ChristianaOdum

I added a few things to my garden since my last entry and thought you’d like to know. :)

purchased baby plants:
-3 Strawberry plants
-Pineapple Mint
-Sweet Mint

from seed:
-More easter egg radishes
-zucchini (bush type)
-cucumbers (compact bush type)
-Bush peas
-Watermelon Radishes
-Rainbow carrots
-kohl rabi

I intended to plant Salsify, too, just because it’s a weird old vegetable that no one uses and I wanted to try it. However, I ran out of soil, again, and I wasn’t about to spend another $10 just to plant a vegetable I read mixed reviews on. I’ll plant it next year, along with the Luffa I wanted to plant but didn’t have room for. :) Hopefully, next year I’ll be settled into a new place with more room for gardening.

I’m always intrigued by doing everything myself and doing things the old fashioned way. Cheese making has been on my agenda for awhile, and I was finally able to get some instruction this weekend! (and it’s WAY easier than it looks!)

My friend invited a local cheese artisan to teach a small group at his house and it was so much fun! This lady was AWESOOOOOME! She not only taught us how to make cheese, but also sour cream and yogurt. She also gave us a wealth of handy tips and brought in about 5 different cheeses that she made for us to sample. :) I tried a 5 yr old feta that was TAAANGY along with a 3 yr old cheddar, a dutch cheese (which is the same one we made), a 3 yr old indigenous flora – a cheddar that got an air pocket and held in some whey, so it had a SUPER sharp taste. Almost bitter, but SO GOOD! You just had to eat tiny bites. :), and a Lavender cheese which was SOOOO Yummy!

We made a Dutch cheese with cow’s milk, and we had a batch of goat’s milk we intended to make feta with. However, when the goat’s milk was cooling on the stovetop, she accidentally turned on the wrong burner when trying to heat a kettle of water. SO, we ended up making Ricotta, instead. She also told us how to make Gjetost with the whey!

All in all, a SUPER fun day filled with a wealth of knowledge! She gave us all recipes and told me to call her anytime I have questions! Such an awesome lady and I’m so glad I got to meet her. I also found out she does soap-making, so I may hire her to teach a soap making class sometime. :)

I’ve been TRYING to plant a garden for about 4 years! THIS year I insisted on having my garden no matter what. It seemed that all my dreams were to be crushed when I found out I had to move the first week in AUgust. I didn’t want to plant a garden just to LEAVE it right before HARVEST time! Never fear! I have decided to do a CONTAINER GARDEN! I have various pots and hanging baskets I planted flowers and veggies in. My radishes and salad mix should be ready to nibble on in a couple of weeks! I’m so excited about it!

Okay, for you geeks out there, this is what I planted:

Veggies:
-Radishes (Easter Egg Blend)
-Salad Mix (5 different heirloom lettuces)
-Basil
-Parsley
-Cilantro
-2 heirloom tomato plants (“Mr. Stripey and “The Black Prince”. YES, that’s the ACTUAL name of the type of tomato)
-Okra
-Snow Peas (Oregon Sugar Pod)
-Green Onion
-Kale
-Eggplant (Long Purple)
-Beets
-Carrots (Parisian Market-Kind of stoked about these)

Edible flowers:
-Nasturtiums
-Lavender

Non-edible flowers that make you happy to look at them:
-Zinnias
-Cosmos
-Statice
-Tithonia
-Shirley Poppies

I planted everything from seed except the tomatoes! I’m so happy about it! I’m hoping everything grows and produces something yummy. If nothing else, I KNOW I’ll have a yummy salad with the lettuce and radishes. haha