Swiss Chard

Well, even the chard resented the cold weather that we've been having.  I'll have to clip off as much as I can.  If it recovers, fantastic.  If it gives up on growing for the winter, that's alright.  It was a good ride.

Photo courtesy of mercedesfromtheeighties

If you're new to chard, then just treat it like you would fresh spinach.  It has more of a peppery bite than spinach, but cooks exactly the same.  I usually give it a very rough chop, and saute it quickly in bacon fat or olive oil.  Like spinach, it wilts down super fast.  Sprinkle a little sea salt and black pepper after you toss it in the pan, and you're good.  It's that easy.  You can also eat chard raw, steam or boil it.
Chard is very healthy for you, and VERY easy to grow. You direct sow the seeds into the soil after all danger of frost is gone.  Give it water.  Give it sun.  In about two months, you'll be clipping leaves for the table. If you're new to gardening, then add easy, forgiving chard to your list of spring plantings!

Gardening Gifts

If you're shopping for a gardener, click through to our store for some great suggestions on what you can give to the garden obsessed!  Combine a new book with a trowel, a few seed packets and a new pair of garden gloves for a lovely gift that any gardener will appreciate.  And no need to get too fancy.  A five gallon bucket makes a great container for garden tools and soil amendments.  Check the Gardening Tools section of our store for a caddy that will fit nicely around the outside.  Perfect!

Getting Cold

Well, my fingertips are like ice, but the chickens are set for the very cold week that we're getting.  I dragged their movable coop to a new location, and gave them fresh hay.  In return I have a wheelbarrow full of lovely chicken pooped hay to dump onto a garden bed.  After that, I had to run in and warm up my hands!

The rest of the afternoon will be spent making my first ever batch of wild plum jam.  Michele had bags and bags of these cute little plums, and graciously chose to share her wealth with me.  Wild plum jam is my favorite kind of jam on the planet, so I'm looking forward to making my own.  Click here to see a previous posting that Michele made on wild plum jelly, including her recipe!

Lamb's Ear

Did you know that lamb's ear, a member of the Stachys family, was used as a bandage for minor cuts right up until cloth and band aids became the popular choice?  That's how it earned one of its nicknames:  woundwort.

Photo courtesy of Chhe.

I have it planted along my front walkway because I love it's soft, furry leaves and its durability.  Finding out that it has a medicinal use just makes me love it more!

Local Holiday Parade

I'm planning on shooting over to Whitewright this evening to enjoy their holiday parade and lighting ceremony in the nature park. Should be fun. Maybe I'll see some of you there! Go to www.whitewright.org for more details.

Cats vs Houseplants

Do you have cats digging in your houseplants (and using them for a litterbox)? Try spreading a layer of rocks over the soil to stop them from doing this.  You can even add in a few of the flattened glass beads from the craft store to give it a splash of color!
The kind of rock doesn't necessarily matter.  Most any kind that takes your fancy should do the trick.  If your cat is stubborn, however, and continues to dig through the rocks, then switch to lava rock, which you can usually find at your local home improvement store.  Cats don't enjoy the abrasive feel of the rock on their paws.
And that's usually all it takes.  Happy gardening (even in the winter)!

Wild Asparagus

I blogged early this spring about trying my hand at growing asparagus and am glad to report that it’s still doing great!  Although I have yet to read that asparagus makes a reappearance in the fall, mine did.  I planted it early this year, it sprouted, suffered through out hot dry summer, died off, and now I have new asparagus shoots all ferned out and looking good.  I give you this information just in case you’re not familiar with the growing patterns of this particular plant.  I know I’m not, but I’m learning fast! 

So, to get to the ‘wild’ part that the title of this post suggests – the power company came by a couple months ago and cleared a big swath of ground (looks HUGE to me) near our fence line.  The cedar trees there were coming just a little too close to the power lines.  We had not gone in there much because the trees were very thick.   Since I had no say in the matter, I decided to try to make the most of it and have decided it is a nice wide path to walk the dog along.  What did I find the other day but something that looks like just the asparagus in the raised bed!  Here’s a picture of the wild plant, followed by a picture of the asparagus in the raised bed.  

There is evidence that there were other, similar plants growing nearby at some time this year.  I don’t know if the utility workers ran any over or not, but I expect if there had been any, they wouldn’t have been able to avoid it. 

I have done enough research online to know that asparagus does grow wild and some people go foraging for it.  Stories abound about family outings looking for wild asparagus much the same as my family used to go looking for wild mushrooms.  I’m not ready to declare this asparagus yet, but am planning on putting a wire basket around it and checking it again in the spring.  If it is what I think it is, it should sprout about the same time as it’s cousin in the raised bed.  I’ll let you know what I find out!