20 Days After Planting, the First “Real” Tomato Leaves Appear

Three weeks after starting seeds indoors the tomatoes, basil, eggplant, tomatillo and peppers have all sprouted. The sweet Puerto Rican peppers were the last to sprout, the final one just pushing at the earth this morning. I have been watering each pot as needed, after it dries a bit but not all the way through (you would think they would dry at the same rate, but they do not) and turning the trays 180 degrees each day to try and even out the light from the windows so the plants grow straight. I will continue this daily routine until the days get warm enough to start hardening off the plants outdoors. The tomatoes are starting to grow their first “real” leaves.

Elderberries

Our young elderberry bushes produced beautiful blooms and as a result some berries. They are not ripening at the same rate so I picked and froze those that were deep blue-purple (almost black) and will continue to add to the frozen berries through the end of the season. My plan is to make a flu/cold syrup for those classic Connecticut winter months.

In the spring large heads of white flower clusters shaped like an umbrella adorn the bush. Our bushes were planted two years ago and have grown significantly (one is about six feet tall and the other about eight). They have also produced many suckers which I have read to leave alone for the first three to four years. “Let them grow wild” was the recommendation.
The flower clusters, once pollenated, produce tiny immature green berries that ripen over the course of the summer. We had several cycles of bloom which explains the different stages of ripeness of our berries now during harvest time.
Be sure to identify what you are picking if you find what you believe is an elderberry (or any berry for that matter as many berries are poisonous). Here are some photos of leaf structure,

stems and bark
and the bush with the still ripening berries in the umbrella like clusters on top.

 

Beach Plum Jam

Equal parts pitted beach plums  and sugar. Our batch- 28 cups stemmed beach plums=14 cups of cooked and pitted beach plums=10 1/2 pints jam. I cooked the above in 2 batches because I did not have a large enough pot to do the whole thing at once.

14 cups washed and stemmed beach plums (pink to purple to take advantage of the natural pectin in the unripe ones)
1/2 cup water
7-8 cups sugar (sweetness will vary with ripeness of the beach plums)
5-6 pint jars (or 11 half pint jars)

Place a few small plates/bowls in the freezer to use to check that the jam is set.

Prepare jars (not lids and rings) by boiling in water for 10 minutes to sterilize and let sit covered in warm water bath until ready to fill. If you have hard water like I do add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the water to keep the glass clear. Bring a medium pot of water to boil, remove from heat and place lids and rings in pot, cover and set aside until ready to use.

Wash and de-stem plums. Place prepared plums  and water in a large heavy bottomed pot and heat to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 10 minutes until the plums are easily crushed using the back of a wooden spoon against the side of the pot. Place a large colander over an equally wide bowl, pour the cooked plums and juices into the colander, spread out the cooked plums to cool enough to handle.  Set up a system where there is a discard/pit bowl and a reserve/pulp bowl near the colander. Remove the pits (discard) from the pulp (reserve). Measure the amount of drained plum juices and pulp then return both to the pot. Add an equal amount of sugar and stir. Slowly, with lid on over medium high heat, bring to a boil- stirring occasionally. Reduce heat if needed to maintain a slow rolling boil. Taste for desired sweetness and add more sugar if needed/desired, stir and return to a slow rolling boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check that the jam is “set” (place a teaspoonful of not jam on cold plate, place briefly in freezer, tip the plate, if the jam doesn’t run and “behaves like jam” it is set), cook and check to see that the jam is set every 5 minutes. Once set, pour into the hot prepared jars filling to 1/2 inch below the rim, wipe the rim and edges with a damp paper towel, place warm lids in place and secure with rims. Place filled jars in water bath, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Turn heat off, leave jars in the hot water for 24 hours. Take jars out, wipe dry and label. Ready to serve when you are ready to eat.

