October 5, 2012

It is supposed to freeze hard tonight, so we can consider the growing season over.  We will probably have a lot of nice days, in October, but we are moving all the deck plants to the basement, and picking what is left of the garden.  

While Mom was here in September, she made a couple of batches of tomato soup, and a couple of zucchini relish.

 Bonita, while she is here, has chopped peppers for the freezer, and cooked and served the few tomatoes, squash and green beans that were left.  

The temperatures are supposed to fall to the mid 20's.  Parts of western Nebraska are getting snow.

September 6, 2012

So, far, mom when she has been here these two days has put up 20 jars of tomato juice, with a good friend's help yesterday. A couple weeks ago, she put up 15.  And I've had some other good friends put up about 10 other pints and quarts.  We drink most of it and will be glad to have it.

She's done some dill pickles, and someone else has too, and  another nurse rather than gardener, put some green beans in the freezer, which I will be very glad to have later.  Mom did some of those too.

For the first time we took some tomatoes and peppers to the "bountiful garden" giveaway at the cancer center.  Jim thought two shoes boxes of  yellow tomatoes were too many, we shall see, if there are any left tomorrow.  We got a couple a pears and butternut squash from there yesterday.  We didn't plant any winter squash.

August 13, 2012

I am really, really very fortunate that I have friends that know their way around a garden.  Jenelle put a couple gallon freezer bags of peppers in the freezer for me today, and made tomato juice, 5 quarts.  It is also very nice to be eating cucumbers and tomatoes as we go as our nice helpers make us meals as well.

August 3, 2012

My mom came to help out here to keep the house running so Jim could work instead of look after me.  She spent most of her time looking after the garden.  Wouldn't you know it, the corn came in early, clean and good.  Between her times of working alone and Jim helping her they got 52 bags in the freezer.

Mom also canned two 11 pound boxes of bing cherries, for herself and for us. (We ate plenty, too) And, then bought more for canning for herself.  I think we got about a dozen jars, both pints and quarts.

Then, the cucumbers are growing by leaps and bounds.  We haven't had such a good year for cukes in, well, years. So, mom put up several quarts of dills for us, too.  We grow our own dill, and it will be very nice to have them.

We cannot keep ahead of the summer squash, but who ever can.  We are eating green beans, too.  If mom were here she would work on the green beans, but she wouldn't want to.

July 8, 2012

That last mentioned break didn't last very long.  Ever since then we have had 90s and 100s degree weather and high humidity.  It has been miserable.  Our garden is producing yellow squash and zucchini, and the onions are the size of door knobs and baseballs.  We have potatoes big enough to eat.

Everything is early this year.  De-tasseling started the 3rd of July, but Lynette missed the first two days because we had family here.  They had short days because of the heat, but the last couple of days have been cooler, (83 yesterday and 82 today), and they still had short days.  I wonder if this season will be a little longer because of the readiness of the corn.  We saw a couple fields today that hadn't been topped yet.

Sweet corn in a couple of weeks.

June 20, 2012

After days and days of over 30 mph gusting hot, dry winds, the weather has decided to give us a break with a very cool day in the low 60's with rain.  It is almost chilly inside, but my gardener/sister-in-law is giving my flower garden a good once over in this much nicer working outside weather. I should go out to look, but I am resting.

June 14, 2012

We've had a couple of hail storms so our tomatoes are coming on slowly. I must have planted the lettuce in a high wind because the only seed that came up was in the sidewalk.  I am assuming the swiss chard and turnips are growing, but they won't be much good because it has been so hot.  I haven't been seeing much of this summer, but June is acting like full summer already with humidity and high winds.  It is comfortable indoors.  We are eating snap peas now.  I like them fresh and cooked.  Gardening is not going to be a high priority this year with my cancer diagnosis. My flower gardens were all weeded before I went to surgery, so they are going to need some care, hopefully they won't get clear out of hand with no one to work in them.

Today is Flag Day.  My grandparents were married this day.

May 12, 2012

It was chilly and cloudy today. The high temperature was in the low 60's, but in spite of that, Jim tilled the whole garden, weeding the potatoes and peas, and finished planting the garden except the winter squash, which we will wait on for a bit, to reduce the bug damage.
So, we now have beans, three more rows of sweet corn, for a total of 8, okra, cucumbers (the ones we started from seed and transplanted didn't make it), summer squash, and a yellow tomato added to the earlier planting.
I think if we try the cucumbers from seed again, we need to cover the seedlings when we put them in the garden.
A few days ago we had frost.  Not a killing frost, but enough to burn my coffee trees in my mini garden.  They aren't supposed to see 40 degrees.  That was disappointing, it spoils the looks of the garden, and it was so nice before.  I'll wait awhile to see how they grow before I attempt any pruning.

