Did anyone use their garden for handmade gifts? I welcome more ideas.
These are the gifts I make from the products of my garden:
I make liqueurs of strawberries, black and red currants, raspberries, pear, plum, hazelnuts, etc. Always a very welcome present.
I also make teas from a few different mints and the Calamintha grandiflora. Applepies and applejuice from the apples. And ofcourse marmalade.
I grow extra herb plants for my friends and family, who are not good in that. And I grow special herbs/plants as a present for my daughter in law, who is a wicca witch. I don't believe in wicca, but she always tells me I'm a wicca witch without knowing it
And I make bouquets from cut flowers as a gift. Also packets of seeds are a very welcome present for some of my friends.
I also make an icecold summerdrink from applejuice, white wine and strawberries or raspberries. It's really a favourite of all my female friends and family.
Ya all definitely need to go over to the Garden Cooking forum and start some threads with your recipes. Ya all have so much good information and personally I think it a shame that it not being shared. By sharing it, you teach new gardeners how to make things from their garden, expanding the horizons of using the product different ways and for other folks, it gives them new refreshing ideas they could use and try.
LOL Jonna that Applejuice and white wine with berries does sound refreshing. Pass me a pick up glass will ya.
The easiest way for me to tell between sweet eating corn and flour corn:
Sweet corn in the dry seed form have wrinkled kernels
Flour corn in the dry seed form have round kernels, usually white but Hopi Blue is another flour corn - softer than flint corn
Dent corn or Field corn has a visible dent in the middle of the kernels
Flint corn in the dry seed form have rounded glossy, often very colourful kernels - this is like the Glass Gem Corn that Joseph and I offered - I think someone also had some to share.
I guess I should have asked is flour corn just for making flour or can it be eaten as regular corn. ??Like corn on cob or taken off cob and used in soup and such. The wish is edibles but if the flour corn only makes flour I dont want to send. Does that make sense?
Name: Joseph Cache Valley Great Basin Landrace: locally-adapted diversity
Any dry corn can be nixtamalized (cooked with hydroxide) and made into hominy. Hominy can be used directly in soups, or ground into masa to make things like tamales or tortillas, except that sweet corn does not have enough starch in it to make good masa.
People say that flour corns can be eaten young as sweet corn, but I haven't found one that I thought was acceptable to eat that way.
Flints are hard on grinding equipment, and they tend to stay crunchy when cooked, so I typically prefer to make masa or gruel from soft flour corns or dent corn. Most of the flints that I grow are used as animal food or popcorn.
Sorellina -- I loved the info about identifying corn kernels. I didn't realize you could tell what type of corn it is by looking at the seed. That was awesome info.
Julianna, thanks for the info about corn, I had no idea you could tell what kind by looking at the seed.
Mistirose, love the idea about fabric and a draw string for tea! Last thing I need is a mint leaf hangout on my front tooth making me look like a hillbilly more than I already am. Love the tips!
Jonna, your gifts sound wonderful. I can't wait for the day that I'll be able to do handmade gifts from our gardens.
Starlight, I'm going to have to look around for the recipe forum. Thanks for the heads up that it exists!
questionHow do you get your own cubits? Also, what do you all think the best way to keep tabs on your gardening is? Do you write down what you are doing or do you journal? I'm going to dedicate a binder and calendar to my plantings this year. Would love to have an online journal.
Promise, have you looked at the blog feature on ATP? It's perfect for a journal. You can make it private or share it with others if you choose. https://allthingsplants.com/blogs/
Gifts from the garden... I don't get nearly as creative as some of the other ideas here, but our relatives always seem pretty happy to get a jar (or two) of my homemade salsa, pickled asparagus and hot peppers, and garlic powder.
Promise -- in terms of trying to keep track of my gardening... I use a spiral notebook, and also try to keep a blog -- the problem with this being that I started one on DG, and I started one on a Cubit here, and I also started one on All Things Plants; not to mention keeping a journal of sorts on a calendar/organizer program on my computer. At any rate, though, if you create your own Cubit here you can use a "forum" (or multiple forums, if you want) for your "blog." One big advantage of an online blog/journal over a spiral notebook is being able to easily add photos.
patrob, I've signed up on ATP today. I need to look around that site more. Thanks for the suggestion and link!
Weedwacker, I can see where being spread out all over the place would be difficult. Thank you for your input. I see you have a very nice blog on ATP!!!
Ella's Garden isn't just about gardening. We're a diverse community of individuals, coming together to enrich the personal, business, hobbies, lifestyles, and horizons of all community members. You'll find forums for shopping & selling too!
Also, what do you all think the best way to keep tabs on your gardening is? Do you write down what you are doing or do you journal? I'm going to dedicate a binder and calendar to my plantings this year. Would love to have an online journal.
At any rate, though, if you create your own Cubit here you can use a "forum" (or multiple forums, if you want) for your "blog." One big advantage of an online blog/journal over a spiral notebook is being able to easily add photos.
