Community Garden April Photos

Chickens & Eggs

It's chicken time! 

Baby chickens are coming soon to our community garden! I'll have a post about how to get them all set up in these cold months so you have layers this summer!

Images from this book: Chicken and Egg

This book is on it's way to me! So excited!

Community Garden

This weekend we became part of a community garden in our small town. Our friends, Rachael & Nate, are hosting it on their couple acres in Dalton Gardens. There are 5 families involved and we are all planning on sharing the work and the produce.

Yesterday Kyle & Nate rototilled the soil and hauled in horse manure for fertilizer. We are going to let the manure soak into the soil over the winter. Then in the spring we will till the soil again to mix in the manure. Manure is the BEST FERTILIZER EVER!

Here is the garden space with ample deer fencing.

Kyle rototilling the hard ground.

Nate shoveling manure into the freshly tilled garden space.

We planted our garlic crop yesterday, too! Now is the time to plant garlic.

See my post last year about fall planting.

I picked up three different varieties from Kyle's grandpa and the farmer's market.

While the guys made trips with manure, the ladies made thai food and shared delicious wine inside. See our thai recipes here!

Kitchen Composting | Blog Feature

Have you heard of Bonzai Aphrodite?

It's a great website about creative urban farming, delicious eating, and leading a healthy, nourishing, and conscientious lifestyle!

Recently she featured my article about Kitchen Composting on her blog.

Thank you Sayward!!

You can read it here.

Happy Composting!

Bizzare Carrots

Does anyone know WHY this happens to carrots? Half of our carrot bed has been plagued with this bizzare disease. They look like mutant carrots!

Potato Soup

This potato soup is lovely on a crisp fall day. It's hearty enough to fill you up with out adding meat but of course, my husband requested his with sausage. It was still delicious!

Ingredients

2-3lbs Red Potatoes with skins on if you like

3 medium carrots

3 stalks celery

1 large onion

3-4 cups of milk

4-5 cups of water

2 TBS Butter

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Chopped Scallions

Salt & Pepper

1 lb Sausage (if desired)

Directions

There are two ways to make this soup: a quick way and a little bit longer way. Both are delicious.

Quick Method

Place diced potatoes, carrots, onions, celery in a dutch oven or large pot. Fill with water just to the top of the veggies not above the veggies. Let the veggies simmer in the water until most of the water is evaporated. Then use a masher to mash some of the veggies but still leave some whole for texture.

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Garnish with shredded cheddar and scallions.

Longer Method

Saute the onions and celery in a saute pan with butter until soft.

Boil Carrots and Potatoes in just enough water to cover the veggies. Boil until the water is almost gone.

Add the sauteed onions and celery. Mash with a masher but leave some veggies whole.

(If you like a more blended soup, you can use an immersion blender to puree the soup or a food processor.)

Add the milk, salt, and pepper.

Saute sausage in a saute pan. Add to the soup if desired.

Garnish with cheese and fresh scallions or chives.

Dahlias

I grew Dahlias for the first time this year. I didn't do a very good job of pruning them and all the "care" that goes into getting those dinner plate size heads. But the few that I did get turned out beautifully!

Recent Garden Harvest

Heirloom Pineapple Tomatoes

Pear, Sun Gold, Grape, Sun Sugar

Jack Be Little Pumpkins growing up the fence

Summer Squash

Jack Be Little Pumpkins

Red Potatoes

Dahlias

Hybrid Cucumber growing up a Sunflower stalk