Just a Taste of My Garden Before Stacking Wood

Some of the snap peas got away from me and are now becoming the seeds for next year. I am leaving them on the vine until they are fully ripe and dry then collecting them and setting aside.
I planted purple pole beans this year as a trial. I must say they are beautiful but the true worth will be known once they are ready to eat.
The yellow wax beans were a great success last year prepared fresh and pickled so in they went again. The first harvest was more than I expected. They are washed and in the refrigerator so I can pickle tomorrow.

The zucchini is late this year but they grow so quickly that this first little one will be ready by the end of the week and there are plenty of blossoms too.

The Italian peppers are coming along nicely, here is the first one that may be picked green if I get impatient. These beauties are golden when ripe.
The hops are looking good but I need an expert. I am going to contact our local microbrewery, Relic Brewery, and offer the hops to them.

The Elderberry bush-tree is both in bloom and forming berries.

 

Big Black Bear Tearing Down the Neighbor’s Bird-Feeder

The lesson here… feed the birds during winter months when food is scarce and bears are hibernating. Unless you want this cuddly guy making a visit and taking down your feeders. 
The little creatures were all very distressed to see their food source demolished.

Harvesting Lavender

This lavender bush has “gone too far” to harvest. The best time to harvest lavender blossoms is just before the tiny petals open. I have never picked lavender for any purpose other than scenting a room or drying a few small bouquets but this spring Xav and I had lemon lavender tea at a holistic heath fair and thought it was delicious and decided we would give it a try with our own “crop”. My father sends lemons from California so it will be a truly homegrown experience. I picked the lavender from the bushes that were not as far along, made bundles held together by bag ties (saved from the grocery store and farmers’ market) and hung them upside-down on the clothes line on the porch. I was in a bit of a hurry, realizing that it was harvest time and that unsettled weather bringing rain would not help. The lavender should be dry when picked so that the flowers will dry without molding. The porch gets hot and dry though it does have light that comes in through windows (I have read not to dry in the sun) its the best place we have for this project.

Red Currant Season

Today I picked the bulk of the red currants on our bush. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them- jam? syrup? freeze?
 Stems removed and rinsed I decided to go with freezing in 1 cup portions so that they can be used in smoothies, desserts, in yogurt or why not red currant pancakes? Freezing will still allow me to make jam if I choose to but making jam won’t leave any wiggle room for other uses.
Individual resealable bags packed, air gently squeezed out, the baggies labeled and placed in the freezer.

Here’s Looking at You

In the corner by the front steps where the sun is nice and warm early in the morning a common garter snake was sunning itself. I think we both startled each other! The evenings have been unusually cold so this one found the best spot to warm up.

Clover Lawn

We have been encouraging white clover to grow in the lawn to attract honey bees. As an added bonus clover enriches the soil, stays green during drought and the grubs (famous in Plainville, CT’s soil) don’t eat the root system. I realized today that the plan worked! We have been rewarded by many honey bees coming to gather nectar and pollen. The lawn is a bit high and Xav was out mowing the edges in preparation for mowing the whole property but I noticed one then two then… you get the point… honey bees so we will let the clover continue to bloom for a bit longer.

Pruning Hop Plants

The original site for the hops did not give them enough height to grow so I moved them this spring just as they were peaking out of the ground. I was amazed at the size and sprawl of the root system. They are now planted and climbing up twine suspended by eye hooks to the peak of the house (thanks Xav for climbing up a ladder to do that).

According to Freshops, pruning the lower 4 feet of leaves will give energy to the tops of the vines  for the hops to produce the flowers/cones. Surprisingly, even with the transplanting we have quite a few hops already visible on the young hop plants.

Here are a few of the many blooms just starting. I don’t personally care for beer but both Xav and Angelo do. Angelo has already brewed a batch at his place with purchased hops and grains so I am happy to do the gardening and let them do the brewing and drinking using our home grown hops.

After “stripping”  the base looks very bare but already I see where side shoots that will start to grow. The new growth will be left on the vines to feed the plant at the end of the season making a stronger plant that will produce more hop cones/flowers next year.