Swimming Pool

The best time to set up the swimming pool is when it is still cool.  Algae can grow in an hour in hot weather, before the shock treatment starts to work.  Jim cleans it out with the pressure washer and the vacuum excavator.
Pool day this year was May 5th, 2012
I bought enough shock treatment for the season from Menards at 3.98 a gallon, buy one, get one free.

May 5, 2012

Last week we had several really hot days.  Eighty-five degrees and above.  I had the air conditioner on  for those days.  I always drag my feet, dreading the electricity bill, but when we have company, special gatherings, or too much heat, I have to give in.  It did cool down nicely at night, but our brick home with few trees around it soaks up heat and it is hard to cool it down at night.  Plus, it was so humid, that once the a/c was on, we didn't want the humidity to sneak back in.  One day, we had the pea-soup fog we had to put up with last summer.  There is so little visibility it is scary.  And there are always a few people who obviously think it is unnecessary to use headlights in such weather.  I send my daughter off to school to turn onto a highway that she can't see 1/10th of a mile.  She just goes in faith, and I wait for 15 minutes to pass with no phone call so I can relax.  
Jim planted another two rows of Incredible sweet corn.  This makes six now.
The turnips, swiss chard, peas and potatoes are all up.  The onions are looking very well, and two rows of sweet corn are up.
We planted the tomatoes and cucumbers we started from seed yesterday.  The tomatoes are about six inches tall, we used milk jugs to protect them, not from frost, but from wind.  We have about 12 plants, mostly Romas. The cucumbers are about as big, we planted them three to, whatever those little fibers planter thingy are called, half picklers, half slicers. But one of the pickle plants was broken.  That isn't too surprising since the flat of plants sits in front of the deck door to get sun, and is kicked around by enterers and outerers, and little boys.  It's a wonder more weren't damaged since I'm sure our grandson fell on it once.
I spent a few hours weeding and wood chipping in the flower garden. The end is getting nearer, but it is taking me a long time, and weeds are growing where I've already been.
I sprayed the bind weed, but I see where the tops have died, new growth is coming up from underneath.  Sometimes I wonder if spraying is really the answer, but pulling it out it a full time job.

April 20, 2012

I forgot to write about these photos last night and this morning, the computer was still trying to load a photo!!  What a waste of energy.

Lilies of the Valley are some of my favorite flowers.  The are so delicate and beautiful and have a lovely scent.  (Which I can't smell right now because I have a sinus problem.)  

I remember one time when I was a grade-school girl, I took lilies of the valley to my teacher on May Day.  I don't remember it ever happening again.  

It isn't going to happen this year either, they will be long gone. 

These lilies come from my mom's house, from the same plants I loved as a child.  I've tried for several years to get some established, and I think I finally have.  

You do have to be a bit careful or they will take over as long as they are in shade. 

Strawberry Jam

I bought strawberries Saturday for 98 cents a pint.  You don't get a deal like that every day!  I bought 8 pints, and we ate them for dessert on Sunday, I made two batches of jam and a strawberry pie.  

I used the cute little flat 8 oz. jars.

March 31, 2012

Today, we had temperatures in the upper 80s and it is supposed to be the same way tomorrow.  It is hard to not to go in and plant everything we can since we could very easily have frost yet.  I went to Steinbrinks to attend a miniature garden class and they said the May 10 is the frost date here. We have had frost up to the 15th at our place though.

So, the garden is tilled; the grapes are tilled; the place were we are going to plant baby trees is tilled.  Jim planted potates, Red Norland, Gold Rush, Kennebec, and Yukon Gold.  He also planted white and yellow onion sets.

I planted pansies north of the shop.  It doesn't get sun there.  I also put some yellow violas, and a forget-me-not.  I've wanted one of those for years, but they don't do well in sun, and I mostly have sun gardens.  I've also planted some nasturtiums there too, from seed.

The chickens have had some outside time (in their hutch).  I've continued to weed and wood chip in my flower gardens.

I have all my plants that I over winter for the deck out on the patio.  I found bugs on them.

I planted my mini garden mostly with plants I bought, and the bench and swing were pretty pricey, but I used my birthday money for them.  The trees are coffee plants, the "vine", a wire plant, I also bought some cute little hen and chicks thingys..  I have some sedum from my garden.  Most of the stuff is tropical house plants, I have a polka dot plant and I don't know what the other is.  They are so cute, but I suppose you need to buy the little ones every year or they will get too big.

