It's Green and Beautiful!

We hardly had a spring this year. It seemed like one day it was winter and then suddenly it was summer. Things have been moving at high speed since my post in April. Here's a walk around the homestead this week, we'll start with the front porch and look at things in order of a walkabout.


These two beauties came from an Amish greenhouse we like to frequent. We've been buying our tomato and pepper starts there for several years. Their payment counter is in the flower greenhouse - I'd be OK if I didn't have to pay for my veggies. Once I get in there I usually end up taking home a basket (or two) or some flats of posies.

These Million Bells remind me of small purple roses.

And this basket overflowing with pink Petunias is almost three feet across!

Along side the driveway is a very large mulch pile that has been aging for almost two years. It's at its prime this year and we are using it liberally. It is about six large truck loads of chipped deciduous trees in leaf. Moist, rich, and life just wants to spring from it, like these pretty little mushrooms. There are colonies of more than one kind to be found.

Across from our driveway the side of the road is awash in Purple Phlox in bloom. It was hard to get a picture as we had a nice breeze this afternoon and everything was in motion. 

The Bleeding Hearts, Lilac and Ornamental Quince have all come and gone but the Bee Balm was quick to stand in their place. The distinctive blossom has such a lovely color. And it is aptly named, the bees seem to love it. 

And I think there are more Columbine blooming in my front garden than I ever saw during my entire time in Colorado. They are eager and proud little bloomers. I will be transplanting them this year, so I hope they are hearty, as well.

And the Rhododendrons are spectacular this year. I think the sudden summer without the false starts of early warm ups followed by freezes suited the woody ornamentals. I love the perfect bouquets held out on friendly stems. I feel a connectedness to the Rhododendrons - they communicate with me all winter long with their posture and leaves. The colder it is, the tighter the leaves curl up into little cylinders. Who needs a thermometer when they are so willing to keep me informed? And I admire their tenacity, when all other green leaved bushes have turned to barren twigs - they keep their green on. 

And how about that raised bed - the one where I was sure things would grow in my last post? It's got a wire hoop frame to keep the chickens out and life is growing enthusiastically in it's safe bounds.

Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, onions, carrots, radishes, snap peas, beets, lettuce, basil, chives and dill are filling out and will soon fill it up. And just like every year - I am captivated by the tiny seeds and fragile stems that persist and burst with life until they are strong, sturdy plants.

Kent has been tackling a big job and he is succeeding. The blackberries and raspberries were getting out of hand and had taken over our little grape vines (our "vinyette") and created an unruly mass of impenetrable, spiney canes. He has recovered the grapes and is taming the blackberries. The raspberries were sacrificed for the greater good.

They don't look like much but these grape vines already appear to have miniature grape clusters growing on them.

And the blackberries are just covered in clouds of white blossoms! A super abundance that bodes well for blackberry pies and jam. 

Their nearby neighbors, the pear and apple trees, are not to be outdone. Tiny apples and pears are beginning to bulge with expectancy.

And one final picture for now - the Locust Trees are in bloom all around us. The air is sweetly scented and the trees are striking in their finery. This makes the bees very happy. And we are happy to have a new swarm take up residence in our hives today!

The green is here and with it the humidity, the insects, and the heat. But I have resolved to stop my whining and revel in the abundance of life that thrives in this warm climate, rich soil, and lavish moisture. There is a chaotic party of plants and creatures determined to celebrate life! I'm going to join them!

More Homestead Summer

Once the garden began producing, there was something to harvest daily, hard but satisfying work. Here come Steph and Kent with a load - and a little help.

 

 

And also satisfying is sitting down to a meal and realizing that you grew most of what you are eating. Here's a dinner of chicken pot pie with our own chickens and veggies, refrigerator cucumbers and coleslaw.

 

 
We grew dry beans for the first time. These were called "French Horticultural". I thought they looked like Jacob's Cattle. And so easy to grow. Plant them, make sure they get weeded and watered, wait for them to dry out, snap off the pods and shell them at your leisure. We'll be planting at least three times as many this year.
 

