Peas... DONE!

Well due to the coming rains last night and today we got a move on planting the peas.

We decided to go with the tepee styled trellis built with saplings.  As we couldn't get the saplings to go into the ground the way I wanted them.  I had wanted two more fence like trellises down the bed line to make it easier for my tomatoes to be planted there after.  However this will do, as long as I'm creative I think with the placement of the tomatoes.

I planted Alaskan snow peas in the hopes if we get another cold snap (fingers crossed) they'll be ok.  What this is planted in, is last year's popcorn bed (gods that was a failure).   We laid the stalks on the ground and covered it with the hay the goats didn't eat and tramped down onto the ground of their pen.  Then some of the composed "saw dust" we got from the saw mill mixed with both wood ash and chick manure (chick because it literally came from our brooder).  Just enough  of this "dirt" to let me plant the seeds in.  Now I just have to hope the two loose roosters don't decide the peas look good.

Speaking of the chicks, in about three-ish weeks I need to move them into the pen because one of the families my girls attend church with has offered us ducklings.  Now considering the avian flu in this state I don't want anymore other birds but ducks have to be separate anyway so I'll chance that.  I wanted ducks anyway and this'll give me the chance to have them.

Tomorrow after the rain is gone I get to work on the other planting beds I currently have.  The next on my planting list is lettuce and onions.  I plan on putting my zucchini where the lettuce is when the lettuce is done.  I will be starting these however with more of the bad hay, once all the beds are covered we'll be piling near the garden for adding to the beds through the growing season as it will help to retain water in my beds where it is needed and it'll help kill weeds as well.

Hope you're planting start(s) are going well!

Be Well, Be Safe, and Blessed Be...

Weekend Wrap-up

 So over the weekend we did some planting, and removal in the garden. I went out and made the executive decision and removed my pea plants. Yes, they had a grand total of 4 flowers on them; however I did not think I could really leave them there when I really felt I needed to get the squashes planted.

All of my beans have sprouted, and about half of them are already on their second leaves; some have what look like the start of their flower stalks. I should be able to harvest more lettuce tomorrow, and I hope it's not bitter. I had picked some a few days back and it had a few bitter pieces in it.

I have planted 4 “hills” of summer squash, two of them are Lemon squash; and 2 are Dark Star. Dark Star is a zucchini type, these are one year old seeds so I hope they do well being they are planted in what was the bean bed last year. I have planted (well my son did) our pumpkins, Lady Godiva; as I want edible seeds and the flesh. That type is suppose to provide both and with the benefit of the hulless seeds. I have also transplanted my eggplants between where we planted the pumpkins, this is my first year of planting eggplants. I am hoping they do well as we do eat eggplants when we can get them.

I still need to go out and clear the unwanted plants from my potato bed, looks outside yep still raining. So I am hoping to do that tomorrow, along with pulling up more red clover for the chickens; and possibly getting out to the berry plants and trimming back the briar again. I had my girls get it a couple weeks ago and it's growing back pretty fast right now. We got some of the “grass” in front of the house cut this morning till we discovered the string in the weed wacker is stuck.

I am starting on a book that I am planning on writing a review on once I am done with it, I found it at the free store we stopped at on Sat. I found a couple of cooking and gardening books this time around, which is good for me. We re-arraigned our furniture/appliances in the house and got our open space back and moved our deep freezer to where we can get at it easier.

My tomato plants are finally taking off, and I hope to get the materials I need for the pots I am going to put them in. I am going to fill these large (bottom broken) tubs half way with straw then a mix of compost/manure/topsoil and plant the seedlings in that. That mix worked well for the tomatoes last year so I am going to repeat it.

That's it for now folks,

Be Well, Be Safe, and Blessed Be...

Hot Humid Friday!

We were suppose to have rain today, well it's not raining; but it is hot and humid. I went out to do my early morning check on the garden and I got to shake my head at the fact that the peas finally have flowers on them. I guess they heard me commenting that I would pull them up and feed them to the chickens if they didn't produce. All of my beans have come up, so pretty soon that will be another bed that will be teaming with plants that want to reach out and grab you... like the peas.

As the peas actually are producing now I am considering trying to plant the summer squash on the outer edge of where the peas are to get an early start on them. Seeing as how I have 4 unknown squash types already growing in another bed. My volunteer cucumbers are coming along good as well, I am hoping within the next month they will start producing flowers. Tink is going to be giving me some Tigger melon starts that I am thinking of planting near my onions, as I am running out of available space thanks to my mom's kind donation for our plants this year. I will get them in though... somewhere.

I went outside this morning to hang laundry and apparently I stepped into a tick nest, they were climbing up my leg. So many that my legs were both covered. Because of this we are considering using the tick killer we bought last year but did not use. I don't like chemical answers to natural problems, but in this case it might be warranted. I have put seeds for bushel gourd and luffa sponge gourds into the peat pots that didn't make it I am hoping they will grow quickly.

Oh, thanks Lane for being our first Donater!

Would you believe it took me 2 hours to write this? The heat has been making me drowsy, and I decided to give up and go with it briefly.

BE Well, Be Safe and Blessed Be...

Weedy Wensday

I got a nice harvest this morning of some of our lettuce, a lot more than I thought I would get anyway. I also harvested more lambs quarters and I'm thinking of having a salad of them right before dinner as I tend to only get enough for a small serving for two people, but that is alright. Due to all the rain we got over the last week, everything that I didn't want growing in our garden is getting huge. So, I also grabbed the 5 gallon bucket and stuffed it full of greens for the chickens.

While out there I discovered that we have one flower on our giant pea plants... and of course I was thinking of just giving up on them and pulling them so I can plant the squashes. So of course we are starting to get flowers now. So I'm not sure if I should go ahead and pull them, tossing them to the chickens then; and planting my squash or give it another week?

I am thinking of putting my eggplants out in the garden, and I am hoping they get bigger than they are right now. They have not gotten very big yet and I worry about if they will get bigger or if it's just too restrictive in the little pot. Some of the wintergreen plants are doing better than the others are, one has tons of new growth; while the others have a lot less new growth.. but they do have new growth.

I still have to wade through the potato patch and get rid of the extraneous plants, and I am going to pull out the weed eater tomorrow afternoon and do some cutting in the front as like I said, the rain made everything grow big time.

Our beans are coming up, which is good. One bad however is I'm not sure we'll be able to get our goat, as we have to still pick up Silver's medications, some are going to be very helpful as his new doctor has prescribed some high dose and low dosed pain killers for depending on how bad his RA is acting up. We are also trying out a new (for him) anti-inflammatory, that so far seems to be helping; but he has only taken it one day so far. So we will see.

Oh, I'd be taking pictures; but for some reason I seem to need new batteries again. I had been taking pictures of me making bread again, and before I got the picture of my finished multi-grain one the batteries had died. Well I hope I get to take a picture of that one sometime soon as it came out wonderfully. It was oatmeal,flax, and sunflower oil; all mixed into the standard sourdough recipe that I use.

Well that's it for now,

Be Well, Be Safe, and Blessed Be...