The Garden Chronicles

The Garden Chronicles: Potatoes!

Our very first potatoes!

Cabbage

We picked some cabbage yesterday and cooked it today. It was so yummy with baked sweet potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, cantaloupe, and radishes from our garden. My favorite cabbage recipe is from David's late aunt.

Aunt Miriam's Cabbage

1 head of cabbage, chopped
About 1-1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1-2 tablespoons chopped green onion
salt, pepper to taste
pinch or two of sugar
About 1/4 cup water

Place butter in skillet over medium heat and melt. Place cabbage, onion, salt, pepper and sugar in skillet. Pour in water and cover skillet. Cook over low heat until cabbage is tender and water is mostly evaporated, adding more water if necessary through cooking process to keep cabbage from sticking to the skillet.

Here's a slaw recipe we enjoy sometimes.

Apple Cabbage Slaw

1 medium unpeeled apple, diced
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 celery rib, chopped
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Chill until serving. Yield: 4 servings.

The Garden Chronicles

Sunny Day!

Carrie has been a busy bee hanging out lots of sheets today in the sun and wind.

Tornado damage to our shed. We had to dig out the hoes to work in the garden.

Emily and I planted some tomatoes. Whoops, there's a rabbit in the garden!

A potato plant coming up.

Abby in the back yard.

Oh, Peter Rabbit is in the cabbages!

The strawberries are blooming.

Abby, just because.

The Garden Chronicles: Potatoes and Strawberries

My guest poster today is Abby, who wrote a story about her afternoon in the first person point of view for her FIAR language lesson.

I planted a garden this afternoon. We gathered all of our tools, seeds, and plants and our bucket. We walked to the garden. On another day we planted cabbage. But on this day we planted strawberries, onions, and potatoes. First, we dug a hole, not too far down, then we put the strawberry plant inside. We patted the dirt beside the plant. Then it will grow. We dug a hole and put the onion in it and we patted the dirt
down. We put one or two potatoes in a hole and patted the dirt down. We toted bucket after bucket of water and gave the plants a drink. Then we stopped. It was tiring, but I could do it anyway.

After working in the garden, we came in and read The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar and Abby ate plum jam on bread while I read Island Boy by Barbara Cooney. She looked at our Usborne First Encyclopedia of Seas and Oceans while I read a chapter from Misty.

My husband brought us some Lindt for Lent, so I'm off to lie on the couch and eat bon-bons!

The Garden Chronicles: A Beginning

It's Anna here, writing for a very busy Mama. I thought I'd share some pictures made yesterday evening while our new garden was being made. Two of the farmers from our church (Mr. Andy and Mr. David) were good enough to help us city folks with it. I think they derive some amusement from it.


First the ground was turned up in a 120' long rectangle and spread with chicken manure. The dainty odor lingers yet. This was mixed in and then the soil was disced. Today Mr. Andy came and marked it off into nine rows with enough room between them that a tiller will fit. We're going to plant potatoes, onions, and cabbages as soon as possible, but the rest of the produce won't have to be planted until about the end of April.