I managed to dig over my veggie garden this weekend. It might not sound too awful, but I have to do it by hand with a garden fork. Usually I have help, but Hubby dear works shifts and is on nights now. I think it sucks for him 'cause it is finally sunny out and he has to sleep in the cold, dark house while we soak up the sun.
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I manage to weed my vegetable patch once a week which keeps the big weeds down. Today is weeding day. I noticed a clump of Lamb's Quarters (a weed) in the beans. I didn't pull it up though. I think we'll have some for supper tonight. Every time I see lamb's quarters, I think back to my childhood to a time when that was the only green we ate for a time. I grew up half a world away in South Africa and most of my childhood was spent during a 10-year drought. As a farmer's daughter, I knew exactly what the impact of a drought was. We grew all our food, but there was no water to spare on the vegetable garden so nothing grew very well. The only thing that grew really well was the weeds. Picking weeds under the broiling sun was not a chore anyone was eager to do so we had to weed either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Then one day as the sun was sinking my mom's employee casually pointed out that we could eat "umfino". The next day she showed her how to cook up lamb's quarters in mashed potatoes like spinach. It really is delicious! 1. Peel and cube potatoes (about 1" cubes are fine) 2. Place potatoes into a pot suitable for mashing - I use my biggest pot - and pour in some water so that the water level is half-way up the potatoes. 3. Rip the leaves off the thicker stalks (the thinner stalks are fine to put in), wash them and lay them on top of the potatoes. 4. Cover the potatoes and boil on medium-high until soft - about 15 to 20 min. The leaves will have wilted by now. Keep an eye on your cooking so that you don't burn your potatoes. 5. Mash the potatoes with some butter (or margarine) and milk to make it super creamy. This recipe can make as little or as much as you wish. As a rule of thumb I usually prepare one medium potato per person. Young, tender plants are tastier than older plants about to go to seed. Of course don't use weeds that have been sprayed with poisons! Edible Wild Food has a page on identifying lamb's quarters: http://www.ediblewildfood.com/lambs-quarters.aspx
Today I'll be harvesting my oregano. I started out with a single oregano plant which my husband brought home from the grocery store. That small plant has now expanded to a patch about 60cm x 30cm (2ft x 1ft).
They are about to flower like my other herbs have begun to do. Last year I waited a bit long and they made beautiful flower spikes which I didn't have the heart to cut down. So my oregano harvest was delayed until the fall after the flower spikes went to seed. |
AuthorJulie is a Mom working from home. She runs her own yarn business, homeschools her two kids, and gardens in her spare time. Archives
August 2015
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