Concord Grapes on the vine

I picked several pounds of these, destemed them and washed them:

Concord Grapes ready to be juiced

Using a potato masher, I smashed them up as best as possible, then put them on the stove.  Brining them to a low simmering [...]]]> This year we have lots of them:

Concord Grapes on the vine

I picked several pounds of these, destemed them and washed them:

Concord Grapes ready to be juiced

Using a potato masher, I smashed them up as best as possible, then put them on the stove.  Brining them to a low simmering boil for 10 minutes, I mashed them again.  Then, I strained them through a metal strainer to get rid of the seeds and skins.  Finally, I strained that juice through cheese cloth and ended up with about two quarts of grape juice.

I must say, the grape juice is pretty good, slightly tangy but yummy.  I found cutting the grape juice with 1/2 water made it taste better.  Also, my wife is planning to make grape jelly with the juice, as we have lots of it, and having homemade grape jelly, just like the home made strawberry jam, will be welcome in the middle of winter.

As a part of our long term goals for the house, landscaping is somewhere in the middle of the [...]]]> We have spent some amount of time fixing up the yard.  I think the worst of it was removing all the asphalt around the back of the house.  What a terrible way to make a patio.

As a part of our long term goals for the house, landscaping is somewhere in the middle of the list.  The parts that we can work on now, such as removing over grown shrubs, trimming back trees, and general clean up items have been nearly completed.

One of my goals is to make things as low maintenance as possible.  The other is to make things producing.  Planting fruit trees is the easiest way to create an edible landscape.  Most fruit trees bloom in the spring and thus make attractive ornamental tree.  In the fall, those flowers turn to fruit which can be picked and eaten right off the tree.

Only problem I have run into is bees.  In the fall, many bees, hornets, yellow jackets, and wasps like to eat the fallen fruit.  The good thing is the deer and the bears (and an occasional coyote) clean up the fruit almost every night.

When we moved here we had two pear trees and a peach tree.  The first pear tree was growing up under an oak tree.  It also had heart rot, so we had to take it down.  The peach tree was also suffering from some sort of blight and was planted in the wrong spot, so I took that one down as well.  Finally, I have been trying to rehabilitate the second pear tree, with some success.  However, this tree may be getting old and it may also be in the way of our solar system.

two year old peach tree, about 8 feet tall

To replace the trees I cut down, I planted a new peach tree in the front yard.  This is a much better spot as it gets full sun almost all day long.  It has grown remarkably this year and I expect to get some fruit next year.

I also planted an apple tree, but the deer have nearly killed it.  It is still struggling but the issue is in doubt.  I will plant another apple tree in the front yard and fence it.

bunches of white table grapes on trellis

I also planted four grape vines.  I ordered these on line and they were relatively inexpensive.  This is their third year and three of the four vines are thriving.  The forth is not too happy and I don’t know why.  Two of the vines are Concorde grapes.  There is a variety of white table grapes too, but I cannot remember the name.

The other parts of the edible landscaping are the vegetable garden and herb garden, both are well documented elsewhere.

Some other local edibles include a whole forest of blueberries.  Last Sunday the family went blue berry picking and came back with several containers full (not to mention our stomachs).  These are the small to medium sized wild blue berries that are so good on cereal, ice cream and in yogurt.

We also have many many nut trees on our property.  Pin oak and white oak produce many acorns.  Shag bark hickory nuts litter the ground in the fall and across the street there is a large stand of black walnuts.  The black walnuts do not taste like their English Walnut cousins, they are a little more bitter but very good to eat.  Husking the nuts turns your hands black for several weeks, however.

fresh picked strawberries from the garden

I’d estimate that to be 3-4 pints of berries.  We also loose about 2-3% to chipmunks, slugs, mold, etc.  I throw those over the fence into the grass so the birds can eat them.   We’ll be making some strawberry [...]]]> We’ve been getting about one of these per day:

fresh picked strawberries from the garden

I’d estimate that to be 3-4 pints of berries.  We also loose about 2-3% to chipmunks, slugs, mold, etc.  I throw those over the fence into the grass so the birds can eat them.   We’ll be making some strawberry preserves and likely giving some away.  I’d say the transplanting project last year has worked well.

