Cool Weather Payoff

It's been a while since I've posted. We're closing down operation with one company and setting up with the other. I'm working more now than ever.

The garden is demanding at the moment also, so I haven't much time for pictures or posting. I had to show you all the fantastic heads of broccoli we've been harvesting thanks to the cool weather we've had. We've just harvested the fourth and last head of the green broccoli. Side shoots have already started!!!




























They were all one pound heads.

Latest Project

Well, here is the latest of our garden projects. It's not quite finished, but you can see what it will do. It will sit on our deck and hold salad veggies. Cedar would have been our wood of choice, but that would have doubled our cost and since I'll be unemployed as of June 30th, we just couldn't spend that much money. The frame is treated lumber and the boxes are pine. Husband is using a wood deck stain on the boxes.














Broccoli is finally heading up.

Clean up and harvest

The weekend was great. I finally had time and good weather with me. Although I got a lot accomplished, there's still a lot that needs done. Here's some highlights:














This was the second planting of fennel. I also have a third planting in a flat. I'm determined to have fennel. I'm really happy to see this taking off.

Below is the purple sprouting broccoli. Three plants survived. The third planting! (it's been a very difficult spring)














Carrots and parsley root.














Spinach














First real harvest














Buttercrunch lettuce, thinning of bunching onions, spinach, and the few berries whose blossoms escaped us. I was told that the first few weeks of blossoms should be removed so that the plant can gain strength and production of berries will be better.














Tomato blossoms

Tiny Post

Some garden growth. I'll post more tonight.

Homemade, Homegrown, Pesticides

I came across a great article at the Mother Earth News website that gives detailed information on growing and using your own insect repellents.

It is called, "Safe Homegrown Pesticides", By Diane Downs. (Using pungent herbs to repel insects: pyrethrum, garlic, feverfew, marigolds, pennyroyal, tansy. )

Here is the location:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1980-03-01/Safe-Homegrown-Pesticides.aspx

They have many articles which are in the archives that you are surely to find useful no matter where you live.

A Few baby pictures

My Grand Baby :D

Tagged!

It seems I was tagged some time ago by Sarah over at She Who Digs. Very sorry for the delay here, but I've been really, really, busy with trying to get ready for Spring.

I was met with quite a challenge with our weather which has caused me to start over a few times. Well, I'll explain later. In the meantime ~ the tag is to go into your photo archive and choose the 4rth picture from the 4rth folder and talk about what it is. Then choose 4 people to tag!

Here's my picture:
I named this picture "The Guardian of the Pot Zucchini (courgette)".

I get plagued by squash bugs some years and find it necessary to move the summer squash out of the garden. I grew a few pots on the porch.

The ceramic frog was given to me by my Mom's friend, Inga, who found him at a yard sale about 2 years ago.

I think he has a rather sinister look on his face ~ what do you think? He looks like he might be able to "kick some squash bug behind" and he's saying something like...."Go ahead, make my day". I was not plagued by the squash bug on my porch that year and we did get a nice little harvest for ourselves.

Now you would think this story would have a happy ending, but it didn't work out that way. I never thought that he might be an indoor frog ~ but I guess he was. I left him in the pot over winter and he didn't fare very well. I would have never thought his beauty was only skin deep. I thought he was ceramic and had been fired in a kiln. I snapped this picture a minute or two ago:

The End. :D












I am going to tag Sylvana over at The Obsessive Gardener, Julie at English Juls, Teresa at Homesteading Tess, and Melissa at Those Northern Skies.