More planting - almost done!

Since we had a longer weekend with the Easter holiday, I got to spend a little more time at the garden. I have about everything in except for one more cucumber pickle planting and a little more mulching.

I found a yellow pear tomato plant that looked like it might be good to compare to my jubilee yellow tomato seeds. I planted quite a bit from seeds this year to save a little cash so I am anxious to see how they do compared to plant starts. I papered and mulched around the plants and then when I see sprouts from my seed plantings I will paper and mulch around them. I am using pine straw over newspaper for mulch. I am hopeful that this will hold the weeds back and keep moisture in.

Here is the (almost) final planting list:
2 - Yellow Crook Neck Squash - plant starts
2 - Yellow Patty Pan/Scallop Squash - seeds from last year
2 - Bambino Courgette (Zucchini) Squash - seeds from last year
1 - Picks-a-lot Cucumber - seeds from last year
1 - Pickling Cucumber - seeds *still need to plant
2 - Cherry Tomato - plant starts
1 - Yellow Pear Tomato - plant start
2 - Green Bell Pepper - plant start
1 - Red Bell Pepper - plant start

2 - Jelly Bean Tomato - seeds from last year
2 - Red Brandywine Tomato - seeds
2 - Jubilee Yellow Tomato - seeds from last year
2 - Roma Tomato - plant starts
2 - Pink Brandywine - plant starts


Pictures from 4/19/2011 prior to paper and mulching:

Book Review - Liz Curtis Higgs - Mine is the Night

I have never read any of Liz Curtis Higgs' books but I was craving a good fiction novel. I picked up "Mine Is The Night" and it looked good. I immediately knew the story line and what would happen, but thought it be a good read. Since I love the story of Ruth and Naomi I was excited to dive in. I have never read any novels based in Scotland so this was an educational experience in Scotland culture as well as a time period educational experience approaching the American Revolution. In hindsight there is a book that comes before this one, "Here Burns My Candle", but in my opinion this part of the whole story is the best!

I won't dive into the storyline or plot but if you are interested in a good Scottish read along the Bible book of Ruth storyline, this book won't disappoint. I am interested in finding other Liz Curtis Higgs books of similar Bible storylines. Of course, I am not sure any book can top Francine Rivers' "Redeeming Love". Another author I need to dive into aside from that title.

So many books, so little time with such a small library! *Sigh*

Simple Chicken Enchiladas

My mom used to make a delicious pan of chicken enchiladas but it was very time-consuming and involved. This recipe is so simple and fast to make and it tastes identical to Mom's recipe. You can easily find this recipe on the package of Philadelphia Santa Fe blend Cooking Creme from Kraft. The recipe can also be found here.

Olive Tapenade, Feta Cheese and French Bread

I stumbled upon this at our local Costco and it is delicious! They were handing out sample of this combination and I was totally hooked! It was olive tapenade with feta cheese mixed in and piled on pieces of french bread. Oh my! So I bought the olive tapenade and feta cheese. Then I went home and whipped up several fresh french baguettes. Divine! I used the french recipe from my bread machine for the dough then baked them. I can't believe how well those came out.

Anyway, if you like olives, you might enjoy this...

It's That Time of Year - Spring Gardening!

Well I am a few weeks behind getting into the garden. The weather has been pretty cool and I haven't had the motivation to get busy. But nature calls and so does the community garden. A couple of weeks ago I started cleaning out my plots and cleaning up walkways. I decided to go from three plots to two plots. I learned a lot last year and two will be plenty. Plus I still have plenty of pickles!

A week ago I finished cleaning up my plots, tilling, and helping other community garden members clean up their plots. My legs were feeling it too!

This evening I made a dash to the garden to start planting although we have a very cool several evenings. I put in two yellow crook-neck squash, two mounds of yellow patty pan squash, two mounds of zucchini, two cherry tomatoes, one mound of cucumbers (need to get more seeds!), two green bell pepper, one red bell pepper, two roma tomatoes, and two pink brandywine tomatoes. I still need to put in one more cucumber plant and a couple of jubilee (yellow) tomatoes. I love those plain and they are delicioso on a fresh sandwich. Mmmm, drooling as I type!

Not sure what else I will get in there and I still have plenty room....

Growing boys...

We are thrilled to no longer be dealing with diapers and sleepless nights. Woo hoo!!! But I am sad how fast these munchkins grow. We are never happy are we?!

My two oldest boys have started losing teeth. The second oldest boy lost his first one before his older brother. So our eldest son lost his first tooth Sept 21, 2010 and now has another couple loosed. Then the next oldest lost his first tooth August 3, 2010 and several days later lost another one. He is waiting for more to fall out. They are both waiting for more to fall out - money maker! They love it when their dad and I don't communicate and they profit from both of us. I put money down for their tooth, then their dad comes in and puts money down for a tooth. Neither of us knowing what the other did but hearing the next day about how much they made on their teeth. Punks!

This is my eldest after his first tooth - we had to help him smile to show the tooth:

This is his younger brother - please don't be grossed out by the yellow teeth - he was eating when it happened (plus he went to the dentist afterwards for his regular cleaning):

Fall Gardening

What happened to summer, I will never know. I have pictures with dates to help me know what I did for next spring and summer. So now I have a few fall garden crops in the ground. I went very simple because of a hectic schedule....broccoli and brussel sprouts. While I love cabbages, beets, lettuces, etc. I just didn't have the oomph to do more. It was all I could do to get those in and that was after killing 24 plants in three days. It was still very hot and dry here in the south in September when I planted a first round of 18 broccoli and 6 brussel sprouts starts. I didn't mulch or put straw around them. I watered good the night I planted them, came back two days later - all dead! Waaaahhhh! I give up!

Then my garden neighbor's husband bought 18 broccoli plants when she only wanted 3 - so she gave them to me. I planted them. They are growing now. But it cooled off and rained too. That always helps. I also put wheat straw around the plants to help keep the moisture in and weeds off.

This picture was from Sept 24, 2010 but you get the idea. The plants are probably 5x the size now. I should check on them. We have been having good rain and sun so they will be fine.

I learned something interesting - don't use wheat straw in the spring. They will go to seed and then grow. Good to know! But in the fall it is alright.

I let one of my plots just sit for now and through the winter. It is a good plot so I don't want to wear it out. Just kidding. I just don't have the energy. So I will amend it with my compost over the winter. Then my second plot that was horrible with weeds, the garden board decided to experiment and cover with black plastic. Did I tell you that that plot is infested with fire ants!? Another reason to cover it - kill those suckers!! They bite my toes and ankles. It hurts. They bit my son. He won't come back to the garden.