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Friday, January 30, 2015

From My Heart

Pictured above: a rose in grandma's garden, by: wildwestgardenersphoto.weebly.com

Well, this is tame dame number 3.  I'm 7 years old now.  I posted because I love you all and I want to let you know that you should care about plants. Take care of them, it's worth it, it's pretty, and they give you food. 

The Garden Beauty
By: me

Roses bud,
Violets bloom,
Each is a harmless plant.
We work,
We garden,
We help plants grow.
We give water and food.

sharing: Tuesday Garden Party

Monday, January 12, 2015

Do Pumpkins Keep Well?


It's the middle of January, our fresh garden carrots have all been eaten, our fresh garden tomatoes also.  I still have 5 pumpkins sitting in our cold garage on the wooden stairs, though. When I was looking for a good substitute for color and flavor in the chicken and rice soup I was making, I remembered I was out of carrots, but I still had pumpkin. Do they keep well?  Could I still use it?

Well, I gave it a shot. I cut it open, and it looked beautiful. So I used it. And the soup was divine! You couldn't really taste the pumpkin, which was fine, but the vitamins were all still there and the color was pretty.

So, in answer to the question, do pumpkins keep well???

I researched and found that as long as they are grown well and kept well, they keep well. 

How to properly store pumpkins after harvest:

Any pumpkins that have cuts in the skin or didn't grow well, probably will not keep well. To keep a pumpkin, you need to be sure that it has a firm skin, and you let it harden outside in the shade (A week or two), but don't let it freeze.  You may cut it from the plant, but be sure to leave a couple inches of stem, because it will still give nutrients to the pumpkin, and it will store better. When you bring it in for storage, a cool (the articles that I read suggested 50° or so), dark place is best. Our garage seems to work fine, and be sure to store it on something to allow air to circulate completely around the pumpkin. That's it. Depending on the variety, pumpkins can keep three to six months.  

P.S. Hubbards keep the longest. 

There you have it. I have plans to make a delicious pumpkin curry with some of my remaining pumpkins.  Nutritious and Delicious!  I'll share the recipe after I make it. 

Friday, January 9, 2015

Free Book, A Little Garden Calendar

I ran across a free book today called "A Little Garden Calendar for Boys and Girls," and when I sat down to read it, I couldn't stop.  It's a wonderful educational read that brings you into the lives of two young children who learn how to garden year round from the master gardener.  The book was written in 1905 and was presented as "a way of entertainment, to illuminate fact with fancy, to follow as it were the path of knowledge through the garden of imagination."


If you like to garden with your children, if you're new to gardening, or if you've enjoyed gardening all your life, you will find this book an entertaining, yet fascinating read all at the same time.  As was stated in the introduction to this book,
"Knowledge begins with wonder."
And I hope I've piqued your wonder and caused you to want to read it.  If so, I have good news!  You can click below and dive into your own garden of imagination.  Cozy up with a fuzzy blanket and enjoy!