The Garden, Beginning, Middle and End...

2 things. Wow, it has been a month since my last post and I did not post anything on the blog about this years garden. To close the gap a bit, the last day of the outdoor pool could not have ended any better given the perfect weather that day, and taking in all the hundreds of laps I clocked in by the end of the season, I was grateful beyond words. As one of the lifeguards said, 'You have just been a swimming machine this summer!'. Best thing I could have heard. So, to back track, to around Memorial Day. I bought a 3 tiered raised garden bed KIT. I had to build it. Seemed simple enough, but, as has been stated here before on many other projects, it was more work than anticipated...and it took a ton of soil. With the help of our neighbors, drilling some drainage holes on the floor board we bought to keep the soil in place, and the brand spanking new palettes we found outside of a shop, whose owners said, 'Please, take them off of our hands!' I was on my way.

 I bought small heirloom tomatoes, white eggplants, green peppers, strawberries, 6 varieties of basil for eating all summer and then to make pesto to take us to next summer, flat leaf parsley, which we have also been enjoying all summer as well, and dill. The strawberries died almost immediately, replaced them with something else (I forget), and it died, then replaced that with cucumbers which had blight, so that little corner never happened. 

That said, I have never had tomatoes grow so fast and with such strength in their stems. They are still blooming, and I have hundreds of them. The white eggplants were beautiful to watch bloom and grow from a lovely purple flower to a baseball sized eggplant. I cut back 10 of them just yesterday and cooked up some eggplant parm. There are ALLOT of seeds in these small guys, so, they can border on bitter. But, the Boys enjoyed it, along with the fresh basil and pesto made from scratch included in the ingredients. It was a great moment in the kitchen, and I froze 7 healthy portions!! I am in the process of dismantling, the large, beautifully weathered terra cotta pots of basil, making pesto like a machine. Last summer I froze 58 4 oz. containers, and so far, as of today, I have 41. The nights have been cool, so time is of the essence. All in all a great garden, yielding a bounty for us as I harvest the haul. I am a grateful little gardener, still busy busy busy, just like the bees who have graced us with their presence all season....

It is hard to imagine what will happen..

...but in a short amount of time, THIS!!!

The whole gift giving plants and herbs...

Strawberry leaf which never took, but so pretty..

White eggplant showing herself...

Strong and tall, still blooming...

Cut back bouquet of 6 basil varieties for pesto...

Last but not least, just yesterday, 10 of these babies...more still growing!!!

'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.'

                                                           Jeremiah 29:5

Post script: By days end, there are now 51 frozen 4oz. containers of pesto!!!

Build it, And They Will Come...

4 varieties of basil, some Italian oregano & sage..

4 weeks ago..

Roma's, growing, flowering, dill & Italian oregano, flat leaf parsley..

4 weeks ago..

Purple, Thai, sweet and Greek basil...staked for security..

Amazing growth!!!

4 weeks ago..

Whoops, wrong quote. The 'Field of Dreams' quote just feels fitting. More like plant it in a sunny spot, water, fertilize every 2 weeks, hand out some serious TLC, and they will grow! It has been close to 1 month since we put this years' garden together. The first week is very telling. Some of the basil immediately keeled over. Then, there were some spots which needed filling in. So, now I have Italian oregano, dill (you can never have too much fresh dill), and thyme. The tomato plants are flowering, some fuller than others. But the initial concerns are now over (short of the hail we had last week...there will be more before the Summer is over...I would wager money on that!). Some of the bamboo stakes are in place, and I will continue to rotate and add them as the need presents itself. The basil is already making its way into our food. It cannot be overstated how fresh herbs and veggies straight from the garden to the plate is so potent in aroma and flavor. So, here are the comparison pics, from day one, to almost 30 days later!!

Gardening 101...

Dill, Greek oregano, purple basil, sweet red peppers...just getting started!

Emptied last years' soil...that was alot of work!!

The gardeners glove...already blew through 1 pair!

Rather large earthworms...love them!

Rows, watered and ready for planting!

The all important 'spacing'...

Let the games begin!

