The temperatures have been in the 90's here in the Catskills over the past few days. It seems like we've flipped and flopped between pouring rain and hot sun repeatedly. And amidst it all, the garden is just continuing to grow. Vegetable Garden The Hot Mess - Tomatoes It's really quite a mess. The good news is, we are still eating plenty from it. One disappointment is that most of the tomatoes are still green. Here is my one token red tomato. You can see how some of the … [Read more...] about Late Summer Vegetable Garden Update
Permaculture
Herbed Roasted Potatoes!
This year's harvest of potatoes did not disappoint. I haven't picked all of them yet, but I grabbed some to make a side dish for our dinner last evening. These tubers are in the nightshade family. Also, they have been heavily relied upon for sustenance throughout history. They are versatile and tasty. *Note - If you or someone you love struggles with diabetes, you may need to limit your consumption of potatoes. You'll need to talk to your doctor about … [Read more...] about Herbed Roasted Potatoes!
Easy Blackberry Jam
Now that we've picked most of the raspberries, the blackberries are ripening. We use blackberries in many of the same ways as raspberries, but we seem to have so many more of the blackberries, as you can see. Since the berries were already here, growing rather wild, we chose the "live and let live" approach, which is very much in keeping with Permaculture principles. We opted to observe and see what would unfold. Lo and behold, the abundance revealed! Years ago, we … [Read more...] about Easy Blackberry Jam
Garden Update
It's time to give you a quick update on the garden! We've been enjoying the bounty this year, that's for sure. The above photo shows some vigorously blooming oregano! In general, my flowers are a little more sparse than usual right now. I'll have to work on that and figure out some "late bloomers" that I can plant next year! Wild Looking Garden At the moment, I have a jungle-like flowerbed just outside one kitchen window. Outhouse Plant The tall plants in that bed are called, "Outhouse … [Read more...] about Garden Update
Food and Flowers in Permaculture
When practicing permaculture, food and flowers can live harmoniously. They can even be one and the same. Even though we have a designated vegetable garden, we don't exclusively plant vegetables there. One of the joys of permaculture, as well as of gardening in general, is the endless way we can combine plants for multiple reasons. This is how to "stack functions," and "stack elements," which are part of the bigger picture in permaculture principles. Let's first … [Read more...] about Food and Flowers in Permaculture