Building Soon???

We are inching closer toward our goal of building a house.  A few weeks ago, our builder came to help us stake out the footprint of the house and determine the grade for the site. 

If and when we break ground, be prepared for pictures to follow.

Finally, we got eight laying hens.  This has been such a delight!  They are so funny to watch and it is so enjoyable to have fresh eggs every day. 

Good times.

Our 2010 garden in review

I am still undecided as to whether or not I would consider this summer's garden a success.  A late-summer trip, plus an invasion of beetles, caused a LOT of damage to the amount of produce we were able to harvest.  In addition to that, circumstances did not allow for me to spend ANY time in the garden once school began in late August. 

All that said.....I certainly learned a great deal from this year's attempt at gardening.

Here is a breakdown:

Green Beans:  Kentucky Wonder was my favorite by far.  We also planted Contender, but I plan to put in only KW next year.  I planted around 14 bushes this year.  I think I could increase it to 20 plants next year.  Growing them from seed was super-easy and inexpensive.

Lima Beans:  I planted these for my son....  I'm not sure that I'm going to try to plant them again next year.  I only planted two or three of the plants, so we didn't get much of a yeild.  I mainly just wanted to try them out this year.

Peas:  I planted "Pink Eye" purple hull peas this year.  I enjoy eating these so much that I will likely plant these again next year.  I started around two dozen plants from seed--very easy and we got a great yeild.

Okra:  Since my family could take it or leave it, I don't know if I'll try this one again.  Again, my trip fell at the peak of okra production, so I didn't really catch many of the pods when they were at the tender stage.  I'll say this:  one plant produced more than enough for our family.  I froze several quarts and they will last us all year, I am certain.

Pumpkins:  I LOVED having a pumpkin patch, and I was heartsick over the destruction that was caused by the squash beetles that took over while we were on our trip.  I will probably try again next year.  I used Connecticut Feild.  Maybe they are not disease resistant, but they certainly looked great before the beetles got to them.

Corn:  The few stalks of corn that we planted produced a mediocre crop.  Several of the ears never really made any corn.  I did like the variety of corn, however, called Stowell's Evergreen Corn.  It was REALLY sweet and tender.  Next year we will probably try to plant a much larger section of corn to see if we can get a better yeild.

Cucumbers:  Sadly, the cucumbers (Long Green Improved) did not fare well AT ALL.  The beetle infestation was severe.  I had to fight for every piece of fruit that we got from the six vines that we planted.  If the pests had not been so bad, I feel sure that six plants would have provided more than enough cucumbers for our family.  The cucumbers that we were able to harvest were really good for pickling, as well as for using in salads.  The skin was fairly tender and they tasted great! 

Lettuce:  I loved the Buttercrunch and the Arugula, but I don't think I will plant Oak Leaf next year.  I didn't care for that variety much.  I'd like to try a variety of Romain lettuce next year as well.

Onions:  The onions fared pretty well.  I didn't have them in a place where they could get enough water, however.  I will probably try to plant several onion sets again next year.  I'd also like to add garlic to the list.  The bunching onions that I planted are still producing well.  They haven't gotten overly large, and the flavor is still very nice--not overpowering.  I planted Red Creole and Yellow Sweet Spanish bulbing onions, but I am unsure of the name of the bunching onions.

Bell Peppers:  both of the varieties that I planted did very well.  They were called Marconi Red and California Wonder Gold.  I plan to use these varieties again next year if I put in a garden.  In addition, the Jalapeno, Habanero, and Cayenne peppers did very well.  The Pepperoncini peppers produced a fine yeild, but I discovered that I don't like the taste of them very well.

Tomatoes:  All of the tomatoes that I planted this past year were heirloom plants, started from seed.  The Brandywine Red, while tasty, were not good for canning.  I think I would only plant two or three of this variety next year.  The Cherokee Purple tomatoes were DELICIOUS.  I planted four or five of these this summer and they produced very well.  The Beefsteak tomatoes were the best as far as producing a good quality of tomato for canning purposes AND for eating fresh.  The core is small and they are easy to peel.  Cherry Roma tomatoes also did very well.  Our family really liked eating them right off of the vine, as well as in salads. 

Watermelons:  I planted six seedlings of Sugar Baby watermelons.  They produced several melons, but I will have to discover the knack for knowing when they are ready to be picked.  I picked most of them before they were ripe. :(  I would like to try these again.

The past month...

Is it possible that over a month has gone by since my last post? 

Well, in the meantime, I helped put on a rummage-sale for a mission project, spent a week on a mission trip to Guatemala, and put up ALL of the produce from our garden. 

I froze 20 quarts of green beans, 15 quarts of peas, and a few gallons of tomatoes. 

I canned another 25-30 quarts of tomatoes--some with peppers, some without. 

  

 

I picked 5-6 gallons of green tomatoes last week and made a couple of batches of green tomato relish. 

I've been trying different recipes over the past couple of years, looking for one that will give me the kind of relish that is served at catfish restaurants.  One of the recipes that I tried this summer was DEFINITELY not it....the second one remains to be seen.  I'll have to give the relish a taste-test in a few weeks. 

The pumpkins were a bust.  While we were gone to Guatemala, we had what has turned out to be a six-week dry spell.  Before I left, I was fighting squash bugs, and I had dusted the plants just before we departed.  However, when we got back a week later, the pumpkins AND watermelons were completely dead.  Those dog-gone bugs!

I pulled up the corn plants, the purple-hull peas, and the green bean plants a couple of weeks ago, and last week I worked on pulling up the tomatoes.

  Also, I harvested the onions and carrots.  All that is really left now is the runner beans and the pepper plants.

