Summer’s coming to an end but life in the garden continues…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer’s coming to a close. The daylight is fleeting and the cool autumn air is whistling through the trees and soon their leaves will put on a spectacular color show and I’ll have to rake them into big piles and haul them to the curb. The garden plants are hanging on and giving all their energy to the fruits clinging onto their stems.

We picked some pumpkins yesterday and celery, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage and one crazy zucchini. The root vegetables can still sit in the ground for another couple of months. On a cool fall Saturday afternoon, I’ll head out back and dig up a wheelbarrow filled with onions and carrots and celery. So, long as the Buckeyes are playing an evening game and as long as I have a hot cup of apple cider to sip on.

Jake will help. By help I mean pee on anything that’s still vertical. As the world’s only farm Chihuahua, he has to mark his territory right? Mindy is always a big help harvesting too. She doesn’t like the planting but is a patient harvester. Carefully looking underneath each vine and every leaf. She can have some hot apple cider too.

Read Full Post »

Fall’s a coming….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The temperature dropped 30 degrees in one day and it feels like autumn is on under way. The corn is turning a deep purple and the pumpkins are turning a brilliant orange. The sky is littered with gray clouds and a soft rain is falling. Time to bust out the crock-pot and make some warm meals. Chili is on the way tonight, made with fresh tomatoes, green peppers and onions from the farm. Best of all, football starts tomorrow and I can’t wait.

Read Full Post »

Canning Time’s a Coming

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The garden is bursting with life and the tomatoes are finally staring to ripen. Which means, it’s time to can. My Dad found me a pressure canner at a garage sale yesterday for $8. What a deal. New they run close to $90. I’ve been canning the “old fashioned” way by putting cans in a huge pot of boiling water that takes forever but with the new canner, it takes just minutes and only an inch of water and it doesn’t turn the kitchen into a sauna in August. Thanks Dad!

Stay tuned, I’ll post a “How To Can” article with step-by-step instructions later this week. If you have any questions, send them to me now.

 

Read Full Post »

I hate Deer, Rabbits and Humidity….. and lot’s of new veggie pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave got the fence patched up where the deer were braking in to feast on the watermelons, pumpkins and corn. An ear popped up today as well and I grabbed a picture of a dragonfly on the corn. Did you know that a dragonfly’s life span is just 24 hours? I also snapped a couple shots of the rabbit I must take down in order to save my crop. god, I hate rabbits and deer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green Pepper, Thai Hot Pepper, Zucchini and tomatoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found a ton of pumpkins popping up. I was worried that they wouldn’t be pollinated but after my last post I noticed lots of bees, dragonflies, ants and other insects doing the pollination job. Thanks for the help Mother Nature.

I’m trying a new format with this post. Wordepress has made it a pain in the ass to post pics and text and make it look decent. So, please take a moment to click on the thumbnail pic to see it.

Read Full Post »

An Unwanted Guest and Loads of pics

   

I caught this doe in the rear field this morning. I have got to get that fence repaired in the beck. Usually deer are active at dusk and dawn but this young lady was out and about around 9:30am. Not a good sign. I also caught a jack rabbit in the front garden yesterday. I won’t use chemicals to keep them out. I use hair clippings (they hate the smell of humans) I get from the local salon and I need to build a scarecrow.

   
Broccoli                                                   Cabbage

        

Corn – Planted at about 10 days apart. You can see the difference between the middle and right pic. The right pic was rototilled once again before planting so the grass is really staying out of the way as compared to the middle pic. The sweet corn looks lush green and very healthy!

   
Cucumbers                                                 Pumpkins

   
Leaf Lettuce                                                Spinach

   
Roma Tomatoes                                        Supersonic Tomatoes

Read Full Post »

How to Plant Pumpkins

I got up at 5:30 and was able to plant a whole row of pumpkins. I wanted to get them in the ground before it rained this afternoon.

  
Step 1: Use your shovel and make a mound about 3′ in diameter. Break it up and smooth it out with your rake.
Step 2: Use your rake handle to press some holes into the soil. Make about 8 holes like your cutting a pizza and 1 in the middle

  
Step 3: place a pumpkin seed in each hole. These are Howden pumpkin seeds, Consistent excellent qualities that take about 105 Days to Maturity. I also planted some Jack Be Little pumpkin seeds Flattened, mini-pumpkins that take 90 Days to Maturity.
Step 4: Cover the seeds up with earth.

  
Step 5: Pumpkins are considered “heavy feeders” and do well with a little extra nourishment. One nutrient source that works well and is reasonably priced has the dismaying name “fish emulsion”. It is a concentrate of fishy by-products, rich in minerals, that smells a little like low tide. Spread a handful onto the top of the mound. The rain will break it down and push it tnto the roots.
Step 6: Take a picture of your foot to show the size of the mound. That’s a size 10 Addidas.

  
Step 7: Water and wait for the seedlings to pop up. Once they do, you can thin them out keeping the strongest vines.
Step 8: Coming soon, you’re going to want to put some more fish emulsion on them and make sure they’re pollinated.

Stay Tuned! In a few months they’ll look like this:

  

Howden and Mini Pumpkins

Read Full Post »