Beauty Farming Life

Yesterday was the arrival of more seeds from the  SEEDS OF THE MONTH  club. For this batch, I received three vegetables and an herb: Dill, "Mammoth Long Island" Spinach, "Bloomsdale Long Standing" Radish, "China Rose" Carrot, "Chantenay Red Core" As always, I like to share and put these varieties out there to you all and ask for tips, suggestions.  Next Spring (or this Fall) when I plant them, I can look back on the blog and see what ideas you all had for me and put them to good use. Until then, I'll put them into my  SEED STORAGE VAULT  with all the others and await their planting time.

Small rosemary I had a friend ask us about the rosemary that we we planted in a large pot on the front porch and they wondered how it was doing.  I thought I'd update everyone.  It's now been in this container  for over a year and a half.  Above is what it looked like when we planted it (the portulaca is long gone, ha), and below is what it looked like last weekend. It's apparently very happy in its home on the porch, and we're very happy to have it for cooking.  It's such a versatile herb.  And best of all, it's a perennial, so we should have it year after year.  Of course, I think I might need to trim it up a bit.  Anyone have any suggestions for how to trim and/or how to save some?  Can it be dried or ground up?  Any other way of saving it?  I mean, we'll have a lot, so I guess it doesn't matter, but I just hate to waste it. Large rosemary Off to the farm today.  Almost 2 weeks now without significant rain, ...

Bay Tree in small container This is a Bay tree.  Or Bay Laurel as they are called.  It is, of course, one of the trees that the Bay Leaf  comes from which is used in culinary creations around the world.  We've been babying this one for about two years now, it started out about 2 inches tall and now is about a foot high.  I was thinking it might be time to transplant it out of its container and into a more permanent home. That brings me to the question.   I'm wondering how it should be planted?  Are they better off ground planted or just large container planted?  Seems kind of small to go into the ground and let's face it, our ground is not conducive in some areas and I'd hate to have it die after keeping it this long.  Or do they perhaps grow better in containers?  We have a few empty, very large clay pots in town and we could use one of those.  As it is now, it only gets watered once a week and it's growing well s...

I can't remember if I mentioned this, but a few weeks ago, 2nd Family gave us this clay pot with this Aloe vera in it.  They said we had to have Aloe nearby in case we needed it.  A very thoughtful thing to do. Newly planted aloe vera It must be happy in its new home  because here it is this weekend... Aloe vera plant with babies It's getting bigger and babies are springing up all around it!  Yay!  We haven't had need to use it yet, thankfully, but it's great to have one handy on the porch...and so that got us to wondering.  What are any other healing herbs/plants to keep in a pot on the porch to pull and use as needed?  I know there are herbs that make teas and such, but we were thinking more of something like the Aloe, something that's right there when you need it and you just break off a piece and use it when you need it. Anything we must have?

I did get some stuff planted! I don't have the irrigation set up yet, I got it (see the picture from Saturday's post) but I didn't get to that on Sunday because of the rain so we're going to go with nature's irrigation this week and then next weekend, I can get that set up. Raised Bed Vegetables and Herbs I planted a few plants I got at a local nursery.   We're only going to plant in these four, for now anyway, to see how things go this first season back to planting and gardening.  We put in two eggplants, two varieties of Asian eggplant.  Then in the longer middle bed, we have Roma tomato, Homestead Heirloom tomato, and a Jalapeño.  The further bed at the end will be herbs.  For now, I put in regular basil, a purple basil and oregano.  Will add a few more next weekend, planting the herbs that we use most. Chives in raised bed This is funny...I was pulling weeds in this bed to just clean it up.  Mostly grass and other types of wee...

Did some shopping yesterday, still can't get out to the farm today, roads around there flooded and the property is way too wet to do anything.  Going to head out tomorrow, if it doesn't rain again today (oh and for those asking, 2nd Family checked the bees and they are fine, so that's good!) While we were out shopping, we found these: Herb Saver It's a clearance item...called the HERB SAVER.  You put water in the bottom portion, and then you pop open the clear portion and the cut herbs go inside.  Then you just put it in the fridge.  It's really nothing more than putting them in a glass of water but they do stay nice and neat inside and take up less room in the fridge.  Plus they look kind of cool, ha. They actually rang up at $2.50 so we got both for $5.00.  It was a pretty good deal.  We would have bought a few more but t hey only had two left. I found them on Amazon, click here   herb saver , but of course the...

