Potato Harvest

With the help of family we harvested potatoes today. It was a bumper crop. I feel so blessed! Close to 14 bushels were picked up. We panted 4 varieties.

For now they will be parked under the shed, covered by a tarp until we can go through each and every one picking the best for storage. The rest will be used a soon as possible so as not to loose any if possible.

Canning Begins!

The canner has been brought up from the basement. First round was green beans.

After those were done it was on to the blueberries. I'm picking close to 1/2 gallon a day. We have been enjoying them fresh. Of course cobblers have been on the menu. Family and friends have been gifted with some as well. Before the harvest ends I hope to have syrup made as well as a few bags in the freezer. Today was jam. Several jars ready for the pantry shelves.

A Quick Soaping & First Harvest

I have people begging for soap which is a good thing. Life on the homestead has been a bit hectic so I have been a little behind. Today I poured 6 blocks. This particular one smells heavenly. It is an orange chamomile.

Our garden Is just starting to come in. This was today's harvest.

Canning season is on the horizon.

Garden #3 IN (Mostly)

Afternoon storms are headed this way. Hubby and I were frantically trying to get this garden in before it got too wet (again!) At one end we planted heirloom pie pumpkins, watermelon and cantaloupe. I planted all the odds and ends green bean seeds I have accumulated over the years, that took up 2 rows. Another row of October beans went in. We started planting 30 late tomatoes. About halfway through the Heavens opened up. We finished and both looked like we had taken showers. Sigh. It will be several more days before the rest can go in. That's ok though. Every little bit we get done is one more step to a full pantry this Winter.

Asparagus Update

We finally got some gravel to go over the pipe and got the second layer of soil over it. One more layer to go and the bed should be ground level. I do believe this is going to work!

Hubby has continued to till garden #3 and the soil is working up well. Hopefully the rains will hold off and we can get everything in the ground on Monday.

Harvesting Herbs

The herbs got a much needed haircut today. After rinsing I will put them in the dehydrator. Today's harvest was oregano, peppermint, lemon balm and lemon verbena.
The last two make a most refreshing iced tea when mixed with hibiscus flowers! I have ordered some and will share the recipe when they arrive!

Starting Garden #3

We are working on getting garden #3 ready to plant. Last Fall we over seeded with rye to add some much needed nutrients to the soil. The first thing we had to do was bush hog it down. We let it lay for a day and then started the tilling process. It will take several passes to get the ground good and workable. Hopefully by the weekend it will be ready to plant.

A Little Garden Tour

Finally a few days without rain and we were able to get some much needed tilling done in the garden. Sunday we tied the tomatoes up again and did a lot of hand work. We try and keep a border tilled around the edge to discourage the weeds from creeping in and that was accomplished today. It was also dry enough at the end of the strawberry row to work the ground. This is going to be a temporary culinary/ medicinal herb bed until we find a suitable place out of reach of the evil crab grass. Sis has started me several plants in the greenhouse that NEED to go in. Echinacea, valerian, borage and mullein to name a few. And yes we have mullein growing wild but no matter how many pink flags I put out that say DON'T MOW they still meet a mowing death. ;-(
For something a little different we built a hoop frame out of old cattle panels. Along each side I planted pole beans and under it some radishes and arugula.

Things are really starting to produce on the homestead. We should start harvesting some goodies in the next couple of weeks.

Yet Another Re-Do!

The rain has been quite brutal the last few weeks. On one day 3 inches fell fast and hard and it filled the newly constructed asparagus bed to the top.

What a disaster! Hubby cut a drain trench at the end of the bed and it drained off rather quickly. We hoped that would solve the problem, but no. Another storm blew through and this time it had about 3 inches of standing water. Now we have put a drain pipe in the bed. We cut out a ditch, removed the muddy stone and laid the pipe on top. As soon as we get more stone over top of the pipe it will be time to add another 3 inches of soil around the plants.

As I was pushing to last wheelbarrow of stone off to dump I asked hubby if he thought we might ever do a project just one time. He just shook his head. 
On the bright side apparently asparagus are tough plants! I fully expected them to rot but almost everyone has come up.