10 must do garden hacks

garden hacks you must do

If you follow me on pinterest you will see that I have created a garden hack board. I loved these garden hacks and I bet you will too. There are so many cool ideas out there…check them out!

1. Making rows

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I absolutely love this rake idea.

2. DIY plant markers

diy plant markers

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These little plant markers are so cute. I love the organic natural look of them. Super easy to make!

3. DIY soil testing

DIY soil testing

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I did this soil test last year. It is a pretty interesting thing to try. Would make a great science project!

4. Milk jugs to cover seedlings

milk jug to cover seeds

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Sometimes those little seedlings just need a little help.

5. Composting for beginners

composting for beginners

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I love composting. I can get a little nerdy about it….but it does wonders for your soil.

6. Growing potatoes

growing potatoes

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I attended a garden expo with my sis in law this spring. This was one of the things they talked about in the vege growing class. I am excited to try it. A few years ago I did something similar with tomato cages but this will keep things together a lot better.

7. Improve your soil

improving garden soil

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If you take the time to amend your soil you will not be disappointed. Even if you just do 1 little thing you will see results.

8. Grow plants from cuttings

grow lavender from cuttings

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So this can take a bit of time but once you do it you are hooked.

9. How to make cut flowers last longer

how to make cut flowers last longer

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Love the suggestions.

10. Growing with landscape fabric

growing with landscape fabric

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I am such a fan of this method! Highly recommend it. It will make your weed wars so much easier and I think that my plants were way healthier using it. The fabric can be used for years. It is a bit of an investment but worth the money!

Be sure to check out some of my other posts. 12 awesome gardening sites not to miss.

Cheesy beef and bacon soup

This is cheesy beef and bacon soup is a new family favorite. We loved it so much I wanted to share it with you! Our family is a huge fan of bacon. Serve it up along side of your favorite salad and it will be one of your go to meals.

I know that soup feels more like a winter meal but it is April and we are still getting snow!! I actually love soup anytime of the year. How about you?

Cheesy beef and bacon soup

Delicious savory flavors of beef and bacon

Course Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Rhonda Bunn

Ingredients

1 lb cooked bacon
6 cups water
6 tsp better than bouillon roasted beef base
1 cup shredded carrots
5 med potatoes cubed
1/2 tsp black pepper
10 slices american cheese

Instructions

In a large pot add the water and the better than beef bouillon beef base. Set temperature to medium.
Add the shredded carrots, onions, pepper and the cubed potatoes.
Bring contents to a simmer and simmer until potatoes are soft.
Approx 10 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Add the cheese and stir until melted.
Add crumbled bacon.
Serve and enjoy

Recipe Notes

Have vegetables cut and ready to go before starting soup.

Cheesy beef and bacon soup

Follow up your meal with my lemon blueberry sour cream cake.

Keep an eye peeled for a flower farm update. Next week.

12 awesome Gardening Sites not to miss

12 best gardening sites There are many flower sites, seed sites, garden sites, blogs etc on the web. I thought it would be fun to share 12 of my favorite gardening sites with you. It was not easy to narrow it down to 12. These are not affiliate links, just my own choices.

Seed and bulb Sites

I have had amazing luck with the seeds from Johhnys seeds. They also have a growers library which is extremely helpful.

Great seeds and dahlia bulbs from Floret.

Amazing selection of Dahlia bulbs from Swan Island Dahlias It was so hard to pick which dahlias that I wanted to grow this year.

Garden hints and tips

I totally enjoy reading facts about plants and landscaping from The renegade gardener.

A wealth of information found here on Daves Garden

This site is also a winner for me.. in your state use the knowledge found at your extension service University of Minnesota Extension Service

Flower Farms

I posted this inspiring site before floret flower farm

Roses…..I would love to do this but just checking out the website is good right now Grace Rose Farm. ( new website launching next week.)

Love following this blooming flower farmer at Butterbee Farm

and this one Flourish Flower Farm.

Florists and flower design

Florist site Oh flora studio.

Another florist site..Studio Mondine

The reason I love the 2 florist sites posted is that they push the “norm” in flower design. Love it.

I hope you enjoyed my list. Please let me know what your favorite sites are. I would love to check them out.

I posted my flower farming inspirations a few posts back. Check it out if you didn’t get a chance to read it.

Starting flower seeds and ranunculus

starting seeds

The time has come to start flower seeds. I am starting about twice as many seeds this year as I did last year…..as I was doing my seed starting calendar….yes i feel super professional, ha ha, I am thinking….space, I need space to plant all of these babies.

I do have my garden spots for this year planned but I think I might need to do a little shuffling around to fit all the plants in. I plan to squeeze most of the plants a bit closer together then I had them last year.