March 24, 2012

I guess we are calling it spring even though it is pretty early.  I was debating taking more pictures of the same things I took last year, since my flower gardens look pretty much the same from year to year, at least at the beginning.  

Here is my celery 10 days after the picture in the previous post.  Celery seems to need lots of water so while we were gone for spring break I put it in water in this cool whip container. It sucked up about half of it, in a week. 

These were blooming when we got home, March 23rd.

The daffodils were blooming before we left, March 18. Last year these flowers were blooming mid-April.

My grape hyacinths are starting to take hold in the rocks.  These photos show where they are so I don't dig them up. 

I want to keep these here, too. 

I don't think I want these here by the table and chairs. 

We've been wanting to get some landscaping done around the shop for awhile, and I killed grass here last summer so we are ready to start.  I don't have much in here, and I'm waiting for inspiration before I plant more. I have Stella d'Oro lily, iris, a holly hock and some larkspur

(front and west of shop)

I'm just starting over here.  I planted a few things from seed.  I have a columbine, and some bush.

(front of shop)

March 14, 2012

Spring work has started so the second year of tracking my gardening has started also.  We have had a particularly warm dry winter and spring.  Today we had a high of 78 F, and no night freezing for several days. There is no wind today, which is very pleasant, but not the norm for the last week or more.

Over the last two days I've cleaned out the terrace gardens east of the house, yesterday with Zane's help, which took a LONG time to get much done.  As much today, in a half hour.  Yesterday I also swept up the patio of old leaves and corn husks and leaves, which I MUST do more often, I killed a centipede out there. (with a shovel, so he was a long way away from me, ewww.) I cleaned off the steps, too.  Now just to keep going.

I've got a hyacinth starting to bloom on the west side of the house, spring bulbs are up and going strong.

Jim bought a manure spreader at auction and the jack is broken, but he will use it as is to get compost on the garden.

March 12, 2012

I planted a few spinach seeds out by the front steps a couple of days ago.

I saw on pinterest to grow celery from the base of a stalk from the grocery store.  I soaked it in water and it is starting, I hope the transfer to dirt isn't too soon. 

Chickens

I'm not sure that the chickens should go in the garden blog, but they are outside things, or soon will be when Jim gets the coop built.

We have 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks, (Black), 2 Brown Leghorns, (Yellow), and 2 New Hampshire Reds (Brown). I think..

February 8, 2012

Snow again.  

People around here, especially of the kid variety have been clamoring for more snow, like I will be able to do anything about it.   This storm was just about made to order. 

It started snowing Friday evening, and by bedtime we had an inch with the most expected over night.  In the morning, we had 11" of very wet, heavy snow on the ground. We had company so we had a nice little stay at home time with the traditional doughnut making and eating. We had light snow continuing throughout the morning, and Jim got the neighborhood driveways and ours done by 1:30 so I was able to go on to Cyndie's Valentine Tea.  

Later, Lynette and I had a quick photo shoot downtown to celebrate the snow and her yellow coat. 

 Evening

Early Morning

Wet, sticky snow, wind from the north.

After daylight.

On Tuesday, we had another little snow, about an inch, but the weather has turned cold so this snow won't melt in a hurry. 

Fairy Gardens

This is something I would like to try this year.
This blog has the instructions.

I started thinking about them when I saw this article in our local paper. These are not the best pictures, but I wanted a quick way to preserve the article without retyping it.  I suppose I could have tried to find a link, but I didn't

The photo with the article.

The article itself.

 The little bit under the picture all together to make it easier to read.

January 17, 2012

 Our winter is still in the up and down mode.  We have nice days, and then it dips down in the freezing and below range.  We got an unexpected snow, January 8th.  We looked out after dark to see the flakes coming down. I love snow.  I don't really know why, but when I watch the snow falling gently in the dark, it does something to me.  It's a sad, glorious, hard to explain feeling. 

 We got about an inch.

Beautiful days start with a beautiful sunrise.  January 13th, 7:59 am.

The 15th, we had a high of 62 degrees.  Jim and I went biking for our exercise.  I noticed that the rose bush in the front of the house has been growing in these warm days.

That has all ended again, with a temp this morning of 7 and another inch of snow.  I scooped off the driveway for my exercise this afternoon, and it is melting off. It was 20 mid-afternoon. This can't be good for the plants.  Jim watered the trees, too.