Last year we moved the strawberry plants.  They had been in the same location for about 4 years or so and the concenus is that they only [...]]]> We have been a little busy around here lately.  Not so much on the home improvement front, but other things.  I thought I’d play a little catchup.

Strawberries

Last year we moved the strawberry plants.  They had been in the same location for about 4 years or so and the concenus is that they only last 4-5 years, then the plants need to be pulled up and replaced.  Instead, we took runners from the old plants and moved them to a new location.  This year we have a bumper crop of stawberries on the way.

strawberries with bird net

I put a bird net over the plants to keep our losses down.  The cat birds sit on the fence and eye the red berries, that’s how I know it is time to go pick them.  We loose a few to our resident chipmunks, who have figured out ways under the net.  I think they have a secret tunnel.

Mulch

I bought a yard of mulch yesterday at the local mulch making place.  This stuff is great, it is mostly from stumps, so it has soil and rock mixed in.  I also noticed some twigs and leaves mixed in as well.  I mulched the flower beds, the herb garden and the vegetable garden

mulched flower bed

mulched vegetable bed (onions and broccoli)

The idea behind the mulch is it keeps the weeds down, the soil moist and when it decomposes over the winter, adds nutrients to the soil.  This yard of mulch cost me $15.00, which is well worth the time in avoided weeding.  I like this particular mulch because it is natural, there are no additives, dyes or anything else.

Wrens

I built these Wren houses last spring.  They seem to be very popular.  This one is by the back door and every time the door slams I hear all baby birds start chirping.

wren house in White Pine tree

Wrens are great birds to have around the yard, they eat lots of bugs and are generally very chearful.  They have complicated songs and often get into territorial duels with each other, using raucus song to defend their feeding grounds.  It is great to listen to.

Last year I put in the raised beds and that has made [...]]]> Since we are in a stretch of nice weather, it was a good day to work outside.  Most of the spring clean up is done, so I figured I’d turn the soil over in the vegetable garden and get it ready to go.

Last year I put in the raised beds and that has made a big difference.  The soil is drying out nicely, still a little clumpy, but not too bad.  I also decided to add several wheel barrow loads of compost.  I figure the soil could be improved and there is no better way to do that than add decaying plant matter.  Compost adds a lot of nitrogen and other nutrients that are depleted over time.  I feel it is better to use natural fertilizer over manufactured fertilizer.

Mining the compost pile

The compost pile has grown quite large, the middle of the pile is the oldest stuff, probably the leaves and grass cuttings from two years ago.  I dug down and got the darkest parts.  All in all, I retrieved 5 full loads, which I figure is about the equivalent of 20-25 bags of the compost one would purchase at the Home Depot.

Garden growing bed with compost on top

I spread it on the top of each bed, then spaded over the soil.  There is a new school of thought that the soil should not be turned over.  The idea is that worms will airate the soil if it is left alone, as would happen in a forest or fallow field.  I might try this next year and see if there is any difference.  For me, it just seems that the compost should be mixed in with the soil for best results.

Vegetable garden beds turned over

Some people are starting to plant a few things.  I think it is still a little early for that.  However, if in a week or two, the soil temperature has come up, I’ll put in some early crops.  Lettuce, Peas, Radishes, Spinach, and Brocolli all do well in cool temperatures.

Update: Here is a good guide on What to Plant Now by Mother Earth News.

We have eaten and given away more [...]]]> For all the things that went wrong this year, and for the things that did not happen, the one thing that stands out as a great success is the vegetable garden.  Even though it went in late, it immediately began producing good things like lettuce and strawberries.

