Drying Herbs

The standing, self-watering garden that my sister sent me is fantastic. Not only do I not have to break my neck to plant anything - there's no grubs or critters digging through the soil. This one pictured just has one tomato plant and herbs. So far everything is thriving and necessitated a session of drying herbs way earlier than I usually do in the summertime. (I have the same plants in the ground, too, but they're doing so poorly it would be embarrassing to photograph and include them here. I may never go back to regular gardening after this.)

Drying herbs is easy; I just take a few snips, and place them in a cool, dry place in a paper bag until they're crumbly (6 second video formerly on Vine).

Faster Way to Drying Herbs on a Sunny Day

I thought I was being clever until I dug up my old how-to from 2009, which was much simpler & would have been quicker on a sunny day!

• Cut herbs and lay out on cooling rack in a sunny spot.


• Turn a screened window frame over the rack, so delicate herbs don't blow away.


• Bottle, label and pack them up. (Makes a nice gift!)

So easy, will definitely use this method on the next sunny day.

Drying your own herbs, or have summer gardening tricks to share?

2 comments gardening, tutorial

Garden Composting

Every summer I plant a tiny vegetable garden, maintain my perennial herbs and flowers, and plant a few annuals for pops of color around my house. Over the years I've worked to keep things chemical-free and easy to maintain. This year, I'm testing out a new composter (that I received for review), replacing the make-shift chicken-wire contraption I've been using until now. Composting is a great way to amend my garden soil, giving a second life to my kitchen scraps instead of filling up garbage bags.

New Bin for Composting

You can see from the pictures below that my new composter was ready to go right out of the delivery box. It's not conspicuous alongside the trash and recycling bins that we have outside already (actually, this is a much more attractive bin than the others that are black & bright blue.) I'm counting on the latch on the outside to keep critters away. The turning mechanism & lower door look super-simple to operate, and my first impressions are really positive that this should all be uncomplicated and straightforward.

The little container that came with it is sitting on a shelf in my refrigerator now, holding my kitchen scraps until it's ready to go into the big bin. It's been a week & there's no leakage or odors - happy about that!

Keeping it Simple

It's super important for me to keep my gardening simplified since I have limited time to spend out there, and have trouble bending for long periods of time. I don't fight with the weeds too much and try to work with native plants that will thrive in the areas around my house. I know if I keep the plants I have healthy, then they'll thrive and keep unwanted ones at bay on their own (that's what I keep saying at least.. there's still those pesky viney things that insinuate themselves everywhere no matter what I do.) You'd think I'd quit by now, not wanting to put much effort into it all - but really, with such a short growing season in New Hampshire, it's worth the time I can spend out there in the yard to have fresh tomatoes, and some herbs that get dried for the wintertime. If I can compost enough to feed the soil, that should help things along.

Will fill up my container with materials for composting & post results here online if there is interest from readers.

Disclaimer: I received the Toter Composter for review, and a have not received any other compensation. All opinions are my own and not influenced by any product or company.

Leave a Comment gardening

New Knit Bag & Something I’ve Never Seen Before

Finished a new bag, knit with my favorite cotton – Luna by Cascade Yarns.  Pattern by Leah of 200 shawl project.

 

From the inside, I had thought a leaf was stuck to my kitchen screen. Looked closer…. it’s alive!  Kind of scary.  Never saw anything like this before.  Great camouflage if it had been in a tree, or on the ground.

 

I actually took these pictures over a week ago, so have some catching up to do.  Pictures on my camera, pictures waiting to be taken, projects to finish.  More updates coming this week! 

So, I saw this bug and was creeped out a little, but still surprised and appreciate how unique it is.  Have you seen anything new or unique lately?

8 comments bags, gardening, knitting

Lawn Fungi

I have never seen so many varieties of mushrooms on my property at the same time, so I took some photos.  Clicking the collage will take you to individual pictures at Flickr.

