Powdery mildew

My gardens have been growing great. The pumpkins were flourishing, the zucchini and squash were getting huge, my peppers were producing like crazy! Everything was great until powdery mildew came into the picture. At first I did not realize what it was. It just looked like some powder. Then it started to turn my pumpkin black and make it wilt. Here is a picture:

By the time I found out what it was, I tried to stop it. I sprinkled baking soda all over every infected plant (by this time it was the pumpkins, zucchini, squash and watermelon). Alas, half the crops I planted in February are wiped out. This has been a sad gardening year for me :(  Here are some lessons I learned:

1. Don't plant all of one family of crop, otherwise one disease or insect will damage them all.
2. Circulation is key in Florida. My garden is bordered by fence on two sides, so the air is pretty stagnant. This created an environment powdery mildew loved.
3. Prevention is key to avoiding gardening blunders.
4. When I see something out of the ordinary for a plant, I need to actively look up what it is, instead of waiting until it is too late.

My pumpkin is completely gone. My watermelon is small, and might make it. My squash and zucchini has nice sized veggies on them, so some may survive.

In the meantime, my tomatoes are all sprouting. They are green and not ready to harvest yet, but soon. My green beans are growing like crazy! They have outgrown the 6 foot tall bamboo support trellis I made for them. And my peppers are still producing.

I am sad that half my crops are gone already. It's almost May, and not a good time to just start planting things. Oh well, I will tend to what I have and plan for October!

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day friends! In honor of the day set aside to celebrate all things beautiful and natural, I dug up some great quotes about nature. Enjoy!

"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children. "
-- John James Audubon

"Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries."
-- Jimmy Carter

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. "
-- Kahlil Gibran

"Nature's music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions."
-- Mary Webb

"I believe in god, but I spell it NATURE"
-- Henry David Thoreau 

Homemade baby food

Our little baby girl is almost 5 months old, and really starting to take an interest in us as we eat. At her last check up, her doctor gave us the green light to slowly start introducing solids. Being the green momma that I am (cloth diapered, breast fed as long as I could) of course I want to make my own baby food! What better way to save money, by local and ensure fresh tasty ingredients? So I bought Top 100 Baby Purees and started looking up methods and recipes. It's actually quite simple!

First I had to buy a food processor. Most people have these but somehow my house did not. A quick search on amazon turned up a $25 one with 5 star ratings. Once that came I chose my recipe. I picked apples for her first food. Her doctor said to alternate a fruit, veggie, then meat, and to keep with one food for 5 days to watch out for allergies.

I took two red delicious apples (green or yellow might be too tart for babies), peeled, cored and chopped them. I added about two tablespoons of water into a a saucepan, and threw the apples in. I covered the pan and turned the heat on low for about 10 minutes. Then I put the apples into the food processor and pulsed for about a minute. Once it's pureed completely, it's done!

I spooned out one serving for that day, then put the rest in a silcone sided, BPA free tray. This tray is neat because each square is exactly an ounce, which is how much a baby should have at each seating. I put it in a freezer bag and froze them. It made 6 servings, so she has a week's worth of food! I think I will do carrots next, then chicken.

I am happy to say she loved it! Here are some pics:

 Here is the apples cooking

This is the food processor I bought with the apples inside

Here is the apple puree, inside my tray. 6 servings, plus the one she ate.

And here is Piper enjoying the food I made her! There is nothing more rewarding then feeding your baby (your whole family for that matter) food that you prepare, or even grow yourself. She will be having green beans from our garden soon!

Bartering in the modern ages

Our jalapeno pepper plants are producing like crazy! Each of the four plants has about 4 mature peppers on it, and at least 6 baby peppers on it. And more buds keep popping up every other day. I have a confession to make- I do not like peppers! Not even a little bit. I only grew them because I remember how easy they are to grow. Next year note to self: grow food I will actually enjoy! Ce la vie.

So with my surplus I have decided to give it away to those who enjoy it. Chris (my husband) is learning how to include jalapenos in cooking, and even made jalapeno poppers, but even he is running out of ideas. Chris, my friend, loves peppers and she said that she would gladly take them off my hands in exchange for eggs. Fresh eggs? Score! There is nothing like fresh eggs. I can't explain how, but they just taste different.

And there is something to be said about bartering. I got rid of something that I had plenty of, and in exchange got something that I needed. No money was exchanged. It makes me feel good to know that my hard work with my plants is feeding someone else. Something that I enjoy is benefiting another person. We need to bring back the barter system! LOL here is a picture of my peppers and her eggs, courtesy of Chris :)

Making jam

Today I had the privilege of visiting my lovely friend over at Gardening Adventures, Brittany! We normally get together and talk about gardening, kids and her wedding. But today she showed me how to make jam! I was so excited! We made mango papaya jam, and boy was it good! Here is a link to her recipe, she is so much more of a better story teller than I am ;)  enjoy!