Winter turns to Spring

At least it is working on it here. Let's be honest... this is the deep south. We didn't have "winter". At least not like the poor people up north that have been snowed in for months. But it sure has been chilly, and mostly grey and dreary. There has been nothing green in sight for months. I have been keeping busy, nonetheless. Taking care of my boys, keeping up the house, and tending to the animals is plenty to keep me busy most days. Having a baby around the house has been amazing! He has kept me the busiest and I am loving it. I can't believe my sweet boy is 6 months old already! He is spending less and less time nursing nonstop and being attached to mommy, and increasingly more time playing and exploring. 

That means that I have been able to get things accomplished (somewhat) lately and even a bit of extra time to be creative. I'm not what you would call "artistic" but I desperately need to be expressive and colorful. Usually the homestead quells that, but not during winter. So I have been turning these gourds that took over last summer...

... Into these birdhouses. Sunflowers even in the winter.

 It has rained, almost nonstop, for the last several days and is supposed to continue to do so for a couple more days. A sure sign that spring is here. During a short break this morning, little man and I managed to take some pictures. What was nothing but brown dead grass is starting to show signs of life. Hints of green can be seen peeking through. That means that soon the chickens will have enough to forage to keep them from gobbling down anything green they set their hungry little eyes on.

 Like the lettuce, collard greens, and cabbage I set out in several of my garden beds a few weeks ago. See them? No? That's because by the morning after I had planted them they had been gobbled up, despite the scratchy  fence around it. So I replanted and covered them in cayenne pepper which worked to keep them away from my flower beds last year. Apparently, when there is nothing else green in sight, a little pepper in the eyes is worth it.

 I did manage to get a bed of onions planted a couple weeks ago (and some peas to grow up that trellis) and they are coming up. I just managed to get the other 2 beds of onions and some garlic planted. Very late, but better late than never. Even small onions are better than no onions.

To get around not being able to plant anything until the chickens could be distracted by other greenery, my tax money splurge this year was a new greenhouse! I have wanted one for years and had planned to build one, but couldn't decide how to build one that would last. I found this one for an amazing price and it is super sturdy. Unless something drastic happens this guy should last for years! I plan to take it down during the summer to help extend its life somewhat. It is 8' x 10' x 7' tall. Now I just have to decide on what to do about shelving. 

Liam had a great time helping mommy plant seeds. There was soil flying everywhere! Never too early to get them started in the garden. <3 

I will need shelves for all of the summer garden stuff but I went ahead and started cold season crops. Lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, several kinds of kale, cabbage, spinach, collard greens, chard... and perhaps a thing or two I have forgotten at the moment. The 4 covered plastic containers are filled with cactus seeds that I am starting for Keegan. It should be an interesting project. And maybe a money making endeavor for him. I also got sucked into the clearance section at the plant store. I got two little pomegranate trees for $3 each! I always wanted to try growing them but they don't over winter in this zone. But I have a greenhouse now! Now I need to find some avocado trees too. I have a mild avocado addiction that I really need to become self sufficient if I plan to keep.  The other ornamental plants were $1 each. I just can't pass up cheap plants... Also in the mix are herbs for the herb garden I am determined to get up and going this year. Some of it is mint... to replace the mint I managed to kill over the winter. Who said you can't kill the stuff?  

I was lacking planters so I used feed bags folded down for some and a box the greenhouse came in lined with feed bags for a big one. I hate throwing feed bags away and our feed store only sells cracked corn in paper bags. Yet another use for them. I would be more worried about the plastic breaking down if they were supposed to be more than just a temporary fix. Apparently it is working! Seedlings popping up everywhere. I believe that fresh grown salad is in my future! I have had to resort to buying lettuce at the store... ugh. 

The blueberry bushes are blooming! One of my favorite signs of spring! I gave them a little bit of compost fertilizer about a month ago, but it is about time for some more. I was a bit stingy with it. 

Some of the spring flowers are blooming.

And the chickens have started laying again! We went from not even checking the box for eggs for most of the winter to having them overflowing onto the counter. Just in the last week! We also had to deal with an opossum in the nesting box enjoying to new bounty a few days ago. Hopefully we won't have to deal with that again. 

The chickens are happy to have a break from the rain. They are also enjoying the warm weather! It has been in the 60's and 70's for the last week. This weekend begins the high 70's temps and sunshiny weather! I am so excited and am making my list of things I have to get done. 

My inside grow area is full too. The right part has been dedicated to our tree frogs and basically grows wild. The left section is filled with herbs for our herb garden. Six containers of Lavender. Brad LOVES lavender. He said it reminds him of Ireland. Chives fill another four containers, and basil fill the final two. We use lots of basil but it does well when direct seeded in the garden so I will plant more later. 

The beautiful basil is already coming up. I keep having to control my urge to pick some and rub it between my fingers so I can smell that wonderful smell. Liam loves smelling herbs too. I pick a leaf and roll it between my fingers and hold it under his nose and his wrinkles his little nose up and smells. It is the only time something can be near his face and he doesn't try to shove it in his mouth. I may have a little gardener on my hands! 

Fall Seeds

I know that I won't remember unless I write it down some where that I won't lose it, so this seems like a good place. Tonight I planted the first batch of fall seedlings.

Included were:

- Swiss Chard
- Spinach
- Basil
- Lettuce Mix
- Corn Mache
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Brussel Sprouts

I also transplanted the mint into larger containers. I'm not sure if they are going to make it. I didn't keep up with watering it like I should have. I am really hoping that mint is as sturdy of a plant as what I remember. This mint may be too young to snap back as easily. If it makes it I will transplant it outside in the spring.

Heat.....

It is hot! Yes... I know I live the deep south. That tends to happen. In all honesty, it isn't as hot as it could be. It just feels that way. The humidity is ridiculous. I feel like I could swim across the yard when I step out the door. It feels like it is 105F every day, even when the temperature only gets in the low to mid 90's. I'm sure being over 39 weeks pregnant doesn't help me feel any cooler. Yes, I'm still waddling about. Baby Liam is in no hurry to get here, despite my doing everything I can think of to get things started. Brad says that it is further proof that I have good genes and that it is evolution in the works. It doesn't make me feel much better at the moment. In the meantime...

I got out my seed stash today. It is about time to start planting fall crops. While they were out I sorted things to figure out what seeds I need more of, and what I wanted to change up. I am definitely changing cucumber types. The ones I have used for the last 2 years have succumbed to some kind of wilt or mold too quickly to make it practical to keep planting them. I went ahead and picked out which seeds I am hoping to get, but haven't sent the order yet. I may go ahead and start some seeds inside later this evening. At the moment I am doing this in between working on finishing dinner. Mmmm Meatloaf, mac & cheese from scratch, and baked corn. I'm hungry!

Maybe I will manage to get some seeds planted in the garden in the next couple of days. The cucumbers are completely gone. The tomatoes will soon follow. They are looking worse every day, but are still ripening what tomatoes are left on the vines. Mostly egg yolks. The peppers have gone crazy! I am getting more jalapenos than I could possibly find something to do with. I have been doubling up on bell peppers in everything that I cook to try to use them up rather than freezing or canning them like I really need to be doing. Yes... I'm being lazy. Speaking of lazy, I have been letting the beans go. I really need to pick them but I may just let them go to seed. I have canned 2 batches of them. I think I got 9 pints in the last batch. Not a lot but something for the winter.

