Too Many Daylilies?
I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of daylilies. The gardener that lived here before me however, loved them. I had mountains of daylilies when we moved in, there were really no other flowers to speak of. I have given most of them away (they are all in my mother’s garden). A few remain, I’m keeping them around until I find something to replace them with.
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New Hummingbird Feeders
My old hummingbird feeder started leaking nectar and after falling off the window several times the glass tube broke and is much shorter than is once was. I have been looking for a nice hummingbird feeder for while now, but it seems like they’re all pretty ugly (I’m not sure why they all need plastic yellow flowers on them?). I finally found a simple one at Best Nest. I bought 2 new iron hooks to hang them from. So far the hummingbirds prefer their old feeder better. I’m hoping they’ll start using the new ones soon!
Update – They do love the new feeders! I think they love that there are 2 feeders now. They often eat from the one on the side of the house and then fly to the one on the back of the house for seconds.
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Carrollton Farmer’s Market
Yesterday morning I went to the Carrollton Farmer’s Market. I love shopping at Farmer’s Markets to support local growers, plus it’s nice to know the names of the people that grow the produce I’m eating. There were a lot of booths selling plants (I held my ground as much as I wanted to buy a hydrangea vine). So what made it’s way into my grocery bag? (my reusable homemade cloth grocery bags of course, one lady actually commented on how much she liked them)
I bought a basket of red haven peaches, I think I might can these for winter, or perhaps a peach cobbler is in order?
The stand selling peaches was also selling apples (the father owned the peach orchard and the son owned the apple orchard). I bought a basket of Transparent apples, I’ve never heard of this kind before, but they said they were perfect for baking & making apple sauce. I may make some apple pie for Mr Chiots or perhaps some apple butter.
I found some fresh potatoes, I’ve always heard it’s like eating a whole new food when you have fresh potatoes, we’ll see. I haven’t decided how to cook these yet, so many choices.
I bought some small plums from some junior high boys that had a stand selling 100% organic fruit, they had blueberries and plums. They’re tiny little plums, the biggest one is smaller than a ping-pong ball. We ate a few of these for snack on the way home.
I also bought 2 onions, they look so nice and fresh compared to super market onions (they still had some green tops attached).
I found a huge red cabbage. I love braised cabbage, can’t wait to make a big batch with this!!!
I also bought some sweet corn up the road from Haynams (more about that in another post some day). This is the best corn for miles and miles. You have to get it ASAP or they’ll be sold out before you get there! Since sweet corn is best right after picking, we came home, steamed it up and had corn with homemade butter for lunch!
I bought one big yellow squash and got 2 more for free, I think these will be steamed & served with olive oil, salt & pepper. Or perhaps I’ll break down and make some bread? So what did I spend on all this stuff? The corn was $5/dozen, plums were $1.50/pint, potatoes $2/quart, cabbage $2, squash .50 for one the other 2 free, onions $1/each, apples $6/basket, peaches $16/basket. So $37 total for all that fresh produce, not to mention supporting people that are growing good food for us locals!
Oh yeah I forgot to mention I bought 2 flowering kale plants along with my cabbage so I got a discount. I’m so excited I wanted to start some from seeds but didn’t get the seeds in time. This will be great in the garden this fall & winter.
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Great Gardening Books: Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden
I’ll have to admit, when I first got The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden: Creative Gardening For The Adventurous Cook
Once I started reading, I was pleasantly surprised by the content of the book. This book goes in to great detail about each type of vegetable, listing specific kinds to try and includes great detail about the soil and moisture needs of each plant (it also specifies where to get each specific kind of plant). Since this book is written specifically for growing vegetables for cooking, it has cooking tips, which is a great addition since cooking is another one of my hobbies! Another great feature of this book is the resource section and the bibliography. I’m sure I’ll be spending some time looking through all the resources and reading few of the books listed in the bibliography. This book will be a great resource to refer to throughout the garden planning, planting, and harvesting season. I’m definitely putting it on my “Want to buy” wishlist!
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It’s HOT!
It’s hot here in NE Ohio, in the 90’s. My poor plants are wilted, especially my hydrangeas (they’re not lovers of heat!).
Along with the heat, we haven’t had any rain in a while. That means it’s time to water.
I like to water by hand (no sprinklers for me unless the lawn needs a drink). It’s a great bicep & shoulder workout (no weights for me during gardening season). I have a great French watering can I ordered from Gardeners Supply Company last year. I love it!
It’s perfectly balanced so even though it holds 3 gallons it doesn’t feel heavy. It also has a removable crown for easy cleaning (I like to put the crown on upside down, personal preference). I like it so much I think I may order another one (twice the workout in half the time).
