Garden

The garden space

January, 14, 2016

Now last year we had moved the fence lines to our garden and decided to do a smaller garden. We are going even smaller and I'm concentrating on boxed in beds. I'm going to be using the leftover lumber to make some boxes for permanent beds. Since I have started making soap, I wanted to try and make some oils and grow some herbs to use in them. Granted they will not be in any of my soaps this year, but we are now starting the planing. Gardens are all about planing. We will still have a small veggie part, but most will be beds. Will keep everyone updated on the progress.  

May 18, 2015

Will update this very soon, so much to write about with the changes to our garden space. 

It is now smaller than it once was and we have replaced the cold frame with a pumpkin patch. I promise to get this updated very soon. Hopefully before everything starts growing.

October 6, 2014
Gosh it seems like yesterday that we were planning out the garden and wondering what we should or should not grow this year. Wow, time has flown! I have canned beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and grape jelly. I know I'm missing some other stuff but I can't think of it now. We have now pulled most of our plants up and I am now in the process of getting the ground ready for Winter. I still have some Kale, potatoes and gourds to get out of there

The gourds are pretty, but I don't have much use for them, so give them to the goats and chickens.

They were pretty but make a great snack for a goat!

This year we will let the chickens into the garden to tear up the ground. They love to go in and dig around. This I have found does two thing, First it gets the weeds knocked down and then second any bugs who are trying to go to the garden to Winter up, well usually become dinner to a chicken! I will let them do this for a little bit then this year we are planting in half of the garden some white clover. The clover will be planted in the part of the garden that got the most manure last year. I will switch this up every other year and will also plant a different cover crop every year. This allows your soil to get some nutrients back that your veggies are taking from the ground. Nice healthy ground, nice happy garden!

May 5 2014

Saturday morning, Ms. Ayla and I got up pretty early to conquer the garden! My potatoes were screaming to be put in the ground and had started to lift the cover of the box I was keeping them in, so we put them in the ground. I had decided to wait longer than usual, due to the weather being so cold, usually I would have gotten things in a lot earlier, but we should be fine.

My little "Minnie Me"!

I decided since we are using up old seed that I would let the kids do a lot of the planting this year. It was so much fun. Bless Ayla's little heart I told her about a hands width away and she sat there measuring each potato with her hand, it was so cute.

Ayla took the reigns on covering up the potatoes.

Wyatt finally made it out Saturday and helped us plant the corn. Gardening is not his cup of tea, but he was a trooper!

The fun part for Wyatt was getting to us my cultivator. He sat there and would act like it was a motorcycle and then would proceed in tilling when I gave him the dreaded Mother Look.

Even Ms. Ayla got into doing the tilling. She was so tired at the end of it, but had a blast!

I tried to take a picture of the lay out of our garden this year. This is the key I made for the layout.

Kinda gives you an idea of what is out there in our garden. Now we have not put in our tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, or squash. My tomatoes and peppers are still small starts in the cold frame, so I will probably in the next 2 weeks be putting them out.

Now my squash and cucumbers.....I am trying something new. I will be planting my starts inside and then putting them out in the beginning of June. I have been told by an "Old Timer", that if I do this that squash beetles will already be out looking in May, and will move on by June. We will see and I will share in my findings!

April 9, 2014

Seedlings

Seed starts!

Yes I finally made it outside this morning to start some tomatoes, some eggplant and some peppers! Took me forever, yes it was cold, but the sun was out and I thought I could stand it. I really didn't last long out there at all, but I did get everything planted except for a group of tomatoes, which I will show you how I did these when it gets a little warmer today!

I use about everything to plant seedlings, and everything seems to work. If it holds soil, you have a winner. Now you can get some expensive things to start seedlings or use what you have around the house. I have bought a Soil Block from Johnny Select ( sits in the back of this picture ) and I like it but go back to the old reliable things I've used for years. Like Yogurt cups!

I also use old pizza boxes and strawberry boxes are my favorite! Strawberry boxes, are their own green houses when you close them up!

I am planting tomatoes in this Strawberry box, so I am going to crush up

some eggshells and on lay them on top of some soil. Tomatoes love calcium so why not start them with it? I have done where you put eggshells in the hole before you plant the seedling, I do both of these methods, couldn't hurt!

I also use paper eggshell cartons for seedlings. Very easy, again I am planting tomatoes so I have crushed a little eggshell on the bottom of each hole, then cover with a little soil and then put your seeds in them, usually about 2 to each hole. When your plants start to grow and you are ready to plant I just rip them apart, then rip a small hole in the bottom of it and plant!

When using yogurt cups I just punch a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage and then fill half way up with soil, place about 4 seeds( if peppers, tomatoes, or eggplant) and cover with soil, then place in the cold frame to sprout!

Here is everyone getting ready to be covered by the cold frame! Tucked in for probably some more cold mornings.

