We’ve definitely been drinking too much
Apr. 21st | Posted by Nicky
13 comments
The spring wine festival starts at the end of the month – it’s the biggest event in the year in the Okanagan – aside, of course, from the fall wine festival. We have noticed that we have been drinking more wie since we moved here… not too much! but we did go through three barrels since the fall. Two were merlot – one was cab franc. You know we had to mix the CF with the one barrel of merlot (we used the patented two straw approach.) It’s definitely too harsh on it’s own.
And what to do with all these leftover barrels? Luckily, it’s easier to plant tomatoes in them than in a glass magnum. (Now if wine came in plastic bottles – well, I have heard that you can plant tomatoes in them. But not glass.)
So Jrock cracked open the power tools yesterday and cut the three barrels in half. Didn’t he do a nice job? Now all we have to do is fill the suckers with dirt and plant some tomatoes. I haven’t decided what else should go in them.
Any suggestions? They’re on the east side of the house, but they don’t have any shade until late afternoon, so they’ll get pretty hot. Gardeners? Ideas?
Oh – and I have to be able to eat it. No flowers. Ba humbug.
And PS: Happy Earth Day tomorrow! These barrels, my learning to weed, our increasingly huge garden, the new berry plot, our freshly insulated basement and cellulose-filled ceiling, cooking more lentils and actually making them tasty, etc. are all some steps that we’ve taken to be more sustainable this past year – that I think also really enhance our quality of life.
What are you going to do this year?
I bought another apple tree. For the other side of the yard.
Don’t tell Jrock.
__
PS: No, we didn’t drink it all. A barrel holds 27 CASES of wine, silly. That would be 486 bottles each.
Long time lurker, infrequent commenter. I suggest cucumbers for one of the barrels. That way you can keep them in check, otherwise they take over the whole garden. You could also do green peppers, we grew them last year & they were a big hit. We left some on the plants until they turned red, that was fun too. Another barrel could hold herbs (like mint, which can also take over the whole garden). Anyway, those are my suggestions. I’m also adopting from Ethiopia but my husband & I have only been waiting 1.5 months for a referral so we’ve got a long way to go yet. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you for Friday.
I’ll be curious to know the alcohol content of your tomatoes! A
We did red peppers one year they were great and easy. I would love to have a berry garden!enjoy!
Noelle
Hi! You can get bushing varieties of cucumbers that would be great in those containers. Also, hot peppers and bell peppers would do wonderfully. Make sure you get really good stakes for your tomatoes and be faithful in staking them up. (Not those hoop things, they suck.)
Emily
PS – Can I come to the wine festival????
Hi Everybody – including Janna the lurker!
Cukes sound like a good idea… I had real success with them last year. Actually, a little too much success so I started taking them all to the food bank. But maybe I should investigate pikling cukes for this year too? Then Icould do something with them…
Peppers… hmmmm… never thought about that! That’s a great idea! Nothing like BBQ roasted peppers!
Andrea – the spagetti sauce from my tomotoes will pair especially well with merlot
“The Okanagan Spring Wine Festival is a perfect marriage of wine and culinary tourism.
For the first ten days in May each year, it offers a tantalizing experience for anyone who loves fabulous wine accompanied by fine cuisine.
And what better way to announce the grape growing season than to hold a Festival during bud break!
Guests can choose an incredible 100 plus events throughout Okanagan Wine Country at a time of year when it is absolutely delightful to savour Spring in the warm sunshine. The Okanagan Spring Wine Festival has been described as “one of Canada’s best small festivals” and it is no wonder that its success continues to grow.”
http://www.owfs.com
I think cukes are a great idea- even the vining ones would do well with a bit of trellis. The other thing to think about would be beans- if you make a tripod and plant some pole or runner beans, it would be functional and beautiful (especially with pretty as well as tasty runners). Extra beans make awesome pickles, too.
If you want to pickle cukes, you can plant special pickling cukes, but any cucumber with a firm flesh will work to pickle- just harvest when it’s small! I have some good “small batch” pickling recipes (2-4 jars at a time, easy to double) that work well when working on pickling stuff from your own garden-since most of us don’t have gardens large enough to be harvesting 50lbs of cukes at once!
I’ve gotta say, those barrels are awesome- feel free to pick up a few for me! Also, the garden/berry patch are looking great! I’m very proud of my big sis following in my footsteps! (Also a bit jealous of your awesome K-town gardening climate)
Looking forward with hope and fingers (toes, etc) crossed for Monday.
Luv ya
Ena
PS- make sure you mulch your strawberry patch, it will save you a lot of weeding and headaches later in the year!
Yes – J needs to mow the lawn and I’m getting him to put the clippings on the berry patch right away – that thing is full of weeds!
Hmmm… beans, eh? I did have a lot of success with them last year, but they entirely took over a bed. I think if I did them this year, I would put them in the side garden or something…
I am a lurker also, but love your blog! Something you might think about planting also is zuchini they should grow well and if you want to get adventurous corn should also grow in Kelowna and would love the heat on the east side of a house. Wishing/Hoping the best for you on your next court date
Lurkers – who knew it took gardening to get you to come out and play…
Zuccinni!!! Fabulous. Although I will follow my rule that I broke last year – ONLY ONE PLANT. Those things grow like the dickens. I gave a ton to the food bank and STILL have some in my freezer! lol
I’ve posted before, but very much a lurker usually! I got really excited about your wine barrels–I have a HUGE garden each year, This year I am even trying Eggplant–and peppers!!!–I am excited to try some new things! I very much agree with the Zuccinni–The first year I did a garden I had 5-yup FIVE plants–I made Zuccinni Relish–which is my favorite relish!–The next year I had 3, the year after that (last year), I had 2, and now I think this year I will do one-hahaha! I saw this recipe once to actually use the flowers of zuccinni and put cheese in it, twist it, bread it, and fry it–sounds interesting eh? I think it would be amazing to have a little herb garden, but I just haven’t done that yet! Can’t wait to see pictures once everything starts growning!!
(Gardening helps me not think about the wait…we’ve been waiting for over 8 months for a referral from Ethiopia–we are from Southern AB!–so kinda neighbours-LOL!!!)
The barrels look great! I am an avid gardener and am just itching to get started!
I really wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and crossing my fingers for you today!! Please let you get through court!
Natasha
can’t wait to hear about your successful court date coming up!!! and also wanted to mention that we may have our own court date(s) coming up in another country in Africa, which I shall not mention for fear of angering the adoption gods… and it’s not Zambia either, Andrea
and it won’t be for several months yet, but the wheels seem to be in very quick motion!!!
hugs,
tiffani