Monthly Archives: June 2015

Heat and humidity makes a productive vegetable garden.

The temperatures are in the 90s everyday now and the humidity must be about 100%. Everything is growing fast!

The herbs such as basil, fennel, and sage are producing many leaves!

  
They make a wonderful quick pizza.

  
It’s way too hot for most yard work. I has a list of things to do in the garden today but it was 85f at 7:30 am!

So off to coffee …

  I will sit in the cool and air conditioned Cup-A-Joe coffee shop enjoying my iced double mocha and read the paper or surf the net.

It is Father’s Day here in the USA so I will leave you with a pick taken some time in the 70s!

  
Wow!

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In the Piedmont of North Carolina now…

Here in The Piedmont of North Carolina it’s corn season! It’s priced at .50 cent an ear and  I like to eat tons of it fresh from the farmer’s market.

  

Of course, during the summer I rather grill everything than to heat up the kitchen.

Smother some butter on the ears and wrap the ears in foil. Grill for about 15 minutes or until the desired tenderness is achieved! Easy!

  
The city is so green right now before the typical heat and humidity kicks in. Temps will begin to hit the 90s this weekend!

 The view from the Cameron Village parking deck shows a sea of green oak trees. They give the city it’s nickname- City of Oaks! 
The garden is blooming:

Garden Phlox

  

It seems that almost every garden in the South has a hydrangea and a gardenia!

  
And perennial sweet pea, which is also called everlasting pea because it come back each year, is climbing over everything.

 

The common day lily is everywhere!

Smooth leaved hydrangea Incrediball is incredibly large!

  

Southern Magnolias perfume the garden.

  
And lilies!

  
These are 5 foot tall specimens at JC Raulston Arboretum at NCSU. I have voles in my garden and they eat every lily bulb I plant!

In the coming months garden work will be confined to early morning or late evening times as it is too hot and humid for daytime work.
  

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Bunnies and more bunnies and strawberry jam.

This year has been a prolific year for the rabbits in the garden. I will be pulling weeds for hours than SWOOSH! One will jump right in front of me!


And they come out during daylight with no fears!


And eat


And hop

But it is Strawberry Season! Crates and crates of them at the Raleigh Farmer’s Market.


So I make jam!


Cook them down and mash them with sugar, lemon juice, and pectin.


And I didn’t core them but used a potato masher to crush them and make a lovely jam


And it was easy!


I used the “Homemade Strawberry Jam” recipe from the Ball jar website: http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/strawberry-jam

aaa

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