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Ethel Duath
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 1:18am
Post #1 of 39
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Yummies from my garden in winter!
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Anybody in the Northern Climes still eating stuff they grew in the summer?
I decided last summer to try to grow things with protein in them, not just greens and tomatoes, so I bought a packet of variegated beans (red and creamy white, with a sort of "pinto bean" pattern), grew them and let them mature and dry.
I've been making soup out of them, with onions, ginger, and parsley, and they are absolutely delicious!
I don't remember the variety name--hope I can find it again.
I grew some potatoes too, and they did well, but the taste is only so-so.
So, who among you is still munching what they grew?
And those in the Southern Hemisphere, what are you growing? Gorgeous flowers? Veggies? Fruit? 
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Ataahua
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Jan 7 2013, 1:27am
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Actually this season I successfully grew cherries for the first time! I've also had the first plums off a new tree, and two weekends ago dug up 5kg of potatoes.
I've got beetroot ready to pull for bottling, cabbages that are feeding the white fly population (I'll pull them out and start again), and watermelon and tomato plants that are flowering. The apple trees look like they'll have a good crop too. :)
(I can't stand beans - I think I had too many plates of old hoary beans from the freezer when I was a kid.)
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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Kimi
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Jan 7 2013, 1:49am
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Well done! It's a busy time for us.
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Cropping now: blueberries, strawberries, asparagus (just about finished), peas, broad beans, rhubarb, artichokes, various greens and herbs.
Cropping soon: tomatoes, corn, beans.
Ready now in the orchard: plums, apricots.
Coming on in the orchard: more plum varieties, pears, apples, figs, quinces.
Blossoming: feijoas, guavas.
Flowering: roses, lavender, gardenia, salvia, campanula, irises, day lilies, pond pickerel, water lilies. And more roses. :)
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Starling
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 2:08am
Post #4 of 39
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A weed is simply a plant in the wrong place...
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...unless, of course, it is convolvulus. In which case, "Death!!!"
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Nienna
Nargothrond
Jan 7 2013, 2:09am
Post #5 of 39
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Your garden must have been amazing in the summer.
I'm really enjoying my flower garden this summer. Last summer we had quite severe water restrictions but they've been lifted this year and I've been able to give the garden a bit more love and attention. Having said that, I am conscious of wasting water and am now starting to put more shrubs into the garden that don't require watering.
My only problem this year is the bumble bees, or lack thereof. The number of honey bees has dwindled over the last few years but we always had the dear little bumble bees. This year however there have been very few - and to make it worse, I see a quite a few dead ones lying around.
How about you last summer - did you have many honey bees or bumble bees?
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Starling
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 2:12am
Post #6 of 39
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I can't eat them, but they smell good enough to eat.
Most years I grow cherry tomatoes and scarlet runners, but I just couldn't be bothered this year. Cherry tomatoes are so cheap to buy in season anyway. And a rogue bean plant is growing merrily in a derelict corner, flowering like mad, so I should get a good (if unintentional crop) from it.
I used to hassle my Grandpa about 'lawn-shrinkage', as he made way for more and more roses. Now it appears I am heading in the same direction...
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Ataahua
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Jan 7 2013, 2:14am
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Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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Nienna
Nargothrond
Jan 7 2013, 2:24am
Post #8 of 39
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It must be great to be able to pick your own cherries - an apple and a pear tree are my only fruits.
I used to be envious of a friend who had mandarins in her garden. When she visits she takes cartons of them.
A most welcome visitor!
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Starling
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 2:29am
Post #9 of 39
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Don't you know how to get rid of oxalis?
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Move. 
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Starling
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 2:34am
Post #10 of 39
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I was talking to a friend about this the other day, and we both agreed that we had no heart for gardening this time last year, because it was virtually impossible. It's nice being able to grow flowers again.
Maybe you have previously had a bumble bee nest nearby, and it's not there anymore. I've noticed more than usual around here this summer. And don't worry about the dead ones - they are usually the workers and males dying off. They will have reached the end of their useful lives, once their colony has reached capacity, and the males have mated.
I have certainly noticed the decline in honey bees, that's for sure. So different to my childhood, when bare feet were super risky.
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Ataahua
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Jan 7 2013, 2:36am
Post #11 of 39
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I was recently advised to use Wet and Forget on oxalis. A friend sprayed it on oxalis and grass, and the oxalis died while the grass kept on growing.
(Unfortunately Wet and Forget is darn expensive.)
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
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Jan 7 2013, 2:38am
Post #12 of 39
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I finally pulled out one cherry tree
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which had done nothing for five years, and planted another last season in a new area. Bingo! :)
I've also got a healthy mandarin tree - and I used to have a great tamarillo tree until I over-pruned it two seasons ago. Now I need to dig out that stump so that I can put another tamarillo in there.
