3Rs - Reusing/Recycling/Repurposed

K, here's my plan sss (short, simple, & sweet) - instead of the usual houseplants that don't put food on the table I'm gonna go with vegetables such as this hybrid patio tomato plant. Not the most flavorful but come December when we're craving a fresh tomato it will do.
I also have a very large planter filled with a 3 y.o. Rosemary bush, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, & Thyme, but I don't count it since it's just herbs.
The planter is a re purposed vacuum canister from a broken shop vac. Hubby drilled a few tiny holes in the bottom for water drainage.  So consider this also a post about reusing/recycling/repurposed (3Rs)
Note to self - remember NOT to shove it behind a stack of dry wall.

Anyone else had success with indoor gardening of veggies?


Back to stripping wood work.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Urban Orchard Part 4

This is the 4 in 1 Antique Apple Tree that we planted in April of 2008. Just an itty bitty stem compared to what it is now.

A bit out of control to say the least. DH has yet to train it into an Espaliers form. It is going on two years dear. As you can see the Strawberries that we transplanted from another bed filled in very well. It's a real pleasure to walk out the back door of the house and pick berries for breakfast in my robe. This was the only one of 3 Apple Trees that we planted that has fruited yet.

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Out of 5 Golden Russets only 1 was brusied. Eatten with some of Yancy's Fancy Champange cheese. 

3 more Apples and it would be enough for a pie. It's a start.

~~ pelenaka ~~

Got Chips ?

Successful score on the Roma tomato hunt to a certain extent. The toms needed a few days in the sun before processing. As you can see the multi operational front porch also does duty as as a great sunny spot to ripen produce. My red headed step son is on guard duty or as my Mom would say he's living the life of Riley.
2/3 of this bushel worked into Zesty Salsa from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving - 34 pints plus. The plus went to a midnight kitchen raid after someone hit the corner bodega for chips.
Bushel cost $16 worked out to $12 for salsa, + $8 for a peck of green bell peppers, + $1 for 5 jalapenos peppers, $1.89 for onions. Had the remainder of the ingredients and my free canning lids I scored a few weeks back. 34 pints of salsa = 67¢ per pint.
The last 1/3 of the Roma's I ran through the Squeezo then drained the pulp in a cotton pillow case to remove excess water. Gallons worth sitting in the freezer. Waiting to see if I can score more canners before turning it all into sauce. 
I am giving some serious thought to not putting in a garden next year instead stressing bartering,foraging & gleaning efforts.
Only a few cups of diced hot peppers came from the garden. Dried cilantro was grown last Summer.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Tomato Hunting

After we went apple picking @ my brother's suburban backyard we headed downtown to the Rochester Public Market in search of deal on canning tomatoes. No deal to be had as the tomato harvest wasn't yet in full swing, but we did get a deal on bananas & peaches.

While there we partake of good food @ Juan & Maria's Empanada stand.

Unique food offerings for all tastes.

The other white meat - Rabbit. Health & Harmony Natural Foods stand was doing a brisk trade.

Really enjoyed getting to know the owner & his son. Bought a few pounds of Redmond Real Salt.

Community garden a few blocks from public market in the Marketview Heights neighborhood.

A great spot without shade. I have garden envy.

~~ pelenaka ~~
Good day spent with a good friend

As American as

When my Mommie saw this photo she remarked," Usted tiene un selector de América Apple ".

No Mommie I have a good friend who happens to be an American read white, that picks apples.

This is my brother's Apple tree next to his house in a very upper middle class neighborhood far far away from where I live.

I won't dell on the fact that he has a corner lot with an ungodly amount of Sunshine on a daily basis.

My brother grows mostly lawn and a few shrubs besides this fruit tree.

This will be the last harvest from this Granny Smith (?) tree. The inner core is rotten & as of last week a good sized limb broke off. It really isn't very stable. The Americana shouldn't be up there.

Later this fall hubby will stop by with his chainsaw and our daughters. I have a few years to convince my suburbanite brother to go in on a pig with me. Then we can smoke us some hams.

Between the two of us we picked about 7 bushels of organic Apples.

I keept about 4, bbgf got the rest since it was her ride that we used to go pick.

Thank you to the person who planted this tree in the early 1970's. I have enjoyed the last 4 harvests.

You have provided me with Mint Apple jelly, Apple Butter, Applesauce, Pie Filling, and have been a contributor to our homemade cider. I unlike my brother will miss you.

Prepping on my electric stove @ 0148 raining pitchforks & paino stools

It took myself & two daughters along with a hand cranked apple peeler to work up a bushel of apples into pie filling. 100% organic never been cared for apples have allot of blemishes that need to be cut out. I believe a bushel should give me over 15 quarts of pie filling. I'll know tomorrow after service when I plan to can this batch up. Used tapioca instead of clear gel or cornstarch.

Look like cocktail franks huh?

Nothing goes to waste. Apple cores are being dehydrated for rabbit treats later this Winter.

I plan on bartering my fresh baked Apple pies made with organic apples this Winter.

~~ pelenaka ~~ 

 

Ain't No Sunshine

Blame lack of Sunshine as the primary reason behind my poor harvest this garden season.

So far I have gotten 7 quarts of stewed Tomatoes, a handful of deformed curly -q Cukes, about a dozen fair sized Zucchini and Summer squash. Peach trees had a small harvest made even smaller due to flying rats. We were robbed in both broad daylight and rhythmic calm of an inner city night. In years past playing children and hours spent in the garden posted our sent as a deterrent. Or it could be that this upcoming Winter will be a hard one. 

Early afternoon on the back half of thirtyfivebyninety.

Notice the shadows in both the foreground and the right side of the tomato plant against the trellis.

Total amount of direct sunshine in this part of the garden is > 3 hours.

Raised bed just to the right of the beds pictured above.

Same day, same time, same lack of direct sunshine.

Cantaloupe growing on trellis along with Roma toms, and a volunteer Sunflower.

Sunflower is a direct descendant of hybrid Mammoths that I planted 9 years ago. Sunflower fence along the white picket in the background. Tallest is over 18 feet high.

Interesting to note that this year is the year that all the heads were numerous but very small.

Enjoyed by Finches.

Shadows, shadows, shadows.

Too many cool nights and rainy days.

Neighbor's 100 plus year old Maple tree shaped like a broccoli stalk.

2 years ago paid out $350 to have it trimmed with moderate results. Upside was that no limbs fell on our 81 year old dilapidated garage these past few Winters.

Notice the moss on both the roof's of our garage & the neighbor's home.

Tree top right hand corner is city owned planted in the hell strip.

Yeah it's that tall that it's shadow reaches my backyard.

As much as I petition for removal neighbor petitions against.

One of two directions I can grow - don't put in a garden next year devoting efforts to foraging & gleaning, find a way to increase sunlight with artificial methods, kill neighbor's trees.

Plural because I didn't photograph the Walnut tree that blocks all early morning sunshine.That tree is located just behind my greenhouse on a vacant lot. A lot that gets 9 hours of glorious sunshine.

5 years ago DH attempted to barter lawn care for use of the lot for container gardening but the owner wasn't interested. Should have cut it down 10 years ago when it was only 15 feet high.

Lost opportunities suck.

Yeah I'm gonna need a really good alibi.

~~ pelenaka ~~