Hollyhock

A few years ago my mom gave me lots of seeds from her yard, but I didn't plant any right away. This last summer I started noticing how beautiful the hollyhocks were everywhere... and then I remembered I had seeds from her! My kids and their friends helped me plant them, and even though it was a little late I thought it was worth seeing what came up. They usually don't flower their first year from seed, but guess what we found last week?!

The combination of a wet summer and a really warm fall made for late hollyhock blossoms, and we couldn't be more thrilled to find them!

Ella went right to work to make a hollyhock doll.

I can't stop taking pictures of them. They are so pretty and remind me of home!

The plants themselves got too huge because I planted them too close together, but we can thin them for next year. It never ceases to amaze me that this kind of glory can come from a tiny seed.

Fall Garden

The garden is winding down now, but there are still fun discoveries and plenty to look at!

The pumpkin patch was getting pretty ugly, so we picked the last of the green pumpkins and threw all the vines away.

 

I also threw away half of the sunflowers, but I'll have to wait till next week to fit more in the trash can! They were fun while they lasted but now the seeds are getting everywhere. 

The kids still enjoy finding ladybugs, and there are plenty of them because of the aphids taking over the broccoli. It's time to take the broccoli, kale, and green beans out.  

Luckily the kale is being covered by morning glory flowers now, so it looks pretty! Ella helped me plant them in the early summer and now they are in their glory! (Pun intended.)

For my own memory, I recently planted a sedum start from Doris in the front island.

I also planted an Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) to try again. I had on once but it died of an unknown cause.

Fall in Utah is so beautiful! One evening the sunset was glorious and it looked so pretty with the orange zinnias and grasses. I love where I live!

Foray into Fermenting--a Natural "Flu Shot"

I had been hearing from all sides how important it is to eat fermented foods. It's the Lord's way of ganging up on me and getting me to pay attention... so I finally did.

At the same time I had been reading about it, my sister-in-law invited me to a class about fermenting taught by Joanne Seale. She was incredible, teaching us the basics behind the fermentation process, as well as tips and tricks that work for her. She taught us about kombucha, fermented vegetables, and kefir.

Kefir is fermented milk, the result of soaking kefir grains in milk for 12-18 hours. The kefir grains are made up of beneficial bacteria that culture or ferment the milk. It is incredibly nutritious. Here are a few quotes from people who know what they're talking about:

"Kefir is a cultured and microbial-rich food that helps restore the inner ecology. It contains strains  of beneficial yeast and bacteria (in a symbiotic relationship) that give kefir antibiotic properties." (Sally Fallon, "Nourishing Tradtitions")
 
"Some evidence shows that fermented milk products prevent bone loss and cardiovascular diseases... Cultured dairy products are a host for beneficial organisms that populate and protect the human gastrointestinal tract. Some strains of healthy bacteria actually support the other strains and they are your insurance against a takeover by harmful bacteria resulting in infectious diseases... Keeping the gastrointestinal tract colonized with healthy bacteria from daily kefir dramatically boosts your body's ability to fight bad bacteria.

"'Antibiotic' literally means 'against life' and 'probiotic' means 'for life'! Taking an antibiotic kills all the good bacteria as well as the bad, leaving your body wide open to the next infection that comes along. So if you or your child takes a course of antibiotics, you can replenish the good mircroorganisms killed in your gut by the antibiotics with about 30 days of eating live, fermented probiotic foods." (Robyn Openshaw, "12 Steps to Whole Foods Manual")

"The balance between bacteria is delicate, and the reason we care is because so many illnesses are affected when good bacteria are weakened. We call the condition Dysbiosis, and it plays a major role every time the immune system is engaged. Research has linked Dysbiosis to the following health conditions:

• Candida
• Food allergies
• Leaky-Gut Syndrome
• ADD/ADHD
• Autism
• Arthritis
• IBS/Ulcerative Colitis/Crohn’s Disease
• Autoimmune diseases
• Osteoporosis
• Hormone imbalances
• Cancer 

Basically when gut flora is out of balance, the entire immune system is compromised... When illness strikes or chronic illness symptoms flare, fortifying the good bacteria in the immune system may make all the difference. Plus when you succeed at restoring your good bacteria, you may be amazed at how seldom you get sick. Depending on the severity of your Dysbiosis, it may take 6 months to 2 years to fully rebuild your immune system – but boy are the results worth it!" (Lisa Best, Healing with Holistic Nutrition)

When I finally decided it was time to try it, I bought my kefir grains from Joanne (fermentinginutah.blogspot.com/). They proliferate and she divides and saves then in frozen half-pint mason jars. Once you thaw them they are ready to use.

Place the kefir grains in a quart mason jar. 

Add your milk. I use raw milk because it is unprocessed and unheated. It comes from cows that are grass fed and are not treated with hormones. You can buy it at Real Foods Market in Orem.

Joanne also sold me this "dairy strainer" which is actually a silk screen poly cloth. It works well to cover the jar of kefir over night to keep the fruit flies or any other curious organisms out while the milk ferments.

