Re-Purposed Outdoor Brick Fireplace

Posted on June 7, 2017 by marymargaretripley

It’s a fact – I need more planting space in order to meet my 2017 Gardening Goals.

With that being said I got inspired this week to do something with our unsightly old outdoor fireplace. About 15 years ago an apple tree fell on it during a storm and crushed most of the left side. I would have taken the whole thing out but the right side of it has an electrical outlet on it and I didn’t want to mess with having to remove the power line and to tell you the truth it comes in handy when I need to plug in power tools and Christmas lights.

Without a lot of funds and a need for more planting space I decided to gather all of the old bricks that were scattered around the yard and turn them into a potato planting bed.

Potatoes need a deep planting bed. As they grow they need to be continuously buried in order for them to form lots of underground potatoes.

Check out the before and after pics. I even threw in a couple of short videos.

After a couple of hours of work and lots of back filling of a combination of soil and sawdust it was ready to plant. I even planted a few flowers at the base of it. The only cost was the seed potatoes. Everything else I had.

This is a pretty good sized space. I am excited to see how the potatoes do in their new home. As the seedlings start to sprout I will add a few more layers of bricks and more soil until they reach the top of the bed.

I don’t plan on mortaring in the bricks. Right now it is a semi-permanent bed and I plan on keeping it that way.

2017 Gardening Goals: Plant Potatoes– Check!

I’ll keep you updated on this project. Let me know what you think! -MM

Gardening and Preserving Goals Update June 5th 2017

Posted on June 5, 2017 by marymargaretripley

It’s been a busy few weeks without a lot of time for updating. I did get my entire garden planted but of course I have run out of room. I thought my husband Scott would just shake his head at me but he surprised me instead by saying “where should we dig new beds?”

I am not sure I can handle more space to fill but I am thinking about it

Below is my goal list for preserving and gardening. Everything in bold is what I have accomplished so far. The only thing I have preserved is 2 batches of Dandelion Jelly and I see I forgot to add that to my goal list!

HERBS

Garlic
Chives
Aloe Vera
Dill
Artemisia
Calendula
Chamomile
Cilantro
Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea)
Sweet Woodruff
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Mint
Catnip
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Anise
Rosemary
Sage
Dandelion
Thyme
Nasturtium
Valerian

CROPS

Asparagus
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Cherries Sweet
Cherries Sour
Pears
Peaches
Grapes
Rhubarb
Sweet Peppers
Banana Peppers
Eggplant
Onions
Shallots
Snap Bean Bush – Purple, yellow and green
Snap Bean Pole
Peas
Spinach
Lettuce
Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Beets
Radish
Carrots
Cucumbers
Pumpkins
Gourds
Winter Squash
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Cantaloupes
Water Melon
Sunflowers
Tomatoes
Celery
Broccoli
Potatoes
Yellow Tomatoes
Paste Tomatoes

PRESERVES

Strawberry Jam
Grape Jelly
Black Raspberry Jam
Red Raspberry Jam
Peach Jam
Pear Jelly
Apple Jelly
Honeyed Yellow Tomato Butter
Canned Cherries in Syrup
Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sweet
Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sour
Basil Banana Pepper Jelly
Apple Sauce
Grape Juice
Pear Juice
Tart Cherry Juice
Pickled Beets
Canned Beets
Vegetable Stock
Vegetable Soup
Tomato Sauce
Blackberry, Red Raspberry, Peach, Cherry Cordials
Chili Sauce (Two different kinds)
Bread and Butter Pickles
Frozen Corn
Frozen Peppers
Frozen Beet Greens/Chard
Red Root Relish
Lemon Sage Wine Mustard
Dilly Deans
Pickled Hot Peppers
Sweet Crisp Pickles
Crushed Tomatoes
Whole Tomatoes Packed in Water
Canned Green Beans
Frozen Peas
Frozen Winter Squash and some stored whole
Chili
Stuffed Hot Peppers
Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Garlic

Shallots

I named my rooster “Cluck” he guards the garden from vicious predators.

I guess that’s it for now. Have to wait for Mother Nature to work her magic!

See you next time. -MM

My Gardening and Preserving Goals 2017

Posted on April 25, 2017 by marymargaretripley

Each year I try to garden with a goal in mind. My goal is always to produce and preserve as much food as we need to get us through the winter and to help me spend as little as possible at the grocery store.

