Sunday, May 31, 2015

Harvest Monday 6/1/2015 - strawberries

There is a second bowl we got from the garden!
Most of them are Ozark beauty and Allstar.




Please visit : Daphne’s Dandelions “Harvest Monday” where everyone can share links to their harvest or how they are using their harvests for the week.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Harvest Monday 5/25/2015 - greens and plantain

I am freezing greens for winter.
I like to make raw green soups in blender.
I made 3 zip lock bags this morning.


 
 

The herb of today is great plantain.
It is a invasive perennial plant that grows all around the yard. Our lawn is organic so I'm harvesting it everywhere.
We are drinking a lot of herbs tea, especially in winter and on fasting days. My husband had 42 fasting days last winter (21 on tea and 21 tea plus juices), me 8+8.
Most of the herbs I grow.
Plantain Tea Benefits - from liveandfeel.com -

Plantain tea is often used in the treatment of various respiratory problems, as it acts as a mild expectorant. These include asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, sore throats, and coughs. Plantain tea can also be used to lower blood pressure and control sugar blood levels.
Drinking plantain tea can help you if you've got diarrhea or dysentery. It is also used to treat irritated or bleeding hemorrhoids, kidney and bladder problems, bleeding caused by cystitis, and urinary tract infections.




Please visit : Daphne’s Dandelions “Harvest Monday” where everyone can share links to their harvest or how they are using their harvests for the week.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Greenhouse update May 20th

Again I found time to work with lumber - my greenhouse.
I planted cuces and squashes on the back raised bed, but it needs roof support and trellis.

All photos are without retouching, the work in progress and mess is huge!

Rear raised bed before - it is about 24" high. I loaded the bed with old leaves, twigs, than compost, peat moss, some sand, few lime stone.





 Before.....
 Welcomed guest!
 After......

Pine shaving everywhere.
I did not cover the areas where I planted cuces and squashes.

The little opening on the ground between the bricks - sprinkler system head. I am not sure yet if it will be good for the greenhouse or not.
View on the right.
Roof support and future trellis support.
 View on the left.
You can see the wooden frame I put on the blocks to make the whole construction more stability.
 That's how it is look like now.
 Still a lot of work, but plants are growing and it gives me hope that I can finish the project.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Harvest Monday 5/18/2015 - Melissa and Monarda

I started to dry herbs!

Lemon balm and bee balm this year are growing like  weeds.


 Lemon balm, or Melissa officinalis, was starter 2 years ago from seeds.

 - from www.herbwisdom.com
Lemon Balm was dedicated to the goddess Diana, and used medicinally by the Greeks some 2,000 years ago. In the Middles Ages lemon balm was used to soothe tension, to dress wounds, and as a cure for toothache, skin eruptions, mad dog bites, crooked necks, and sickness during pregnancy. It was even said to prevent baldness. As a medicinal plant, lemon balm has traditionally been employed against bronchial inflammation, earache, fever, flatulence, headaches, high blood pressure, influenza, mood disorders, palpitations, toothache and vomiting. A tea made from Lemon balm leaves is said to soothe menstrual cramps and helps relieve PMS.


Bee balm, or Monarda, Eastern Beebalm, Bergamot, Wild Oswego Tea, Horsemint was on ,y property before I moved in. I also planted red variety to the purple one.

from http://altnature.com - Bee Balm leaves and flowers and stems are used in alternative medicine as an antiseptic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic and stimulant. An infusion is medicinal used internally in the treatment of colds, catarrh, headaches, and gastric disorders, to reduce low fevers and soothe sore throat, to relieve flatulence, nausea, menstrual pain, and insomnia. Steam inhalation of the plant can be used for sore throats, and bronchial catarrh (inflammation of the mucus membrane, causing an increased flow of mucus). Externally, it is a medicinal application for skin eruptions and infections. Bergamot’s distinctive aroma, found in both the leaf and flower is wonderful for use in potpourri.








Please visit : Daphne’s Dandelions “Harvest Monday” where everyone can share links to their harvest or how they are using their harvests for the week.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Greenhouse update May 8

Last fall I was renovating/rebuilding my hoop-house.
First it was simple PVC hoop-house with regular , not greenhouse plastic, wich did not survive the winter snow.
I decided to make completely new wooden greenhouse.
First of all - I am not a builder and my hubby can't help me. It is in my blood how to handle the hammer, I believe -my grandparents were farmers. 


 Greenhouse is 24 feet by 12 feet, it is also on a slope what makes me life more difficult.
I was hoping to finish it before winter 2014-2015 but hurt my finger very badly so I stopped and only salad, onions and some asian greens survived there.
 This spring is very fast,everything suppose to be done by yesterday! And I have about 1 hr a day to work in a garden, so building process is slow.
 There is an entrance - bricks raised beds, new compost, pine shaving between.
I/m cleaning it from the front will the end side.
 There is a lettuce and onions from last fall.
 My first goal is to make a good roof support and I will not be covering the GH with plastic till fall probably, do not have time for it.
On the very back of the GH I decided to make a tall raised bed for probably squashes or cuces. Right now there are leaves from clean-up, I will add compost and plant something.
The back side is still a mess.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Harvest Monday 5/4/2015

Today my harvest (except the greens) is unusual:
Japanese knotweed of the left and asparagus on the right.

Japanese knotweed is a common weed but also a tasty edible treat in spring.
In the early spring, Japanese knotweed looks like an army of nondescript fat, green, red-flecked stalks poking up from the ground. I am not growing them, only discovered them last fall on the edge of the plot. I was using Japanese knotweed tincture and ordered some dried roots for making it.
Of course after I made an order, I found free plants.
When the shots are young, they taste like rhubarb, or spinach and sorrel. 
I ate them raw but it also can be steamed as asparagus.

Please visit : Daphne’s Dandelions “Harvest Monday” where everyone can share links to their harvest or how they are using their harvests for the week.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Plating first tomatoes, oka and potatoes

 The spring weather turns out to be a summer very fast, we missed 50s and came to 70s in one week. I decided not to plant radishes but tomatoes.

 and some oka (white and pink) beneath the large tomatoes plants.
 The new bed in the middle with the strawberries bed on the left and carrot bed on the right.
 Baby basil
 I also had some store-bough organic potatoes that sprouted, I planted them in post and they grew huge. I found the small bed for them.
 newly planted potatoes.
 This year I am a big fan of pine shavings.
I want to cover all the beds and all the passes to prevent weeds and dry soil.
 Strawberry is started to bloom, so lovely.
 My 3-years old red currants are blooming this year!


Other plants like cabbages are doing pretty well too.