Ground Beef and Pasty Dough Recipes

 I personally love ground beef it many recipes and found this on youtube and I just want to keep these recipes handy for future use.  They seem easy enough to make and should be tasty.  I think I will enjoy them.

CHRISTMAS ANGEL WINGS/BOW TIE COOKIES

 For years I bought bow tie cookies from the little Jewish family bakery on the corner of our street.  I loved those best.  I have a hankering for having bow ties again.

Our Jewish Bakery is gone.  No one wanted to carry on the family business.  All those recipes gone forever.  So I went on the hunt and this recipe looks pretty darn close to my memories.  The biggest change is that the ones I remembered had a coating of clear sugar over their tops, not powdered. 

I think I will be trying these this Christmas season to see how they measure up to my memories....

They are known as both Angel Wings and Bow Ties.  They sure look appetizing.

No-Break Over Easy Eggs

 If you are like me, you like your morning eggs once over lighty.  But they're not easy to do.  Flip them, and 9 times out of 10 you crack one of them and the yolks run all over your pan.  Try this method instead.....

Now why didn't I ever think of that.  So simple.

How To Get Up and Down from The Floor

 As I get older, my body seems to make things harder to do.  One is getting up from a floor.  That seems to be impossible for me these days.  I found this video with some answers.  I hope it is helpful to you as well.

Not long ago, I slipped and fell between my sofa and coffee table.  I felt like a flopping trout out of water.  It took me over 10 minutes to get myself up off the floor.  I was exhausted from the effort needed.

I hope, with this information logged in my brain, that another time I will get up without trouble.

I hope this is helpful to everyone.

How About A Simple White Bread Recipe

 I am still hunting online to find simple bread recipes.  This one looks like a good one.  I like making 2 loaves of white so I can share one loaf with another.

Or you can use half the ingredients and make only 1 loaf of bread.

Ingredients:

7 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast

3 teaspoons Salt

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

3 Cups Lukewarm Water

Makes 2 loaves of sandwich bread.  

           ********

Have a nice day.

Italian Bread by the My Way Chef

 Don't you just love Italian bread?  I do.  I want to make my own so I went searching online and this recipe looks like a winner.

INGREDIENTS:

In a bowl on a scale:

335 Grams All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

On a scale in a 2-cup measure:

200 Grams warm (100*) Water

1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

Let it foam, then add to the flour and mix.

Oil to grease a bowl.

This recipe uses a Food Processor.

Seems easy enough.  I will let you know when I try it.

Have a good day friends.  

Easy No-Knead Bread and English Muffin Recipes

 I want to bake breads this year but want to be sure they are easy ones.  I have not baked any myself since I had a breadbaking machine.  This time I want to bake them in the oven.

I love Living Traditions on youtube.  I watch this homesteading channel all the time and find some great information with them.  This seems like my kind of bread making effort; a no-knead bread baked in a Dutch oven in my stove's oven.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 teaspoon Dry Yeast

1 teaspoon Salt

1 1/2  to l 3/4 Cups Hot Tap Water

This is one I will definitely be trying but have to buy the yeast first and that won't happen til this weekend.

                                  *****************************

If its English Muffins I want, I find that this recipe is just great.

    INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 Cups Warm Water

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Yeast

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter or Oil

2 3/4 Cups Flour (Plus a little extra)

1 teaspoon Salt

Cornmeal for dusting

Yes, I think I am ready to bake some breads

Have a nice day my friends.

HASSELBACK POTATOES

 I always wanted to try these, and now that I have, I will be making them more often.

HASSELBACK POTATOES

Ingredients:

5 or 6 Med. Russet Potatoes, scrubbed well and dried

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Butter mixture:

5 or 6 T. butter, melted in microwave or in small pan on stove.

Add to the melted butter:  1/4 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, salt and black pepper.

Note:  You can sprinkle taters with Garlic and Pepper Seasoning with the first initial brush with oil.  Also sprinkle on salt and black pepper. 

