Urban Update #11

One week before Thanksgiving is everyone ready? In this week’s Urban Update #11 we were busy finishing up some much-needed yard work, spent an evening outside by the fire, and had a nice family dinner using some of our home grown and canned foods.

November 18, 2023

In The Garden

Last of The Garden Prep

One of the new things we implemented this year was a fall garden. I have to say that I am loving it too. There is just something about going out to the garden in November and getting fresh produce that is so satisfying. It was all an experiment because we have never tried a fall garden before and there is a learning curve with it for sure. But that is what gardening is all about. Things change, seasons come and go, and we all are continuing to learn as we go along. Whether you are an experienced gardener or brand new and getting your feet wet. Learning is a process we all go through, and this is how we improve our skills. Failures show us what not to do and how to do those things better. Accomplishments let us know what we are doing is how it should be done in the future. Both failures and accomplishments should be shared so we all can learn and grow together.

This week we finished preparing each garden bed for winter. Weather this was cleaning out old growth and covering the soil or adding mulch to fall veggies. I also prepared the beds for extreme temperatures. This consisted of adding more mulch to each bed and making sure the plant base was covered as best as possible. I also cut the heavy-duty plastic that was purchased from Johnny’s Seed company. This plastic is UV resistant and ultra clear. It is a 4.0 mil, high-quality, high-tech film and has a 4-year lifespan. We are excited to see how well this keeps our veggies insulated and how long into the season we can get them to survive.

Dahila bulbs

I considered leaving my dahlia bulbs in the ground this year and cover them with a plastic tarp to keep them dry, but I opted to dig them up. I don’t have very good luck storing them and I am a little nervous I will lose them over the winter. We do not have a cold room or cellar here and that is the best place to store dahlia bulbs.

We do have a room in the house that stays cooler but definitely not cool enough. This is where we have our potatoes and our onions stored and we now have the dahila bulbs in there as well.

I dug them all up, removed any damaged tubers, and washed any excess dirt off with the garden hose. They were then stored in the garage until they dried, just about a day. Then we moved them to my cloth grow bags layered with lightly moistened vermiculite. Fingers crossed that they make it this way. I will keep you posted. I do plan to check them once a month when I check my potatoes and onions.

In The Kitchen

Greens

We have been using up the winter density lettuce in salads and enjoying the fresh produce still available to us from the garden. I hope this lasts through December but that may be wishful thinking. I love making a homemade salad dressing and then using that dressing throughout the week for fresh eating. This is something that I make on Saturday or Sunday as a meal prep item, and it has work out well. Then all we have to do is prep the salad and add our dressing.

Sauerkraut

This week we pop open a jar of our home canned sauerkraut and had a pork roast with it. This summer I made sauerkraut and canned a few quarts, and I left a few quarts of fermented sauerkraut in our garage refrigerator, which we use as a “cold room”. I opened our first quarts of canned kraut and did a comparison of both the ferment and the canned. They both had the crispness and tang you would expect from sauerkraut. I have to say I really don’t have a favorite way of preservation. I loved them both. Once again, I am so amazed at all we have put up for the winter out of our small city lot garden. The seasonal gardening has definitely made the amount of food we harvest even better.

Our spring garden is one of my favorites for sure. We were able to put up sauerkraut, broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, beets, and the list goes on. So very thankful for these items. This was the first year for growing beets. I love making pickled eggs with beets. This is a good addition to our salads. Not only do we like the sliced eggs on the salads, but we also like to add the pickled beets. Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try. This is also a good way to use up all those fresh eggs during the spring and summer months.

Wrap Up

This week is Thanksgiving week and lots of food and thankfulness. I will be taking this week off and there will not be an Urban Update this week, but we will pick up next week and I will fill you in on all the Thanksgiving festivities and all we have to be thankful for. Let me know what you are feeling thankful for and what yummy dishes you made this week. I love sharing new recipes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!