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.
Monday, June 29, 2015
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!
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