Gardens Still Hold Beauty

Have you gone searching for little bits of beauty in the garden as it begins it's Fall decline?  You should really.  It's amazing the things we can see when we look past the obvious.  I found a few delights in my own garden yesterday I wanted to share with you.  Come join me for a little tour.

Soapwart still beautiful and in full bloom

Future preserves abounding

Seedheads have color too

Swept back by the east winds and gorgeous!

Bits of color here and there

The Apple Rose that refuses to leave

A sweet flower peeking through the shrubs

Leaves beginning to blush with Fall

Fall sky framed perfectly

Grasses rustling in the Fall winds

Such cheerful hips this time of year

More blooms still promised

Quince fruit glows and entices

Spiders weave diamond strands

Sweetness at my feet

Frogs enjoying the Fall sunshine

Hops is still rockin the post

And that was only in the front yard....

I wonder what I will find in the back yard?

Happy Fall Everyone!

Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Ground Cherries; Kid Food In The Garden

Meet the Ground Cherry - Physalis pruinosa

Have you ever eaten a ground cherry before?  I recommend you try them if you haven't. They are becoming more popular again and are in my opinion one of the more delightful kid-friendly veggies we can grow in our gardens.

Sweet fruit with a complex flavor

These interesting plants have been grown in American gardens for nearly two centuries and were first documented in 1837 in Pennsylvania.  However it is only recently they have been rediscovered and have again found favor with gardeners.  Native Americans and the settlers loved them and they were important enough for settlers to bring seeds with them across the Oregon Trail.  Actually, until I became interested in plants the pioneers brought across the Oregon Trail I hadn't heard of them before.

Ground Cherry is closely related to tomatoes and has just a hint of that relationship in its flavor which is a complex mixture of sweet pineapple, vanilla, ripe plum and tomato, (hard to describe but so good).  The plants produce an abundance of small fruit that look like miniature tomatillo, another close cousin.

Ready for little hands to gather up.

When the fruit is ready to be harvested the husk turns a ripe wheat color, the little stems let go of the branch and the ripe fruit falls to the ground in its little protective husk...thus the name ground cherry.   There is no question as to when the fruit is ripe that way and that papery husk protects the fruit from the soil like a candy wrapper making it perfect kid food!

Look Ma!  No dirt!

Husks make little handles.
What fun!

Ground cherries can be used in pies, preserves, salsas or chutney and best of all eaten fresh and warm from the summer garden.

Seeds for next year?  Sure why not!

If you want to save seed for next year here's a little photo tutorial to help you along.

Smash fruit in water in a dish

Seeds are sticky, water is a must.

After a few rinses just seeds and water left.

Pour onto a couple of coffee filters to dry.

Coffee filters work best to wick away the water from the seeds so they dry quickly.  Be sure the seeds are kept in the shade while drying.  I put mine on my kitchen counter near the window but not in sunlight to dry.

When the seeds are dry you can package them up in little seed envelopes you can create yourself or use #1 coin envelopes like I do.  Store them in a dark, dry, cool place until time to sow for next year.

Speaking of sowing...these plants will self sow in moderate to warm climates if fruit is left on the ground, just like cherry tomatoes.  The seedlings transplant easily so either way, whether you collect and save seed or just leave the fruit on the ground, you can have more plants for next year and probably some to share with your garden pals.

Happy Gardening!


Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Seed Keeper Deluxe Review

How's your seed storage organization?  If you are like a lot of folks I know you may stash seeds in the odd kitchen drawer, in a can in the garage, or where ever there is room.  If you are one of these types then you also know that this is the perfect way to lose seeds via not remembering where you stashed them. So what is a person to do?

This week I received a "Seed Keeper Deluxe" seed storage kit that I won in a contest hosted by Southern Post Journal.  The prize was thanks to Olivebarn.com

Right out of the box...I love the purple and green...my favorites!

This should be interesting.  That bread box is full of seed packets and more.

It is always fun to get stuff in the mail and especially something like this...I was so curious about how these little kits worked.  Honestly though, I knew they would be far too small for my needs but hey, a good product is a good product and from what I could tell it was worth a try.  So here's my review.

Love the dual system for organizing.  I plant using dates things need to be sown so this works for me.  Then I can file the seeds away afterward in the alphabetical portion.  And the alphabetic cards have tips on them that are very helpful.

The very first thing you see when you open the kit...instructions about what everything is and how to use them.

Keeping notes on the what and when of things is really helpful but I am so bad at keeping these records.  Maybe you won't be.

Glassine envelopes...I LOVE THESE!  Nice sized too.

A big black marking pen and wooden plant tags that are big enough to decorate if you want to.

Wonder how long the Bazic Permanent Marker will stay readable?  The Sharpie will last for several years.

