Rhubarb/Red Currant Preserves

Yum.

Holy Rhubarb!!!

So, Rob and I walked down into the lower 5 acres after dinner tonight.  I found 11 rhubarb plants, each needing to be divided.  And I bet once I divide them I could get 5 plants out of each one!  They have been there for probably 20 years, and I can see that they are actually in a raised bed of sorts, which is terribly over-run by weeds at the moment.  I also found a second raised bed (they are more like raised rows really, 20 ft or so long) that used to have raspberries in it.  The soil down there is looking very good, although still sandy.  I bet I could cultivate all my rhubarb and berries, and have a large potato patch as well!  It will be a few years, but there is a definite future here!

A Whole Other Post...

Rhubarb - you either love it or you hate it, but if you haven't had it in a long time, try it again... it might surprise you!

I LOVE Rhubarb. My husband thought he hated it. Then I made him a rhubarb crisp from rhubarb fresh cut from my garden. My husband LOVES rhubarb! I had been thinking about buying a few to plant this year, as well as transplanting the one I have to a better location. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have frozen and canned rhubarb in the middle of winter! I just remembered that on the back 5 acres I have several rhubarb plants growing, which I haven't even looked at in about 2 years! I can simply dig them up and put them up with the garden, and give them all the love they deserve! Not to mention that they most likely could be divided! I read a blog about rhubarb producing which has gotten me interested in that avenue as well - akrhubarb.blogspot.com

Does anyone have any growing tips or recipes for rhubarb?

I just had to!

Here we go! I officially bought some seeds today! I couldn't resist the sale, I had to do it! I bought Sugar Ann Snap Peas, which I grow every year and have great success with, Nasturtiums, which I am positive I will be planting, and Stringless Blue Lake Bush Beans, which I am also sure will be in the garden. I think the only other plant I will be planting fore sure this year is Rhubarb, which is the subject of a whole other post!

I decided that I need to increase the depth of my raised beds this year, as the ground below is completely gravel, and I think the shallow soil hindered growth last year. (The roots hit the gravel and simply stopped growing.) I have two beds that are triangular and of equal dimension and two each of two differently sized rectangles. If I turn the 6 shallow beds into 3 deeper beds, by stacking the frames on top of each other, I should have better luck. I can always build one or two more each year until I really have what I want.

As far as dealing with the nutrient-poor soil, the plan is to remove all the soil from all the beds and mix with the finished pile of compost and some aged steer manure. This will be my first year using my own compost, so I'm excited! And soon it will be chicken fertilizer going into the fresh compost rather than buying steer manure.

I have to admit, I will be doing a little bit of planting today, just to scratch the itch a bit more. I bought some organic potting soil and few pretty little pots that fit perfectly in my kitchen window. I will be planting Basil, Thyme, and Rosemary. I'm a sucker, what can I say!

Already thinking about next years garden...

So, with the exception of a few plants, this years garden has been a real failure for me. I need to start thinking about next years garden and what I will (and won't) plant in it. I'll start out with a list of what grew and what didn't.

Grew Well:

Snap Peas
Cucumber
Onion
Strawberries
Rhubarb

Didn't Work Out:

Beans
Zucchini
Broccoli
Carrots
Radishes
Spinach
Kale
Cabbage
Eggplant
Peppers
Tomato
Beets



I have to start by asking myself how much of the failure could have been prevented? I need much better soil in the raised beds, that would make a difference all the way around. I neglected my garden for 2 weeks during the beginning of the hottest part of the summer. This was due to Lily being born, but it was neglect all the same.


So, what am I definitely NOT growing again next year? Eggplant, Peppers and Beets for sure.

What am I definitely GROWING again next year? Snap Peas, Cucumber, Onion, Strawberries and Rhubarb, for sure, obviously. But what am I not willing to give up on quite yet? Cabbage, for one. I love cabbage, I cook with it all the time, and Alaska is know for its ability to grow prize winning cabbages, which tells me that I am just doing something wrong. I also know that even if I say I am not going to, I will end up with at least 2 tomato plants again next year. I think I will try Zucchini again as well, as this is just something I really want to have an abundance of in the fall. I think that next year I just need to scale it down a bit, and try to focus on a few so-far-unaccessable-to-me vegetables, and a few tried and true favorites. I will not give up, and sooner or later I will have an amazing vegetable garden every year to feed my family!

Time flys...

Hard to believe that Lily is almost a month old already! I've severely neglected my blog! Here is a quick garden update...

The broccoli and spinach bolted, due to the 85F+ temperatures. The cabbage hasn't grown at all in the last month. The peas are blooming and the beans are doing well, as are the carrots. The radishes have met a similar fate as the cabbages. Cucumbers and zucchini are looking good, and I have 1 tomato. The peppers are covered in aphids and the eggplant seems to be a wasted effort. The onions, beets and strawberries are looking good, and the rhubarb is ready to harvest again! This crazy weather has just messed with the garden too much this year, but next year will hopefully be more productive! I'll post some more pictures next time!

Sustainable dinner...

On the menu for tonight:

Salmon and Broccoli Alfredo
Cranberry/Rhubarb Crisp


Made an awesome dinner tonight that even the kid loved! The alfredo is simple... Bake a Salmon Fillet (Fresh caught King Salmon, which you probably guessed if you read my blog regularly,) with olive oil and fresh herbs, make your favorite basic alfredo sauce and add the baked salmon and some broccoli florets (which would have come out of my garden if it weren't only June). Mix it all together, add a little sea salt, and serve over your favorite noodles.

Now for the best part...
(I used fresh cut Rhubarb from my garden and cranberries I had stored in the freezer from last year)

Cranberry/Rhubarb Crisp

1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup cranberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (if desired)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour

Place the cut up rhubarb and cranberries in a shallow 6" x 10" baking dish.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and salt.
Melt the butter over low heat and add the sugar and flour until the mixture is the consistency of cornmeal, spread over the rhubarb/cranberry mixture.
Bake uncovered in a 350F oven until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
If the rhubarb and cranberries are frozen, increase baking time by approximately 20 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired!

Garden Happenings...

Here's some photos of the progression of the garden so far...

Mixed Radishes

Wild Raspberries

Sitka Roses (behind them is where my Rock Garden will eventually live)

Lots of Cabbages!!!

Snap Peas

Broccoli

Zucchini

Rhubarb

Spinach

Kale

This is not everything in the garden, obviously, but gives a pretty good representation of how things are doing.... And remember, its only June 4th, and this is Alaska... I have no complaints so far!