Monday, September 13, 2010

GCC Shopping Round Up & Garden Update

I don't know about your growing season but here in Washington State, the last few years have just been a flop. We haven't been able to get past the frost until almost June and then our Fall keeps starting earlier and earlier. Out of the 10 tomato plants I put in the ground this year, I've harvested one tomato and I have a handful of cherry tomatoes that look pretty darn green. The weather is already getting chilly and the rains are starting to visit and there just isn't much heat left to ripen my tomatoes. I went out and trimmed them up a few weeks ago, hoping to divert some of the nutrients towards more blossoms and lo and behold, I found plenty of new flowers today. So a friend of mine suggested making a little green house out of plastic wrap. I wrapped it around my tomato cages, hoping to accelerate the little bit of sun we have left. We'll see how it works.


In the meantime I have four little pumpkins growing so I'm looking forward to homegrown pumpkin pies during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays this year.


So this week, due to all the birthdays and the eating out, I blew off my menu plan. I just got some basics since I have plenty of bread in the freezer and fruit and veggies in the crisper.

Win-co

2 gallons milk $3.96
mozzarella cheese $5.59
cheddar cheese $4.48
eggs $5.59

Grand Total $19.62

Would you like to tell us about your shopping trip? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

4 comments:

Roxie700 said...

I am not the 'garden' person in our home, that would be my dear husband, but I do know from years of watching him you need to vent that 'green house' plastic you have on your tomatoes because it will cause rot.
Have you read the books on Square Foot gardening? It has many many ideas for helping in the garden to extend the growing season. My husband swears by the books. See if your library has them..Mel Barthlemew...(I am sorry, I know that last name is spelled wrong, but it is just 6:15 am here and I have not finished my first cup of coffee. Blessing...

Sarah said...

You should move to the EAST side of WA! :) We planted only two tomato plants and they're thriving. But it's hotter and less rainy in our part of the state.

My SIL lives on your side (but in OR) and their tomato plants aren't doing so hot, either. She was telling me they are trying to get the few tomatoes they have that are green to ripen by pulling off the flowers so the plant isn't putting effort into the flowers and also taking off any of the really small tomatoes and focusing on the larger ones.

Or you could come over and I'll give you a load of mine!

Love ya!

Michelle said...

Do you find it cheaper to shred your own cheese? If so, how do you store it so it keeps longer? Anytime I've shred cheese I find it goes bad rather quickly.

Gayle said...

It is much cheaper to shred it yourself and freeze nicely when you put it flat on a cookie sheet. As long as you use the frozen cheese to cook with, the cheese tastes and feels just the same.