Doug’s garden brought to you by Smiley

12/07/2024

I’ve been slacking on the updates this year but the garden is still going strong. Can’t wait for those tomatoes

19/04/2024

And so it begins. Cold crops are planted. Carrots, peas, beets and lettuce. Tomatoes are in the basement under lights.

13/08/2023

Todays harvest

08/08/2023

The jungle has emerged and the harvest is plentiful.

07/07/2023

When you harvest after a week of being gone on vacation

26/06/2023

25/06/2023

Have you ever eaten fresh sweet beets straight from the garden? We planted 6 types this year.

15/05/2023

Most of the garden is in.

13/05/2023

It’s Mother’s Day weekend! Whose planting ?

22/10/2022

Well the time has finally come. Weather calls for rain and freezing temperatures so we pulled the garden.
We cut the plants at the base instead of pulling out the root. This allows the roots to decompose and add nutrients as well as aerate the soil.
We have lots of lightbulb tomatoes
Hot peppers
Sweet peppers
Tomatillos
Green tomatoes
Radishes
And I finally got some cucumbers 🥒 three whole cucumbers.

09/10/2022

Still harvesting. The tomatoes (although started from seed in our basement) were grown at the in-laws house.

03/10/2022

Pepper 🌶 pepper 🫑 peppers 🌶 peppers 🫑
We still have lots of peppers growing.
Today while canning (you can see all my reserving on my canning page Brought to you by Smiley ) I was running to the garden all day. I was able to make sweet pepper relish, habanero plum jam, cowboy candy (candied peppers), corn cherry tomato salsa, and regular salsa.
We still have a counter full of Anaheims waiting to be roasted.

26/09/2022

So many tomatillo, so many light bulb tomatoes, so many peppers. Looks like I’ll be canning this week 🥰

18/09/2022

I know this page has been pretty quiet. Well there is a reason for that. Douglas said “ gardening doesn’t always go the way you want it. That’s why it’s called gardening and not harvesting.”
This year our garden has not been everything we wanted. We planted 26 tomato plants and only our cherry tomatoes are really producing. Thankfully Douglas gives starter plants to our family so we can get some tomatoes from them. Our peppers and tomatillo are doing well. Only the Armenian cucumbers survived.
Weather played a big part in the garden this year. Utah was really hot then really cold then really hot. We got a late freeze and a dry spring.
Although I have been preserving plenty most of our harvest has come from a family’s house. Seen below if the tomatillo salsa and garlic basil balsamic vinegar tomatoes made today from the garden.also the candied jalapeños from the garden this year that won 2nd place In pickling at the fare.

11/07/2022

I love how pretty the beets are.

11/07/2022

Pickled beets, shallots, and spicy pickled carrots. 

10/07/2022

And tomorrow we pickle.

08/07/2022

Douglas wanted to show off his rather large garlic

25/06/2022

Box full of hard neck, artichokes, and more beets

25/06/2022

Ever wonder what would happen if you planted your garlic upside down. Well kriston was happy to to perform a little experiment for you.
Now you know 😂

22/06/2022

Soft neck garlic braided and ready to dry.

21/06/2022

Garlic time

30/05/2022

If your growing hard neck garlic the best time to harvest them when they start to loop around but ideally before they start growing up for a flower. Harvesting you scapes will help keep the energy going to your bulb and not the flower. If you harvest a little to late the scapes will be more woody but can still frozen and used in stews and broth.
If you harvest them at the right time they can be sautéed in olive oil, made into butter, pickled and more.

25/05/2022

Well here it is!! Douglas told me about spruce tip jelly and I thought he must be crazy. I was wrong. This particular recipe is also low sugar so my mom can try a little.

23/05/2022

Harvesting spruce tips for a new recipe.