W.U.F. Update 04.04.10

We are working on getting the potatoes planted today.  We also have peas and Chinese greens that need to be planted.  We are taking a break for lunch and I wanted to share that we have a ton of volunteer spinach around the yard.  Our mints are doing well and are about ready for the first harvest.  The bronze fennel is poking up now.  The strawberries are thriving.  We also have volunteer garlic and onions coming up right now.

Sy planted blue pansies around the Circle this  past week.  We have a ton of pansies to get in the ground.  They are self seeding and edible.  The flowers are quite tasty with a salad of spring greens.  I can't describe how they taste as different colors of flowers seem to have different flavors ranging from sweet to slightly nutty.

I will be posting some pics later after we get the potatoes and such planted today.

W.U.F Update 06.29.09

Its been awhile since I posted an update. Look to the post below for a photo update. I have been spending a lot of my online time following and supporting the Iranian revolution, and have let this go. Well here is an update. We have been enjoying some of the fruits of our hard work. We have harvested significant amounts of spinach and lettuce. We have had several bowls of sugar snap peas, and many radishes.

Our potatoes are growing fast, but have yet to flower. We will soon have more yellow summer squash than we will know what to do with. We will soon have bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. Two of the three giant pumpkins I planted have sprouted. We shall see if I can work some magic and get a super giant. I want to either sit in it or put a speaker in it and spook trick or treaters on Halloween. I can't wait.

We have been experimenting with different culinary creations from the garden. One of my new favorite recipes is spinach stuffed mushrooms. We had company for our Midsummer blot and potluck feast. I made 25 to 30 of these stuffed mushrooms. They were gone in less than two minutes. Here is the recipe roughly. Play with it as you will.

Spinach Mozzarella Stuffed Mushrooms

For 25-30 stuffed mushrooms

Spinach 8oz hand picked from the garden.

Spicy Oregano 1 sprig from garden

Rosemary 1 sprig from garden

Garlic 1 tablespoon chopped (we use Christopher Ranch Brand)

Olive Oil for sauteing

Mozzarella shredded start with a couple of ounces

25 to 30 Large mushrooms cleaned

Remove stems from mushrooms and finely chop. Rinse spinach and dry or spin. Finely chop oregano and rosemary. Turn burner on medium high and add olive oil to a skillet. When pan is hot add garlic. Let it cook until it just starts to caramelize its sugars. Add mushroom stems and place spinach on top. Stir and add oregano and parsley. Spinach will cook down very quickly. Put shredded Mozzarella in a medium size bowl. When spinach mix is done add to cheese and stir until mix is evenly distributed in cheese. You want a nice cheesy spinach mix. Let sit for a couple of minutes to maximize meltiness. Stuff spinach cheese mix into mushroom tops. Put over low heat on grill. The inside will melt together and the outside will turn darken slightly. When hot remove from grill and share.

We have also been experimenting with mint in culinary dishes. We sauteed spinach and pineapple mint and put it on a pizza. It was quite good. We add different mints to salad. yesterday we grilled a cinnamon chipotle rubbed top sirloin steak. we then sliced it to put on a salad. The salad base was lettuce and spinach from the garden. We also had pineapple mint and bronze fennel leaf with some sugar snap peas. Added a little jalapeno ranch dressing and .......Hmmmmmmmm!

We also put various mints, pineapple sage or fennel in our water bottles so we can get the flavor all day as we refill them.

I have found that I rather like rhubarb cobbler for breakfast. We have made several rhubarb cobblers already this year. It is time to harvest again and make some more cobbler. We will soon be freezing some rhubarb for use later in the year.

The corn is hip high and we are not quite yet to the fourth of July. The onions and garlic are doing well. The peas are pretty much falling over but are producing nicely. The radishes have been eaten or gone to seed. It is getting hot and the spinach is trying to bolt so it won't be long we will have to wait until fall for more. Our spinach is a biannual heirloom variety that should keep us eating spinach for years to come. The first cherry tomato fruits are still ripening on the vine. The larger varieties are growing but have not yet flowered, but soon I hope.

I hope all are have a good week. Please keep the People of Iran in your thoughts. They are struggling to be free from tyranny and oppression. Take Care--Jeremy

W.U.F. Update 06.09.09

The garden is doing well. We got quite a bit accomplished with Carols help today. The weeding is nearly caught up. I got the remaining tomato seedlings planted today. We now have 35 tomato plants of two varieties in the ground. I also got the long Island Cheese Squash planted. I also finally got the Atlantic Giant pumpkin seeds in the ground. I have wanted to grow a giant pumpkin for years but have never gotten it done. Maybe this is the year. We now also have four or five potato plants poking up out of their mounds of straw.

