Category: Garden

In this category you will find everything that is growing and living outside in the garden, like growing vegetables and fruit and raising animals for there meat and chickens for eggs

Trying something new: A Straw Bed

Since we have no usable soil on our property and I have seen and read about building up soil and mulching with straw or hay we have decided to try something new.

Place for straw bed. Rubble with blown in sediment

Our hay is reserved for feeding the animals, since we have a limited amount of it. Straw on the other hand we have plenty, so we have build up our bed with straw.

First layer of straw

We have spread a thick layer of straw on the ground which should keep the moisture from draining into the ground. We are building this straw bed on old rubble.

Straw layer, compost soil layer and the start of the top straw layer

On the straw comes a layer of compost soil and on top comes another thick layer of straw.

Half way building up the straw bed with the 3 layers

Unfortunately we did not get the compost soil until May. In the best case such a bed is build in the fall, so the bed has time to get thoroughly wet and the straw below has the chance to start decompose.

Tomatoes and squash plantings

I planted tomatoes, squash, cucumber and peppers. For weeks I was very disappointed that nothing happened. The plants did not die, but they did not grow either.

Tomatoes and squash plants. Cucumbers and chillies are in the back

After about 2 months all of a sudden the plants started to grow and they grew well. Of course it being already mid summer we had very little harvest from this bed. A few cucumbers and some chillies is all.

Cucumber and the beginning of a squash

The squash and tomatoes did not have the time to cure. Here are some pictures from the beginning of October just before the first night frost came.

Tomatoes
Beautiful flower of a squash
Beginning of a squash
Squash and tomato plants
Tomatoes

All in all it was a shame we did not build this bed in the fall, but I have high expectations for next year.

Red beets harvest and soup making

A simple soup made out of our own red beets

After a light night frost we started harvesting all of our red beets before the frost makes them useless. We love our red beets as a soup. Even our children eat this soup well, so I thought to shear the simple way I make this soup with you.

All you need are some red beets, an onion, a few garlic cloves, beef broth, a cup of cream and some dill.

Cut the red beets, onion and garlic cloves into cubes and put the vegetables into a cooking pan.

Ad the beef broth so that the vegetables are just submerged.

Bring everything to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 min. until the red beets are softened.

Now blend everything with a hand blender to the consistency you like and ad the cream and the dill to your taste and liking.

Enjoy

I made a bigger batch so after blending I put half in jars to freeze for a later meal