What we’ve been up to
Mar 31st, 2009 by Amy
I have been feeling guilty for not posting more updates recently, but our kitchen has been kind of a boring place. We have been cooking, but mostly stuff that we’ve already shared with you. Most of our time and effort has gone into the garden.
This past weekend, we started prepping the blueberry bed. The native soil in that part of the yard had a lot of clay, so we brought in some compost to help it drain a little better. After hours of digging, forking in compost, and picking rocks, the beds are ready for the blueberries. We ended up buying six different varieties of blueberries some for fresh eating, and others for freezing, baking, and canning. We also picked varieties that are more tolerant of clay soil, to better accommodate our native soil situation. Here are the varieties that we chose:
Patriot - good for jams and baking, somewhat tangy, and ripens early.
Bluecrop - large sweet berries good for eating fresh and perhaps the most planted variety. We chose this one primarily to pollinate with Brigitta (per Fall Creek Nursery recommendation).
Bluejay - good for freezing and canning, berries retain their taste for a long time. It also establishes really quickly and easily, so we hope to be harvesting lots of berries from these next year.
Brigitta - large sweet, tart berries good for eating fresh. It is a hybrid developed in Australia and the berries stay fresh for a long time.
Rubel - small, intensely flavored berries good for baking. It is a true, wild highbush blueberry that was discovered in the early 1900’s. Apparently, it also has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of all blueberry varieties.
Berkeley - large berries, mild tasting berries. This variety was a last minute addition. We decided to get them because the sign at Down to Earth said they are highly desired by local chefs. I am sure they will be tasty.
The other very exciting thing we did last weekend was buy a chicken coop. We have been planning to build our own coop, but when I saw this one on Craig’s List for $155, we decided to have a look. We took a break from digging on Sunday to go check it out. We determined that it would work great for our first coop and save us a bunch of time, so bought it on the spot. Jesse (the coop builder) is also building us a little run. It is unfinished, so I will put a coat of paint on it before we take it outside. Next, we need to decide on what breeds to get.
So now you know what all of the silence is about. Things should get back to normal soon!
In addition to the coop and the blueberry beds, I also threw in a few other photos of the garden.
Oh love the chicken coop. I really want chickens and need to get on that. Wonder if Jesse would have anymore to sell?
Laura - he does have more to sell and he is actually located in your neck of the woods. Send me an email if you want his contact info.
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