September Garden

Hello, friends! I sure have missed you. It's hard to believe an entire summer has gone by, and we are now heading into the season of shorter days and cooler weather. Along with the change of season, our routines and focus change as well.  Much of my days are now spent in the house cleaning and organizing for our soon-to-come winter "hibernation", preserving the last of the garden produce, helping the Littles through their daily lessons at home, and running to soccer practices and games. As hard as it is for this summer-loving mama to see the garden come to an end, it is a bit of a relief, as my attentions are drawn and pulled into so many other directions once the rhythm of autumn settles in.

This year's garden did very well in some areas, but, unfortunately, we had a number of crops that did not do so well.  Each year I learn more about gardening. I try to implement the age-old techniques that I learned as a child from my grandparents as well as new ideas I may read about in books, magazines or on the web.  Gardening is a journey of learning, and, even though, I have, and will no doubt, continue to encounter failures and disappointments along the way, I am thoroughly enjoying this process of feeding my family from the food I have planted, harvested and preserved.

 It was a good year for...

   

     Chard -- Oh, I love this green, leafy vegetable!  I have always had problems with spinach bolting too quickly and never end up having enough for even one meal (granted it does take a lot of spinach to feed this family of twelve, but one meal?).  This year I replaced the spinach with Bright Lights Swiss Chard, and I have never been so satisfied with a green, leafy vegetable. We have eaten many meals of its tasty green leaves, and it is still growing strong, never bolting, even during the hottest days of summer.  The Littles all love it steamed with salt, pepper, butter and a dash of vinegar.  Yes, Swiss chard is, indeed, a winner in my book.

     Kale  -- Winterbore kale never disappoints, giving us meal after meal all summer long, even well into the fall when the rest of the garden is killed by the frost. In fact, those lovely green leaves taste even sweeter once they have been touched by a frost.

     Brussels Sprouts -- Although we haven't harvested our little sprouts yet, the plants are loaded, and we are all looking forward to feasting on one of our families all-time favorite vegetables.  I know, Brussels sprouts...who would have ever guessed ten children would all agree that Brussel sprouts are a favorite?

     Lettuce, Arugula, Beets, Carrots, Cabbage -- All of these did well, and we are still enjoying them, except for the lettuce and arugula.  I did, however, plant a second crop of arugula, but it is taking its time growing. The beets will soon be harvested for preserving...we all love pickled beets!  I only planted late cabbage this year, and so we will soon be enjoying the lovely crunch of our first cabbage, and the carrots have been harvested and stored in the shed in moist sawdust.

     Onions and Garlic -- I am pleased to say that after a couple of failed attempts to grow onions and garlic I finally succeeded in growing successful crops of both!

     Cucumbers -- In spite of being affected by a disease (I believe it's one that lives in my soil, and I have plans for a brand new cucumber garden next year), the cucumbers did amazingly well.  They have now succumbed to the disease, but while they were still healthy, they produced enough for us to eat fresh cucumbers on a daily basis for the last month and a half, and I also made forty quarts of pickles for the pantry.  So, I would say a success for sure, even though they were infected with a possible fungus.

Not such a good year for...

     Potatoes -- I don't know what happened to my potatoes.  I was faithful in feeding (for a healthy root) and hilling them.  The plants were beautiful, some taller than Little #10 (as you can see in this post).  I was ecstatic, thinking our harvest would be the best one yet, but to my great disappointment, we harvested only a few potatoes.  In some rows we only found four or five potatoes.  I have no idea what went wrong!  I guess I know what I will be researching this winter.

     Beans -- This was an unusual year for beans.  We usually have green beans (Provider and pole beans) coming out of our ears, but this year the bushes turned brown and died very quickly.  Again, not sure what happened to them.

     Winter Squash -- Much to my disappointment I don't believe we will be eating any buttercup or butternut squash from our garden this year.  It looks like we may have a few Delicata squash on the vines, but, unfortunately, not very many. The pumpkins never even germinated.

How did your garden grow this year?  I would love to hear what may or may not have worked for you. 

Thank you for taking the time to stop by my little corner and visit for a bit.  I do hope to be spending more time here now that we are changing our routine and finding ourselves indoors a bit more.  I have been trying to keep updated on Instagram, so if you like, you can visit me there as well. 

   

A Pink Cake and Vintage Barbies

Our eldest and youngest daughters both celebrate their birthdays in August, one at the beginning of the month and the other at the end.  Little #9 turned four, and I believe this was the most anticipated of all her birthdays.  A few weeks ago when we went to the antiques barn, Little #9 was with us, and she spied a bag of vintage toy foods, dishes and other kitchen gadgets along with a small basket of Barbie dolls and handmade clothing (from the 1970's, I would guess).  Oh, how she wanted those items, so we carefully tried to sneak them to the counter without her seeing, but I'm not so sure we were successful. She spoke often of the toys she saw at the antiques barn and how she was so excited that she was getting them for her birthday.  She spent a lovely morning, having lunch out with Mama and a quick stop at a thrift store where she picked out a darling vintage dress for $1.00 (I think I may have had the same dress when I was her age) and came home to very excited siblings,"Happy Birhtday" being played on the piano by her brother, noise makers (Oh, why did I agree to those?) and a pink birthday cake.  What fun it must be to be four years old!

A Cool Rock in a Shady Spot

Yes, I must agree with Sid, our sleeping yellow cat and the other animals at Front Forty. This is exactly what kind of week it has been, the kind where you want to find a cool rock in a shady spot and take a nap.  The high temperatures and humidity make for lazy-feeling days,  Although I am not complaining (this summer loving mama never complains when summer offers us its best), but I do feel a bit sorry for Little #2 and #3 who started double-session soccer practices this week.  They are handling it quite well, though, and are pushing through it like little troopers with very little complaining.  Lots of lemon water and watermelon have been consumed; bathing suits are the preferred attire, and the porch hammock is the favorite spot.

