I am expanding my gardening hobby into another area...home brewing. Those who know me have come to realize that beer and gardening go hand in hand in my backyard. I like to keep a cold beer close by while sitting and weeding. I do weeding as a method to relax and unwind. It is not a job, but therapy. Beer is self-medication in my self-therapy sessions.
The next logical step for me in my quest to learn new things and become a bit more self-reliant is making beer. My daughters bought me the starter kit as well as a couple of brewing options to get going. I finally sat down and spent some time on Northern Brewer which has lots of tutorials. My kit was purchased here, so this was the first logical step in my learning process. I decided that I needed to purchase a hygrometer to do this right. I was in the neighborhood of the Purple Foot Store so I stopped there to get a hygrometer for beer making. I have picked up items for hard cider and such from this smaller store in the past. You would be amazed at how much hobby can fit in a small space.
The next step was acquiring enough bottles that could be recapped for home brewing purposes. You have to love social media for how quickly you can get the word out and find something odd that you need. I finally tackled the task of cleaning all these bottles and removing the labels. In the end, I have enough to bottle two batches of brew...almost. I was fortunate to have the old dibble boards that have been collecting dust in the potting shed rafters for over three decades, at least. They ended up pairing with old bulb crates beautifully to create a drying rack for dozens of bottles. Now that I have this step done, I will allow myself to open the boxes and start the home brewing process. Stay tuned.
My oldest daughter and her husband occupy our house while we live at my job site. If you look back at my posts through the years, you know this property is full of gardens. It is no small undertaking to learn gardening in this environment. My daughter has decided that she is up to the task.
Between my job and hers, we are late getting at the gardens at both properties this year. I got a good start at both places, but fell behind when my own work schedule picked up. Michelle puts in a good amount of hours at her day job with a publishing company in addition to free lance work with a second. Add a new puppy into the mix and the schedule gets pretty tight. The only time we have set aside together has been to frequent some of the outdoor beer gardens in our local parks.
This Friday we made a date to get busy. The beer was picked up at the local liquor store famous for its price and selection. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the tremendous number of volunteer annuals that are filling the beds. Our job was made easier as a result. My plans had to be altered a bit as a result, but we ended up with a combination garden of flowers and vegetables as a result.
Michelle got familiar with the most prevalent weeds and got to work at clearing those spots out. It took just a few more plants to make the garden complete. The rain garden has filled in so well this year. There are very few spots to put those shade loving plants that I have grown accustomed to adding every year. The loss of the street tree has also changed the light level dramatically. One of my Hostas at the edge was already showing sun scald. There was also a complete mass of turf grass that despite my best past efforts, had completely engulfed one of my sedge clumps. I dug out and removed all of that (ha! you never get it all) and my girls followed behind with her splash of color. The result was very pleasing. I also ended up with more Hostas for my very shady patch of earth in a smaller variety than what has already been installed at the new digs.
I knew that we would not finish this project together so we took the time to walk with a cold beer around the rest of the yard to discuss her next steps. We looked over the seed packets purchased earlier this spring and talked about where they needed to go in the raised beds. We talked about the current crops of potatoes, onions, and leeks that I did get in early in the season and their upcoming maintenance. She had the usual question of how do you know when things are ready to harvest. I told her a few times that she needs gardening to be a hobby, a time to relax. Do things in small batches as a way to unwind and decompress at the end of the day. Never look at it as another thing you have to do as this will take all the joy out of gardening. This is definitely a new stage of life for both of us. Growing older is not a terrible tragedy as most folks view it. Without the aging process, my daughters and I would not move past those tumultuous teenage years into a new phase of life where we share a beer and discuss the bigger things in life. I am happy to have both my girls in that place where they are independent women who are making their own way in life.
Dark started to settle in as hunger gnawed at both of us. Woman can not live on beer alone. My daughter headed in to make a very late supper, while I used the waning light to hand cultivate the vegetable beds to jump start her next planting day. I looked up at the silver of moon followed by Venus in an indigo backdrop and savored my favorite part of the day. The seasons turn and life takes its course. Life is good.
