Hi Ashley, I live in a city neighbourhood (Toronto, Canada) with a small patch of earth along the sidewalk in front of the house. It gets a lot of sun, but the soil used to be pretty bare. I've added compost and planted 9 (so far) different herbs for a "help yourself" garden. There's a pair of scissors hanging up so people can snip off some sage, oregano, chives, mint, lemon balm, tarragon, sweetgrass, parsley, and lavender. I've written the names in front of the plants with chalk, and people seem interested - they ask a lot of questions. It makes me feel connected to the local passersby, even if they have no idea who I am. Thanks for your great articles!
Pretty late here, but since I live in a much warmer area where we sadly don't get much of a winter, our tomatoes were coming in and the bell peppers were blooming :)
Our honeyberries originally came from the Fedco Trees catalog, and they're one of the best places to buy fruiting plants of any kind for our growing zone. (They're in Maine). Honeyberries also go by the name "Haskap" and they're often listed under that name since nothing else goes by that name.
Pickled eggs are amazing! They do need to be kept in the fridge since you cannot safely can eggs, no matter how pickled they are, but they keep for 3-4 months in the refrigerator. We make big batches in half gallon jars this time of year and eat them all summer long. Basic recipe is hard boiled eggs in a brine that's half water and half vinegar (5% acidity). Sugar/salt/spices are what makes them really exceptional though.
Amazing!!! Thank you for your generosity. I really appreciate you sharing your experience! I found your blog looking for cold hardy perennials… now I’m hooked.
My parents were first and second generation off the farm, but in a very different climate… it’s such a shame how much generational knowledge has been lost during the years following industrialization. I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s been to get my hands dirty and try to cultivate some of my families food. Very inspiring and edifying to read about how others are doing it. Really so very appreciative!! Thank you!
We live in the Pacific NW and have been having a very wet, cool spring. The gardens are planted but not everything is happy. Hopefully more sun will be coming soon. I transplanted basil this morning but will keep in the greenhouse for now. We have 2 honeyberry bushes but they only have a few berries. They are only 2 years old, I think. We got new chicks this spring after 2 years with no chickens (the neighbor dog killed our old ones) so hopefully this fall we will finally have fresh eggs again. I'm hoping to put them in lime water to preserve any extra. Thanks for all your good advice.
Two years old is still pretty young, and they have their good years and bad. By year 4 you should have pretty good harvests regularly, but they do occasionally have off years like any crop.
We've lost our chickens more than once to all manner of predators, and its always horrible. Sorry about yours, but so glad you have new chicks this year. Hooray for fresh eggs!
One of the bushes is older but we were told you needed 2 different varieties for berries and it took us a few years to buy another. The older bush does have a few berries finally. I think they are about ready to pick. I tried canning strawberries and half the jar is juice with berries on top. Can I raw pack them by pouring off the juice after 6 hour maceration and heating it up, putting in hot jars with room temp berries? They look very mushy in jars.
Yup, you do need at least two honeyberry varieties to get fruit.
You can raw pack strawberries, yes. They shrink more that way though, so you're looking at even more of the jar as juice and less as strawberries. How well canning strawberries goes depends on the fruit you have, and a lot of homegrown fruit is incredibly flavorful...but very soft.
There are some varieties that are more middle of the road, with good firm texture but still lots of flavor. Those are usually the varieties they grow at PYO operations because they know home pickers aren't usually that gentle. Storebought berries are the most resilient, but least flavorful unfortunately.
Shoot, I was hoping that would work better but I had better stick with your directions instead. Our berries aren't super soft but not hard like store bought. Would it work to turn the jars upside down for a bit 24 hours after canning to see if the berries would sink. They sure look funny as is.
I live in The Bitterroot Valley of Montana. I am in the process of getting new garden beds set up. I moved to a new-to-me house, and the garden beds were in bad shape. The strawberry patch was good sized BUT......it was also so over grown with mint that it had to be completly removed! My spouse is not a gardener, but he was more than happy to play, er, work with his tractor to help me get the bed removed. It has been so wet and rainy that my progress has not been what I envisioned, but it never usually is. I am not able to spend as much time gardening as I would like, as I am out of the house 12ish hours for the day for work and commute. At least I don't have to battle with deer for what I do accomplish because I have a 7 foot privacy fence around my yard, yay!!
I have gotten a section of the beds ready and planted with some of the herbs and wild foods that I want for the many things that I will prepping for hard times. I also have a field that has many of the natural plants that I want to use.
Wow, a 7 foot privacy fence to keep the deer out is amazing, even if you do have to battle mint. Weeds in strawberry beds are the worst, especially since they're so shallow rooted. When ours went to the weeds we just pulled up everything and re-planted the strawberries elsewhere, leaving the beds for things like tomatoes until we can get the weed seed bank under control. That's a tricky one!
Hi Ashley! I'm in central Pennsylvania. It is early strawberry season here. So this week will be strawberry jam and whole canned berries. We have had a few days of rain so today I'm hoping to get out and do some mushrooming!
I SO enjoy your posts. You inspire me to sleep less. haha
I love the information you have Presented here ,you are covering a very great range of things. All of which I find informative! Thank you so much !🤔😁😀😍🤗😇
Hi Ashley, I live in a city neighbourhood (Toronto, Canada) with a small patch of earth along the sidewalk in front of the house. It gets a lot of sun, but the soil used to be pretty bare. I've added compost and planted 9 (so far) different herbs for a "help yourself" garden. There's a pair of scissors hanging up so people can snip off some sage, oregano, chives, mint, lemon balm, tarragon, sweetgrass, parsley, and lavender. I've written the names in front of the plants with chalk, and people seem interested - they ask a lot of questions. It makes me feel connected to the local passersby, even if they have no idea who I am. Thanks for your great articles!
