DIY Cacti Garden

I love a home with plants; lush, green, draping, drooping plants that add warmth and depth to a room. None of the descriptives I used in the last sentence apply to cacti. Well, okay...green applies, but the rest, forget it. Until recently I did not like cacti. Pokey, dry looking things that can draw blood are not usually in my go to arsenal for room enhancers. However, I noticed a few different cacti gardens on various social media so I decided to give it a try. Lo and behold, I am a cacti converter!!
So simple and so beautiful!

You will need:

A shallow vase (I think a wider dish than the one I am using would look divine, but this is what I had to work with)
Rocks
Soil
Cactus plants (succulents or aloe work well too!)



Step 1.
Add some rocks to the bottom of your dish. This will help with drainage when you water them.



Step 2.
Add soil.



Step 3.
Plant a group of small plants in the soil.



Step 4.
Cover the top of the soil with another thin layer of rock or decorative moss.



You. Are. Done.



I wish I had three more like this and I could make an awesome table centerpiece!!
Remember that cacti and succulent plants rarely need watered. (My kind of plant.) Only do so when once or twice a month or when the soil is completely dry.

Garden Journaling

I have kept a garden journal since 2008. I usually start in the dead of winter (when I am dreaming of being outside) by writing down what I hope to plant in the coming Spring. I always start out overly ambitious with a full page or two of fruits and veggies and end up planting about a fourth of that winter-induced insanity. We all know how much surplus a garden can make and after this past year of slipping tomatoes and zucchini in people’s parked cars, I am doubly thankful I cut back.

I revisit my journal during planting time and write down everything that I have chosen to go in the garden. I usually include specifics, like when I planted, where I planted, and anything I have tried differently than the year before. For example, in 2009, I tried mulching between rows and realized I had made a very rookie mistake in 2008 when I had not. There are tips like, “Harvest beets when they are as big as golf balls for maximum flavor” and “Keep mulch 2 inches from plant stems” that I have found online or in magazines and written in my journal, hoping that the act of writing them down would help me remember to follow them. I also include stories, like the year when Jake and I were tilling up the plot and unearthed a rolling mass of black snakes that were hibernating. He didn’t help me much after that and from that day forward I catch myself wondering what is lying directly below wherever I am standing.

Sometimes, I make notes during the growing season, but for the most part I write in the journal at the beginning and end. I make note of what worked fabulously and what didn't. That maybe I should not plant three cherry tomato plants next year and that I should look into a few more herbs. One note this year states NOT to plant the cucumber plant directly in front of the gate door……you would of thought…..but no.

My journal is just a spiral bound, chipboard cover notebook. You could use anything. Dress a plain journal up fancy or buy a journal geared toward gardeners.  You can find dozens on Etsy or Amazon. Write all willy nilly like I do or divide your journal into sections. Maybe you want to list the top 3 garden goals for the year or garden tools you want and need. Maybe you want to plot out the garden or write inspiring quotes throughout. Include pictures or don’t. It doesn't matter because the essence of the journal is to give you a reason to sit back and remember, admire, and dream about that lovely time spent tinkering in  your little green paradise. 

Bruschetta

My garden is looking a bit sad. There are still plenty of tomatoes on the vine and the basil looks pretty robust but you can tell it is also nearing the end. I decided to do one last harvest of tomatoes before getting the garden ready for winter. Anytime I have a basket full of tomatoes and basil, I think of two things: Margherita pizza or bruschetta. I was feeling a bit lazy and nothing is easier than bruschetta, so that is what I made. I am always trying different variations of this recipe but it almost seems the simpler you make, the better it is. The only thing I would change in the following adaptation is the amount of balsamic vinegar I put in….it was a bit too vinegary for my taste. 

    Compile all of the ingredients beforehand. You will need:
- salt and pepper
- pint of cherry tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp of Balsamic vinegar
- butter
- olive oil
- Garlic, 4 cloves
- Basil (preferably fresh) about 15 leaves.
- Bread (I usually use a French loaf but I had this sesame seed bread on hand)

 Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a small pan

      Add 4 cloves of minced garlic to the oil and sauté for approximately one minute, until golden brown. Once brown, place the oil and garlic in a bowl to cool.

       Slice all of the cherry tomatoes in half. Instead of cutting them one by one, I found a tip online that instructs you to grab two lids (as shown in picture above), place a handful of cherry tomatoes on one lid and set the second lid on top of the cherry tomatoes. Using gentle pressure on the top lid, slice through the cherry tomatoes (See picture below). Continue with this until you are finished slicing tomatoes.

      Place all the tomatoes in a large bowl. Add up to 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar. 

      Chiffonade the basil leaves and add to the bowl.   Add salt and pepper to taste.

    Add cooled olive oil and garlic to bowl. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the bread.

      Heat a skillet or griddle up on the stove.   Butter both sides of a piece of bread. Place bread on heated pan and flip when browned.

      When the bread is finished, place it on a plate and top with generous helping of tomato/basil mixture.

     Serve immediately.

Basil Overload

I have just recently started using herbs. I mean, sure I would add a tad of oregano or cinnamon when a recipe called for it, but if said recipe asked for thyme or curry.....I would just skip it. Surely it couldn't be that important, right? Yeah. I know. I wonder about myself sometimes too.

Now since I actually like my food to have a bit of flavor, I decided to plant some basil in my garden this year. I have learned two things. 1.) Basil is really easy to grow. 2) One basil plant is enough to feed three families.

I have more basil than I know what to do with. I started adding it to almost every recipe since I "thought" it would go unnoticed but after adding it to some meatloaf, Jake caught on. "Why does this taste like salad?", he asked. Salad? For the record, it DID NOT taste like salad but then again, I can count the number of times my man has eaten a salad on one hand. So, maybe to him it did. Anyway, I digress.

I have decided to just freeze some of this basil for future use. After reading a few tutorials online, I found it is super easy to do.

Step 1. Gather up some basil leaves. I have used around 20-25 leaves here.





Step 2. After rinsing them off, stack them into a pile. Using a large chef's knife, chop the basil finely.







Step 3. Place the basil in a bowl. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to the herb and mix well.

 Step 4. Place the oil and herb mix into a freezer bag and spread out the herb so it will lay flat in the freezer.

 

Whenever you need some fresh basil, break off however much you will need and re-freeze the rest.

Easy Peasy!

P.S. - Please bear with me as I learn to take better blog pictures. Thanks!