Tools:

Oven 425*F pre-heated

1 Baking Pan covered in aluminum foil or parchment paper

2 Wooden Spoons or Chopsticks

1 Soft Brush

Cooking Time: 1 Hour to 75 mins.

Preparation:

Pre-heat your oven to 425*F

Scrub your pototoes well, dry them.  Set aside to dry.

Place two wooden spoons on your cutting board to get accurate slicing.  Cut off the bottom lengthwise on your dried potatoes so they sit evenly on your cutting board for slicing.

Lay your potato level on the board and slice narrowly across the length of the tater.

I found that using my tomato/onion slice guide worked very well for this step.  I could get nice accurate slices.  Slice down to the wooden handles., 

Lay out your potatoes on your baking sheet including those sliced-off bottoms.

Brush the foil and the taters with olive oil, salt and pepper along with the sliced bottoms.  If you like a bit more spice, sprinkle also with Garlic and Pepper Seasoning.   Place in 425*F oven for 15-20 mins.

You will be brushing your taters with the melted butter mixture every 15 mins.  Try to get as much of the butter mixture between the slices as you can each time.

Note:  Your cut-off bottoms, being small, will bake sooner than the rest of the taters so check them every 15 mins. and remove when they are done.

When the taters have baked for about 45 mins. you can separate the slices a bit more for the last of the butter and the baking.  Try to get the butter in between the slices as much as you can for best flavor.

An extra few sprinkles of pepper before serving adds more flavor.

Note:  If you run out of butter mixture, just melt another tablespoon or two plain for finishing.

I found that baking for about 1 hr 15 mins. worked fine for mine.

You can eat these taters fresh from the oven or you can save some for leftovers.  They are tasty even re-heated in the microwave the next day.

I personally found these taters very tasty and pleasing, even the next day.  Enjoy.

Yay, More Tomatoes

Finally, my tomatoes are not only blossoming, they are bearing lots of new fruits.

I kept the varieties separated.  In the top bowl are many Lizzanos.  There are some greenies, which I will keep on my counter to ripen later.  When I reach under the plants I can't quite see all the toms so when I pull off some, a few greens come with them.  

The bottom tomatoes are from my tiniest of plants, the Red Robins, and they are larger than the Lizzanos.

Those 2 very small plants along the bottom right with the taller radish greens between them, are Red Robins.  They only grow from 8-12" tall but give lots of fruit.  In the upper right in this photo in two cages are my 2 Lizzano tomatoes.  They have smaller cherry tomatoes than their much tinier Red Robin cousin.

The tomatoes behind the blossoming Nasturtiums are Lizzanos with their very small cherry tomatoes.

I just taste-tested them both and the Red Robins are a little bit sweeter than the Lizzanos.

I watered my garden this morning.  We are expecting low 90sF today which is much too warm for me.  I will be staying indoors reading my Mrs. Pollifax mystery series.

  Luckily I kept my books when I moved.  Yes, I kept some of my favorites and this series is one of them.  The idea is that Mrs. P, a widow living in New Brunswick, New Jersey, at the age of 63, is tired of volunteer work and just raising her geraniums and wants something more in life.  Her doctor advises she do something she really always wanted to do.  Well, when she things about it, she always wanted to be a spy when she was a kid.  With that in mind, she heads for the CIA offices in Washington D.C. and by a twist of fate, is chosen for a courier job.  The woman they expected was late for her appointment and Mrs. P happened to be their office when they entered so they thought it was their assigned courier.  She gets into the strangest problems in her new career.  There is excitement and a bit of romance here and there and some comic bits.  It all makes for great reading.  Since its been some years since I read these books (I have 8 of the 9 she wrote), all the plots are unexpected since I do not remember all the facts.

Yup. I will continue reading on this hot day, indoors with my a/c going and some Ginger ale floats to keep me compnay.

Enjoy your gardens.

