Pea Stand

There are perks to dating a handyman. Especially one who welds.

I was pretty excited to have peas this year, and even more excited that the Handyman made me a scrap tower for the peas to climb. With all the cool weather we've been having in Missoula, my peas are going crazy!

my zinnia curse

Zinnias aren't safe around me.

Last year it was aphids.

This year, there was one hot day in the greenhouse after spending two weeks longing for sun in my mudroom - these guys were toast.

I'll start a few more from seed and see if I can coax them into blooming before winter... but I think in a past life, I wronged someone who had something to do with zinnias.

(The tomatoes and nasturtiums and sweet peas along with many others are looking FANTASTIC.  It's just the zinnias.  I'm cursed.)

which varieties work best for upside-down tomatoes?

I hate to disappoint you, but I really don't have an answer.

The Handyman and I were discussing the possibilities after we noticed a very sad roma hanging from the upside-down bucket on the right.

He's got a few crispy edges and doesn't seem to want to make that full turn towards the sun.  

The other two sweet 100's look great, so if the roma doesn't perk up soon, he may be transferred to the raised bed space (and replaced by my favorite, gardener's delight!)

The first year of upside-down tomatoes, the handyman did a brandywine, a juliet, and a forgotten-variety of cherry.  The brandywine did okay, but it had a pretty average yield with quite a bit of weight-strain on the plant.  The others were superb.

 Last years patio princesses and gardener's delight and tumbling toms were all quite successful, even if the patio's didn't ripen very quickly in our cool summer.

No matter what works best, my favorite's still the gardener's delight (have I already mentioned that?).  We went to Moeller's Nursery down in Corvallis - they'd advertised in Craigslist that they have twenty-something tomato varieties, all for $1.25 a piece.  They definitely didn't disappoint.  

They didn't have gardener's delight, but they said the cherry red's were identical (I hope they're right!)  I also got some sunsugar and sweet millions to try... In the meantime, I'll poke around the old interweb to see if I can find a more definitive answer to the question!

(P.S. Moellers had bell peppers and hot peppers for a buck each.  And holy moly, it was petunia heaven - even Burpee doesn't have that many varieties for sale! It was great!)

to garden or not to garden...

It's not really a question.

Despite other pressing needs... we're heading to the garden plots right now!

tilling Martha's garden plot

Remember Martha from last year?

She's got her same plot again this year.  And it needs some love. 

Supposedly there's some garlic in there.




Luckily, the Handyman bought a tiller off Craigslist (thank you to two retired gardeners in Helena!).   After having such a good time blazing through our plots, he's decided to post a few flyers advertising his rototilling services for $15 per plot - not so much to subsidize, but more to justify his new purchase.  

It's a bit of a beast to handle (so I've heard), but it does the job pretty quickly.  If I were sans Handyman, I'd probably have to go for a little Mantis or something... But since I've access to the beast and the Handyman, I'm pretty content to watch my plot - and Martha's - get chewed.

Someone needs pull up his pants.  I wish I could be like the Pioneer Woman and brag about my fella's backside, but handyman just don't wear levi's like the cowboys do (or carharts).  

I'm okay with that.

I'm not okay with fingers heading towards sharp things.  

Don't be fooled though, the Handyman is quite safe. 

So... how bout them Red Wings?  For those of you luckier than me, it's Stanley Cup season, by the way.  

The final product? 

Dandelions destroyed while the garlic is safe and sound in a bed of straw.

Can't wait to check back, Martha!  

late for the party

Not only are we extremely late with the starts this year, I'm extremely late posting about the starts. 

I'm glad we didn't just to skip it all together this year.  There's something about planting seeds and watching for those first little leaves that makes me feel like spring has arrived.  It's become the apple cider smell of fall or the bright lights of Christmas. 

I decided not to start any cosmos or calendulas from seed.  The calendulas have reseeded themselves nicely in one of my beds, and I sprinkled some of the cosmo seeds that we gathered from the 2007 season into another bed.  We had better germination from them than from the original seeds in the packet - so I'm hopeful they'll all turnout.

I did a few annuals, but I'm trying to start several perennials.  I have oodles of shastas - painted and alaskan, some more delphinium, more columbine, a few butterfly bushes, and some geum. 

