And the Winner of the Harbor Sweets GATHER Chocolate Is….

Deborah Reichman!

  who said…  

“My leaf fennel plant draws lots of buzz activity as well as black swallowtail caterpillars. I would love to try your chocolates!”

I’m going to look for some leaf fennel this week!  🙂

Thank you all for participating! I don’t do too many giveaways, but they are fun!

Just to insure transparency, here are some photos of our process as we conducted the drawing…

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Congratulations Deborah!  Please send me an email at thesalemgarden@gmail.com with your address so I can send your chocolates to you!

Thanks again,

Michele

 

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GATHER Chocolate – A Wonderful New Collection of Chocolates from Harbor Sweets Handmade Chocolates and a Giveaway!

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Good morning everyone! Happy Sunday and Happy Second Day of Rain is Falling Over Salem, Massachusetts Day! I’m so happy to finally see some precipitation.  We need it!

We also need our bees! As we know, our pollinators are in peril. There are several theories about why we’re loosing them, but time and again research points to the use of pesticides as the reason for the decline and in many cases, collapses of bee populations worldwide.

I was recently approached by Harbor Sweets Handmade Chocolates,  a wonderful chocolate company here in Salem, and asked to sample their new line of local honey infused chocolate. I don’t do too many reviews on The Salem Garden these days, but in this case I couldn’t resist sampling Gather.

I love chocolate, and chocolate infused with honey and sold with the intention of bringing attention to the plight of the honeybee was irresistible. A portion of the profit is being donated to the Pollinator Partnership, to aid in their efforts to preserve and protect our pollinators!

This is a wonderful product in so many ways! Gather helps our honeybees, it’s absolutely delicious and it’s a very unique and special gift or indulgence if you’re feeling decadent.

I shared each piece with a member of my family since I was required to taste each one so that I could write about it 😉 . My favorite was the Coconut Cluster, but each piece was special and delicious. My youngest son loved the caramelized honey truffle and Michael enjoyed the Sesame Crunch.

Gather launched on September 6th and is available on the Harbor Sweets website by clicking  here.  Gather can also be purchased at the Harbor Sweets retail store here in Salem, or at their retail locations.

Harbor Sweets gave me a box to give away to one of my readers. I want to make it an easy entry so everyone can participate. Just say hi in the comments section below, or share your favorite pollinator plant if you’d like to. I’ll randomly draw a name and mail the box of chocolate to one of you, wherever you are in the world! Please enter by Tuesday at 8pm USA Eastern time!

Be sure to check out the video below to learn a little bit more about Gather and click on the links above to the Harbor Sweets website to order online or to visit a Harbor Sweets retail location. The holidays are just around the corner! Gather is a perfect holiday treat!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment to enter!

Michele

What’s Been Happening in the Garden, for a While- September 14, 2016

So, the last time I worked on this post was September 1st and the last time I posted anything was … August 10th, from my vacation..

Aye aye aye..

One of the problems with garden blogging is that summer is a busy time in the garden, and at work, and with family… so just when we “should” be blogging like crazy, there is no time to do it.

I think that this happens to other garden bloggers too. We have the best of intentions but we’re kind of out in the garden, or at the beach…

I’ve been a bit stuck in blogging land in other ways too.

I think I need to clearly define my purpose here. Sometimes I feel like I’m all over the place because I have a million different interests and I get distracted or overwhelmed. Now that the kids are settling into all of their different school environments and I technically should have more time on my hands I’m going to try to focus in a little.

If I blogged about just one of the questions that I’m asked or that I overhear every day at my job as a plant merchandiser I’d have the best blog in the world! The questions are endless.

So, heres to moving forward and catching up!

Maybe I should start with some pics of where we are, or were, a few weeks ago. It’s still about the same. One of the very tough aspects of this garden year has been the extreme drought that we’re experiencing in Massachusetts. It. just. won’t. rain.   About once a week we have a forecast for some rain but again and again it squeeks by and misses us..