I Am Enjoying Harvesting Tomatoes and Greens

 I love checking out my garden bed every day and today it was bountiful.  Today I harvested several Lizzano tomatoes.

Can you see the little red tomato at the bottom in the plant along the back edge?  Its only one of several I was able to harvest today for my luncheon salad.

In this photo you can see my Nasturtiums are starting to blossom in red, yellow and orange.  Its just the beginning.  In front of them are lettuces and thyme, which I also harvested today.  In the back are cukes on the left and Lizzano tomatoes on the right.

My cucumber plants are loaded with blossoms, but no fruit yet. 

The peppers along the top in this photo are doing well.  Lots of blossoms yet to sprout and many little green peppers on the plants.  In the foreground are Tokyo bekana with the darker green Tatsoi behind them.

Look at all the little green Lizzano tomatoes on these two plants.  I will be harvesting enough to roast many of them.  I love the flavor of roasted tomatoes.  I harvested several red ones this morning to make a nice big salad today but honestly, I was hoping for sweeter flavor.  I love having fresh tomatoes, but I would rather another variety that makes larger and sweeter ones.  That is planned for next year when I know I can transplant some tasty varieties.  This year I opted for some small plants that could be planted in containers if the beds were no built this year.  

Another view of my garden bed.  In the very front, looking very small, are my 2 Red Robin tomatoes.  They are barely a foot tall and loaded with many green tomatoes. The Kale is doing well as are the lettuces and other greens.  My Salvia on the far right in the foreground is getting bigger.  The bed is healthy.  I am very pleased to have this garden this year.  

Enjoy your gardens.

To Help Prevent Mis-shapen Cucumbers

I know its happened to me so I wanted to find out why.  Well, my friend Luke at MIgardener has some answers for me....

I have learned from this video and hope to lower my losses in my cucumber harvest this year.

I hope this information helps you as well.

I am finally getting some tomatoes.  My harvest was very small, but it was tasty.

There's nothing tastier than fresh from the garden.

Enjoy your garden everyone.

Why Are My Cucumber Leaves Wilting?

That's a good question and there are a few reasons.  Its better said by an expert so I am posting this video from Luke of MIgardener......

I was sure mine was from lack of water so that took priority.  I find no insect life on my leaves either today or the last few days when I checked.  My plants have blossoms now but still no fruits.  I am hopeful that I will harvest some fine cukes this season.

Enjoy your garden.

How To Prevent Early Transplant Disasters In Your Garden

 We all know that most transplanting is done in the spring.  But fall also has its transplanting chores.  Many grow brasssicas and fall crops to add to their garden in the late summer to harvest in fall.  Here are some tips from MIgardener Luke.

I especially like the toothpick tip.  Since I started using them several years ago, I never lost another transplant to cutworms.  It really works.

Enjoy your gardening.

How To Collect and Harvest Cucumber Seeds and Tomatoes

When you find a non-hybrid cucumber that you love and want to be sure to have them again the following year, you will want to save seeds and sow your own next year instead of paying to buy another package.  Here is a short video on how to do that....

Gary, the Host of this site, The Rusted Gardener, is very knowledgable about growing a home garden. 

Please note that this cannot be done with every crop, but for many it will work.  Some crops, like tomatoes, must have their blossoms isolated from passing pollinators which can cross-breed that tomato with little effort.  For those, you need to bag your early blossom, using a mesh bag tied around the stem as soon as you spot it and before it forms a fruit to keep all pollinators away from it.

To be sure it gets pollinated, you just have to tap the branch that's holding the blossom at least once a day which pollinates it without critters.

Once the tomato is growing, you can remove the bag, but mark the tomato with a ribbon or cloth so you know that is the tomato from which you must save your seeds, and not any of the other tomatoes.  When the tomato is fully over-ripened, you can save its seeds.

In this photo below I have a newly-forming tomato blossom bagged. Its closed tightly on the top to prevent any critters from getting in the bag and cross-pollinating that blossom.

