Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Ok this is my second try at posting...my pc is eating my posts today. Our spring started of with 2 weeks of nice hot weather and ever since then it's been cool and rainy. So I'm just now starting to get into the garden. I'm working on the shady garden right now. This is my patch on top of the hill that boarders a pine bush. I've found it to be a wonderful place to grow cooler crops in the summer heat. Cabbage, broccoli, and lettuce seem to love it especially and keeps them from bolting. It has just one problem...It's infested with cleavers! If you have never seen cleavers they can be a useful herb but NOT in the vegetable garden! They are very invasive, choking out everything in it's path. It's leaves are covered in sticky hairs that rip your arms like velcro when you try to weed them out. So this year I'm trying something new, fabric mulch! Yesterday it wasn't raining so I got two rolls put down and planted some of our cabbage, celery and lettuce. I hope to finish covering the garden with it soon and get some bark mulch on top to.
Cabbage
Celery
Lettuce
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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We started harvesting our potatoes today. Dh dug and the girls and I picked them up. The littles were so much help! Little dd3 (22 months) was so excited to be doing this! It's such a cute age when every little job gives them such excitement. Off two rows we harvested 100 pounds of potatoes. We hope to do 2 rows a day and finish this section of the garden this week. Then we have one more section on the other side of the yard to get done next week. Rain pending of course.
Break time!
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Well last night I was awaken by a thunderstorm. Unfortunately we got very little rain from it. Again tonight we've seen and heard a lot of thunder and lightning but its staying just north and south of us. I don't want the storms but we need the rain sooo bad! The ground is just so dry. Dust is blowing off lawns and even the weeds in the bush are wilting and dying. All of the farmers even the old timers are saying how bad it is and the crops are terrible this year.
We have another line of storms heading this way from looking at the radar. I'm hoping that they aren't bad but that we get some good rain!!
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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We went strawberry picking Saturday evening. This time we tried out a new place we found in the newspaper. It was a little farther a way then were we normally go, but so much nicer! It turned out to be an old order Mennonite run farm and the woman there was so nice. She made us and the kids feel so welcome and invited us all to eat as much as we wanted. As she said it’s the best part of berry picking lol. So many berry picking places make families with children feel unwelcome. And it’s so sad to, after all they may like to snack but they are the next generation of berry pickers! If they have good memories of going out they will be back with their children later.
We’ve taught our children not to eat until after we’ve paid for the berries but it was really nice to be able to relax and let then snack a little bit after the nice woman told us to go a head.
The price was great to, just .90 a pound. That’s way cheaper then any other place we’ve been to before.
The girls were great helpers and we all picked 67 pounds of strawberries! I’m going to be very busy the next day or to canning and freezing all of them up.
Here are a few photos of the after picking faces lol.
   And here is the 67 pounds of berries, yikes lol!
 A close up, yummy.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Oh boy has it been hot here! Our weather is so funny. Sunday was freezing cold then the last 2 days are baking hot!
Anyway I've been puttering in the garden early in the morning and late in the evening. Yesterday I got our carrots, beets, swish chard, radishes, zucchinis, pickling cucumbers, and sunflowers in. This morning I planted the gladiola bulbs. Except for the onions that pretty much takes care of the main garden. It also has the corn, pie pumpkins, beans, tomatoes and potatoes we already planted.
We still have our two other gardens to work up. We have another one in a shady area that is GREAT for cooler crops in the summer heat. I love to grow my pea's, broccoli and lettuce up there. The shade helps to keep them from bolting so fast. Dh needs to till that up one more time and make the rows. He built a row maker/furrow maker that is the exact spacing he wants for his tiller. So as soon as he does that I'll get that garden planted.
Then we have one other just behind the barn were I'm planting out field pumpkins. I'm really hoping we can get this done today!
But we have to make a quick trip to town so we'll see.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Well today is going to be a scorcher! Up to 29C today and tomorrow 31C !!! Our first super hot days.
We were busy out in the garden yesterday. Dh tilled up the main part again and we got our corn, beans, and the last of our potatoes in. Latter in the evening I went out and planted the paste tomatoes.
I'm hoping to get the rest of the garden in today. I'll start as soon as the girls finish there breakfast.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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I finally got my garden seeds started this weekend to! I'm a few weeks latter then I normally do, but not TO late.
