Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Garden Time, & Soup's On



We are gradually increasing the size of our garden.  Evidence of the expansion started with moving the fence out an additional 10 feet in one direction, and 37 feet in another (shown in my previous post).   

At the northern end of the expansion, I placed several tires off the side; specifically for planting Yukon Gold (small) potatoes.  Instead of digging into the ground, I just laid out brown paper, lined up my tires, placed soil, mixed with compost and peat, inside the tire rim, then took my potato slips and placed them randomly throughout the piled soil in each tire, covered each slip with soil, and then threw some straw on the top to help shade the soil.







This morning, while checking the garden to make sure everything was okay from last night’s thunderstorm, I noticed several potato vines already popping out from under the straw.  It was time to layer a little more straw to protect the vines from too much heat.  



Bulldog Man built me another 4X8 foot above ground garden box, and setup two feedlot panels for a quick and easy trellis.  I believe I’ll be planting one of several different types of green beans in this box.  


 

 

Instead of taking our old fence to the dump, we decided to recycle it by creating cylinder type planters lined with bamboo.  By my next post, we should have those cylinders made and in place to take a picture. 


Fencing is sharp after cutting it, Bulldog Man was nicked.

Here’s an updated picture on my onions planted in one of the larger garden boxes.  Also at the end of this box are several asparagus growing.





The lettuce is also taking off; I’m contemplating adding spinach in between my lettuce rows.


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My Phal schilleriana orchid, also known as the “Pink Butterfly” has flowers blooming on it.  This is my first orchid; I’ve had it for several years, and haven’t yet killed it.  




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The last time I roasted off a ham, and made my own lunch meat, I kept the end pieces, and threw them in the freezer to use in a soup or maybe even potatoes a gratin.    Today, I pulled those ends out of the freezer and homemade Navy Bean soup in my crock pot.  Here’s the recipe if you’re interested:

Navy Bean Soup (Made in Crock Pot)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
½ onion chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
2 large carrots chopped
1 pound bag navy beans
¾ cup of diced ham
6 cups of water
1 teaspoon rosemary
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt to Taste
Pepper to Taste
 Directions
Pour olive oil in crock pot. Throw in garlic cloves whole, chopped onions, celery, carrots, ham, rosemary, paprika, thyme, rosemary bay leaf, and navy beans (after cleaning your beans and removing sticks, and rocks). Add 6 cups of water, salt, and pepper to taste.

Cook for 4 hours on high. Remove the bay leaf. Then take a spoon or potato masher and mash ½ cup to 1 cup of soup depending on how thick you want your broth.  Then serve up!!!
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23 comments

  1. Much progress.

    I love the Yukon Gold. The white potatoes to me are tasting funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gail,

      Thanks, were trying......it's going to take a while to get the garden exactly the way we would like it.

      Yukon Gold are delicious!!!

      Delete
  2. Yukon golds are our favorite potatoes here. I wish I had known you wanted old tires I could have brought ya a bunch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PP,

      Yukon Gold are delicious potatoes, I understand why there everyone's favorites :-)

      I need more tires but must wait, maybe when we move to our own place later We will take you up on that offer :-)

      Delete
  3. You have been busy .. nice garden expansion. Oh .. and yes, it's still soup season and that recipe looks wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mrs. Mac,
      Yes, we've been busy....and thank you! Ever year we try to go more vegetables than the year before. The Navy Bean is one of my favorite soups, and this recipe is very easy. You can add more of any of the ingredients, I cut back on the onions and garlic for our family.

      Delete
  4. I could do with some of that soup and a loaf of french bread, some cheese, and a Vidalia onion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harry,
      Harry,
      My entire family loved this soup, we have leftovers for today :-)
      I made cornbread with some cheddar cheese in it to go with the soup. French bread, cheese, and a Vidalia onion would go great with this soup as well.

      Delete
  5. You've got a keeper in Bulldog man! Soup looks great and thanks for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Izzy,
      Thank you, I think he's a keeper too :-)
      He loves helping me in the garden any time he can.
      The soup is delicious if you like Navy Beans.

      Delete
  6. I'm so jealous! It was twenty degrees yesterday morning lol. Someday it will warm up!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Longtime Wife,

      It will warm up there before you know it!!!
      Don't be jealous, we have to put up with tornadoes this time of year. They're no fun at all. Give it another 2 weeks and temperatures will change dramatically there.

      Delete
  7. You're really going great guns on your gardening projects. I could almost smell the spring time air when looking at your pictures. To say you're farther ahead in the season than we are is a total understatement! But our time will come. I'll just keep getting my spring fix from you!

    I think bean soup with chunks of ham is my favorite soup. I'm already eager for the Easter dinner ham to provide leftovers for me to make a big pot of the soup!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mama Pea,

      Were trying to get everything done soon the bee's are flying around looking for blossoms and pollen. These bee's are the largest I've seen in a while, and very fuzzy with bright yellow and black fuzz. Sure signs of spring!!!
      Your time will come soon, just do the prep you usually do before going outside to plant this will help get you past those cold days with snow on the ground.

      I love the leftovers of ham at Easter time, they make great soup.

      Delete
  8. I have been planting in tires, but I did not cut the sidewalls off - that is going to the top of my list this spring!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan,

      I used to plant in the tires without cutting the side walls, until I seen a post from my dear friend Kymber over at Framboise Manor. She mentioned by cutting the side walls you don't get that water which sits in the side wall of the tire, which creates problems such as root rot, and attracts mosquito's.

      We cut our tires (see instructions on previous posts), and realized this also gave us more space to plant in once the side walls were gone.

      You can also use the side walls as base to plant in.

      Delete
  9. Sandy,

    The garden looks great! Love the potatoes in the tires & Yukon Gold is also my favorite. But, I've never met a potato I didn't like. Patrice over at Rural Revolution does a lot of tire gardening as well. That soup sounds good although it's getting beyond soup season for us. Supposed to hit close to 90 today, uggg.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DFW,

      Hey Sweetie! Thank you, were trying to get things going in the garden, I have a lot more to do. Yukon Gold are so good, I think they're the best potato we can grow. It's more like salad time in your area. Wow temperatures are warm there. I've been following Patrice for a while, I would love to have some of her large tractor tires to plant in.

      Delete
  10. Sandy, your garden looks great, and I love the raised beds. I would even try planting the potatoes in a tire... I found the whole process to be almost too much for me in the ground for three years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary Ann,

      Thank you, we have all kinds of stuff to plant this year. My greenhouse is full of seedlings just waiting to go in the ground. Planting potatoes is very easy when using tires, buckets, or even bags. You just need a little soil, potatoes, and either straw or soil to cover them up. Having a garden requires a lot of work, there are times when I even get over whelmed.

      Delete
  11. Sandy, everything looks great! It is too cold to start our garden yet, but we have some spinach that has come up, although I have to cover it every night for the next few days due to freeze warnings. It was 34 degrees this morning. We put in 3 new apple trees (sticks, really), and since we have had such a warm spring, fruit trees are a month ahead of schedule. I will be putting things in the ground in mid to late May. Soup looks yummy- one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rose,

      Hi there!!! Thank you :-) I would cover the spinach too just to make sure the cold doesn't kill it off. May will be here before you know it, and soon you'll be planting. I love Navy Bean soup!!!

      Delete
  12. It's wonderful to see all of your garden sprouts! Spring is there, for sure.
    It snowed 4" here again. It makes me want to make your beans now to warm me.

    ReplyDelete

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