Quote of the Day: Three Sisters Garden
Every American knows that a stand of well-grown sweet corn is a delight to the eye, as well as to the ear when it rustles in the wind. The classic mix of squash, beans, and corn is tricky to achieve in such a manner that the squash gets sufficient light and the beans to snot smother the corn. They should be planted only when the corn is already well on its way. Once grown, the stand of corn provides one of the best vertical accents possible.
Louisa Jones in The Art of French Vegetable Gardening
There’s something so classic about a three sisters garden. Last year I grew one featuring an heirloom yellow popcorn, a special heirloom bean that can take the shade of the corn, and Cinderella pumpkins along the edges. Everything seemed to thrive.
This is the first year in a few that I’m not growing popcorn. I typically grow it in my mom’s potager, but there was no space left for it. Plus with the possibility of a move I didn’t know if I’d be around during harvest time.
Hopefully in my new garden I’ll have space to include both sweet corn and popcorn. We’re lucky to have a local farm from which to purchase fresh sweet corn, but I’d love to grow it myself. I’m not a huge fan of the new super sweet hybrids, I like a less sweet corn with more “corn” flavor. I’ll definitely be trying to find a good one for next summer.
Do you grow sweet corn in your garden or purchase it from a local farm? Any special varieties to recommend?
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Quote of the Day: Stone Walls
History is about leaving our mark. The old settlers’ mark is a bunch of tilting gravestones and some broken down stone walls, and I wonder if, as they heaved rocks onto the intricately fitted walls, they thought about us, the future, or were they just trying to get those stones out of the field. Whatever their motive, they left a mark with their lives. And we leave one with ours.
Linda Tatlbaum from Carrying Water as a Way of Life: A Homesteader’s History
I always notice stone walls when we’re out and about, especially the old ones. Perhaps it’s because I’m a stone wall builder myself. When I build a stone wall I’m not necessarily thinking about it being here in a few years, I’m more doing it because I love the look and I have a ton of rocks on hand.
Gardening organically is something I do with future generations in mind. I know not using chemicals in the garden is healthier for me, but I know that it will make a big difference to the generations that come after me. They are also on my mind as I blog to encourage others to go organic.
What kinds of things do you do for the sake of future generations?
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Quote of the Day: Bernd Heinrich
Early the next morning, I awake to a wild melee of bird song. Far sweeter than any symphony I could possibly imagine, it comes from all around.
Bernd Heinrich (A Year In The Maine Woods)
We love the birds here at Chiot’s Run and do what we can to provide for them naturally. New plants are often chosen with the birds in mind. I find myself often going to the Cornell Bird lab page to identify birds I hear when I’m out working in the garden. Little mr wren is probably my favorite with his sweet songs that he sings all day long. Just this past week I’ve been listening to our resident bald eagle screeching down by the lake. I must take the time to head down and look at their nest one of these days.
Birds aren’t just pretty to look at in the garden, they provide a very valuable service in the form of pest control. People always ask me about dealing with specific pests and I always recommend putting up a bird feeder and a bird bath to keep them coming to your garden all year long. Once you do you’ll notice the birds constantly harvesting insects. The more birds I notice in the garden the fewer problem insects I notice.
As a result of our efforts every year we see/hear a few new species of birds. We should have kept track but we’re up to about 25-30 different species of birds including owls and bats. We’re excited to see both new and familiar birds at our new place. No doubt our bird identification books will come in handy for a those that we don’t see much here in Ohio.
How many different birds do you think you’ve seen in your garden?
I highly recommend adding a bird id book or two your library. We always have one with us when we’re traveling. These are our 2 faves:
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Real Food
Maybe most important, farm food itself is totally different from what most people now thing of as food: none of those colorful boxed and bagged products, precut, parboiled, ready to eat, and engineered to appeal to our basic desires. We were selling the opposite: naked, unprocessed food, two steps from the dirt.
Kristin Kimball from The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love
The main reason I started an edible garden is because I was dissatisfied with the quality of produce at the grocery store. There’s just something about food that’s freshly plucked from the garden. I still buy some things at my local farmer’s market, but even that isn’t quite as good as something that’s only minutes from plant to plate.
This week we’ve been enjoying so many wonderful homegrown vegetables: beets, potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and all kinds of herbs to season and add flavor. Every morning we’ve been enjoying harvest vegetable hash with eggs poached on top – life is truly good! (for my recipe visit Eat Outside the Bag).
What are you enjoying from the garden this week?
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Quote of the Day: Paul Sweeney
How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.
~Paul Sweeney
Last night we had the great pleasure of watching the fireworks display put on by our small lake community. Each year they collection donations from the residents and put on a fabulous display. We’ve lived here for 10 years and have only missed one year. This year we were lucky enough to enjoy the display on a friend’s boat, a completely different experience.
Fireworks have always been a tradition in my family. We usually spent this holiday weekend at the family cabin and we’d stop on a bridge in Wooster, OH to watch their fireworks display on our way home. Then we’d stop for ice cream and the holiday celebration would be complete!
Do you take in a fireworks display for the Fourth of July or any other holiday?
