Backyard Orchard Culture

My new favorite way to grow fruit trees is with the backyard orchard culture method. You can maximize your space by planting three or four trees close together and keeping them pruned small. When you plant several varieties of fruit with different ripening times you can stretch out the harvesting time. Instead of two or three weeks of harvesting peaches, you can harvest peaches for six to eight weeks. The trees are cross-pollinated more effectively and you get more consistent production.


I have three varieties of peaches planted in one raised box. (I put them in the raised box because my yard has a problem with drainage.) There is an Elberta, a Babcock and a Hale Haven. I can't wait to harvest peaches. I keep thinking of homemade vanilla ice cream, fresh sliced peaches and hot fudge poured on top. If you haven't tried it, you haven't lived---groans of immense pleasure abound.

Last week when I was shopping at Whole Foods, they had a plant display in front of the store. Local trees for $7.99 each!!! A total steal. I bought cherry trees, 2 Rainiers and a Lapin. The Lapin is self pollinating and is also a good pollinator for the Rainiers. It will be a few years before they will set fruit but it's well worth the wait. There might be a cherry pie in my husband's future.

If you are interested in learning more about backyard orchard culture click here.
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_explained.html

1st Jar of the Season

We have been eating our strawberries, a few at a time, for a couple of weeks. Today was my first real harvest of berries. About 12 ounces, nearly a pound of berries in one day. Woohoo. I made my first jar of preserves of the season.

12 ounces of berries make about one cup of crushed berries.
1 cup of sugar
1/8 cup of lemon juice
Boil until reaches about 220 degrees F or until desired thickness.

I didn't bother processing the jar in a hot water bath. I plan on making a pbj sandwich for lunch and then pouring the strawberry preserves on vanilla ice cream for dessert... yummy! Survival prospects for 1st jar of strawberry preserves- one very sweet, delicious second.

Today's Harvest

The artichokes are still producing. Butter lettuce and a bouquet of cherry belle radish will make the basis for tonight's salad. The radish seed packet listed 22 days from planting to harvest. We started harvesting at 25 days. I also collected about 12 ounces of strawberries- just enough for a small jar of jam.

Modest Garden Harvest From May 12, 2011

Several radishes and some lettuce were harvested from our garden a few days ago. We made a tasty salad for supper from these.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

For all of us who mother, whether we are called auntie, grandma, mom, sis, or stepmom.

Motherhood

They smell of green.
The beauty of a breeze in their eyes.
From their toes and the toss of crisp curls
Sunshine invades our souls.

They taste of purple.
They are the heirs that breathe
The mysteries of humanity's story.
Directions toward divinity.

Today's Harvest

Marinated rib eye , asparagus and artichokes for dinner. Will I get tired of artichokes before the plants get tired of producing?

Sweet potato slipping

Sweet potato slipping sounds like a 1950's dance move. It's actually a fun way to propagate sweet potatoes. I took a sweet potato from my cupboard that had been shriveling and growing sprouts. I cut off the top third and stuck it in a canning jar with water, supporting the potato with tooth picks. I threw in a little bit of fertilizer. Now I'm just watching the sprouts grow. After the sprouts grow into little plants you gently twist them off the potato and then put them into a glass of water and let roots develop. Then you plant them in the ground. Hill them up a bit or plant them in an old tire. Let them grow all summer and dig them up before the frost hits in the fall. Sweet potatoes store well if they are unbruised and are kept at 60F. Sweet potato plants are heat lovers, they can be planted in our area through June. I can't wait to get them in the ground.

On a spring evening in May, grilled artichokes are divine. Cut in half, scoop out the choke, chop off the top third and trim any stems that are prickly. Peel the outer part of the the stem and pull off any loose leaves. Thoroughly clean (home grown artichokes attract aphids and ants like crazy). If desired, dip in lemon water to keep from browning. Steam for 15 minutes or until the stem is easily pierced with a fork. Brush with garlic infused olive oil and sprinkle a little salt. Grill on the barbecue for 10 minutes or so on the lowest setting. Magnificent! The grilling gives the artichokes a smokey undertone that blends well with the nutty flavor. In my book garlic takes any vegetable to a higher plane. I sprinkled my artichoke heart with a little Parmesan (absolutely verboten to my husband the cheese Nazi). I have to admit its great even without the cheese.

Enjoy these pics

Today's harvest. One small head of red leaf lettuce. It appeared in the beets we planted last fall. A volunteer from last years crop . Two giant purple artichokes and four small radishes. We ate a small salad for breakfast and will eat the artichokes for dinner (or supper if your from the midwest like my husband). Its the first full week of good weather. Will be over 70F all week and today should reach 90F. I stepped into the garden expecting to harvest a dozen strawberries that I've had my eye on for days. I figured the last few days of warm weather would sweeten them up and we could eat them for breakfast. Instead I found complete and utter carnage in the strawberry patch. Pillaged by birds!!! All that was left of the ripest berries were stems and hollowed out berry carcasses. We put some pea netting over the patch to protect them from further raids. I might need to purchase a BB gun and a laser sight.