I harvested the ginger that I put in in June. I put in 12 ounces and out came exactly 16 ounces! I had to throw out part of the old root (darker brown) because it had gone mushy. The rest of the old root is still firm and spicy. I should have harvested before the frost …
Category Archives: food (growing, cooking, preserving)
First Wood’s In
We brought in a little more than 1/3 of a cord of well-dried wood today. We still have a good two and a half cords under cover in the back yard, which should get us through the Winter. The trees that came down this year and that we’re still bucking will make for good dry …
Garden Harvests, and Deer
Right there, behind the sunchokes What with the flurry of activity/activism around here, the garden has been neglected somewhat. On top of that, the deer decided to cross from backyard where they usually hang out (an extensive wildlife corridor runs behind our property) to the front. In the front yard they ate the weeds and …
Arrived!
I harvested the last potatoes yesterday and got two surprises. First, when I pulled the straw away, there was this: The first time  I noticed this dark, crumbly soil, I thought there was something wrong with it. Did some sort of cement get into it? What insect does this? Is it good? Then I realized. A …
Goings On at the Homestead
Bought 15 pints of Local (Wayland Farmers Market) blueberries: Made it into 27 8oz jars of blueberry jam: Picked off 7 Tomato Hornworms: Harvested all 28 heads of garlic: Harvested and stored 16 lbs. of potatoes: Helping 10 flats of seedlings along (lettuce, spinach, chard, broccoli, collards, kale):
Seed Saving
Chives Many of the biennials and perennials are done making seed, the second-year broccoli, kale  and lettuce, and the chives too. Time to harvest the future! Kale seed pods with spider Kale seeds from one plant, enough for at least an acre of kale
Brown Spot and Black Pit
Well, I had sworn not to grow potatoes again after the Blight Year of 2009 – my first year gardening. It wasn’t just blight that ruined that year’s potatoes (the tomatoes didn’t suffer too much). I also tried the potato tower method and it was Spudtacularly Disappointing. But I love potatoes. I love them so, …
Almost There
It’s up and working (those cells cannot be turned off), but we’re not harvesting yet. First, some more paperwork… We’re harvesting other things, though: herbs and greens, green beans, celery, garlic, parsley, basil, and… potatoes! Much more, soon!
Edible Wild Plants Walk with John Root, and Homegrown Mallow
John Root conducted an Edible Wild Plants Walk at the organic Lindentree Farm in nearby Lincoln yesterday evening and I was there. I learned that that weed, of which I pulled thousands from the old compost heap, is Lamb’s Quarters, that it is absolutely yummy and nutritious and grew itself for free and without my …
Continue reading “Edible Wild Plants Walk with John Root, and Homegrown Mallow”
Growing Ginger
I have been thinking for a while now to grow Ginger (Zingiber officinalis). Â I finally had two pieces of root that seemed like good candidates. They were quite old and had already sprouted in several places. I cut them up, making sure each part had two or three buds or eyes, and into the dark, …