September 5, 2022

The gardening season is coming to a close. Beans are done, cucumbers are done, summer and winter squash are done, (having never gotten started because of bugs) and the tomatoes are finally getting red.  I've put up a a dozen jars of juice already and today 10 more quarts.  We bought one of those thingys that spit out juice and pulp one way and skins and seeds another.  It makes the whole process a whole lot faster. 

Part of today's.

These have been our best producers. No bugs or cracks.

Aaron and the boys (enthusiastic helpers) cut 6, SIX, mind you!! Walmart bags stuffed with elderberry heads  After reading that the stems are toxic, I painstakingly stripped the berries off to get 12 cups of the tiny berries to make jelly. I got syrup because the recipe called for sure-jell (powdered pectin) not Certo (liquid pectin) which Jim has been eating enthusiastically on toast. So I did it all again, 3 hours of picking over (no help from Jim this time) and using sure-jell, I have beautiful jelly.  I wish I could taste it. Mom has been unenthusiastic from the start, saying she had elderberry jelly when she was a girl and it was awful. I wonder if it was really elderberry, or less sugar was used, or as om said, she was a girl, not grown up.

This is how I froze most of my apples.

Jim has half the potatoes dug.  I like the Yukon Golds the best of any we've ever planted. They keep well, too, as well as you can expect any to keep in our less than ideal conditions.  We have no cellar and our basement being walkout and our storm cellar damp, we are lucky to keep any.

August is usually dry and it seems to be heading that way into September, at least for us.  Others around us have had some rain. 

 

May 3, 2022

 
I've said this before, this has been a strange winter and spring weather-wise.  We didn't have any appreciable moisture in the snow variety or any other variety over the winter.  The temperatures have been volatile. On April 29th we got 2" much needed rain with mostly marble-sized hail, plus a few a little bigger in 45 minutes and then another .6" overnight. That hail propelled by a strong west wind banged on our brand-new living room picture window. I was a bit nervous, but it stood the onslaught. Usually, that isn't a worry with the long roof overhangs we have. The only real damage was some bruising on the onions and rather battered tulips.  

Then on May 2nd we got some more rain ultimately another 1.5" with snow.  And here is proof.  

It was cold this day.  I don't think Jim has ever mowed in coveralls. 

Weird weather.

March 7, 2022

This has been a very strange winter.  In fact, it hardly seems like we've had any winter at all.  Before the new year most of the days had temperatures hovering in the 40s, with once a skift of snow. After the first of the year, the temps have been more volatile with swings from a few days of 50s and down to 30s, then single digits and a few nights below zero. As the days grew longer, it did not happen as the old wives tale "as the days begin to lengthen, then the cold begins to strengthen." Instead, the swings of temperature climbed into the 60s and 70s as the high for a few days before swinging back into below freezing again.  

This week was no different.  We had three lovely days of enjoying the outdoors weather, then wind and chill and today, our 4th "snow".  A little more than a skift this time, but not much with a 17 degree overnight temp. 

We are having to get used to empty places on shelves in our shopping excursions, due to the supply chain difficulties.  Last year, we bought our flats on line because they weren't to be had in the stores.  I've been keeping my eye out for this year's supply, even though I have quite a few left from last year. When I spotted some at Walmart, I bought them.  Ten of each size fit so nicely in this box, that I bought them all.  I probably have enough flats for two years.

I prefer to buy name brand flats.  I bought some really cheapo ones a few years ago, and half of them didn't seal.  I don't go to all the work of canning to have half of my jars not seal!!

Now that the days are getting longer, our chickens are producing an overabundance of eggs.  We are getting around 16 eggs a day.  We have eggs of all colors, some are spotted, and some are lumpy.  We've never had one that could be considered an art piece.  

This looks like a sitting-up cat to me. 

 

April 18,, 2020

We had our freeze and then a warm-up.

I worked in the flower garden and wore myself out.

My scillas looked pretty bad after the freeze, but they perked up a little after it warmed up.

More snow -- April 16

It snowed ALL day. Quite a bit melted as it came.

The morning after.

April 6, 2020

Today was a the first really nice day in April.  It was especially so, because of the lack of wind.  

It's the first time I was out cleaning the flower gardens in April.  I picked all the daffodils that were out.  They seem late, but we had a hard freeze that did the hyacinths in.  

My scillas are blooming as well as the creeping charlie and hen bit.  I'm hoping to be out early enough to curb some of those. (not the scillas)  I take boiling water and scald the ones in the brick garden walk.

Jim planted onions this weekend, and mowed for the first time today. He also extended our sidewalk with rock.  

