Sunday Bits #39
- themarigoldgc
- Jul 23, 2023
- 3 min read
Happy Sunday! We have a couple of scorcher days heading our way, but pots and baskets have been watered, are loving the heat.
I have three female flowers on my squash... not a male in sight though. Hoping that before the day is done, one of the males opens up just in time to get the job done, hahaha.
I am happy to say that I now have seen a ton of pollinators and a few smaller song birds, too. No hummingbirds or butterflies yet, though, still working on those. The good news is that I have a lot of bees now, the bad news is that they have made a home in a crack by my front door ; )
Gardening Bits....
I have a whole lot of gardening articles to share with you all, and a bunch of summery recipes, too. Scan through them and see what catches your eye.
Check out these articles about wildscaping. How to add native plants, make your yard a haven for both you and the critters. It doesn't have to look wild to be wildlife friendly! You can incorporate these plants into your regular landscape, be wildlife and bee friendly, without looking like a meadow or an overgrown weed patch ; )
https://awaytogarden.com/surprising-native-annuals-and-how-to-find-your-regions-with-alan-branhagen/
How to attract butterflies to your garden. I love all these ideas and am working on it. Just a reminder to think about where you put your flowers.... remember what butterflies start out as. If you are one to spray for caterpillars... this article is probably not for you, hahaha ; )
Make a rain garden! This has always been something I have wanted to do but not yet been able to figure out where to put one.
How to grow Brussel Sprouts! these are mine, I have some lovelies coming along for Thanksgiving dinner.
You all know how much I love cutting gardens! Here are the best and easiest flowers to grow for your own cutting garden, and how to grow them.
I have talked about hügelkultur before and how much I love it. My brother is (still) working on this over on his farm. A fantastic way to grow food with little to no watering or care! If you have the space, it does not get any easier than this.
Growing cabbage... did you know that you can save the roots from this year's crop and plant them in spring next year? I had NO idea! Always learning something new! Check out this read!
Here is an article about growing zucchini, with ideas how to deal with any issues you might be having... like powdery mildew.
One Cleaning Bit....
Cleaning the tracks of your windows and doors. I thought this was going to be a bit lame, but had to read it anyways. Turns out she has some really great ideas. My patio doors are always looking like heck-a-doodle as the dogs track in who knows what from the yard and their lips.
Recipes....
It is fruit and berry season. Love this time of year! Here is an article with 4 ways to preserve your harvest. I love #2 and #3, we do both of these a whole lot!
Then there is this recipe for Blackberry freezer (or fridge) jam! Jam without pectin.
Here, also, is my recipe for small batch raspberry jam with no pectin from the old blog. I make a lot of these small batch jams and look forward to making them again this summer!
Or, how about this lovely sour cherry jam? Are you growing one of the Romance Cherries, like Romeo, Juliet, Valentine, Cupid, or maybe one of the tree form cherries, like Evans? These guys all make wonderful jams! Or pie fillings. Or juice. We just planted a Romeo this year so a few years to go yet before we get enough for jam ; )
How to make jelly. They give 7 recipes, I would only make the first three, but you all might want to make some of that mint jelly, too?
Freezing and storing herbs... I know you all know this already, but might not have thought of it right at the moment, while you are wilting in the heat and your herbs are growing like mad and can use a quick haircut ; )
Here are a couple of summer salads that I thought looked really yummy. I love panzanella (with artisan bread) salads, and this carrot, halloumi, chickpea one looks really yummy, too. This tomato, peach salad looks amazing. Looks more like a salad charcuterie board, lol.
Sadly, I tried cabbage in my enclosure but it just took up too much space. The purple cauliflower did nicely but the broccoli and broccolini were both awesome. And not space hogs. we're still on Stage 4 watering but I'm taking your advice and not overdoing. And hand watering also gives me a chance to really inspect my crops. Waiting for some cool weather to plant 2 fruit trees and 4 bushes, curents and a saskatoon. They need to be caged because of the deer and bun buns. My Mr. has gotten very good at building cages. Love your blog, your place looks awesome! Take care.