Do Not Save seeds from any Hybrid variety.  Its already a crossbred plant and if you save those seeds, you cannot be sure what you will get once you plant those seeds.  It could have traits of either parent or even their grandparents, so be very careful which plants you choose to save seeds.

In the case of tomato varieties, you need to save your seeds from an open-pollinated variety or heirloom but none from those marked F1.  An F1 is a crossbred variety.

Enjoy your garden. 

I Have Tiny Tomatoes Fruiting

Its always nice to see something fruiting after all our growing efforts.  I have been watching itty bitty tomatoes fruiting on my plants, but today I was able to capture them in pictures since they are getting larger in size.

This is one of my little Red Robin tomato plants.  These only grow from 8" to 12" tall but they give lots of little fruit.  As you can see, the little green tomatoes are forming now and there are lots of blossoms still growing beneath those potato-leaf leaves.

This is my second Red Robin.  Another with fruits and lots of blossoms.  The tomatoes will be about 1 - 1 1/2 inches in size when mature.  Good size, like a cherry tomato.

My Lizzanos, though a larger variety in height than the Red Robin, produce only 1" fruits, but lots of them.  As you can see, they are fruiting now.  I have two of these plants as well.  I love seeing all the itty bitty green nobs forming along my two Lizzanos.  I should have plenty to harvest soon.

As for the rest of my raised bed, I had to water it today which surprised me after us getting 3 1/2" of rain lately.  But I gave the bed a dose of water.  My small variety of peppers are doing well though no fruits yet to be seen.  My Nasturtium flowers are growing larger.  The greens are doing well also, things like Tatsoi, arugula, and lettuces as are the Kale, thyme, and the radishes.  I am loving having a garden again, even if its a small one.  

My carrots have not come up yet so I may be sowing more of them in a day or so.  I got a new shipment, this time Scarlet Nantes carrots which are a good variety and tasty.  

Here's a view of my garden bed today...

Lookin' good.

Enjoy your garden.

My Garden After Torrential Rains

The great thing about raised beds is they can take a lot of rain without drowning your plants.  After 3 1/2 inches of rain in 2 days, my bed is doing fine.

No puddles in my bed.  All the crops are doing well.  

Lower left shows a few bits of Tatsoi greenery coming up after 3 days.  And to their right is my Tokyo bekana doing well.  These are greens I've never had before but if they taste OK, I will serve them in future salads.  You can notice the dark soil to their right where I sowed Hercules carrot seeds.  Still no sign of them after 5 days.  I will continue to be patient.

In this upper left corner I sowed Salad burnet seeds on both June 1st and June 21st.  There is a bit of green showing.  Maybe its burnet.  I hope so.

I will give my garden a few days of rest and then check into maybe sowing more carrot seeds around the tomato plants.  My radishes are doing fine.  I have a new brand I received today so I may sow a few of those radishes this week as well.  My needs are simple and I do not need lots of anything at any one time.  My bed has lots of different crops in it.  I hope to enjoy some variety this year.

Next year I will add squash and zucchini to my plot which I could not do this year since I was not even sure if we would get our beds at all.  Also some larger determinate tomato plants.  I stuck to patio size this time in case I had to plant them in plots if no raised beds developed.  I am pleased with those patio-size plants since they are all putting out lots of blossoms and the Lizzanos are growing new itty bitty fruits.  The good news is new plans are on the books for another year.

Enjoy your garden.

My Little Patch of Garden Space in July.

This year is the first year for having a garden patch of my own.  They were late getting them built so I was late getting my crops in.  Still, I am enjoying the experience.

My bed on the left is home to my 3 Mini-Red Bell Pepper plants.  They look healthy.  At the top are my 3 Bush Pickle Cucumber plants planted around a cage.  They will not get too large.  I just sowed 2 short 1 1/2 foot rows of Hercule Carrots which are under straw which covers the cardboard I have placed over the seeds til they germinate.

