Well, I didn't miss it, you did. Garden-wise, it was nothing to blog about. I planted a garden, but the summer of 2016 was so incredibly busy that there were only 2 weekends all summer long that we were home and not busy with something. The garden was neglected and lost to weeds. I think I may have gotten a handful of peas out of the deal, and a cucumber. But, that's what happens when gardening isn't the priority. I wouldn't have had the time to can it all anyway! It was a good year for Molly and the rest of our farmer's market friends!
The kids are bigger. Stella is very grown up, rapidly approaching the end of her kindergarten year. She is great at math and is able to read pretty well. She is taking dance lessons, and has her spring recital at the end of this month. She is currently crazy about Moana (which is pretty awesome!).James is an off-the-wall 3-and-a-half year old who has VERY strong opinions about certain things. Things like basketball shirts (his sister's Rec shirts that are too big for him), sneakers (instead of boots, and even wears them to bed!), basketball (shot with a tennis ball), riding his bike (but only the ancient rusty trike that's too small for him, not his brand-new spiderman bike which he won't sit on for a minute, and food (current likes: yogurt, fruit, goldfish and/or graham crackers, bagels, donuts, fruit. current dislikes: pretty much everything else.). But he's amazing in his ability to be a pretty horrible little creature and then be perfectly lovable and adorable five minutes later.
I got a little gardening done yesterday, and I'm happy to report that the soil actually kind of looks awesome! Only took ten years! I put in potatoes and peas yesterday. I also started some seedlings in the greenhouse. I haven't started anything indoors, but plan to start melons and squash.
I just finished reading Eliot Coleman's Four Season Harvest, and while I'm not planning on winter growing anytime soon, I am interested in succession planting and extending the season where feasible, so that is weighing on my mind these days. One thing that is becoming obvious is I am not letting my seedlings get big enough to have a fighting chance of competing with (and, ideally, choking out) weeds, so I am really going to focus on letting the plants get a healthy start towards that goal.
Fedco Tree Sale is this weekend, and I'm going with the kids, but probably will just pick up a few things at Grower's Supply. No extra money this year- I just bought a car last week!
I'll try to stay in touch; it's fun to read the old entries.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Monday, June 29, 2015
June 29th
OK, yes, I am a horrible blogger.
But in the interest of maintaining this as something of a journal that I can refer to in future years...
This has been a very chilly, very wet spring, and as a consequence, the cold-weather stuff is doing great (peas, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, potatoes), and the warm weather stuff is faring miserably (peppers, tomatoes, squash, cukes, beans).
The first sighting of striped cucumber beetles was today, on the pumpkins.
This was to be the first year of successful mulching to maintain weed control. I scored some mulch hay (it took 18 square bales to do the whole garden), and did it up. Unfortunately, the wet conditions and the mulch have created a slug paradise, and there are tons.
I picked the first peas last weekend, so I guess the rule about planting on Patriot's Day for harvest by Independence Day is right. However, one full row is still not enough. And I really need to do better about succession planting with peas and lettuce, so it doesn't all come at once.
I noticed the first potato blossoms today.
The lettuce is also being picked now.
The beets failed again. Don't bother next year.
Don't ever try putting tomatoes in the back, wet part of the garden again.
I ended up using bush beans (Jacob's Cattle) for the 3 sisters mounds in the garden. I used all the cranberry pole beans in the tires. I think the bush beans might work better, since my corn doesn't want to grow tall enough to support pole beans, but the bush beans will still add nitrogen to the soil. It's hard to tell if the 3 sisters would work better in a warmer, drier year, but I'd imagine so. The tire gardens are doing much better than the mounds in the garden. I planted melons and meal corn in those, and squashes and sweet corn in the garden. Lots of failures this year will be attributable to the weather this May and June.
I guess that's all for now. I keep meaning to take pictures that show the hay mulch, but everything looks so dismal and anemic.
Also, in the last week, James (at 20 months old) has started saying Mummy and No (adamantly).
Stella is registered for preschool, and is very tall. They are starting to really play together well; they both especially love blocks, and Stella has asked for more blocks for her birthday. Stella has become quite a picky eater over the last year, but she seems to be getting a little better about it. At least there are still plenty of healthy things she likes. She will eat cucumbers every day (and usually does), and yogurt and fruit. But she would still probably rather eat goldfish crackers than just about anything. James loves fruit and graham crackers. I think blueberries are probably his favorite.
They are both developing a lot right now, and as a result, they both switch back and forth between lovable and terrible. I find it challenging to be alone with them all day (I just got done with my one-week vacation when daycare was closed), and missing them quite a bit when I'm away from them during the day. Right now Jamey is right beside me yelling "MumMEE! MuMEE!, and trying to take off his diaper. Stella wants to cuddle, but just fought about going to bed.
I do love them, so much. They will be old and gone before I know it, and I will look back at these days now and wish I had paid attention more, documented more, been more in the moment. But I am who I am, and I constantly strive for the next thing, whatever that may be. I'm willing them to grow up without even meaning to.
So, I guess that wasn't all, huh? I should make more of an effort to document my thoughts and the kids' lives. Maybe I'll be able to make better use of this blog in that way, going forward.
But in the interest of maintaining this as something of a journal that I can refer to in future years...
This has been a very chilly, very wet spring, and as a consequence, the cold-weather stuff is doing great (peas, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, potatoes), and the warm weather stuff is faring miserably (peppers, tomatoes, squash, cukes, beans).
The first sighting of striped cucumber beetles was today, on the pumpkins.
This was to be the first year of successful mulching to maintain weed control. I scored some mulch hay (it took 18 square bales to do the whole garden), and did it up. Unfortunately, the wet conditions and the mulch have created a slug paradise, and there are tons.
I picked the first peas last weekend, so I guess the rule about planting on Patriot's Day for harvest by Independence Day is right. However, one full row is still not enough. And I really need to do better about succession planting with peas and lettuce, so it doesn't all come at once.
I noticed the first potato blossoms today.
The lettuce is also being picked now.
The beets failed again. Don't bother next year.
Don't ever try putting tomatoes in the back, wet part of the garden again.
I ended up using bush beans (Jacob's Cattle) for the 3 sisters mounds in the garden. I used all the cranberry pole beans in the tires. I think the bush beans might work better, since my corn doesn't want to grow tall enough to support pole beans, but the bush beans will still add nitrogen to the soil. It's hard to tell if the 3 sisters would work better in a warmer, drier year, but I'd imagine so. The tire gardens are doing much better than the mounds in the garden. I planted melons and meal corn in those, and squashes and sweet corn in the garden. Lots of failures this year will be attributable to the weather this May and June.
I guess that's all for now. I keep meaning to take pictures that show the hay mulch, but everything looks so dismal and anemic.
Also, in the last week, James (at 20 months old) has started saying Mummy and No (adamantly).
Stella is registered for preschool, and is very tall. They are starting to really play together well; they both especially love blocks, and Stella has asked for more blocks for her birthday. Stella has become quite a picky eater over the last year, but she seems to be getting a little better about it. At least there are still plenty of healthy things she likes. She will eat cucumbers every day (and usually does), and yogurt and fruit. But she would still probably rather eat goldfish crackers than just about anything. James loves fruit and graham crackers. I think blueberries are probably his favorite.
They are both developing a lot right now, and as a result, they both switch back and forth between lovable and terrible. I find it challenging to be alone with them all day (I just got done with my one-week vacation when daycare was closed), and missing them quite a bit when I'm away from them during the day. Right now Jamey is right beside me yelling "MumMEE! MuMEE!, and trying to take off his diaper. Stella wants to cuddle, but just fought about going to bed.
I do love them, so much. They will be old and gone before I know it, and I will look back at these days now and wish I had paid attention more, documented more, been more in the moment. But I am who I am, and I constantly strive for the next thing, whatever that may be. I'm willing them to grow up without even meaning to.
So, I guess that wasn't all, huh? I should make more of an effort to document my thoughts and the kids' lives. Maybe I'll be able to make better use of this blog in that way, going forward.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
As a reference for future years,
This week the last jar of jam and the last jar of salsa were finished. The second-to-last jar of dill pickles was opened.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Garden 2015!
Hello, blog. Long time no see.
It is Tuesday after a (relatively early) Memorial Day weekend, and I'm at work, but head is full of garden. I will compose this blog post today, add pictures later, and delete this sentence. :)
The winter was awful. Truly horrible. Freezing and snowy and, worst of all, persistent and lingering. We were still having sub-zero temperatures at the end of March, and still had enormous snowbanks in mid-April. This past weekend illustrates a true Maine cliche'; Our furnace kicked on overnight Friday night/Saturday morning (set at 60), and yesterday was in the 80s. Don't like the weather? Wait a minute!