In spite of the heat, I have spent much of my week in the kitchen canning and pickling.  The cucumbers are producing like crazy at the moment, but much to my dismay, I believe they (and my tomatoes) are infected with verticillium wilt. I am trying to harvest and pickle as many as I can before the plants succumb to the disease. After doing some research, I think I may have discovered that this dreaded verticillim wilt is the culprit responsible for killing my cucumbers and tomatoes the past few years.  I'm not happy about this, but I am relieved to finally have an answer.  The process of getting rid of the fungi is slow, and Hubby and I are discussing the best method for doing so...more on that later...back to the pickles.  Garlic dills, sweet spears, and bread and butter pickles are filling the shelves of the pantry along with jars of mixed vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, onions, beans, and zucchini) and dilly beans.  I have used the traditional pickling method, but I would like to eventually try fermentation.  I am still trying to recuperate from a fermentation-gone-bad experience, so I haven't quite dared step into that new realm of preservation yet...maybe next summer. I would love any suggestions you may have for books and/or resources on the process of fermentation.

Last night Hubby and I took a few minutes to sit on the porch before the mosquitos bombarded us, and we were commenting on how lush and vibrant everything was...the gardens, the pastures, the woods, the lawn...everything is so full.  It's hard to believe that all that green foliage, all that color eventually fades, and we are left with a white and grey landscape.  I asked him, "Which is harder to imagine, summer during the frigid, white days of winter, or winter during the lush, warm days of summer?" We are undecided. 

Oh, so busy...

Happy Friday to you all! I am just quickly checking in to say, "hello", and let you know I have not forgotten you all.  I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up with posting. It's not for lack of wanting to; life has just kept me so very busy...a good busy, though.

Beans, squash, zucchini, red potatoes, garlic, kale, chard, lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, and lots of herbs are being harvested, almost daily, from the gardens.  Looking forward to tomatoes soon,

Dilly beans and pickles are filling the pantry shelves.  Kale, broccoli and beans are going into the freezer.  Parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro, and sage are drying and filling the herb jars.

A mama and daddy Rose-breasted grosbeak have brought their family of little ones to our feeders. What a joy it has been watching them each day!

Our eldest daughter celebrated her 19th birthday...19th!!!  Where does the time go?

Work on the addition continues...cedar shingles and trim going up this coming week.

A clutch of keets (baby guinea fowl) were warmly welcomed to the farm a few weeks ago.

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Little #2 and #5 brought home a stray kitten they found while on a bike ride.  The poor little thing had been hit by a car.  She is currently at the vet, and we are all praying for a small miracle for her.

Wildflowers are being brought in daily and placed all around the house.

I have been trying to stay updated on Instagram, with lots of garden related posts, so feel free to come by and visit me there from time to time.  I'd love to see you.

Vintage Beach Chairs

In anticipation of our recent trip to the coast, Hubby mentioned wanting to bring comfy beach chairs. After taking a peek at what the local stores offered and not being entirely impressed with the prices or the options, I remembered a pair of vintage beach chairs that we had stored in our shed, waiting for me to find the time to refurbish them. One no longer had its cloth seat, and the other seat was so brittle it disintegrated in my hands while taking it off the wood frame. Hubby did some light repairs to the frames, and I sewed two seats from brightly patterned decorator's fabric that I purchased rather inexpensively, a modern floral/paisley print for one chair, and a beachy stripe for the other.  I sanded the wooden frames and freshened them up with a couple coats of paint, a color quite reminiscent of drift wood...perfect for beach chairs, I would say. 

The whole process really didn't take long, and the cost to repair both chairs was less than the cost of purchasing one beach chair at a retail store.  I am delighted with our "new" old chairs, and, like I have said before, it was so rewarding to breath new life into something we already had.

July Garden

Oh, the garden this time of year; it flourishes so!  I think July is my favorite garden month with everything so lush and green.  The potatoes are over Little #10's head and setting on little white blossoms.  I hope the jungle of green is indicative of the amount of potatoes growing under the ground.

We have been enjoying kale, chard, beet greens, lettuce and radishes at almost every supper-time meal, and we have had a few snacks of sugar snap peas (looking forward to picking more this afternoon).  The green beans are covered in delicate purple blossoms, and I've spied baby zucchinis and tiny broccoli heads, so hopefully we will be adding more of a variety to our table very soon.

The garlic and onions are looking much more robust than last year (which I am very excited about), and the herbs, oh, the herbs, they are growing like weeds.  I have already begun dehydrating basil, cilantro, and parsley, and the oregano is starting to set blossoms, so I will begin picking that as well (I have read for the best flavor that oregano is best picked while it is blossoming).

I'm a bit disappointed with the tomatoes.  I planted them in a different spot this year, in a completely different garden, in fact, in an attempt to avoid the blight that has plagued my tomatoes the past three years. The thought being that the disease may be in the soil where the tomatoes were previously planted.  The plants are growing rather slowly and look a bit weak, and I can barely bring myself to even mention this, but I have noticed signs of blight on the bottom-most leaves on a few of the plants. I'm not sure if the slow growth is due to less sun than they desire (this garden being a bit more shady than the other), or maybe the soil where they are planted is lacking something they need.  I just don't know.  I have begun feeding them and watering at the base daily and removing the infected leaves in hopes that they will make a recovery. We shall see.

The garden overall is doing well, and I am so pleased.  I look forward to harvesting and putting away lots of veggies to feed our family over the winter.  How is your garden growing?