Between the carrots and the cukes, I have a row of arugula and above them a row of Nasturtiums.  Nasturtiums are edible but they also bring pollinators to the garden, so 2 reasons to grow them.

This is the center section of my bed. In front I have some lettuces like Thom Thumb to the left and top of my summer Thyme.  On the right of the thyme are some red Alkindus and green Starfighter lettuces just coming thru.  Above the lettuces are the row of arugula, then a row of Nasturtiums and at the very top are my two Lizzano tomato plants, very full of blossoms.  Lizzano is a semi-determinate plant and will not grow very large and will give me some 1" red tomatoes for a rather long harvest.

On the right side of my bed you can find l. to r. more Alkindus lettuce, then the serrated leaves of Russian Kale.  On the far right are my 2 small Red Robin tomatoes.  They only grow about 8" to 12" tall and give clusters of 1-1 1/2" red tomatoes.  Lots of blossoms on those two plants right now.  Between the Red Robins are 2 short rows of Cherry Belle radishes growing quite well.  In the top right hand side of the bed are two Stevia plants.

So far most are doing well.  I seem to have a problem with my lemon yellow Marigold in the bottom right corner of the bed.  Nothing has germinated and I planted seed twice.  

All in all I am quite please with the results of this year's raised bed and hope to be eating fresh veggies very soon.

Enjoy your garden.

Its July. Time To Plant Our Fall Garden.

 When you think fall, think of anything you can plant in the spring can be planted again in the fall.  As long as it can be harvested before frosty days.  With a little help from frost covers like hoops with sheets and blankets and frost blankets to save them from frosty nites, you can extend your harvest time.

Here is Luke of MIgardner with some idea he shares.

For myself, I am sowing seeds for carrots, Tokyo Bekana, more radishes, a few other greens for my salads.

Its a good time to enjoy your garden space and extend your harvesting.

Enjoy your garden.

When You Should Water Your Garden

The best time to water your garden is in the morning.  Why?  Well, let my friend Luke explain the whys and wherefors....

Get yourself out in your garden in the morning, between about 6 to 9 a.m. for best results.

Enjoy your Gardening.

How I Am Fighting The Heat in My Garden

I am happy to report that I have blossoms on my two tiny Red Robin tomato plants now.  It was nice to see them.

These babies are not even a foot tall yet, but that's about how tall they will get.  I expect lots of fruiting when the time comes.

I mulched with short-cut straw yesterday to try to keep evaportation low when I water my garden now that its getting so much warmer.

With 3 days in the low to mid-90sF this week, I was concerned for my garden.  I still have cool-weather crops starting to grow like lettuces, radishes, kale and arugula and as for tomatoes, they stop blossoming and growing when the temps reach high 90s.  To combat this problem I went out with white bleached muslin and clipped pieces to bamboo poles to combat the heat.

I tried to put sheeting between the crop rows and around my tomatoes.  In this one the muslin in the rear covers my two Lizzano tomato plants just fine.

The muslin to the far right is protecting my little Red Robin tomatoes.  Amazing how much wind we are getting.  The muslin just kept billowing up all the time.  But with enough spring clothes pins they are held fast.

As for me, here I am kitted out for fighting the heat in the garden.  My hat keeps me nice and cool.  Its an Arctic Hat which means you run cold water thru the top before donning it and it keeps your head cool.  I also have 2 battery fans hanging around my neck which are not in the picture but I can tell you, they are sooooo wonderful keeping me cool in the heat.

Keep cool everyone.

How To Handle Your Garden During Too Much Heat

 It seems that everyone is experiencing too much heat too soon this year.  What does one do to protect their garden.  Here are some tips in the following video.

As usual Luke gives good advice. 

Now how does one protect their cool-weather crops from excess heat?  You give them shade in one way or another.  Here are a few tips in the following video.

Good avice here.