By far the most exciting development garden infrastructure this year is the erection of the small green house that I got for my (35th!) birthday, which had been patiently sitting in its box for nearly two years waiting for two adults to have the opportunity to put it up. That finally happened a couple weeks ago, and I'm thrilled to have it. Many thanks to Parker and our good friend Ken for that effort that took the good part of a day. This year we invested in new galvanized wire mesh and T-posts as a pea support system. I got a super new watering can for Mother's Day, and my dear husband brought me some new gloves from his job. We will try to make the existing deer fence work for another year, even though it's pretty torn in spots. Unfortunately, we've lost a couple tools that will need to be replaced by next year (garden rake and hoe), but I think we can limp along until then.
The garden goals for this year are to focus on the crops our family truly loves, rather than experiment with things we may or may not love. The list includes peas, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, corn, dry beans, squash, and melons. Normally we would plant peppers, but my source for organic seedlings will not have any this year, so I'm not sure we will have them. As usual, the tomato, pepper, and eggplant seedlings I started on out windowsills have done little more than germinate. I bought 12 tomato seedlings from Molly this past weekend (6 slicers, 3 pastes, and 3 cherries), along with some broccoli starts. I am doing three sisters-style plantings this year, with sweet corn, dry beans, and winter squash in the garden, and dent (meal) corn, dry beans, and melons in the tire planters by the house. I will also do a small planting of popcorn in the isolated tire (about 200' feet away from any other corn plantings, to discourage cross-pollination).
As of today (May 26th), everything is in with the exception of the tomatoes, dry beans, squash, and melons.
Also new this year is no-till cultivation. Partially because I wanted to get some things in early, way to early to till, but also because I know it's better for the soil. I scored some mulch hay, which will hopefully help me get the jump on mulching against weeds. So far, we are sitting pretty in the weed department, mostly because it's been very dry for the last month. We have rain scheduled for the next few days, so I'm sure we have a weed explosion in the near future. But, hopefully, also a pea explosion.
I planted peas and lettuce on Patriot's Day, and the peas and lettuce are still only about two to three inches high. Carrots, parsnips, and beets went in the first weekend in May, and potatoes, broccoli (seed), and cabbage went in a week ago. Green beans, cucumbers, and corn all went in yesterday. I will probably plant the tomato plants next weekend. The dry beans and squash will go into the three sisters mounds when the corn is at least three inches high.
This is the beautiful time for the gardener, full of hopes and dreams and anticipation and best intentions! The weather is still pleasant, the insect annoyance manageable, and the weeds have not yet taken over. I'm trying to enjoy it, and remain optimistic about the season to come.
As for Mama's Little Helpers, well, *sigh*. I wish they could learn to play outdoors by themselves. I know I should relish their interest in the garden and whatever I happen to be doing in general, but it's hard. S wants to ask questions, and when she runs out of them, she wants to go inside. J loves all things dirt and digging, which includes digging up dirt where Mama just planted a row of seeds, and "weeding", only with seedlings, not weeds. I'm hoping this will get better as the season wears on, and that they will develop their own interests, and I will develop more patience. They are, after all, wonderful, smart, inquisitive, beautiful children, and any mother would be proud to call them hers.
That's the status of our little homestead on this last week of May, 2015. Stay tuned!
It is Tuesday after a (relatively early) Memorial Day weekend, and I'm at work, but head is full of garden. I will compose this blog post today, add pictures later, and delete this sentence. :)
The winter was awful. Truly horrible. Freezing and snowy and, worst of all, persistent and lingering. We were still having sub-zero temperatures at the end of March, and still had enormous snowbanks in mid-April. This past weekend illustrates a true Maine cliche'; Our furnace kicked on overnight Friday night/Saturday morning (set at 60), and yesterday was in the 80s. Don't like the weather? Wait a minute!
By far the most exciting development garden infrastructure this year is the erection of the small green house that I got for my (35th!) birthday, which had been patiently sitting in its box for nearly two years waiting for two adults to have the opportunity to put it up. That finally happened a couple weeks ago, and I'm thrilled to have it. Many thanks to Parker and our good friend Ken for that effort that took the good part of a day. This year we invested in new galvanized wire mesh and T-posts as a pea support system. I got a super new watering can for Mother's Day, and my dear husband brought me some new gloves from his job. We will try to make the existing deer fence work for another year, even though it's pretty torn in spots. Unfortunately, we've lost a couple tools that will need to be replaced by next year (garden rake and hoe), but I think we can limp along until then.
