Home is where you start from: Homeschool Village Garden Challenge -Link up #3

Monday, May 30, 2011

Homeschool Village Garden Challenge -Link up #3

I am linking up with the Homeschool Village Garden Challenge, this is link up #3.

Things are really happening in our little garden. Here in the photo above, you can see what our garden looked like a month ago. A few things growing, but pretty bare...

What a difference a month makes! Last month our garden consisted mostly of romaine lettuce, celery, green onion and berry bushes that were flowering.

You can see in the photo this month, we have a squash plant taking over front and left, next to it is a cucumber plant that is almost as big. On the front right we have some bell pepper plants and then several tomato plants that have small green tomatoes. We've got two different areas going with climbing green beans, then more green onion, garlic and two rows of corn.

Here are our climbing green beans. Amie and Demi really like picking these and eating them raw, a good incentive for me to plant them...my kids are not really into vegetables, except for broccoli.

Last month a shared a photo of our blackberry and raspberry bushes in bloom. We now have fruit, and the kids have been out there several days, eating them right off the vines. Amie brought me the very first blackberry for breakfast a few weeks ago, a sweet moment :)

Something I learned this month...that if you don't use up your romaine lettuce in a timely manner, they get really tall and bushy and taste kind of strong.

A recipe I will be using when our green bell peppers are ready:

Stuffed Green Peppers (adapted from the Better Homes & Garden Cook book)

6 large bell peppers (or two large for the parents and just stuffing for picky kids)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 16 oz canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup quick cooking rice
1/2 cup water
dash salt
dash pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cut tops from bell peppers, discard seeds and membrane. Dice up some of the tops to make 1/2 cup full, put aside. Cook the whole bell peppers in boiling water for about 5 minutes, uncovered. Set them up-side-down to drain. In a skillet cook ground beef, onion and the chopped tops until meat is browned. Drain fat off and then add the can of diced tomatoes-undrained. Add the uncooked rice, water, salt, pepper and worchestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 18 minutes. Stir in half the cheese and then stuff the peppers with mixture and place in a baking dish or pan. If you are only making two peppers, put the extra stuffing around the peppers. Sprinkle the other half of the shredded cheddar cheese on top, bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serves 6.

How is your garden growing??

Labels: garden, recipes

posted at 12:42 AM
5 comments

5 Comments:

At 10:26 AM, Theresa said...: Wow. What a difference! Looks great!

I've made those same stuffed peppers before--they are really good!
At 8:13 AM, Zonnah said...: You have a beautiful garden!
At 7:58 PM, Naomi said...: great blog!!! I love your garden! This is my first year, and I started with containers, then moved some to a raised bed, and everything was doing great. Well that is until my squash, and cukies started dying, come to find out it was some kind of worm that ate them. boo. BUT! My cherry tomatoes, cliantro, bell peppers, blackberries are doing well. I look forward to a bigger garden. I am hoping to find good tips to ward off grubs, or horn worms or whatever they were. OH and one other thing, my blackberries are sour as all get out, any tips?
At 11:07 AM, Memoirs of Me & Mine said...: Amazing garden!

www.rebeccabany.com
At 8:32 PM, Hen Jen said...: Theresa and Zonnah,

thank you! :)

Naomi,

my husband suggested that the ph of your soil might be off for the blackberries and making them sour. He said you could pick up some fertilizer or soil amendment for berry bushes and it might help.

This Page

5 Comments: