Gardening update!!!

Well here we are almost May and now we are lagging in getting things in!  Here are a few pics of things we have been working on... 

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we are eating things out of the hoophouse.  Its been GREAT!  I want a couple more!!! 

   The kids play area... 

 The friendship gate I put in so we can have easier access to the neighbor...  It will be nice to have it cleaned up and livable again!  

Our apple trees below... two of them... They sure have alot of blooms this year! 

 Hoops... for beans etc... we are ready to get them planted soon!!! 

 Our rhubarb... its doing really well this year...

 Currants...

 Chives...

 Egyptian walking onions next to some sage and oregano... Hi Kathleen! 

 Onions... I cant wait! 

 Asparagus Bed... getting ready to border it in permanently... 

 Now I am getting sporadic.. starting things and not finishing!  lol  there are Lilacs all along this fenceline with roses that Russ has bought over the years... I am trying to get them all weeded.  We are behind the 8 ball with the weeds out of control last year... I'll get er done though... slowly but surely! 

 Our old boy... he's almost 10.  Still about the best dog in the world...

 this is where Russ will put even more tomatoes... along the driveway... next to the main garden...

 Labamba (the farm truck) ... the clutch is finally gone...lol  but he worked long enough to get all the potato boxes filled with dirt/manure/compost... I tell all the kids... if you can drive Labamba... you can drive anything!  all the potato boxes are in finally!!

 yup... taters!

Taters, sweet taters, and taters again... five boxes in all... we should have enough potatoes to last a little while anyway... 

I mowed the front end of the property today and found the strawberry bed.  I will dig out the leeks tomorrow and get the berries going!  Happy Homesteading! 

Garden update... the hoophouse and tater towers...

 I am finally getting around to get a few pics of the garden.  Russ has done wonders with the hoophouse.  its almost done.  We will bring in the pea gravel to fill the pathway and the rest will be planting and rotating crops... mulching, fertilizing and go from there...  Lola is my side kick these days.  All the other kids thin they need to be in school or something!  lol  she follows me everywhere and is learning how dirt is good!  And she loves to plant seeds. 

 mmm... garlic!

 From the other direction... as my helper jumps on the stones to make sure they aren't off balance.

 Tada!!!

She made it!  

 

 The beginning of potato towers.  As the plant grows, more mulch, dirt, and fertilizer will be added with each new "panel"... 

 Its not where its going to stay, but the frame of the sweet potato "pit"... the roll of hardware cloth is next to it... they are all lined underneath with it.  We have serious gophers here... so anything "raised" has the hardware cloth under it.  

 A peek into the main garden.  All the potatoes and the hoop house is along the fence line on the outside of the garden.  behind those lays the small orchard we put in last year. 

 The name of this particular rose that sits outside the garden entrance is Mirandy... we bought our Miranda another one this year to keep it company.  Its doing well though.  If I took any sort of decent picture.... you could see all the new growth.  LOL  

 The Rhubarb already... as the pictures show... I REALLY need to weed the

 rhubarb row!  And add the last rhubarb Russ bought me this year to finish off the corner. 

 We had them all over in the garden last year, so this year we have lined them all up.  Only the first one has peas planted in it.  the other two need adjusted so they are more linear (can you say I have issues with OCD)... and then we will plant more along the trellis'.  

See... the peas are coming up! 

 I am so excited!!!  This next week I will be in the garden ALOT getting things weeded and ready to plant.  mulching the asparagus and getting the leeks in order... the herb garden needs attention and so do the artichokes!  I think Spring is really here... my other favorite time of year!  Happy Gardening!

Chicks of 2012

Well here we are in 2012.  We went to buy our "usual" feed only to find out that with every bag we bought we got 3 pullets for free.  So here is a math question for nieces and nephews... how many bags of feed did Aunt Chelle buy to come home with 60 chicks??? 

 Oh and this leads us to Uncle Russ next experiment.... sweet potatoes!  look at the potatoes not the chick... I already need to take more pictures.  Not that the bathroom is small enough... but Uncle Russ has all sorts of things growing...

 It bloomed in March.. isn't it pretty?  Geraniums pair well with grapes... so we will plant it by the grapes later... :) 

Uncle Russ found old artichokes from last year and opened them up to find seeds sprouting.... so they are now growing in the bathroom... lol  Never a dull moment around here... I will take more pics... he started some watermelons to see if he could... HE DID! 

More to come  later... until then... happy homesteading! 

ITS SPRING!!!!

Russ was right.  It would be late February or March before we saw any snow.  Well here it is!  Now that I have the itch to plant!!!  School was cancelled, and the storm isn't done yet.  The kids thought it was great having a day to play in the snow.    Even the duck there had to get into the action.  Later I may go out the field and build a snowman of my own... hehehe...