2018 Calendar
Last year I didn’t do a calendar, which was very sad. There simply wasn’t enough time or energy with everything going on and all the traveling. This year however, the Chiot’s Run Calendar will be back. My plan is to have it finished and ready next week. In fact, I’ve already been going through photos and choosing a few of my favorites.
The funny thing is, as I was thinking about this calendar I didn’t think I’d have enough images to fill an entire year (good images that is). A best of calendar from the last 8 years was on my mind, but then I started going through photos and I think there will be more than enough from this year and last. The hard part is actually narrowing them down to the top 12-20.
Do you buy a paper calendar each year?
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Getting Things In Before the Frost
It was supposed to get down to 30 last night. That means that I spent yesterday afternoon harvesting the remaining pumpkins, covering semi-tender items with frost blankets, harvesting the remaining peppers and tomatoes, and harvesting some of my lemongrass. One of the plants was dug up to be overwintered in the basement, the rest will mostly likely end up in the freezer or in jars of red curry.
I love lemongrass and I love curry, which is why I grew lemongrass. The only problem is that I need to get down to Portland to get a few ingredients for my curry paste, they aren’t readily available here in the midcoast region. I’m really looking forward to having homemade red curry paste, both for my pantry and for gifting. Thai curry is one of my favorite meals, it goes so well with all manner of vegetables, especially those from the freezer. Here’s hoping I can get to the city this week to get all the supplies I need.
What are you harvesting this week and what are you planning on doing with it?
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Last Day?
We haven’t had a frost yet here in the garden, but it’s really only a matter of time. Tonight they are predicting the lows to be 30 – brrrr, that’s cold. We may have a freeze before we have a frost. I’ve been wanting to plant a cover crop in the side of the main garden that housed tomatoes, peppers, and squash, but I have been dragging my feet because the nasturtiums that were surrounding the tomatoes are still blooming like crazy.
The bees are loving them so much, I simply haven’t been able to rip them all up. No doubt, tomorrow morning they will be gone. Then I can get on with planting cover crops and moving towards putting the garden to bed for winter.
Most of the garden still looks really great. It’s hard to believe that the snow will be flying soon. This gardener is certainly looking forward to a bit of rest though and a bit of sewing as well.
Have you had a frost/freeze in your garden yet?
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Quote of the Day: Tamar Adler
“I like asparagus charred on the grill until it is beginning to pucker; cooking greens are wonderful when allowed to get crisp and burned in places. The same is true of roasted fish and toast, both of which I find more delicious with bits of crips blackening on their edges.”
Tamar Adler in ‘An Everlasting Meal’
I always say that Mr Chiots likes his toast raw and he says I like mine burnt. In reality, I like mine with a bit of char, he likes is barely toasted. It’s personal preference of course, but I like a lot of toothsomeness to my toast and a bit of bitterness from some charred edges. He likes his barely past fresh bread. Naturally, I chuckled when I read this line the other night.
How do you like your toast?
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Friday Favorite: Indoor Herbs
I love growing herbs indoors over the winter. Since I love to cook, herbs are used daily and they can be very spendy at the grocery store. Thyme and parsley are easy to grow indoors since they are perennials. Ciliantro is also fairly easy to grow in quantity, but basil is one I always forget to grow for some reason, which is a shame because we love it so much.
This year however, I remembered to start a basil plant a month ago. Now that it’s mature, it should do better indoors during the winter. The nights are getting cool enough that it’s time to bring it inside. At the moment it’s spending the chilly nights on our front porch and spending our sunny days outside. When it comes it for good, I think I’ll keep it upstairs under a grow light. It’s nice and warm so it should do quite well. Most likely it won’t grow tons over the winter, but I’m hoping we will have enough to be able to use it once or twice a week. I’ll keep you posted.
What herbs do you grow over the winter?
