Do you see what I see?

This is the Jalapeno plant that I brought in for the winter.  It is FULL of blossoms.  And, if you look real close, you can see a baby jalapeno!  Looks like I'll be harvesting REALLY early this year!

Winter Sowing Update

We had a good wind storm the other night and it knocked over a couple of my winter sowing jugs.  Now I understand the wisdom behind just dumping soil in the jug and planting that way, rather than in individual cups like I tried to do.  So, I've planted up about ten more containers (at this point, all of the seeds I've ordered have arrived.)  For the most part, I have allocated one container per variety.  It would be easier to do more, but at his point I don't know if the whole experiment is going to work, or not...  I know others in cooler parts of the country have great luck with it, but it doesn't seem as popular here in zone 8.  So, I'm saving enough seed so that if I have to direct sow, I can.  Our growing season is long enough that it shouldn't be a problem, even for the peppers.  (I'm only growing two new varieties... paprika and mini belle.  I have the Bell and Jalapeno from last summer's garden over-wintering inside, and it looks like they are going to be just fine.)

When life (er... Mom...) gives you pomegranates...

and they sit on your counter for a week, and you know you either have to use them or compost them because they are going soft...  well...

you make juice!

Inspired by my success with the cranberry, and knowing how 'healthy' pomegranate juice is (if you don't add a ton of sugar), I decided to wing it.

First, cut the pomegranate in half and take the seed-things out (they have a real name.  I forget what it is.)  It helps immensely if you do this process underwater.  That way, you don't get stained.  All the seed-things sink.  Everything else you don't want in your juice floats.

Then, transfer the seed-things to your blender and add enough water aid blending.  Strain.  As with the cranberry juice, I decided to repeat this process to get every last bit of juice out.

Compost the pulp and transfer the juice to a saucepan.  Add sugar to taste.  Bring to a boil (this helps to dissolve the sugar, and it also helps to concentrate the juice if, like me, you used too much water and it tasted too weak.)

Hubby tasted it and didn't think he'd drink it plain.  But, I quote... "It'd be good with Sprite or ginger-ale.  Or Vodka..."

Kiwis!

This is what 125+ Kiwis look like!  They have never been sprayed, they were locally grown, and they can be stored for up to 6 months because they haven't been gassed.  Carol from Watkins Bee Farm and Kiwifruit Orchards is a dear, and it was lovely to meet her today at the Farmer's Market.  I am anxious to get started making kiwi jam, but I have to ripen some of them up first.  (Easy to do... place in a bag with a ripe banana or apple for a few days.)

If you are local and would like to get your own, they are 25 cents each in groups of 20.  Call her at 650-3456 to find out when she'll be at the VA Beach Farmers Market (Dam Neck and Princess Anne.)

Winter Sowing

We have no room to set up grow-lights and everything else needed to start seedlings indoors.  Not to mention I didn't want to spend the money on the lights and shelving and electricity and everything else.  So I was very excited when I read about Winter Sowing.  I knew I had to give it a try.  Basically, you plant seeds in plastic containers that act as greenhouses.  They know when the proper time is to sprout, and they are hardier than seedlings started indoors because they've been exposed to the elements.

Thanks to neighbors and friends who saved their milk jugs for me, I'm in business.  Today was a gorgeous day, so I figured it was a good time for the girls and I to pot up some milk jugs.

We started with broccoli and cabbage seeds, just because I know they are ok in the cold.  In a few weeks, I'll try some others.

You just set them out, through rain and snow and ice and whatever, and when the time is right, they sprout.  (Don't you like my candy-cane duct tape?  It was on clearance at Michael's.  In the spring, when the weather warms, you can remove the tape and open up the 'greenhouses.'

I labeled the tops, bottoms, and sides of the jugs because the sun is going to fade the Sharpie, and I really want to know what I've got.

Direct quote from Stephen, as he enjoyed this gorgeous day on the hammock: "Gardening sure is hard work!"

100% Cranberry Juice

Have you looked for Cranberry juice lately?  I mean REAL, 100% Cranberry Juice?  I have.  And it doesn't seem to exist.  Even the stuff labeled as cranberry juice has 'Grape juice' listed as the number one ingredient.  What's a girl with UTI issues to do?

The answer, of course, is make her own! 

I picked up a couple bags of cranberries at the grocery store and rinsed them.  Then, I placed then in a large sauce pan and covered them with water.  Heat over medium-low until most of the cranberries are split (but don't boil), and drain the juice out into another saucepan.  Set aside.  Mash the cranberries and cover them with water again.  Heat over medium-low for about 5 minutes.  Drain juice into other saucepan.

At this point, I put the mashed cranberries into the dehydrator.  The plan is to use them in muffins and cookies.  Next time, I might try using them to make cranberry sauce.

Back to the juice.  Add about 1/2 cup sugar per quart, and bring to a boil.  Adjust sweetener if needed.  Let cool, then store in the fridge.  It's a great color, and I was pleasantly surprised at the taste. 

Price-wise, I would never buy the cranberries solely for making juice.  However, because the juice is a by-product, and the cranberries can be used for other things, I think this is something we'll be making on a regular basis.  Plus, it's really pretty!

A Christmas Gift from Mother Nature

Now that the holidays are over and the company has gone, I took some time today to go check out the garden.  And I found this:

Remember the rhubarb I planted in October?  Yup!  It sprouted.  I'm fairly certain it's NOT supposed to come up at this point in time.  This was by the shed.

So then I went and looked over by the deck, where I planted two more.  And sure enough it was up. It even looked like Mr. Bunny got to one of the leaves, so I promptly surrounded it with chicken wire.

Then I went back to the shed to look for the other plant.  And I was completely blown away to see this:

WHAT?!?!?!  It's December, Rhubarb!  How in the world are you going to make it through til spring?  I looked it up.  Originally from Siberia, it's very hardy.  I'm banking on it.