This year we switched to all organic, open pollinated/heirloom seeds. So far I've started:
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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This past week dh and I placed our orders for most of out garden seed this year. Each year I try to use more open pollinated plants and less hybrids. After we recently watched a documentary on genetically modified seeds/plants dh and I were deeply convicted to switch over 100% to organic open pollinated seeds. We are also expanding our produce sales this year. Dh will be building a new cart he’s been working on the plans for that already. He also wants to make up fliers to have available sharing that we only grow open pollinated plants and why. And that we use no pesticides, herbicides fertilizers etc. Last year we sold our organic produce at the SAME price you pay in the grocery store for commercially produce, not the price you paid for organic produce. We did quiet well. But dh never advertised that it was organic. One time two woman stopped to buy some items, zucchinis I believe. Dh was out front and talking to them. After they found out our produce was organic they bought extra and even had dh go dig up some potatoes fresh from the garden for them lol. So this year he’ll have to make sure that it’s clear, our produce is all natural. Also frustrated by the lack of selection from the larger seed companies for o/p seeds, we ordered from a smaller supplier this year. AGRESTAL ORGANIC HERITAGE SEED CO. This way we are also supporting smaller family farms that produce and sell this seed. Many of our seeds we’ll be saving so we wont have to buy them again next year. That will save a lot of money also This is what we have ordered so far: Sweet Corn- Yukon Supreme early 45 day Clem Bennett 80-100 day Zucchinis- Black Beauty Striato d’Italia Zucchini Tomatoes- Heinz 2653 Paste 65-70 days. I decided to try this one because it matures much early then the Amish paste tomatoes. With a short growing season this is important! These will be grown in the field. Cosmonaut Volkov 65-75 days. I picked this Russian variety because it’s an early producer. So should grow well for us hear and when we move farther north. This will be grown in the green house dh is building this spring. Beans- Blue lake Beets- Detroit Dark Red Broccoli - Calabrese Green Sprouting Carrots - Royal Red Core Chantenay Cucumbers pickling- National Pickling Lettuce- Crisp Mint Peas- Mayfair Field Pumpkins- Howden Pie Pumpkins- Saved seed from last year Radish- Plum Purple Cherry Belle Swish Chard- Rainbow Dill- Bouquet Dill Basil- Sweet Basil Sunflowers- Teddy Bear Autumn Beauty |
.Posted in Down The Garden Path
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I was taking a few photos of the garden the other day and thought I'd share a few.
Here is my yellow rose I just put this in this year.
 Here are some flowers that the last owners planted by the barn. Some type of aster I think?
 This is our sweet corn
 Pumkins ripening some are more yellow then this one. But this is the largest!
 Feverfew
 My comfery plants, I just put them in this year.
And here is our compost pile. Growing out of it a nice pumkin plant and tomato plant LOL.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Here's some photos from around our place.
Hibiscus just loves this spot on the porch!
 Pie pumpkins our little patch is loaded with them and they are ripening very early this year.
 Pie pumpkins patch, the plants are starting to yellow already. You can't see it but it's loaded with pumkins!
 Here's the giant corn we tried this year. We got the seed from T&T seeds. It's suppose to get up to 20 feet tall. Well since my dh is 5'8" it looks like it got to at least 13 feet because it's twice as tall as he is! Not bad for a drought year.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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You asked:
Hi Kim!
Answer: I'll try to get some pics of the garden soon! Onions are normally harvested in the fall when the tops start turning brown and fall over. Pull them up and let dry on a rack in the shade for a week or so till the skins are dry. BUT you can pull them up for fresh use any time the bulbs are big enough.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Well I just couldn't leave it be. Once the kids were in bed I went out and finished the white potatoes! It feels so good to have it done, blisters and all lol. There's lots more to do but at least that section is DONE!! |
Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Here is part of this mornings harvest. Cabbage, broccoli and zucchini!! Yummy! Anyone have some good zucchini recipies to share? I'd love some new ideas!
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Well things are coming along in the garden. Yesterday I picked all of our broccoli and blanched and froze that. I noticed out early cabbage is starting to set heads to. And the zucchini is flowering! |
Posted in Down The Garden Path
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In the garden today, I'm working at weeding the potatoes. They like most things have been over run with weeds. I've got 2 rows weeded and hilled tonight! Lots more to go though, I'll work at that tomorrow as long as it's not raining.
Last night we got a little more rain!! Yeah!! We still need lots more thought. AND that nice rain brought up our beans and carrots that we replanted.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Boy it's been a busy week :-). We've been working at getting our early garden stuff in. This week we have planted our peas (and put up trellising), early and late cabbage, broccoli, radishes, bunching onions, lettuce, onion sets, red potatoes, carrots, giant corn, beets and swish chard. Also a cherry tree and 2 gooseberry bushes. I think that was it lol. I'm so sore I can hardly move! My summer mussels haven't broken in yet.
Tonight they are calling for a few t-storms and a bit of rain in the morning. If we don't get this I'm hoping to get out and weed the flower gardens.
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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WOW I can't belive how long it's been since I've posted here. I didn't mean for so much time to slip by.
Lets see what have we been up to lately.
Spring has been trying to come. Last week was pretty warm and a lot of snow melted. We still have some though. It's suppose to start warming a little each day. between 1 and 3 C.
Over the weekend dh finished building my new light set. He did a great job and I love it! He build two tears and then mounted the 1 light unit I already had on top to make 3. It was nice because except for a little wire and hooks we had everything we needed already. It's a little over 4 feet long and taller then me. I'll get the plans and how to posted soon.
When he was done I started some of my plants. 72 Roma tomatoes, another 72 tray of tomatoes half are charlie red staker and brandywine, 72 broccoli, 72 early cabbage and 72 late storage cabbage. I still have to get my peppers and herbs started. I just peeked at them today and they are already starting to sprout. I can't wait till it's time to start planting outside again!
Here's a pic of the light set dh built:
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Posted in Down The Garden Path
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Thought I'd share what we are planting this year. This is what's going in this year. |
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