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!

Speaking of mice....

One of the challenges that we have faced since we moved into the little red farmhouse that came with our property is that of keeping mice out of the house. No big shocker, right? Well, let it be said that there are two naughty mice who will not soon be forgotten by yours truly! Short story.....

On Sunday night--at an obscene hour somewhere between midnight and morning--Farmer B and I awoke to a loud noise coming from the kitchen. I must admit that I was sleeping too soundly to care much at the time what it was, so long as it wasn't a burglar. Farmer B checked things out, came back to bed, and mumbled something about a mouse getting stuck under the refrigerator. The frig made a loud knocking noise from time to time throughout the night--I just tried to ignore it (seriously, do we not loose all common sense when we are sleepy?)

Yesterday--I woke up and remembered the commotion from the previous night. I looked around the frig. No sign of mice. I thought no more about it.

Around 10 pm last night--the frig began to make a strange noise again. Was the motor going out? Did something fall behind the frig and get caught in the fan blades? I could not figure it out, but Farmer B and I decided that we probably just needed to call the repair man the next day to come out and have a look at it.

Last night--again, at an obscene hour (1:30 a.m.)--the frig was still making this annoying racket every time the motor kicked on. I couldn't take it any more. I got up and UNPLUGGED the refrigerator! Seriously.

All was quiet for the next four hours....finally!

At 5:30 am, I awoke and realized that, like an idiot, I had unplugged the refrigerator in the middle of the night. It only took me about two seconds to decide that this may not have been one of my best ideas, and so I got up and plugged it back in. Again with the loud clanking noise.

However, this time, accompanying the noise was a very unpleasant smell. Surely nothing could have spoiled already, could it? In the five minutes that it took for Farmer B to get his morning shower, I had come out of my sleep-induced fog just enough to remember what he had said the previous night about the mouse....

Farmer B came into the kitchen as I was standing in front of the refrigerator playing "Sherlock Holmes" (hey I'm a little slow on the draw in the mornings before I have had my cup of tea). He grabbed his keys and was starting out the door for work when I looked at him and said, in my most serious "you're not going to believe this" voice.... "I think that there is a mouse that has expired under our refrigerator."

"Well, why don't you call the repair man and have him come and get it out?"

I just stared.

"Seriously?"

Farmer B laughed. "No. I can't get it this morning, but if you can wait until I get home I'll take a look at it then."

"Thank you," I sighed. I detest mice. As he left I was thinking about how thankful that I am that he is always so willing to dispose of our "capturees" so that I don't have to get near them! (Does that sound too much like a "city mouse?")

As the morning progressed, the smell got worse.

I lit a candle.

I lit two candles.

Finally, by noon, I couldn't stand it any longer. I got my screw driver and a flashlight, pulled the frig away from the wall, and extracted the varmints.

Two hours later, I think I may have stopped gagging!

Gross!!!

Does this count as a step toward becoming "true country folk?"

The First Day of Summer

We had vacation Bible School at our church last week and I hardly got to spend any time in the garden.  It has grown a LOT since I posted last, so I thought it was time for an update.

The pumpkins are taking over.  At first I noticed that the little pumpkins would begin to grow, and then in a few days they would shrivel up! I think I have discovered the trick of pruning them. I'll know in a few days if I have succeeded.   

The watermelons are also going crazy. I think they like all of the hot weather that we've had this week. We have two melons that are fairly large and lots more that are just starting out.

Tomatoes are finally coming on. I think heirloom varieties are a little bit slower than hybrids.

We picked blackberries a couple of times this week, got some of our first green beans out of the garden, and were even able to get enough blueberries from our two bushes to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast yesterday morning!

Cucumbers are going to be the next thing to be harvested.

This week is supposed to be another hot one.  Here is a picture of the garden taken this morning.  It's finally looking full!  I'm enjoying the last of the "taking it easy" days of gardening before the canning and freezing frenzy begins.  :~)

 

Two Years Later....

Okay

There is too much going on around Forest Springs for us not to share!

This is our first year to have a "real" garden and it has been so much fun!

Here are a few pictures that I have been taking over the past few weeks:

This one was taken about 1 month ago. You can see the tiny lettuce plants just beginning to come up. At the very end of the garden, you can see our two blueberry bushes (I have them covered up with netting to keep the birds from eating all of the berries).

This one is really dark! The lettuce is getting bigger. The little green plants to the right of the lettuce are pumpkins.

This one was taken this evening. The pumpkins are going crazy. To the right of the pumpkins are cucumbers and a few herbs (basil, mint, and marjoram). How do you like our "tent" that we made for the runner beans? Cute, huh? That was Farmer B's creation. We took the kids (M1 and M2) into the woods last week and cut down a few saplings for the frame. I had to laugh because M2 thought she was going to die from the humidity before we made it back to "civilization." Does that mean that she spends too much time in an air-conditioned house?

The deer are sniffing around our blackberry patch and I am going to have to devise a plan for keeping them at bay. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that we could pick over 50 gallons of blackberries if the deer don't get them first!

Hopefully, Farmer B will be able to build a chicken coop by summer's end so that we can have chickens. Really, the sooner the better, although my neighbor told me that she has lost three hens this week due to chicken hawks in our area. Bozo (our dog) is going to have to earn his keep and learn to protect chickens, I think.

(This is just a random picture I found. Isn't it cute?)

Not to mention, we have a bee hive--full of bees, I might add--on standby just waiting for us to bring it home!

This promises to be a fun summer! We are having a blast. We hope that you will join in our adventure as we journey into the "wilds" of country living!