Starting seeds indoors

starting seeds

I washed all my seed trays in bleach water to kill any left over bad stuff from last year. These trays worked great for me, but next year I would like a soil block maker.

moist potting soil

The potting soil should be moist, not soaking wet.

seed starting

After I filled the trays I went over all the holes with my fingers and pressed slightly down to pack the soil. I then added more soil to fill the holes. This helps keep the plug firm for transplanting. After adding the seeds according to the directions on the package, I watered from the bottom and put the plastic dome on the trays.

seed trays in windows

Here the seeds are in front of a sunny window. Some seeds like warmer soil so those ones are on a heat mat.

Starting Ranunculus

starting ranunculus combs

Ranunculus flowers are so beautiful. They are an early bloom and do not like hot weather.

I did not grow these pictured here, but am crossing my fingers that I can!

They came looking like tiny dried little octopus. I soaked them in water for 6 hours and then put them in a tray of vermiculite and covered them with potting soil. Now I am waiting for them to sprout roots so I can plant them. I will keep you posted on the progress.

My reasons to go no till

No till

Some of you are probably wondering “no till” ooookay. The sound of it actually seems counter productive right? I thought so too. When you think of preparing your field or garden bed one of the first things you think of is ” I need a rototiller.” Once you have your spot and the tiller, you work back and forth until you achieve that perfect soft soil. No weeds, no clumps, looks and feels great. However is it really? Sure, for hundreds of years we have produced thousands acres of crops with this method but what if we can produce a better more abundant crop? Sounds perfect right. More land, more machinery, more help, more seed, more fertilizer, more tilling…..blah blah blah. I am usually hesitant to jump up on the soapbox…..so excuse me while I climb up.

Reasons

The reasons I chose to go with the no till method are these….First of all I wanted to try and grow super healthy blooms. We have pretty harsh seasons here in Minnesota. Super cold winters and where I live really hot summers. Second I do get a little nerdy about organic things…tend to lean towards them. Third, money. A new rototiller is just not in the budget. Forth, want to streamline the process since It is only me and a little helper. Fifth what if it works….

What I have been learning

I have to admit one thing. When I first started my beds I did use a tiller. I have a small mini mantis tiller which I think I have had for about 10 years.. still works. Even tho I do hope nobody watches me start it because I know it is a scene. So that was the only time I tilled, which Connor Crickmore from neversink farm says is ok.

When you till the soil your are making it easier to plant. Those of you who like to till, please feel free continue no offence taken. However tilling disrupts the life in the soil. So when you see the birds following the tractor….yes they are eating all the worms and bugs that are overturned and therefor do not make it back into the soil to do their thing.

If you can leave the soil in tack then these guys can do their work and essentially till the soil for you.

Making it workable

Making the soil workable and keeping the weeds at bay are helped by using tarps and black landscape fabric. I use a pitchfork to fork the soil. Not turning it but just loosening it. Next is scuffing the top layer of the soil on the beds and adding my organic fertilizers etc then cover the rows with black landscape fabric. I covered my in between rows with fabric initially because I made the rows to narrow to get my mower in between. Low and behold it totally helped with my weed control. Covering the soil also helps with erosion. I am excited to see how my flowers do this coming season.

reasons for going no till — reason for no till method

I will keep you updated on my progress here and let you know what is working for me and what is not. Please if you have anything to add please do so.

Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Cake Kermakakku

Lemon blueberry kermakakku finnish sour cream cake

Kermakakku is a favorite of mine. Kermakakku is a traditional Finnish cake. It is slightly dense with a hint of cardamom and almond. Translated Kermakakku is Cream Cake. I have been missing my childhood food lately. Maybe turning 40 has something to do with this. I made the original Finnish sour cream cake a few weeks ago, then on Saturday I made this lemon blueberry version. Love at first bite!

The lemon juice added a hint of lemon and made the cake moist. I didn’t add a glaze to the top but a lemon glaze would make it even better! I will add a recipe for that at the bottom of the post.

sifted dry ingredients for kermakakku — sifted dry ingredients

If you do not have a sifter. You can use a small strainer or colander and lightly tap the sides. Works like a charm.

finnish sour cream cake kermakakku — kermakakku batter

When the cake is done you will notice cracking on the top. Gently poke the cake with your finger, it should bounce back. You can also check the cake by poking it with a skewer or fork. If it come out clean it is finished.

Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Cake Kermakakku

This lush kermakakku will be the hit of the party. Serves 18 so there is plenty to go around

Course Dessert

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 18 people

Ingredients

2 whole eggs room temperature
2 cups sour cream
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

Grease a bundt pan and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of granulated sugar. Heat oven to 350 degrees
In a mixing bowl cream together eggs and sour cream until smooth. Add lemon juice and cardamom
Sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to egg mixture. Mix until well blended.
Pour mixture into greased pan. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 55-60 minutes. Check cake after 55 minutes. Use a fork or skewer to poke cake. If it comes out clean its done. If not bake extra 5 minutes. Cool cake for half an hour. With a knife gently scrape between pan and cake. Turn cake over slowly onto serving dish.

Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup powered sugar

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Mix together. Drizzle over cooled cake

Flower Farmer inspiration

flower farming sources — Would love this farm setting

Here is a little of where I got my flower farmer inspiration. I do get some weird looks and questions from people when they find out I am growing flowers to sell. ” Sooo you like sell plants for people to buy….so what do you mean cut flowers? You must have a massive garden, wow I would love to see your yard. Where did you come up with that? That is interesting?” My answers though can be a little on the boring side. “No I don’t sell plants”, cut flowers, you know like the bouquets you can buy at the store….No I don’t have a massive garden and my yard is questionable. Although I do agree with the interesting part. It is also satisfying, addicting, and it takes work.

Books and Blogs

A few years ago I borrowed a book from the library called The flower farmer by Lynn Byczynski. I loved it. It was chalked full of information and inspiration. I did not really think about people actually ” farming flowers”. She had a small scale cut flower garden, that I copied on paper and was going to plant the following spring. I had no intention at that point to grow to sell. I bought the book!

I am not sure how I stumbled on floret. However this was the second batch of kindling that fueled my cut flower obsession. Erin Benzakein and her husband Chris have this amazing flower farming story. You should take the time to read a little about it. I also bought her book Cut Flower Garden . Amazing. Did I already say amazing..Erin also has a blog and sells seeds and tubers.

So one thing led to another and I decided to jump in. In the spring of 2017 I bought my first seeds from floret and Johnnys Seeds and got to work.

Another one of my sources of information has been from Curtis Stone ,he is an urban farmer from Kelowna British Columbia. I have learned a lot about soil management and crop rotation etc. Interesting stuff…

Continuing Education

I am convinced after my first year that I will be in constant learning mode. I hope to attend a few workshops in the coming year. It will be nice to learn “in real life mode”. I will keep you posted!

What’s happening in 2018

Hello! Happy 2018. I hope your Christmas and New Years holidays went well. Ours did. It is always so nice to take the time to reflect on what is truly important. I thought I would give you a quick peek at what happening here at Midwest Cut Flowers for 2018! Like always I have a hundred and fifty things I would like to do, but will probably only accomplish a few. Oh well, I am who I am right?

Branding

I finally had a professional logo made! I was so excited with the outcome!! Check it out.

The logo combines my flowers and my Etsy shop. I had Liz from just artin around design it. She was awesome to work with. I would recommend her! I can’t wait to order my business cards, stickers and tags.

Etsy shop

Speaking of my Etsy shop…. I have been lacking in keeping it updated and stocked with wonderful new and exciting items…..That however is supposed to change here in 2018! My plan is to add market bags, aprons and pot holders as I get them finished. My hope is to have a lot of inventory so I can be ready for the fall outdoor market at Mama’s Happy. This was such a great event that I am already in planning stages for it!

Cut Flowers

I have just ordered my flower seeds and dahlia bulbs. Most of my seeds are from Johnnys Seeds and this year I ordered bulbs from Swan Island Dahlias. Here are a few of the new dahlias and seeds that I ordered this year.

September Morn

Amber Queen

Queen Lime Orange Zinnia

Costa Mix Snapdragons

I am still hoping to get an order into Floret for some seeds. This is such a great website. It has been fun to follow them as their business has grown. Very inspiring.

Venues

I have another place that I am going to bringing my fresh cut flowers. It is right here in our small town of Delano. Red Rooster Soaps is an occasional shop that just opened in December. Exciting stuff. Stop by and check it out next time you are in town.

Blog

As for my blog, I am going to try hard and post at least once a week. If I don’t have time to ramble I will just post pictures of what is going on around here.

Little video

Sometimes things just take you by surprise. My oldest daughter sent this to me yesterday! I was so surprised to get it. What a fun gift. Thanks Erica.

It is such a good recap of my first year. I am looking forward to next year. I hope she will do another video for me.

Gifts for gardeners

gifts for gardeners Hi! Of course I have to a “gifts for” post right! As we are moving into the holiday season with Thanksgiving knocking on our door and Christmas running up the road…..here are a few things to think about for the gardener on your list.

This bucket is so awesome. Not the prettiest thing but super useful. I use mine all the time.

The gardener on your list will love these mason jar planters. No soil necessary! Very cool! Easy instructions to follow. What a great, middle of winter beat the blues thing to do.

Every gardener loves to watch the birds. I don’t know if it is because we are outside so much and notice them and their sounds…but every gardener I know loves them. What do you think? Do you like to watch the birds. It really isn’t just for old people you know! I really like the simplicity of this feeder.

I love Orla Kiely prints. They are bold and fun and always draw my eye. I received this journal as a gift from a friend and love it!! It has all the nerdy nooks and crannies that you love in a journal.

Of course a garden calendar is always nice. This one I found in Etsy in a shop called LouPaper. I love her illustrations. Check it out here.

Whoa! This thing looks amazing and scary at the same time. I would love this guy. It would come in handy for all kinds of garden jobs. Perfect gardener gift.

This wonderful time of year has come once again. Time to reflect on what we are thankful for and focus on what is important in our lives. Let us all take the time to slow down and enjoy all that the season has to offer. I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas.