Green Veggie Pests

Hello again!

The month of July started out busy in both the garden and the kitchen.  There were some veggies that were bursting and ready to be harvested and enjoyed!

Garlic scapes pickled!

Fresh baby peas that the girls ate straight from the garden.

And enough green pepper and tomato to make fresh salsa!

Unfortunately though, spending time in the garden also indicated to us that we had a pest problem on our cabbage plants.  Cabbage loopers.  :(

These fat green inchworms were eating big holes in the outer leaves of our cabbages.  Thankfully they hadn't moved onto the nearby broccoli.  But what to do?  Reading various articles found online there were some suggestions such as flour and baking soda - which I tried as I had these items on hand; and next steps such as bacillus thuringiensis.   And of course manual collection of the worms.  So with Sammy helping, we scoured the backs and fronts of the large cabbage leaves and picked off all loopers we came across.

Into a bowl they went and soon became evening treat for the chickens!

They were very much enjoyed!

So now, daily we closely inspect our plants for loopers.  But what to do about the large outer leaves that are riddled with holes??  I can't find any information on whether or not to trim off the ugly leaves or leave them?  Should I be worried about the plants that have not yet formed a tightly wrapped cabbage head?

If you have any suggestions, please share them.  :)

Jeanette

Celebrate good times!!

Howdy friends!!

What an exciting time of year around the acres!

We rejoiced with our one year anniversary here in our forever home!  What an amazing year it has been - a journey of learning for sure!

Our family congratulated both Nicole and Erin on their hard work this school year as they both graduated and will be moving schools in September - Nicole is off to high school and Erin will be starting middle school!

Congratulations on earning the music award Nicole

Derek and I celebrated a very blessed 15 years of marriage.

Our family then began our summer vacation with a bang!  Erin's school choir and dance clubs performed at our town's Canada Day celebration after which we cozied up in the tail of the minivan and enjoyed the town's fireworks display!

The girls have all made their wish lists for summer adventures - its sure to be a wonderful time together!  :)

Stay tuned...

Jeanette

Bittersweet Boots

Happy Friday!

With wet spring behind us, I began clearing out our shoe closet aiming to put away the winter boots and rubber boots until next winter and spring.  I came across two pairs of boots that all four of my girls had worn and that all four girls had outgrown.

Looking back at these little boots I was flooded with memories... Sammy in the ladybug boots with matching ladybug raincoat; Nicole in the orange boots and nothing else.  Seriously, our eldest loved being naked and spent so much time during the months 9-12 that I was seriously concerned what her profession later in life might be.  Thankfully at 13, nakedness nor boots are an issue.

These poor boots were not fit for donation and I just loved looking at these tiny pairs so this morning I turned them into planters for the front fence.

 This project really is a great mash up of crafting, gardening and power tools.

Love me some power tools!!

First thing was first... using the drill I made a few more holes to add to the worn out soles for drainage.  Just a few little ones.  I filled the bottom of each boot with a little bit of gravel from the driveway also to help with drainage.

Next, the boots were filled with a soil/manure mix and some little annuals that our local supermarket had marked down to $1.49 - SCORE!

Back at it with the drill, each boot was screwed through the back of the leg of the boot into the split rail fencing.

The nice thing about rubber boots is that they LAST... I am hoping to use these as planters for a few years to come.  Though the feet in the house have grown so much bigger, these little boots hold overflowing memories.  :)

Jeanette

Over the Garden fence {{WORDless Wednesday}} June 15, 2016

Happy Wednesday!  

Take a walk around our veggie patch!  Its so exciting to see what is growing!  And, of course taking note of what is needing a little help... Come on carrots!!  

We have: pumpkin, watermelon, four types of beans, four types of cucumber, celery, lettuce, kale, broccoli and cauliflower, large and cherry tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeños, radishes, potatoes, onion, asparagus, corn and peas.

Full garden plus manure pile in the background.  :)

On the request of Derek and Nicole we added a very hot "ghost pepper" plant!

The green peppers are flowering!!

left - cucumber, centre kale, right tomatoes.  Behind: Carrots and beans

Very happy potatoes between squash and watermelon and a row of celery

Left - jalapeños, centre radish, right cabbage

And these newly hatched little cuties.  Ahhh.. the cuteness!

I am fascinated each morning by the changes I see in the plants... and the weeds *sigh*

Jeanette

Ice Cream Bicycle Basket - My OWN SCHNICKism

Hello Friday; Helloooo Weekend!

Okay.  So though I am a SCHNICK by marriage not by blood, I do seem to have SCHNICK ideas of my own and impressively they do work out once in a while.  :)

Last week our darling Krista with her armful of stuffed pets threw a little tantrum at not being able to maneuver her bike whilst holding her babies.   A whoooole lot of tears.  Draping her purse filled with her lovely creatures over the handlebars only caused her to really scream when she found she couldn't steer.  Okay... don the thinking caps.

