This has been a rough & non-productive week for me, for the most part. My desk is piled high with unfinished business, I did almost nothing in my garden all week. OK, I did pick some asparagus, onions, & lettuces, & today I finally went out there for an hour & weeded the gazebo, where hopefully tomorrow I’ll plant grapes & kiwi’s. But that’s really pretty much it. Allergies suck!

This tea, on the other hand, is a lovely oasis of delight. I sipped it over the afternoon, & I know I should give some description of it, but I’m brain dead, & I just can’t think of anything to say. Except it is lovely.

CharlotteZero

You can grow kiwis where you are??? Come to think of it, I have no idea what kind of plant produces kiwis. I’d always imagined a palm-like tree…

Terri HarpLady

The Kiwi’s that will grow in the midwest are also referred to as Kiwi Berries. They are smaller, self-pollinating (although I bought 2, just in case), can handle the freezing weather, & aren’t fuzzy like the ones that come from Down Under. You don’t have to peel them, & they are also suppose to be sweeter, & higher in Vitamin C. They grow on a vine, & I planted them before, but didn’t give them a big enough trellis, & didn’t know what I was doing when it came to pruning them, so I accidentally killed the plant, LOL. We live, we learn, right? I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I think I have a better understanding than before.

I’m planting them on a wrought iron gazebo that’s about 7 feet tall. It has 6 trellis panels, so I’m going to alternate red grape, kiwi, something else…still not sure what, but thinking of passion flower, which makes an edible fruit & grows here…then another red grape, another Kiwi, & another of whatever I end up using for the 3rd fruit. The visual image is of course to be able to go into the gazebo & have all these amazing fruits hanging down, plus a little summer shade. Last year I grew cucumbers on some panels. We’re still eating the cultured dills. My basement frig (nicknamed the Laboratory) has at least a dozen full jars still, along with jars of kimchi, sauerkraut, & other culturing experiments. Also on the Gazebo last year I grew various green beans, sugar snap peas. Underneath all that I had salad greens, radishes, turnips, beets, & parnips. I still have leeks in some of the beds.

CharlotteZero

Your garden sounds amazing! I just tried kiwi berries a few months ago. They’re really good. Good luck with them this year… :-)

Terri HarpLady

Really? I’ve never seen them in the store, so I’m just going by what I read.
It will be a few years before I actually get any fruit, but I have learned that time goes by quickly, & I’ve already put this project off for a few years. If I hadn’t, I’d be eating them this summer…sigh…

CharlotteZero

Oddly enough, Trader Joe’s here had them. I’m in the Napa Valley, so we always have a great selection of produce in our grocery stores. They did look and taste very much like kiwifruit (only very small, of course). They seemed to go from perfectly ripe to overripe very fast, though…

Terri HarpLady

I’ll have to check the local trader joe’s, just to see if they have them too.

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CharlotteZero

You can grow kiwis where you are??? Come to think of it, I have no idea what kind of plant produces kiwis. I’d always imagined a palm-like tree…

Terri HarpLady

The Kiwi’s that will grow in the midwest are also referred to as Kiwi Berries. They are smaller, self-pollinating (although I bought 2, just in case), can handle the freezing weather, & aren’t fuzzy like the ones that come from Down Under. You don’t have to peel them, & they are also suppose to be sweeter, & higher in Vitamin C. They grow on a vine, & I planted them before, but didn’t give them a big enough trellis, & didn’t know what I was doing when it came to pruning them, so I accidentally killed the plant, LOL. We live, we learn, right? I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I think I have a better understanding than before.

I’m planting them on a wrought iron gazebo that’s about 7 feet tall. It has 6 trellis panels, so I’m going to alternate red grape, kiwi, something else…still not sure what, but thinking of passion flower, which makes an edible fruit & grows here…then another red grape, another Kiwi, & another of whatever I end up using for the 3rd fruit. The visual image is of course to be able to go into the gazebo & have all these amazing fruits hanging down, plus a little summer shade. Last year I grew cucumbers on some panels. We’re still eating the cultured dills. My basement frig (nicknamed the Laboratory) has at least a dozen full jars still, along with jars of kimchi, sauerkraut, & other culturing experiments. Also on the Gazebo last year I grew various green beans, sugar snap peas. Underneath all that I had salad greens, radishes, turnips, beets, & parnips. I still have leeks in some of the beds.

CharlotteZero

Your garden sounds amazing! I just tried kiwi berries a few months ago. They’re really good. Good luck with them this year… :-)

Terri HarpLady

Really? I’ve never seen them in the store, so I’m just going by what I read.
It will be a few years before I actually get any fruit, but I have learned that time goes by quickly, & I’ve already put this project off for a few years. If I hadn’t, I’d be eating them this summer…sigh…

CharlotteZero

Oddly enough, Trader Joe’s here had them. I’m in the Napa Valley, so we always have a great selection of produce in our grocery stores. They did look and taste very much like kiwifruit (only very small, of course). They seemed to go from perfectly ripe to overripe very fast, though…

Terri HarpLady

I’ll have to check the local trader joe’s, just to see if they have them too.

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Bio

I’m so excited to have found this community! I’m a self-employed Harpist (acoustic & electric – Originals, Classical, Rock, Jazz, etc) & Singer/Songwriter. My days & nights revolve around teaching at home, playing gigs, gardening,& fixing awesome food to eat. My schedule is different everyday, but I just go with the flow, & I sip a lot of tea!

My love of Tea began with Herbals back in the 70’s. One of my favorites was a licorice blend from House of Hezekiah, an old tea shop in Kansas City. There was also a tea with mint, rose petals, chamomile, etc called Nuclear Casual Tea.
In the 80’s I gave up caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, (& a few illicit substances…), and brewed medicinal blends & tinctures to support 4 pregnancies (all children born at home). In the 90’s my love affair with green teas began when I discovered ‘The Republic of Tea’. Their beautiful teas & packaging inspired my original song, “TeaMind”, from my CD “Zen Breakfast”. If you’d like to hear the song for free, drop by my website.

In general, I drink my teas straight, but occasionally I add a pinch of Stevia & maybe some coconut or almond milk (I’m allergic to dairy, gluten, & various other things & avoid most sweets.)

I’ve explored a variety of teas:
Whites tend to be a little bland…sorry
Oolongs – wonderfully sensual
Roobios – I’m not a fan in general
Puehr – a fairly new direction for me
I’m not a huge fan of flavored teas, but I do make exceptions, & I’ll try just about anything once.

And Black Tea, Oh how I love thee!!
I am on a quest for the most wonderful breakfast cup! I will find you, my Love!

Location

St. Louis, MO

Website

http://www.harpsinger.net

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