The pigs are doing well. They STILL haven't figured out how to work the waterer. Bless their little piggy hearts. Maybe at some point they will work out how to push the button.

I have just been keeping their wallow full and pushing the button myself to let the cup fill every time I am out there.

I let them out of the hog ring last night. They managed to make it until this afternoon before they escaped from the garden. The dogs were going crazy so I went out to check on things to find both piglets standing in the front yard. I called them and walked toward the garden and they followed me. After I unplugged the fence I grabbed a scoop of feed and the male pig immediately ran through the fence and started happily eating. The female was less willing to get near the fence. Luckily I already introduced them to the incredible edible egg.

They will do anything for eggs. She paced back and forth, squealing loudly, for a few minutes but once I raised the fence wire so she didn't have to step over it she ran through after some eggs I tossed on the other side of the fence. The fence is now functional again and they are on the right side of it. I sure hope they stay in now. It will be really bad if they get out while I am in the hospital and there is nobody here to realize it. If they don't learn to respect the fence they will have to go back in the ring. Brad is supposed to bushhog tomorrow so I can start putting their big fence up. They have just about cleared that section of garden and it won't be easy to keep them in when there are so many more tasty things to root around for on the other side of the fence. Maybe after my doctors appt tomorrow afternoon. We shall see. If only it isn't too hot...

Goings On ... and Sunflowers!

 Today while I was in the garden tending to things and picking veggies Brad came out and took beautiful pictures of my sunflowers which have started blooming over the last couple of days. These are Titan sunflowers. The others didn't make it. Partially thanks to the armadillo that kept digging in that area, and partially simply because of poor soil I think. Even these didn't get as big as they should have before blooming. They sure are pretty though. Sunflowers are my FAVORITE! The bees seem to be enjoying them too!

 I had to straighten some of the sunflowers, along with some corn. Some of the peppers had to be tied up and the tomato row fence reinforced. It has been raining for the last couple of days, and will continue for the next week or so. The wind during storms, coupled with the water logged soil, has been causing plants to topple. The tomato row is simply getting too heavy. Next year I need to put more t-posts in spaced closer together to support the heavy plants and fruit. Also, next year I only need to plant a couple of egg yolk plants. They produce a ton of small tomatoes, but we don't use them as much and they take garden space away from the larger tomato producing plants. Next year will contain primarily Cherokee purple and Amish paste tomatoes. Maybe a couple new varieties.. just because I can't help myself when it comes to buying seeds. only a few will be aded to sample if that is the case though. I probably need to add another entire row of tomatoes so I will be more likely to have enough to can next year. I love the taste of Brandywine tomatoes but those plants seem to be the most susceptible to issues and either die or not produce fruit. Very few Brandywines survived long enough to make it to the garden, most of the ones that did died shortly after planting, all but a couple immediately started showing signs of blight, and those ones were the plants that I found nearly all of the caterpillars on causing destruction this year. Now, the caterpillars could be a coincidence, but I also wonder if they are perhaps more tasty or less caustic than the other plants? Regardless, I have harvested a single pink tomato this year, and while huge and delicious, it is not worth the massive amount of space taken up. This has happened every year I have planted them and I have to just decide that they don't do well in this area and move on. The Cherokee purples are delicious too, and much more productive and sturdy plants that I have had good luck with. I have already saved seed from a massive amish paste, and quite a few perfect egg yolk tomatoes for next year. I still need more amish paste when I get some more perfect specimens to collect seed from, and a lot from the cherokee purples. I keep getting overly excited and eating them all before I collect seed from them...

The tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to produce well. I'm still not getting enough of either to can though. I'm ready to make pickles and relish! There are tons of little cucumbers on the vines, which are taking over my pathways, but I never seem to find many perfect sized fruits. A few of those and a few gigantic ones which the chickens and turkeys really enjoy as a treat when it gets hot. The jalapenos were really full of peppers today! All of the pepper plants are getting massive. Granted they are in raised beds (1-1.5 ft) but they are almost shoulder level with me and I am almost 5'10". I am excited to say that I have harvested 4 perfect zucchini! Those plants have grown to massive proportions too and haven't succumbed to vine borers yet. A basket of green beans have been coming in every other day too. I made green bean casserole last night (one of keegan's favorites). Next year I need to plant more so I can pressure can some for winter. We just aren't getting enough for a canner load. I may start doing a couple of quarts at a time though.

I have been more and more disappointed recently about the prospect of not having pigs this year. Aside from the very end when the pigs were really big and getting a bit aggressive (and I was miserable because of severe morning sickness and didn't have the strength to deal with them) having pigs was a joy! I love having pigs on the homestead. They are so full of spirit and it is nice to have something to eat all of the scraps (not just being picky like the poultry). I also love having such high quality pork in the freezer. My Father in-law asked my BIL to raise some this year instead of me since I am expecting soon. He was trying to make my life easier. I was surprisingly saddened by this, and became more and more disappointed as the time went on. I talked to my MIL yesterday and asked if my BIL had gotten the pigs yet. She said that they hadn't been picked up yet because the pig enclosure had not been prepared yet. I eagerly told her that I would take them again! All I need is a new fence charger, as Brad has been unable to fix ours. Putting up electric fencing is extremely easy, and I have a section of unplanted garden that can be sectioned off to train them to the fence while I fence off the rest of the pig area. She said she would let my FIL know. I may be raising the family pigs again this year! I even woke up excitedly making plans to prepare for them before I even opened my eyes. I am so excited! Hopefully I will still feel that way over the next month or two. Liam is due in 5 weeks. Keegan is also going back to school in around 3 weeks and Brad about a week and a half later so they won't be here to help as much. We shall see. I still can't help but to look forward to the prospect. Pigs really are such easy creatures to care for when they are on pasture.

Quick Garden Update

The Indian Flint Corn and Fairy Tale Pumpkins are planted in the big garden. I only planted as far as I managed to weedeat but ran out of both types of seeds. The weedeater batteries never last nearly as long as I need them to. It is very frustrating.  I also replanted cucumbers and cantaloupe. Very few of the cucumbers and none of the cantaloupe came up for some reason. They may have been planted too deep. I ran out of cantaloupe seeds last time so I had to use some seeds that I had left over from a year or two ago. I think they are hybrid, which I don't like, but I don't have time to order more heirloom. They are already late getting in the ground. We shall see if they come up. The sunflowers are starting to push through the soil. The peppers and broccoli look very happy. The tomato plants are getting bigger. I pinched the bottom sets of leaves back. They had little holes in them like flea beetles or something similar have been munching on them. I found a single, very little, caterpillar on one of them. I'm going to have to keep a close eye out for more. They can devour a plant very quickly and tend to cause massive damage before they are discovered. I have the Bt spray ready as well as some Dr. Bronners Magic Soap which I have read will kill them when a few drops are mixed with water. Some of them will need to be tied to the fence soon. The pole bean, butter bean, butternut squash, zucchini, watermelon, and marigold seeds that I planted in containers a while back have come up. No pumpkins have sprouted so far. I hope that the seed isn't bad (like so much of the seed I bought from that company last year was) and that they are just taking a bit longer. I'm really looking forward to the beautiful fairy tale pumpkins. The plants need to go into the ground soon! Garden arches need to be toward the front of the To-Do list, along with getting the sweet corn, watermelon, and potatoes planted in the big garden. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. The gardens will like that. Hopefully I will be able to get some deep cleaning done inside. Now for a long hot shower to ease my poor aching body.