In between raindrops I got some work done on this Memorial Day weekend. I used those snatches of time that would have seemed not worth the effort to accomplish quite a bit in my gardens.
I put about an hour in with the vegetable patch yesterday. My onions and leeks were needing weeding so I got down to it and it was done before I knew it. I still felt like I had something in me, so I weeded the pea rows and the other small patch of miscellaneous plants. My onion patch is about five foot by nine foot. I have to step into rows to reach those last weeds, but I tilled with my Cobra head cultivator to loosen the compaction I left. I also added the soil mound around the leeks to start the blanching process of the stems. No light reaching the stems equals white stemmed leeks which are the culinary preference. Or so I'm told. I followed my own advice in my last blog of using those small windows to weed a small area. It ended up being all the vegetables I have planted, but it did not take me that long.
The spinach patch is also coming along nicely. I put in three circles of seeds in what is about a square foot area for each. The cool weather has been kind to this crop. I do not harvest the whole plant, but snip off the outside leaves. The growing center is left so the plants can continue to produce. I pulled a full gallon bucket of leaves which I had to keep gently pushing down as I picked. This is about two meals for my husband and I.
I still had some energy left in me and a tool in hand. I used my point tipped hoe to pull in the piles of reserved soil around my potato plants. I broke up the clods with the hoe and was able to use the tip to push the soil in between the individual plants. I will probably take a broom down next time to sweep the soil up off of the weed barrier fabric on to the soil mounds to use the rest of the soil. I will start using straw around the plants to keep mounding from that point. I harvested some radishes which thinned the row and enjoyed those with a beer when I got back up to the house. In one hour, I accomplished quite a bit.
I also had the opportunity to drive over to my favorite garden center, Luxembourg Gardens, to find a few things to put into my pots around the patio. It was raining pretty good at the time, but I had worn a rain coat and didn't mind. I wasn't alone. There were plenty of other dedicated gardeners who felt that shopping on a rainy day beat a sunny day with crowds. Only one item was out when I arrived so I will have to make a trip back to get that one more thing...yeah just one more thing...
In between all the big work of the nursery and greenhouse, I snatch moments in my own garden life. I don't do marathon gardening sessions like I used to. Even less now. Here is my list of garden jobs you can do in small snatches of time and still enjoy gardening on your terms:
- Weeding. You don't have to do the whole garden all at once. If you have to pick and choose, get the ones that are starting to flower first. Get a small hand cultivator (single hook for small spaces is my choice) and work small patches. Something is better than nothing.
- Watering. Most plants are better off allowing to dry in between watering. Concentrate on containers first and do it in sections so you aren't out there for hours. Consider soaker hoses and drip lines where it makes sense. Turn it on and have a beer.
- Planting. It doesn't have to get done all at once. Prep an area and plant. Have another beer. Prep another area and plant. Do a little each day, don't save it all for the weekend. A hidden reward in planting over time, especially with edible crops, is your garden keeps producing all summer long. The one caveat is to watch the days to maturity on your seed packets. Don't wait too long on those long season crops or you will be disappointed. Space out greens, herbs, and short season root crops for extended harvest.
- Harvesting. My favorite thing in mid-summer is to take my morning coffee out to the garden early in the morning. The neighbors are sleeping, but the birds are singing. What better atmosphere can you ask for if you have some work to do? Morning is also the best time to harvest many things since they are not wilted by the heat of the day. Keep buckets or bags in a small deck box or even a plastic covered bin so they are always handy when you find yourself picking more than fits in your hooded sweatshirt.
- Dead heading. Yup, you really should pull, pinch, or snip off those spent flower heads. Early in the season, this will keep your plants blooming better. If you plan on collecting seed, then you should let some go later in the season so the seed can mature on the plant. Keep a garden scissors or snips in the same box or hang it on a hook by the door. If you don't have to look for your tools, you are more likely to do the job. Purchase a couple so you can keep them close to different garden areas. You can also enjoy a beer while doing this task.
- Smelling the flowers. Don't forget that the main reason you garden is for the beauty of it all. Put chairs out where you can sit and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I like to have sitting areas in the most unexpected places. It is fun to look at things from various perspectives. And have another beer.