That is absolutely amazing and so inspiring!
Pretty late here, but since I live in a much warmer area where we sadly don't get much of a winter, our tomatoes were coming in and the bell peppers were blooming :)
So inspiring!!! I’m new to Vermont, gardening, sustainability and your news letter!!
We’re in Southern Vermont, but still Zone 4, where did you originally source the honey berries? Do they have any other names?
Also, how do you pickle eggs?
Our honeyberries originally came from the Fedco Trees catalog, and they're one of the best places to buy fruiting plants of any kind for our growing zone. (They're in Maine). Honeyberries also go by the name "Haskap" and they're often listed under that name since nothing else goes by that name.
Pickled eggs are amazing! They do need to be kept in the fridge since you cannot safely can eggs, no matter how pickled they are, but they keep for 3-4 months in the refrigerator. We make big batches in half gallon jars this time of year and eat them all summer long. Basic recipe is hard boiled eggs in a brine that's half water and half vinegar (5% acidity). Sugar/salt/spices are what makes them really exceptional though.
I have multiple recipes you can try here: https://practicalselfreliance.com/pickled-eggs/
Amazing!!! Thank you for your generosity. I really appreciate you sharing your experience! I found your blog looking for cold hardy perennials… now I’m hooked.
My parents were first and second generation off the farm, but in a very different climate… it’s such a shame how much generational knowledge has been lost during the years following industrialization. I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s been to get my hands dirty and try to cultivate some of my families food. Very inspiring and edifying to read about how others are doing it. Really so very appreciative!! Thank you!
We live in the Pacific NW and have been having a very wet, cool spring. The gardens are planted but not everything is happy. Hopefully more sun will be coming soon. I transplanted basil this morning but will keep in the greenhouse for now. We have 2 honeyberry bushes but they only have a few berries. They are only 2 years old, I think. We got new chicks this spring after 2 years with no chickens (the neighbor dog killed our old ones) so hopefully this fall we will finally have fresh eggs again. I'm hoping to put them in lime water to preserve any extra. Thanks for all your good advice.
Two years old is still pretty young, and they have their good years and bad. By year 4 you should have pretty good harvests regularly, but they do occasionally have off years like any crop.
We've lost our chickens more than once to all manner of predators, and its always horrible. Sorry about yours, but so glad you have new chicks this year. Hooray for fresh eggs!
One of the bushes is older but we were told you needed 2 different varieties for berries and it took us a few years to buy another. The older bush does have a few berries finally. I think they are about ready to pick. I tried canning strawberries and half the jar is juice with berries on top. Can I raw pack them by pouring off the juice after 6 hour maceration and heating it up, putting in hot jars with room temp berries? They look very mushy in jars.
Yup, you do need at least two honeyberry varieties to get fruit.
You can raw pack strawberries, yes. They shrink more that way though, so you're looking at even more of the jar as juice and less as strawberries. How well canning strawberries goes depends on the fruit you have, and a lot of homegrown fruit is incredibly flavorful...but very soft.
There are some varieties that are more middle of the road, with good firm texture but still lots of flavor. Those are usually the varieties they grow at PYO operations because they know home pickers aren't usually that gentle. Storebought berries are the most resilient, but least flavorful unfortunately.
Shoot, I was hoping that would work better but I had better stick with your directions instead. Our berries aren't super soft but not hard like store bought. Would it work to turn the jars upside down for a bit 24 hours after canning to see if the berries would sink. They sure look funny as is.
Picked Mesquite beans & made Mesquite bean jelly & syrup. Yum
That sounds fun! I've read about Mesquite beans but they don't grow here unfortunately.
I live in The Bitterroot Valley of Montana. I am in the process of getting new garden beds set up. I moved to a new-to-me house, and the garden beds were in bad shape. The strawberry patch was good sized BUT......it was also so over grown with mint that it had to be completly removed! My spouse is not a gardener, but he was more than happy to play, er, work with his tractor to help me get the bed removed. It has been so wet and rainy that my progress has not been what I envisioned, but it never usually is. I am not able to spend as much time gardening as I would like, as I am out of the house 12ish hours for the day for work and commute. At least I don't have to battle with deer for what I do accomplish because I have a 7 foot privacy fence around my yard, yay!!
I have gotten a section of the beds ready and planted with some of the herbs and wild foods that I want for the many things that I will prepping for hard times. I also have a field that has many of the natural plants that I want to use.
Wow, a 7 foot privacy fence to keep the deer out is amazing, even if you do have to battle mint. Weeds in strawberry beds are the worst, especially since they're so shallow rooted. When ours went to the weeds we just pulled up everything and re-planted the strawberries elsewhere, leaving the beds for things like tomatoes until we can get the weed seed bank under control. That's a tricky one!
Hi Ashley! I'm in central Pennsylvania. It is early strawberry season here. So this week will be strawberry jam and whole canned berries. We have had a few days of rain so today I'm hoping to get out and do some mushrooming!
I SO enjoy your posts. You inspire me to sleep less. haha
How should I start to be a part of this communities I'm in nyc
I live on the east coast in Central Florida and I am growing pineapples and calamondin on my balcony in pots
Woah, that's amazing. Something sounds so magical about actually growing your own pineapples, but I bet that's normal for y'all down there. Enjoy it!
I love the information you have Presented here ,you are covering a very great range of things. All of which I find informative! Thank you so much !🤔😁😀😍🤗😇
You are quite welcome! So glad you're enjoying it!