Today I drove to the new store around the corner from my cottage and bought some zucchini plants, herbs, rhubarb, a tomato bush, and a hot chili pepper plant. I picked up a few more fruit trees. They carry Dave Wilson's, (which are my absolute favorite.) They are the best quality I've found.
I planted the raspberries, fig tree, and Aronia berries. The soil is rich and fertile. I added some homemade compost, and filled the holes with rain water that I had collected. I topped them off with straw mulch. I think the main reason my front garden is flourishing is that I applied a thick layer of straw before we had our first rain. We are in a flood zone, and the straw soaks up the water like a sponge. It also attracts red wiggler worms to the soil. They turn is for me, so I don't have to get out there and dig.
Tomorrow I will plant the Anna apple, nectarine, and peach tree that I purchased. I also picked up a Santa Rosa plum. Those do very well here.
This afternoon I made a batch of peanut butter cookies from scratch. It is a relief to have plenty of staples in the cupboard. I bought a dozen fresh eggs from my neighbor. They're beautiful. She has a flock of chickens. Snow White hasn't started laying again.
From what I hear, staples like flour, yeast, and sugar have been sold out this week at our local grocery stores. I buy in bulk to save money, but I didn't expect for the shelves to be empty. Thank goodness my mother trained me to stockpile. I think having a garden with plenty of fruits and vegetables will really make a difference. We need to be as self sufficient as possible. The compost pile has done an excellent job of nourishing the soil. I put all of my food trimmings in there. Coffee grounds, carrot tops and peelings, potato skins, apple cores, and egg shells are all tossed into the pail. It's so much easier to grow produce when your soil is rich with nutrients. How are you faring in these times? Please let me know.
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I also have a good stockpile. I don’t have much in the garden at the moment, except some greens and herbs.
ReplyDeleteToday I planted leek seedlings. We didn’t get rain for a while, so I’m watering every other day.
Knowing how to cook is so important, especially now.
Your garden looks lush and healthy in the photos, Nil. Yes, cooking and baking skills really make a huge difference. Being in the habit means it's not a difficult adjustment.
DeleteI don't know if I have the gardening skills (I tend to kill everything I plant!), but, I know I have the cooking skills! :)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is going to be a wonderful place once all those new fruit trees start to bear! You'll have so many lovely fruit!
How wonderful to be able to buy fresh eggs from your neighbor! Stores in my area were all out of eggs, when I went!
I have always been very impressed with your garden photos, Bless. Your citrus trees look so healthy. Fresh eggs last a long time. I only use the for baking, but it's nice to know they're there.
DeleteYou got some wonderful food plants for your garden, Stephanie. They will increase your self-reliance. My veg patch is ready for planting now, perhaps a week or so earlier than I was thinking of planting, but I have lettuce, silverbeet, beetroot, perpetual spinach and two different types of cherry-like tomato to put in. Until that's ready, we have lots of ceylon spinach, herbs, spring onion and small leeks. The weather is beautiful right now so I hope the seedlings will get a great start in the garden for lots of delicious, homegrown food later on. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteYour garden sounds ideal, Meg. It's so nice not to have to go to the store. I am keeping the vegetable and herb plants in the kitchen for now. I will put them in the ground after Easter.
DeleteI think things in the shops will settle in a few weeks but growing your own things as much as you can is a very good way to go anyway and if people do this more, that's a bit of a silver lining for them and for our choking planet, especially combined with the reduction in travel pollution.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit early to start planting things out round here but the perennial stuff is coming up (strawberries, raspberry canes, rhubarb, etc) which I always find heart lifting.
Take care and stay safe. xx
Things are fine here, thanks. Worrying, obviously, and I have to stop and make myself relax at times, but things are OK.
Hi Joy, Yes, I love seeing the rhubarb leaves pushing their way through the straw mulch. That's wonderful that you grow strawberries. I tried them here, but mine died. It gets so hot.
DeleteI wondered the other day how on earth people that never learned to cook will cope. I think a lot of people will struggle to cook even the simplest things. Thankfully I can make a tasty meal from practically nothing and thank goodness we aren't picky eaters. My food store is healthy but I too plan to plant up my garden with edible things.
ReplyDeleteI love to cook, too, Cherie. I did some baking yesterday, and it was very relaxing. It's fun when you have all the ingredients.