IMG_1939In spite of this, we still have a few black eyed susan hanging in there. I should mention that the photo credit for this picture goes to my little Alli.

IMG_1936The pepper crop has been decent.

IMG_1935It’s not what it would be with a more consistent drink, but we’ve been watering conservatively.

IMG_1934The Russian kale seems to thrive no matter what. We like this vegetable, it’s sweeter than standard kale.

IMG_1929This was a Berkley Tye-Dye tomato. These plants weren’t huge producers but we’ve enjoyed the fruit that we’ve picked.

IMG_1926The star of my tomato patch was this variety… Principe Borghese.. they will be returning next year!

IMG_1924We’ve used them for everything from sauce to salads and they’re always perfect! The plants looked downright gangly when I put them in and I thought I’d be pulling them out, but they rebounded and took off!

IMG_1932I’m 98% sure that these are Manyel tomatoes.. I can’t be 100% because they grew out of the chicken poop compost in another part of the yard and we transplanted them to see what would happen. I can baby plants along for months with fans and lights and vermicompost and they’ll never do as well as the ones that grow out of last year’s compost.

IMG_1912Here’s another yellow variety… I don’t have the name on hand but this was grown from seed this year. Looks like there’s some blight taking over.

IMG_1922The green beans were chomped in half by something (we think a deer jumped the fence).. good news is they’ve grown back and are now full of beans.

IMG_1921The lemon (on the left) and Osmin basil (on the right) has been a fun little twist. I should cook with it more than I do but I’ve been throwing it onto salads and chicken.

IMG_1918There’s been good news and bad news about the cucumbers.

The good news is that they grew. I’ve battled cucumber beetles and squash bugs a lot for the past several years. Last year I didn’t plant any cucumber or zucchini in hopes of decreasing the populations of pests and it worked!

The bad news is that these pickling cucs were just a pain in the neck. I never got the hang of when to harvest them. I checked often but they were either not ready yet or had passed and turned yellow. I think it’s all about having time and staying focused. That can a little challenging for me.

IMG_1915The zucchini did okay in terms of pests but didn’t produce much. I’ve been wondering if our bee population is down and if the pollination rate was low. I’m not sure about what happened here but feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

IMG_1913The seeds for these rattlesnake beans came from Michael’s uncle in Arizona. They’ve been a fun twist too. Their easy to grow and cook up beautifully! I’ll have to post a pic here or on instagram of the beans themselves. They’re beautiful!

So, that’s an update of the kitchen garden. The flower gardens are hanging in there but not really flourishing like they usually do. I didn’t even plant zinnias this year because it was way too dry in June. I hope the seeds last until next year!

My next post, which I promise will be soon, will feature a new chocolate from the Harbor Sweets Chocolate Company that I’ve been asked to review..

Think chocolate and honey..it’s divine and I’ll be giving a box away!

Don’t miss it!

What’s growing in your garden? Are you dealing with drought or deluge?

Please say hi so I know you were here! I love that!!

Thanks for stopping in!

Enjoy everything!

Michele

 

 

Overnight Pickles

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I’m starting to see lots of pictures of cucumber crops coming in everywhere, so I thought I’d share my favorite overnight pickles recipe since I haven’t posted it in a few years. This recipe is my mother-in-law’s and it’s the best overnight refrigerator pickle recipe ever! Here in the blogosphere we can track our post view statistics and my past posts of this recipe are in the top three, right up there with the Samantha statue post from 2012  and What’s Eating the Petunias? which might also be helpful to you if you’re seeing big holes in your petunia flowers.

This recipe is very easy, doesn’t require canning and uses up that counter full of cucumbers in just a few minutes. Best of all, everyone will love them! Let me know how they turn out!