Accomplishing Stuff

Little by little. Not as quickly as I would like, but it is getting done and that is the important part.

All of the raised beds in the big garden are cleared, mulched, and planted! I made a garden layout with Paint. It looks pretty juvenile, but I don't claim to be talented (or patient) with computer programs. It works for me and gives a basic idea, which is what I was aiming for anyway. All seeds are heirloom, as usual. It is also important to note that I don't know how many of each are planted in each row. They are just basic representations. I know that there are at least 40 tomato plants in the ground and I used a whole package each of cantaloupe, and both types of sunflower seeds.

West to East (Front of Garden to back)

- Row 1-  Titan Sunflowers, Georgia Rattlesnake Watermelon, Mammoth Grey Striped Sunflowers, Table Queen Acorn Squash

- Row 2-   Assorted peppers perhaps eggplant. Types include pepperoncini peppers, Pepper Tam jalapenos, California Wonder peppers, and Ping Tung Eggplant. The seedling cups got mixed up so sadly I lost track of which is which and where things are planted. I know for sure that there are bell peppers near the broocoli and jalapenos in front of that. The rest is mixed. Broccoli ( type unknown plants gifts from father in-law)

-Row 3-   Delikatesse Cucumber, Sleeping Beauty Cantaloupe

- Row 4-  Assorted Tomatoes. Same thing here... seedling cups weren't marked well enough and got mixed up. The varieties are Egg Yolk, Pink Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Amish Paste, and Rutgers.
 In other news, the air conditioner is in! Brad did most of the work, with Keegan being the gopher and me making the store runs. He cut a port in the wall so that we could save valuable window space. It is high up near the ceiling, which I think will help cool the hotter air as it raises and circulate it. Of course, we kept finding things we had to have to finish the project. None of which we realized we needed before the project began. Being Saturday in the tiny town that we live in meant that I had to run to the next city over to get it (45 minutes away). And then to another store to get other tools later on. It was supposed to rain the following day so we had to finish once we started because we couldn't leave a gaping hole in the wall. Brad and I finally finished up at around 4am. He worked his little tooshie off. Of course it didn't rain the next day... figures. Poor Brad is still sore 2 days later from it all. Anyway. It is in! That is a HUGE project out of the way! I didn't even realize how miserable I really felt until we turned it on. It is so humid and that AC makes a world of difference. I feel human again.

Two other big things of note. My husband and my Mom are college graduates!!! My wonderful mom has been taking classes off and on for years while working full time. She now has her Associates Degree and is working on her Bachelors. She is my hero and I love her so much!  Brad is now the proud holder of not one, but two Bachelor of Science degrees. Math and Physics. I got mine first (Environmental Biology) so of course he had to show me up and get two. lol He got his final grades a couple hours ago. I am so proud! He plans to start grad school in the fall to work on a PhD in Physics. He is a smart arse and now has the papers to prove it. :)

Another Row Down... and a few other accomplishments

Keegan and I got another above ground row in the big garden cleaned up, mulched, and planted. The row that contained tomatoes and peppers last year is planted with cucumbers and cantaloupe this year. I didn't get pictures because we didn't finish until after dark, even with me making holes and Keegan planting seeds behind me. The paths should be wide enough to be able to get the mower down them now. We don't need a repeat of the snake incident this year... I also planted the spare tomatoes in the bare spots where the other tomatoes didn't make it. The soil looks so much darker and more rich than it did last year! Maybe the no-till above ground method is working! The last of the above ground rows in the big garden have been cleared as well. Now I just have to get the other two cleaned up, mulched and planted. Then I can start on the flat rows where the corn, watermelons, pumpkins, and perhaps potatoes will be. I worked more on the planting layout of the garden. Things may still change but I think it will work out well how I have it planned now.

Since I haven't managed to get lumber brought over to build the bean/squash arches yet, I went ahead and started some seeds in pots. At least that way they will get a bit of a head start. They really needed to be planted last month, but they will be smashed if I try to place the arches over already growing plants. I kinda got a bit carried away and ended up planting zucchini, butternut squash, pole beans, butter beans, watermelon, and pumpkin. While I was at it I also transplanted some flowers and the lavender, rosemary, and oregano plants I  bought into pots to put on the back steps. The oregano is actually from last year but it needed a bit of love after the hard winter.

The pig fence is finally down! Well... except for 2 or 3 stubborn t-posts that we couldn't get up. The tractor will take care of those. The important thing is now I can mow as soon as I manage to get the tractor. It was surprising that it took me so little time to disassemble the whole thing. I wound the wire around a plank of wood so hopefully it will be easier to use again later. It shouldn't take long to put back up when I need it later, whether it be this year or next. Having that done makes me feel much better!

Not much is going to get accomplished tomorrow. We have my niece's birthday party and a marching band bonfire to go to. I'm glad to have gotten so much done today! Keegan has been helping me quite a bit, which I have really appreciated. He keeps telling me that he doesn't think I should be doing so much and fussing at me. Trying to explain to him that women 100 years ago or more lived out of their gardens and worked much harder than I have been while pregnant. Eventually he just gives up fussing and helps me so that hopefully I will get done more quickly. I didn't expect him to be so protective over me. Its sweet! And I am definitely thankful for the help. As much as I want to do, my body doesn't tolerate quite as much as usual right now. Brad has been super helpful too! He doesn't fuss at me though. He trusts that I know my body and will only do what I can handle safely (which is true). He checks on me often and brings me water, but he is there to help when I ask him to. I am blessed! And maybe, between the 3 (and a half) of us, we will have a  flourishing garden this year! Maybe while I am growing a new little person, my brown thumb will turn green and I will be able to grow other things too!

There's Nothing Quite as Beautiful as the Sunshine After the Rain

And OH the rain! The sheer amount was amazing! We nearly doubled the rainfall record in the area. Everything always feels so fresh and clean after a good hard rain. It is refreshing and beautiful when the sun come out. I feel kind of guilty saying that. Luckily, we escaped the really severe storms. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those effected by the damaging storms north of us. We just had flooding to deal with. Yet another moment when I am thankful to live on a hill! One of the few in the area. Our driveway needs some serious work though. It did already, but the ruts are now beginning to resemble the humble beginnings of the Grand Canyon in places. The work Keegan did a couple of weeks ago saved the top of the driveway (near the house), but the other side took in all of the water from the main road and now "the bottom" yard is full of what little gravel my driveway still had. Hopefully I can borrow the big bucket tractor from my in-laws soon to fix the driveway and bushhog.