Oh, and of course, lots of veggies: pumpkins and squashes and luffa, and spaghtetti's. (We don't eat butternut so we don't grow that one.)  

The organization I work for has recently undergone a name change.  I have a large box of business cards that will soon become obsolete, and I've been trying to think of interesting ways to use them.  They made nice markers for the starts; by the time they disintegrate, I bet the starts will be big enough to be recognizable on their own.

Does anyone else have any ideas about how I could use the other cards?  I have about seven hundred to go...

flagstone short path and a weed-whacking precaution

Last summer, the Handyman and I gathered a bunch of flagstone, and that flagstone sat through the winter, untouched... 

Until today!

I have two beds by my backdoor that have dandelions anchored all over.  I've weeded and weeded and weeded and weeded and my mom's even come to visit and weeded and weeded.  

There's been quite a lot of weeding. 

It took me much longer than I'd like to admit, but no more pulling from the top - they've all been dug up from the roots.  (I refrained from a "root of the matter" pun there.  You're welcome.)

So, dandelions gone.  Flagstone in.  Take a peek before the lillies and dahlias make their appearance.  

Evetually, that path will end at a nice-looking patio by the backdoor (the current one is uneven and full of weeds).

And, because I was having so much fun with the shovel - or because I needed a tidy beginning-to-end-on-a-Saturday-afternoon project - I made a new little bed by a corner of fence that was sorely lacking some embellishment.

I put in clematis, some dutch iris, and a scattering of cosmos seeds collected from the 2007 season.  Last year, we had better success starting the collected seeds than the purchased seeds, so I have high hopes for these.

If you're wondering about the pavers under the fence, they're there because I'm not so accurate with the weed-whacker.  I think there's just enough space to run the mower wheel on the paver-side that's next to the grass.

That way, when the clematis vine onto the fence, I won't cut them off accidentally when I'm really aiming to trim the grass.

P.S.  The Handyman was in pursuit of athletic excellence today (aka hockey), but my sore muscles sincerely hope he returns to the garden soon - the shovel's more his style.  ;)

pergola practice

I would love to have a pergola in my backyard. I think I've said as much to the Handyman on a number of occasions.

Apparently, Handyman, Sr. has been hearing similar requests regarding the hot tub at the Handyman Ranch in California.  Somewhere along the way, there was a request for some extra hands.

We jumped at the chance to go help (and the chance to thaw our Montana-cold bones in some California sunshine).



I didn't really help with this stage, but I think it's sort of self-explanatory, right?  I'm pretty sure I was still in the thaw stage.



Yeah, didn't help too much here either , but I definitely delivered some lemonade before this stage.

I'm pretty sure I gave words of encouragement at this particular moment.

And you can't tell, but I'm actually spotting them on this little move here.

A-hah!  This looks much more like my department: Handyman-in-training.  This little guy's eyeing a hammer that's lying just outside the shot thinking, "I'm totally helping out next year."  

Good for you, little guy.  That's way more than what I'm doing.  I can't wait for the day I get to tell you I changed your diapers.


So it's almost done.

And surveying the work... (I was a pro at this... I gave the Handyman a few tips on that ladder lean so he could really get the most out of it.)

At the end, we celebrated like every new pergola owner should: roasting smores over a fire pit and drinking Aquavit before taking a dip in the hot tub. 

Practice over.  I think I'm ready now.

   

baby steps

When did I ever have time to write a blog?  

I have no clue how I managed it last year, but I'm committed to trying again.  As with everything that seems overwhelming, I'll start small... baby steps.

Kind of like this tiny shoot from what I hope is garlic (and not grass or some other random plant that exists, instead, where my garlic should be).

I made a small tactical error last October - I thought you put garlic in the ground in the fall and harvested it in the late spring right before growing season.  Why would I think that?  Because I really am a novice at most of this growing stuff.  The result of my tactical error is that I now have two raised beds FULL of garlic.

The Handyman assures me I can grow some lettuce in between, but I'm still going to have to solicit his help in setting up new raised beds for the rest of what I usually like to grow during the summer season.  Hmmm... maybe my tactical error was just a ploy to get more gardening space!  Well keep that to ourselves...