DeleteDespite living in a tiny apartment, I do have a modest stockpile, although I'm running low on the big tin of olive oil that I use for making soap and am due to make another batch - by the way, I've been recently making a tweak of your shea butter soap and love it!! - so I had to buy a tin a couple of days ago. I felt a bit self-conscious carrying it about, like I was a panic buyer! It would be lovely to be self-sufficient but that can't happen so I'm just grateful that fresh fruit and veggies are in abundance and will no doubt stay that way. Less and less meat will no doubt be consumed but that's not the end of the world. I do wonder about the lack of basic skills these days to prepare food when you see what crazy packaged and frozen food has been stripped from the supermarkets. Some people are presumably not going to be enjoying a very healthy diet in the weeks to come.
ReplyDeleteI just bought olive oil at Costco, too, Pipistrello. It's so satisfying to have plenty of bars of homemade soap to keep those hands clean!
DeleteOur stores have been restocked, so I'm not worried (yet). It is too cold to plant here until May. I did pick up new dirt for my pots though. I think a lot of people only know how to eat out and not cook/bake from home! Andrea
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Andrea. It's an easier transition if you are already in the habit of cooking and baking. I am so thrilled to have the fruit trees. The rain has made all the difference.
ReplyDeleteYou are going to have the best and most fruitful yard soon! Once this rain stops and the gardens dry out I will plant for the summer. Our winter gardens are still producing lettuces and spinach so we always have fresh salads. I enjoy cooking and prepare meals everyday. I love the soap bar you gifted me earlier in the year and have hoarded it in the bathroom that rarely gets used (it smells wonderful!!). I am using it now to make my hand washing more pleasant!
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful, Anita. I am excited about growing food in the garden this year. Last year I missed having zucchini.
DeleteWe had a set back this year when we had to move and leave our old allotment behind. Hubby has had to start again from scratch. At the moment he has put in potatoes and broad beans. The only thing we will harvest shortly is some forced rhubarb.
ReplyDeleteEggs were unavailable this morning in the shops so I can't do much baking until I get some. I only have 5 so will need to keep some back for a meal. I do cook from scratch and make soup so we'll be ok. You have bought some lovely plants, Stephanie, and should be self sufficient this year. Stay safe x
Thamnks, Pensive Pensioner. I still belong to the co-op, but it makes me feel more secure to make use of the land that I have. I hope you were able to get some eggs. I am thankful for my chicken.
DeleteThere are so many empty shelves in the main supermarkets here so I'm going to the farm shop to try and get some flour tomorrow. I'm grateful my cupboards are full and can last a while without food shopping. X
ReplyDeleteSo am I, Jules. Our grocery store had just restocked when I went yesterday. It was a relief to replace some staples like pasta, milk, and canned tomatoes.
DeleteLots of home cooking in everyone's future, while China was in lock down some people started an online cooking community and it took off to big number. Everyone sharing simple recipes and keeping in touch to help with the isolation.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is translated to English, but there may be an online English speaking version of the same thing.
I've always cooked at home, MargaretP. I love the whole ritual, and enjoy quality food. I think this is a good time to make our favorite recipes. I made my mom's tuna and noodle casserole today. It's so delicious and frugal.
DeleteIf you can't get any yeast in the shops you can always start your own Sourdough activator. There are now plenty of sourdough recipes that don't require constant feeding and throwing away a portion everyday (crazy wasting)
ReplyDeleteI have yeast, but I rarely make bread. It causes me to flare. I do best with potatoes these days. They are cheap and great comfort food. My neighbor has been making sourdough; she offered me some...
DeleteThe deer around my house eat everything we plant so this is not a good place to plant veggies or fruit. I have a lot of flour, not so much in the butter department, but we will make do. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteHi Mereknits, I hope you are able to get more butter. I picked some up at Costco a couple of weeks ago. Too bad about the deer where you live. At the cabin, the mountain lions are eating the deer, so I never see them!
ReplyDeleteI thought I had a good stockpile, but with everyone home from school and college, it is shrinking rapidly. Those big boys can certainly eat 😊! I am glad I can cook, at least to our needs. It is still too cold to garden here, but I have seeds ready to plant indoors any day now. Take care, Pam
ReplyDeleteOh dear, Pam. I know what you mean. I ate from my stockpile after the last economic downturn. I thought it would last me half of a year, and it lasted one month! What a shock. I have three brothers, and I remember how much they ate...I hope it all works out for you. Having the seeds is exciting.
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