And the winner is.....

The First 2014 Seedlings

The first seeds to germinate and pop up were the broccoli seeds.  I can't tell you how good it was to peer in the flats yesterday and see the tiny broccoli plants peeking back at me.  This morning the Mexican Mint Marigolds were up as well, but the first place prize definitely goes to the broccoli.

So Beautiful....Sauce on the Stove

No Sauce is Complete
Without Fresh, Spicy Basil

Oops - Almost Forgot the Parsley 

Well the tomatoes are pureed.  We started this project with 33 pounds of Big Mama sauce tomatoes (with a few Celebrity tomatoes thrown in for good measure).  After picking the thyme, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, and oregano, I remembered that I had forgotten the basil and parsley so we were back in the garden only to discover five more pounds of ripe tomatoes!

Tomato Seeds, Skin and Cores
Ready for the Compost Pile

We had a big bowl of seeds, skins, and stems leftover and this has been added to the compost pile.

Beautiful Sauce Simmering on the Stove

The 38 pounds of pureed tomatoes filled my 16-quart stock pot to the brim.  The fresh herbs were added to the sauce which must now simmer for a day or two.  Since the pot is full, I will let it cook down a bit, and then add three cups of parmesan cheese, five minced onions and a few cloves of garlic.

The CD carousel has come full circle and
Mr. Joe Cocker is once again keeping me company.  As I gaze at the beautiful pot of sauce simmering away, I find myself agreeing with the lyrics.... you are so beautiful to me.....

Rose Petal, Lavender Blossom Tea

My Lavender Bush in Full Bloom

 Oh how I love the clean, fresh scent of fresh lavender!  Last year I planted a tiny little seedling and it grew and grew.  This year it is blooming for the first time.

Since the lavender is blooming at the same time as my newly-planted, extremely fragrant, climbing rose bush; and because it is blisteringly hot outside, I decided to try making lavender/rose petal tea.







I placed the petals from one rose, four sprigs of lavender blossoms, and four cups of cool water in a mason jar and placed it on the back deck in the blazing hot sunshine.

It did not change color - perhaps because I did not use boiling water.  However, it was highly fragrant and very refreshing over ice.

Of Fresh Herbs and Windfall Profits

Fresh Herbs
A Gold Mine of Flavor and Value

I strolled out to the garden this morning to harvest some rosemary, sage and thyme.  The thyme was beginning to bloom so even though it was only the size of a large cantaloupe, I sheered the entire plant.  It will grow back.  The total thyme harvest was seven ounces.

Then I cut six fresh rosemary sprigs (2 ounces) from our beautiful rosemary bush and maybe one quarter of a cup of sage leaves (1 ounce) from our tiny little sage plant.  The rest of the thyme and rosemary will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

About one half ounce of rosemary was placed into the cavity of one of our home grown, free-range, organically-fed roasting chickens.  All of the sage and maybe one quarter ounce of the thyme was placed underneath the skin of both breasts along with a little of our homemade butter.  Yum!

After I popped the bird into the oven.  I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  While there I checked on the spices.  Holy cow!  If you don't have an herb garden - get one quick.  Fresh rosemary, thyme and sage leaves are sold in the produce section for $1.29 per one quarter ounce.  That's a whopping $82.56 cents a pound.  This means the 10 ounces of fresh herbs I harvested today saved us $51.62.  I frequently cook with herbs and sprinkle them onto our salads.  Never once have I paid attention to their cost.

Being totally blown over by these figures, I sauntered over to the dried spice aisle.  Are you sitting down?  Those cute little bottles of dried herbs average around $145 per pound!  The next batch of thyme, sage and rosemary I harvest will get popped into the dehydrator.  After they are dry, I will strip and weigh the leaves.  It's sure to be a fun experiment.

Meanwhile the aroma of chicken and fresh herbs permeates the house, my sons are off doing their thing, hubby's watching a bit of television.  I of course, am sitting here recording our windfall profits and basking in our blessings.  When through, the chicken should be just about ready.  Oh blessed Sunday, day of rest and rejoicing.

Lemon Grass & Lemon Balm Seeds Planted

Lemon Grass - an essential herb
for Asian cuisine, the leaves and stems
can be used fresh or dried to impart a
distinct lemon flavor.  It also makes a
wonderful ingredient for hot teas.

Lemon Balm's most popular use is in
soothing herbal teas, where its
 lemon-scented  volatile oils are released.
The dried leaves are also a perfect
 ingredient for  potpourri and dream pillows.

Today is the day to plant my new herb seeds.  First the peppermint then the Lemon Grass and Lemon Balm.  I'm really excited about these as I love the look of grasses in the garden and can't wait to taste their lively lemon flavor in my tea. The seeds were purchased from Park Seed Company.

Peppermint Pots Planted

Peppermint Pots
Waiting for Seeds to Germinate

Pinhead-sized Peppermint Seeds

Since mint spreads like a weed, I put the peppermint seeds into two very large pots rather than planting them with the rest of the herbs.  They will stay on the front porch until they sprout and then I will move them out to the garden.  Really looking forward to peppermint tea.

Christmas in April...more seeds arrive by mail!

Today's mail brought our cantaloupe, lemon balm, lemon grass, chamomile, and peppermint seeds.

When the camellias start to put off new growth, we will trim them back, save and dry the new growth, and combine the dried leaves  with peppermint and lemon grass to make a lovely tea.  Chamomile tea is on our "to do" list as well.

And so we begin...

Ok - so we've been "playing" at gardening for over nine years now.  Now that the sequester has gone into effect and we will experience a 25% net reduction in income due to furloughs, it is time to get serious about producing as much of our own food as possible.  Better late than never.  Hopefully, keeping this blog about our gardening efforts will serve to keep us accountable throughout the season.

This past weekend we started seeds of  lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, lavender, sage, oregano, and broccoli.  Hubby is building a cold frame so we can get some of the early spring veggies off to a good start.

The garden is in shambles...but the rosemary, sage, thyme, and lavenear which was planted last season has survived the winter and the fall broccoli (which I neglected to pull up) is showing signs of growing some early new buds.  It will be interesting to see if we can harvest anything from our "has been" broccoli plants.

It's a gray, rainy day, but I will try to get a picture of the "garden" -although it has been so neglected, it hardly qualifies for the title.