Love, Michele

Overnight Pickles

4 cups of water

1/2 cup of white vinegar

3 tablespoons of pickling or kosher salt

2 tablespoons of sugar

garlic cloves (3 per quart jar)

1 teaspoon of mustard seed or 1 tablespoon of pickling spice

dill seeds or fresh dill

8-10 pickling cucumbers

Wash and quarter pickling cucumbers (or slice into rounds if you prefer) and pack into quart or pint jars. As written, this recipe makes 2 quarts and one pint, I double it to make five quarts.  Make a brine by bringing the first four ingredients to a boil and then cooling. Once cool, pour into jars over cucumbers and add spices, garlic and dill. Close jars and refrigerate overnight. They’ll be ready the next day!

Enjoy!

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Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- July 2016

Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!

Things are cooking along in our garden…

Here’s what’s blooming…

IMG_1810Carpet Rose

IMG_1811Pink Geranium

IMG_1814Pink petunias

IMG_1816Pink Mandevilla

IMG_1820Salmon pink geranium

There’s a theme here…

Most of the front yard is pink this year. I’m just in this very pink place and I’m loving it!

I’d like to post some broader photos but I’m not feeling quite that brave.

There’s gaps and paint that needs some work.  Maybe we’ll get to that soon.

IMG_1818We have several knockout rose bushes which will bloom all summer long,  no painting needed…

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I just planted this clump of daisies that I won at Garden Club in June. They’re on their second bloom.

IMG_1829I believe that this is obedient plant, or a volunteer foxglove?  We’ve discussed this other years and I’m quite sure that the consensus was obedient plant.

IMG_1821Lovage flower, not too lovely, but interesting..

IMG_1807Bee balm/monarda

IMG_1801This is the very first purple coneflower, and a friend 🙂

IMG_1798The beginning of the black-eyed Susan and day lilies…

IMG_1796Liatris, just getting started..

IMG_1794Bellflower

IMG_1792One of my favorite day lilies

IMG_1788Balloon flower

IMG_1787Yarrow

IMG_1783I believe that this is a very old type of rudbekia. It’s originally from the Derby Garden at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, but I’ve had it for years.

IMG_1772Much newer pink gaura

IMG_1768and Peach Blossom Blanket flower..

We’ve been selling lots of blanket flower at my workplace so I had to plant some and I’m enjoying it.  It seems to be very tolerant of changes in temperature and humidity and it’s very compact and low growing, so perfect at the front of a bed. I’ll keep you posted as the summer goes on.

What’s blooming in your garden? Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens and check out the links to gardens all over the world. It’s so much fun to look around from there!

Take care and enjoy!

Love, Michele

 

 

What’s Happening in the Garden–July 11, 2016

Oh my goodness… It’s been a month.. and I have a million posts written in my head but not one made it’s way to my blog.  I’m sorry!

People ask questions at work that would be great posts all the time. I need to  write about the experience of serving people in a garden center and share some of that. I love the questions! Some are very common and happen all day (is it the annual or the perennial that comes back every year?) and some are surprises. Let’s just say I’m learning a lot about plants and gardening so I’m probably much happier than the average garden center employee.

I wish I had about five more hours in the day. I think I’d feel perfectly balanced and on top of everything if I did.

Or not.

Then, there’s the garden…

That keeps us busy.

This isn’t exactly the epic gardening year that I always think it’s going to be, but we’re doing okay. It’s been quite dry so the watering is non-stop. I think I lost my garlic crop to neglect and I feel badly about that, but it happens.

IMG_1709On the bright side, the potatoes are doing well. These are kennebec and we have three pots of them. I like growing them in pots because the disease and critter issues decrease a lot when they’re protected by the wall of the container.

IMG_1710The sungold tomatoes did better than I expected. My tomatoes went through a rough patch when I was just too busy with work and end of the school  year commitments to take care of them, but many have rebounded nicely. This variety does great in a pot.

IMG_1717I think that’s a little spider web, but some of you may know better. Is it going  to be okay?

