7.02.2015

in and around the garden




































everything is so green out there these days.  and with many of the flowers at their peak it is easy to pull together a sweet bouquet from the backyard in a few minutes, something I so love to do. we pulled the garlic earlier this week and are readying that row for a second planting of carrots and beets and another planting of greens.  we realized happily that garlic is now on our (rather short) list of things that we are able to produce enough ourselves to see us through a whole year.  that list also includes honey (which of course is actually produced by the bees, but still... even with losing our hives this winter we have plenty to get us through until next year), maple syrup, and jam.  hoping very much to add more produce to the list, eventually.

we are also pulling and fermenting carrots and we've started to harvest and pickle the cucumbers.  we had our first bean harvest the other day (a small one, about half a pound) and I hope to soon be cranking out some dilly beans because this mama has been known to eat through the whole stash by mid fall, often consuming an entire jar in a day.  yum.  I'm freezing greens and watching the baby butternuts, waiting to pull onions and spying tiny pumpkins.  I had to pull all but one of my zucchini plants, they just looked so sad and pitiful.  I'm thinking summer squash won't be too hard to come by though, so hopefully I'll be able to make plenty of the curried zucchini pickles I fell in love with last summer.

the hot peppers and tomatoes are looking pretty good (though some of the tomatoes are getting blossom end rot already and some are looking a bit wilty at times- hoping to remedy that by adding some calcium), the cabbage is getting closer to ready, and it looks to be about pesto-making time.  Mike covered the blueberries with netting after watching robins hop up from the ground to eat unripe berries, and I am keeping an eye on the elderberries to see if I'll need to do the same for them.  I just recently seeded some bush beans and okra and edamame and a couple hills with more zucchini, and am wondering how they will all do.  the chickens are doing alright, though we lost one a few nights ago to a mystery predator.  rest in peace, sweet Buttercup.

all in all, it's looking pretty good out there.  I tried to take photos from several angles to give a somewhat clear view of how it all looks back there.  our entire lot is just shy of a third of an acre, so I'm guessing the entire back yard is about 1/10 of an acre, at most.  there is a stretch between the back door and fire pit/chicken yard area that we have promised Claire would be left as grass.  gotta have a least a little room to play ball and frolic, right?

cheers from our garden!

18 comments:

  1. It all looks so wonderful! I'm envious of that garlic as mine did not turn out at all. Horrible failure. I want to walk barefoot in all that grass. :)

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    1. thanks, KC! oh no- I wonder what happened to it?? several years ago when we planted garlic we lost a lot to some sort of fungus and it just rotted. but usually it is something we throw in in the fall and forget about until summer. better luck next time!

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  2. You have a very impressive plot, tended with love. I love this time of year when you can start to harvest the produce and take delight in the taste of summer.

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    1. thank you so much~ we certainly enjoy the tending and the entire process.

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  3. Amanda! WOOHOO! What a beautiful garden! Your produce= incredibly healthy/amazing!

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  4. Beautiful, every single bit of it :)

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  5. It is impressive to see such a large (and flourishing) garden in a suburban area. I've never seen cucumbers grown that way - I have to remember that, since we're tight on space for those rambling veggies too.

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    1. thanks, Katie! it's working really well! I've got 2 cages like that for cukes and 2 for butternuts. the butternuts need more coaxing, but it works. we also have a BIG bean teepee with beans growing up the poles and a hill of squash in the middle, and that has been a big space saver fir us as well.

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  6. Your garden looks so neat! And, you are getting a ton out of it! I have been harvesting loads of cucumbers, but we seem to eat them all fresh (in salads, mostly). I do want to have some to pickle. Here's my garden update https://mygrandmotherslegacy.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/in-the-garden-10/

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    1. we are big fans of refrigerator pickles (for cucumbers, anyway) as we prefer a crisp pickle. thanks for sharing the link- I'm going to check it out now!

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  7. Also, look at how you are watering your tomatoes. I've found that if they are unevenly (geographically) or inconsistently getting water (re: weather lately), the tend to have blossom end rot which can be quickly mitigated by more regular watering or adjusting the watering system.

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    1. I think you are definitely on to something. I have been mostly relying on mother nature to water the garden (except for when plants are at a sprouting/baby stage), and for the most part things are happy with that. but I've heard that about tomatoes, and think I'll start keeping track a but better about when and how often they are getting water. though it is interesting to note that the one tomato in our raised beds is doing fantastic, and it's the ones in the newly tilled up and gardened area that are sad and wilted whenever the sun is shining on them. maybe next year we'll just keep the tomatoes in the beds and plant something less finicky in that area.

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  8. It looks great! All of it! And how great that you've already put up a few pints of pickles. also, i spy a license plate from Ga. I haven't heard that story yet. Invite me over to oooh and ahhh in your garden! xo

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    1. thanks, Lisa!! we've probably picked about 3 or 4 pounds of cucumber so far and will be using those mostly fresh or making refrigerator pickles out of them. neither of us really like processed cucumber pickles, so we'll save the pickling/canning for things like okra and green beans and zucchini. the license plate came with the chicken tractor- no fun story there! oh yes, do come soon. I'll call you in the next day or so to make that happen.
      xo

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  9. AGHAGHG SO beautiful! My mouth is literally watering. I love the green of everything. What a beautiful place you live. So inspiring. Can't wait to see your canning post!
    P.S. Please come visit me- I'm having a CD giveaway! It's way better than the digital download. ; )

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    1. aw thanks, Cory! how re things out your way, weather wise? have you gotten any rain???

      I'll come over now- thanks for letting me know!
      xo

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thanks for taking the time to read and comment~