Welcome to the Acre, where I share my gardening & foraging adventures, trying to use every bit of what I grow & forage to make, cook or preserve.
All tagged gardening
Every year I try to bring in new varieties of fruits and vegetables inspired by something we enjoyed from our local farmer’s market or from our travels. Many of the new vegetables I have chosen this season are from our vacations. I love how these vegetables where discovered through an experience or memory, and cannot wait to see how they grow in my own garden.
This year I grew my very first batch of winter squash. I loved watching the vines creep and grow, winding there way up the lattice at the back of my garden bed, and even climbing up the deck stairs! The squash started out so small, swelling throughout the season and transforming into beautifully orange, perfectly tiny honeynut squash.
One of the greatest parts of summer at Zeus is cocktails on the rooftop garden. The deck overlooks uptown Minneapolis, with the busy street below and the occasional smell of something amazing cooking at one of the restaurants. Both ends of the deck have two mini garden beds, making the space like a little summer oasis.
So, as I carefully thinned my beets, I munched on one, mulling over the flavor. After much thought, I landed on this galette - a flaky buttery crust, topped with creamy whipped goat cheese and a mound of lemon-y beet thinnings. The flavors come together to perfectly enhance and compliment the delicate greens.
It is Mother’s Day weekend, which means it is officially garden planting weekend! You would feel the excitement this week at our local urban farm supply store, as people loaded up with plants, purchased their spring chicks and hauled giant bags of dirt. As you all are out planting, wanted to do a quick post on some planting tricks I have found super helpful in my garden!
It's planting weekend! As many of you head out to the garden beds this Mother's Day, one thing to consider is the soil you are planting your precious veggie babies into. Plants need a mix of different factors to thrive. To set myself up for success, I take a couple things into consideration as a prepare my garden beds for planting: the soil pH, adding compost and top soil, and fertilizing with a balanced fertilizer. I will break down the importance of each, and how I go about adding these to my beds.
Since I was a little girl, the idea of growing throughout the summer and stashing away for the winter sounded so perfect. Having the rafters full of drying spices, baskets filled with potatoes and squash in the cellar, and only venturing outside to grab winter carrots from the garden - how wonderful!
My favorite part about starting seeds is getting to grow plants months before the snow stops falling. I love watching the tiny plants pop their heads out of the soil, preparing for spring before there is even a robin in sight.
