April 16, 2015

A few weeks ago I bought two new succulents for my table top garden.  I took out one that was too tall and added the two in the front of this photo.

Jim tilled up the garden with our own tiller instead of renting one because we got a drizzle that softened the dirt up enough to work up really well.  That garden dirt is finally starting to look dark with the years of manure and grass clippings he's worked into it, instead of the yellow clay we had when we moved here.

He planted potatoes (our leftover red ones), and Yukon Gold ones from the store (the ones we saved got fed to the chickens by mistake.  We had such a good potato year last year, we ate our own potatoes until two weeks ago, albeit the last month the were shriveled and sprouty ones. I had to buy some this week. The onions kept well, too and I still have a few left.  Jim also planted peas and two packages of onions; one white, one yellow.  

We've had some cloudy and damp days.  We didn't get enough moisture to measure.  Today, after a day of drizzly, foggy weather we are getting a pour down.  Too bad our rain gauge is broken.

May 25, 2014

Time to start up a new growing season. We've had a slow start this year for several reasons, one of them being cold weather.  We had snow April 14th as this photo of table and chairs shows.  With the high school graduation of our last child, the only gardening we did was cleaning up the flower garden that we didn't get finished last year.  We planted onions and potatoes in April.  We planted a package each of yellow and white onions, and about 5# each of Yukon gold and red potatoes.  

We haven't planted anything else for fear of frost. 

I did put some flowers in the deck boxes the week before graduation, and covered them a couple of nights that we saw 32 degrees before morning. 

The old pond hadn't been working for several years and essentially turned into a bog, with the reeds and cattails taking over.  The grass and dandelions were also moving in so we tore it out and put a pre-form pond in.  We will likely put filter and waterfall in later.  

Here are some pictures of the finished project, as finished before graduation.  The chips are hiding some weeds and grass and more planting will be done as time allows.  We are thinking of making big changes to some of the beds to allow for larger paths so the rider mower can be maneuvered through there. We like the idea of more grass and less weeding.  

These photos do not show a bunch of other landscaping places by the house and shop.

This beauty was a birthday present, and since most of my house plants die within months of being subjected to my neglect, it is permanently enshrined in a photo.

I went to a miniature garden/succulent garden class to get some ideas and plants to replace the one from last year, which died.  

We'll see.

Finishing up last years fruit I made a bunch of jam, peach with a little strawberry and plain\ strawberry.

The next day I took the frozen tomatoes and made juice, and the frozen grapes and made a batch of jam and some grape juice concentrate. 

And even though we don't plant our chickens, they do provide us home-grown eggs.

Six of our 11 hens.  

 We bought six new chicks, who are obviously shy.

Too bad one of them turned out to be a rooster.  

May 25, 2013

I worked in the big flower garden today.  I did about 3 sq. ft., and about died of exhaustion.  So, I went in and made dinner, and went out again, and did about as much again.  After eating a huge dinner, I didn't get so very tired the rest of the day.  

I also planted some blanket flowers in the lower terrace garden, snap dragons in the upper, and the deck planters.  

I also made this succulent garden in an old copper bottom pan.  

Pinky-red superbells, my favorite for the deck planters.

Blanket flower among the mint and hostas

I went out to look at the vegetable garden, the potatoes and corn are up.  Some spinach is up, I don't see any parsnips or swiss chard, and only one beet plant. The onions are doing well, too.