Grandma's Kitchen

Salsa and Sweeeeet Pickles!!!

Throughout the day Monday, I worked on cutting tomatoes, peppers and onions to make a batch of salsa.  I was cooking it down and went to go look for pint bottles in my fruit room.  Much to my dismay, I realized that I only had four and I needed about 20 more.  I put the lid on my crock of salsa to keep overnight.  I decided I would deal with this problem in the morning.

Tuesday morning, I texted my mom to see if she had any solutions to my lack of bottles.  She said she was at Grandma's and that Gram was willing to give me some of hers.  So I buckled Toddy in and we drove to Lehi to Grandma's house.

I brought her a little goody basket full of canned goods from this year, which she was tickled to get.  She immediately took me into her storage room to put the bottles away.  It was full of good smells and brightly colored canned fruits and vegetables.  I remember playing hide and seek in there when I was little, but only carefully because it could be pitch dark in there and for some reason there was only a doorknob on the outside of the door.  But the smell is the same still today.



Cute, Cute Grandma

Grandma invited me into her kitchen where she was busy canning peaches.  This is how I fondly picture Grandma-- in the kitchen cooking or canning, with her cute little apron on, and so happy doing her work.  She wouldn't let me help, but told me just to sit down and visit for a while.  I mentioned the table grapes on her counter, and then she insisted that I go pick a bunch to take home to my family.  I jumped at the chance because we all love them so much.

We visited for a few more minutes, and then sadly, I had to go to pick up Dawson from preschool.  I said, "Grandma, I wish I could stay and visit....ALL DAY."  She said "Me too." 

So I gave her a hug and a kiss (even though she didn't have her dentures in) and we were on our way. 

Grandma is 92 years young and still canning her own food storage.  I love my Grandma Huggard and I am so blessed to have her example and legacy of faith.  I am grateful to her for passing down the tradition and responsibility of gardening and canning.

Attention Tree Huggers....

Someday I hope this Weeping Birch will be the
crowning jewel of our backyard

So Fall is a great time to plant a tree, as well as in the Spring.  You don't want to plant during the hottest (or the coldest) season of the year because it stresses the tree out and it will most likely not survive the whole ordeal.

Before buying your tree, do some research on which variety to buy.  You can call the extension service in your area to see which varieties are better, or just talk to someone who has trees like you want and see what they recommend.

For example, we planted a peach tree this spring.  We have been using the peaches from Mike's mom's tree and thoroughly enjoy them, so we found out from 'Uncle Marlow' who actually planted the tree that the variety is called 'Canadian Harmony'.  We found that particular variety at Cooks Nursery in north Orem. 

And despite my Dad's advice not to let the peaches grow on the tree the first year, we did anyway and we got 7 or 8 large, juicy, delicious peaches to eat from it.  Dad, it was worth it.  Sorry little tree.  So the first year or two after you plant it, you should remove the fruit from the tree so that it can focus on establishing a good, strong root system, as well as strengthening the tree as a whole.  But no harm done to our little peach tree.  It survived and did very well for its first season.

When planting any tree, dig a hole twice as big around or bigger than the pot that the tree is in.  This loosens the surrounding soil enabling the roots, which have been cramped and growing in that small plastic pot, to stretch out once it has been planted.  Some people say to amend the soil with compost or other fertilizer, but I have heard that the roots love the composted soil so much that they will not grow beyond into the other soil.  Therefore it is best to use only native soil.



Toddy, keep digging!! That hole needs to be bigger.

 

Look at how deep the tree is planted in the pot from the nursery.  You do not want to bury it any deeper than that.  In fact some of the roots may be showing, but regardless of any temptation to bury them, do not.  Pull the tree out of the pot.  Place it in the hole.  Then lay the handle of your shovel across the entire hole to make sure the tree is level with the surface.  If it is too high, take the tree out and dig it down a little bit more.  If it is too deep, back fill a little before placing the tree in the hole.  Before you finish, make sure the tree is straight.  Stand back and walk around the tree making sure it looks good.

Now you can start filling the hole with soil.  When you have filled the hole half way, water it well letting things settle and soak in a bit.  Then finish filling the hole and water again.  Water the tree thoroughly every day for a week or so and make sure it continues to be watered well at least once a week.

I consider my self to be a bit of a tree hugger, quite literally.  I love all of the trees we have around our yard, which total 23 at last count.  In the last two years, we have had to remove ten trees, much to my dismay.  We replaced several dead aspen trees in our front yard last summer. 

But the saddest tree for me to take out was the Globe Willow that was growing in our back yard.  Last April, after a late snowfall, the tree split under the weight of some heavy snow and about one third of it came down, landing on our roof, luckily causing little or no damage.  We left the rest of the tree hoping it would be ok.  However, by the next Fall (of 2010), we could see all the way through the trunk of the tree and we realized that the tree was splitting.  We knew that if we didn't bring it down, that the harsh winter and weight of snow on the branches certainly would. 

My Dad, the work horse

As you can see from the pictures we took, Dad rented a boom lift and he and Micah came over to take the tree down.  Micah had been living at home with the parents and was also jobless, and was therefore able to come and help us out.  What a good brother.  What a good memory of him.  He actually brought Kimmy with him too-- sad that I did not take a picture of them together.  It was a big job.  And sad to see the tree go, along with 80% of the shade in my backyard.  But it had to be done.

After Micah died, Mike's family was so kind and thoughtful knowing that Micah had helped to take our tree down.  They gave me a card with lots of money in it to pay to replace our fallen tree.  With that money, we were able to buy a Weeping Birch tree, along with the peach tree and a crabapple tree, all of which we planted in the backyard.  The Weeping Birch was planted in memory of Micah.   Love ya little brother!!!

Hug your trees and hug your brothers