Their textures were really fascinating, I’m sure they can be an inspiration for some future art project.  What do you make of them?

6 comments gardening, living creatively, photography

Flower or Alien?

 

I saw this unopened Columbine flower in my garden and immediately thought it looked like the monster from Alien.  What do you think?

More crafty and bread pictures and updates on my Facebook page and at Flickr:

4 comments bags, baking, gardening, photography

Spring is Here!

I swear, the seasons come weeks later at my house… down the road azaleas have been in bloom already and mine are just finally opening up.

4 comments gardening, photography

A Surprise in the Garden

Looked out my front door and saw a patch of purple in the yard.  What a surprise!  Got up close to get a picture.  Yes, that’s a pile of snow in the background.  It’ll be a while before that all melts away.

5 comments gardening

Indoor Gardening

Once, I read that pepper plants live year-round in warm climates, so at the end of last summer I potted a few plants from the garden and brought them into my kitchen.  The hot pepper plant is doing well, the regular pepper plant isn’t doing so great (my kitchen cannot be called a ‘warm climate’ in any way).  Below is a fruit growing right in my kitchen!  I knew when I saw flowers blooming that I’d have to pollinate them, so I just brushed a fingertip inside each of the flowers and it worked!  You can see another flower blooming on the left side of the picture if you look carefully.

Usually by this time of year I have trays of seedlings sprouting in my kitchen & I’m eagerly looking forward to planting a garden in the summertime.  Not this year.  I have a lot of plans this summer, but many of them won’t be around my house, so I’m going to give the garden a rest this year.  (Even in the Bible there are instructions to let the land rest in the 7th year, giving it a Sabbath.  So, I’ll say I have holy inspiration for giving it a break.)

We’ll see if the indoor plants survive till then, inside or out in the yard.

Yesterday’s bread:

Hot out of the oven, with some butter spread on top (that’s why it’s shiny). The peaks across the loaves are from slashing them with a sharp knife before their 2nd rising, then they get these nice patterns when they finally bake.

Going to work on my hand-sewing project and get that posted as soon as possible!

Don’t forget to brainstorm and work on a crown project and join me in the challenge:

7 comments baking, gardening

Fall Foliage and Hot Peppers

Part of my walk each morning:

It’s really nice out, cool crisp air and pretty to look at, just like an autumn patchwork.  I won’t mention that all the leaves eventually fall and need to be raked up, or they cause horrible leaf mold and yucky allergies along with smothering the grass that we try to grow every summer.  

Jane P, that’s pretty interesting/funny that applesauce = baby food.  I guess it’s just a tradition here to preserve the apples that way when there are too many.  I have one daughter that can’t eat fresh fruit – she gets an itchy mouth – but when they’re cooked, she can have them!  I’d like to dry them one of these days but that may take too much electricity & I’m afraid that if I put them in the sun to dry, the animals will devour them.

As far as bread baking goes, if you make bread & it’s too hard it means there’s too much flour.  Slightly sticky dough is ok, you just have to hold it gently and not squeeze it (just knead gently) so it won’t stick to your hands.  This way it will come out tender. 

Thank you anonymous friend – I found my View Master & will get a chance to look at the slides & story this weekend.

Hot peppers strung to dry with thread and hanging in a cool, shady spot of my kitchen:

Love spicy food, and this is the one plant that thrived, so I have an abundance of peppers.  Actually, I moved 2 of the pepper plants from my garden into my kitchen, so I’m hoping they will keep producing over the winter – or at least survive to get an early start next spring when the weather warms up again.

Thanks everyone for your comments and emails.  And for your patience these past few weeks! 

5 comments gardening, photography

A Handful of Tomatoes

9 comments gardening

Déjà vu – or - Blueberries & a Dry Spell

Looking back, seems my summers are more predictable than I thought.  Almost the same time last year, I took my girls blueberry picking and took pictures in the same spot in the woods.  Things aren’t quite the same though; last year was a very wet season and the berries were much more abundant.   

