::
we got the garlic in the other day, finally. we planted it in the bed that used to have strawberries.... a bed that, it turns out, the voles
love. Ollie cat is hopefully helping out a bit in that department, and it's possible that garlic is a vole deterrent. but still. as I pushed those babies into the soil for their winter sleep, there were several times my hand slipped into a suspiciously deep hole and I wondered if I was just sending them to their doom. we did grow a whopping (for a backyard garden, anyway) 9 pounds of garlic this year. more than enough to use for seed and have plenty to see us through the year. fingers crossed the ones now in the bed do not become vole snacks, because I'd love to keep the garlic train rolling.
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I'm still working my way through the flower bulb order I recently received. every spring I smile as the daffodils bloom and the irises rocket towards the sky and I think "tulips. this will be the year I plant tulips." and then I forget. not this year, nope. I ordered lots of tulips, and a few alliums and crocuses, from
EcoTulips. they were a pleasure to deal with and I'll definitely order from them again. Claire and I planted a few dozen the other day before my palm started to protest, and I'm hoping to get the rest in the ground tomorrow morning when my mom comes for a visit. it has already been decided that the visit will also have to leave room for cutting paper snowflakes and listening to carols though, so we'll see.
::
I made a proper batch of turmeric tea a couple days ago. or turmeric milk, I suppose. by proper all I really mean is that it was loaded with fresh turmeric and that it was delicious. there was no recipe involved. to 1.5 cups of milk I added a finger-sized piece each of fresh ginger and turmeric (grated), the seeds of 5 or 6 cardamom pods, a few cloves, a large pinch of cinnamon bark chips, and a pinch of nutmeg. I simmered that for a bit, strained, sweetened a touch with honey, and very much enjoyed. yum, yum.
I am going to have to try the Tumeric Milk!
ReplyDeleteit is DELICIOUS. reminds me of tasty Indian desserts with the cardamom and honey.... mmm mmmm.
DeleteI love planting garlic. Though I am worried for you little cloves. That tea sounds really yummy!
ReplyDeletewe love it, too! we had a great harvest this year and I'm so hoping that those cloves are safe in there. we'll see! (I'll get a few more in the ground as backup in another spot as well)
Deleteit is delicious!
Ack! The voles and the tulips don't mix! The garlic will be safe for sure. You could interplant tulips with garlic and they would be safe. Otherwise, you should stick to planting your tulips somewhere they can't get to underground, like between a sidewalk and your foundation. Keep us all posted!
ReplyDeleteI'm crossing my fingers on the garlic! those little buggers ate several tomato and pepper plants from the ground up this year and gobbled our sweet potatoes, but I'm hoping they find the garlic less palatable. the tulips and other flower bulbs I made sure to keep on the opposite side of the yard where we haven't seemed to have a vole problem. I think having Ollie is definitely going to help- Ziggy sure seemed to keep them in check, so hopefully the population hasn't grown so out of control that our new feline friend can't make a big impact. I guess we'll see. thanks for the tip about planting them between the sidewalks and foundation- we've still got some more tulips to get in and I've been wondering where to put them and now I know!
DeleteYou have voles too, eh? Not fun. They have never bothered my garlic, but did eat everything in my tunnels just before Christmas last year. So far this year everything is still growing well in the tunnels and the voles have left them alone. I have been using fox urine around the perimeter of the tunnels to hopefully keep them out. Fingers crossed it keeps working :)
ReplyDeleteI hope they leave all your bulbs alone, I can't wait to see all those beautiful flowers next spring through your photos :)
Enjoy your weekend.
oh my goodness, do we ever! not until our cat Ziggy died this spring did we really realize how bad they were- but we lost several grown plants early this year, eaten from the roots up by the pesky little guys. argh! fox urine, huh? I've seen that in the garden shop. I'm hoping Ollie urine will help, to. And it's possible that for a stretch of weeks early this summer I was regularly sending Mike outside to pee around the beds. possible ;)
DeleteI'm really excited for the flowers, and very much hoping they do well!
oh, that first image. her hands, so eager & ready to go. his, patient and so very papa-like.
ReplyDeletethere's a whole story in this one photo.
xo
oh yes.
Deleteyou know those postures well, don't you?
xo
I cannot wait for spring for you to show us your hard work :)
ReplyDeletefingers crossed!
Deletethis all sounds so fabulous! i will have to give that ecotulips a try. we plant a few tulips here and a few tulips there, but i would love to have lots and lots of tulips :) maybe next year will be my year.
ReplyDeleteand turmeric tea sounds incredible... yum!
always inspired by what's going on in your world :) thanks for sharing!
I found them such a pleasure to order from. I received the order so fast and they threw in some free bulbs. and they carry all sorts of bulbs, too- not just tulips.
Deletethe tea is GREAT. I need to go get more fresh turmeric soon.
thank you friend!