Spring Onions and New Onion Beds

What exactly are spring onions? Well...you don't plant them in the spring. You plant them in the fall and eat them in the spring. I just learned this last summer and decided to try it. I planted them in small cells. Several seeds to a cell. When they had good roots, I transplanted them to the garden on a nice fall day, where they grew slowly all winter. At the first signs of spring, they started growing much faster and soon became nice clumps of green spring onions. We have been enjoying them for a couple of months, only bringing in the amount we would soon use. Now I will harvest the rest and maybe slice them and freeze them. I don't want to lose a single onion, they are so good. I will plant Spring Onions from now on. 

Yesterday I planted my big keeper onions. I am trying Patterson this year. They are supposed to be a lot like Copra, which I have loved. Now Copra seems to be scarce or gone. You can barely see the little green shoots. Later I will show you how much they have grown.

I plant keeper onions individually because I want them to get large. There are a few Walla Wallas in these rows too. Walla Wallas are wonderful, but they are not keepers. Patterson onions are supposed to keep well into March. We will see.

 You can see that we are using a good weed barrier now. We have so much bindweed to cope with.

Bye for now from me and one of my Swedish Flower hens. This one is named Dahlia. The other is Zinnia. Truth be known...I can barely tell them apart. 

My New Cattle Panel Tunnel Greenhouse

I Named It 'The Salad House'

When our son came to visit in Feb. 2021, he and his father built me a wonderful place to garden. Here are some photos of its beginnings. 

Now, in April, we are eating delightful, delicious salads from The Salad House. I plant in sturdy plastic tubs that sit on concrete blocks two high with boards running across to support the containers. We filled with our own mixture of soil and planted lettuce, radishes, green onions, bok choy, kohlrabi, dwarf peas and strawberries, Now I am adding cucumbers, Minnesota Midget melons, two large tubs of sweet potatoes, egg plant and peppers. 

I am planning to add more photos as I go along. Everything in this special place will be an experiment for me. I will try to show the failures as well as the wins. 

RAIN, Rain And More Rain

Steady, non-stop, wet, cold rain. We have lakefront property again for the second time this year. The rivers are flooding and I just learned of two highway closures nearby. Oh, Joy! It must be April. 

Here is an early blooming shrub. Japanese Pieris or Lily-Of-The-Valley bush. I think this one may be Pieris Katsura. 

All of the Pieris shrubs grow and flower well here on the Oregon Coast. 

I have not been able to take photos of my new chickens for two reasons. One, we have been very sick for the past two weeks with that horrible coughing flu. Now that we are better, it is raining with very few breaks. Flooding, as I mentioned above.

But, I want to share with you my Harvey. He has been invited to Easter dinner and is hanging around the dining room as we speak. 

 

I have been quilting lots lately. I never seem to get enough quilting time. I just have to take it and be selfish sometimes. Here is a quilt that is very addictive once you start it. It is a huge scrap buster, too. I follow Mary's Chicken Scratch blog and she gave us the instructions for this Bulls Eye quilt that was first introduced in her and Connie's book called Aunt Marthas Quilts.

Now I am working on my challenge quilt for the quilt show in July. I need to get going so I can it off the cutting table. I need that space.

I will leave you with a table runner quilt with appliqued baskets that looks just right for Easter. It is for sale in my Etsy shop here.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/668047488/quilted-table-runner-5-appliqued-baskets?ref=shop_home_active_3&pro=1&frs=1

APRIL FOOLS DAY

I am a terrible blogger. I just can't seem to write often enough to make a continuous story. Looking back I see I left you hanging again! So I will catch you up on a few things and add some new content as well.

My Tom Thumb lettuce has now been planted in our patio tub along with a stray tulip I forgot was in there. At least the deer can't get at them because of my husband's innovative invention.  He made this wood and netting cover to stand over the tub. The top has a wood bar at either end that can be rolled back to access the crops or it can just be completely lifted off. It isn't very heavy. 

I planted the spring peas a couple of weeks ago....remember the ones I planted in little pots in my cool greenhouse? Well, here they are in the ground and growing. They will grow up another garden invention. Folding (for storage) pea racks. 

Radishes next to rows of growing garlic.

