The latest dirt from my garden: December 2009

Wednesday

Figs - The Food of the Gods

Our precious Fig tree was ravished by the hard freeze a couple months ago. I had such great hopes, but ended up with shriveled up rotten fruits. How did that happen? Come to find out that figs soaked in rain water, frozen and exposed to heavy freezing winds are just dammed to die.

If it doesn't come back we must start again with a hardier variety.

A few months ago I received a couple of bags of fig fruits from my sister in law Catherine. They were super ripe and because I had no way of using them right away, they went in the freezer.

In fact, Figs freeze super well and will, this year, be used to make a fine jam, maybe even a fig/pear jam. After long research I've obtained a recipe that looked simple enough and sounded absolutely delicious. Simplicity and quality in home made foods is essential to me. 4 ingredients or less are preferred, but hey, I will get "helpers" too if it's more than 6 pounds

Here is the recipe:

FIG JAM
6 qt. boiling water
6 qt. fresh figs
1/2 cup sugar for each cup of crushed figs
1 qt. water
8 slices lemon
Pour boiling water over figs; let stand 15 minutes. Drain and thoroughly rinse in cold water. Pat dry; remove stems Crush and measure figs, place in a large Dutch oven. Add 1/2 cup sugar for each cup of crushed figs. Add 1 quart water. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3 hours or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Ladle jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Add a slice of lemon to each jar. Cover at once with metal lids and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Yields 8 1/2 pints.

Saturday

A Blue Brugmansia?

I found this rare flower at my favorite seed shop. Looks like a Brugmansia Angel Trumpet and found it research worthy. It's actually a relative of the Brugmansia. This beauty comes from from South America:

Description: Small shrub, generally to 3-6ft, sometimes to 10ft. Flowers are borne in clusters of up to 6-12 and sometimes more. Flowers grow to about 2-3", are cobalt blue in color and can remain on the branches for a while. Flowering may occur for much of the warmer months. There is a white type as well.
Hardiness: Hardy to 20-22F. Growing Environment: Grows best in filtered sun to full sun. Water moderately.
Propagation: By seeds.
Uses: Still a rare plant, it is cultivated as an ornamental and can be found in a few botanical gardens. Native Range: Native to Argentina.

