Home-Grown Watermelon!

Well, the garden is a sorry sight this year, thanks to my being extra-busy this summer, our leaving for Colorado for over a week, and now the ragweed season keeping me inside. (I knew I shouldn't have said anything last week when it was going well...think I jinxed myself!)

But....this is the first year we have had a decent sized watermelon come out of our garden! Perhaps they love neglect?  I just popped these into the corner of the garden before our trip to CO, watered them, and haven't done much since! 

The pic above(thanks to my 8yo for taking the pic) was of our first one that we cut into last night. Could have probably gone a couple more days, but oh well!  Totally edible, though.

Not in Love with Ruth Stout's No-Till Garden Method

Maybe we didn't follow her instructions exactly. Maybe we had higher hopes than we should have. Maybe it's just a weird year (it is).  In any case, I don't think I am a fan of Ruth Stout's No-Till Garden Method, unless we make some changes.

I think our greatest error was not to have had the garden completely covered over the winter...It was mulched with grass clippings in part of it(which had disintegrated over the winter) and straw in others (which wasn't completely gone by spring), and that wasn't enough.

With the changes in my availability/ability to work a lot in the garden this summer, I sort of planted the garden on a wing and a prayer. Many things would not germinate well (but we have had a cool spring and summer) and we had more weeds break through the mulch and outgrow our veggies when we were away for 10 days. The okra never came up all three times I planted it (never had a problem before this year, and I tried three times).  And then in July we went on vacation(always a negative as far as the garden is concerned).      So it had a lot going against it.

We have had far more success with fully tilling the garden(even just once), pulling out any unwanted plant matter, making rows or hills, planting seeds, and then mulching heavily once seeds emerged.

I think we will be going back to our old way of doing things next year.

For this year, though, we do have a couple of healthy sized melons, cukes, green beans, a couple pepper plants, onions, chard(what the chickens don't eat), corn, and hopefully potatoes(if I can find them past the thistles).  The summer squash have succumbed to the squash bugs..not sure I will even try next year...maybe I will just plant later...

That will have to do for now.  Not much to "survive" on, if we had to, that's for sure.  Thankful we are not relying solely on the garden!

Until next time...

Quick--Order your free 2013 Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog today!

Last year I snoozed a bit too long in winter and waited too long to request my Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog and they were out in the very very early spring. I had to peruse the catalog online, alas. Not a bad thing altogether. I am glad they have that option for folks that know exactly what they want to jump on and just order.

But I like to write in catalogs, dog-ear the pages and mull over my choices before I place my order.

I really like Baker Creek because they are one of the few places these days to offer truly (tested!) non-GMO seeds (the corn selection is less every year due to their finding GMO genes in the corn they tested). The seeds are heirlooms, so you can grow next year's crop from this year's seed if you want to (can't do that with just any seeds).  And, the seeds are not big-company owned seeds like so many of the seeds in the stores are.

So, if you want to get a hard copy of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog for 2013, click here!

Happy planning, and a Merry Christmas to all of you! :)

Gardening 2012: The First Fall Freeze

I woke up this morning to a good deal of frost out on the grass. The basil in the center of my garden was still ok, so it was either a light freeze or the basil was protected by the higher plants around it.

At any rate, today I went out and picked just about every pepper from my banana pepper plants. I set a few aside for the chickens, but here is a pic of my big ol' bowl of peppers!

I plan on chopping them up and putting them into the freezer for use through the coming months. This will mean fewer purchases of organic frozen peppers in my future!

Garden Observations 2012

The garden is at its peak production, it seems. Maybe it's due to my avoiding it during the worst weeks of ragweed season...but I feel a need to get out there and harvest what is available. Especially since the weather is cooling off substantially--this makes it more pleasant to work outside, and also reminds me that soon the weather will be turning.

The Garden in September 2012

The green beans have long ago stopped producing.  I do, however, have some dry beans to harvest. Not a lot--we'll see how it goes. One of them is a variety that is hard to find locally and we wanted to just get enough to plant more next year and then hopefully be able to eat off of that crop.

