Projects
Keyhole Garden Planted with Winter Vegetables
Getting ready for fresh vegetables all winter A couple of weeks ago I cleared my keyhole garden of the spent summer crops, topped off the bed with fresh compost and let it sit for a few days to rest and settle in. Yesterday I pulled the seedlings from the greenhouse and transplanted them in garden. Here's a list of what we're growing this winter: Keyhole garden re-planted for winter of 2019/2020 Clockwise from the lower left: Large Leaf Basil Romaine Lettuce - Green Forest Chinese Cabbage - Optiko Broccoli - Imperial Dill - Fernleaf/Mammoth cross (behind compost [keep reading...]
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 5
Added another 4 ounces of fresh peppers and 1 tsp of pickling salt. Peppers are really starting to ferment and become mushy now. Jar is almost full too. Soon it will be time to add the oak and let it reset over the winter.
How to Build a Keyhole Garden
I built an exceptionally productive keyhole garden using cedar fence boards and pipe strapping. Total build cost was around $200 and the results were amazing. Here's complete instructions on how to do it.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 4
Added 8 more ounces of hot peppers and 1/2 TSP of salt. No additional water. Will probably have just one more addition because the weather cold nights are knocking off the pepper plants.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 3
Forgot to take photos of last week's addition. 6 ounces plus 1 cup water, 1/2tsp salt. Woops. Also, too much water let the peppers float on top and get a white mold. Woops again. Pay attention. Scraped off the fuzzy white mold and added 6 more ounces of fresh peppers. The peppers from week 1 are now dissolving in the mix. Added 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp salt. Used a weight and plastic lid to keep the peppers submerged in the brine.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 2
Added 3 ounces Black Mamba peppers and 2 cloves of fresh garlic. 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 tsp salt added as well.
Four Easy Ways to Save Seeds
Saving your own seeds is a great way to save money and keep the plants you like. Here are the easiest ways to save a variety of vegetable and flower seeds.
Hot Sauce Batch 19 – entry 1
Added the first 8 ounces of whole peppers (Hidden Lake Hot - Thai/Cayenne cross) to the jar. Added 1 up water, 1/2tsp pickling salt.