Last year I had some pretty lofty goals and fell completely flat on my face. It was a horrible growing season in 2016. Heat and drought took it’s toll on the garden and a late frost killed all of the blossoms on the fruit trees. I have never seen anything like it really.

I revisited my goals from last year and chopped some of the harder to reach goals out.

Here is a list of my family’s 2017 Gardening and Preserving Goals.

Herbs:

Garlic
Chives
Aloe Vera
Dill
Artemisia
Calendula
Chamomile
Cilantro
Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea)
Sweet Woodruff
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Mint
Catnip
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Anise
Rosemary
Sage
Dandelion
Thyme
Nasturtium
Valerian

Crops:

Asparagus
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Cherries Sweet
Cherries Sour
Pears
Peaches
Grapes
Rhubarb
Sweet Peppers
Banana Peppers
Eggplant
Onions
Shallots
Snap Bean Bush – Purple, yellow and green
Snap Bean Pole
Peas
Spinach
Lettuce
Cabbage
Swiss Chard
Beets
Radish
Carrots
Cucumbers
Pumpkins
Gourds
Winter Squash
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Cantaloupes
Water Melon
Sunflowers
Tomatoes
Celery
Broccoli
Potatoes
Yellow Tomatoes
Paste Tomatoes

Preserving:

Strawberry Jam
Grape Jelly
Black Raspberry Jam
Red Raspberry Jam
Peach Jam
Pear Jelly
Apple Jelly
Honeyed Yellow Tomato Butter
Canned Cherries in Syrup
Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sweet
Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sour
Basil Banana Pepper Jelly
Apple Sauce
Grape Juice
Pear Juice
Tart Cherry Juice
Pickled Beets
Canned Beets
Vegetable Stock
Vegetable Soup
Tomato Sauce
Blackberry, Red Raspberry, Peach, Cherry Cordials
Chili Sauce (Two different kinds)
Bread and Butter Pickles
Frozen Corn
Frozen Peppers
Frozen Beet Greens/Chard
Red Root Relish
Lemon Sage Wine Mustard
Dilly Deans
Pickled Hot Peppers
Sweet Crisp Pickles
Crushed Tomatoes
Whole Tomatoes Packed in Water
Canned Green Beans
Frozen Peas
Frozen Winter Squash and some stored whole
Chili
Stuffed Hot Peppers
Stuffed Sweet Peppers

So far, we are already doing mighty fine with our 2017 gardening goals and we have had plenty of rain too. Yippee!

This last weekend we added 3 more raised veggie beds which brings my planting area to about 200 sq. ft. of space to work with. Yippee! Thank you Mr. Ripley for working so hard. (He said it was my Mother’s Day present).

To date we have planted carrots, peas, radish, and lettuce but much more will be planted by the end of this week.

How will I keep track of all of this? My journal. And lists. LOTS of lists. Should be interesting! Wish me luck and I will keep you updated. -MM

Weeks 3 and 4 Pop Bottles Meet Disaster

Posted on April 5, 2017 by marymargaretripley

Mr. Gray is in trouble. BIG trouble. We have 2 kittens we adopted in October of this last year. I was seriously worried about my seedlings getting damaged by the cats since it is an open space in our basement that I grow my plants in. Our beloved cat Bernie, who died suddenly this fall was completely trained to not go near the “kids”.

Oh yes, it happened in the middle of the night, a crash in the basement and a scampering of feet tearing down the hallway past our bedroom door. I knew what the sound was and I just sighed and fell back asleep. I would survey the damage in the morning.

Sure enough Mr. Gray, yes I know it was him, dumped the whole rack of shelves. Nine pop bottles were scattered across the floor in all sorts of disarray. I didn’t have time to do anything with them because I needed to get to the bakery. I would work on the mess when I got home.

The Culprit (Good Thing He is Super Cute!)

Nothing, unfortunately was salvageable. The second set of shelving was still upright so I hadn’t lost everything, but the basil, lemon balm, cilantro, onions, catnip, and others were crushed.

