Mid June Garden Update - 2023

What a difference a bit of rain can make! 

We have been so blessed with some rainfall.  It has allowed the garden to burst forth with growth and promise.  From that which I planted to those things which have grown from seed that fell last year; all of it is beautiful and exciting.  

The other day, a friend of ours, who has a keen eye for medicinal herbs that grow naturally on the land, spotted this plant.  It was so out of place and such a thrill to find!  Any guesses?  Wooly Lamb's Ear!  

You can read more about it here.

Not far from the Wooly Lamb's Ear, we found a beautiful mullein plant which is also medicinal.  We do have mullein growing in the buck's pasture, They don't look near as nice as this one.  For information, read here. 

The sunflowers in the garden are blooming.  Most of them are from seed that fell last year.  They help to draw in pollinators. 

It appears at this time that the battle with squash bugs has subsided for the most part.  I fought them by hand by pulling, squishing, and removing eggs.  There were some eggs I missed, so I had a few young ones on a winter squash vine, but I killed those this morning with soapy water. (castile soap)

My mammoth sunflowers are coming a long, but the sweet corn looks like another failed crop.  I think the ground just isn't fertile enough.  

My favorite part of the garden is the green bean trellis/arch.  It is so gorgeous!  They are beginning to bloom with bright purple-pink blossoms.  It won't be long before I will have so many beans that the pantry will be filled with jars full of these delicious beans. 

So far the experimental watermelon patch is doing well.  There was a bloom on one this morning.  I am thinking that by the time the watermelon is ready to really soak up the rays, the green beans will be dying back. 

The cucumbers are so lush it is insane!  I planted a few types, but don't really have a favorite.  The Beit Alpha don't have spines and have a sweeter taste, which makes them better for salads and snacking.  The other types make better pickles because they are crisp.  

Last year, I purchased some cantaloupe starts from Azure Standard.  I planted six starts into the ground; two in a large bucket and four in the ground.  The four in the ground produced 17 cantaloupe!  The other two plants produced one or two. I ended up saving seed from a melon last year so I could grow it this year.  Look how they are growing!

You may remember in the last post that I pulled out the peas.  I decided to put in some cow peas along one trellis.  Cow peas are a dried bean, but can be used as a fresh eating bean as well (as can all dried beans). The seed has already germinated and popped up through the ground. 

The other trellis was also empty and it took me a while to decide what to grow on it.  I decided to grow more winter squash.  So today, I planted some Lakota, Canada Crookneck, and Red Kuri.  I also put in some Jimmy Nardelo Italian sweet peppers.  It is a new one for me, but it sounds really good.  They can be eaten fresh, cooked, or even dehydrated into paprika! 

Much to my surprise, I noticed today that our apple tree was loaded with apples.  When I say loaded, I mean it has a lot of them.  But in all seriousness, I am comparing that to the fact I haven't had any since we moved here.  This tree will definitely need some pruning in order to make sure I can reach the apples come next year's harvest time. If I can open the canopy, it will allow easier access to the fruit.  This gives me hope that perhaps my pear tree will bloom again next year.  We cut it almost completely down last year after fire blight got to it, but it has grown back this year and so far looks good. 

Yesterday, I took all the runners from my strawberry plants and put them into the other Green Stalk grow towers.  I am hopeful they will root and do well.  If not, then I know what I need to do to get more.  The process I used was more a common sense approach, but it may be that some of the runners were too young to be transplanted.  If so, I will start again, but root them in water first. I should know within a few days if they have indeed taken root.  

I have started harvesting carrots, and yesterday I began fermenting some Mexican hot carrots.  I also used up the beets I harvested and made some beet kraut.  

And...that sums it all up for this week.  I hope you are all doing well.  We are all doing pretty well, enjoying the cooler weather.  

Early June Update

I'll make it quick since I am a bit frustrated with rogue chicks and turkey poults that can't be contained in electric pens.  But that has nothing to do with the above picture of peas that were harvested from our garden the other day.  Unfortunately, the heat is too much for them and they stopped growing as well as they should be.  (More on that later)

I cured a brisket and make some beef bacon, but just like last time it was too salty even though this time I rinsed it well.  So perhaps I need to cure it for less time.  Either way, it was still tasty and fried up nicely. 

We bought a small hand built chicken coop from a lady who lives about half an hour from us.  We put it in the front yard for our laying hens since they had no shelter from the elements.  I think the only flaw is it needs a little more ventilation, perhaps over the door.  It is, however, a solid coop and perfect for a dozen hens. 

I harvested the garlic on Friday and laid it out on some pallets to cure.  Then I will clean it up a bit and figure out how to store it.  I need to find a cool place for some of the bigger bulbs so I can save it for seed this fall.  

Friday was the day for seeing snakes.  I saw one on a metal shelf in front of the shop and a little while later, found this one in the dog pen, angry about the dogs wanting to chew on him. 

Today, I did some work in the garden.  After watering, I did a little weeding with a stirrup hoe.  I try to knock out a little bit each day so I am not overwhelmed with weeds growing.  It has been working well.  

A bit later, our friend brought out our second dozen black Australorp chicks and looked at our ewe lamb for consideration.  The chicks already are escaping and we are missing three.  The fourth is circling the electric pen.  I have tried for a long time to catch it, but I just can't.   

After they left, I went to the garden to clean up the peas and weed the bed they were in.  I plan to put some cowpeas in there, utilizing the trellises.   There are a few peppers on the one end, but all of my hot pepper starts and seeds did not come up.  This is disappointing, but I roll with the punches.  

I put together three of the raised beds I purchased at a discount in order to add to the front garden.  Two of them are 18"x18" and have trellises.  The third is the same size as the others in the garden.  I put them in place, but still need to put some cardboard underneath and fill them with goat bedding and manure, and container mix.  The larger bed will be where I transplant my herbs from the pots.  I don't think pots are good for perennial plants.  

And for the garden update...

The potatoes are starting to flower which means they are beginning to set potatoes.  I also have a small section of garlic that needs to be harvested.  This type, whatever it was, did not grow large.  The bulbs are small and the necks on them are very thin.  

The pepper transplants are struggling to make it, but the volunteer zinnias and sunflowers are doing well.  

Summer squash is preparing to bloom and set fruit.  I have been picking off squash bugs all week, as well as removing all the eggs they laid.  Not my favorite job, but it has to be done. 

The spaghetti squash is slow to grow, but it's coming none the less.  

Sweet potatoes are starting to take off, some beds are doing better than others. Despite the soil being the same.  

This part is my favorite: the green bean arch.  The watermelon is underneath.  This was an experiment and if it doesn't work, then fine.  No big deal.  So far, the plants are growing really well.   

The next arch is where the winter squash and cucumbers are.  I did plant cantaloupe on the far end, so we shall see if we get something like last year when we had 19 melons from 4 vines.   

Our plan to improve milk quantity from our dairy goats, we have started bringing in new goats who come from better dairy lines.  You may have heard about Maizie, who came here several weeks ago, but we also purchased a doe, Yelana.  Both girls have been in the breeding pen with our buck, Oliver, and we are hopeful they will bring us some beautiful babies and delicious milk this fall.  

Meanwhile, we are waiting to hear lab results on whether or not our goat, Kobe, has Johnes disease.  We are pretty sure his test results were false positive, but we needed to get a second opinion before we decide what course of action we need to make.  

I guess that wraps it all up.  There really isn't too much going on around here with the kids.  Al works full time, leaving very little time for home projects.