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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Annael
Elvenhome
Jan 7 2013, 2:58am
Post #13 of 39
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my sister says "a weed is in the eye of the beholder"
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but I agree with you on convolvulus (we call it "morning glory" here and it will take over your garden in no time at all).
The way we imagine our lives is the way we are going to go on living our lives.
- James Hillman, Healing Fiction
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Elvenhome
Jan 7 2013, 4:26am
Post #14 of 39
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We usually have lots of grapes, which we juice and freeze, but this year they didn't seem to ripen before they fell off. I don't know what happened. Drought, maybe. We did finish off the last of last year's grape juice from the freezer recently. I used to make jam, but I've gotten too lazy.
I mostly harvest herbs. We grow a variety of mint called "chocolate mint" that makes a great tea. We also have sage and thyme. And we have way too many chives. They're kind of taking over parts of the yard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories
leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Starling
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 4:50am
Post #15 of 39
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would take over the garden! I never have much success growing it.
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Kimi
Forum Admin
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Jan 7 2013, 5:12am
Post #16 of 39
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We seem to have lots of them, both honey- and bumble. Some days the lavender plants are thick with them! And the orchard trees hummed with bees when they were blossoming. The bees are also very fond of our heliotrope and sage.
For a couple of years I did notice that there weren't many honey bees around, but in the last few seasons they've returned.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Nienna
Nargothrond
Jan 7 2013, 7:08am
Post #17 of 39
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I do miss the honey bees - so far this summer I've only seen a few of them. They're one of the sounds of summer from my childhood.
When I never saw many bumble bees this summer I did some searching on the internet and found articles saying that bumble bees were also declining - the majority of the articles seem to be from the UK. Some of the writers are putting it down to insecticides.
I hope I'm just jumping to conclusions and all is well with them.
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alienorchid
Menegroth
Jan 7 2013, 9:07am
Post #18 of 39
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Have you ever tried making sugar coated rose petals?
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They are quite nice! My mother and I used to make them when I was a child and I find them quite delicious (and beautiful - perfect for decorating a special cake!)
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alienorchid
Menegroth
Jan 7 2013, 9:13am
Post #19 of 39
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I have planted a blend of plants to attract beneficial insects
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which I got from Kings Seeds, which includes phacelia, borage and others, and I've seen a few more honey bees in my garden since they've flowered (it helps that the lawn is full of clover as well). My lavender, oregano, and silverleaf have been teeming with bumblebees! They are so cute, I love them!
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Lily Fairbairn
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 3:02pm
Post #20 of 39
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This thread is making me hungry!
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One of the mitigating factors of our blistering hot summers here is having all the fresh vegetables and fruits---you haven't lived until you've had a locally grown tomato, for example, or a ditto Parker County peach---and how beautiful the gardens are.
The Gaffer has grown tomatoes, okra, and a variety of hot peppers in our back garden, but the last couple of years they've done so poorly he's letting the soil rest now. We have some antique "Martha Gonzales" roses that I think are going to take over the entire yard, though.
And right now it's winter, meaning the only color is the red berries on the possum haw.
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Nienna
Nargothrond
Jan 7 2013, 4:22pm
Post #21 of 39
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Where do you plant your chives?
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I have lots of chives - they do well at my place planted against my south-west wall where they just get the late afternoon sun.
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Starling
Gondolin
Jan 7 2013, 8:47pm
Post #22 of 39
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Do they prefer part-shade?
I have a few locations that would meet that description.
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Nienna
Nargothrond
Jan 7 2013, 9:27pm
Post #23 of 39
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I just followed what my Mum did
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Mum had her chives planted in semi-shade and they always did really well so I followed what she did. I've never had a problem. They do get the late afternoon sun, but it wouldn't be at it's hottest when it hits them.
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Kimi
Forum Admin
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Jan 7 2013, 10:40pm
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Quite literally. :) They're a wee bit invasive, growing in garden beds and cracks in the paving.They grow in full sun for us, but you do get drier, hotter summers than we do, so they might prefer a bit of shade in your climate.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Ethel Duath
Gondolin
Jan 8 2013, 12:12am
Post #25 of 39
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We used to get tons, but the last 2 years it rained just before they were ripe and the skins burst all in one day and they began molding that same day, both years! Anybody have a giant umbrella I could use this spring?
They are so delicious right off the tree--an extra little "tang" to the taste, at least with my variety. Do yours have a better taste right off the tree than after being in the fridge?
Eww, beans from the freezer! Don't they get extra mushy that way? I've never had "fresh dried" beans right from the garden beofre, and I have to say I think they are extra tasty, and not quite as starchy. But you're probably way past wanting to try them in any mode! (Like me and liver. Not that anyone grows liver in their backyards . . .)
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