April Garden Notes

Just when I thought I was in shape, I was not.  The very first day outside weeding reminded me of that, ha ha!  Boy, oh boy, you do get a work out outside.  

Did anyone else venture out this month to start the garden process, clean up beds and such?  Did you slide out of bed, like a sloth the next morning, and drag yourself to the ever needed delightful coffee you preset to brew the night before? Only to find out you have more muscles than you thought?  And can barely walk, let alone lift your arms?

Note:  The above was drafted up prior to my foot fracture ha ha!  

The arrival of April has pushed all of our "projects" (indoor anyway) on the back burner for now.  It's that time of year to till the garden (done), start weeding and mulching flower beds and the herb garden (in the works), and planting the garden.

 

Our homegrown asapargus is starting to come up!  I have my husband on picking duty for now.  Yum!  No asparagus tastes better than homegrown.

I had plans to dig up the rhubarb in the raised bed, and replant it into a grow bag, for a temporary location.  The raised beds, which were our original beds put in over 10 years ago, are going to be dug out.  They were not tall enough, and we did not leave enough space for the mower.    I'm hoping the rhubarb does okay until we can find it a more permanent home. I will just have to wait a week or so to do this job.

Comfrey is coming back already.  I have it in a plant pot.  I have plans to dehydrate it, and maybe put a few poultices in the freezer.

I dug up the wild mullein plants that were growing in the flower beds, and replanted them in the area I replanted lemon balm.  I know they won't grow as tall, but they needed moved.  As of this post, they are still thriving in their new location.  Thank goodness we got rain after I moved two of them.  I still have one more to move.

(Green onion/parsley pesto  - can also be made with basil)

The herb garden is already producing green onions, the starts of bunching onions, chives, oregano and thyme.  I will have to plant basil, parsley, rosemary, cilantro (see below), tarragon, and margarom.

Although our chives are not all fully up, there are a few bunches that are.  I have dehydrated some for dry mixes and such.  I will freeze some later in the spring.

I dropped some cilantro seeds early this year.  We'll see if they come up.  If not, I have enough seeds to replant.  I'll wait a bit longer to plant more in the herb garden.

Although April is not completely over yet, I don't see much more happening for now.  I do see that my sage survived the freeze warning we recently had.  

Happy Gardening!

April Garden Notes © April 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix

Spring herbs are here!

Store bought chives are expensive. The cost for the above bottle of dried chives was $4.58!  I freeze my chives, but for the dry Ranch mix recipe, I need dehydrated/dried chives.  The bottle above is .12 oz and when ground makes 7 1/2 teaspoons.   It is horribly expensive, and I have managed to kill the indoor chive plant I brought inside.

So....on a mission I went...

 I dehydrated chives many years ago, but did not do my research before hand.  I had snipped them, and placed them on parchment paper in the dehydrator, and they the fan blew them all over the inside.

Here is what I have researched.  

-if you wash your chives, be sure to let they dry or dry them with a towel, or use a vegetable drying pad to let them dry off any water from washing them.  Otherwise, your dehydrator time will be a lot longer.

-do not snip them, keep the the chives whole, and place in the dehydrator.

-do not use a heat higher than 95°F, and dry them for 12-16 hours (mine took closer to the 16 hour mark, and this can vary).  Check your dehydrator for the temperture setting.  My chives are very long and thick, so I used every tray in my dehydrator to avoid cutting them at all.  Also, rotate your trays during they drying time.

Keeping the chives whole, prevents them from moving around too much, and the temperature keeps the flavor retained.

I stored mine in a canning jar, and use a vaccuum seal to remove any extra air.  I also kept them as long as I could, and will grind them only when I need them, to retain flavor.

(the first time making this recipe, I did not have dehydrated chives, so I ground up a teaspoon of dehydrated shallots, and it was very good).

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 

1/2 cup Cultured Buttermilk Powder

1 Tbsp. homemade garlic powder

1 Tbsp. homemade onion powder

1 tsp.  parsley* (see note below for this and next two ingredients)

1 tsp. dill* 

1 tsp. chives *

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Store in the refrigerator, or if you prefer to store it on a shelf, replace the buttermilk powder with powdered milk.  If stored dry with buttermilk in the fridge, you'll want to use it up in about 2 months.

It will fit in a half pint jar.  I used my canning funnel to fill the jar with ingredients.

*parsley, dill and chives are all dehydrated from the herb garden.

I first used this on chicken for a chicken, wild rice and broccoli casserole.  Years ago, I would just put the bone in chicken in the pan, but this time I cooked the chicken on the stove top, cubed with this ranch dry mix.  It turned out wonderful.

We also used it for a dressing (add what you like), and it's pretty good, and uses less ingredients to make.  It makes a very good dip recipe for vegetables.  We like to blend cottage cheese (vs. sour cream) and add the dry Ranch mix.  So good!

On a side note, I freeze chives as well, for other dishes .  I simply snip, store in freezer bags (flat), or fill freezer containers.  I just take it out, use what I need and put it back into the freezer.  We can enjoy chives in the colder months of winter.  I also freeze some of our green onions with the same process.

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix© Apr 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Purple Blossoms and Lack of Rain

Chives are in full bloom.

Sage is about to bloom.

Comfrey bloom for the first time ever.

Now we are battling the lack of rain.  The ground is almost rock hard due to the temperature getting up to 91°F.

Turkey Lentil Frittata

Here is the recipe I promised to share.  The original recipe is linked, and below I will explain what I added.

I found the "protein packed" breakfast recipe online at Lentils.org (click Lentils.org to the left to go directly to the recipe), and changed it up a bit to try. Lentils for breakfast?  I mean why not, I add black beans them too.  Lentils are high in protein and low in fat, and provide many nutrients as well as fiber.

First I made my lentils the day before, and that way I had that job done.  You need cooked lentils to make this frittata.

I still have homegrown sweet potatoes (they lasted much better than all the other potatoes too).