We still have the small tractor. It overwintered here. A small bridge down the back road that separates our homes was torn down last spring (2013) so they could replace it. That was the only way to get the tractor from place to place without loading it on a truck. It hasn't been completed yet. Over a year later. Did I mention that it was just a small bridge on a country back road? Once the bridge was basically joining the two sides of the road and could hold the heavy road equipment, the locals just started moving the signs and driving across it. Eventually the road crew just stopped putting the signs back. I need to make sure that the water didn't wash the road out so we can trade tractors. The bushhog attachment on this one rusted through and broke at the end of last summer so I can't mow with it. I normally wait to bushhog until the dewberries have been picked but for some reason they don't seem to be doing as well this year. What are normally the best patches are pretty much bare this year. I will have to check on them again before I mow them down though. Maybe I will still find some. Maybe the addition of guineas is the reason I can't find any berries this year when there were TONS of flowers just a month or two ago? The blueberry bush look AMAZING though and are so full of little berries that I have had to prop them up in several places to keep them from collapsing under the weight. Hopefully they all make!

Yesterday I transplanted my peppers into larger pots. Since the tomatoes are no longer under the grow light in my kitchen I had lots of room to plant other things! Which, of course, I did. I planted herbs and flowers. Some of the herbs are from seed that bought from a company last year that I didn't have too much luck with. Hopefully they will come up. If not, I needed to use them anyway because I can't just throw seeds away. It breaks my heart. Inside I have planted mint, lavender, oregano, garlic chives, sweet basil, long leaf basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, sage, and phlox (flower). Also, outside I planted 5 larger containers of marigolds (seed my parents gave me when they visited for Christmas), and I transplanted a pineapple plant that I had rooted inside. I wish I had more space, pots, and potting soil! I have a seed starting addiction...

I didn't mention before, but a little over a week ago I had my first batch of turkey babies hatch! It was a poor hatch though. I'm not sure what could have been the problem unless the temperature was too high. It is set to stay steady at around 100F. Only 10 poults hatched. Several made it to the end but never absorbed the yolk completely and either pipped and never made it out, or just never even pipped. Only 1 guinea keet made it out but it wasn't doing well and the turkeys were being too rough with it. I put it under a broody silkie who took great care of it until she went for a potty break and another hen killed it. I feel terrible about it. In all honesty, I'm not sure if it would have made it anyway. I kept the poults for a few days to make sure they were thriving, but all have now been sold. I'm not sure if I am going to keep any babies this year. We have tweaked the temperature and will hopefully get a better hatch this time. I set turkey eggs a little over a week ago and then a couple of days ago I added Easter Egger eggs to all of the empty spots. Turkey eggs take 28 days to hatch while chicken eggs only take 21, so this way they should all hatch together. I have a friend who is wanting baby chickens so I am hatching her some out.

The baby chickens are loving their new freedom in the larger hoop coop tractor! They are still the friendliest chicks I have raised. They also seem to be more dependent on me to care for them. Or at least, they know if they need something to let me know. Loudly. The second they run out of feed, rather than foraging in the grass for bugs or plants to eat, they chirp (cry) constantly until I go feed them. I have been keeping them close to the house while they are still little so they are a bit more safe so there is no escape. Maybe it is that the "baby crying trigger" part of my brain is already more active than it has been in the recent past, but I can't stand for them to sit and cry like that. They actually got me out of bed at 6am the other morning because I could hear them crying through the window and I couldn't sleep until I knew they were fed and quieted. I was looking forward to a few more months before that happened! Oh well...

I need to work on the garden some more. The tomatoes made it through the storm. The mulch wasn't even disturbed. I am thrilled! I was worried about them. Having them in above ground beds helped the water drain off well. I did something a little different this year. Last year I used long sticks to stake the plants. The stakes kept falling over under the weight of the tomatoes. That, and the unending downpours we had, made them succumb to blight really early on in the year. The caterpillars, stink bugs, and aphids finished them off. This year, I decided to use a trellising system instead. Brad put in three 8ft posts at either end and the center of the tomato row. He also helped me stretch woven wire onto the fence. It is aligned with the top of the posts, leaving over a foot tall gap at the bottom. I will secure the plants to the fence as they grow. I let the plants get really tall and leggy this year and buried them on their sides in a ditch, only letting the upper leaves remain above ground. This should allow the plants to root along the entire length of stem underground.  I am also prepared to use several different organic pest control options this year. I really hope that we have tomatoes this year! I still need to transplant the spare tomatoes into the bare spots. Broccoli and peppers are also waiting in the spare hoop coop to be planted soon along with lots of seeds!

Brad is amazing and got me a speed charger for my weedeater and chainsaw batteries! Now instead of it taking 8 hours per battery it will only take about 1 hour each. I should be able to get much more accomplished now! The rest of the garden needs to be cleared. Also the azalea bushes in the front need to be pruned, which is much easier with my little chainsaw than shears. And the bigger stumps need to be cut down from the back so that I can bushhog the brush back there when I get the tractor. That surpasses the azaleas. The pig electric fence also needs to be taken down so I can mow that area. I'm not sure if I will have pigs this year or not. Unfortunately, the electric fence charger seems to have stopped working! Brad took it apart and fixed it, but it only worked for a few hours and stopped again. It is finals week so we will see if he can fix it again once he finishes the semester up and has time. I sure hope so! Regardless, the fence is fast and easy to put back if we need it later.

While Brad was being amazing, he also got me a new pneumatic door closer for my front storm door! I know.. it doesn't sound like much but it made me so happy! I only mentioned it in passing and then it appeared at my door. My front door no longer slams shut every time it closes like it has for years! I'm still getting used to it. Keegan keeps picking on me for needlessly trying to grab the door before it slams behind me. I guess it takes me a bit longer to adjust to change. Oh the little things that make me so happy! It was just one of those little things that I always wished would get fixed, but never made it to the actual list because it was so trivial. I can't help but smile every time I walk through the door and I open it from time to time just to watch it close slowly on its own.

Well... time to stop writing about getting things accomplished and actually accomplish things! Hope everyone has a beautiful sunshiny day!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

That's what they say, anyway. That is how I have had to start doing things at any rate. It seems fitting because as the time goes by I am beginning to feel more and more like a giant backwards turtle. I am thankful that I have finally gotten past the debilitating 24 hour a day "morning" sickness and crazy constant fatigue. Now I feel productive! Which is great since I have OH SO MUCH to do! I have found that, so far, I can get quite a bit done as long as I take breaks. A LOT of breaks. Now if I could just stay focused on one thing long enough to complete it before I get sidetracked and get started on something else. Alas... that I can't blame on pregnancy. That is just a normal part of my brain function.

So far I checked a few things off of my To-Do List:

- I fixed the chicken waterer hose that was leaking. I had to cut the male end off and replace it. I also shoveled out the nasty mud that had accumulated  in the bottom of the chicken run because of the swampy conditions and put down some bedding.

- I cleared several of the small above ground garden beds and got them layered in newspaper and leaves. I then had to put up netting around them to keep the chickens from removing it. The others need to be done soon. My weedeater batteries don't last long enough to get much done at a time but my wonderful husband just informed me that he ordered me a speed charger so I don't have to wait 8 hours for each of the 3 batteries to charge! I also hate to cut down the beautiful clover growing in the others because there are lots of honey bees happily buzzing around them. I will give them a few more days.

- I cleared 2.5 of the 4 above ground rows in the big garden.