April 3

March 23, 2020

March 23 -- Sunny at last

These weeds have a pretty flower, but are annoying the rest of the year. 

May 9, 2019

Here we are starting a new year of gardening.  I managed to get what I've been wanting to do for years and spent a couple of weeks in the last of March weeding and taking care of trash in the flowers gardens.  The weather was sunny and warm.  And then April came and there were a few days, but so many cold and cloudy ones followed, Jim and I got sick and now that May is here it is still cold and wet and I'm sure the weeds are growing apace, unless they are being stunted by cold weather.

Jim got the early plants planted mid-April, potatoes, peas, onion, spinach, lettuce, and beets. Later he planted the three tomatoes we nursed along from seed and some of our peppers, ditto. They are covered with milk jugs.  We had a cherry tomato, Jim wants to have as a patio plant and some more lunch box peppers to plant.  We started those from seeds from last years peppers. We had light rain two days ago and heavier rain all day yesterday.  I also planted some dwarf zinnas by the mail box and some dwarf cosmos by the pond.  At least the wet days should help them get started.

Jim has also planted 4 rows of sweet corn in spite of his planter deciding to be particular in rough soil. 

We are off to a good start and with the sun peeking out as I write, I think the next few days are expected to be better.

April 28, 2017

April 22

April 28 

Swinging from Spring to Winter in a week! 

December 23, 2016

Last Friday we had an icy morning with a skift of snow and today we had an icier morning after a night of rain and a morning of slushy rain.  By afternoon the sun came out, the ice fell off the trees and the driveway and sidewalks were dry.
Last Sunday we had a low of -10 F, with wind.  Brrr!

The Glory is Gone

 Last year my mom gave me a couple of morning glory plants she started from seed and they grew, but not spectacularly, but I was still pleased to see one plant come up from seed this spring.  I've enjoyed watching it grow since it's just really outdone itself. 

August 15th 

The other side. 

In less than a month, this one plant has grown itself all over our railing and we were looking forward to see if the vines would reach around the corner.

September 9th

And strangely enough, like I took the photo of our flag with the petunias under it that sane day they were demolished that evening with hail,

See here

so, it was with this plant.

September 12, 2015

Sept. 9--Another batch of tomato soup, 16 1/2 pints.
Sept. 12--The last batch of tomato juice, 6 qts.
It's the last batch because Wednesday the 9th we watched in awe as we were pummeled with hail from marble sized to golf ball sized, which the average about 1" in diameter.

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.

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.

December 10, 2011

My Mom is a bird watcher so when we were there I was taking cardinal pictures for her.  We had 3 pair come to the feeders.

 Snow, December 7 

After the December 7 snow.

November 20, 2011

I planted some spinach seeds by the front step in  late summer, forgot to water them and forgot all about them.  One plant came up and have been slowly producing a few leaves.  It has been doing fine, until these last few days.  We are getting lows in the teens now.  We have had a lot of very lovely 50 degree days.  It was 32 for the high today.  Growing season is over.  If I had some sort of cover, I could keep it going a while longer.

October 6, 2011

I've been busy and it hasn't been with gardening.  We haven't had frost yet, we've had beautiful, sunny, 70-ish days, and they have been lovely.  Today however, is a different story.  We've had 30-35mph winds with gusts to 60 mph.  They corn shucks are blowing off the field south of us and piling up everywhere.  Last year we had a big mess of them on the patio.  We are getting some little tomatoes from our pots.  We get more plant that tomato off those.  I'm not picking tomatoes anymore. They were about done anyway, and Lynette and I went to Wisconsin.  Jim brought in the rest of the peppers tonight, two cucumbers, and three big zucchini.  I was supposed to write down when I planted them, but I think it was the last week in July.  Next year I would like to try middle July.  Our patio flowers are limping along. We've been forgetting to water them.  My big flower garden has been looking nice, but it won't anymore after the wind and corn shucks.  I still have a big mum out there that hasn't bloomed yet!! It is the one by the front walk.  My terrace flower garden has been over taken by volunteer cantelope.  There is one that might be ripe before frost.  I need to check it.

April 15th

Strawberry season is here at Walmart.  They've been selling pints for weeks at $1.88, which is about the best they every get and still be good.  We've had strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, plain strawberries, and finally jam. I just used the sure-jell recipe.  We haven't had any for awhile.  I also put 6 cups of sliced berries in the freezer. I like to have them for smoothies, or shortcake or ice cream topping later.

SNOW!! On April 15th!!  I didn't get any photos of the grass when it was covered, but it was at 10:00 this morning.   It rained all evening and last night, a good start to the gardening season.