mudpies's Blog

Got my cucumbers
Sep 9, 2009 | 7:27 PM PST
Tag: cucumbers

Well, folks, after another 60 mile drive, I finally managed to buy a bushel of cucumbers.  Tomorrow morning will be devoted to washing them, cutting them into chunks and soaking them in clear water.  The old guy (about my age) who sold them to me gave me some valuable advice.  He told me in considerable detail exactly how to wash them in my washing machine:  Use cold water and gentle cycle.  Stop the machine just before it goes to the spin cycle.  Remove the cukes and allow the machine to finish the cycle.  He said I'd wonder why I hadn't tried that before now, and he may be right.  I'll let you know.

Canning pears
Sep 8, 2009 | 5:10 AM PST
Tags: apple , pears , holding bed , weeding , cucumbers

Well, folks, I didn't make all those horrible little apples into pies.  I did make one apple crisp and one apple pie for the couple who brought me the darned things.  The rest are feeding the deer at our farm.

On Saturday, I drove 60 miles to buy a bushel of cucumbers.  They're very scarce this year because of the wretched cucumber beetles spreading bacterial wilt.  I didn't call ahead because I know this farmer always has lots of cukes.  WRONG!!  He had lots, but sold every one at market.  He's promised me a bushel tomorrow, but I'll have to drive all that distance again.

On Sunday, I went to my favourite apple orchard which is, thankfully, only about 8 miles from here.  I wanted a half bushel of Courtlands, but they weren't ready yet, so I bought a six-quart basket of Lyman's Large Summer apples.  The owner of the orchard is a really nice gentleman, but he isn't a very good salesman.  He warned me I'd be disappointed in them.  I made up a pudding for last night's dinner and it was perfectly acceptable, but not as good as it would have been with Courtlands.  Ah well, I've plenty to keep me busy for the next couple of weeks till they are ready.

Yesterday I worked at cleaning up my holding bed.  It had gotten quite weedy.  I consider the first weeding in the spring and the last one in late summer / early autumn to be the most important of the year.  I try to get every last weed out then.  It makes life easier for the remainder of the year.  I didn't wear gloves so that I could pinch out tiny seedlings.  As a result, my hands and wrists are quite sore from exposure to stinging nettle.

After I left the farm, C discovered that the pears were ready to be picked.  He picked all he could reach from the ground - 2 five-gallon pails full.  So most of today will be devoted to canning pears.  It's a real pain now, but they'll be delicious come winter.

Home for the moment
Aug 24, 2009 | 7:49 PM PST
Tag: cucumbers

Well, I got Mom to Peterborough for her tests without incident.  I borrowed my daughter's GPS navigator.  What a marvelous gadget!  Gotta get one for myself.  I have to go back a week today to take her back to P'borough for the results.  Although she had no problems with the scope, except for a slight hoarseness for a few hours, I stayed with her till today, when I took her to visit with her aunt (who's 91 years young) for a few days.  We had a nice visit, but I'm a little concerned about her ability to remember important things, like taking her medication in the right amounts and at the right time.  I'm thinking about getting her pharmacy to prepare 'one dose packages' for her.

The wicked weed fairies have been at work in my flower beds during my absence.  I know how I'll be spending much of my time over the next couple of weeks.  Besides weeding like crazy, I've got to get a lot of pickling done.  I'll have to buy cukes, though.  Ours are dying from bacterial wilt.  C brought a half bushel of apples home, too, so I need to prepare a bunch of pies for the freezer.  No rest for the wicked!

Pickerel for dinner
Jun 22, 2009 | 4:53 PM PST
Tags: pickerel , cucumbers , cucumber beetles , herbicide , pesticide , Strawberries , pears , potato , Colorado potato beetle , carrots

C came home with several nice pickerel (walleye) from his fishing trip.  What a treat!

It's very warm here today - upwards of 80 degrees.  I know that's relatively mild to some of you southerners, but the sudden change in the weather from cool and wet to very warm  makes it seem even warmer.  I don't think I had a single mosquito bite today, but the horseflies were out in droves.  I think the change in the weather made them less alert than usual, because I was able to smack three of them - after they bit me, of course.

We went to the farm and discovered that our cukes are up.  Now if I can only keep those darned beetles at bay.  Ontario has strict new laws about pesticides and herbicides, so I can no longer buy Sevin or malathion.  There are a couple of pumpkins up, and a few buttercup squash, but no sign of my gourds yet.  C ate the first strawberry from our newly planted patch.  We had to till up the old patch last fall.  The weeds had taken over.   I'll have to wait till next year to get any quantity.  We've always had more strawberries than we could eat ourselves, so I resent having to buy them, but C and a couple of my sons-in-law plus a lot of grandkids can't be deprived of home made strawberry jam.  Pears are beginning to form on one of our trees.  The other tree, which is a year older (12) has never borne fruit.  I'm guessing it's because it takes the brunt of the wind and the blossoms get blown off, but that's just my best guess.  Most of our spuds are up and so far we've only found three potato bugs.  They're sneaky little devils, though.  We have to watch carefully.  C squishes them, but I'm too squeamish unless I have gloves on.  I drown them in a bucket of water.  We're going to have to replant carrots.  For the first time in 12 years, the soil *sandy loam) was too wet for the initial planting.