Anyway. I love that people found me again and left a few comments!  I'll try not to disappoint with long absences and I can wait to go catch up on what everyone has been doing!!!

we're not going to the moon or anything

I'm back!  Needed a little hiatus from the blog, but today's snow has already melted, and there's a new set of grow lights in the basement for starts (pictures later.)

But today, I have to share this movie.  You might learn something about cold frames if you've never thought about building one before. Whatever you do, don't let this guy teach your kids math.  

Maybe I just liked it because Emma eats tomatoes and apples, too.

salsa post on gardenaut

I was just skimming Gardenaut, and I found a post I wrote on salsa.  I hate that I've gotten so behind on blogging, but I'm struggling to stay on top of things these days.  I'll leave a note when I feel I can write with some predictability, but in the meantime, enjoy a salsa recipe!

potato harvesting

new look

There's a new look around here, and I'm still pondering whether it works for me.

I'll leave it up, and see if it grows on me. Or maybe I'll get crazy with that lasso tool and put something else up. If it makes you dizzy, do share. I don't want to be responsible for the odd headache or seizure just cause you're trying to figure out whether that's a giant purple Christmas ornament or an eggplant flying across the sky. (BTW, it's the latter.)

I hope everyone else has better weather than we're having. It's fifty degrees and my visiting parents are threatening to turn the gas fireplace on. Good thing it's September. It'd be truly ridiculous to do something like that in August...

it's an itchy jungle out there

I've nicknamed the Handyman's giant pumpkin plant Gertrude.

It's not a common name. I like it. And the giant pumpkin is not a common pumpkin.



Or maybe it is. But what I look at in the middle of the handyman's yard seems anything but common. It's giant. It's graceful. And it looks like it will eat me if I fall asleep in the yard on an especially sunny afternoon. On a cloudy one she might just nibble at my elbow, but if it's sunny, this tasty morsel is heading inside for naptime.



When I am brave enough to venture among her vines and look for new pumpkins, I can't help but think that there is a delicate fairy world waiting underneath those serving platter leaves that are poised perfectly parallel above the ground.



It makes me wish I were three years old and small enough to spend the afternoons crawling around under there. And then I remember that pumpkins really are itchy. And that Gertrude might eat me.

a delicious bonus

After I wrote that post on the Front Yard Idea Book, I had one of those rare moments when I remembered something I'd forgotten long ago...

While reading through gardening blogs, I found a review someone had written on a garden plan book.  The blogger gave the book rave reviews, and I made a mental note to go back and check out the book.  I put the blog on my iGoogle waited until I was heading to the public library to find the book.

By then, my iGoogle was full of garden blogs, and there were new posts on each of the blogs.  I clicked on several and tried to search archives and "book" or "review" tags, but I never found the book.  

I won't be making that mistake again.  If you've never checked out Delicious, you should go there right now.  I've got tags for recipes that I stumble across, book reviews for books I want to read, and, yes, even a few ideas for my yard-to-garden conversion.  Now my bookmark tool bar isn't cluttered with things I need to read when I have time to read them.  And, the organizational system is so easy - I type in notes on the bookmark when I make the bookmark. 

So, I just now remembered that book that I may never find.  I should have known better than to make a mental note - my brain space is cluttered with thousands of those mental notes, and it's rare that the post-it ends up on top of the pile when I need it.  Since I just remembered it, I thought I would pass this along.  I heard of Delicious months ago, but until I started pouring through blogs, I never had a need for it.

front yard idea book

I've been hanging at the public library these days.  And at the Barnes and Noble.  And at the Book Exchange.  (The last two have great coffee shops so I spend more time there.  The public library's coffee shop never seems to be open when I'm there, but once I get their schedule figured out... well, they'll move up in the world.)

So, at all of these fine establishments, I've sat and drank coffee and poured over garden plan books, and I just hadn't found anything worth taking home.

I was learning a few things here and there, but I was also discovering that my caffeine tolerance was heightened while reading garden plan books.  Yes, caffeine had almost no effect on me whehn reading the very academic discourse on the concepts of design and geometric theories that influence garden layout/arrangements.   I know there is an art to all of this and that professionals spend a lifetime immersed in those theories to produce award winning garden designs.