(I know this is the tiniest little sampling of carrots AND onions, but I planted so few that I am actually pleased with the result.)

The gallon of okra that I froze will probably last us the entire year.  I only use it when I make gumbo, but I wanted to try growing some this year.  Most of it matures while we were gone and by the time we got home, it was all too big to use. :[

It has certainly been a learning experience.  I am hoping to record my "lessons" here on this blog.  It may take me a few days to get my thoughts in order--it always does. 

Next weekend is the annual Craft Fair in our town, complete with Square Dancing and a parade.  I'll try to share some pics of that as well. 

Until then.....

Still going...

I don't know what I would do if we had a bigger garden.  This one is keeping me hoppin'!  It has been really nice to have so many fresh veggies, though. 

I think I've frozen around 20 quarts of green beans and 8-10 quarts of purple-hull peas. 

The okra is finally starting to make more than one pod at a time, so we might have enough to make one batch of fried okra--I only planted one okra plant, and that was an experiment.  I'm not sure if our family likes okra enough for me to plant more next year....

(This one got a little too big!)

I picked two more baskets full of veggies this morning that I need to get busy processing, so it's good-bye for today!

A Quick Peek...

Things have been hoppin' around here lately. 

We've had kids going to camp, torrential downpours of rain, construction projects, veggies ripening, and two new additions to the family!  There has been NO time for blogging!!!

In regard to the two new additions to the family....

Meet Amelia and Charlotte!

This is Amelia here in the front.

Charlotte on the left, Amelia on the right.

We picked up these cuties a few weeks ago.  Their job is to keep the mice out of the house.  They are technically "barn cats" according to Farmer B, but we are missing the "barn" for the present time.  (It's on the "to do" list!)

Blackberries have gone for the year, I believe.  We have a few stragglers here and there which I have been eating for a snack on my morning walk.  It's fun to have refreshments available along the way, you know!

I froze most of the berries that we picked, but I did take one day's pickings and make some blackberry jam.  That "mess" of berries produced about 11 half-pint jars of jam.  ;~) 

(Can't wait to dig into one of these!)

Of course, I have made a couple of blackberry cobblers.  These are some individual-sized cobblers that Farmer B REALLY liked!

We have had a lot of rain over the past three weeks or so, which means that I have had a break from watering the garden every night.  I'm getting spoiled!  I have, however, been busy picking green beans and purple hull peas, and we've even had a few tomatoes begin to ripen. 

The cucumber plants have been limping along for the past month thanks to an infestation of cucumber beetles.  I was able to save a few plants, but the cucumber production has been hindered considerably.  I have only been able to put up a few quarts of pickles so far. 

The kids and I picked this pile of peas yesterday.  Last night, M2 shelled them all as she watched Andy Griffith; and then today, I washed them all and packed them into the freezer (green beans, too).  Up until this point, we have been eating all of the peas that we've picked--it was nice to have a few to put away for later.  :~)  Plus...I picked a few more today and was able to give them to a friend.  Yay!!!

The pumpkins are beginning to turn orange, the corn is still questionable, and the watermelons are ALMOST ripe.  I'll try to get a few pictures in the next few days if time allows. 

Happy Summer!!!

Progress Report

I took several pictures this afternoon so that you can see the progress that some of the plots are making.

Runner Beans

Finally, a few tassels of corn.  I planted this really late and I wasn't sure if it would even produce anything.  It seems to be progressing, but I'm trying to keep my expectations low....  It's such a small plot of corn, but I have learned a lot by watching the way that it grows.  This is a hobby garden--thank goodness!

The watermelon plants are putting on lots of fruit, but still none that are quite ripe yet.  Here is a baby one and an almost-ripe melon to compare.  They grow fast!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins.  I think that my pruning is paying off.  There are several fruits that are getting really large.  My newest problem is that of cucumber beetles--my first real pest issue.  I have done some reading and it seems that the beetle infects the plant with a bacterial wilt disease.  In the second picture you can see the leaf of the plant drooping a little.  I plan to pick up something to treat them with tomorrow.  I hope it works!  I was really excited about the prospects of having our own pumpkins this fall!

It's difficult to see in this picture, but these are purple hull peas.  They are going wild.  I see purple fingers in my near future!

I had to throw this picture in here.  These are beefsteak tomatoes. I have been drooling over them--they look SO GOOD.  I wish they would hurry up and turn red already!

And finally, a sunflower bloom.  I planted these seeds just for fun and I have been anxiously awaiting a bright yellow bloom to burst forth.  This evening, it finally began to open up.  These just make me happy.  I have had a BLAST growing all of these plants this spring and summer!

Cucumbers and such...

Today I am starting the process of pickling the cucumbers that we harvested from our garden last week.

This will be my third year to make pickles.

Year one was an utter disaster. The solution that I used for the pickles was tasty, but the pickles were really mushy. I ended up throwing away most of what I made.

Last year, I had three cucumber plants and I got enough cucumbers from them to make about 8 pints of pickles.  My dad suggested that if I soaked the cucumbers in a pickling lime mixture before I canned them, it might keep them crisp. He was correct.  I felt that I had made progress simply because the pickles were not mushy! 

They were met with mixed reviews from my family and friends.  About half of the pickles that I made were kosher dill. Some people loved them (my sister), some tolerated them (Farmer B and M2) and some said they were intirely too sour (everyone else). The other half of the pickles were bread and butter style. Those were generally tollerated by everyone and even enjoyed by a few people.

I'll keep you posted on this year's batch!

This morning I picked around 3 1/2 quarts of blackberries--now washed and placed in the freezer.

And I think I have finally aquired enough green beans to cook them for dinner.  It only took a week!