The volunteer cherry tomatoes are proliferating, and I need to get the kids out to pick a bunch this afternoon. Same with banana peppers. I picked some of each this morning. I wonder if they would make a good mild salsa....

And a praying mantis that flew past me and onto the pepper plants.

Praying mantis on banana pepper plant.

I pulled what onions I could find. They didn't do very well. Maybe I was late in planting them (yeah, I was). Additionally, I didn't pay attention to what specific variety they were and if they are appropriate for our part of the country--I just picked up some sets from the grocery store. Maybe I'll rethink that for next year.

The pepper plants I purchased in July out of pity at the local nursery aren't doing anything worthy of note. Same with the melon plant. No point in purchasing plants at that point in the season...duly noted. (But I tried!)

I have beets I need to pull, but I am waiting until closer to dinner and on a night that I don't have running around to do....that way we can  have beet greens for dinner and then I can work on beets after dinner.

Yes, there are beets in there among the grass/weeds!

The okra is doing well this late in the season.  In fact, it's probably just getting going well and it will freeze in the next month.  I'm happy to have fresh okra I can fry up gluten-free and not have to rely on restaurants and frozen okra that is not gluten-free. :)   Next year, I need to plant it on either end of the garden, so that all of the plants can get consistent sun.  The lack of sun for the ones that get shaded by sunflowers really makes a negative difference in how well the okra has done.  We are still learning what size okra is best to pick--and to pick often! We are going to have a lot of seed for next year... People around here think I am weird for planting okra in Ohio--as if it's was unheard of and impossible! Maybe I will pass out seed and start a movement, hehe.

Burgundy Okra

Burgundy Okra Flower--Isn't it pretty?

The Job's Tears experiment is almost done. I am waiting for the little seeds to dry before I pick them and write an update on them.

Job's Tears plant

Sunflowers next year need to go along the back of the garden. I put them on the west side this year for some reason(oh, I remember--to give the cucumbers some shade), and let some volunteers stay in the middle of the garden, and I'm not sure that was a wise move. I will soon cut them down, tie them together, and put them somewhere to be a fall decoration/bird feeder.

Hubby has sorghum he needs to figure out what to do with. And we have corn(dry) to pick as well.

Sorghum, reaching for the sky!

The kids in front of the sorghum

The chard and kale should be tasty soon. It's been bitter, so I have been breaking leaves off and giving them to the chickens, who love them.

I need to harvest my huge basil plants before the weather gets too cold and make frozen pesto stuff to put in the freezer (it was yummy on pizza!).

Overgrown basil in need of plucking.

More basil-a ruffly purple type.

I have parsley (regular and flat leaf) that I have plucked leaves from and am drying in the dehydrator today.  I had to selectively pluck, because there were at least 6 of those caterpillars on the plants!

There is also a little arugula out there I need to incorporate into a salad or something.

Arugula--I cut it back when it started to bolt.

Wow--I didn't realize the variety of stuff we had out there! I better get to work!

 Here's a few flower pics from the garden for good measure. I plant them in with the veggies to encourage insects to come visit. :) I've got cosmos and marigolds as well, but they didn't make the cut.

Nasturtiums

Borage

I want to add Zinnias next year. :)
And potatoes and sweet potatoes and do better with beans and greens...

The Garden in Ragweed Season

I am feeling much better today, folks!

I stayed inside all day long yesterday, longing the whole time to run around outside and get some work done in my garden.

Since I was feeling so much better this morning, I decided to go outside and do what I could in the garden until my allergies drove me crazy again.

I went out and picked the okra (should  have gone out a couple days ago...alas, more waste!) and some of the volunteer cherry tomatoes nearby...as well as some basil and a few cosmos and marigolds for flair...

 

Then I went inside for a reprieve...and a tissue...achoo!
Then I went back outside and picked even more cherry tomatoes, more basil, and half the banana peppers from one plant. We have four banana pepper plants.

Can you guess what the kids are getting for snacks today?

Here's a pic, from last week or so, of some of our sunflowers.  Their heads are starting to bow, and I think I am going to gather them up and tie them to our maple tree to feed the birds this winter.

