Growing Heirloom Tomatoes

Most of my garden is sown directly into the soil. i've never had a good place to start seeds inside, my cats always manage to knock them over or eat the seedlings. The only plants i don't directly sow are tomaotes and peppers. i usually purchase 4 packs from our local garden center, they do a really good job of having a large selection of heirloom plants.

However, a few months ago, my folks gifted me with a small inside greenhouse, so i was really excited to get to try growing my own tomato and pepper plants this year. i may have gone a little overboard purchasing seeds. :)


Last year was my first attempt at growing tomatoes from seed, and it was a complete failure. i didn't have the green house, and i put the seedlings outside so the cats wouldn't get them..and accidentally froze them all.
This year, i decided to try again and my tomato starts are doing really well! To start the seeds i just used recycled containers and our own homemade compost. You could also use potting soil and seed trays. This is what they look like when they are first start coming up.



Once they start leafing out and are about 3" tall i transfer them into individual larger containers.


Once they around this size, i start bringing them outside for a few hours each day to help them harden off.



Eventually i transfer them into larger pots, and am able to leave them outside. They can remain out all the time, i only bring them in if there is a threat of frost.



Starting tomato seeds inside this year has really allowed me to get an earlier start. My last frost date is this week, so i can actually start planting them into the ground now. i already have several blooming!

This years Heirloom tomato variety includes Cherokee Purple, Purple Calabash, Black Krim, Black Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Mr. Stripy, Big Rainbow, Hillbilly, Amish Paste, Black Cherry and Silvery Fir Tree. i'm sure i'll be adding a few more varieties, as i can not resist purchasing a few heirloom 4 packs from the local greenhouse. i tend to come home with new plants each time i pass by it. :)

What kind of tomatoes are you doing this year? What varieties are your favorites?

Morel, Asparagus, Spinach Frittata with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Chevre.

We are beginning to harvest a few things from the garden. The asparagus is doing great this year, and we've already enjoyed it with a few meals. It grows so fast that sometimes i can check it in the morning, and the shoots are only 2-3" tall and when i check again in the evening they are ready to be picked!!
We have an abundance of Egyptian 'walking' onions. They spread each year and can be harvested at anytime. They don't get a huge bulb on the end like traditional onions, but they are more like a leek or giant green onion. We have an abundance of eggs, as we finally have some pretty reliable laying hens.
We're also beginning to harvest leafy greens. For this recipe i picked a couple handfuls of spinach leaves. i also used a few of the morels we collected on Sat. some sun-dried tomatoes i dried last year and a bit of goat cheese i had made.
So this meal was completely homegrown/foraged. Except for a bit of oil i added to the pan and the salt and pepper.
All ingredients in this recipe are approx. i don't really measure the veggies, i just add a handful until it looks good. Add more if needed. So you don't have to use 1/2 cup exactly...add however much or little you want.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes re-hydrated and chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup morel mushrooms cut into thin slices
  
• handful or two of fresh spinach shredded
  
• small bunch (4-6 stalks) of asparagus, broke into 3"-4" pieces
  
• a few TBSP of crumbled goat cheese (chevre)
  
• 6-8 eggs (my eggs were on the small side, so i used 8)
  
• minced garlic, fresh basil, rosemary (optional).
  
• Sea salt and pepper to taste (optional)
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven broiler.
2. Heat oil in large, oven-proof skillet. (cast iron works well) Add onion and mushrooms and sauté until onions are translucent. Add spinach, asparagus and garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes. Transfer vegetables into a bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Heat a bit more oil in the skillet over medium heat, move it around the pan so it coats the bottom and walls. Then add the eggs. Add the vegetable mixture, spreading it evenly through the eggs. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes and add those to the egg mixture. Sprinkle herbs/salt/pepper over the top as desired.
4. Turn heat to low and allow the egg mixture to cook until the bottom is set (15-18 minutes). Sprinkle goat cheese on top. Transfer the skillet into the preheated oven (broil) and allow the top to finish cooking (2-3 minutes).

Take it out when the egg has finished cooking, and has started to brown just a bit.


Frittatas are super easy and delicious. They are a great way to use up lots of eggs if you have an abundance and can be served for any meal. You can really use any veggies that are in season or that you have on hand.

If feels good to start getting out of our winter eating rut, and back into eating fresh from the garden foods.

The things we find when we are lost...

This weekend we decided to explore the Crooked Creek, and Stewart's Creek area of the Blue Ridge Highlands Loop of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trails. The directions online showed how to get from Major General J.E.B. Stuart's birthplace (MBR05) to Stewart's creek, and then from Stewart's creek onto Crooked Creek. However, after looking through the directions we realized that Crooked Creek was less than 3 miles from 221/58. So it made more sense for us to go to Crooked Creek, and then onto Stewart's Creek.

i attempted to print up the directions, but my printer was being temperamental and refused to print. So hubby hand wrote the directions on a paper. All of the directions were backwards, being that they were originating from Stuart's birthplace. So we had to try and follow them from 221, backwards. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than we'd expected. :)




We ended up going down a very narrow mountain road. Not only were we having to watch out for deer and wild turkeys, we came across a corner and found a cow that had gotten out of it's fence.


