workday at the gilbertson ranch

Last year we started a tradition for Father's Day and my dad's birthday of celebrating with an annual workday at the Gilbertson Ranch (a.k.a my dad and stepmom's house, which is not really a ranch at all, rather it's a big house with some land, a river, and a lot of plants...).  In lieu of gifts, we all get together for a day and give my dad something that means much more to him than presents--we give him our hard work (with many snack and beer breaks included) and our time all hanging out together.  It's a ton of fun and since there are so many of us, we get a ton done!  This year was no exception.  While the boys hauled mulch and wood, the girls weeded, pulled moss, and painted.  We then ended the day relaxing on the deck with good food and more time together.  

I love that we get to celebrate my dad in this way.  He's such an amazing dad.  Throughout my entire life he's been working so hard to provide for us and to make our lives better.  Even now that most of us are out of the house and on our own, he's still working to provide us with a wonderful place to relax and spend time together.  I love my dad.  He's the best.  

garden notes :: 6.9.15

I love this time of summer when every week there is significant growth and change in the garden.  The tomatoes and peppers are starting to fill out and all of the beans are up!  I decided to use straw again to mulch the tomatoes as it keeps their leaves so much cleaner and locks the moisture in for longer.  And now that the chickens are being kept out of the garden this year, the straw should stay in place all summer!  I've had bad luck with cucumbers and broccoli over the past couple years, but so far this year they are both off to a good start!  The first round of radishes are almost done now and the second round has just come up!  I'm hoping to ferment a quart of them later this week, as it's hard for us to use all of them in the short window of time that they are all ready to be harvested and eaten.  The lettuce, greens, kale, and herbs on our deck are also starting to fill out and be ready to use!  There is nothing quite like walking out to the deck to gather salad ingredients right before dinner.  It's one of my favorite things about summer!

How about you?  What things have you starting harvesting in your gardens this week?

in bloom

As I add perennials to my flower beds, it's been fun to add more plants that will bloom throughout the summer.  The lilacs kicked off the blooming season a few weeks ago, and now the peonies and mock orange bushes are taking their turn!  Peonies are such a heavenly flower.  I love filling our house with them and smelling their decadent fragrances as they waft in through our dining room windows.  This year my bushes are staggering their blooming times a bit, which is much appreciated by me!  It's nice to have the short peony season extended a bit.

How about you?  What's blooming in your yard??

buying locally

The time for buying plants is in full swing in Minnesota!! It's a time that's filled with so much life and color everywhere you go.  It seems that there are plants for sale at almost every store around town.  Last year I decided to buy some of my basic annual flowers at the big box stores in town to save money and then buy the more decorative or specialty annuals at our little local garden store.  However, after a very frustrating experience at the big box store, I walked out with a few containers of decent looking flowers and a receipt with a larger than expected dollar amount on it.  It was frustrating because no one knew how to answer my questions.  They didn't know the difference between regular petunias and wave petunias.  And they couldn't tell me where to find the things I was looking for.  Then I walked in to my little local garden shop and had such a different experience.  The staff knew all about the plants they were selling.  Things were set up with clear signs and clear categories such as native plants, perennials for shade, annuals for shade, plants for sun, plants for the birds and bees, fruit trees, vegetables, etc.  Not to mention, the aesthetics of the place were lovely.  And when I swiped my credit card, I was pleasantly surprised that I got about the same number of plants for the same price as what I'd paid at the big box store down the road.  It was in that moment that I decided that the local shopping experience not only is better than the big box store experience, but the quality is better, and sometimes (even often times) the prices are very comparable.  

So this year, I said farewell to the big box stores when it came to plant buying and instead I stuck to the small local stores.  With my father being a landscaper, I get most of my perennials and shrubs with him at one of our big local nurseries in the area.  And for the past two years, my tomato and pepper plants have come from a small home greenhouse run by a doctor in St. Cloud who grows heirloom tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and eggplant.  The plants are so hardy and such good quality!  Not to mention, I get to order everything in February, which gives me time to really decide what I want to grow and to make plans for where each plant will go in my garden.  This year, my annuals came from our little garden store that's about two miles up the road from us.  Just as last year, the experience was so pleasant and the plants I brought home are healthy and ready to thrive.  

Buying from small garden stores and greenhouses also gives you more control over the types of plants you bring in to your yard.  Most local stores can tell you what things have been (or have not been) sprayed on the plants.  And often times you can find more organic or non-GMO plants at those places as well.  These things are important to consider when growing your own food and when striving to turn your yard into a bird and bee haven (which is such a fun thing to do!).  If you haven't considered these things in the past, or even this year, I encourage you to do it in the future.  I love shopping locally because it helps support our local economy, provide me with better quality plants, and give me a much better shopping experience!  

How about you?  What have your experiences been in buying locally??

garden notes :: 5.27.15

Wow!  How did it get to be Wednesday already!?  Holiday weeks can go so quickly, can't they?!  I hope you all had a good Memorial Day filled with family and friends.  Ours was quiet and relaxing and it also included a few small house projects, which was nice as well.  I was able to get the garden mostly planted this weekend, which was perfect timing as it rained all day Sunday and again all day yesterday.  That slow, steady watering and the wonderful sunshine that is forecasted for this week should set my plants up for a great start!  Hooray!  

I squeezed a few more things in the garden this summer and am hoping (as always) for a more productive year than the last.  This year I have 12 tomato plants, 8 pepper plants, garlic, green pole beans, green bush beans, radishes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, basil, a tomatillo, eggplant, and beets.  On the perennial side of the garden, I have a very happy oregano plant, rhubarb, chives, peppermint, spearmint, and thyme, as well as a slew of flowers (which are finally starting to fill out and I'm lovely them so much!!).  On the deck we also have a few pots and planters going with a few varieties of lettuce, mixed greens, kale, bushy dill, sage, a minature basil plant, cilantro, and rosemary.  It feels lovely to have it all planted (except the beets and a second round of radishes and greens).  I'm excited to try a few new things in the garden this year with mulching, pruning, and succession planting to hopefully optimize the space and short summer months.  I do so love the great gardening experiment that happens each year.  It's such a fun way to try new things and figure things out (or not) as you go.  

How about you?  What's growing or being planted in your gardens this week?