- I cleaned up (re-edged, leveled, and ammended) one of the cleared big garden rows and got all of the tomato plants out of my kitchen and into the garden. We even got the new trellising system for them up, put newspapers down, and mulched around them. I bought some spare heritage tomatoes today to replace a few that aren't going to make it through the transition.

- I patched up one of the hoop coops and got the babies moved out of the "Tank" and into it. The other hoop coop tractor is being used to protect my "to-be-planted" potted plants from the chickens who think that anything in a pot or planted by me must be a delicacy and leave me stubs. I don't think I will need both of them this year for chickens. I am going to be too big and pregnant to want to move two of them every day in the South Mississippi heat and humidity. I also don't think I will be up to processing any more than I already have either while pregnant or shortly after having the baby. Thankfully we still have some chickens in the freezer from last year.

- I started getting some spring cleaning done. Just bits here and there. Mainly I cleaned out all of the kitchen cabinets. Still lots to go on that front...

- Brad and I put new screens into almost all of the windows in the house! I don't think that was on our list but has been badly needed for years. My screens have been taken out of windows for various reasons and haven't found their way back in one piece. We were down to two pitiful excuses for screens in the whole house. I LOVE having the windows open when it is nice outside but the bugs around here are terrible. Now I can have windows open all night and not be eaten alive or carried away by mosquitoes. Oh I can't say how thankful I am!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've never been much of a fan of the holiday, but have been enjoying the glorious sunshine after the cold dreary weather we have been having here. It makes me wish that I were outside in the garden or doing some chores that sorely need to be done. Alas, I am at work and can only enjoy the sunshine and fresh air streaming through the door I propped open near my desk.

We have been having unusually cold weather which has even brought sleet, ice, and snow on a couple of occasions over the last month or so.That is not normal for the deep south! I love the snow and have lived with very cold winters for most of my life, but this is different. This area isn't prepared for weather like this. We have no salt trucks or snow plows. Everything here is built to better deal with severe heat and hurricanes. There was no thought to cold weather issues... because we really don't have any most of the time.

Even myself, when building my coops, thought nothing about cold weather. If I had been back home where I grew up I would have made sure they could withstand the weight of snow, keep cold winds out, and were well insulated to keep the birds warm. Instead, I built them to give enough during high wind so as not to fall over when we have tropical storms. I made sure that they were shaded but allowed plenty of air flow so the birds didn't roast in the hot summers. All thought was given to keep them cool, not to keep them from freezing their beaks off!

Thankfully, all of the animals are doing well. The chickens have the sturdiest coop and have been keeping pretty warm. I use deep mulch in the winter anyway, so they have a little added heat. I sealed the windows with feed bags to keep out the wind and they seem perfectly happy. The turkeys live in what is pretty much a wind tunnel. Which works perfectly most of the time! I have put up extra tarps to try to channel wind away from them and have been keeping deep mulch in the run. The guineas have had it the hardest because they roost high up in a leaf-bare tree. They don't seem to be bothered one bit by the cold though. I have been feeding all of them more often than usual and making sure they have warm water available on super cold days. The extra calories seem to get their body temp up. They have also been getting a treat of feed mixed with hot water and fruit/berries and turned into an "oatmeal" type dish. The chickens LOVE it! The turkeys and guineas don't seem to get the concept of treats.

I haven't gotten anything planted in my garden yet because of the low temperatures lately. I am getting behind though! I need to get some cool weather crops started soon. Maybe on my next day off. I have made some progress though! I got some of my indoor seeds planted last night! I always get so excited when I start my first seeds. Especially my tomatoes and peppers, which is what I started last night. It is almost like a promise that full fledged gardening, sunshine, and warm weather are coming soon.

This year I started my seeds in Jiffy Seed Germinating mix because I had problems with the Miracle-Gro potting mix that I used last year. It caused mold, mildew, and gnat problems that I had never had before. Many of my little seedlings didn't make it as a result. I also used the little paper bathroom cups this year instead of the big plastic solo cups that I used last year. I still plan to use those ( I saved them from last year) when I transplant, but it seems smarter to start off smaller and then size up since I have limited room. When I transplant I will probably use the Miracle-gro potting mix since the plants will be larger and stronger and better able to withstand any issues.

The tomatoes are always my favorite. I poured over catalogs trying to choose which kinds I wanted. I went with my favorites: Cherokee Purple, Pink Brandywine, and Amish Paste. I also added a new one. Keegan loves eating the small tomatoes right off of the vine so I got him some Egg Yolk tomatoes which are small and yellow and look like, you guessed it! Egg Yolks. They are supposed to be sweet and tangy. We shall see. I planted approximately 10 each of the pink and yellow tomatoes, 15 of the purple, and 25 of the paste. Also planted were 7 egg plant, 13 pepperoncini peppers, 15 jalapeno peppers, and 25 bell peppers. The last 4 cups I had left over were filled with oregano seeds. None of the ones I planted last year came up but I am hoping with the soil change it will do better this year.

Now for the watching and waiting for my little seedlings to break the surface begins. You would think that after hatching as many eggs and planting as many seeds as I have that it would get old, but I feel like an expectant parent every time. What's more, I love it! The excitement is just beginning.

Hope you all had a beautiful Valentine's Day too!

No More Excuses!

I keep putting off writing a blog because I want to take pictures to post with it. I keeping thinking about writing, usually first thing in the morning before I have had a chance to take pictures, or last thing at night when it is too dark to take pictures and I realize that I had forgotten during the day. That, and my camera has been going downhill since the screen got busted a month after getting it. It was brought down by a drunk falling out of a pub in Galway (Ireland). And no, I wasn't the drunk. LOL It was another American tourist that apparently attempted to drink like an Irishman. Perhaps it was the attempt at walking after drinking like an Irishman that got him... and my camera. Anyway, I need to post with or without pictures because I'm getting behind!

 The piglets are getting huge! I brought all three home in 1 medium sized dog crate. I don't think I could fit 1 of them in that dog crate now. They moved out of the garden and onto pasture about a week ago. My garden went from resembling a jungle, to being clear of weeds and tilled without any backbreaking digging or tilling on my part. Pigs make wonderful plows. They are now working on clearing a large section of brush that has been growing up for about 10 years. My brother helped me finally get the fence up around a little over an acre of wooded brushy area with some pasture surrounding it. It is beside the garden so they just had to cross the fence from one side to the other. Moving them out of the garden took a lot of persuading... and about 3 dozen eggs. I unplugged the electric fence, moved the wires down so they could step over, and put eggs on the other side of the fence. Jimmy is very curious and always the first to come when I call. He crossed immediately with no problems. Dean came shortly after. Poor little Link was another story. He knew that fence wire was there and he didn't want any part of it. He paced back and forth, squealing his little piggy squeal for over 10 minutes while the other 2 ate all of the eggs. After reasoning and trying to chase him didn't work, I finally had to raise the wire so he didn't have to step over it before he would cross. I saved him some eggs as a reward when he finally got the courage to run over to the other side. They went from a 3 wire fence, to a single strand run around the pasture. They don't seem to be the least bit interested in crossing it. In fact, Keegan accidentally unplugged it the other day and it was off for at least 24 hours. The pigs didn't even test the fence. I'm amazed! They really are smart.