My husband finished the flower planter which extends my growing another 24 feet. Good thing as there is NO way I would have fit every annual flower in the existing beds that I have. I also tucked them in tighter than I have ever planted by using minimum spacing requirements. This bed is going to be filled by the Fourth of July. There is a long list of things that I put in here for cut flowers which I have published here before. Most everything was prime for transplanting with my later start date on most of them. I worked continually to finish before my 5 o'clock deadline last night and did it. There were a few packs left over which are going to be tucked into the other bed of reseeded annuals. I watered everything in to settle the soil with the hose from my rain barrel nearly emptying both with watering.
It rained last night. I wasn't expecting it as I hadn't followed the weather. Most of the night storms rolled in and poured out. Several times I was aware of a new round coming through. I awoke at 4 am and decided to get dressed and watch the sun come up. The rain drops on everything was just beautiful! I walked through the yard with a cup of hot coffee and was pleased to see that everything was standing up and well settled with all the rain that fell around the new plantings. The rain gauge red 2.1 inches. The rain barrels are both full again.
A good drenching means something else to me. Weeding. With the ground so moist they pull right out. I went through the oldest beds and pulled weeds for half an hour. It is a meditative activity for me. Most jobs need to be re-framed to remove the unpleasant aspect that makes me want to just scream. For instance, I really do not enjoy driving around for my job. This is a big part of my job, going from address to address rechecking violations and work. I had to re-frame that activity in my mind. Now I enjoy seeing changes in the neighborhoods, new businesses opening, kids playing in the park, parents walking their babies. I don't think about the driving, if I do, I fall into the old habit of exhaustion. I digress.
So much soaking rain also meant that I could break out the Weed Dragon and zap the dandelions and other weeds coming up in the wood mulch. When it is dry, you start the mulch on fire. When the mulch is this wet, only the weeds wilt at the hand of the propane flame.
It was also time to bring the dehydrator upstairs for frequent use. I have found that drying herbs in spring is the best time. They are fresh and perfect, not beaten or chewed up by the summer elements and bugs. A quick cleaning and a spin in the salad spinner makes them ready for drying. It may also be time to salvage the last of the chopped peppers and such that slowly have fallen to the bottom of the freezer. Time to use them or dry them if there is too much left. I also found a couple of sad looking jars of apple pie slices (canning is not kind to them but I ran out of freezer space). I put those in the trays and came up with some delicious apple candy instead. Bananas are turning fast and I can't use them up in smoothies fast enough. I dried the last batch and took them to work. They did not make it through the day.
I picked up a book at the library on dehydrating that has some different ideas in it. See if you can get your hands on a copy of Food Drying With an Attitude by Mary T Bell. It has been good reading so far. I also picked up Mel Bartholomew's New Square Foot Gardening. I would highly recommend this book also, especially for beginners. He has revamped his way of square foot gardening to make it easy and appealing to more people.
It is time to take a cold beer out to the back yard and read a little bit, nap a little bit. I am going to use up this Sunday as much as I possibly can.
1. Clean all the debris out of the "pond", change water, and get the pump running.
2. Flood the pressure washer trying to start it so you can clean out the "pond".
3. Weed all the maple seedlings out of front beds while you wait to try starting the power washer again.
4. Successfully start the power washer and clean all the Lannon and field stone in the wall around the "pond", the "pond" liner, the wooden park bench, and the bird baths.
5. Find the Teflon tape so you can join the two hoses with no drips. Use it and be happy there are no drips.
6. Now that the pond is done, look over and notice that the herb garden needs attention.
7. Re-pot the catnip, peppermint, and sage into larger pots and sink them back into the herb garden.
8. Move the rhubarb into the herb garden from behind the garage in case John really does build a bigger garage next year.
9. Water in everything you moved, potted, and neglected this morning with water from the rain barrel which is overflowing after 3" of rain this weekend.
10. Realize your back is killing you from bending over so much, go in the house for a beer, and sit at the table to enjoy the backyard.
