Author Archives: Sandy

More canning, beans and pickles

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Sandy

It has been a busy weekend! In addition to the spiced plum jam I made on Saturday, I took on two more canning projects this weekend: beans and cucumbers. Everything in the garden seems to be maturing (and require attention) at once.  The … Continue reading →

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Quite a year for plums and Ebony becomes Broody

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Sandy

It has been quite a year for plums, at least for the Shiros. Our Shiro plum tree is consistently the best fruiting tree in our orchard.  I picked a very full basket of plums this morning (easily 10 lbs of plums) and … Continue reading →

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First adventures in canning

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Sandy

I’ve never canned before. At all. In fact, I didn’t even have basic canning supplies until I bought some last weekend. I took the plunge this weekend and made a batch of pickles. The cucumbers were a mix of Alibi cukes … Continue reading →

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Jam day and a pickle preview

Posted on July 12, 2009 by Sandy

I love berry season.  We’ve planted a bunch of berries in our yard.  We have strawberries (June bearing, everbearing, and red and white alpines), blueberries (eight youngish plants), and raspberries (two new raised beds).  Because most of our berries are … Continue reading →

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Red, white, and blue in the garden

Posted on July 5, 2009 by Sandy

While it is a day belated, I wanted to celebrate the 4th this year by showing the red, white, and blue currently in the garden.  The Red Earlier this year, we built two new raised beds for our raspberries.  A … Continue reading →

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First cuke of the season

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Sandy

Lemon cucumber Quick post tonight.  Take a look!  My first cucumber of the season. This is a lemon cucumber, a variety I have been growing for years.  Even before we started building out a large garden, I always found a … Continue reading →

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The jungle in the greenhouse

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Sandy

In just a few short weeks, the tiny little tomatoes I planted have turned my greenhouse into a jungle! Everything in the greenhouse is growing like crazy.  The cucumbers, melons, peppers, and more are all looking great. This is the first … Continue reading →

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Photo album: June 2009 fruit & berry pollination report

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Sandy

By this point in the growing season, I have a pretty good idea of what my future summer fruit crop will look like. The blossoms are gone and the bees have done their work. Some crops are looking good. Others, … Continue reading →

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Garden transformation and what we’re eating

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Sandy

I’ve gardened for years, but most of my gardening experience has been with ornamental (as opposed to edible) plants.  When we moved into our house in 2002, we knew the yard needed a lot of work.  We had no idea that … Continue reading →

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Clothesline season, garden disappointments, and corn

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Sandy

A beautiful sunny weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to kick off the clothesline season for the year.  As I’ve previously written, our highest electricity usage happens on the weekends, which is when I do all the laundry. On a … Continue reading →

Posted in Electricity usage, Gardening | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments