Lil's Garden

 I returned from visiting the new grand baby in Alaska to find the garden water soaked and full of weeds. We have our work cut out for us cleaning things up, but we are finding some produce among the weeds. The tomatoes are just coming in. We have plenty of green beans and squash to share. Just let me know if you want some. Here's a great recipe for instant pot green beans. They are delicious. Ingredients 4 slices bacon, chopped 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 cup chicken broth 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut in half 3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon pepper pinch of crushed red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon butter Instructions Turn Instant Pot on SAUTE mode. When hot, coat inner pot with cooking spray and add bacon. Cook until bacon is crisp. Add onion and cook 1 more minute. Hit "Cancel" and add chicken broth. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom. Add remaining ingredients. Place lid on Instant Pot and set to Pressu...

  Right now we have peppers, shallots,   peas,    onions,   zinnia, Swiss chard, sunflowers, (The zinnias planted themselves. I stuck a few Swiss chard and sunflowers among them, and I think a feral watermelon and some basil are in the mix. We'll see what happens in this unruly row. kale,    tomatoes (We made some nice supports for the tomatoes with rebar, t-posts, PVC joints, and string. Hopefully that makes the harvest easier.), beans (We also built a trellis for the beans with t-posts, chicken wire, and bamboo.),   radishes,  lettuce,   spinach, broccoli, cauliflower,  collards,   watermelons (They haven't made it up yet.),  potatoes,   corn (We just planted it this morning.),   and blackberries   growing in the garden. We also see a number of amazing creatures enjoying the blooms and blossoms in the garden.   In the little garden we have Swiss chard, coll...

 We are finally getting some things in the big garden. The schedule was complicated by snowstorms and windy weather. Here's what we've planted so far: potatoes  collards  broccoli and cauliflower lettuce kale  peppers They all seem pretty happy for now. We just hope the wind doesn't blow their heads off and that the deer prefer the salad in the rest of the field to our little garden patch. I'm waiting one more day for the big wind to blow by before I put the tomatoes in the ground.    Some of them are already making tomatoes in their little bitty pots.   I bet they will like to stretch out their roots in the warm moist soil. The feral zinnias are back. We have decided to just let them go for it in their two beds. I planted some sunflower seeds among them and a few Swiss chard plants that I had.  We also planted pea, radish, spinach, and beet seeds, but they haven't come up yet. The little garden continues to be a joy. The poppies have popped....

 Well, since the weather has been so warm I have been intending to begin planting the peas, carrots, spinach, potatoes, and onions. However, one thing or another got in front of that job, and I didn't get it done. Now it looks like we might have one more winter chill and maybe even some snow during the next week. So I guess I'm glad I procrastinated. We do have the beds all ready to go,  and the seedlings are well on their way. I transplanted a few of the "volunteers" from the big garden into the little "perennial" garden. The Crawford lettuce looks good, as does the Swiss chard. I moved the lavender back there also, and it looks to be hanging in there. I also transplanted some cilantro. I'm not sure it will survive the freeze though, and the poppies are looking hearty.  The other perennials look good too. Lavender Rosemary Fennel Oregano The big garden is empty now except for some arugula,  the shallots,  and three blackberry bushed that look like they ...