The garden goals for this year are to focus on the crops our family truly loves, rather than experiment with things we may or may not love. The list includes peas, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, corn, dry beans, squash, and melons. Normally we would plant peppers, but my source for organic seedlings will not have any this year, so I'm not sure we will have them. As usual, the tomato, pepper, and eggplant seedlings I started on out windowsills have done little more than germinate. I bought 12 tomato seedlings from Molly this past weekend (6 slicers, 3 pastes, and 3 cherries), along with some broccoli starts. I am doing three sisters-style plantings this year, with sweet corn, dry beans, and winter squash in the garden, and dent (meal) corn, dry beans, and melons in the tire planters by the house. I will also do a small planting of popcorn in the isolated tire (about 200' feet away from any other corn plantings, to discourage cross-pollination).
As of today (May 26th), everything is in with the exception of the tomatoes, dry beans, squash, and melons.
Also new this year is no-till cultivation. Partially because I wanted to get some things in early, way to early to till, but also because I know it's better for the soil. I scored some mulch hay, which will hopefully help me get the jump on mulching against weeds. So far, we are sitting pretty in the weed department, mostly because it's been very dry for the last month. We have rain scheduled for the next few days, so I'm sure we have a weed explosion in the near future. But, hopefully, also a pea explosion.
I planted peas and lettuce on Patriot's Day, and the peas and lettuce are still only about two to three inches high. Carrots, parsnips, and beets went in the first weekend in May, and potatoes, broccoli (seed), and cabbage went in a week ago. Green beans, cucumbers, and corn all went in yesterday. I will probably plant the tomato plants next weekend. The dry beans and squash will go into the three sisters mounds when the corn is at least three inches high.
This is the beautiful time for the gardener, full of hopes and dreams and anticipation and best intentions! The weather is still pleasant, the insect annoyance manageable, and the weeds have not yet taken over. I'm trying to enjoy it, and remain optimistic about the season to come.
As for Mama's Little Helpers, well, *sigh*. I wish they could learn to play outdoors by themselves. I know I should relish their interest in the garden and whatever I happen to be doing in general, but it's hard. S wants to ask questions, and when she runs out of them, she wants to go inside. J loves all things dirt and digging, which includes digging up dirt where Mama just planted a row of seeds, and "weeding", only with seedlings, not weeds. I'm hoping this will get better as the season wears on, and that they will develop their own interests, and I will develop more patience. They are, after all, wonderful, smart, inquisitive, beautiful children, and any mother would be proud to call them hers.
That's the status of our little homestead on this last week of May, 2015. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Is it Spring yet?
So, yeah, not much of a blogger, am I?
Anyway, it has been a very cold winter, and very snowy too. I was looking at old pictures on Facebook and saw one from March 30, 2012. My little girl was holding up a crocus she had just picked from the front lawn. My crocus plants are currently under a two-and-a-half foot snowbank, and I have no hopes of seeing any by March 30, 2015.
I also have not started any seedlings, but have planned out the garden, done my germination tests, ordered seeds, and will be ready to start stuff this weekend.
My little darlings are growing like weeds, although it has been a rough winter in our home health-wise. J has had a runny nose for two solid months, and S has had a cough for at least 6 weeks that she can't seem to shake. We've all had more than our share of it, but now it is Saint Patrick's Day, and although it is snowing outside, Spring is on it's way. Speed along, sweet Spring!
Anyway, it has been a very cold winter, and very snowy too. I was looking at old pictures on Facebook and saw one from March 30, 2012. My little girl was holding up a crocus she had just picked from the front lawn. My crocus plants are currently under a two-and-a-half foot snowbank, and I have no hopes of seeing any by March 30, 2015.
I also have not started any seedlings, but have planned out the garden, done my germination tests, ordered seeds, and will be ready to start stuff this weekend.
My little darlings are growing like weeds, although it has been a rough winter in our home health-wise. J has had a runny nose for two solid months, and S has had a cough for at least 6 weeks that she can't seem to shake. We've all had more than our share of it, but now it is Saint Patrick's Day, and although it is snowing outside, Spring is on it's way. Speed along, sweet Spring!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Speedy garden check-in
A quick post (with no pictures) for the record.
Last Monday, August 4th, I planted broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce, and peas (probably way too late for these).
We picked our first cucumbers last weekend, but they are still slow right now. Same with the tomatoes.
The squashes are beginning to look hopeless; they are still only producing male flowers, and at this point, with no fruit set on, I don't think there is enough time to grow winter squashed. I'm still hoping for a miracle here, though, because I love winter squash so, so much.
Last weekend was the big summer tie-dying event that has been in the works for two years.I'll take some pictures when I'm finally done washing them.
Until next time!
Last Monday, August 4th, I planted broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce, and peas (probably way too late for these).