The corn is about 10 inches high. The onions and garlic are both doing well. The broccoli is producing new heads. The cherry tomatoes have fruit on them. We have harvested approximately five pounds of spinach already with no signs of letting up. I got the pole peas tied up yesterday. Next year I will have the infrastructure in place so I can grow them taller. They laid on the ground for too long and now they have bent stalks. All of the squash are doing well, and we expect to have more squash than we know what to do with soon.

All four of the mints are doing well. We are going to try and make some orange mint vodka and some pineapple mint vodka. We are experimenting with some horehound mint cough syrup with good results so far. The spicy oregano, and the rosemary are doing well. The bronze fennel can be harvested anytime.

We have had blueberries and strawberries. The raspberries are doing well, and we have harvested the rhubarb a couple of times. The rhubarb is ready to harvest again. I can't wait until it is time to get Colorado Western Slope Peaches and make peach rhubarb cobbler.

We also planted marigolds, dianthus, and lobelia between the stones and the mugo pines around the sacred circle. We mulched it with straw. The next step will be to get the grass out of the circle and replace it with creeping thyme.

I will get pics up in the morning. I wanted to do it tonight but ran out of daylight. More to come soon.--Jeremy

Random Thoughts by Syona 3.29.09

 Aloha!  It's only a few days 'til April, and the Vernal Meteorological Schizophrenia is upon us.  We just had a blizzard roll through here not 4 days ago, and the snow's already almost gone.  Windy and almost-warm, with a side of breeze.  

    Our weeds are sooo grateful for the snow.  Gosh.  While I do enjoy seeing my slice of winter-seared heaven turning green, all the greenery seems to be dandelions and tumbleweeds.  We just may try turning our hand at making some dandelion wine again this year.  The poor Chem-Lawn guy had fits driving past our yard a couple years ago, as our lawn was a lush sea of yellow; nothing but dandelions.  He finally knocks on the door, kindly offering his services, since our lawn was truly run over with these weeds.  Giving him my best "big, innocent b

lue eyes" act, he recieved an earnest, "Well, no, we're cultivating them."  When he (understandably) looked confused, I smiled brightly, "You can't make dandelion wine without the dandelions!"  He literally strangled out an incoherent reply, galloped back to his truck, and never returned again.  There's probably a prayer for me stuck to the side of some Chem-Lawn Gods shrine somewhere.  Poor guy.  

    We've got some creeping thyme seed.  This year, our Circle is finally going to be finished.  This project (our Sacred Circle, complete with altar) has been in progress for nearly five years.  The Quarter and Cross-Quarter stones, when installed, were the first real change we made to our yard, our first "footprint," so to speak.  After such a long gestation, to finally see our first project coming near to fruition is thrilling.  We'll of course post pics along the way to keep ya'll up to date.

    Our peas are coming up.  Yay.  The berries are accused of making leaf, but so far we only have one suspect.  Inquiries are being made.  The chives all got their first haircut of the season, a brutal hack job committed by yours truly.  (Well, what did you expect - I never was good at cutting my own hair.)  Their shaggy manes lopped off the morning of the blizza

rd, Jeremy was concerned they'd be thrown into shock.  I however, was totally dismissive of his concerns.  "They're chives," I sniffed.  Well, it's now 4 days later, and these herbs have grown at least 2 inches.  2 of those 4 days, they were buried under 4 inches of snow.  Yeah, I'm real concerned for their tender lives.  They'll probably outlive the cockroaches.  (Jeremy is reading this as I write it, and grumbled.)

    I planted 3 new strawberries not a week before the blizzard, without hardening them off first.  Oops.  The enthusiasm of the rookie - they were in the ground a full day before I even thought about the hardening of our store-bought plants.  They are, fortunately, doing beautifully.  Jeremy is, as I write, reluctantly uncovering my new rosemary in the front yard.  In his words, "it's quite lovely."  Joy.

    My bathroom is the brightest and warmest room of the house.  So now my countertops are covered with seedling trays.  I can't tell you how giddy I am.  My formerly spa

cious and tidy sanctuary is now more organic than some of the yards in my neighborhood.  A

t least I enjoy the scent of moist, fecund earth.  

   Well, as usual, my conversation has nosedived into potty humor.  I'll let you go for now.  Talk at ya some more later.  

Sy;)