My brother, who is staying on the property with us for a few weeks, and I have been working on getting the garden planted now that that half is cleared and tilled. So far we have broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, and kale planted. We have been covering all of the planted areas with newspaper and mulching with hay to try to stop the weeds before they start getting out of control again. Hopefully it will do better than the summer garden did. It has stopped raining and I have actually had to start watering the plants and plants-to-be daily because it is so hot and dry! What a change! The pig waterer is taking the use of my long hose, so I have been lugging buckets of water to the garden to water the seedlings and plants. Today I got a new Gorilla Cart, and boy did it make that job much easier! My wheel barrow has been worked hard and has been overdue for a replacement for a while. I love this cart so far. I hope it stands up to the test of time. I am rough on things. Real work gets done around here, and cheap flimsy tools don't last long. I really need to invest in another hose.

Luna, our new farm puppy, is so playful and sweet! She is so full of energy, but that isn't great when there are skittish chickens roaming around. She hasn't hurt any of them but she has been chasing them periodically. I bought a remote controlled shock collar for her. I know, I know... It seems so cruel. I have always hated the thought of those things. I even admit to stealing them off of dogs when I was a teenager and throwing them away... yes I was that pain in the butt animal and environmental activist that would have freed the frogs from the biology lab had they not started using computer programs instead of the real thing. But getting a few zaps seems much better than taking her back to the pound. She is a pitbull, which means that she doesn't have great odds of a happy ending. Also, it doesn't seem much different than using the electric fence. I tried it out today and it is amazing! First a zapped myself. I figure that if I'm going to inflict something on anyone I should know what it feels like. Funnily enough, the shock doesn't seem to bother her at all! The vibration setting is what gets her attention. No pain at all, just a little vibration to get her attention. She is already much less interested in the chickens, even when they run right past her. I'm so happy! I was really worried that she wouldn't work out and I couldn't bear having to take her back to that place!

Tucker, the 2 girls (juvenile turkeys), and the guineas are going to be transitioned to the big hoop coop soon. They are getting big and I think they are ready to have more room. The other small hoop coop of turkeys are doing great and they are getting big too. Both small hoop tractors have been being moved every day and I think that all of the fresh grass and bugs really do them good.

The chickens have been laying like crazy! Yesterday I got 13 eggs and today I got 16! I have 20 hens and 5 roos right now. I really need to get back down to 2 roosters soon because they are making the ladies' lives rough. Now that Brad isn't working (back to school) and selling eggs at the office, I've been trying to find every way imaginable to use eggs. A couple of nights ago a scrambled over 2 dozen with onions and peppers, wrapped them in tortillas, and froze them so my guys have something easy to heat up for breakfast. Thankfully, Keegan has gone through them fast so I can make more soon. I hate wasting eggs! The pigs love whatever we don't use, so I guess it isn't a waste. It may seem strange, but I think a basket full of my green, blue, brown, pink, tan, and white eggs is such a beautiful sight! It makes me smile every time I walk by the kitchen table and see them sitting there. Simple pleasures. Life is good. :)

Clothes Washing and Lawn Mowing May Now Commence!

I fixed the lawnmower today! Well, I rigged it so that it works for the time being. I found some extra clothes line rope to use as a pull cord. It was a bit too thick to wind back up correctly, but I found a solution that should make it usable until I can get a real pull cord. Swiping it, a few inches at a time, over a candle and then rolling it between by fingers condensed the fibers and made the rope a bit thinner without making it brittle or weak. It worked! It started raining about 10 minutes after I got done, but there is a small patch of yard that looks wonderful! Have I mentioned that I love youtube? They have videos on how to fix virtually everything!

The washing machine part came in today, as well. It only took Brad about 5 minutes to put it in when he got home from work. I've already done a couple of loads and it is working wonderfully. Hopefully tomorrow it won't rain and I can hang some clothes out on the line. I much prefer to line dry than machine dry. The amount of electricity a dryer uses is ridiculous! I also hate that I pay money for the electricity to dry clothes and then have to spend more money on electricity for air conditioning because the dryer puts off so much heat! Its nice during the winter, though.

Earlier today I tied up the tomatoes again. The 2nd planting of tomatoes are over 5 feet tall now. I need to put up another pallet support system for them. I picked several caterpillars off of them. I'm not sure if the Bt didn't work or if it just rained too soon and washed it off. I will try putting some more on and hopefully it won't rain for a couple of days. They are looking beautiful!

Last night I planted some seeds indoors for our autumn crop. I planted lettuce, onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, dill, cilantro, parsley, oregano, garlic chives, and LOTS of basil (italian large-leaf and sweet). The parsley, oregano, and chives are to keep inside, but the rest will go outside next month. Soon I need to start some other seeds outside. I'm already looking forward to eating it and it hasn't even germinated yet!

2013 Seed Log

In order to keep better track of how certain seeds did I thought it would be best to keep a log of what I planted and how it did. Also, what the conditions were during the year. That way I can decide which seeds I want to try again and which ones I want to switch out for other types. I will update as I plant and/or harvest each thing. I would love comments on how certain things did for them! Some things that don't do well for me may have been because they don't do well in this area, but it could also be a fluke with the weather (like this year being monsoon-like all summer), or even user error. 

Beans

-                  --  Florida Speckled Butter Pole Lima Bean - Planted with corn the beginning of May. Grew Kudzu-like vines that took down the corn, but no flowers or beans as of 7/23. Need to try planting on arches next year. Only because I have seed left over and we had crappy conditions this year. 

-         -   Rattlesnake Pole Bean - Planted with corn beginning of May. Soil was very poor. Almost all germinated but grew small scraggly vines. Still produced a few beans. Need to try better soil next year and plant on arches. 

Lettuce

-                  --Premium Lettuce Blend - Planted Fall of 2012 and spring 2013. Germinated and grew well. 

Spinach

-                   --Bloomsdale Long Standing - Planted late in the spring when it was getting warmer. Not much germinated. 

Swiss Chard

-                 --Oriole - Planted late in spring. Germinated but didn't grow very large. Will replant in fall and try again. 

Pumpkins

-                 --  Jack-be-little - Only pumpkin that came up. Grew well. Harvested 5 pumpkins off of around 4 vines as of 7/23. 

-                  --Connecticut Field - Planted but none came up. 

-                  -- Fairytale - Didn't Plant this year because garden was never finished. Need to plant next year. 

Squash

-                -- Spaghetti - Planted in shady spot in poor soil. The ones that came up were very small and sick looking. Never produced flowers. 

-                 -- Winter Harvest Mix - Planted with corn and bean in early May. At least 3 came up. 1 is thriving. 

Tomatoes

-                  -- Amish Paste- 1st to germinate indoors and grew well while indoors. Sickly plants outdoors with small fruit. Got wilt early. Will try again with better quality seed. 

-                -- Cherokee Purple- Perfect germination. Planted in poor soil. Growing slower than amish paste. As of 7/23 none have wilt but only got 1 ripe fruit which was cracked from overwatering (rain). 