We picked our first cucumbers last weekend, but they are still slow right now. Same with the tomatoes.
The squashes are beginning to look hopeless; they are still only producing male flowers, and at this point, with no fruit set on, I don't think there is enough time to grow winter squashed. I'm still hoping for a miracle here, though, because I love winter squash so, so much.
Last weekend was the big summer tie-dying event that has been in the works for two years.I'll take some pictures when I'm finally done washing them.
Until next time!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Last week of July! Garden check-in
Well, long time no blog. It takes a lot more time to put together a blog post than I ever realized. I imagine I will have more time for this in the cold months, when I'm cooped up indoors dreaming. But the pictures won't be as fabulous.
I picked the first cherry tomatoes last week, and this past weekend saw the first harvest of green beans, new potatoes, and peppers. There are TONS of weeds, but I'm trying to do what I can. For the most part, things seem to be doing OK in spite of the weeds; important stuff, anyway. There are a few failures to discuss. The broccoli and cabbage, which never grew that much to begin with, were way to small to compete with the weeds once they started really growing. I pulled them all this weekend, and will try to plant some for fall this coming weekend.
The beets are also not a success. Only about 5 or 6 seedlings have survived to date, and they are still very small. I will throw some more seeds in that row this weekend, also. The first round of peas is done, and the climbers will be ready by this weekend, I think. I hope to get some more planted this weekend for a fall harvest.And, the corn, *sigh*. I just can't grow corn, I guess. Every year I try, and I have yet to harvest one ear. This year, at least, the plants are still alive, but they don't seem to be growing. They are still about knee-height, if that. I know they are probably the most weed-choked, and are suffering from it. Oh well.
How about some pictures?
The view from the entrance. Yes, there is a garden in there!
The peppers don't seem to be as robust this year. Each plant set on fruit early on, but they show no signs of flowering any more, so I guess I'm only going to have six home-grown peppers this year.
The climbing peas:
The potatoes, which I still never hilled.
Cherry and slicing tomatoes:
Sad corn:
The Potimarron squash (also known as Red Kuri) started blossoming this weekend:
The string beans looked a little forlorn after weeding, but they are a tough bunch:
We picked several the day after weeding:
And the Jacob's cattle are looking good too:
Here are the carrots in the foreground, and the parsnips in the back. They look good, but I really need to find some time to thin the carrots.
My garden helper is not amused. I should be playing with him, not all this dirt!
I also found some spare time (ahem, called in sick to work) to go to our favorite local pick-your-own farm:
It was a glorious weekend, with my sweet children and an excellent book. I'm reading Lucy Maud Montgomery's selected journals, and I'm really enjoying them. They combine so many things I love: history, first person narratives, Prince Edward Island. They are really very good, and I can't believe I didn't know that they existed before!
Until next time!
I picked the first cherry tomatoes last week, and this past weekend saw the first harvest of green beans, new potatoes, and peppers. There are TONS of weeds, but I'm trying to do what I can. For the most part, things seem to be doing OK in spite of the weeds; important stuff, anyway. There are a few failures to discuss. The broccoli and cabbage, which never grew that much to begin with, were way to small to compete with the weeds once they started really growing. I pulled them all this weekend, and will try to plant some for fall this coming weekend.
The beets are also not a success. Only about 5 or 6 seedlings have survived to date, and they are still very small. I will throw some more seeds in that row this weekend, also. The first round of peas is done, and the climbers will be ready by this weekend, I think. I hope to get some more planted this weekend for a fall harvest.And, the corn, *sigh*. I just can't grow corn, I guess. Every year I try, and I have yet to harvest one ear. This year, at least, the plants are still alive, but they don't seem to be growing. They are still about knee-height, if that. I know they are probably the most weed-choked, and are suffering from it. Oh well.
How about some pictures?
The view from the entrance. Yes, there is a garden in there!
The cucumbers will be here soon!
The string beans looked a little forlorn after weeding, but they are a tough bunch:
And the Jacob's cattle are looking good too:
It was the very last of the season for the strawberries, but they let me scrounge around. I couldn't bear the thought of going a whole year without homemade jam. Of course, I haven't had time to make jam, so these beauties are now waiting patiently in the freezer for their day. I will probably do it during the first pickle day, when the canner is already out, and the kitchen is already steamy. Someday, I hope to be able to get my berries in my own yard, but, unfortunately, my berry bushes only provide me with handfuls here and there, never a large quantity at once, which would be needed for jam.
We got a glimpse of this handsome guy this weekend, chilling out in an old tire:
Until next time!
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