Seeds of some varieties found here: Iochroma Seeds

canary creeper, nasturtium, grow, germinate, flower, edible, tropaeolum peregrinum, germination, germinate, growing light, ornamental seeds, amorphophallus, devils hand, mexican hand tree, garden, gardening, ornamental flower, garden seeds, seed propagation, australian seeds, rare seeds, exotic seeds, playing with seeds, germination instructions, garden blog, best garden blog, tropical garden blog, unusual flowers, exotic flowers, rare flowers, rare seeds, rare plants, mail order seeds, mom and pop seed shop, seed shop, international seeds, botanical garden, botany, rare botanicals, tropical garden, exotic garden, vertical garden, eclectic plants, eclectic flower, eclectic garden seeds, garden club, garden forum, ornamentals, gardening care, ornamental tree, bonsai, gardening plants, gardening care, home gardening, landscaping, hgtv, hydroponics, germinating seeds, garden, seed catalog, flower seeds, seed companies, garden seeds, plant seeds, seed shop, seed store, Aristolochia, Amorphophallus titanum, tropical plants, tropic, tropical, fragrant, fruit, flowering, blooming, trees, botany, rare, mail, order, online, purchase, herbs, spicery, spices, shipping, ethnic, tropicals, plants, gardening, growing, garden, exotic, unusual, catalog, encyclopedia, database, search, sale, cactus, succulent, orchid, tree, palm, flower, shrub, bush, gallery, botanical, identification, catalog, Mango, Lychee, Avocado, Dragon Fruit, Longan, Carambola, Sugar Apple, Guava, Fruit trees, Fruit tree nursery, Tropical fruit trees, Mamey, Jakfruit, Rare fruit, Exotic fruit, Punta Gorda, Florida, Spices, Abiu, Sapodilla, Passion Fruit, Pomegranate, Michelia champaca, Cacao, Miracle Fruit tropical plants, tropic, tropical, fragrant, fruit, flowering, blooming, trees, botany, rare, mail, order, online, purchase, herbs, spicery, spices, shipping, ethnic, tropicals, plants, gardening, growing, garden, exotic, unusual, catalog, encyclopedia, database, search, sale, cactus, succulent, orchid, tree, palm, flower, shrub, bush, gallery, botanical, identification, catalog, Mango, Lychee, Avocado, Dragon Fruit, Longan, Carambola, Sugar Apple, Guava, Fruit trees, Fruit tree nursery, Tropical fruit trees, Mamey, Jakfruit, Rare fruit, Exotic fruit, Punta Gorda, Florida, Spices, Abiu, Sapodilla, Passion Fruit, Pomegranate, Michelia champaca, Cacao, Miracle Fruit, seeds, free, catalogs, garden, palms, cacti, herbs, tobacco, trees, flowers, bonsai, software, contest, home income, house, plants, rainforest, pesticide, potpourri, vines, medicine, cigars, greenhouse, farm, health, smoking, gift certificates, unusual vegetables, oak trees, stevia seeds, rare palms, tobacco kiln, seed primer, seed germination, citrus seeds, banana seeds, datura seeds, pest repellents, fall vegetables, papaya seeds, acacia, houseplants, bible, chinese, essential oil, bottles, mother nature, xeriscape, extraordinary seeds, limited seeds, scarce seeds, singular seeds, strange seeds, subtle seeds, uncommon seeds, unique seeds, unlikely seeds, unthinkable seeds, seeds, unusual seeds, attenuate seeds, attenuated seeds, endangered seeds, isolated seeds, bizarre seeds, noteworthy seeds, unique seeds, odd seeds, rare seeds, exotic seeds, eccentric seeds, freakish seeds, unconventional seeds, weird seeds, extreme seeds, curious seeds, different seeds, alien seeds, alluring seeds, fascinating seeds, unfamilar seeds, enticing seeds, extraordinary seeds, ornamental seeds, stunning seeds, extraordinary plants, limited plants, scarce plants, singular plants, strange plants, subtle plants, uncommon plants, unique plants, unlikely plants, unthinkable plants, plants, unusual plants, attenuate plants, attenuated plants, endangered plants, isolated plants, bizarre plants, noteworthy plants, unique plants, odd plants, rare plants, exotic plants, eccentric plants, freakish plants, unconventional plants, weird plants, extreme plants, curious plants, different plants, alien plants, alluring plants, fascinating plants, unfamilar plants, enticing plants, extraordinary plants, ornamental plants, stunning plants, extraordinary flowers, limited flowers, scarce flowers, singular flowers, strange flowers, subtle flowers, uncommon flowers, unique flowers, unlikely flowers, unthinkable flowers, flowers, unusual flowers, attenuate flowers, attenuated flowers, endangered flowers, isolated flowers, bizarre flowers, noteworthy flowers, unique flowers, odd flowers, rare flowers, exotic flowers, eccentric flowers, freakish flowers, unconventional flowers, weird flowers, extreme flowers, curious flowers, different flowers, alien flowers, alluring flowers, fascinating flowers, unfamilar flowers, enticing flowers, extraordinary flowers, ornamental flowers, stunning flowers, extraordinary vegetables, limited vegetables, scarce vegetables, singular vegetables, strange vegetables, subtle vegetables, uncommon vegetables, gmo-free vegetables, organic vegetables, unique vegetables, unlikely vegetables, unthinkable vegetables, vegetables, unusual vegetables, attenuate vegetables, attenuated vegetables, endangered vegetables, isolated vegetables, bizarre vegetables, noteworthy vegetables, unique vegetables, odd vegetables, rare vegetables, exotic vegetables, eccentric vegetables, freakish vegetables, unconventional vegetables, weird vegetables, extreme vegetables, wild vegetables, curious vegetables, different vegetables, alien vegetables, alluring vegetables, fascinating vegetables, unfamilar vegetables, enticing vegetables, extraordinary vegetables, ornamental vegetables, stunning vegetables, extraordinary fruits, limited fruits, scarce fruits, singular fruits, strange fruits, subtle fruits, uncommon fruits, gmo-free fruits, organic fruits, unique fruits, unlikely fruits, unthinkable fruits, fruits, unusual fruits, attenuate fruits, attenuated fruits, endangered fruits, isolated fruits, bizarre fruits, noteworthy fruits, unique fruits, odd fruits, rare fruits, exotic fruits, eccentric fruits, freakish fruits, unconventional fruits, weird fruits, extreme fruits, curious fruits, different fruits, alien fruits, alluring fruits, fascinating fruits, unfamilar fruits, wild fruits, enticing fruits, extraordinary fruits, ornamental fruits, stunning fruits,

The latest dirt from my garden

Wednesday

Figs - The Food of the Gods

Saturday

A Blue Brugmansia?

The Gardener

Garden Helper.gov

Some Garden Helpers

Blog Archive

Other Things

Friends and Followers

Visitors

Blog Top Sites

Garden Blog Directories

Popular Posts

Note Pad: Currently looking for:

.