 
Here's a homestead breakfast - pancakes with fresh milled grain, eggs, from our chickens, maple syrup from our trees and our own strawberries. Makes my mouth water. And maybe this year we'll add a cold glass of our own goat milk!

 
And maybe sometimes when we sit around the dinner table we talk of unusual and somewhat obscure questions, like:

"If you pull a vacuum on a marshmallow, what happens?" This was probably preceded by conversation about vacuum sealing food, the qualities of food being sealed and the science of what happens in a vacuum.

Which meant we had to immediately grab the Foodsaver and find out! It expanded impressively.

 

What we did last summer

The garden flourished - it was such a joy to tend and reap the bounty. The garden is large (you can see Kent in the background to the right of Steph - he's in the potato rows) so the three of us had plenty to keep us busy.

 

 
The bean teepees were a huge success. I found that picking the beans was enjoyable, they were high producers, and with mulch around the bases there was no weeding to speak of. We will be using these again.

 
Our basil did incredibly well and I found a spinach I will be planting again and again. Bloomsdale is a popular spinach but I find I like the less common New Zealand variety. I can pick the leaves from the stems and it continues to grow unhindered, the spinach itself is hardy and not easily bruised yet it has a nice flavor and dries really well.

 
The potatoes looked very healthy and yet we didn't get a huge yield from them. Maybe a few bushel at best. We need to reassess and figure out how to do better this year.

 
I also found a technique we will use each year for our cabbage (and broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc.) Cabbage loopers are a problem but it occurred to me that if the moths couldn't lay their eggs, then I wouldn't have to spend my time picking the worms back off. I purchased basic tulle from the fabric store, sewed three widths of it together and covered the cabbage rows. We weighted the edges with stones and the cabbage got sun and rain but no moths.

 
It made for beautiful cabbage free from worm damage!

 
And I was excited that our dill came in this year - now we could use our own hot peppers, cucumbers and dill for our Kosher-style pickles! That steer in the background is Grady at 1 year old. He now looks me nearly in the eye and his horns are about 8 inches long.

 
Stephanie purchased two dairy goat kids. Fern and Adelle. They were so cute! I have long thought I'd like dairy goats and they have done nothing but convince me - even though they are smart enough and curious enough to get themselves in trouble from time to time. Adelle, unfortunately, died unexpectedly but Steph got Fern another friend, Nougat (or NewGoat).

 
There was no shortage of cucumbers this past year. We canned kosher-style spears, dill slices, bread and butter, and hot and sweet pickles. And that's not counting eating fresh cucumbers and Grandma's refrigerator pickles.

 

 
Our mower stopped working but we had backup. One day I looked out the kitchen window and there were two cows grazing...

 
And out the other window I saw two goats. Wow, they were happy and we were happy. A great temporary solution.

 
And lots of tomatoes. Every day resulted in something to can, dry or otherwise preserve.

I find I'm getting so excited to start our 2013 garden - I can feel the sun on my back, the hot dirt under my bare feet, and hear the buzz of the bees!

Gardening is Good for the Soul

There is bound to be a lot of entries about gardening on the blog because it's that time of year and gardening is a big deal with us. Looking at then and now pictures or seeing lush green crops in photos is nice but does not convey the full effect of the gardening process.

The hours spent hand howing lime into the soil. Baking in the sun. Drinking greedily from the hose. On your hands and knees digging, planting, weeding, thinning. The well-developed appreciation for the fact that God and not you make these things grow and prosper. Or not. The warmth of the sun and rain in its time is less about what to wear today and more like breathing. It becomes a part of your daily existence. It's a very connected feeling. Connected to the land, the crops, the weather and especially to our dependence on God for all things.

 The wonder at planting something you've never grown before and watching it come up unlike anything you expected. This is buckwheat. Not at all what I thought it might look like.

 The tomato plants that you stripped down to two leaves and and gently buried you realize have now become strong, lovely plants with tomatoes already setting on them.

 Bean teepees. Constructed with hope and expectation soon to be vining

With plants just emerged from the dry seed you placed in the ground

Tiny plants with the promise of large, crisp heads of cabbage,

hard as it is to believe when you put their fragile roots in the soil.

Now straining against their protective covers and looking strong and healthy.