While I was picking tomatoes, I found this wee creature on my (mostly forgotten, yet flourishing) parsley plant:

I located my onions and started pulling some, while simultaneously cutting/pulling grass and weeds that had gone to seed. At that point, the sneezes started and the waters started flowing, so I retreated inside to take a shower and stay inside for awhile.

But, at least I got something done! And the kids should have plenty of snack for this afternoon. And we get to have fried okra tonight for dinner! Yum!

Garden Pickings

I'm afraid I've been neglecting the blog lately, but I'm popping in here to update on the garden a bit. Here are the pickings I got from the garden this morning. The Royal Burgundy Bush Beans are about completely dead and defoliated from the bean beetles, and I got a meager handful of beans. I got enough okra to cook for myself and my hubby tonite for dinner, a couple tomatoes, and a ton of peppers that I just might turn into salsa(I have onions in the garden, too). Oh, and I do have some kale and chard that I am kind of waiting for cooler weather before I pick...the chard last time was bitter.

Many people in OH have never heard of growing Okra up here. But we've done it for a couple years now. Here's a pic of how it looks when it flowers (ours is a burgundy type).

And when it's cooked up the best way I know how (fried):

 

I love fried okra!

Protecting our Assets, aka Catching Pillagers and Thieves

Since planting my garden about 2 weeks ago, I've been dealing with a few issues.  One issue is that something has been digging around in the garden. Who knows where the zucchini seeds have ended up! At the same time, many of my flower pots were being upended and rummaged through. They even broke my favorite pot (wah!). Hubby thought it was the cats (he says he hates the cats, but I know he loves them deep down, hehe).

Another issue is that something has been nipping off my pepper plants and my beans that are sprouting and have their first leaves.

Then there is the mole, but that's another story...

Two nights ago, I set the live trap directly on the spot I planted the zucchini seeds in. This is what I caught:

Last night, hubby saw a groundhog run under the shop (where the stray cat had been living...come to think of it, I haven't seen him around for a week or so...) and this is who we caught:

These creatures are now Turkey Buzzard Cuisine. Relocation is illegal--and besides, moving critters to someone else's woods is just making the critter someone else's problem.  Even our local "nature preserve" backs onto people's backyards. This is just the way things go when raising food and dealing with "the competition".  Lowering the population of raccoons will lessen the chance that our chickens will be ravaged later in the season. Lowering both the coon and groundhog population will help us to get a better harvest this summer. And....as I hear my hubby quote Clint Eastwood: "Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms."

In case you are wondering, our kids know the reasons we catch and dispose of these animals. It's not because we enjoy doing it. It's because these animals are, or have great potential of, destroying our crops and the chickens. 

I'm wondering what we might catch next. The trap is now set by one of the far outbuildings, where hubby caught some 15 critters last year.

I'm betting on another coon. 

The Main Garden: May 21, 2012

Some of the garden seeds I planted a week ago are coming up!

Royal Burgundy Bush Bean

Kale Mix

Burgundy Okra

Picklebush Cucumber

Jacob's Cattle Beans

There are moles that keep digging up and eating my onion sets. They don't particularly care for eating the red ones, but they dig them up anyway.  I put a live trap out there and haven't caught anything, which reinforces my thoughts that it's moles. I will have to figure out how to deal with them, as the vintage mole trap bit the dust last year...

I have seen a gigantic bunny outside on the property the last couple days. I am willing to bet that it's him or one of his buddies that have nipped off two of my banana pepper plants! I saw him this morning and ran out and scared him away, but I know that won't last for long!

Row-to-Row Carpeting in the Garden...aka Mulching

Since the garden was put in in the last week, today was dubbed Mulching Day.

Where we live, the soil around here is mainly clay. Not the best soil to grow things in, as it turns into a brick in the heat of the summer.  If the summer is particularly dry, the clay soil cracks. Picturesque, but not great for the plants.
 
Over the last 4(maybe 5) years, we have been mulching between our garden rows. This adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down, makes pathways that we can walk on to get to our plants even if it's just rained heavily, helps keep the weeds down, and over time has made our garden less clay-like and more gardening friendly.