The soil I use, is a mixture of my compost and a bag on garden soil. I have never had any problems sprouting seedlings from it. I do know some people prefer the method that Eliot Coleman uses in his book, The New Organic Grower, but it was a little pricey and I like to use what I have instead of going out, buying stuff to make the perfect soil mix for seedlings. I do love his way, just financially it's better for me to use the soil I have. Use what you got!

We are getting our first till in for the season. My husband was out eraly this morning tilling the ground for us.

The soil looks amazing this year! I'm so excited. During the late Fall and Winter we have been spreading out the barn shavings and Guinea pig cage shavings on top of the ground, also adding our coal and ash bucket to the soil. The chickens and the Stooges have worked all Winter digging in it and also spreading it around. Looks as if it has paid off. We have so much clay in our soil that I thought it would be impossible to get dark brown fluffy soil, well this year we got it!

April 2, 2014

I thought I would keep up with the pallet fence on here. Seems like a good place.

I first laid them out to see what would work better. I have seen where people us poles driven into the ground to attach the pallets, that wasn't going to work here, due to money. I had to think about what we could use here to stabilize the pallets. We have attached the first few pallets to the surrounding structures, like the compost bin and the cold

frame, which was very handy.

We then attached it to the Strawberry box and the back of my sink, prep area. We have decided that for the rest of the fence we will try a zig zag pattern to help stabilize the fence. We will see how that goes when we get more pallets.

I have to old windows that I am going to attach some pallet sections to, as doors to the garden. I will be working on them later today, but this is where I stand right now with our garden fence!

I think it is pretty cool, for stuff that people were going to put in the dump! Can't wait to paint it.

March 16, 2014

Some updated pics of the garden as it sits now.

I am so behind in everything this year. Between the snow, now rain and me worrying about being laid off this year; it just has come up so fast. I haven't even ordered seeds this year!!

So the plan for this year is to use up all the old seed I have. Every last bit of it. No sense in wasting it. Next year I promise to be on the ball with everything.

This is where the new compost sits in the Orchard garden area. Moved it closer to the garden, it really made more sense to have it there instead of behind the garage.

When all the plants get established the Three Stooges live out in the Orchard garden area. During this time they stay in here or as they did last year, they used my compost bin to sleep on. Kinda like kids when they are toddlers; give them a toy they want to play with the box. Well build a hut for the Guineas they say "oh that's nice. but we like that instead." The hens, Larry and Curly, used it last year for their nests, we will see for this year.

What a mess!

Yes this is what it looks like right now. I think last year when I was working, things went by so fast that I just didn't tidy up. Sooooo, Spring will be here so I can clean this mess up. This is the old sink we had behind the house middle of last year. We moved it here so it would be easier to clean vegetables from the garden and start seeds.

I am behind this year in starting my seeds in the cold frame, so you all won't I am posting a chart for seedling starts inside.

SEED STARTS INSIDE

I start most of these inside around the last week in March to 1st week in April!

TOMATOES: May 20, plant outside June 1st.

PUMPKINS: May 20, plant outside June 10.

CUCUMBER: May 10, plant outside June 15.

EGGPLANT: May 10, plant outside June 15.

WINTER SQUASH: May 20, plant outside June 10.

Now these are just some that I plan to start in my cold frame outside. If anyone wants start times for other plants, please contact me.These times are times that I have had success with, like I said trial and error.

Also there are plants that I just start outside, because they seem to do better that way.

The garden in it's beginning!

Let's see this garden has moved and grown over the years. At first I said lets do the whole side of our property, I'm not working!

It looked like this.

I think I forgot how much work was involved.

It was pretty, but was so much for the first garden.

We then down scaled to half that size putting Ms. Bella and Ms Sparkles in there, when they were babies, on the other side.

We then decided after the second season of being there that we were going to fence the whole backyard to let the goats have more room, plus access to the barn at all times. We had been leash walking them everyday to their pasture.

So as of now the back yard is fenced in and we have a separate area fenced in that is the Orchard and garden area.I will get pictures up soon of the orchard and garden space when we begin our planting this year.

We have a compost

Anything that the chickens and goats don't eat goes there. Along with the bedding from the barn.

We now have relocated this to the garden space.

I also have a cold frame made from reclaimed wood and old sliding glass windows.

Which has also moved to the garden space.

We also have an old kitchen sink that my husband helped me set up in the garden space. We have a garden hose supplying water to it, but hopefully in the near future we will actually have a pipe out there instead of a hose!

Everything we do in the Orchard garden area is Organic. This is why we purchased Guinea fowl last year! It worked well.

In our Orchard we have semi dwarf trees. At the moment we have one Golden Delicious, two Gala apples trees, three peach trees, 3 pear trees. I believe last Spring when we had all the rain we have lost a Peach tree, we will find out soon enough. 

Also back here we have a grape fence with 3 grape vines and a hammock trellis that has 2 grape vines. So love these guys and have made jellies, plus juice from these.

I hope with this page I can give you some information on when to start plants inside, to be transplanted outside and what we are doing to improve our garden.

I have to leave this page and tell everyone what my husband calls our little slice of Heaven, which is....

I giggle at this sign everytime I go to the garden.