viggies 2013 garden / urban homestead

[vigilant20]

Originally Posted by BindiK

Hello vigilant20,

I am preparing to can for the 1st time using the strawberry/kiwi/lemonade concentrate. In your picture, it looks like there is something whitish at the top of the mix just under the lid. What is that?

Thank you.

Best of luck!! The second batch I did just had some foam and lighter particles that rose to the top once it was canned. I didn't blend that one as well as the first batch because I liked the idea of having seeds in there like they did on the website so it looks more natural :D

PS...already up to 100 posts in this thread! Thanks so much for all the replies and support

[vigilant20]

The chamomile and chives are flowering now.




I managed to get the warm weather crops through 2 freezing nights in a row....I have not been enjoying this chilly wet spring!



I got a new tiny bed along the fence prepared and planted with dry beans.



And finally todays project was finishing up main bed #2. The purple potatoes were already in there and ready to be mounded. Pink potatoes went in next, and broccoli, zucchini, and patty pan squash were seeded.

[biathlon]

Just let me know if you want to move out west Miss Vigilant Ma'am. I am hoping to re-negotiate my relationship with Photobucket.

[vigilant20]

I changed things up a bit now that I have a clearer direction on what I want to produce here. I sold my big rabbit, Blossom, who didn't produce great fiber and was too old to breed and brought on a super cute and tiny 8 week old blue french angora named Fluffy McPuffersons. :D Here she is getting her first taste of grass.



Got the first little harvest of chamomile yesterday



Baby strawberries are on the way



And salad season has arrived!

[Rosesandtea]

Your garden is always inspiring! It encourages me to see what you get done in your small lot.

[Suebeedo]

I love your old dishes too. Lovely.

[vigilant20]

Baby bunny!!!!!



The last garden bed was just planted. It's late enough in the season that I actually had to weedwack it before I could turn it over. That was a first! This cold rainy season has me way behind schedule, but still plugging along.



]The "tea garden" I established last year is filling in nicely. Lemon balm in front, with echinacea middle, and comfrey in the back.

[biathlon]

Interesting you plant echinacea out east. It is one of the most successful high country mountain plants I have. It does very well up in the mountains here in Wyoming.

[vigilant20]

Took a pic of the freshly planted back yard this week. Now I get the joy of watching it all spring to life. And I get to do tons of weeding of course :D



Although it was cool and rainy most of the week, I still saw some action from the most eager of the California Wonder Peppers and Jersey Giant Tomatoes.




Also getting in on the blooming action is the lavender (they were just established last year so this is their first time) and the chamomile.

[FreshPotatoes]

Your garden looks lovely !

[vigilant20]

I thought the late freeze we had killed the blossoms on my fruit cocktail tree, but today I realized it's fruiting for the first time in it's life. It looks like the way it grew I ended up with mostly peaches and maybe 1/4 of the tree is nectarines? I guess we'll see what they grow into :D



Beans look happy in the new little bed along the fence, and you can see I mixed in some sunflowers. These are Hidatsa #1 which have a bunch of smaller heads which will be perfect to save for rabbit snackies.



Strawberries are coming in!



Last night I picked some rhubarb to go with them for a pie



Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Pie

FILLING
3 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
your favorite pie shell

TOPPING
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter

Line pie plate with pie shell. Combine filling ingredients and pour into shell. Mix dry topping ingredients and cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie and bake at 375 for 50 minutes.

[Suebeedo]

Yummy! Everything is looking great! Sorry to hear about your cocktail tree though am happy to hear some of it will produce for you. :thumbs up:

[vigilant20]

The strawberries are pouring in now. It's berries for breakfast and a fruit cup for lunch...I'm LOVING it!



The parsley has thus far refused to sprout in its own bed, apparently only a sidewalk crack will do.



Also spent father's day weekend out on the lake with my Dad on our first fishing trip of the year. I explained that I'd like to supplement my food supply with fresh caught fish and he wasexcited to plan some trips and teach me to fillet.