Today I did get 28 pepper plants and 4 watermelon plants transplanted into their own, larger spaces. They are doing well and hopefully Mr. Gray will not get into any more mischief with these guys. Now if we could just get some sun here in Western NY that would really, really help. -MM

Week 1-2 Pop Bottle Garden

Posted on March 19, 2017 by marymargaretripley

Journal entry I drew of my raspberry patch covered in snow

It has been a heck of a few weeks since I started the seeds for our 2017 garden. Here in Western, NY we had 80+ mile an hour winds which knocked our power out for well over 24 hours and closed school for two days. Then less than a week later we had a two day blizzard that closed schools again for two days and brought our lives to a grinding halt while we waited it out. Crazy weather I tell ya!

However, while all that crazy weather was going on outside, my little pop bottle garden and its contents were snug and warm and working away for me.

This year I planted peppers, both sweet and hot, celery, cilantro, dill, watermelon, basil, 3 kinds of onions, catnip and lemon balm. The only thing I have not gotten in yet are the tomatoes and I am getting a little nervous about it but I will get them started don’t worry.

Below are a couple of photos of what has been happening inside the bottles these past two weeks. Pretty cool huh? See you next week with another update! -MM

Dill and Pepper Seedlings

Watermelon and Basil Seedlings

Starting Seeds Week #1

Posted on March 2, 2017 by marymargaretripley

Every year I start my seeds, indoors, about 6-8 weeks before the plants go into the ground outside.

Last year was the first year I tried starting my seeds in a pop bottle. Sound kinda weird? Not really if you think about it. A pop bottle is just like a mini greenhouse. It keeps the warm sunlight in and the cold temperatures out. Even in my cool basement the seeds are warm and snug in their individual little bottle greenhouses. The results I got were fantastic! I grew things like never before. Cilantro, basil, celery, and watermelon just to name a few.

Baby basil plant from 2016

I don’t have expensive lights to grow my seedlings under and I don’t have tons of space either. What I do have is a sunny 8′ basement potting bench that has 6 hours of direct sunlight a day and a bottle garden works perfectly in this scenario.

For the next 6 to 8 weeks I will report back each week on how the seeds are germinating and let you take a look inside the bottles to prove that you don’t need expensive lights and fancy heating mats to grow strong, healthy seedlings.

Here are the steps to start using a 2 liter plastic pop bottle for a mini greenhouse.

Step #1

Cut two clean 2 liter pop bottles in half with a sharp knife by poking the tip of the knife into the sides of one of the bottles and slicing around the side of it until it is in two pieces.

Each “greenhouse” uses 3 pieces of bottle to create a complete unit.

Step #2

When you have the first bottle in 2 pieces invert the top half, which has the cap, upside down into the bottom half of the bottle. Now you are ready to plant some seeds in it!

Step #3

Fill the top about half way full with starter soil, which is lighter than traditional potting soil. Drop a few seeds on top of the soil of whatever you are planting such as pepper seeds and cover them with more soil to finish. Water well until the water runs out the bottom. Note: if there is water in the bottom after a day or so dump it out because it will start to mold and could kill any plants starting.

Step #4

Finish the greenhouse by putting another half of the second bottle on top. If you have the cap, put it on. If not, cover it up with a piece of plastic or tin foil.

Step #5

Put the bottle into a sunny window and see what grows! Once the seeds germinate and start to grow into plants, take the cap or plastic off to get some air into the bottle.

Let me know what you think. Have you ever tried growing in a pop bottle? -MM

Pie Challenge and the “Kids” are Up

Posted on March 16, 2016 by marymargaretripley

I have really been slacking on my “Operation Pie Challenge” I left off at week #7 so this would be week #8. I am not going to do a recipe this week. Instead, I am going to show you a technique with pie crust that my Granny taught me years ago that I think you will find interesting.

This technique is best used on a berry pie with its dark purple or red color.

Start by having your bottom crust and filling ready. The filling pictured below was a mixed berry from our raspberries frozen from last season.

Next, roll out the top crust and instead of slicing completely from one side to the other as in a traditional lattice, create a cross shape instead.

As you can see next you cut each corner of the cross into an “L” shape.

Carefully lift the cross shape (it can be a little tricky not to break it, so go slowly) and place in the center of the filling. Next lift and position the “L” shaped pieces of crust just like they were on your floured counter but leave a little space so the color of the filling peaks through. Now add the corner pieces and crimp the pieces into place.