Definitely a Long Awaited Harvest

Back in October I planted my first ever bed of onions and garlic. Something about the sheer size of elephant garlic intrigued me, even though I knew it was mild in comparasion to some of the popular California choices and varieties available. So I bought 1 pound (that would be 1 whole bulb and like 2 cloves) and planted with my onions. You can search back to my October threads and find pictures.

Well today I got to harvest that long awaited garlic.

It is now 'curing' in a basket on the north facing porch to protect it from the sun. The hot sun really changes the flavor of garlic, and as I've been told it is not pleasant. It needs about 3 weeks to be cured enough for storage. I should be able to keep it up to 8 months as I've read. However, as large as these cloves are, I don't know if any will be left. I LOVE garlic!!!

Also, my endless summer blue hydrangea finally has blooms on it this year. I had none last year due to a boo boo on my part thinking I needed to prune it. Well, it only blooms on branches set the previous year, so I cut everything off that had a bud on it. Boy did I feel dumb.

I also harvested a bit of my baby lettuce from my 'salad bar' bed in the front yard. Its so hot here in the south most greens have been done here, but I have a bed in the front yard and it had shade from 1pm to 4pm and the cool season veggies seem to like it. So I'm going to add more cabbage and lettuce all summer.

Well, it looks like rain this weekend, but if it holds off I will be selling jams/jellies and cut flowers at the new sustainable living Farmer's Market in Fuquay on HWY 401 in front of Kohl's at the Landscaping place with all the rocks in front. If you are interested in visiting my stand, I will be there from 8am until 1pm. (Given the rain isn't bad) If I am there I will take photos to come back and share here on Sunday. Take care!

A Few Hummingbirds

The clouds roll in...and stay!

Weather is uncooperative this week... AGAIN! The days have been wet, either from it being cloudy and not drying from the night before rain, or there are random storms through out the day. Its the plight of the south. Just because you see sun in the morning doesn't mean you shouldn't have an umbrella by your side for the day. I blame it on the humidity, which is the number one thing I hate about the south. I can tell how bad the day is going to be when I try to brush my hair in the morning and it becomes pure frizz.

Though I can't complain mother nature is taking care of watering the garden for me. Saving me on my water bills until we can hook up a pump to the pond to water with. The plants are looking fabulous and green, even our tomatoes have taken off! Some were languishing until the rains started last week. They needed a good healthy does of water from the sky, my tap wasn't cutting it. However, this rain is not good for my onions and garlic. They needed at least 2 weeks of dry for I could harvest them and cure them for storage. My elephant garlic is turning yellow/brown now, almost 50% of the plant. That means I should leave them unwatered for harvest from now on, and my onions were starting to flop over for harvest too... no they have perked up... and I'm afraid they will flower. Flowering onions are NOT good for storage. I would have to eat them all fresh within 2-3 weeks or they are no good. That's not worth my time since all these were planted in October with the hope I could store them for 6 months until my next fall planting.

I am planning on my next article to share with everyone here while this is going on, so just wait to see the information I will fill you with by the end of the week. I think you'll find it useful... maybe even bookmarkable! :)

Until then... PICTURES!

Painted turtle I found crossing our front yard:

Don't be fooled, she was a HUGE turtle!

Here's a little bossy hummingbird we have visiting right now. We have a feeder off the fence and the little ruby throat tries to attack all the other hummingbirds that come by for a drink. He doesn't even care when I'm out there. He holds his ground. We're sure there is a nest close by.

I found this article I wanted to share: The Dirty Dozen - Pesticides On Our Produce

**I think this is a wonderful article, and I know I haven't been writing much myself lately. Don't worry, I'll be adding my own articles and bringing more pictures to share soon. Its just been either steaming hot, or raining. I've also been dealing with the lose of some chickens, and a broken heart is hard of moving on. So here's a great read for now:**

"pesticides in food

Don't Be Fooled by the Dirty Dozen

A new "Dirty Dozen" list points out the most pesticide-contaminated food, but don't take that to mean that everything else is OK.

By Leah Zerbe 

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Chemical-based farming causes problems we can't veggie-wash our way out of. It's common knowledge that conventional fruits and vegetables are contaminated with pesticide residues on their skins and peels. But what many people don't realize is that the pesticides are actually inside the food, too...."   Read the rest of the article on rodale.com

Jellies and Jams

Though it may seem early in the season to be canning, as soon as the strawberries ripened we began jellies! So far I've canned about 40 jars this week. I will add 1 or 2 new flavors to my Etsy store each day. That means you should come check out my store everyday. ;)

Here are some of my Jams and Jellies so far:

These jellies include: Honeysuckle, Clover, Rose Petal and Honey, Strawberry, Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi, Rosemary and Apple/Rosemary

Check out the cool Rosemary jars, I stuck a twig of the rosemary bush right in it.

And as always, my jellies are made from what I grow and I grow ORGANIC!

http://BiscottiQueen.Etsy.com

Study Of An Iris

Today is just pictures of my Reblooming Purple German Iris, it finally opened for the first time and I think it is stunning.