The stream near my house has dried out, and there’s no humidity.  I’m glad I have these older pictures to look back on for comparison  (picture below was taken only two feet from the picture in the link.) 

Some things stay the same.  Our treks into the woods.  Our trips to the berry farm.  Some things are just different; I probably won’t be making jam or yelling at anyone about getting mud in the house. 

I wonder if I’d have even noticed these details if I hadn’t blogged about them - the routines I have for doing things in the summertime.  Do you have vacation routines?  Notice things that you wouldn’t have without blogging?  Or think I overused the semi-colon?  Yeah, I like hearing from you in the comments, can you tell? – I love to read your words and click over to your blog to see what you’re up to (I definitely need to catch up on some of those this weekend!)

4 comments gardening, photography

Summer Gardening, Saving Water & Fighting Pests

For the past few summers it’s been really damp outside and I had almost given up on growing anything edible. This summer, the heat is more even and I’ve been able to get out every morning to water… but something is eating my work! I’ve got a few things producing:

To save water I have a bucket under my a/c (I know, a/c is using power…) and another one in my dehumidifier to collect the H20. I haven’t had to turn on a hose to water much, so that’s been really good.

I’ve mulched around the plants with dried leaves and newsprint to help keep the moisture in the soil. It looks a bit scraggly and I’ve still been weeding – next year I will have to be more vigilant about laying this down thicker. This week I’ve been noticing some destruction of the pepper plant leaves and some missing tomatoes!

It’s supposed to rain later today, but when that’s over I plan on laying down a nice thick spray concoction that’s worked for me in the past. This should repel the insects (and any humans or pets that get a whiff):

Grind up in a blender:

1 Tablespoon Cayenne pepper

2 cloves crushed garlic

few drops dish detergent

1 Quart water

Strain through a cheesecloth, put in a spray bottle and coat garden, reapplying after a rainfall.

I’ve used this in the past and don’t even remember where it’s from originally (I have it scrawled into the margin of my Heloise from A to Z book near “Garden”) and it’s always done the job.

How do you take care of your garden?

6 comments gardening

Time Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Yikes!  Time has flown, and it’s almost embarrassing how much I’ve neglected this poor blog!  Thanks to Teena In Toronto I was reminded (a few days ago) of my four-year blog anniversary!  I can’t believe I’ve been here for so long. Inconsistent at times, but still here!  Next year, I’ll have to remember and celebrate more properly!

Because I love to take pictures, and saw this cool shot of a spider web the other morning, I wanted to add it here –

- kind of symbolic, too --- I could say that cobwebs are gathering dust in the corners of my blog, but instead I will imagine that they are collecting sparkly dew and inspiration instead!

I thought it was funny when Tina left me a comment at an Artful Thursday post – about “… not having mastered zippers…” … as if I have!  Ha!  I just keep trying.  And trying.  Many of my projects end up extra creative because I try so many different crafts but don’t master any of them, and often a unique embellishment shows up just to cover my mistakes!  Like Jane, at that same post, commented about the lack of pleats.  Jane is a prolific and talented handbag maker, so when she comments about one of mine, I listen! The pattern I used was a beautiful one, but not only did I not have enough fabric to pleat it up, it was too heavy for me to feel comfortable doing so, even if I had more yardage.  That all led to a bag slightly different than the pattern & I was happy with it.

Some things that are keeping me busy… Crochet Today’s, May/June 2010 pattern for Lace & Pearls Necklace – done for my oldest girl in red, as requested.  Thinking about the white beads, but haven’t attached them yet… I’m not sure I like the white:

Mixing pounds and pounds of purple and white Sixlets candies to create favor bags for a party:

I’m looking forward to a busy summer with my girls & will be blogging more regularly.  What are you up to, my blog-reading friends?

