Friday Favorite: Blueberries

August 16th, 2013

It’s wild blueberry season here in Maine and we’ve been enjoying them. I ordered 40lbs for the freezer and picked up 10lbs at the farmers market last week.
Wild Blueberries 1
Wild Blueberries 2
We’ve been enjoying them in our kefir daily, which is a great way to use them and maximize their healthfulness. Last week I made wild blueberry bread pudding and I’m trying to decide what to make with the remainder of the fresh ones I have.

Do you have any great blueberry recipe to recommend?

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Waiting Patiently

August 15th, 2013

This year I got my tomato seeds started late and I planted in the garden later than I normally do. So now I’m stuck waiting patiently for them to ripen.
Green Tomatoes 3
Green Tomatoes 1
Green Tomatoes 2
There’s not even a hint of blush on any of the tomatoes, not a single one. I guess it looks like I’ll be waiting for a while.

Are you patiently waiting for any vegetable or fruit to ripen?

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5X5 for Fall

August 14th, 2013

Now that you’ve got your green thumb with your 5×5 Challenge Garden this summer, it’s time to start thinking about fall. No doubt your zucchini and bean plants will be exhausting themselves soon, maybe you’ve already harvested things and have empty spots in your garden. Think about planting things like: spinach, chard, lettuce, kale, and radishes. Their short growing season will let you get in at least one more harvest this year.
Fall Planting 1
Fall Planting 2
Fall Planting 3
I find spinach to be one of my best fall crops, especially a winter hardy variety. Though I must admit, swiss chard is taking over that role, this is my first year growing it and I really like it so far!

What is your favorite quick growing fall vegetable?

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Will Mow For Food

August 13th, 2013

One of the things that’s great about having chickens, pigs and ducks, is that it turns ordinary garden chores into money saving tasks. Weeding and mowing are actually food producing tasks.
Feeding grass clippings 1
Yesterday I mowed enough to get four bagfuls of clippings. One went to the pigs, one to the main chicken flock, another to the guinea keets, and the last one to the broiler chickens. Everyone LOVED the fresh clippings.

Feeding grass clippings 2
Grass clippings are always a valuable commodity around here, they are also saved and used as mulch and to smother grass and weeds around shrub and the woodland edge. In fact there are never quite enough grass clippings to go around.
Feeding grass clippings 3
I’ve been trying to mow a smaller section of the lawn more frequently just so I can feed clippings to all the animals. If I mow four bagfuls every day, that should about get me around the entire lawn. It’s nice knowing that I’m saving myself some money and providing them with healthy food as well.