Harvested a bunch of basil, it's growing like a weed!  Beautiful green plants, beautiful large leaves...b ut I wrapped it in damp paper towel, brought it back into down, put it in the fridge and... Cut basil turning brown/black ...the next day it was all black and brown?  I am guessing this is like oxidation that happens with avocados but not sure now to prevent it?  We thought keeping them in water or wet would prevent it.  But when we have purchased fresh basil at the store, it's cut up and packaged and just as bright green as the day it was picked.  I was thinking of quick blanching it next time I harvest? Any suggestions?

A little over a year ago, 2nd Family GAVE US THIS aloe vera cutting.  They said we needed it because it's always good to have some around in an emergency. Aloe Vera giveaway cutting I put it in this pot next to the front door and just watered it on occasion (once every couple of weeks I guess, it is a succulent family plant after all).   Large Aloe Vera in clay pot Here it is last weekend!  It's gone aloe-crazy  Obviously, it's very happy in that spot and happy with the way we care for it.  I think we'll just keep doing the same thing...unless it outgrows the pot it's in.  Might be time to split it up and share the love, ha. Anyone else keep aloe vera around?

Recently, we had the issue of our basil turning dark.  After all your wonderful suggestions, we decided to try an experiment.  When I was at the farm, I cut some and put it in jars of water right after cutting.  (Mason jars always come in handy, ha). Cut basil in water Here they are after I cut them at the farm, fresh from the garden.  I brought them back into town (thankfully they fit in the car cup holders!).   We changed the water daily and just left them alone... Basil cuttings in water ...and here are the same cuttings exactly one week later.  They are doing fine.  Not that we'd wait a week normally but we wanted to perform this experiment to see how they would do.  It's nice to know that treating them like cut flowers was a great idea, at least for transporting them back into town for later use and they won't be turning dark again. Thanks for the suggestions!

2nd Man is in love with any herb or seasoning... Saffron and Herbs de Provence And the other day, two of his favorites came in the mail.  I told him to let me snap a picture.  Some days, he must think  I'm crazy, but then I remind him that's what happens when he lives with a blogger, ha!   Anyway, saffron of course is saffron, he uses it in rice dishes mostly but has been known to drop some in a casserole or a stew.  Saffron is very strong so it doesn't take much.  The other one of his faves is Herbes de Provence...the famous French mixture of savory, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, oregano and lavender.  That last one is what makes him like this this blend.  Often they include all the herbs listed except lavender.  He uses it as a rub on a pork loin that is out of this world.  The lavender adds just the right unique touch. Do you have a favorite seasoning? P.S.  Sorry I've fallen behind on comments this wee...

This is the bay laurel tree we blogged about a while back.   It had some leaf damage after this photo was taken and so we planted it into a larger, clay pot. Bay Laurel tree It's growing nicely in its spot and sprouting out new branches.  I'd like to plant it in the ground but not sure how well it would do. I know they are very slooooooow growing so maybe the large clay pot is better for awhile.   Fresh bay leaves This past weekend, 2nd Man asked me to bring some leaves home.  I wasn't sure where to cut them off but I chose the bottom of the plant and took some from there.  While I was at the farm, I left them in this basket in the sunshine where they dried nicely and now they are in a small jar waiting to be used. Anyone have any Bay leaf tips?

Fall garden update: Squash bed Squash and Napa cabbage doing well... Fall tomato plant Tomatoes are blooming, not sure if we'll get any this season, might have gotten them in too late or our weather was too weird, but at least they are trying... Herb raised bed  Herb bed has gone to seed, but it's OK, the bees and butterflies are loving it.  And we can still harvest the thyme and oregano... Bibb lettuce Buttercrunch (Bibb) lettuce was ready to be harvested.  I forgot about staggering the planting and so now it's all ready at once.  Oops!   So I harvested two ways...I cut some at the base... ...and pulled some up and put them, roots and all, in jars of water.   Greens raised bed Here are the greens.  The center plants are mustard greens, with leaves ready for harvesting. Fall harvest basket And here is this weeks harvest basket. A yellow squash in the bottom, mustard greens, heads of bibb lettu...

