your choice of flour.
• And sweetener! Use what you like. 

We really liked these. I cut way back on the sweetener in the recipes because 1) so many cookie recipes are too sweet for our liking, and 2) the figs and fruit juices are already sweet. This was perfect. 

Better Than Fig Newtons © March 2021

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

Taming the Wild Side

One thing I have learned over the years, is that just because I "tame" an area, doesn't mean it stays tamed. Gardens, for example. They can look neat and lovely at the beginning of the summer, but by the end of the season, the battle with the weeds has been lost, and you wonder if you can still find the tomato plants. I have the same problem with other areas, such as my herb beds, elderberries, rugosa roses, and forest garden hedgerows. Once a year these areas get tidied, and that's usually when I take pictures! After that, they seem a lost cause. 

I've often thought that if all I had to do was the garden, or my herb beds, or my hedgerows, then they'd be beautiful. They'd be perfect. As it is, I have many things to do: garden, goats, pasture, house, harvest, food preservation, and whatever projects we're working on. In reality, things gets done as best we can even though it doesn't often look like it.

Earlier this month, we were discussing where to plant some apple and quince trees that we bought. We decided on the front yard for the apple trees, but unfortunately, the best place would take quite a bit of work to conquer. There was also the question of an old pecan tree that shades both front yard and the top of the garden.

The top of the garden. There's a fence in there!

This thicket is marked "wind break" on our master plan. Here's what it looked like several years ago, when we fenced the garden.  

June 2014

For awhile I had my compost worm bed up there, and later a bed of comfrey. Occasionally, I would cut shrubs down to feed the goats, but over the years it grew into a wild mess.

March 2021

Ligustrum, seedling oaks, honeysuckle, wild roses, blackberries, saw briars, and poison ivy are part of the take over, along with things I haven't identified. And every year they creep out a little further toward the garden on one side of the fence and into the front yard on the other. 

As we discussed a plan, we had to ask what should be done about the old pecan tree. It never produces much in the way of pecans and shades part of the garden. It would shade any fruit trees we wanted to plant there too. The other thing about older trees, is that they become problematic if allowed to get too big. They need to be cut while the chain saw can manage them, and while the wood is still fairly healthy. Old rotted trees are dangerous trees, plus it's a waste of wood.

I cleared out the shrubs and undergrowth around the tree.

View from the garden.

Then, Dan took off the tree branches on the garden side of the tree. 

Felling trees can be unpredictable, so Dan removed
the weight on the side we didn't want it to fall toward.

The next day he took it down.

A good size for the chain saw and the wood is healthy.

Our front yard.

What a gap it left in the skyline! It makes us a little sad, actually.

However, it will be put to good use as firewood, and the branches will be chipped for mulch and smoker wood. We'll plant two new apple trees and a crabapple here, in the front yard. 

On the garden side, we're pulling roots to get ready to plant Chinese quince seedlings. 

Back on the garden side.

Two baby Chinese quince trees planted and mulching begun.

Chinese quince

Eventually, they will create a new treed skyline. Said to grow 15 to 20 feet in height, it will be a shorter treeline than the 50 to 60 foot pecan. For now, I'll continue covering the area with a cardboard/wood chip mulch. Either this fall or next spring, we'll sow a diverse ground cover here. Hopefully, this area won't revert back to the wild side too badly. 

Taming the Wild Side © March 2021

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