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Rural Country Living eZine, July 8th, 2010
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Rural Country Living eZine, July 8th, 2010
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Table of Contents
From the Editor: Victoria Ries
Methods of Propagating Hedge Cuttings by Victoria Ries
Fall Gardens by Victoria Ries
Zucchini Bread Recipe by Victoria Ries
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Feel free to forward this ezine, in its entirety, to all your friends!
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From the Editor: Victoria Ries
Welcome to the mid-summer's issue.
The weather here in Missouri has been hot, hazy and humid, making the conditions
ideal for growing just about anything. On the flip-side, the grass grows at
least two inches a day and the drone of the neighbors' mowers can be heard all
day long. For a man and his weed-eater, business has to be good.
For those of you who missed the spring planting dates for your area and now
regret being unprepared; all is not lost. Plan your fall garden now for August
1st, and proudly serve homegrown, nutritious vegetables in abundance before the
first frost. Beg or borrow a tiller and get motivated--and who needs more of an
incentive than to take one good look at the soaring price of fresh vegetables at
any market across the nation. For people on a limited income, growing just a few
vegetables, even in containers on the patio, will make a big difference to both
health and the pocket-book.
Remember that you can advertise your real estate, rentals, holiday lets, RV
spots or self-catering cottages completely free of charge. Just drop me an email
with your ad exactly how you want it to appear on our page to: editor@ruralcountryliving.com
.
Send in true farming/gardening stories to be included on our farmer's page:
editor@ruralcountryliving.com
Have a great summer!
Victoria
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Methods of Propagating Hedge Cuttings by Victoria Ries
Taking cuttings from a hedge is an inexpensive, easy way to propagate healthy
growth from the "mother" plant. Willow, hazel, lavender, lilac and hawthorn all
make ideal candidates from which to take cuttings and soon your efforts will be
rewarded by watching a flourishing hedgerow growing right before your eyes.
Snip off your new cutting midway between the top and bottom of a branch of new
growth being careful to make good, clean cuts just below the bud with a sharp
pair of secateurs or pruning tool. This can be done during the regular growing
season.
Place each new cutting as you cut them into a bucket of water containing rooting
solution or into a pot containing peat moss and moist sand. Cuttings should be
placed out of direct sunlight outside in the shade until they become
established.
Take cuttings directly from new green growth to use the "quick set" method. This
method of propagating hedgerow cuttings has been practiced since the 14th
century. Take fresh green cuttings from new growth and place them directly in
soft ground--and that's all there is to the quick-set method.
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Fall Gardens by Victoria Ries
Did you miss the spring planting dates for your area? It is not too late to plan
a fall garden and feast on freshly-picked homegrown vegetables by the fall.
Viable veggies to plant include zucchini, yellow crook-neck squash, kale, chard,
spring onions, broccoli, in fact any vegetable with a maturity length of 65 days
is an ideal candidate for your fall garden, as long as they mature before the
first frost date for your particular area.
Preparing your garden spot is the first task to get done. By this time of year,
your garden spot is most likely overgrown with waist-high weeds that must be
removed and burned or composted. A great time to tackle this task is after a
good rain when the entire weed root system is quickly and easily pulled out of
the ground.
Removing rocks and debris from your garden spot can be a back-breaking
job--enlist the help of your children or neighbors who would like to share your
harvest in return for doing some work in the garden.
Tilling the garden is next on the agenda. This is an important task, as the
better condition your garden is in; the better veggies you will grow. Organic
matter such as rotted manure, compost and straw may be worked into the soil
during tilling, this provides nutrients and an ideal environment for a
well-developed root system. You will need a soil depth of 12 inches of crumbly
earth and you may need to run the tiller several times to achieve optimum
conditions.
Once your fall garden is ready, you are all set to plant your seeds of choice.
Happy gardening!
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Zucchini Bread Recipe by Victoria Ries
This simple recipe is a delicious way of using up your zucchini crop, and even
kids who won't normally eat zucchini will wolf down slice after slice--a great
way of giving them their veggies!
Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups white sugar
3 cups grated zucchini including the skin
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Method:
Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl.
Add oil and sugar and mix well.
Add grated zucchini and vanilla extract. Stir well to combine.
Sift the flour and the other dry ingredients together and add to the zucchini
mixture a cup at a time, stirring well with each addition.
Divide the mixture into two greased and floured loaf pans.
Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each
loaf comes out clean.
Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
Turn the loaves out of their pans and wrap them in plastic wrap or aluminum
foil.
Store your wrapped loaves in the refrigerator.
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Copyright © 2010 RuralCountryLiving.com
This ezine may be included in not-for-profit electronic media as long as the
entire ezine is printed with no deletions or modifications.
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