IMG_1718The blueberry bushes are clinging to life. This is so sad because they were great last year. I’m still blaming that extreme cold(-10)  few days for this. I’d welcome any ideas for organically fertilizing and shoring them up.

IMG_1721The lovage has lept. I love leaping lovage. It tastes like celery and it looks so cool.

IMG_1722Most of our kaleidoscope mix and chocolate beauty pepper plants are still with us. The bunnies got a few of them.

IMG_1724These rattlesnake beans came from seeds that Michael’s uncle gave us when we were in Arizona in January. I’m waiting for them to climb their poles but they’re just sitting there teasing me!

IMG_1725-001This is Russian kale and it’s sweet! I’m using it as a vegetable, and as a filler in containers. Stay tuned for a better look at that on Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day on the fifteenth.

IMG_1726Here’s a few more tomato plants that I had given up hope on.

I believe my exact words to Michael were “we’re going to have to go buy some tomato  plants.”

He wasn’t too happy about that since they’d been living on our pool table for quite a while.

You just never know if things are going to come back…

IMG_1727The opalka tomatoes are too, along with the strawberry plants that I thought we had lost a few years  ago.

IMG_1728It’s late, but there’s basil growing and there’ll be plenty of time to enjoy it. This variety is Osmin from Pinetree Seeds. I need to do rock removal everywhere. They look huge next to the seedlings, don’t they?

IMG_1729And this is lemon basil. and little rocks.

If it all survives the critters it should be a foot high for my next What’s Happening update.

IMG_1731The lettuce is awesome, I need to plant some more asap!

IMG_1735And then there’s the onions… remember my onions last year?

IMG_9473Here they are! They were fabulous!

I’m not so sure about this year’s crop. They’re competing for space with a chipmunk and it’s been quite a battle. Those furrows that you see in the middle of the photo of this year’s onions are the chipmunk’s mark.

I know chippys are cute, and they have stripes on their back, and they sing in a movie…

But, I’d like for them to stay away from the garden. That’s all..

IMG_1736So this may be my favorite photo of this post, if not the whole season. Michael is using rhubarb leaves as mulch! I have a zillion questions about whether or not this is a good idea, but I think it’s really creative. Will it work, I don’t know? Are those leaves okay for the soil?  I’m not sure… but they look great!

IMG_1738I caved and planted store bought zucchini  plants, so far so good.

IMG_1739Same with the cucumber. This isn’t a great photo but I got these bamboo hoops from freecycle a few years ago and I love them. I hope the plants grow up over them again.

IMG_1741-001Mother Swiss chard and baby swiss chard are happy together.

IMG_1765So are our new baby chicks. This is one of the easter eggers.

IMG_1755We also have another Easter egger, two white leghorns, two Buckeyes and a Black Giant.

IMG_1743The black Giant is going to weigh ten pounds and she already rules the roost.

I’m loving our new little flock this year. These chicks seem special, maybe because with the exception of the EEs, they’re all new breeds to us.

If you’re still reading I need to say thank you so so much, this is a long post!

If I posted more often, they could be quite short, and easy to read.

Hmmm…

How’s your garden growing? Leave me a comment so I can check in with you 😉 I love to hear about how you’re doing!

Enjoy everything!

Love, Michele

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and Wordless Wednesday (Or, an Unusually Quiet GBBD)- June 2016

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Here’s a little bit of what’s blooming here today! The wind was blowing, so there’s some blur here and there, but you get the idea.

Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens by clicking here to see gardens in bloom all over the world!

Enjoy Everything!

Love,  Michele

Eye On Education: Students Grow Fresh & Healthy Food For Cafeteria « CBS Boston

Check out this great news story about the gardening program here at our very own Salem High School! My kids have benefited time and again from Mr Marcoux’s classes and the many educational opportunities that he provides, and our district is truly supportive of garden based learning at every grade level. I’m feeling very fortunate to be part of our wonderful, creative community.