A big thing I found myself wondering about was the stability of the felt marker in the kit...would it hold up in the sun light out in the garden?  There is nothing worse than marking a plant stake only to have it fade with the UV rays.  For me, this is a must know so I am doing a UV stability test in my kitchen window using my favorite marking pen...the Sharpie Industrial marker and pitting it against their marker.  May the best pen win!

Lots of other goodies in the kit too. Handy!

Okay...the fancy toothpicks made me laugh but are great for poking holes when sowing seeds in flats.

Oh more goodies can be found here!

Those are the contents of the kit and oh yeah, these nice gardening gloves that are clipped to my belt loop using the blue clip in the kit.  I like this idea...I'm going to be using this one.

Handy dandy idea.

Here is the most important question we need to ask anytime we are looking at a product that helps us to get organized...Will this kit serve my needs or is it just a gimmick?  I knew this was not a gimmick from the start when I looked at the smart system this company had put together.  But for my needs personally the answer is going to be no, its just too small.  I just have too much stuff and I already have a system in place quite similar to theirs.  Good ideas are shared by many of us gardeners, so nothing is really new...just passed from one gardener to another.

My favorite tools, pens and other paraphernalia...signs I've been doing this for a while.

When you have been saving and storing seeds as long as I have you generally develop a system that works well for you.  These systems are forged by how we work, think and how OCD we are.  I fit that latter category...I like things orderly and sometimes have to slap my hand and say..."It's good enough."  But one thing is for sure, I can always find what I'm looking for because of it.

Proof of my OCD...I can't bear to toss seeds until they have been ID-ed...These were in the bottom of the bread box.

Seed packets too tall...hmmm

To lay them sideways they need to be folded up.

The big fail for me was how seed packets need to be stored in this kit. The generic seed packet size fits nicely, but not those big ones they use for beans, peas, corn and some flowers.  Storing packets on their side can lead to spillage and folding packets makes them messy to deal with and hard to thumb through.

Nice latches that hold the lid on tightly.

 The container itself is actually one you can find at local department or craft stores and is probably the best size for a ready made product they could find.  Its quality is good and it's latches work well so that part is okay.  It will probably work good enough for most people but because of my specific needs for space and such it doesn't make the cut for me personally. I would love to see them have a container designed especially for seed packets, just over an inch taller and wider.  Then all the seed packets would fit easily.

What did I tell you?  I need another box and then some. (The gold envelopes are seeds I've collected.)

So here is my final analysis;  The Seed Keeper Deluxe is a wonderful product for beginning gardeners, gardeners who aren't as compulsive as I am about growing numerous varieties of everything or those with less of an addiction to seed saving than I have.  It is well thought through, has some forgivable weaknesses and over all an excellent product. 

I think mine will make a very nice little gift for a friend that has just started gardening. I'll add packages of favorite seed and tips on local sowing information and websites I like.  What a great way to get someone off on the right foot by helping them to stay organized right from the beginning.


Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Kid Friendly Ground Cherries

Are you looking for veggies that are kid friendly to add to your garden?  Here is one that is perfect for the kiddos...Ground Cherries!  There are a few varieties such as the heirloom "Aunt Mollies" or newer "Pineapple" ground cherry and though it looks like a miniature tomatillo it tastes a lot different and makes a sweet treat for little ones in the garden.  Here let me show you.

What could be more perfect than a fruit that falls to the ground when ripe and is protected by its own little paper husk?  No worries about if its not ripe.  It tells the kids when its ready for them to eat!

They just pick one up off the ground, peel back the protective husk which also makes a handy little handle...

Gold means they are sweet and ready to eat.

and bite or pull the fruit off the husk with no mess, no fuss and toss the husk on the ground.

Saving seeds from them is easy too!

Light reveals the little seeds inside the Ground Cherries.

Smashing the fruit gets seeds on your fingers, a little water will rinse off into the bowl.

Water helps separate the seed from the flesh of the fruit.  Pick out large pieces first.

Seed is washed clean with a couple of careful rinses...don't pour water off too fast or seeds will wash away too.

Inexpensive coffee filters help quickly dry seeds for storage

The seeds tend to stick to the filter a little bit when they are finally dry and can be unstuck by lightly scratching them with one's fingernail.  Then all that is needed is to pour the dry seed into an envelope or small container for storing.

Ground cherries self sow like cherry tomatoes do so if you leave fruit on the ground it will produce some seedlings for you.  Personally I like plants that self sowing...its simple, just let nature takes it's course and there will have plants with no labor...save maybe transplanting the seedlings if needed.

So if you have a friend who has them ask for some fruit to save seeds from or if you need to purchase seed,
Nichol's Garden Nursery, Territorial Seed Company, and Baker Creek all sell seeds for this sweet little plant so plan on adding them to your garden for the kiddo's next year.