Early veggie planting weekend.

It was a busy weekend here. I had practice with the softball girls on Friday evening. That always leaves me a little sore.  Then on Saturday we had rain forecast in the afternoon and I was racing to get as much done as possible. I started the day planting 10 each of Yukon Gold and Kennebec potatoes. I spaced them about 12" to 15" apart at about 8" deep. I then turned my attention to the broccoli and cabbage plants I've been growing under lights for the past month. I ended up planting a dozen each of the Atlantic and Early Purple Sprouting broccoli plants. I planted 9 Golden Acre cabbage and 3 Red Danish. Along with this I put in 9 heads each of Iceberg and Great Lakes lettuce.  I also seeded a couple rows of spinach, beets, Chinese cabbage and a block of Black Seeded Simpson's lettuce.  All that is left of the early spring planting is some more radish, spinach and lettuce. I'll stagger the planting of each to have a continual harvest of each.
 I also got the DW to help me remove the cover from the pool. We use a large net to cover the pool from late September through March. It catches all the leaves and keeps them out of the filter system. Some years the leaves are many, and the task takes three of us. There were not many leaves this year and for that I am thankful. The DW takes care of the pool for the most part.
 After getting that wrapped up, I got the back yard cut and a small section of the front that seems to grow faster than the rest of the front yard. And I managed to consume a few adult malt beverages as well.

  I also got some seeds started. I did a container of dill, Wave petunias, Vincas, and Torenia. I harvested my own seeds from the Torenia again this year. So far I haven't seen any adverse effects of saving my own seeds of this plant.
 I also started putting together some new frames for the two bee hives I have to get out. I ordered two packages of bees for pick up at the end of March.  I lost my first hive the year before last, and did not get around to replacing it last year. I enjoy working with the bees, and the hive. The honey and pollination are also benefits. If you have the chance, be sure to purchase some local honey that hasn't been pasteurized and had the good natural taste taken out. It is said that eating local honey will help lesson the effects of allergies.

There on the left is a completed frame. It has a wire reinforced sheet of wax foundation held between the four sided frame. Ten of these fit into each hive box and the bees make wax cells on them and lay eggs and store both pollen and honey in the cells. That yellow thing on the back right is a hive feeder. When you need to feed your bees (early spring and late fall and sometimes in winter if the bees haven't stored enough honey for the winter) you fill that up with a sugar and water mix and it fits into the hive opening. 

The great Brussell Sprouts harvest of 12!

So here are the results of the Brussell sprouts harvest. Only one plant ever set any heads that were tight enough to be harvested. So we ended up with just enough sprouts for one meal. If all the starts along the stem had turned in to heads, each plant would yield enough to provide four or more meals for two. Mine did not, and took for ever to form what little we got, so no more planting Brussell sprouts for me.

I turned under the rest of the garden this afternoon. The air was warm (63) and the forecast calls for rain 3 out of the next four days. It is getting that time of year that if one gets a chance to till when the ground is workable and the weather is good, you had better do it.
 I use cover crops every winter to keep my soil in place and to provide organic matter to my soil. Most years I use red or crimson clover because both will also fix nitrogen in the soil. The clover should be turned under at least a month prior to planting your spring garden, and preferably 6 weeks or so. This gives the clover time to break down in the soil. If you have decomposing fresh organic matter in your soil, it can use up nitrogen in the decomposition process. It is best if it has had plenty of time to break down before you plant in the spring.
 I planted some carrot and beet seeds earlier this week.

Hardening off early spring transplants

This is one of my folding tables that I use for hardening off seedlings.  In early April, I will have four or more tables of veggies and flowering annuals set out to harden off. But right now I just have a few trays of cabbage, spinach, lettuce and cardoon to get ready for transplanting. I set the plants out on the table each morning, and bring them in each evening for about a week. Each day I move the table a few feet so that it gets an extra hour of sun each day. By next weekend I will be able to leave the table out in full sun and  providing the night temps are moderate, overnight as well.  By Saturday, I'll be transplanting them into the garden. If all goes well, I will also be seeding the carrots and beets next weekend. I had hoped to do it this weekend, but it has been really windy and cold, so I have decided to put it off for a week.  If you are thinking of seeding some carrots soon, I would suggest stopping by your local coffee shop and asking if they would give you a couple of their empty burlap bags that the coffee beans come in. After sowing your carrot seeds, place the burlap over the seed bed, fix it in place with some landscape staples, and then dampen the whole bed, burlap and all, with water. The burlap keeps the soil from crusting over. Carrot seeds have trouble breaking the surface if the soil is crusted over. Carrots take a couple weeks to germinate, so give it two weeks and check for germination. If the majority of your seedlings are showing, remove the burlap. I like to apply a thin layer of compost as mulch after I remove the burlap. After the carrot tops have grown a bit, I add more mulch to keep the soil moist.

Making Orange Marmalade

It's been kinda boring around here, so I thought I'd kill some time by making a batch of Orange marmalade. I was already busy in the basement kitchen making my traditional batch of chili for Super Bowl Sunday, so as long as I had a mess to clean up, I thought I'd try something new. I like orange marmalade, and I thought it was worth a try.
 I started out thinking I would use the recipe from Pickyourown.org (they have lots of good recipes there) but their recipe wasn't clear on what the final yield would be or the total amount of pectin I would need to use. So instead I went to the webpage for the pectin I was using, Surejell.com and used their recipe. I like bits of orange peel in my marmalade so I peeled one orange using a peeler and then chopped the pieces up and then used a zester on three more to add to the marmalade. The first method gives you some larger pieces and the second, finer pieces. I like some of each.
 I'll need to allow these to set for about two weeks to thicken up, so it will be a while before I know if I have had success. I did hear all 7 lids pop on the jars yesterday, so at least I got the canning part right. (I gave them a boiling water bath for 15 minutes).

 As I mentioned, I also made some chili. I had some last night for dinner, and I'll have some tonight while watching the football game. The rest I freeze in individual serving bags (I am the only one who eats chili in our household) and put in the freezer in the garage for some night when the DW out of the house.

 My chili recipe is as follows:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 green pepper (chopped)
1 yellow onion (chopped)
4 jalapeno peppers (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 large can (28oz) of crushed or diced tomatoes
2 cans dark red kidney beans
1 can tomato paste
21/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste (I give my grinder about 20 twists)

 Chop all the veggies, removing the seeds and pith from the peppers.  If you like hot chili, leave the jalapeno pepper seeds in.
 I beak up the ground beef and put it, and all the chopped veggies into a large pot. Turn the heat on high,  add 1 tablespoon of chili powder and stir it all until the meat is browned. Add the canned tomatoes, the tomato paste and one can (28oz) of water and the remaining spices, stir and bring to a low boil. While this is happening, rinse the brine off the beans then add them in.  Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes and enjoy!