In the morning I get out another mason jar and this little strainer, which is actually a piece of my orange juicer. I strain off the kefir grains and put them back in a little bit of milk in the fridge until I'm ready to make the next batch (they need new milk every few days).  Then I use the fresh kefir in my smoothies (keeping the remainder refrigerated) and it makes them so creamy and delicious! Here's hoping it keeps us healthier during the upcoming sick season!

Favorite Smoothie Recipe

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups kefir
2 large handfuls of spinach
2 large leaves of kale or chard
1 cup mixed organic berries
1 ripe banana
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1 packet Stevia

Blend until super smooth. Makes about 6 cups.

Using My Produce

My tomatoes were slow to ripen this year because I started them a little later than usual, from seed. Last week I finally had enough to make some fresh salsa and it was delish!

Our rainbow carrots are ready for the eating. There aren't very many red ones and the kids fight over the. They sure are pretty.

 

The swiss chard that I planted at the end of July is prolific. I harvested the largest leaves and froze most of it for smoothies. I put one large leaf in my daily smoothie and I love it because the taste is so mild you don't even know it's there. 

It's easy at this time of year to get tired of harvesting the garden. It's just so overwhelming and time consuming! One trick I've taught myself it to set days (mine are Wednesday and Saturday) to go out and pick as much as I can. Once it's washed and packed, it's so much easier to use what I have easily available throughout the week.

Dahlias

One of the annuals I chose this year was a 6 pack of dahlias. I have the best memories of dahlias every summer at the Noni gardens.... my favorites were called dinnerplate dahlias and they were truly about 12" across!

Mine were tiny at first I didn't know what colors they would be, but I thought it was worth a try. I tucked them in empty spots, and at first they were just green filler. In fact, they were green mounds for most of the summer. But my patience was rewarded when September came around and they burst forth into bloom!

 

 This plant is baffling and amazing... it is covered with red blooms except one that is lilac!

I will definitely be planting dahlias again. They are gorgeous!

Reaping a Gardener's Rewards

August is the best time in the garden. Everything is at it's peak and we eat from the garden everyday!

We've been enjoying our corn immensely. Ella is our resident corn shuck-er. We only have enough to eat fresh this year, not enough to freeze (which I will miss!) because of my uneven watering.

Everyone but Daddy loves beets.

One of our favorite meals is just cooking tons of garden veggies, and maybe some rice. The only additions I made to this meal were butter, salt, and pepper!

We are finally starting to harvest some tomatoes. That's what I get for planting so late, and I knew that but I'm still impatient! The carrots are about ready too.

We have had so much broccoli! I harvest it once or twice a week by the bowl full. It's definitely something I am doing again next year. 

I missed a week of harvesting when we were really busy (camping, cousins in town, end of summer bbqs, etc.) and when I finally got back out there I was overwhelmed! In one day we picked a watermelon, and cantaloupe, a bunch of beets, two bowls of beans, tons of green and aneheim peppers, a large bag of broccoli, two bags of kale (this is endless), loads of zucchini, and three butternut squash. I froze some kale and gave some peppers and zucchini away, but most of it we ate fresh!

Last Sunday I made a classic meal that is 100x better from sratch... burgers and fries! We don't buy grass-fed beef very often, so it's a real treat. We added tomatoes from the garden and baked fries from our own potatoes! It was delish.

Progress

This is the time of year when you reap the rewards of hard work in the garden!

We used our first two bell peppers for fajitas last week.
 

The strawberries are taking off! We find lots of big juicy ones every day now.

Spiderman and Ella helped me plant some greens for fall harvest--spinach, lettuce mix, and swiss chard.

We ate our first garden carrot--there is nothing like a garden carrot. Well maybe a garden tomato.

We started harvesting our red potatoes. The kids think it is so cool to dig down and find them, and pop them out. They're like hidden treasure! I am sold on making room for them every year... they are so easy!

One of my favorite garden meals is fresh green beans and potatoes, boiled till tender, and mixed with white sauce and seasonings.

The corn is doing fine... just fine. Half of it was under watered so I pulled it up. It's so frustrating when things don't go as well as they did previous years. 

We picked all of our apples this week. They are a little tart, so I was waiting to see if they would ripen, and then all of a sudden they were dropping and getting soft, so I picked the rest. It's amazing that our tiny tree could make so many huge apples!

Speaking of fruit trees, we just acquired a cherry tree (Utah Giant) from a neighbor who was taking it out. It didn't much like getting transplanted, so we'll have to watch and see if it perks up. And we may need to buy a pollinator for it, but I figure it's worth a try to plant a free tree!

The pumpkins are struggling. The giant ones both died from squash bugs. This one is hanging on and developing a few fruits, but I am losing the war. I have killed thousands of squash bugs, not even kidding. Time for a new plan of attack.

So far the butternut squash hasn't been infested as much. They show signs of stress, and yet they are still growing huge vines and developing lots of fruit.

The first sunflower bloomed this morning! The kids have been watching anxiously and were so excited to spot it after swimming lessons. They are such happy flowers. 

Lastly, the tomatoes are taking off. The cherry tomato is sprawling and taking over the world, and the climbers are really progressing. I still don't have any red ones, but soon!