Gardening, Jelly. Cooking.

I just found something out.....the longer you don't blog, the harder it is to begin again!

I have had picture difficulties....Picasa is full, can't figure how to use Photobucket. Made some changes on my home page and now everything shows up telling me my Plugins have been disabled for that feature. I tried enabling everything on the list that came up...but still get the message. I am sure it is something of that nature that doesn't allow me to copy and paste the image link on Photobucket to the blog. I can't listen on online radio anymore....I love listening to Jango while I work. Anyway things have not gone smoothly and it is very frustrating.

I am hope our son is coming down over the Fourth....I have work for him to do with this computer. I know it is the chronic updates and my meddling but I need help!

I have spent the last week or so, working diligently each morning trying to catch up outside. I finally have all plants in except the herbs and that is because I can't decide where I want them. I think right outside the back porch door is a good location because of being so handy to snip for cooking.

What did I get done?

1. I finally mulched around 18 bales of old hay mostly in the Kitchen Garden
2. I planted the rest of the plants (except for the herbs)
3. I fenced around the back porch corner bed to keep digger dog out!!!
4. I went to the local greenhouse to take advantage of the $6 discount I had coming.
5. I planted some flower seeds which are up and growing.
6. I mowed down an area of blackberry vines, potatoes and weeds behind the garden.

Japanese Beetles have arrived once again. We are not using traps this year; supposedly they attract more beetles. I have already found them on:

roses, blackberries, cherry tree, hibiscus moscheutos, the sassafras tree. I am sure there are other plants I haven't spotted yet. I am picking them off and dropping them in a coffee can of water.

I did spray with Bayer 3in1 hose end product yesterday morning. I never have much confidence in that kind of spray but we will see. I hate those evil bugs. I am sure I will lose the blackberries to them again this year. Here they are munching happily on my new sweet cherry tree.



The mulched garden.
Not completely finished but the most important things are done.

This view is taken from the west end. Just to the left of this picture was an area of volunteer potatoes that tightwad me left growing.....couldn't plow so weeds grew right along with them....then the underground runners from the blackberries took over! I got so tired of dodging them that when I finished mulching, I set the mower on highest cut and mowed it all to the ground! Now I will have to get in there and do some hand cutting of the blackberry vines.




This is my 15 foot planting of Cherokee Trail of Tears Pole Beans.


This side of them are three hills of melons. I have just mulched the hills but will soon mulch the entire area before they start vining.

This is my hoop frame from three cattle panels that has Kwintus pole beans. The taller ones already blooming are volunteers from last year....don't look to be Kwintus.


When I was back of the garden in my mowing frenzy I spotted some ripe black raspberries. As soon as I finished I got a small bucket (old ice cream pail) and picked 5 cups, a first! I did see 1 or 2 J. Beetles back there. I made a batch of jam. This time I used Certo....liquid! I will never use that product again. I followed directions to the letter and the jam didn't set to suit me. It is way too soft, delicious but too soft!

I used my Maslin pan (still loving it).





Cooking

Late yesterday afternoon, hot or not, I decided to bake a chocolate cake. There was an ulterior motive here....not just for us. Our daughter and family are stopping by this weekend on their way to Florida for a week's vacation and GD requested a coconut cream pie (I will make this tomorrow) but our daughter does not like coconut.....so she will get chocolate cake instead.

This is a recipe I have posted before....I think so I won't do it again. I love it because all ingredients go into the bowl and then you mix....no creaming, etc.