It was just a little guy who was convinced the grass was greener on this side of the road. :)
So it seemed that the directions were pretty straightforward, but we never really found what we thought we were looking for. We saw several signs along the road that said it was part of the Crooked Creek Management area or signs that pointed towards an Equine recreational trail, but we never actually found any trails.

There were several places to pull over along the creek. So we stopped and decided to walk a bit and see if we could find a trail head. We followed the creek a bit, and saw lots of fisherman and a truly unbelievable amount of tiger swallowtails.


i'm guessing it was a breeding ground for them. i was unable to get a picture, but there was literally 20-30 butterfly swirling all around the creek. Some were on the banks sipping the minerals from the wet soil. Some were sunning themselves in the trees, and most of the were just soaring and gliding in circles over the creek. It was an extremely magical moment. we stood for quit a while just watching them. i took a ton of pictures, but all look like this with a just a couple blurry butterflies showing. They were moving so fast.

After wandering around by the creek for a while, we decided to walk up to the road, explore a bit and look for some signs of a trail. i grabbed my trusty tote bag...because you never know what kinds of fabulous treasures one might find while hiking...acorn caps, pine cones, pretty rocks etc...

After walking quite a ways without finding any signs of a trail, i say ' i really wish we'd find a giant patch of morels to make bringing my tote bag along worthwhile.' :) Then not even a minute later, i look across the road and exclaim 'HOLY HELL!!!"

There, sticking out of the side of the hill was the BIGGEST Morel mushroom i have ever seen!!

The funny thing, is that i never even noticed that it was in a patch of Dwarf Crested Iris. i didn't even see them...i just saw that beautiful morel mushroom. My husband had to point out the flowers, and as soon as he did i realized that the entire hill was covered in them. It again felt very magical... :)
We were all extremely excited by the first morel and immediately started scouting the area.

My boy was the next to find one, and then my girl found this one.

This was the mother of all Morels, it is 10' tall!!! i've never seen one anywhere near this size. On average we usually find morels that are 2.5-4" tall. We had all found several each before my husband had spotted even one. He was getting a little annoyed, and finally spotted one that was at the very top of the bank. He climbed up to get it and found a huge patch of them under a tree right there.


It was really neat to find such a large patch of them. Many were too old to collect, but it was still exciting to find. We now have a new morel spot, assuming we can find our way back here. :)

Here was our mushroom haul. Although we didn't bring home a ton, we were
delighted just to find any at all and were totally blown away by their size!

We had a great time mushroom hunting, and taking pictures of all the wildflowers..but decided to head over to Stewart's Creek since we couldn't find any trails where we were. On our attempt to back track, we got completely lost again. We drove in circle for a quiet a while, down a few scary mountain roads and amazingly came out on a road that had a sign for Stewart's creek! Once again, we found exactly what we were looking for. This was turning into quite an adventure!

Unfortunately we never made it to Stewart's creek. Without warning we came upon this road block and had to turn back. It was a little disappointing, but we were also eager to get our mushrooms home while they were still fresh. We'll have to save Stewart's Creek for a different weekend. We've now completed 5 of the 7 areas on the Blue Ridge Loop.

We returned home and decided to have a bonfire, one of our favorite summer activities. We roasted veggie dogs, and enjoyed the morels rolled in seasoned flour and fried in real butter...horribly unhealthy, but so good!!! We sat out by the fire, listening to the spring peepers and the Whip-poor-will's. We sat and enjoyed the beautiful evening while we waited for the moon to come out.



To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs

Spring hiking and wildflowers.

Now that we are starting to really feel the spring weather, we have been going for walks almost every day. On the weekends we typically choose a local park or public trail to hike. During the week, when the kids get home from school, we hike down to the creek or to the top of the hill and explore the woods behind our house. Now that the kids are older, i can take them farther into the woods to explore new areas.

Down on the banks of the creek the Mayapples are popping up everywhere. i was on the lookout for dried milkweed pods and morel mushrooms, but didn't find any this time.

The flower of the mayapple is hidden under the umbrella shaped leaves. They don't all have flowers, and we have fun peeking under each one to see there is a flower.

On Monday we walked to the bottom of the hill, and followed the creek through the tree field. The creek winds around through the woods, and onto our property. i was super excited to come across a huge patch of huckleberries (wild blueberries). The bushes are small and scrubby looking, but loaded with blossoms. i can't wait to come back and check them again to see if they actually produce berries. i have a feeling i'll be competing with the local wildlife for them. :)


My girl was the first to spot these behind the house. i was extremely thrilled to see that the Showy orchids are coming up again. i transplanted one of these onto our property a few years ago, and not only has it returned they have started spreading. :)

They are very small and delicate, but quite lovely. The area behind our house and a natural spring that seeps up and creates a wet boggy area that is perfect for swampy woodland plants. i would really love to establish some lady slipper orchids here. i was told by a neighbor that they used to come up on our side of the creek, but i have yet to ever find them.