Our mulch of choice has often been grass clippings from mowing our acreage. It's work, but I'd rather be mulching than weeding, any day! 

Our second choice, and what I used today, is old straw. This year, we are using what was donated to us from the church's Live Nativity last December.  They didn't need it and were looking for someone to take it, so they brought it on over last winter. Win!

I do not recommend hay. Hay will have a lot of seed in it, and you don't want to be introducing that to your garden.  

Here's the straw I had to work with:

Here's the garden, with complete Row-to-Row Carpeting:

I think I ended up using 12 bales of straw. I need to water later tonite...those boards I think I will leave there so as to help the sprinkler head to sit level when I am watering.

Quite a change from 2 months ago, eh?

What's Happening on Augsburger Farm? May 2012....Just a few pics from the Herb Garden

Bumble Bee working in the fully blooming Chive patch

Bumble Bee detail

Another Chives pic

Walking Onions detail, with Chives in the background

Sweet Pea among the Walking Onions

This last one is not in the herb garden, but in the yard nearby...

Peonies and Columbines

The Main Garden: May 13, 2012

After a long weekend of doing Other Stuff, I was finally able to get most of our Main Garden planted on Mother's Day.

Here's a list of what I planted:

Greens: 5 Color Silverbeets (aka Chard), Kale Mix, Bibb Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula
Yellow Squash (aka Golden Zucchini)
Zucchini (Costata Romanesco)
Acorn Squash(hybrid)
Delicata Squash(an old packet--I hope it comes up because I can't find seed for it locally!)
Royal Burgundy Bush Beans
Beets (Detroit Dark Red and Bull's Blood)
Jacob's Cattle Beans (for dry beans-these are also a bush bean)
Bush Cucumbers:Bush Champion and Picklebush
Okra (Burgundy-seed saved from last year)

Basil, purple basil, cumin, regular parsley, flat leaf parsley, dill

Job's Tears-experimental crop
Sorghum- for seed for a larger crop in the following years
Ambrosia Bicolor Corn- sweet corn-hubby planted this one, actually

4 Banana pepper plants (purchased)
1 Brandywine Tomato plant (free w/flower purchases last week)

Nasturtiums, sunflowers, marigolds and some miscellaneous flower seeds (I think Cosmos, Forget-me-nots, Calendula and Alyssum) in some little "squares" of the garden to encourage good bugs/discourage bad bugs.

Here is a pic of the garden so far.

Not very impressive, since it's "just dirt", lol.  Duncan, our oldest, commented that there were "big spaces" still...and I was feeling the same thing. But, I also realize that once things start growing, things will fill out and I will be thankful for a little space in the garden. :)

What's Happening on Augsburger Farm: May 2012

This weekend, I went outside and took a pics of what's happening at Augsburger Farm.

The irises are blooming beautifully. They always remind me of my Grandma. :)

 

Blackberries, wild or not, are blooming all over the place.  Butterflies and a couple bees were at work here.

One of the kitties, Sweet Pea, is contentedly watching the robins hop about on the grass.

Orange Poppies. Short-lived flower, but I love them!

Chives blooming in the  herb garden, with mounds of Oregano behind them, Lemon Balm to the right, and Walking Onions in the back. I really need to get out there and finish up whatever I am going to do in the herb garden this year!

In the main garden, the 5 Color Silverbeets/Chard are coming along. Also, I transplanted some sunflowers and Florellenschluss Lettuce that came up volunteer in the garden. I hope to get the garden planted by the end of next weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

In case  you're wondering.....I neglected the poor indoor-planted chives and they died. :( So, the outside ones are definitely faring better.


I discovered either some volunteer Zucchini or Butternut Squash coming up. I am trying to decide whether to let it grow, just to see how it turns out, or to get rid of it.  Since I had both types planted in the garden last year, chances are pretty good that this is a cross. They might grow edible squash, or they might not.

And...what my kids tell me is "The King's Moon" was out the other night. They took this pic.