More snow is coming!

We really have had a pretty mild winter so far - behind on snow fall for the year - but February wants to make up for it. We got a foot of snow last weekend and another foot or more is on it's way starting today!

I did not get outside and finish the pruning last weekend with the snow. So when I got home from work last night I went out for a few minutes before it got dark and pruned about a third of the grapes. Hopefully I will be able to finish before they wake up for spring! I should have done that pruing when there was no snow on the ground - that's what I get for procrastinating!

Garden goodness in the middle of winter

We got over a foot of snow this weekend. What is better on a snow day than Chili? It's even better when it's made from things grown in your own garden.

I started by cooking dried beans in the slow cooker. I soaked them overnight - rinsed them and covered with cold water and cooked on low for about 5 hours. I use a variety of beans - this time I used Kidney beans, Garbanzo beans, black eyed peas, pinto beans, small red beans and black beans. I usually do a cup of the kidney beans, a half cup of garbanzos and 1/4 cup (dried of course) of all of the others. You could use canned beans as well - I don't buy anything canned in aluminum if I can avoid it myself.

I chopped up one onion and sliced boneless chicken breasts into bite size pieces. I used 3 chicken breasts today. I never seem to use the same amount or measure much when I cook.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and cook chicken until done. Then add the onions and saute until translucent.

Add 2 quart jars of stewed tomates and 2 pint jars of tomato sauce. I also added about a quarter of a jar of canned green chilis. I sprinked in some dried garlic and 4 tablespoons of chili powder. Add 2 cups of chicken broth and salt to taste - I added one large palmful - probably about a tablespoon.

Drain the beans and add them to the pot. Stir and heat through. We like to crush corn chips on top when we eat it.

This made a pretty large stock pot full - somewhere between 6 & 8 quarts of chili - but it won't go to waste - it will be eaten this week.

Winter is pruning time

Before spring comes, don't forget to do your pruning. Right now is the perfect time to do it - while the trees and bushes are dormant. I pruned the apple tree today and plan on getting to the grapes before the end of the week.

Free Trees and Plants

Here is a website that I have had bookmarked for quite some time: http://www.freetreesandplants.com/index.html

I have never ordered from them, but I have "friends" (internet ones not IRL) who have and say the site is legit. They just never have what I want at the time.

Anyway, if you are considering putting in any trees or shrubs in the spring - you really should check it out. You just pay for shipping and handling for the plants ($7.95 per unit I believe) and they provide work for disabled people and keep unsold nursery stock from going to waste.

If you do order - look at the unit carefully. I had one friend who ordered a maple tree (which she loves) and was surprised when it came that it was two trees (I think for most of the trees and shrubs, they all come in pairs - not sure about the other plants) and she didn't have room on her small suburban lot for two trees. She posted on freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/) and found a home for the other tree. Maybe a friend or neighbor will split the shipping cost with you and each get a tree.

Anyway - since it is the time of year for planning and dreaming of the spring - I just thought I would throw this affordable alternative out there. Anyone who has priced trees at a nursery knows that they can get expensive very quickly.

Dreaming of Spring

Winter is taking it's time coming to Minnesota this year. It continues to be warm - above freezing most of the time. We had Andy's birthday party at the local nature center 2 weeks ago today and we did not have to worry about kids freezing! The local paper says that 2006 will go down as the third warmest year since 1891. I believe it.

But I am still looking through the seed catalogs and dreaming of spring and what I will plant. After all, March will be here before we know it. I do a lot of planning in my head - and don't really write it down.

I have decided to move the black raspberries in the spring. They are summer berries and the yellows and reds are fall berries and they really need different care - and the new long shoots from the blacks get all tangled up in the yellows and reds. I should never have planted them together.

But I cannot decide where I want to transplant them to. Maybe behind the fence where the sunflowers were this year - but I think Andy will want to do a sunflower fort again - so maybe not. Maybe along the same side of the house where they currently are - just move them down where I always put the tomatoes - that is what I will probably do - but then, where do I put the tomatoes? I wish I had more garden space - but I do squeeze a lot in on my small suburban lot.

I don't have to come up with any answers right now - it is just fun to dream and plan for next year. Soon I will need to start making a list of what seeds to order and get the grow lights out - but for now I will just idly page through the seed catalouges.

So what do I do with the 128 jars of jelly I made?

Here's some pictures of what I do - I give most of it away as holiday gifts.

Procrastination in the Garden

I never get the garden completely put to bed before winter comes and I don't think this year will be any exception. I have pulled up most of my plants and I cut the canes off on the fall raspberries and I dug up the potato patch again to search for missed potatoes (and found some), but not all is put to sleep yet.

I still have Brussells Sprouts and a lone lettuce plant growing in the garden. The frost hasn't killed them yet so I let them be - it would be nice to be able to harvest another meal from each. Realistically based on the past, I know that isn't probably going to happen - but I really hate to see the growing season totally end, so each year I procranstinate and end up with something left in the ground under the snow.

I could blame my procrastination on the fact that it isn't as much fun getting out in the fall as it is in the spring - the weather is getting colder instead of warmer and the days are shorter - but I enjoy the fall weather and love watching my child jump in the leaves that we piled at the end of his fort.
I could blame my procrastination on the fact that I am too busy preserving the bounty of my harvest, making jams and jellies and processing pumpkins and tomatoes - but I do that pretty much all season long - not really an excuse.
I could blame my procrastination on the fact that I am just too damn busy. With working full-time and now that school is started, there is homework to supervise every night and two months out I have already started planning Andy's birthday party - but the fact is I make time for the garden when I want to.
I suppose I could even blame my procrastination on the fact that the season was long and I am just tired of gardening - or don't like that part of gardening.

But none of that is true - it is just that part of me hopes that the weather will stay nice a little longer and I can garden a little longer. I think part of me hopes that by not fully putting the garden to sleep for the winter I can stall winter's coming - maybe even delay it indefintely.

Part of me is still a child that believes in magic - after all I experience it every spring when the world comes back to life.