Vonnahme family blog

The other day, eating pad thai and halibut curry with garden peas and cauliflower, this idea:

1. Grow a row of Thai Basil (Mammoth basil may be close enough)
2. Make it into pesto, using palm or sesame oil
3. Freeze it in ice cube trays and bag it
4. Add cubes to yummy Thai dishes all winter!

No animal, according to the rules of animal etiquette, is ever expected to do anything strenuous, or heroic, or even moderately active during the off-season of winter. All are sleepy—some actually asleep. All are weather-bound, more or less; and all are resting from arduous days and nights, during which every muscle in them has been severely tested, and every energy kept at full stretch.

“Very well then!” continued the Badger. “But, when once the year has really turned, and the nights are shorter, and half-way through them one rouses and feels fidgety and wanting to be up and doing by sunrise, if not before—you know!——”

Both animals nodded gravely. They knew!

“Well, then,” went on the Badger, “we—that is, you and me and our friend the Mole here—we’ll take Toad seriously in hand. We’ll stand no nonsense whatever. We’ll bring him back to reason, by force if need be. We’ll make him be a sensible Toad. We’ll—you’re asleep, Rat!”

“Not me!” said th Rat, waking up with a jerk.

“He’s been asleep two or three times since supper,” said the Mole, laughing.

—The Wind in the Willows, ch. 4

THE FAIRBANKS CLIMATE NORMALS FOR TOMORROW
                         NORMAL    RECORD    YEAR
 MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE (F)    2        41      1985
 MINIMUM TEMPERATURE (F)  -16       -49      1961                    

SUNRISE AND SUNSET
DECEMBER 20 2006..........SUNRISE  1059 AM AST   SUNSET   241 PM AST
DECEMBER 21 2006..........SUNRISE  1059 AM AST   SUNSET   241 PM AST

&&
----------------------------
AVAILABLE DAYLIGHT

AMOUNT OF DAYLIGHT TODAY  (HOUR:MIN)........3:42
LOSS SINCE YESTERDAY........................1 MINUTE
----------------------------

Source: Noaa.gov

I’ve been meaning to get to this for months now. Maybe if I finally get it out, I’ll start blogging a bit more about more interesting family stuff?

Notable events of 2006 garden:

• Help from Dad and Beth. Yeah! The only downside was my dad saying “I weeded this part for you too”… and my response, “uh…. those were the carrots?”
• The frost in early June
• A very rainy and cool August — not much growth then. Nobody got much zucchini or such things.
• The late frost in September. We didn’t get a killing frost until after Sept. 15. I should have done more harvesting early in September though, because nothing was growing very much.
• Another bumper crop of peas.
• A much better potato crop than last year’s, which was wimpy.
• Much bigger basil plants due to transparent plastic row covers.

Observations along the way:

• fertilizer vs. water — previously I thought that food helped the plants grow better, but in some cases I’ve overfed them nitrogen. I am now thinking that plenty of water is much more important than fertilizer, and heat is very important for some crops too.
• I used clear plastic to cover the dirt under the row covers because I didn’t want to make an extra trip, but way too many weeds grew under it.
• The margins of the garden are marginal. Crops inside always grow better.
• Pole beans didn’t make it to fruit this year. Maybe if it hadn’t been so cool in August it would have? Vic said he does bush beans because pole beans often lose the race to beat the frost.
• Hilling potatos with the rototiller rocks.
• Soaker hose irrigation with plastic over the dirt saves so much water and work, it’s totally worth it, even though it’s less aesthetically pleasing than nice brown dirt (with weeds?)

Next year:

• I think we can keep up with a Calypso Farm share and our garden without wasting.
• Take time off to garden, especially in June when planting and building row covers and pea trellises take time.
• start more stuff from seeds. Several rosemary, thyme plants to freeze.
• Use IRC or black plastic mulch and soaker hose irrigation on at least a quarter of the garden. Put hoses around the margins!
• Put the leeks in mulched part - they grew so much better in Dad’s garden last year.
• Transplant most flowers into 4″ pots in May so they can get bigger before going in the ground.
• Plant the tater rows 4″ closer. Rototiller tread marks make good guides, but there doesn’t need to be more than a few inches between the treads.
• Elevate the pea mesh for ease of weeding. Don’t weed the peas with a hoe but go carefully by hand.
• Don’t murder the carrots with the hoe.

Here’s to another garden well grown!

There were two frost warnings this weekend, so I covered up most things in the garden with plastic. Funny thing this morning is that the tomato plant I didn’t cover looks fine, but most of the tomatoes and squash vines I did cover look pretty bad, like they got frostbit.

Yesterday there seemed to be about a 50% casualty rate on the nasturtiums. I didn’t look this morning. I shouldn’t have gotten so excited and planted them on Friday when I knew there was a possibility of frost. Lettuce, brassicas and most perennials seemed OK with the cold - they usually withstand some frost in the fall anyway. I’m really glad I didn’t plant my two flats of basil yet; one baby basil plant on the deck got completely shriveled.

Other notes from planting season this year:

• It sure was nice to have help from Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Beth! Wow.
• I’m going to start my own squash, brassicas and tomatoes — they’re easier than I thought. Vic will split some seeds with me.
• start spares of squash, tomato, etc.
• don’t be in a rush to plant cold-vulnerable things in the garden on Memorial Day!
• I think soaker hoses for pretty much the whole garden will be worth it. Next year…