Cut back our perennial garlic chives that are growing in the corner of one of the raised beds.  I put them in this jar of water and they smell delicious of course... Mason jar full of Garlic Chives ...but normally we harvest what we need, a few chopped into a salad or on potatoes.  This time though, since I was cleaning up the garden bed a bit, I decided to just cut a large bunch, sort of grabbed them all and trimmed to ground level.  Now I'm not sure what to do with this much.   Anyone have any suggestions?

Remember a few weeks ago I posted HERE about our Aloe Vera plant that was suddenly blooming?   We've been on bloom watch every weekend and last weekend, it finally opened up to show us the flowers. Aloe Vera Flowers The flowers are orange with a hint of yellow.  It's so pretty, in a minimalist sort of way, ha.  No scent that we could discern but they are small and this was as much at they did.  They sort of opened at the ends and that was it.   Now with the cold weather upon us, the flowers will be gone. Not sure how long until we see them again, but I'm glad we were able to see it this time!

Recently, we saw something we've never seen at the store...this giant pile of...um...wait...what are they? They looked like worms or larvae of some sort... It's Turmeric!   We've used it as a spice of course but I can honestly say we've never known what it looked like in its natural form and we've certainly never thought about using it "fresh" like this.  We're used to a powder in the spice cabinet but not sure how to use it if it were grated or minced.  They are very lightweight so while they seem expensive, a pound would be a LOT.  A few pieces would be fine. Of course we didn't buy them at the time and when I went back a week later, they were gone!  Seasonal I guess?   We'll keep looking for them and give them a try. Anyone ever try it like this?

It's been a long weekend, which I guess is good. Saturday was farm day solo as 2nd Man had to go in to work. More on Saturday's tasks in tomorrow's update but wanted to post something today and check in.   Fresh bay leaves 2nd Man reminded me to grab some bay leaves for cooking because we were out.  So I snipped off some leaves and brought them back. We washed them and left them in the window ledge to let them dry. Bay leaves Then we put them into an empty jar we have and they are ready to be used.  Harvesting your own stuff is so rewarding when it comes time to cook with it...even something as simple as bay leaves. Speaking of bay, does anyone know which leaves are better to harvest?  I mean, I guess obviously the older leaves and not new young growth. My question is more along the lines of how far down the tree and how many can you safely take?  Do they grow back in the same spot or does this cause it get taller and more branches? ...

Empty planter on the porch One of my weekend projects, albeit a small one, was to do something with this empty urn/planter we had.  I had just put it on the corner of the porch a couple of months ago so it was safely out of the way as we came and went.  I also had a big pile of soil on the side of the house that "Ma" had used for some old planters she had.  We saved it because it was still dark, rich, and useful. I figured that I could get rid of most of the soil by filling this up and planting flowers or a perennial of some sort.  Then my thoughts turned to herbs and I finally decided on a rosemary bush.  Rosemary is a great perennial herb and best of all, it's very drought tolerant which is a nice plus. Rosemary and Portulaca in a planter  So I put some broken up bricks in the bottom of the planter, filled the rest up with the extra soil we had, and put a rosemary plant in the top, surrounded by s...

Small Rosemary Some of you may remember when I planted this Rosemary.  It was early Summer and I thought it might be nice to have right by the front door. This is what it looked like when I planted it then.  I had the not so great idea to put the other flowers around the base.  I had visions of them cascading down the sides and for a while they did.  Well now... Large Rosemary ...it looks like this!  Flowers are long gone but that's OK, I enjoyed them while they were there and now we have a large, healthy Rosemary that seems to be thriving.  It's a great plant, very aromatic, drought tolerant, and a nice place to snip some of the herb for use in cooking. It's delish with potatoes roasted in the oven, one of my favorites!  Anyone else have any favorite uses for Rosemary?  I"m going to have a lot of it.

Seeds of the Month for January 2013 Got this month's batch of seeds from the  Seeds of the Month  club right on schedule.  It is a fun day when I get them in the mail after a long day at work.  It brings my mind back to the future and planning.  This month, at least I know what they all are as opposed to some past shipments. For this time, they are: Okra, "Burgundy" Cucumber, "National Pickling" Chives (no variety) Celery, "Utah" Anyone grown and used these particular varieties of each of these vegetables and herb?  I'm very familiar with okra, it's a staple down here in the South and I love it, but in this case, I can honestly say I've never had this purple variety.  As for the cucumbers, I'd love to have a good variety for pickling. Thanks as always for any tips and suggestions! Seeds rule!!!