Carrot Harvest

What a great way to celebrate the 4th of July. We harvested our carrots today. We are really pleased with this first crop. We will plant some more for a fall harvest. We ended up with some really "unique" carrots and some really "ugly" ones too. You will have to check some them out at the bottom of this post. We will be enjoying carrots for the next week, that is for sure. There is nothing like fresh carrots out of the garden.

Our Weekend and the Garden

We had a wonderful weekend together. We had adventure, did our weekly shopping, had a great time at Home church and just enjoyed each others company. I praise God for my family!!

Ralph preparing to wash the car with the girls
(I wash the windows and interior)

Alicia drying the car off

Hannah drying the other side of the car off

What a difference a week makes:

The second set of radishes are already showing

(the second from the bottom on the above photo)

The zucchini sure is looking healthy

Gardening and Sewing

Now that we have a camera , we are able to share how our garden is doing, as well as other things that are happening around our home.

tomatoes grown from seeds
Corn


broccoli, radishes, spinach, lettuce, Etna beans

radishes harvested (they only take 22 days)

Carrots and onions

Zucchinis and cucumbers

The girls made some dresses for their dolls.

Veggies are Growing

After only 10 days, almost all of our tomatoes and green onions are growing in their peat pots in our den. They are sitting on their warming pad and under their grow light. The tomato plants are almost three inches tall. You can almost see them grow, they are growing so fast. I don't know how much longer we will be able to leave them in this growing tray. We purchased some large pots to put them in once they are ready to go outside, but we will be needing to make a temporary change into a smaller pot before they will be hardy enough to go outside.

Today we are in the upper 60's to lower 70's, but this is not the norm for this time of year here, so I know it will be at least 4-6 weeks before we will be able to put our tomatoes outside. The soil is in the 30's at night, but into the 70's during the day. The green onions will be able to go out as soon as they are about 3 inches tall, but not until we are closer to the last average frost for here, which is closer to Mother's Day. In a week or two, we will plant some more seeds inside so they will be ready to go outside by the first of June. We are so excited for our garden this year. We are much more prepared than we have ever been.

(sorry we don't have any photos, we don't have a camera anymore and I am not sure when we will be getting one.)

We Are Seeing Green already!!

The girls were so excited this morning. When they got up they went and checked on our seeds and discovered that there were two kinds of onions coming up already and one of the tomato plants. Tonight the tomato plant already has two leaves on it and more "green" is popping up in the other pots. It is truly a miracle that we are watching unfold, as these little seeds become plants which will bear vegetables and fruit that we will use to nourish our family. I am so thankful that God has blessed us this way.

Starting with Seeds

We planted some seeds this past weekend. We planted two types of tomatoes and two types of onions. They are on their warming mat and under their growing lamp. We can't wait to see the first little bits of green. Right now the cover over them is covered with "dew" so we can't see inside. I know it is too early, but I will peek every day to see how they are doing.

Gardening Time Again!!!

Last years garden, something to look forward to this year.

Well, it is that time of year again. Our seeds arrived about six weeks ago. We have separated them according to when they should go in the ground. This year, we purchased a heating mat and grow light, so we can give some of our plants a head start inside. This weekend, we will begin planting those seeds that need that head start. We also picked up a soil thermometer so we can keep tabs on the temperature of the soil. Our soil is waaaaaay too cold right now, it is about 40 degrees in the mornings. We are talking about making another raised bed and adding some pots for our tomatoes, potatoes and herbs this year. We are so excited about getting our garden in and watching those beautiful little seeds become green leaves, then grow blossoms and have vegetables to enjoy when they are completed. It truly is a miracle that we can put a little seed in the ground and out comes healthy vegetables. God has truly blessed us with this ability.
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More Harvest from Our Garden

On Saturday, we started cleaning out the beds and harvesting what was ripe. Well, the corn was finally ready, and just in time too. We used it for the girls' birthday dinner. We discovered that we really like corn straight from the garden---RAW!! It is so fresh and crisp. I don't know if I will be able to eat it cooked again. Here are a few photos that we took.

Here are some of the corn, don't they look delicious!!

Hannah standing proudly with some of her corn

Even the dog enjoyed the "cobs" from the master's table

Here is an acorn squash, I can't wait 'til it is ready

Some of our Roma tomatoes, we planted 3 Romas and 3 Beefsteaks

Ways to Use Vegetables from the Garden

A while back one of my faithful readers (Jennifer) asked for some recipes of how I use the vegetables from my garden. Well, most of our vegetables we just eat straight from the garden for snacks and raw for meals. But I do have three recipes that I can share. Two of them are from my childhood and the other is from a recipe book I really enjoy.

Apple and carrot salad- once we grow our fruit this salad will be made completely from our garden. But anyway, we grate the carrots and slice some apples (some people like to add raisins too, but my DH prefers it without) and add a little mayo. This is a very tasty salad and you can't compare the fresh carrots to the store bought ones.

Beet and Bean salad- we steam the peeled beets and green beans, cool them, julienne the beets, add the beans and a little mayo (again some people like to add chives or green onion tops, but my DH prefers it without, so we put a bowl on the table so you can add your own.)

Colorful Cabbage comes from a recipe book by Serene Allison, it is called Rejuvenate Your Life (Recipes for Energy)

Finely chopped medium red cabbage
Finely chopped medium green cabbage
Two to three apples, cubed (preferably a variety that is crisp and tart)
A few good splashes fo raw apple cider vinegar (about 1/2 cup)
Equal the above splashes with extra virgin olive oil
Crack some good rounds of fresh black pepper
Put in a generous four-fingered pinch of sea salt (about 1 TBS)
Throw in a handful of poppy seeds (about 2-3 TBS)
Pour in a taddle or two of pure maple syrup (about a generous 1/4 cup)
Optional-chuck in a handful or two of walnuts (we like to add sunflower seeds instead)

Chop the cabbage by hand. (If you have a Saladacco Spiralizer use the spiral blade without the lid on and crank it out and roughly chop afterwards. This is the quickest and easiest method.) Throw in everything else. Mix around a few times. Taste and adjust flavors. It should have a sweet edge with a vinegary and zesty tang.

Yum, Yum! Great to take for potlucks and parties and a good standard for big hungry families. This recipe makes a lot so if there are just a few of you or even less, don't worry, it keeps in the refrigerator for subsequent lunches. Feel free to adjust the recipe.

My daughters and I really like this recipe.

Our Flourshing Garden

Fresh Sweet Peas

Fresh Broccoli

Garden News

The Noa gardens are doing very well. We have radishes that we have started to pick and eat ,We have six tomato plants growing in our gardens one of them alredy has a flower on it . We also have ten tomato plants in our green house.We have eight corn plants growing that do not have corn heads yet. We also have lettuce and spinach.My mom also has some chamomile growing.

Mom's carrots

Alicia holding her radishes

One of my corn stalks

My mom's chamomile

Helpful Girls and Gardens

Alicia helping Daddy unload dirt


Daddy's right hand ladies



"Ok, girls fill those holes!!"
Daddy doing the heavy work!!

Hannah washing dishes

Alicia doing my ironing

Hannah's corn @ 1 week

Alicia's radishes @ 1 week

Mom's Pole Beans @ 1 week