6 comments creativity, crochet, gardening, photography

In the Garden with the Ants

When I first planted peonies, I was horrified to see the ants all over the buds.  A little internet research and I learned that the ants are probably beneficial to opening up the flowers…. so I leave them be. And watch. 

In my house, I wouldn’t hesitate to squish one of these.  Outside, they’re doing something beautiful.  There must be something poetic I can attribute to this, like the ephemeral nature of art, or the purposefulness of something or other.   All this work and the flowers will bloom and fade within the month….  Do ants enjoy the flower when it blooms?   I can compare it to enjoying the process of art and then selling or giving away a piece that I’ve worked on for weeks.

“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau
That’s a good question.  I missed Tool Tuesday & Artful Thursday last week, have a lot of projects going on all at once.  Maybe I’ll finish some and post pictures here this week. 

It rained for a few days and when I checked outside, my herb garden had exploded.  So many things have overrun each other, the tall ones are Japanese lanterns, of to the right in the back is sage (I think), in the front is some sort of thyme and in the middle should be my lemon balm… but I’ll have to check to make sure it hasn’t been completely smothered.  I hope to plant some vegetables this week and pray that the super short New England summers allow me to harvest something!

5 comments gardening, photography

Gardening & Seed Starting 2010

This week’s EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival is going to be hosted by Tricia of LazyTCrochet.   It’s always fun to post about the given subject and then to read everyone’s replies the following week – you learn a lot about everyone this way, and sometimes the theme isn’t necessarily what we’d be discussing on our blogs (check Tricia’s blog around Monday to see the list of posts).

Two questions posed this week – 1) something about Cabin Fever…. I don’t get it, so not answering that one – I love to be stuck inside…. &
2) Planning a garden this year? Tell us how you plan or prepare. Do you start your own seeds and how?

Ever since I moved to NH, and finally have a yard to grow things in, I’ve enjoyed gardening.  When I first got here, I read every issue of Organic Gardening that the library had, researched shade plants for my front yard and started saving seeds from the tastiest fruits and vegetables that we ate.  It was very exciting at the time and I’ve learned a lot by trial and error, too. (It’s been 15 years!)

I just don’t know what I’m going to do about it this spring.  I’m really, really busy, and I expect the end of May/beginning of June is going to be even more hectic this year due to lots of projects and events coming up.  Usually I save seeds from year to year and start them indoors for my vegetable garden.  Half my kitchen and a few folding tables get taken over by this.  In the past I’ve also started lots of ornamental perennials from seed – much more affordable than trying to fill large open spaces by purchasing full-grown plants.

When it comes to saving seeds from existing plants, one of the most important things for me has been to make sure they’re completely dry before storing.  Any dampness, and next spring you end up opening a jar of mold!  Jars – prescription bottles, vitamin jars, film canisters (pre-digital days, sigh) – save those throughout the year for great re-usable, recyclable storage.  Just remember to affix labels, or write on with permanent markers so you know what is going into the ground!

I’ve also learned to buy seed-starting mix for starting seeds – the fine soil makes it easy for roots to establish.  It’s so, so exciting to see the first buds popping out!

Another thing that has come up over the last few summers is that we haven’t been around when it’s harvest time.  How frustrating to be gone just when cucumbers and tomato plants are ripening in August!  Especially when I’ve been nurturing them in my kitchen since February or March.  My neighbors are happy, but I’ve missed out.  It’s a very short growing season here and I think 2010 is going to be different for me.  Most likely I’ll put in lettuce and beans very early (late May) sowing them directly outdoors as long as the weather is mild.  Depending on summer travel plans, I may not do much else – maybe buy a few cucumber & cherry tomato plants from the local farm stand to put in.  I’ve never bought a tomato plant before – only grown my own.  I’ve been thinking about a cold frame – but not sure I’d be as vigilant as necessary to let out the hot air that would build up in our sunny spot.

I do love to grow things, it’s almost magical.  What about you?