-               -- German Stripe- Good germination. As of 7/23 they are wilt free. 1 is the largest plant in garden. Some others were eaten by something. Replanted and are doing well. Only harvested 1 ripe tomato so far and it was partially eaten and split. 

-               -- Pink Brandywine- Grew well summer 2012 and best tasting fruit, although slow producers. Planted later than the others. As of 7/23 all are doing well and are wilt free. No ripe fruit yet. 

Peppers

-              -- Yolo Wonder Bell- Doing wonderfully! Most germinated. Producing medium (picking before they get larger) and very thick walled and good tasting fruit. Love these!!!

-              -- Jalapeno - None germinated. I always grow these and they do well. Reordered from Baker's Creek and will try again next summer. 

-              -- Pepperoncini (Italian) - Germinated well indoors. Doing wonderfully! First producer of the garden and are producing constantly. Need to plant more next year so I have enough to pickle. 

Eggplant

-               -- Long Purple - I always have a hard time with cucumber beetles eating the leaves of all eggplant. Germination was fair. Possibly poor seed. One fruit which rotted on plant as of 7/23 but are still flowering. 

Broccoli

-               -- De Cicco - Planted outdoors in October 2012. Germinated and grew well. Huge plants. Not much broccoli, but I didn't harvest like I should have. Will try again. 

Brussel Sprouts

-             -- Long Island Improved - Planted in october 2012. Plants grew well but even by late spring 2013 the sprout heads were loose and unharvestable. They didn't produce well. 

Cabbage

-           -- Charleston Wakefield - Haven't planted yet. Will try fall 2013

Cauliflower

-           -- All The Year Round - Haven't planted yet. Will try fall 2013

Beets

-     -  Bull’s Blood - Planted fall 2012. Very poor germination. Only 2 came up. I think it was because the soil became dry and formed a crust before they emerged. Will try again this fall. 

Carrots

-      - Tendersweet - Planted fall 2012. Germinated well and grew well. Very happy with these. 

Onions

-             -- Red Creole (short day)- Planted fall 2013. None germinated. Will try again in spring. 

         - Crystal Wax (short day)- same

Rutabaga

-          -- American Purple Top- Planted fall 2012. Poor germination and none made it past a leaf or two. Poor soil and chickens were probably the issue. Will try again this year. 

Peas

-         - Sugar Snap- Only planted a few and most came up. Planted late and didn't care for properly. Happy with these and will try again. 

Kale

-          - Early Siberian- Germinated and did well. Didn't harvest like I should have. Will try again. 

-          - Russian Red- Germinated and did well. Didn't harvest like I should have. Will try again.

      - “Premier” Freebie Seeds - Germinated and did well. Didn't harvest like I should have. Will try again.

Melons

-         - Sweet Summer Mix- None came up at all. Possibly poor soil but probably bad seed. 

      - Louisiana Sweet- None came up. Good soil and good conditions. Probably poor seed. 

-          - Garrison- very few came up and haven't grown well or set fruit as of 7/23

Corn

       - Lady Finger - None came up despite replanting twice in good soil Probably bad seed. 

       - Trucker’s Favorite Yellow- Great germination and growth in good soil. broke under weight of beans. Developed corn smut. Didn't produce well as of 7/23. 

Cucumbers

-          - Delikatesse- Had to replant once. Second time came up well and vines took over. Poor fruit production and have almost fully succumbed to some kind of wilt. 

Sunflowers

-         - Skyscraper- Fair germination in fair soil. Only one has grown large as of 7/23. Some are very sickly and small. All developed flowers. 

-           - Maya- Haven't planted yet. 

       - Mardi Gras (mix)- Haven't planted yet. 

Herbs- None of the herbs had good germination. Most failed to germinate at all. Only 2 of each basil and 1 parsley survived to transplant and all died once transplanted. Bad seed and poor weather conditions. Will try again. 

-             - Basil, Sweet

-      - Basil, Italian Long leaf

        - Chives, Garlic

        - Coriander/Cilantro

        - Dill

        - Oregano, Greek

        - Parsley, Italian

        -  Sage

Disaster of a Garden... 2013

I haven't written a post about my garden yet this summer... That is because is has been a complete disappointment. Honestly, I have been ashamed to post anything about it, especially photos. I had such high hopes for this year! I poured over seed descriptions and spent more than I want to admit on heirloom seeds. It was going to be the best garden I ever had! I was going to save all of my seeds and not have to buy any next year! That was the plan, anyway. Things always seem to work out differently than planned. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. This is decidedly one of those "NOT" situations. It seems to have been a "perfect storm" of events.

I bought a large amount of seeds at the end of last year and started planning for a much larger garden. I would like to get to be able to live primarily off of our homestead. Except for things like olive oil, flour, salt, pasta, rice, and things of that sort. I have even really been looking into things like maybe rendering lard to cut down on our olive oil use, and growing wheat with the help of my father in-law, to grind into flour and use to supplement poultry feed. Some of the corn I planted this year was supposed to go toward that purpose as well.

The first issue was that I was working until mid-April, which would normally have made getting my garden started more difficult, but a good deal of that was spent working 6 day weeks, and including quite a few 10 hour days. By Sunday I wasn't worth much, and not much got done in the garden until April. Finally I got the brush cleared from my new garden area, got it plowed, put up an electric fence to keep the chickens and turkeys out, and dug about 1/3 of the paths and raised beds. Then it rained.... not just rain, but a torrential down-pour... for days! On my newly plowed soil! If you garden you probably know how terrible that is. It compacted all of my formerly fluffy soil. Washed the good soil away leaving sand and clay. Turned the whole place into a mud pit. Then it teased me... not raining for a couple days and just when I thought that the soil was dry enough to try to rescue the mess it started raining again.

Catastrophic failure of corn and beans

I built a seed shelf in my kitchen and suspended a shop light over it to start seeds early in the year. I started LOTS of seeds and was so excited! I planted over 60 tomato seeds, around 30 bell, pepperoncini, and jalapeno peppers, several eggplants, and lots of herbs. Almost all of the tomatoes came up. Most of the bell peppers did as well. The herbs, eggplant and pepperonini, not so much. NONE of my jalepeno peppers came up. I assumed that it was user error (hey, it happens) and so I planted more. None again! So I tried one more time with the last of my seeds... nothing. Bad seeds! And not just these. None of the lady finger popping corn, watermelons, 2 types of pumpkin, cantaloupe, sweet melon mix, winter squash mix, or zucchini that I planted outside came up either!  I know that it was not user error because I replanted several times and never got so much as a sickly looking seedling. Nothing. Not even in my well established above ground beds. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed in that seed company and will not be buying from them again. I try to stick with small family run businesses, but perhaps this isn't one of the things I should do that for. I am not happy with the quality of amish paste tomatoes that grew either. That may be because of my gardening skills, or lack there of, or all of the other issues I have had with them, but I'm wondering if it is simply poor quality seeds. Some of my soil is pretty poor still, but those were planted in prime garden area and still aren't producing very good tomatoes.

I traded some of my tomato and bell pepper plants to a friend for fresh goat milk, thinking I had more than I needed. It continued to rain to the point that by the time I got a chance to put them in the garden, very few had survived. They just got too big too fast and I didn't have the room or equipment to repot that many plants. I reordered more Cherokee purple and some brandy-wine tomato, and some jalapeno seeds from Baker Creek and tried again. I just got those seedlings planted a few days ago. I fear that it was too late. We shall see. I think I will stick with Baker Creek from now on. I have hear a lot of good things about them.