I have used shade cloth and also sheeting to protect my crops from too much sun.  When the temps. rise even your tomatoes will suffer.  They stop producing and blossoming in excess heat so I put up sheeting between the sun and my plants to give them a bit of shade and cooler space.

Enjoy your gardening.
  

How To Grow Cucumbers

How does one grow cucumbers successfully.  Its not difficult if you follow a few rules.

Here is a video that may help you get started.

An important thing to remember is that cucumbers, along with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and watermelons, like a lot of water but they also like to dry out between waterings.  

Enjoy your time in the garden.

Tips for Growing Squash and Zucchini Thru the Summer

Here are a few videos that should help you in growing your bush squash and zucchini in your garden.  To start there's the problem of male and female blossoms.  Sometimes you only get one sex and you need both to grow fruits.  Here are some reasons that happens and sometimes you just have to wait a month or so.

Very helpful tips there for the home gardener.

But that's not the only problem you may find.  This next video shows how to combat powdery mildew on your leaves and blossom end rot on the fruits.  You need to thin out the lower leaves to give air flow and sunshine and pollinators a chance to work their magic.

As usual Luke from MIgardner on Youtube has the anwers.

In this video Luke has grown for intensity harvest, planting closer than the recommended distance on the packages.  Yes, you can plant 4 plants around the perimeter and then also plant an extra one in the center.  You will get more fruits and they grow well as long as you thin out the lower leaves to give them some air movement and space for pollinators to do their job.

For those of you who want to touch base on how to start those squash and zucchini plants, this video gives you the answers for their start in your garden in early spring.

Whether you start yours from seeds or from transplants, you can use this information.

That goes for bush squash as well as zucchini plants.

Enjoy your gardens.

I Have Blossoms on My Lizzano Tomatoes

I just love it.  I have blossoms on both my Lizzano tomatoes.  Now these are small shrub tomatoes with small tomato fruit but lots of it when they blossom.  And they are so tasty.

I will be so happy to pluck a few ripe fruits off my two plants soon.  My Red Robins have a few tiny blossoms which are hard to notice on the plant so I did not take a photo of them.

Happy Gardening everyone.

How To Grow High Intensity Lettuce Crops

I want to grow lettuce, all kinds of lettuce.  I love my salads.  How can I grow lettuce so that I have lots to harvest thru the seasons?  Just watch Luke in this video and find out.

I always 'cut and come again' when growing lettuce.   That means you cut off the tops of the lettuce plants leaving a couple of inches at the bottom.  This way the plant can continue to grow.  You will get more lettuce for longer with this method.   I get more bang for my buck and I get it for a longer period during the season.  Lettuce can be grown in the spring and in the fall.  If you get heat-resistant varieties, you can be assured of lettuce even into the heat of early summer.

Enjoy your Gardening.

The Top Mistakes Made When Transplanting Crops

 Though its already June and most transplanting has been done, this information may be helpful for those that are transplanting for fall crops soon.

I found the information very helpful.  Luke also tells you how to remedy the situations and when and how to transplant properly.

I found myself making some of these mistakes myself in the past.  I have since learned my lesson after some losses.  Be sure to listen and watch and learn.

Have a great gardening day!

The Best Crops to Grow for Beginning Gardeners

This video is very helpful, for beginners and for anyone that grows vegetables and herbs in their garden.  I think those that are new to growing will find this information very helpful.

I even learned a little bit with the help of Luke, once again.

If you want to learn more about growing your garden, you can find Luke at MI Gardener on Youtube.  He has several helpful growing videos.

Yes sir, for sure I want to find Purslane for my garden.

Enjoy getting your hands in the dirt.  

The More You Pick, The More They Produce

 Here are 5 crops that produce more and more the more you harvest.  Keep picking the vegetable, or the leaves in the case of leafy herbs, and you will get more.  The secret it to keep them from going to seed from lack of haevesting while still young.  Of course adding fertilizer will aid in the growth of new crops.

