Got the Garden Planted

Got the garden all planted this past week. I wasn't as ready as I thought I was. It wasn't as simple as popping the seedlings in. There were weeds to remove first so the whole thing took all week. It was extra warm, one day getting up to 91 degrees. The soil here is mostly clay. The amendments I added last yr seemed to have disappeared amongst all that clay. My garden was a lawn last spring. It took a lot of work to transform it but the soil needs help. My big compost bin paid off with wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of lovely compost. I was able to put enough in each bed to give the plants a good start. In the short beds I added one wheelbarrow full and the longer beds (14' long) got 2 wheelbarrows full.

I took the sandbox this year and planted corn in it. I put 4 wheelbarrows full of compost into that bed alone. I still felt like that wasn't enough, I'm transforming sand into garden soil mind you. So when I planted the corn, I dug a deep hole and filled it with good soil. We'll see if that will be enough for them. I'm excited about growing corn this year. We should get enough to eat and freeze! I planted 36 seedlings so we'll see how much we get from that! Now if you're a gardener you're thinking why doesn't she add the sand to the beds and help that clay soil? I did a lot of that last summer but I just don't have the back to do it this spring.

 This is the bed that I have squash in. Half is zucchini and half summer squash.

 Here's the summer squash. These seeds were started just a couple weeks ago.

Here's the zucchini squash. We've gotten some heavy rain in the last few days. I only lost one zucchini plant. Luckily I had another one to pop in.
I always hang on to all my extra plants in case I need to replant some.

Here's a couple of tomato plants. I'm giving them 2 ft between plants this year. I think each plant will get bigger and I should get bigger fruit. Last yr I planted them 1 ft  apart and got a lot of small tomatoes.

Here's the tomato bed, a little in the shade when I went out this morning. It rained last night so everything is happy. They grow so much better on rain water.

The tee pee is up and doing fine. The green beans are planted but none have come up yet.

Notice at the corners of each bed I've put long sticks in the ground. That's to keep the hose from getting in the beds and doing damage, while I drag the hose around to water. 

This pic shows the base of the teepee where I dug a trench all the way around, just like last yr. It needs to be dug out every spring. In the course of the year it fills up with dirt and debris. In the middle is a thick layer of wood chips to keep the weeds down and give us a place to walk with no mud.

Here are the peas and cucumbers. Last year the peas were ahead of the cucumbers in growth. After the peas were done and taken down the cucumbers were trained onto the fence. This yr will be different, they look like they'll be competing for the trellis.
A couple of the cucumbers are already long enough to grab the trellis. They'll just have to share this summer.
We had so many late snowstorms, it kept me from planting peas earlier.

 Here is a tomatillo plant. I gave them more room this yr as well.

The tomatillos are happy in their bed. There are 10 plants in here.

This is 1 of three blackberry plants that I got this yr. If this was our own house I would have put them in the ground. This way we can take them with us when we move in a couple yrs. The lattice behind it I made from apple branches a few yrs ago.

Another blackberry plant. The varieties I got are Apache, Ouachita and Triple Crown. The third plant came all dried out with no leaves so I'm nursing that one along till it gets more leaves.
It will recover but it was definitely stressed. A stressed plant won't give you as much produce.

Here's a cherry tomato plant that I started indoors at the end of December. It's now on our porch giving us a handful of tomatoes every day!

 These blue pots have birdhouse gourd plants. They'll vine up this trellis and should give us some nice shade.

I was so excited to find an almond seed in the compost pile that had sprouted! Now I have a little almond tree!! How cool is that!!

 Here's our granddaughter Stella, helping Grandma water the peas.

Here I'm explaining how the peas will climb up the trellis. The next week when she came she told me, "Peas climb up". She remembers everything. She's on her way to becoming a great gardener!

Have you planted anything? Let me know!

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The Easy Way to Make Yogurt

Making Yogurt

  I've been making yogurt for a couple years now. I started making it when I realized how many extra ingredients there are in store bought yogurt. The super sweet fruit and yogurt were too sweet for my taste and even with coupons it's still more expensive than making your own.

  I started looking online for recipes and methods. I found a crock-pot method that wasn't bad. I tried a lot of different recipes with mostly good results. I tried one where a woman put the milk in canning jars, then put them in a pan with water and heated it that way. I did that for several weeks until one of the jars broke in the pan and I lost 1/4 of my yogurt.  I only had one batch I couldn't eat and that's because I burned it. I've had batches turn out really thick, almost cheese like, I overcooked that batch. It was still yummy and we ate it as a soft cheese spread and I still put it in my smoothies. 

  After much trial and error, I have it perfected. If you follow this recipe, you will be eating yogurt. What changes your results is when you change the amounts of milk or yogurt. That's when your batches may not turn out. Figuring out why is what will make you an expert yogurt maker. When I first started I got creative and learned a lot!

 What I do now is a culmination of those recipes and have found what works for me, with the size of pan I use to make it.