Michele

Source: Eye On Education: Students Grow Fresh & Healthy Food For Cafeteria « CBS Boston

What’s Happening in the Garden- June 2, 2016

Good morning! Happy June! We’ve made it past Memorial Day weekend and here I am AGAIN apologizing for my inability of publish anything at all here on The Salem Garden. I think about and write posts in my head all. the. time. and yet I just can’t get the hour or two needed to sit down and publish something constructive.

I think it has a lot to do with the five kids, husband, multiple animals, garden in spring and the still newish part-time job. About the job, it’s really quite good.  The work is physically hard and very good for me mentally. I love the plants, the task of finding spaces and figuring out where to put things and getting paid to work out for four or five hours, four days a week. Lord knows I wouldn’t do it any other way. My co-workers are great and I  enjoy the customers. It’s fun to listen to shoppers interact with each other and ask questions. I believe that if I blogged about the questions I’d probably have an award winning garden blog here.

I just need more time!

Here at home lots has been happening in our garden. We’ve had nice weather. It’s been warm enough, yet kind of cool. Things were getting pretty dry, but we’ve had several good rains in the last few weeks.

IMG_1492I’m very happy to report that I got the deck decorated nice and early this year so it’s already heaven on earth. I love to sit here when I have a few minutes.

IMG_1493My little fish Pepper loves the deck too because that’s where his summer house is (he spends the winters on my kitchen counter).  I put this barrel together with plants from a great nursery that specializes in ponds. If you’re a local water gardener, be sure to visit Country Gardens in Ipswich. They have everything you could ever need and it’s a fun place to look around.

IMG_1503The herb garden is filling in nicely. It looks like the foxglove that I planted last year is going to flower!

IMG_1506Iris are in bloom! I love iris.

IMG_1516Down in the kitchen garden we’re in the fence business this year because we’re sharing our space with a family of bunnies. Bunnies munch a lot.

IMG_1509In fact they munched the beejeebees out of the peas that I planted in March. Here are two of the five or six that survived. I’ve noticed that in the few days since the gates went up they’ve started to grow again. I’m not sure that we’ll have enough peas to serve a bowl on the Fourth of July, but there may some for a salad or two.

IMG_1507I planted all of my tomato plants (about 40 altogether) even though they were neglected and got kind of leggy. This is what happens when you don’t move your seedlings to a larger pot. I knew that, but repotting them just didn’t  happen. I’m going to stake these asap and hope for the best.

IMG_1510I had to share a picture of this horseradish because I think it’s going to take over the world. If you want horseradish, just let me know and I’ll dig some up for you in the fall.

IMG_1511The lettuce is finally edible, thanks to the bunny gates.

IMG_1513The swiss chard (on the right) wintered over and is picking up again. I need to learn to incorporate it into summer recipes better. The spinach (on the left) is starting to grow, but I’m worried that it’s going to bolt as soon as it gets hot.

IMG_1512Our garlic looks quite happy. It may be a big year for garlic around here.

IMG_1514Not so much for the asparagus… I should plant some new sets of roots. I’ve been wondering if we’ve over harvested it for the past couple of years because some of our plants didn’t come back this year. Any thoughts on why we’d loose asparagus plants?

IMG_1517These are kaleidoscope mix and chocolate beauty peppers. They’re on the outside of the wooden fence so I’m hoping that this metal fence is enough to keep the creatures away.

IMG_1518The onions need to be planted, like… now…

IMG_1520I grew coleus from seed this year and I’m pretty pleased with the results. I’d like to increase the number of flower/annual seedlings that I grow myself. It’s very easy and saves lots of money. Sometimes I winter coleus over in pots inside too.

IMG_1522Speaking of seeds, I still have a lot to go in.  Carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, multiple flowers… I need to get out there and get these in the ground!

IMG_1523And finally, these ladies arrived on Mother’s Day.

