Nutmeg Notes: June 2013

Friday, June 28, 2013

How our garden grows as of June, 2013

Our growing garden!

This is a view of our row garden. The first two are not big yet but they are (from seeds) rainbow chard and sweet peppers. The next row is yellow squash, then watermelons, then yellow and red bell peppers, and two half rows of basil. All were from seeds I won (so awesome!) from Sustainable Seed Co. with the exception of the yellow and red peppers... they were from the store!

This is our "square garden" where my husband tilled up squares and we planted things in each and created walk ways around each one. The view here shows our cucumbers (from seed) and pineapple sage (plant) along with a tiny row of sweet peppers from seeds that are so tiny you can't see them here. It is hard to see... but there are a few eggplants, a daisy, a chrysanthemum, several varieties of tomatoes, several kinds of peppers and more.

Cucumbers! My husband made the trellises!

More of what I listed above...

Closer view of yellow squash...

Closer view of rows: Carrots (from seed), purple beans (from seed), broccoli (plants) and red and yellow pepper from plants.

My harvest basket ...only $1.00 from the local farmer's market! I gathered broccoli, cucumbers, yellow squash babies, borage, nasturtiums, and dill. This picture shows our first melons... so adorable!

So thankful for God's bounty and provision.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Green Tea: Make Ahead Tip

This was my last email list post and I thought I would share it here as well :)

One thing I have been working to better myself on is a more holistic approach to daily living and as a homemaker. What I mean by that, is working to stay aware of things on all levels (spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical) so I can grow in each and have a more successful whole.

Have you ever noticed how rare it is to see a dedicated homemaker (stay at home moms, wives and mothers working in the home and out) take proper care of herself? Even adequate self tending seems few and far between. I know this has been an area I've struggled with a lot over the years. How do you get enough sleep with little ones waking all night? When do you carve out time and KEEP AT IT when the tasks needing done over take the hours to do them?

There are no exact answers for these and a zillion similar questions bec/ each of us are so different BUT each homemaking heart can start looking at things in her own life and begin to make stacks of changes. Step one... do this... make your stack. Step two... keep up with Step one and add something else... second stack. We want a growing life but snapping our fingers and having it appear will probably yield little results.

Getting things prioritized and planning to have daily progress towards a more whole place in life can do wonders.

This is deep and wide and far reaching so I won't write a book on it... at least not yet. (smiles)

For right now, I will share something I am doing to keep my energy up and pour health into my body to keep going.

Today's Tip:

Green tea.

I've been trying to drink more of this for years! My daughter loves it but I have not seemed to get into it unless it is in a latte and how healthy is that usually? I tried something awhile back that I LOVED and it has made consuming green tea a treat! I drink fresh fruit and vegetable juices and I read or heard somewhere that you can sometimes add water to your juices or herbal teas. This hydrates more and/or adds nutrition and flavor.

I cut some of my juices in half with an equal amount of green tea and the taste was just amazing. I enjoy other cold, herbal teas but green tea is my present favorite. I was making a cup or two at a time and waiting for it to cool but it took awhile to cool and longer to get cold.

Now?

I brew 1-2 quarts of green tea and strain the bags (they go in our compost) and the tea goes in the fridge. Now, every time I make a juice, smoothies (some kinds do well with this) or just need a splash of green... I have it on hand. I have also frozen it in ice trays and that works well but I usually prefer the cold liquid. I already freeze yogurt, greens, herbs, pureed fruit, and some blended vegetables in ice cube trays for smoothies, soups, stews, stocks, teas and more.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Our garden progress!

These are the beginning shots and stages of our gardening this year. Things are changing so quickly that I haven't been good at keeping up with recording the progress. I will post the most recent when I get back to this computer!

My husband tilling our second garden. The first was tilled in rows and this was sectioned off in squares.

These are some of our peppers (hot and mild --- I hope our labels help us at harvest time!) and tomatoes with the mulch around them. The picture on the right shows our zucchini, one eggplant, our yellow squash and what will hopefully turn out to be a tiny melon patch.

The left shows a more close shot of the zucchini or yellow squash plants and a tree stump with mushrooms just bec it looked neat :)

Left is the some nasturtiums, a sage plant and a rosemary. On the right is a cilantro plant and a lemon balm. There are tiny dill plants coming up in between!

On the left, we have our scraggly, miscellaneous space where we planted extras. There are two tomato plants, two green bean plants, some sweet peas hanging on for dear life and a lot of weeds. On the right, is a tri-colored sage (now withered and gone :( and I think a parsley plant.)

Two chamomile plants and they have already grown two lovely flowers! On the left ... is one of cucumber plants.

Right: Rainbow chard... this is something I have been SO excited about and even though it is very tender to care for... I planted a lot and it is looking delicious! Left: Two parsleys and a basil along with some broccoli!