I was not happy with the germination of my onions. The ones that did come up are doing well, but there should have been way more.

Hope you are planning your spring and summer garden by now. I love starting things in the greenhouse and then planting them out. I buy early tomatoes that are in the market places now. Then I bring them home and grow them several more weeks also in my greenhouse. Need to do that right away. 

Next time I will show you my new young hens. 

Changeable Weather and Selecting Seeds

Two mornings ago we woke up to this:

By 11 AM the same scene looked like this:

They say around here that if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes.

This time of year I start thinking about the garden we will grow in the upcoming season.  I start browsing through seed catalogs and seed racks. I have already purchased seeds this year because I just have to. I can't resist them, even though I already have lots. I have saved seeds for years in a big Tupperware bread box. Then the box goes into our garage refrigerator to keep them cold and dark. 

I have already planted these seeds in my unheated greenhouse. The onion is called Cortland and is supposed to be a very long keeper. I have not grown this one before. The onion down below is a Cipriani type called Berretta.  I have grown it and I love it. Such a good flavor! That's Tom Thumb lettuce and I have seeded it. All are in small divided plastic containers using a seedling mix. Then, I saved seeds of Little Marvel Peas and planted those as well. Now I have the beginnings of an early spring garden.

I discovered something this winter. Marjorum seems to like winter better than summer. In summer it continually puts up little blossom heads that make it hard to harvest. In winter the leaves are large and bushy with no flower heads. Parsley, of course, always likes our winters. The garlic I planted last Oct. is coming along nicely.

I have read that fresh vegetables are going to be very pricey now. So, I plan to double my efforts to grow a good garden this year. I have had nice gardens in the past but I am guilty of slowing down the watering program in mid-summer because I tire of the chore. So, with the purchase of some new garden mats and a new drip tape system, it should be even better this year. 

This is how it looked the day we had snow.

Sad

See you next time.

GROUNDHOGS DAY AND AN EARLY SPRING

It was just announced!! We will have an early spring this year. I am so excited!! 

That means we will soon see tulips, daffodils, narcissus, iris, crocus, anemones......all sorts of beautiful spring flowers in fine array.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are already seeing tiny snouts pushing up from the soil. 

Look closely. You can see where a deer walked through the bed. Hmmm. At least they don't eat daffodils.

Do you love Lenton Roses.  These are from the north side of my house. I love them.

These porcelain mugs would make a fine gift, don't you agree? 

 THANK YOU, MR. GROUNDHOG, for not seeing your shadow today. 

 

 

BE MY VALENTINE--SHOP EARLY!

💘💘💘

On February 14th you will need to give your Valentines to your special person or persons. Best to be thinking of them now so you won't be caught whining that you didn't have enough time or be found perusing through picked over merchandise at the last minute. Not fun at all.

Etsy shops are filling up with wonderful valentine gift ideas. Mine included, although I must admit I do not have cards or candy. Only great vintage gifts or perhaps a handmade quilted item made by me.

 www.AlderHillFarm.com

Did you notice this darling old reverse glass painting?  Old fashioned young love is so special and this cutie would make a great Valentines gift.

Here is an idea. Remember this guy? He was the all American heartthrob in the 1950's and early 60's.

This special vintage magazine tells his story from birth to his shocking death, complete with many photos for a fan to drool over. 

Or, you could make some Valentine cookies for the whole family with these vintage Hallmark cookie cutters.

And, lastly, here is a gorgeous upscale vintage compact that says it all. This compact can be purchased from Whirley Shirley on Etsy. The link to this compact is below the photo.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/656278887/vintage-sweetheart-compact-elgin?ga_search_query=heart&ref=shop_items_search_13&frs=1

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

SHOP EARLY

DESTASHING! It's Hard To Do

Fabrics and Notions

I am working on destashing my sewing room and its really, really hard for me to do. For years I have collected fabrics and notions I have loved, thinking someday I will use them. Someday I will use this piece or that one in a quilt. Or maybe I will make myself a jacket or top...etc, Yata Yata Yata, Do I? Not really. Once I would have but now it just seems like too much. 