6 comments gardening

A Little Crazy

This is a little crazy, but it’s good.  Very good actually.

I’ve been wanting to try freeform crochet for a while now – checking out people’s websites, joining Yahoo groups and learning all sorts of stitches – but I couldn’t get the hang of the “just let go” aspect of it.  I even bought a book, Freeform Knitting and Crochet for step-by-step “how-to”.

I wish I could remember whose website I saw the original link on – but there’s a Ravelry group doing a Freeform Crochet-Along this month, so I joined and have been stitching up these crazy additions every day.  I have one basket of yarns I’m working from and hopefully I won’t have to pull much more from my stash for it (I’d like this to aid in my stash reduction goal for 2010!)  

It’s “very good” because each there’s only a short bit of instructions to follow each day.  Once that’s completed, I can feel some accomplishment and wait to see what the next day’s addition will be.  It’s also fun, a little silly, and great to see all the participants progress, too.  There’s no stress about it, I interpret things as I like  - I really think once this is done that I’ll be able to get my own original project off the ground and try some of the pieces in the Freeform book that I bought.

Another bit of craziness – something has been growing & I didn’t even notice it!  The last piles of snow finally melted over the weekend.  Something has already chewed on these little crocus flowers, but at least I got one look at them before the weather turns cold again tomorrow.

Did a craft project ever “just click” for you?  What did it?

7 comments books, creativity, crochet, gardening, photography

Knitting and Laughing at Myself

This "GOA" yarn was great and squishy.  But I don’t think I’ll be trying to make baby sweaters in chunky yarn again.  They were quick to make, but I think too small for the bulk. Pattern - "Red, Set, Go Cardigan" by Sharon Turner from Monkeysuits: Sweaters & More (affiliate link).


Want a good laugh?  Visit Craftfail.com and read my article Bead Fail.  Or check out the bounty from my garden this summer.  What a disaster:

Do you find it easy to laugh at yourself?  Sometimes I think it’s the only way to get through some frustrating things.

4 comments gardening, knitting

It stopped raining!

Just for a few days… predictions call for rain to start again tomorrow…

We had enough time to pick blueberries at the Berry Good Farm today.

I wanted to try different settings on the camera to get a frozen look on the water near my house.  Some photo tips here.  I appreciate it so much that folks put stuff on the internet.  Not a day goes by that I don’t look up something – a recipe, a how-to, or some creative inspiration.

What do you like best about this world-wide-web?

5 comments gardening, photography

Sun Dried

I’ve always waited for the end of the summer to dry my herbs indoors (see here) … but I don’t know why!  Here’s how I did a bunch of drying this week outside, in the sun.  It was so nice and quick, each batch was done in one day:

1. Oregano
2. Cut and laid out on cooling rack in a sunny spot.
3. Window screen mesh (stapled to frame) on top so it doesn’t blow away as it dries.
4. Bottled, labeled and packed with oil and vinegar in a bucket for a gift.

See more of my peony pictures (with poetry) over at my flickr pages.

3 comments gardening, gifts

Catching up

My poor neglected blog.  I’d gotten used to posting often and this week have been so busy…

What have I been doing?
Some of this: 

Crocheting flowers to use in some upcoming jewelry projects.

And some of this:

So glad those pepper seeds finally sprouted!!!

Been Tweeting about these things:

The Bread Art Project – $1 goes to Feeding America for every [virtual] piece of bread art you create.

The Tip Junkie has my blog post about Drying Herbs featured on Teach Me Thursday!  I’m honored.

Excited to read about Etsy in Wired magazine.

Do you tweet? 

Doing anything special for Earth Day?  I thought I was the only one excited about planting seeds, but I’ve been giving away the packets I made for the Earth Share project (that I blogged about a few days ago) and people have been giving me great feedback when receiving them!  I hope there will be beautiful flowers sprouting up in many gardens this summer.

3 comments creativity, crochet, gardening, life