What this poor child needed was a bicycle basket... and pretty darn quick.  Okay.  But have you seen how much WalMart and Canadian Tire want for those plastic woven baskets??  Not too mention the half hour drive to either store from home.  There's the little bit of dutch that has rubbed off on me mixing with my will to lead a environmentally-minded life.  I needed to come up with an idea.  Ice cream always helps with the brainstorming.

Thankfully the week prior our local grocery store had had ice cream on sale and so the freezer contained what I needed... brain food (aka sugar) AND a solution to our stuffy-toting problems!

This is what I came up with... an ice cream container bike basket.  But now how cool would one be tearing up the asphalt with Heavenly Hash splayed across the front??  Enter my yarn stash.  For those times when Derek has given me "the why are you keeping this?" look... this my dear is WHY.

Over a couple of days I found enough quiet moments to sit and hook.  I'm thinking of writing up a crochet pattern for this, but basically I used half-double-crochet stitches to mimic the shape of the ice cream container and cover it completely.  My tool of choice for making holes in the ice cream container to "sew" the basket cover in place was a handy-dandy two inch screw.

The next task was to consider HOW to attach the basket.  Crocheted straps would stretch with any item weighing more than a few stuffies - and the collection of rocks on my dining room table can attest to the treasures this one brings home.

I opted for plastic cabling zip-ties.  Finding my way around Derek's workshop had me raising my eyebrows though not questioning "WHY?  WHY are you keeping this??"  I completely get it... and I did find some.  Again, my trusty screw was the perfect tool to make the holes before threading the zip-ties through and attaching around the handlebars!

Voila!

Ofcourse, Sammy spotted my SCHNICK success and asked for one for her bicycle as well.  Never one to disappoint my children, I took to eating more ice cream.  ;)  A second basket has since been completed... in reverse colours so as not to match her sister of course!

A week of wind and rain has had biking on hold but today looks like the perfect day for a spin! And if anyone would like to treat me to a pint of ice cream; I'd be happy to hook you a basket.  :)

Jeanette

We be JAMMIN'!! Field to table #1

Hello Monday!!  (And happy Memorial Day to my friends in the USA)

I just love instagram.. I've connected with so many interesting people and have gotten so much inspiration.  This weekend the inspiration came from Northern Ontario - a very neat lady that was making dandelion jelly!!

Before Derek got too carried away with the weed-whacker/whipper-snipper/edger.. whatever you want to call that lawn care tool that tears down weeds, the girls and I got out to collect some dandelion heads.

I read over Pinterest and found a few different recipes for Dandelion jelly.  I gave one a whirl.

Now remember what I said about me in the kitchen??  Recipes are only a guideline, I do not measure.

Boil...  Steep... Mix... Jar...

But when my first batch didn't set I realized maybe with jams and jellies accuracy is required and I broke down and took Derek's advice.  I measured and I timed EVERYTHING!!

And (tongue in cheek, not admitting he was in any way right) I had success.

I won't share the recipe here - like I say, there are many different ones out there but its a very simple process (when you follow the directions... *sigh*)  Here are some tips though:

Make sure your dandelion crop is free from pesticides and other chemicals.  Get help with removing the dandelion petals... it is the slowest part of the process.  And get ready for black thumbs.

Test when you have boiled your jelly long enough.  Derek found this trick - a cup of ice and a chilled teaspoon.  Using the cool spoon, spoon out a bit of jelly after the final boil and set over top of the ice. If your jelly is ready, that spoonful will be set by the end of one minute.

Use a timer!!!

Final tip, remember to save some of these delicious blooms for our bees.

So just what can you do with this jelly?  We've eaten it on scones and bagels.  I'm told it would work nicely as a glaze for chicken or pork!

Canning is an art form.  I love when I hear the seals popping letting me know they are all set.  Whew.

 I have really enjoyed this little taste of canning and preserving and I am looking forward to doing more!

Oh!  And I have a few tupperware containers of our dandelion jelly in the refrigerator which will keep for a while if any friends close by would like to try some!

Jeanette

Friday Farm Update.. Barn Roof Complete? Check!!

Happy Friday All!

I am thrilled to be able to share another completed project here at home.  The barn roof has been moved from the TO DO list to the DONE and CHECKED OFF list!  Yay!

Derek began work priming and painting the roof the weekend of April 23rd.  Great progress was made and the end was in sight...

...until just one more quart of paint was needed to be ordered in.  May 4th - Check!  Ready to go...

And then a whole week of on and off again rain... and snow and hail in the middle of May.  Seriously!

Finally the sun was out and the ladder was back up!  One evening and the roof was complete.

I think it looks pretty fantastic, wouldn't you agree??  :)

Jeanette

**even with a homemade jig to stand on, no Schnicks were harmed in this project.  :)