The hard part is actually putting them out there. I find myself putting them in a 'To Go' stack and then taking them out again, thinking....I might want that or need that. Oh, it's so hard to thin out. 

I am excited, though. I have been doing well on Etsy with the fabrics and lace I have managed to part with. Women must like my choices from long ago. Plus my choices from estate sales. Fabric is something I have always loved, so it's easy to talk about. 

I love this 60ish lime green and navy print. It would make the cutest blouse or top. Maybe a full skirt. See what you think! So Mod!!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/624226713/flower-power-vintage-60s-fabric-free?ref=shop_home_active_6

Here is a cutie from the 70's. A little girls outfit comes to mind. So bright pink and whimsical.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/594232650/hot-pink-tropical-desert-fabric-vintage?ref=shop_home_active_20

And then there is my Old Rose drapery fabric that is actually made up valances AND yardage in the same print. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/265478221/valences-for-two-windows-plus-275-yards?ref=shop_home_active_13

I have a nice selection of vintage laces and trim and plan to add more soon. Here is the link to my Fabric and Notions section

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlderHillFarm?ref=l2-shopheader-name&section_id=17874028

Thanks for tuning in. I have So neglected my blog. I hope to get back in the habit of blogging. It takes lots of singlemindedness, which I don't seem to have much of lately. But, I will try.

Turkey Strut In The Front Yard

We looked out our front window the other day and saw this spring display.

Wild turkeys roam our neighborhood and our pastures below the house. We have a large front yard and sometimes they congregate there and just mosey around. No cows bother them here.

Today though, they are in full turkey strut. I took these photos through the front window because going outside would have probably scared them off. 

According to NWTF, the strut of a wild turkey consists of five activities.

1. They drop their wings and allow them to touch the ground.

2. They fan their tails.

3. Their heads turn blue, or sometimes red and the crown is usually pure white.

4. They poof out their breast feathers to make themselves look larger.

5. They will position their necks into an S shape.

One more thing...during a strut they usually take a few steps and shake, then utter a spitting sound and/or a deep drumming sound.

Next time they strut in my yard I will sneak outside to try to hear that, because I didn't from inside the house. I did see them shake though.

Strutting, is, of course, a courtship display. It usually occurs in an open field with plenty of sunlight, where they can fan out and show off their fine feathers to the hens. I don't know if males fight each other, but I did see them getting up in each others faces a time or two. 

So interesting I had to share it with you. Here is the link to read more about the Turkey Strut. NWTFhttp://www.nwtf.org/hunt/article/why-the-strut

2018 Early Spring In the Pacific Northwest

Simply Gorgeous Weather

Sometimes in February here in the Pacific Northwest, we have lovely spring weather that makes us feel so glad and happy that spring is here Temperatures run in the high 50's and even mid to low 60's. It can be absolutely hot on our south facing porch. We eat our lunch there and then we do gardening chores like pruning roses and blueberries. We boast to each other that we live in Gods Country. Aren't we so very lucky ?!?  Aren't we so favored?!?  We won't even Think about March, however. We just won't even go there....because we very well know about the term.....False Spring. But we will enjoy it while we can. Sigh....

Because, right now, the birds are singing and playing in the yard. Big ones and little ones.

I saw an early bee. A lovely little honey bee sipping nectar from my Andromeda bush that is just now beginning to bloom.

An early daffodil and many more to come.

I love hellebore, sometimes called Lenten Rose.  I grew this plant from seed many years ago. It never fails to give us a nice show. The blooms start out like this one, a drooping bell and then they open wide and go to a lovely shade of mauve when older. Hellebore's usually have long lives and start their blooms in early spring. The blooms last a long time and seem to go on forever.  You just can't ask for more from a plant. 

I must not forget to add these adorable, sweet smelling violets that grow wild in my yard. I can always count on them in Feb. no matter the weather. They are not only adorable and sweet smelling, these little harbingers of spring are also edible and medicinal. They can make a very effective cough syrup. They make darling little bouquets in tiny vases for my kitchen window sill. Or, decorate a cake top with pretty purple blooms.

And, now...here is a shot of the geraniums in my cool maritime greenhouse, accompanied by frogs. See the pair peeking out of the green planter?

Happy Valentines Day.