We have two new White Leghorns, two Buck-eyes (the first chicken breed developed by a woman), two Easter Eggers and a Black Giant…

IMG_1498The Black Giant thinks she’s all that… lol..

What’s happening in your garden? I hope that you’ve been out there planting something.

Enjoy everything!

Love, Michele

What’s Happening In the Garden–May 1, 2016

Happy May Day!

IMG_1404Our male mallards are on the pond while their sweeties sit on their nests.

IMG_1380Flowers are blooming, hosta has made it’s way out of the ground and it looks like I have a new maple tree growing in my tulip patch.

… all good signs of spring!

IMG_1388Michael cleaned out our perennial beds and they are bursting with new life. I have to give him all of the credit for this task because he just does it.

I’m always watching and waiting for my slithery friends at this time of the year so I tend to procrastinate and step lightly. He dives right in and finishes before I get my shoes on!

IMG_1389The rhubarb is making a nice snake shelter. As long as they stay under there we’ll be just fine.

IMG_1391We have a little row of spinach coming along..

Yes, there are rocks but that’s okay.

I keep pulling them out, one rock at a time…. for the rest of my life.

IMG_1395These peas took a few weeks to germinate and I was a little worried, but now they’re going to climb!

IMG_1393The first crop of lettuce is almost ready to eat. It’s time to plant some more.

IMG_1390And what do we have here?

NOTHING, my friends… the kale must have been plucked away by the birds because it’s gone, and the onions haven’t sprouted yet. Sometimes onions take awhile or don’t grow at all.

Most bloggers wouldn’t show you this picture, but I want you to see that it happens to everyone and it’s okay!

Half of the fun of gardening is the surprise of it all!

IMG_1398I have to admit that the asparagus kind of makes up for it. This will be dinner tonight.

IMG_1399I’ve been researching our options for replacing this wood and we’re still undecided about what to use.  The denser woods like cedar and juniper are very expensive and the softer woods like pine won’t last too long. We don’t want to use pressure treated because the chemicals from the treatment process leach into the soil. I’m reading about composite wood and alternative methods of pressure treating too. I’ll keep you posted, in fact, this topic could be a post!

IMG_1382Heading inside; the tomato seedlings are cranking away! I’ve been moving these lights up an inch every few days. You’ll notice that I keep the lights just above the plants to keep them from from getting tall and thin. A compact plant will be strong and hearty when it’s planted in the garden.

IMG_1384I’m excited about planting these hollyhocks outside. Some of them will be right outside of the chicken coop door, and some will be near the archway.

IMG_1383The peppers are ready to spend some time outside hardening off.

IMG_1385This coleus is for the deck. I’m  wondering if it’s going to grow quickly enough to be ready by the end of the month. I’ll save lots of money if I have the patience to let it grow without buying any.

IMG_1387This parsley is just for the fun of it. I’ll sow some parsley seeds right in the garden too, but it’s nice to have a little jump on it. We love our parsley.

I’m going to start cucumbers, basils and squash this week. I like to wait on those because they get too leggy if I plant them earlier.  As I move some of the earlier seedlings out from under the lights I’ll make space for new things to come.

Seedlings are so much fun!!

If you haven’t started any yet, think about planting some cucumbers or zucchini. You might even be able to sneak a few pots of tomato seeds in. It’s okay if things are a week or two behind the “recommended” time frames for planting.

As I close I’d like to thank so many of you for reading my “I Was Stuck” post last week and for your many words of love and encouragement. I’m always amazed that people read my  “all about me” posts more than the garden related ones. I need to think about ways to balance that, or put more of myself in the garden posts.

If you have any thoughts or comments, please comment in the comment section just below. I love the facebook conversations, but this community would GROW if the facebook comments were posted here, so don’t be afraid, just do it!

Happy Sunday, Happy May Day, Happy SPRING!

Enjoy Everything!

Love, Michele