Monday, August 11, 2008

not my bro's deck


I'm pretty proud of how well the patio turned out so far. Pictured is the dinning area/canning kitchen with the PVC lattice trellis providing not only a bit of privacy but an area to grow green beans & cucumbers on. Directly behind the table growing is an heirloom pole bean, Garden of Eden. Many of our Italian neighbors have remarked how it reminded them of a green bean their father's grew. Thick & fat with huge seeds in the pods.

To the right is a smaller leafed pole bean, Gita Specialty Snap bean, also an heirloom.
Of the two the Gita comes in first for our preference of taste & texture.





This is a close up of Gita Specialty Snap bean. More than a few measured 16" however it's best not to let them grow that long or thick. Planning on canning these in a recipe called Dilly Beans.



Bragging rights on my Rainbow Swiss Chard - a whopping 27 " long. Unfortunately not every stem so for now I am selectively harvesting only the largest. Chard like other green leafy vegetables has to be pressure canned instead of the usual water bath canning procedure.

~~ pelenaka ~~

9 comments:

  1. Love the new patio area, and those beans look great on the trellis!

    Blessings:)

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  2. Patio looks great! Chard grew well, grats. Mine, along with the spinach went to seed two weeks after seedling transplant. o.O Ah well, next year. :)

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  3. Fresh cooked Swiss chard is yummy. I also enjoy the leftovers as a salad, maybe with oil, vinegar, and garlic.

    On another matter, why are you still using Blogger's old commenting system, which requires a Google login. They have expanded their login options now. Using my Google login seems silly, since none of the blogs listed there is current. All of my blogs are Wordpress.com, but I can't use one of those in the comment form. Nor can I use OpenID, which I'd much prefer.

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  4. Thank your the kind comments on my bricklaying ablities. I have a new found appreciation for masons.
    Wait til this fall when I am done with canning season I'll have the second half done.

    ms, I'll check into Bloggers new comment system but I can't promise anything as I'm still a newbie when it comes to this.

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  5. Beautiful Patio! Nice Swiss Chard! I got seeds just a few weeks ago, I've never grown them, do you have any tips for a newbie?

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  6. Seroiusly, I lucked out and got the Chard for $5 a flat in late June, so I'm not much help with seed starting. Other than having kick butt soil this year due to Rabbit manure & direct composting efforts last fall I feel that my version of drip irrigation really made a huge difference.
    Sounds like another blog post comming on. Give me til the end of the day to get a pic of what a use.
    Right now it's not raining so I need to throw a few loads of bed linens on the line & bike over to the healthfood store for pickling spices. Time to make B & B pickles.

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  7. Wondered onto your blog somehow...can't remember how.

    The patio is gorgeous!!

    ~melody~

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  8. The patio area is great! Nice to read your updates and see that your summer is going along swimmingly :)

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Thanks, good to know there are other's with this interest