Palette and glass brick (thank you Dad) planting area...

Finally, after a very cool start to Spring, the weather is saying 'PLANT'! I had to empty out most of last years' soil, as the nutrients are gone and nothing would grow. Edward helped me load up the garden beds w/ the new compost, soil to mix in w/ soil, and the huge sized bag of MiracleGro. One for each garden bed. I bought earth worms. Last year I had the little guys, but this year, they only had the really big guys, like you see after it rains. So they have been officially, earthed. I bought some purple basil, Greek oregano, dill, lavender, sweet red peppers. I have some Roma tomatoes in the wings. Sounds like alot, but looks very sparse once everything is in. So, today, hopefully, we can find some more goodies and flowers for out back to brighten up all the stone work. I created a palette potting area, which is a step up from the little bench I was using last year. I still plan to put a piece of flooring wood on top of the palette to cover the slats...moving right along. Now, if only the grass would grow!!

As a real bonus, we have sparrows nesting in our wreath out front and as of today there are 3 eggs. Very exciting! Will save those pics for another post....

Everyone have a safe Memorial Day 'weekend'!

The 'Big' Experiment...Update!

Remember what everything looked like 2 months ago...

Four varieties of basil, honeysuckle, sweet red peppers

Greek oregano, sweet green peppers, purple basil, dill, cilantro, honeysuckle, clematis

Beautiful, plentiful basil

Greek oregano growing low and spreading out, purple basil, sweet peppers, dill, cilantro, honeysuckle, clematis

One of 4 lavender plants..in big terra cotta planters..

A MOST welcomed guest...

Look @ him/her!!!!

It was an experiment. I was compelled to plant, to grow things, to somehow replicate 'a garden'. I had no soil to speak of and it bears repeating, (as I still can hardly believe it), we are 6000 feet in the air. The discovery of the raised garden bed was my only hope. So, w/ a 50 pound bag of mulch from Whole Foods, many many many many cubits of soil later, earth worms (yes, I actually went to Petco and bough a container of about 50 earthworms...no laughing), full sun and water, I would say that the garden has been 95% successful. I now have 4 kinds of basil, and have been enjoying the flowerettes this year as well. There is nothing like fresh dill on baked salmon. Cilantro...I have found that w/ the cilantro as well, the flowerettes are not as strong as the leaf. Add the cilantro (leaf or flowerettes) to some roughly mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes, a pinch of Kosher salt, a dash of lemon juice and some olive oil...oh my goodness, what a burst of flavors! My Greek oregano is a gift which keeps on giving. I had enough from last years' garden in Rhode Island to bring to Colorado, and now, I can see that I will have my fill once again...hopefully to taking me right through the winter and into next years' planting. I have planted red and green peppers which are now starting to blossom, along w/ tomatoes which are also starting to flower. The honeysuckle vines are growing up the trellis, along w/ the clematis, which has blossomed. I did loose one clematis and the strawberries just whithered. I also have 4 lavender plants growing which I will cut back when the weather cools and dry for their calming aroma. It is wonderful to wake up every morning to the sight of all this green, to touch the soil, to see how everything has grown overnight. Next year, maybe 2 more raised garden beds...in the meantime, 'whew'...really grateful!

Mmmmmm GOOD!!!

Recipe from my Gram, passed down.

71/2 quarts salted water
cleaned chicken
package of parsnips (about 5)
2 medium turnips (yellow would be a treat)
carrots..can't have too many
3 or 4 stalks of celery (I left it out this time)
dill dill and more dill
flat leaf parsley...2 bunches is good
1 medium onion

boil water
cut onion into quarters and stuff into chicken
tie up chicken so onions stay 'in'
peel and slice parsnips
peel and thinly slice turnips
peel and slice carrots
slice (otherwise missing) celery
cut stems off of dill and parsley, rough cut

Carefully place chicken in boiling water
Skim off all the 'debris' from the chicken...this may take a few minutes
dump in parsnips, turnips, carrots first
'layering', then dump in the celery, dill and parsley

Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Let rest for 1/2 hour...remove the chicken!
Make thin egg noodles and enjoy!!!