Here is Luke from MI Gardener to tell you what its all about.....

Here are 5 crops you can keep harvesting all thru the season and they will give you more and more crops.  

I especially like the idea of growing only one Zucchini in my small 4' by 8' bed and it will give me a dozen or two dozen lovely zuchinni.  Since I have limited space to grow things I enjoy, I did not grow Zucchini this year.  Well folks,you can be sure I will be growing one next year.

Enjoy your gardens.

10 Things Mainers Can Grow in September

 Have you ever wondered what to do with all that open space in your garden after harvesting your crops?  Well, if you live in Maine, you can still sow and grow some crops thru the fall and into winter.  It all depends on what your night temperatures are at the time and how long before your first frost date.

Here is Luke from MI Gardener who can shed some light on the subject:

This young man is very knowledgable about growing vegetables and has studied botany and agriculture since he was a young lad.  

You can use your own local weather information to see what will work for you.  And if a frosty night is on the way, you can cover your young crop against the cold to keep the vegetable growing.  In some cases, a mild frost will not even hurt them.

Take a look at this video and learn a few things.  

Have a good day.

What To Plant in Your Garden in August

 When we have a garden, its a shame to waste space after harvesting the summer crops.  In the northern states its also a good time to sow seeds that will grow well in the fall when many bugs are less apt to attack some crops, like the cabbage moth, and the cooler weather keeps the plants from bolting too soon.

Here is a video from Luke, the MI Gardener, who is always so helpful.

I know for a fact that this is useful information having tried many of these in my own Maine garden in the past.  I wanted to share this with my gardening friends.

I hope you can get more use from your home garden with this information.

Good Gardening!

How To Speed Up Pepper Growth

I live in the north so my gardening time is less that many places.  For peppers, they need warmer days and nights.  Nights especially, in which to grow well.  This video gives some tips on how to get the most out of  you pepper plants.....

I have learned thru my own mistakes with peppers, that in southwestern Maine its best to wait til the days and nites have warmed up a bit before transplanting outdoors.  I now wait til at least June 10th and that, too, depends on if the days nites are warm enough.

I am happy to share these good tips for anyone growing peppers, especially in the northern climes.

Happy Gardening.

What To Do To the Tomato Forks At The Top of Your Indeterminates

 This is a video that shows how to determine what branches of your tomatoes you should eliminate.  I was quite surprised to learn that a branch in the armpit could be a good stem that you want to keep when its near the top of the plant.  To learn more, I am keeping this in my blog.  This young man is a veritable mine of information when it comes to growing your garden vegetables.  He's very good. He's been on for years and is very reliable.

Seeds Are Popping

 I love it.  I came out to check on my raised bed and found some seeds apoppin' which made me smile.

Between my Red Robin toamtoes I found my Cherry Belle radishes just starting to peek out.  That rain we got yesterday must have been beneficial.

And here in the wet row just above my watering can, you can see the tiny bits of green where the Arugula are peeking thru the soil.

Here is how my raised bed looks this morning.  All healthy, all doing well.

It feels to good to see growth in my raised bed.  Its been awhile since I gardened but its like riding a bike, its all coming back to me.  

My bamboo stakes came in the mail yesterday so I brought down a few.  I will use them to make shady areas for the greens that will not be pleased when the heat comes.  I want to be sure I get some harvest this year since I started out so late with the beds not being built til this past weekend.

Wishing you all a good day from southwestern Maine.  

Transplanted and Sowed Seed Today in My Raised Bed

Our raised beds were built yesterday and filled with wonderful soil.  Today I transplanted my seedlings and sowed some seed as well.

Here is my personal Raised Bed.  You can see the watered rows are Arugula in the center long left wet row and Nasturtiums in the long right wet row.  In the short rows on the left beside the thyme are 2 shor rows of Alkindus (red) lettuce and the middle short row is Starfighter (green) Lettuces.  The very front wet row on the left, I planted Russian Kale seeds.