But I don't want an award winning garden design.  And I don't want to be caught sleeping in the Barnes and Noble.

I do want a garden that looks good.  Something that is planned and intentional.  Something that makes my neighbors feel good when they glance out their window while they drink their coffee and read the morning paper.  Something that makes the mailwoman smile when she walks up my sidewalk to drop letters by my front door.  Something that relaxes me when I look out my office window.

So, I needed a plan.  I'm figuring out Sketchup for building my plan, but I needed some help on figuring out what to put in my plan.  And then I found Jeni Webber's Front Yard Idea Book at the Book Exchange for a whopping $10.  Okay, the Handyman found it.  

The Front Yard Idea Book is published by Taunton, who also publishes the Handyman's favorite periodicals: Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding.

The best thing that Webber' book has going for it is it's organization.   Well, and photos.  I'm a sucker for a pretty pictures.   But, the organization is delightfully geared for someone with a limited attention span.  Each section addresses a different element commonly used in front yards: paths and steps, ground covers, lighting, driveways and parking, etc.   It's easy to pick and choose the elements most pertinent to my project.

I think the most useful chapter for me so far has been the one on foundation plantings.  After checking out the photographs in that section, I realized that my house is a lady without a skirt.  The foundation is exposed, and while it's not unsightly on it's own, there's potential for great improvement.  Weber gives advice based on several architectural and cultural cues, and there are short checklists to help influence the selection of plants based on their size, shape and texture.  

While I know that paying a professional would produce results leagues beyond what I can do on my own, I'm excited to jump into this.  There's something adventurous about attempting to take out all or most of one's lawn, and I think I'll be referencing Weber every step of the way. 

But, I'm, by no means, a one-book-woman.  If there are more to check out, let me know.  The more ideas the better!

And, since I mentioned I'm a sucker for pretty pictures, I thought I'd share this website I found on making great garden photographs.  A quick skim gave some good tips, but I need to head back there and check it out a little more.  (Okay, okay, the Handyman found it.  One day he's going to take over this blog...)

zucchini muffin streusel

I looked EVERYWHERE for a zucchini bread recipe that included streusel.  

I'm sure I'll get several comments after I post this, and those comments will point me in all the directions I failed to look - but I say BRING IT ON!!!  Because, as it turns out, zucchini bread goes great with streusel. 

We could always use more recipes with zucchini and streusel.

After coming up empty-handed on the zucchini-with-streusal combo from my impatient internet search, I decided to find a streusel recipe and just dump it on top of a muffin recipe.

I had considered an old standby Moosewood (Mollie Katzen) recipe, but I wanted to try something a little different.  I searched and searched and finally ended up at Elise's.  

I have no idea who Elise is.  I have no idea what her credentials are.  I can't even say that I know we'd be fast friends.  But I can say I'd attend any party she hosted.  And I can say that I really need to start my searches there instead of foodnetwork.com.  Her coffee ice cream recipe and her pumpkin ice cream recipe were both absolutely fantastic.  I've tried something other than that, but it's not coming to mind.  It's late.  And it's finally Friday.  The brain gave up on me hours ago.

So, I made the muffins with this recipe.  And by the way, if you run out of batter, like I did, pour water in the last muffin cup.  It'll keep your short-changed muffin pans baking at the same speed as your full muffin tins.  That's a tip from Mama P.  I've made up the reason why, but I always used to see her do it.  She's on vacation in Alaska right now or I'd ask.  We're on our own.

I made the streusel with a random streusel recipe that called for brown sugar, flour, and butter.  Note to self: add nuts next time.  The sugar concoction is delicious, but I like nuts.  And I think I'd like nuts in any streusel recipe.  Some called for it, yet I picked a recipe that had brown sugar instead of white sugar.... and no nuts. 

Lastly, if you're mistaken like me and think streusel needs to be added halfway through baking... think again.  Throw it on before you put the muffins in to bake.  I've got a trail of crispity-crunchity sweetness left around me everytime I pick one up to eat.  While I'm no neatnik, I like to leave my over-indulgence evidence to a minimum.  Streusel just won't stick to the muffin well if it doesn't go on early.