Still looking for pigs

Nope... I haven't gotten any yet. I'm getting frustrated. I have not gotten their fencing up yet, but I am planning on having them in the pig panel hoop for a few weeks first. I would like for them to root around in the area that my new garden is going to be next year. I still would prefer an above ground bed, because erosion is going to be an issue. The problem is that I'm not comfortable cutting down standing trees on my own (to supply logs to make beds). I may end up doing it anyway, though, if I can't get anyone to help me with it. We'll see how that goes later. Regardless, pigs would be good to get the grass up, move around the soil, and fertilize things. I was reading the other evening, that pigs can be the best tool a small farmer has. They can clear just about any shrubby plants off of land, leaving trees. I really need that for some areas of the yard and they will be put to work once they get bigger! Bulldozers aren't easy to come by and the brush here is too thick for the bush hog (wonder if that's where the name came from?) The book also said that to clear trees, goats are a huge help. Anyway, I have been waiting to hear from some people that said they knew where to get pigs locally. I really preferred that because the ones I found were over an hour away. I'm just going to have to take things into my own hands and find them myself. Another moment, when I get frustrated with people for not holding up their end of a deal, and then I realize that it is my fault for expecting them to in the beginning! It is my project and I need to take control of it! Problem solved. Now I've gotta go find pigs and figure out how I'm going to get them home. 

I finally had a chance to pick up my seed order last Tuesday. I have, since, received my second seed order for the wedding  (pumpkins, sunflowers, and gourds). I have been working in the morning before school and in the evening when I get home before dark, to get some of the beds turned over and replanted. I was really looking forward to getting the rest of it done this weekend, along with a few other things, but it has been, and will continue, raining the whole weekend, so those plans go out the window. Somehow, despite not having been walked on at all, some of the beds became very compacted. I suspect that it was because the soil in those beds had too high of a clay content. I added compost (which I am very low on) and some sandy soil to it so hopefully it will keep the soil loose. I have planted, so far, half a bed of beets, half a bed of carrots (same bed as the beets), a bed of rutabagas (replanted because Randy decided it looked like prime hole digging territory. I hated to even fuss at him because he looked so proud of himself. "Look ma! I'm digging in the garden just like you!), a bed of kale (three types in the same bed), a bed of brussel sprouts, and half a bed of lettuce (I will plant the other half in 3 weeks). I still have three beds left to plant, but the plants in them are still hanging on and I really hate to tear them up. Especially the jalapenos and eggplant, which don't appear to be producing fruit, but are still flowering like crazy. I also have a large portion of the large bed to plant. There are some late tomatoes already in there, as well as, some basil that is still green, but will be dying soon. The soil there isn't very good, though. It needs some serious compost added, but I'm not sure I have enough to supply. 

I still need to plant garlic (which will be arriving this week), cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and perhaps a little bit of swiss chard. More left to plant than beds to plant it in. I think I will try growing some cabbage and cauliflower in planters and see how they do. Regardless, anything that needs to be planted needs to be planted soon so I need to figure out where to put it!