Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A solstice celebration

Another solstice has come and gone and with it the annual celebration at Manorun Farm, one of my favorite places. The weekend included great food, great music, great weather and a great community of friends.

produce stand

The garden continues to grow splendidly. Tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, beans and lettuce are all thriving. These days I've added greens, more radish, peas, raspberries, spring onions and even zucchini to the harvest list. Now amongst the continuation of planting and weeding I must work at preparing my harvest goods for sale at Tawse. In addition to the raw goods I also produce a variety of preserves, including pickled treats, jams/jellies and herbal teas. As well I'll occasionally delve into the wonderful world of baked goods. This weeks specialty was lavender loaf. It was a new recipe and one I'll definitely be repeating. At least while the Tawse lavender is in season.

New packaging for my line of teas.

I simmer my lavender with milk before adding to the mix.

The outcome.

The packaging.

Raspberry thyme jelly, raspberry mint jelly and pickled garlic scapes.

The set-up.

Fresh organic raspberries. Yum!

A nice asparagus/garlic scape sandwich with a side of asparagus and, you guessed it, garlic scapes!

A hot cup of fresh mint tea.

Good morning, morning dove.

Monday, June 11, 2012

sunshine and rain, a perfect combination

Well the warm weather is now in full swing and we've had just the right amount of rain over the last week or so to make everything just want to grow, grow, grow. Unfortunately, because of this nice warm spring my spinach has suffered in return, as well my beets have been poor to germinate. This is the perk of growing such a variety of produce though. A couple crops may suffer here and there but there are always others that are thriving to take their place. (Knock on wood). However as I write this I think back to earlier this morning when I encountered a good number of cucumber beetles on my zucchini and cucumber plants. I had hoped that by planting them in a new location, at the very least, the bugs would be stalled in their arrival. Wishful thinking I'm afraid. At least I have these crops right out my front door and I can keep a much closer eye on the problem, and hopefully lick it before she gets too out of control. Fingers crossed.

beets

the tomato plants are thriving nicely under the conditions.

onions have really taken off

row covers protect my radishes from the flea beetle who likes to eat away at the leafy ends

my zucchini has taken off over the weekend. many have begun fruiting

the first batch of peas just about ready for harvest

I've been harvesting the garlic scapes over this past week, some sold as fresh and others have been packed up and pickled for later enjoyment.

the view out of my living room window

pickled garlic scapes

chopping asparagus for pickling

the final product

Saturday, June 2, 2012

At last, it's here....and so will they

Just got my hands on the new Sigur Ros album (I'm listening to it as I write). It's too early for any sort of review but I love this band nonetheless. Breathtaking is really the only word needed as a description. I am so, insanely, happy that in 2 months from now I will be seeing them live for the first time. My favorite band since 2001. They also hold the title for my favorite song...ever. Seriously, I get choked up every single time I hear it. Have a listen.

Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa.

Friday, June 1, 2012

rain, rain, glorious rain!

Finally, some rain has blessed our fertile soil. Things were getting pretty dry around these parts. Although on a down side, this means weeds galore will be poking their nasty little heads out of the ground next week. Sigh.