I spent most of the afternoon tidying up my shade bed and another area adjacent to our shed.  I turned the soil in that area last year so C wouldn't have to go at it with the whipper snipper.  I put in a few perennials, but for the most part I intend to fill it with self-seeding plants:  hollyhocks (or outhouse plants, as my mom calls them), bachelor buttons, forget-me-nots, etc.  There's still a lot of weed seed in that bed, especially stinging nettle, so my hands are sore this evening.  I was too impatient to put gloves on.  DUH!!  I was happy to note that plantain leaves crushed and rubbed on the affected area provide relief from the stinging, thanks to LynnChristo's blog.

While I was working on my shade bed, I came across a large paw print - way too large to be that of most dogs, but not as large as a bear print.  Besides we don't have bears in this area, anyway.  I showed it to C who was as puzzled as I was.   We considered and rejected coyotes.  The print was too large.  As I worked my way along the bed, I came upon a second print - a little larger than the first and not as well defined.  After working away all afternoon and upon closer inspection, the answer finally dawned on me!  I'm pretty sure it's a grandchild print!  If you remember, I created that bed using the lasagna method.  The soil's still very light and spongy. so a child's foot  would sink down into it and expand in size.  I expect my step-son took his brood to the farm to let off some steam, and in their exuberance, one of them ran into my garden.  I also expect that the little rascal got yelled at - hence, only two footprints.

I'm so glad I found this site - great members and great solutions ! ! !  Take care, all.

Daughters' Gardens, Fishing Weekend
May 27, 2009 | 7:57 AM PST
Tags: daughters , fishing , potatoes , tomatoes , onions , peas , beets , beans , Swiss Chard , parsnips , Sunflowers , gourds , pumpkin , cucumbers

Now that you've had a peek at Melissa's Secret Garden, I'll have to post photos of Jacquie's.  (I have to photograph it first, though.)  Hers are very different from mine and Melissa's, but lovely, just the same.  My eldest daughter, Dawn, studied landscape design and had beautiful beds when she lived in Ontario.  She hasn't adjusted to the growing conditions in Georgia yet, but I'm confident she'll eventually create something terrific down there.

 It's raining here today, so I won't be outside, which is probably a good thing because C is preparing to go fishing for pickerel (walleye) with several of his buddies this weekend. 

We got all 40 lbs of seed potatoes (Banana Fingers, Yukon Golds, Cal Whites and Chieftains) in the soil, finally.  That makes ten 40' rows.  I may have bought too many, don't you think?  We will share with family and friends, but I think I'll cut back to 30 lbs next year.  I'm just not sure which variety to eliminate.

My teenaged tomato plants (21 of 'em - the rest were shared with family and friends) are nestled all snug in their beds surrounded by eggshells and makeshift cloches.

Our onions, peas and beets are up, and I put a row of Swiss chard and one of parsnips in yesterday after I transplanted more volunteer sunflowers and seeded my shade bed with amaranth.  I still need to plant three varieties of beans, cucumbers, pumpkins and several different gourds.  We sell the gourds at a roadside stand.  I found a new variety of gourds yesterday.  They resemble apples in shape.  Had to buy a packet of seeds to try them out.  Tri-coloured pears used to be our best seller, but last year crown of thorns took over.  I also purchased a new, expensive hand trowel.  It seems to me that I break the cheaper ones on a regular basis.  I broke one of mine and bent one of Melissa's during our All Girls' Weekend.

I'm looking forward to having this weekend to myself.  No meals to prepare!  No interruptions!  No working on someone else's agenda!  I want to concentrate my efforts on edging up my shade bed and getting the last of the seed into my cutting bed, then weeding and mulching the beds at home.  That is, if I survive the preparation for C's fishing weekend.  I need to make several dozen of his favourite chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.  That's the easy part.  C tends to leave a lot of his preparations till the last minute then gets hyper about getting everything packed and ready to go.  I'll likely have to help him search for some of his stuff and undoubtedly have to assist with putting new line on his reels, etc.  He's just gone to town for some new swivels because he can't find the packet he bought last fall.  Ah well, it's a small price to pay for three days of peace and quiet in my flower beds and, hopefully, fresh pickerel for dinner Monday evening.