   I make a half-gallon or so every week. I consume most of it myself, in my smoothies that I drink every morning. I have Stella hooked on smoothies so one day a week she helps me eat some.
I thought I'd do a quick tutorial that might help some of you get started.

What You'll Need

Whole milk (2 quarts or a half gallon) (I've made it with 2% and it still works fine)
Cup of Plain Yogurt (at least 5.3 oz)
Sauce Pan (large enough to have a couple inches of room at the top for stirring)
Candy Thermometer
Wooden spoon
Containers to store finished yogurt

 First I start with whole milk, a half gallon, and pour it in a 3 qt, stainless steel pan. You'll need a good candy thermometer. With the pan on the stove top, and thermometer clipped on the pan, use medium - medium-high heat.

 Keep an eye on the thermometer while stirring gently. Make sure you have a clean, empty sink and run about 4" of water in it, (depending on the height of your pan). Have some ice or blue ice (for coolers) on hand. 

  
  When the milk has reached 185 degrees turn off heat. Carefully carry to the sink and set the pan of milk into the water. The thermometer usually slides around during the transfer so you may want to set it to the side for the moment or if you're able to, grab it with a finger during the transfer. The last option is the one I use because I don't want to wait for the temp to go back up on it.

 Now you have the pan in the sink. Check the level of water compared to the level of the milk. It needs to be even or as close as possible. This is when you add the blue ice or ice to the water. Be careful not to splash water into the milk.You can add the lid for a few moments if you're worried. It won't ruin the batch if you get a little there, but a lot could ruin the batch. Stir the milk while watching the thermometer. When it comes down to 110 degrees carefully remove it from the water and set it on the counter. You're done with the thermometer; you can leave it in the sink.

  This is when you add the starter yogurt. You can use some from a previous batch, saved and frozen right after it's made. I've done this but I have better luck when I buy a cup of yogurt from the store. Choose one with no gelatin as it makes it syrupy. Make sure it has both of the active cultures in it. I've been getting Oikos and I just read the label and it simply says "active cultures”. I have used it though and it works great. I get the Greek yogurt and for a size, it says 5.3 oz. 

  So now you need to put the yogurt in the pan of milk, (after scraping the cup to get all of it), stir with a whisk. Stir until you see no more lumps, little ones are okay.

Now put the lid on your pan. You'll need 2 bath towels to wrap it in. It needs to keep the heat for several hours so wrap it good. Lay the first towel on the counter and wrap it up around the pan. 

Then take the second towel, which is still folded in half, and lay it over the top of the pan and tuck it in the best you can.

 It needs to sit undisturbed for 6 hrs so choose a spot that is out of the way, where it won't get bumped.

 Set your timer for 6 hours and walk away! No need to do anything to it for 6 hrs. If you check it, you'll release the precious heat and it won't work as well.

There you are 6 hours later. Beautiful yogurt that I can use in so many ways. I could strain it and make a soft cheese. I can use it in place of sour cream in many recipes.

I'll let it cool a bit, then cover and store it in the back of the frig, on the lowest shelf. It thickens as it cools.
It lasts a couple weeks but never makes it that long at our house.
 

New Peas Trellis

  I made a new trellis for the peas. I used a longer raised bed for them this year. After growing them last year, we decided we need more peas! This is our new trellis made with bamboo and plant nets and zip ties.

 This is a 14 ft raised bed. I bought a package of 25, 6 ft bamboo posts. It took 17 to complete this. I also bought 2 plant nets that are 5 ft x 15 ft. It was a foot too long so I just twisted it along the end posts. I didn't like buying matierials for a trellis, since I've been making them out of apple branches for years. 

 
  Unfortunately my supply of branches has 
diminished and I don't have enough for this
 project. 


 To build it I first pushed the bamboo poles into the ground about 6" at he right angle for the two pieces on the end to cross in the middle at the top. After securing the frame I attached the net on each side. I zipped both sides of the net at the same time to save zip ties,(at the top). The net loops around the bamboo at the top to hold it while I secured it. I did this mostly by myself so it can be done with one person.
It took a lot of zip ties.





There are 3 poles across the top and 3 on each side. They overlap so I secured them with zip ties.

The plants are doing nicely in the little greenhouse. I was able to bring them out to the greenhouse for a few days to get some sun. It's supposed to get cold again tonight, with snow tomorrow, so I'll probably bring them in. I've left a lamp in the bottom of the greenhouse at night to provide some heat. They would probably be okay left in there but I don't want to take any chances. Sometimes it gets colder than they predict.  I've worked too hard to have them frozen now.

   Last year I grew catnip and started it in the greenhouse. Zelda  our younger kitty would climb up in the greenhouse and eat it as fast as it came up. I haven't gotten any planted for them this year yet, shame on me. She keeps checking the greenhouse every day and almost ate spinach yesterday, which I wouldn't mind. As long as she's healthy. I'm getting seeds today for the kitties!!

I started some flowers that are also coming up! I'm really excited about that. Lots of herbs as well, I'm looking forward to some pesto!

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