Ponding in paths and overgrown area

Being thoroughly discouraged already, and fighting daily rain storms, only half of my garden beds were prepared and the rest is unlevel, packed down, and overgrown with very tall weeds. The weeds seem to be loving all of the rain! I managed to get hay down in most of the beds a few days ago. We had a single rain free day. Keegan and I took full advantage of it! We got a TON of stuff done, though, nothing fully accomplished. About 1/3 of the yard was mowed, about 2/3 of the prepared beds in the new garden got hay mulch, some brush got cut to prepare for the electric fence that will be erected soon... It made me feel good to get something accomplished! The garden paths are still overgrown and usually flooded. I'm working on figuring out a solution to that.

Kudzu-like bean vines took over the corn,
causing it to come crashing down

I tried the "3 Sisters" method of planting this year. I planted corn, then pole beans to grow up the corn, then squash in between to act as ground cover. It is easy to tell the soil quality from one end of the row to the other. One end was super tall, lush, and healthy, and then it get shorter and thinner to the end of the row. The beans did the same thing. Oh well, they are going to undergo some lasagna  type mulching and hopefully will be better next year. The main issue is that there was a catastrophic failure with the corn and beans. The healthiest looking section especially. The Florida Speckled Butter Beans took over, in Kudzu-like fashion. Not a single flower or bean pod in sight, but the vines are amazing! So much so that the corn just couldn't handle the weight, especially with all of the rain. The wet bean plants were just too much for the corn to support in the sodden soil and they all came crashing down. Right onto my cucumbers and sunflowers. Trying to right them just resulted in the corn stalks breaking. Luckily half of the cucumber bed is safe and I rescued the sunflowers, which aren't doing as well as I had hoped either, but at least have some small blooms on them. They are supposed to be 12-15 feet tall and the tallest ones are around 7 feet with very thin stalks. Most are much smaller than that. The rattlesnake pole beans are in bad soil, but are at least producing beans. Not many, but a handful every few days. I'm not happy with how stringy they are. I'm not sure if it is the type of bean or the terrible growing conditions this year. I also am not sure if the butter beans just don't do well in this area (it really hasn't been too hot this year so that shouldn't be the issue), if the soil isn't right for them in that spot (very fertile rich soil), or if it has just been the constant rain. I'm amazed at how well the vines are doing but that doesn't do me much good if it doesn't flower. Maybe it will soon... I haven't pulled them up yet just in case.

Rigged up tomatoes. You can barely see them, but there are
smaller Cherokee Purple and Brandy-wine plants in the back.
There may be hope for some tomatoes yet...

The corn isn't the only thing that came crashing down. I have had a terrible time keeping the tomatoes up. I need to try putting up a fence next year, and trellising them. Indeterminate tomatoes get too tall for cages, and even most stakes. The heavy plants kept weighing the stakes down and making them fall over. The wet soil didn't give the stakes much support, regardless how deep I drove them. Some of the more deeply driven stakes broke in half. The vines were damaged in the fall. Some had to just be pulled out. Then I think they contracted something by laying on the ground. Only the Amish paste tomatoes were effected. The others weren't big enough yet, so they were safe until I devised a make-shift way to keep them up. I put up a couple of pallets, secured a pole between them, and attached the tomatoes (stake and all) to the pole. It worked in a pinch. I really need some more t-posts but don't even have enough right now for the electric fence that needs to go up.

I had to replant the cucumbers twice, but they finally came up and looked wonderful! Full, bushy vines! Tons of flowers! They are barely setting fruit though. I think perhaps, the rain has kept the pollinators from doing their job properly. A large deal of the cucumbers that have grown have started to rot before I get to them because of the puddles they are sitting in. The vines on top of the bed (safe from puddles) are turning yellow and dying, and all of the fruit and healthy looking vines are growing in the paths where it keeps flooding... ugh. I have managed to bring in a couple every couple of days and we have really been enjoying them. We may not be getting many, but the ones we have gotten taste great!

On a happy note, the peppers are doing amazingly well! They are big bushy plants and have set a bunch of big healthy peppers! We haven't been using the peppers we put up from the you-pick, and have been exclusively using our own! They are thick-walled and beautiful! Now enough about that... I don't want get too excited... please don't smite my peppers!

I haven't done much with by established above ground beds... that is, after planting them and having nothing come up but weeds. Two beds are doing well. The jack-be-little pumpkins and gourd mix have put out a few plants and even have fruit set! The chickens or turkey hens have found a few of the gourds and taken bites out of them, but over-all they look good. You have to look hard to see them though! The weeds have taken over and I'm afraid to clear them and mulch for fear that the it will draw the chickens' attention and they will perish. I will clear them soon for cool weather crops. I hope they do better than the summer crops have... None of my pie pumpkins have come up in the garden, but I spread a bunch of seed that I saved out of pie and jack-o-lantern pumpkins that I bought at the store, in "the bottom" (the lowest part of the front yard which is rarely mowed but collects plenty of watershed from rain). Quite a few came up so I'm going to mow carefully and hope that we get some pumpkins from there this year.

Jack-be-little pumpkins

Gourds with bites taken out of them

I hate that we will have no food stores to put up for winter. It breaks my heart and is so disappointing. Especially the lack of tomato sauce. I dreamed of a large store of thick, red, beautiful, hearty pasta sauce that would last us through the winter.

I feel terrible about having spent to much money on seeds when I have so little to show for it. Brad, being the wonderfully supportive love he is, keeps reassuring me and telling me that it is alright. "Things happen! You will try again next year!" he said. He is right. I will. And I have had lessons learned. Thinking back, none of my gardens did well the first year. I will be adding compost and mulch over the winter, so the soil should be much better next year. They have already had a large deal of the turkey coop contents added to them. Hopefully, it will also be less work. Above ground beds are amazing like that. I prefer them because it builds better soil. Because the soil isn't tilled it doesn't break down the soil composition. It is also much easier after the initial building of the beds. These are side-less beds (just mounded soil) so hopefully they stand up over time. The rain hasn't washed them away yet, so that is encouraging.

Pumpkin plants growing in "the bottom"

On another positive note, the electric fence around the garden has been doing a great job keeping the animals out. The dogs learned immediately, although other than digging a few holes, they weren't a problem to begin with. I was worried about the chickens and turkeys, and any deer or wild animals that would like to eat my plants. The roosters learned quickly that the zap on their comb wasn't enjoyable and wouldn't go in after the first day. The hens took a bit longer. They have a smaller comb and their feathers save them from the zap. They don't wander far from the roosters though, so after a few days they stopped coming in completely. The turkeys took a few days longer, the toms learned before the hens. The hens still sneak in on the rare occasion that the fence is off. They seem to know when it is down and are in the garden immediately. Too bad the fence doesn't work on flea beetles, aphids, and tomato worms! I'd be all set!

Sorry about the rant. This post has been largely for my records, and partially to vent. It helps to look back and see what worked, what didn't, and how weather and such have been each year.