Author Archives: cathyboettner

So earlier this year, I posted about building a pad for my birdbaths. I also planted strawberries and fig trees that I plan to espalier on my south facing brick wall of the garage. First of all, one of the fig trees leafed out beautifully and the other didn’t. The garden center had the sameContinue reading “The bird bath garden–maybe not the best idea…..”

May is one of my favorite months in the garden because things start blooming. The flowers are a little late this year because it has been a cool spring compared to what we typically see…damn jet stream. The garden on the north side of the house is looking so good. Everything is really green andContinue reading “Things Are BLOOMING!!”

My herb garden is in a tiny bed at the south west corner of our garage. This must be the perfect climate for herbs because they grow like CRAZY. I have to prune my rosemary 3 or 4 times a year just to keep it under control. Right now, the oregano is the problem…. IContinue reading “Herb Garden–a little out of control”

We have a long growing season, and our vegetable plants get really tall. When they get tall, the stems fall over and bend and we lose the vegetables. This year, we are trying to get ahead of the out of control growth, so we spent some time yesterday building some supports. Cucumbers: This one wasContinue reading “Spring Fever–Building Supports for vegetables”

I used to pick all the fruit that I use in my strawberry and mixed berry jams, but I have gotten wiser through the years and have learned a great trick. Buy bags of frozen mixed berries (I used about 7 lbs of sugar with this much fruit): And sort them into strawberry and mixedContinue reading “Making Jam from frozen mixed berries”

I took a recipe from my mother in law and made a few modifications to make it a really adaptable filling for quiches. Quiche Filling (makes 3-9″ quiches or 2-10″ quiches) 1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise 6 tbsp flour 2 rounds of Boursin cheese 12 eggs 1 1/2 cups of milk Combine all ingredients inContinue reading “Yummy Quiche Base”

We get some terribly hot and dry weather during our summers, so it is critical that our tomato plants have deep, well-formed root systems to help them survive those periods. I start my tomato seeds in a tray like this one. Once the seeds have sprouted, I can remove the little “plug” from this tray.Continue reading “Spring Fever–Starting Strong Tomato Plants”

My husband and I celebrated our 27th anniversary this weekend by spending it at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer, TN. It is about 1 1/2 hours from our house. It is one of the most popular state parks in TN and we were pleasantly surprised when we were able to rent a cabinContinue reading “Pandemic Physical Fitness–Fall Creek Falls”

My husband LOVES Chili Mac–especially if we are working hard out in the yard on one of his HORRIBLE projects. When I make it, I make a huge batch and put most of it in the freezer. Here’s the recipe: Cathy’s Hot Dog Chili 5 lbs lean hamburger (you can substitute some ground turkey ifContinue reading “Hot Dog Chili (or for Chili Mac or Nachos)”

We just had a late season cold snap and heavy frost, like much of the rest of the country. Fortunately, we didn’t have any snow or other precipitation like other areas, and it only got down to 29–many plants can tolerate temperatures down to 28, even though they don’t like it that cold. So, lastContinue reading “Garden Challenge–late season frost”