We have eaten and given away more cucumbers than I thought possible, with a good bit also going to waste.  Green peppers, broccoli, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, more tomatoes, green beans, carrots, watermelon,  and a few ears of corn round things out.  Since about early July, the only vegetable we have had to buy is local sweet corn.  Every day, we pick more stuff and give a good deal of it away to our friends and neighbors.

small kitchen herb garden

The herb garden is full of basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, garlic, spearmint, peppermint, and parsley.  I will harvest and dry some of these herbs to use for winter time cooking.

Every few days or so, I am making a giant vat of “garden meadly” spaghetti sauce to freeze and eat over the winter.  We may start freezing green beens and carrots as well.  I also made seven jars of dill pickles.  I would have made more but we ran out of canning jars.  The fruit trees are producing a bumper crop of pears and we picked several bunches of grapes off of the grape vines.

grapes on the vine

The best part, everything is really fresh and yummy.  I don’t need to worry about salmonella, e-colli, pesticides, fertilizers, chemicals or anything else.  I know exactly what I put into the vegetables and exactly where they came from.

My expendables costs are relatively low.  Instead of fertilizer, I use my own compost to enrich the soil, which is free.  In the spring time, I probably spent $10.00 on seeds, and maybe $6.00 on plants plus another $10.00 on mulch.  The mulch is all natural, undyed.  It comes from a stump grinding place down the road a ways.  Because of the mulch, I spent less than 30 minutes pulling weeds, total.  Most of the time spent in the garden has been picking stuff and looking around for those cleaver hiding cucumbers, beans and tomatoes.

During WWII, in the US and Great Britain, Victory Gardens were maintained and grew to supply 40 percent of all vegetable produce consumed nationally.  Back yard plots reduced the pressure on farmers and allowed them to provide for the war effort.  These days it certainly cuts down on transportation costs as well as all the electricity needed to refrigerate the produce while warehousing, transporting, and selling.

I also like the garden because the kids get to take part in growing and learning about where our food comes from.  I think that this will be important in the future.

We have eaten and given away more [...]]]> For all the things that went wrong this year, and for the things that did not happen, the one thing that stands out as a great success is the vegetable garden.  Even though it went in late, it immediately began producing good things like lettuce and strawberries.

We have eaten and given away more cucumbers than I thought possible, with a good bit also going to waste.  Green peppers, broccoli, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, more tomatoes, green beans, carrots, watermelon,  and a few ears of corn round things out.  Since about early July, the only vegetable we have had to buy is local sweet corn.  Every day, we pick more stuff and give a good deal of it away to our friends and neighbors.

small kitchen herb garden

The herb garden is full of basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, garlic, spearmint, peppermint, and parsley.  I will harvest and dry some of these herbs to use for winter time cooking.

Every few days or so, I am making a giant vat of “garden meadly” spaghetti sauce to freeze and eat over the winter.  We may start freezing green beens and carrots as well.  I also made seven jars of dill pickles.  I would have made more but we ran out of canning jars.  The fruit trees are producing a bumper crop of pears and we picked several bunches of grapes off of the grape vines.

grapes on the vine

The best part, everything is really fresh and yummy.  I don’t need to worry about salmonella, e-colli, pesticides, fertilizers, chemicals or anything else.  I know exactly what I put into the vegetables and exactly where they came from.

My expendables costs are relatively low.  Instead of fertilizer, I use my own compost to enrich the soil, which is free.  In the spring time, I probably spent $10.00 on seeds, and maybe $6.00 on plants plus another $10.00 on mulch.  The mulch is all natural, undyed.  It comes from a stump grinding place down the road a ways.  Because of the mulch, I spent less than 30 minutes pulling weeds, total.  Most of the time spent in the garden has been picking stuff and looking around for those cleaver hiding cucumbers, beans and tomatoes.

During WWII, in the US and Great Britain, Victory Gardens were maintained and grew to supply 40 percent of all vegetable produce consumed nationally.  Back yard plots reduced the pressure on farmers and allowed them to provide for the war effort.  These days it certainly cuts down on transportation costs as well as all the electricity needed to refrigerate the produce while warehousing, transporting, and selling.

I also like the garden because the kids get to take part in growing and learning about where our food comes from.  I think that this will be important in the future.