The Two  transplants in the foreground are Red Robin tomatoes.  They only grow about a foot or so tall but give lots of small tomatoes.  On the left, the wet mark, is planted some Lemon Gem Marigold seeds which are edible, both leaves and flowers.  The short wet rows between the Red Robins are Cherry Belle radishes.

In this right corner are the Stevia plants that I  transplanted today.  The left plant is one of the Red Robins.

These are two Lizzano tomatoes in the cages.  They, too, are miniature plants only growing about 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall but giving lots of tasty tomatoes.  I grew them before.

In the cage on the left I sowed several Bush Cucumber seeds around the area.  Again, a small plant and even giving small cucumbers, but tasty ones.  On the right you can see my 3 Mini-Red Pepper transplants.  They harvest little sweet red peppers around 2" long and wide.  Just the right size for snacking.

These are my Summer Thyme transplants.  I love Thyme.  I it a lot, in soups and with chicken and tomato sauces.  One of my favorite spices when fresh.

A long view of my rasied bed from the other side.

I used a couple of tricks I learned over the years so I added some Epsom salt and some crushed Tums (for the calcium) in my tomato holes.  The calcium helps prevent blossom end rot, which is when a tomato gets brown on one end. You can use crushed egg shells, but I had none available today. 

I also placed 3 or 4 toothpicks right up against the stems of all the transplants.  They help prevent cutworms from cutting down my plants and destroying them.  I have used this method for years and it works.  

I will tuck more Cherry Belle radishes between the Lizzanos and Cucumbers in another week or two to get a continuous supply.  These are cool weather plants so sowing the seed between plants gives them shade which can help their growth before they get too warm.

The same is true for more lettuces.  The two types I sowed today, Alkindus and Starfighter, are heat tolerant but I never grew them before so I do not know how well they will do when it gets warmer.  I hope to get some harvesting done before it gets too hot.

Have a good day friends.

Our Raised Beds Have Finally Arrived.

 I am so thrilled that the new raised beds have been built today and filled with some really good soil.  This soil is so rich it should be good without additions for about 2 years.  Sounds wonderful.

The bed in the foreground is mine, the one with the tomato cages laying on top.  The beds are 12 inches deep, 4 feet wide by 8 feet long which I love.  The soil is so rich and dark.  I cannot wait to start transplanting tomorrow morning.  My energy is down a bit right now and I do not want to transplant them late and water them is since they will not have a chance to dry off.  The wetness can bring fungus.  One should water early in the day if needed, not late.

I put my seedlings outdoors on a bench under the canopy so if it rains tonite they will be safe.  I had watered them this morning.  The temps today are only around 60*F and will drop into the 50s tonite. Its quite cool after a few days of 90* temps.  Back to normal.  Besides, the plants need a bit more hardening off so they will be safe.

The rest of my seed order for greens came today from Johnny's Seeds so I am a happy camper.  Home Depot emailed me that my bamboo stakes are on the way and should be here by the 15th.  I do not need them right now so everything is going according to plan.

Happy gardening everyone.

Walking in our Back Garden Today

 Today I took a walk thru our backyard gardens  I needed to put out my seedlings to harden off anyway, so I took some photos.....

Here are the purple irises.

More Irises by the other birch tree.

Some Irises by our  back patio.

A long view of the first birch tree area.

Irises here among the early Pampas grass.

In this area along the walkway will be our new raised beds.

I am hardening off my 4 tomato plants and 2 of my mini-red pepper seedlings in this first utility cart.

In this 2nd cart I have my Stevia seedlings, some summer thyme and 1 mini-red pepper hardening off and my air plant getting s bit of fresh air today.

I put my plants in my utility carts (I have 2) to transport in- and outdoors which makes it so darn easy.  They only stayed out for 2 1/2 hours today.  Tomorrow I will keep them outdoors for probably about 4 hours.  They need to get used to the sunshine and the breezes a bit at a time.

Have a good day.