Trust. Hope. Wonder. Gratitude. And so many lessons to be drawn about life.  So much potential in a small dry seed. How stripping branches and burying a plant may seem harsh but actually causes it to be stronger and more fruitful. The net of protection that keeps away the enemies that would devour. The strong framework that gives support to the plant that would otherwise fall on its own.

Life itself began in a garden. Tending the garden was the job God gave to man. Work with God's design and you will be rewarded and amazed. Work against His design and sooner or later you will be humbled. It is hard to feel far from God when one is tending the garden.

A couple weeks ago I realized I was still mourning the loss of fruit on our trees this year. Not a single fruit tree on our property will be producing this year due to a cold snowy spell that happened just as everything began to blossom. Did I believe I was owed a fruit harvest? Last year we reaped that which we did not sow. And while we appreciated it and there are still apples and peaches preserved and dried. Although, or perhaps because, we rely greatly on the produce of our land to supply us for the whole year, it seemed that I felt I was entitled to MY fruit. I asked God to forgive me and determined to thank God, even though "the tree does not blossom".

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither [shall] fruit [be] in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and [there shall be] no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17, 18

And now I wonder to myself, Is this how God gives rest even to the trees and vines? Could we see a larger harvest someday in the future because of the loss of harvest now? I can't know but I do know He has a plan and His way is always good. Am I willing to trust His provision even though my own plan has had a wrench thrown into it? Yes. I will.

What are you so happy about?

Yeah, I'm grinning too! It's radish time again!

 And look at this hive... you may at first note that it has a number of  bees on it. Actually, it was covered with them earlier that day. It had been very hot here this past week. The bees were "bearding", Kent tells me. But you might also note the size of that hive. When I first pictured them here on the blog there were two hives of equal size.

Hmmm.... now there are three hives and one is quite large. That's because Kent had to add on to the hive that was brimming with honey and split another that was growing in population. I think he's doing a great job with his new apiary skills.

He also got to try his hand this past week at capturing a swarm. The vagaries of bee swarms being what they are, he did not ultimately succeed in capturing it. However, he gained good experience and confidence by trying. At one point he was 20-25 up a ladder in a tree in the dark to try and gather the bees from where they had clustered for the night. I myself stayed on the ground praying for his safety and convinced that I wouldn't have the nerve myself.

And I also harvested a large crop of brown fur. I was finally able, with Stephanie's assistance, to clip Caleb. The pile of discarded hair was as large as the remaining dog. He actually doesn't look too bad for a home clip job and he seems to feel much better.

To Everything there is a Season

And this is one of our favorites... Garden time! We've been laboring for some weeks now with tilling, and expansions. Planting and mulching. And we're starting to see things come in very nicely.

Then

Now

Or north side expansion filled mainly with squash family. It is not fenced but our Amish friends tell us that wildlife is not very keen on squash because of it's prickly vines and leaves. We're giving it a try to see if we can let them romp without needing all the protection that we provide to tomatoes and such.

Then

And they are all up now and getting ready to vine... butternut, acorn, hubbard, spaghetti, sweet pie, black beauty, yellow straightneck and watermelon.

Now

And the east expansion from the main garden is our experimental grains and our sweet corn.

Then

The buckwheat is up and lively. The purple barley is not taking off like I had hoped. The sweet corn is doing just fine but we only planted half the space to start, and then planted about two weeks later so that we can have fresh sweet corn over a longer span of time.

Now

I'm sad to say that the two hens pictured just a couple of posts ago... brownie and blackie, along with a lovely white hen, were all snatched from their coop last night. It was a very sad morning to find only three hens remaining along with Bob Jr., a very distraught rooster. We have moved the coop to our side yard, right under our bedroom window and where an exterior motion-sensitive light will come on. I'll have my 22 loaded and I will use deadly force. Kent is also going to procure some traps. I have 36 baby chicks ariving in less than a week and this carnage has got to stop. So if you hear a charp crack and the sound of a tin can tumbling, that'll be me out sharpening my skills.

Gotta run now and get dressed to attend and serve at a home-style wedding. It's a beautiful day for it!