Along with the Mayapples and Showy Orchids, the Trillium are in full bloom. i have always loved these trillium and found it interesting that the local/common name for these is Stinking Benjamin. Seems funny that such a lovely flower would have such an awful name. :)

As always the kids have a fabulous time at the creek. While i'm running around snapping pictures of the wildflowers, they are climbing trees, wading in the water, feeding fish and catching salamanders and crawdads. They are also learning to identify many of the different plants and flowers in the area. My daughter is extremely inquisitive and wants to know the name of everything. My boy acts less interested, but is a total sponge with knowledge. i'm sometimes surprised by the amount of information he retains when i don' even realize he is listening. He can often tell me the name of wildflowers that i've forgotten. :)

i haven't been able to do a lot of hiking since having children. Having to carry them made hiking much more difficult, and then when they could finally walk their little legs would get tired quickly. So i'm really enjoying being able to really get back into the woods again and really explore some of the nature trails around us.

This summer we are planning the complete the Blue Ridge Highlands Loop, which is part of the Virginia birding and wildlife trails. we have already hiked the first 4, so we have 3 more trails to hike to complete the loop. We have several favorite places we love to hike, but always enjoy exploring new areas.



In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir

Earth Day, Arbor Day, Wildlife Habitats and Edible landscaping.

This post originally started out as an Earth day post, then turned into an Arbor day post...and finally ended up as a post on edible landscaping. :) It's been one of those weeks.

Earth Day was on April 22, and Arbor Day was April 27th. So often times we will spend the week focusing on trees and planting seeds/ flowers (okay we pretty much do this every week). Last year we planted several fruit trees for Earth day and went on a garbage/recycle walk up our road collecting all the trash and recyclables that people dump.
This year, the weather didn't cooperate with us, and Earth day was cold and rainy, so we spent the entire day inside. The kids started some seeds in pots, and we did some crafts using recyclables. Then with the kids in school all week, we decided to postpone our tree planting until the following weekend...which was Arbor Day weekend.

For those of you who don't already know, Arbor Day foundation is the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. When you join Arbor day foundation for a $10 donation, you get 10 free trees or if you don't have a place to plant trees you can have 10 trees planted in a national forest in your honor. Kind of cool, eh?

This is the Keifer pear we planted last year. It was a pretty large tree (14 foot) when we put it in, and i was worried that it might not survive the transplant. All the new trees we planted have done really well and are leafing out nicely. We planted the Keifer pear, two black heart cherries and two plum trees. We won't get fruit from any of them this year, but it was nice to see that they survived the winter and have lots of new grown, green leaves and all look very healthy.

This year our plans were to plant several more new trees. We purchased 2 American filberts, 2 American Elderberry, 2 Allegheny service berry, 2 more blueberries and a Nanking cherry.

We chose the American filberts (hazel nuts) because they are a fast growing shrub 8-12' tall, they produce lots of edible nuts, and are also good for wildlife. They are native to the Eastern US, are drought tolerant, grow very fast and do well if planted along a woodland edge. With our limited space for big trees, i think hazelnuts are a good choice for edible landscaping and wildlife habitats.

i really wanted to grow Elderberry because it's one of those plants i have foraged for...but am not completely confident identifying. Elderberry is very high in vitamin C and has a lot of health/medicinal benefits. It can be made into elixir, syrup, jellies, jams and wine. Although Elderberries are native, and i'm quite certain i have them growing on my land i wanted to plant my own, so i could be absolutely positive i was picking elderberries. Rather than risking picking a potentially poisonous look alike. Elderberries are considered easy to grow, are only 6' to 12' feet high and are another great choice for wildlife.

i decided to get the Allegheny service berries kind of on a whim. i was already getting the other trees, and thought these looked interesting. When i was pregnant with my girl, i remember my doula taking about Service berries, and June berries. It was the first time i'd ever heard of them. Service berries are similar to blueberries, but do not require the acidic soil. We love blueberries, and have around 15 established bushes . Blueberries require acidic well draining soil though, and ours have never really done that well. Although they produce every year, they really haven't grown very much and several of them seem to be struggling. The Allegheny service berries are native, easy to grow and produce lots of edible berries. The fruits are sweet and juicy and rich in iron, copper and vitamin C. Native peoples dried the fruits like raisins and used them to prevent scurvy in the winter. This is another tree that will grow well along the edge of woods.


We already have one Nanking Cherry that i always thought was ornamental. The last couple years it started producing a few cherries. So after i looked it up and read a bit about it, i realized if it was better pollinated it could be producing a lot of cherries. Nankings are a great dwarf cherry 6'- 10' that produces tons of small tasty red cherries that are good raw or in pies. It is extremely hardy, has beautiful flowers and if you plant more than one can create a lovely hedge i've read conflicting info on whether it is self pollinating or not. Ours has just started producing cherries, so i thought it was a good idea to get a second one to make sure it's getting adequately pollinated...plus they are gorgeous in the spring when they are blooming.

Although it will be several years before we are able to harvest from the new trees, i feel like we have really been making a lot of progress the last couple of years. Even though we took down a few trees to make room for the goats, we have replanted many trees that will benefit both us and the local wildlife.