It took some extra strength pain reliever and my hot pack to get to sleep last night. We planted nearly 30 pounds of potatoes and 75 tomato plants. We added rock minerals and a prayer to each hole we dug, hoping for a year unmarred by blight. Today the corn goes in. If I have time, the beans will get planted too as will the replacement broccoli and cauliflower plants. My her garden is ready to go as well. It looks like hot, dry weather for a few days. The good news is that is a good window for planting but the bad news is that I have to water by hand. We are bordered by a little stream which means I don’t have to haul water far. Our gardens run around the periphery of our land and are circled by water. We didn’t plan it that way but it certainly worked out.
All of the new trees and bushes are doing well. They too need to be hand watered. I think the water is the most important thing to new tree success and I don’t skimp on it. I believe I will get a harvest of hazelnuts this year and one of gooseberries too. We may get some fruit although the late frost was a problem. Bruce is sinking some post around the tomato patch so we can set up a floating greenhouse if frost threatens. I have a permaculture dream of wild, food-producing places but the reality is different. I need row covers for frost protection and fencing to protect crops from bears and woodchucks. I need raised beds for soil protection and the greenhouse for winter greens and seed starting. The concept of wild is lovely but I need a guaranteed food supply.
I will harvest rhubarb this weekend. I am so excited because I will get to use my new stainless steel canner. It is a beautiful thing. I have two other canners (one I am using for soap making) as well as the big pressure canner. I also just realized that the huge stock pot I just bought is the same size as the canner. I now just need a new rack and I will have yet another canner. This may seem like overkill but there is a method to my madness. I need 350 jars of pickles to get me through a year. I am buying a case of jars each week to get up to the necessary number. And yes, we do eat a jar each night and several at a big holiday dinner. If I can get the girls to help, I can put up a lot of jars in a day if I get four canners going at once. We eat far less jam but the same thing applies. I get two or three canners going when the raspberries are producing and I get all of the work over with in a few days. I just freeze the berries until I have enough to work with.
I am really giving some thought to how much food we eat in a year. We will get a full year out of the potato patch this time as we enlarged the patch quite a bit. I love the idea of growing enough to be spud independent.
May 21, 2010 at 7:56 am
Oh Kathy, spud independent! I love the ring of that! This is my first year growing potatoes and I’m very excited even though it’s just a little patch.
I would love to hear about how you prepare your pickles. I made some bread and butters last year, but my husband wants crisper dills this year and I’m going to have to figure that out. We’ve got plenty of cucumber plants this year (double last year’s number) so I’m hopeful.
And yes, I’ve said that same little prayer this year over my tomato plants!
May 21, 2010 at 8:18 am
I envy you your tomato plants. I’ve watched 70% of my seedlings die
Here’s hoping the last few hold on and I can plant them in the very near future!
Gooseberries are on my short list for the next year or two. I had a source of gooseberries a couple years ago and canned the most amazing gooseberry sauce that I use on pork loins…full of onions, pineapple, cinnamon etc. It sounds like a strange combination with the sweet and savory, but it reminds me of a Thanksgiving ham baked with brown sugar and pineapple rings. Soooooo good! Unfortunately, my source moved out of state, so no more gooseberries.
May 21, 2010 at 8:29 am
Wow. 75 tomato plants, a year’s supply of potatoes and a jar of pickles for every day of the year. That’s amazing.
My Dad has been taking home my dills whenever he comes for a visit and has asked me to can a half bushel for him when the cukes are ready. I can’t tell you how good that made me feel.
May 21, 2010 at 10:15 am
there is, in my mind, nothing that can compare to the satisfaction of having and knowing you can produce, a years worth of food. Everything else seems less important when you have that!
Have fun in the garden!
May 21, 2010 at 11:35 am
Will be putting in my potatoes this weekend – will probably wait until Memorial Day for the tomatoes – Rowe does get a little chilly unexpectedly.
I too am an avid canner – there’s nothing more satisfying than a cupboard full of jars that have started in your back yard!
May 22, 2010 at 8:29 am
Thanks for the info about the seminar. I will be attending and look forward to your session.
May 23, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Our potatoes froze. They are black. Are they gone or can they rebound back?
We also lost some pepper and tomato plants to a hard frost. They were covered, but it was not enough. We tend to be colder here on the river. I would love some suggestions if you have any. This is only my 4th summer gardening.
Best of luck with your Garden.
May 24, 2010 at 5:41 am
My seedlings came from Andrea and most look pretty good. I have no idea about the potatoes.Do you mean they came up and froze or that the spuds froze before you you planted them? I love Rowe. I used to go to the conference center there.
May 24, 2010 at 1:30 pm
My potatoes came up green all was great and then we got a cold front that brought in frost for 3 nights straight. It has been a very cold spring here. Today is sunny but very windy. I live in the Intermountain West.