How Does Your Garden Grow

It is Sunday morning on Memorial Day weekend.  Our garden was planted about two weeks ago and we are starting to see plants sprout now.  It looks like radish, green beans, and sweet corn are all starting to grow.

This past week I picked up some garlic and asparagus that Lowe's had on clearance.  Cost me $1.50.  We have an existing asparagus patch but at some point it will cease to produce.  I figured with a two year lead time, I better plant before I notice we don't have enough asparagus.  And .50 for three garlic bulbs was too good a deal to pass up.  We can never have enough garlic in this house.

On Friday I went out and bought some tomato, green pepper, and sweet potato plants.  Those are all in the ground now.  Some time ago, I learned that newspaper is good for preventing weeds, it holds water, and you just till it into the garden at the end of the year.  Normally the tomato cages will help hold it in place, but I haven't put the cages up yet.  As the previous night's watering was wearing off yesterday, you could see the papers flapping in the wind.

I got a lot of grief from my brother-in-law Rick and my friend Chuck as they watched newspaper blow across the field towards the pond. Luckily, it was only the extra paper, not the ones I used.  That only stifled their enjoyment slightly.

This picture was taken earlier this week.  This great blue heron seems to be making a home around the pond.  I see him three or four mornings a week right in this spot between our garden and pond.  One morning I caught Addie, our lab mix, watching him.  Then when Addie took off after him, he flew around in circles for a while fairly low. If I had to guess, he is actually a she and is guarding eggs somewhere close by.

This morning while writing this on the back deck, I saw a raccoon at the back edge of the garden.  I had seen him earlier by the pond when I was out by the garden and again on the north side of the pond when I was heading down to the chicken barn.  I love watching all the different animals and listening to them in the morning while enjoying a cup of coffee.  However, if I find out that raccoon is the reason we are missing four chickens, I'll be enjoying my morning cup of coffee with a loaded .410 close by my side.  When I see him headed for the barn, I will make sure he has enjoyed his last free chicken dinner on the East Half of the Southwest Quarter.

Farm Life Fun on Friday Night

Well, we did it.  Finally.  Our schedule, and the weather, finally opened up a window for planting our garden.  So last night we planted green beans, peas, cabbage, brussel sprouts, lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumber, zuchini, garlic, green onion, radish, white onions, strawberries, and four varieties of sweet corn.

The first thing Susan and I agreed on is that next year we are sowing all our seeds indoors.  We would prefer an earlier start, plus we can accomplish the thinning task when we transplant.  We are still novices at this, so we were a bit unsure of some of the directions.

For example, they kept referring to drills.  We googled it, and found that just means a row or furrow, which we already knew and had done.  I hope that the amount of time between our final tilling and our planting didn't hurt us too much.  This ground hasn't been tilled since at least 1976 and six times through still left a few clumps.  That worsened with some rain.  The ground seemed better the deeper we went so I think the plants will root well.

We still need to go buy some green pepper and tomato plants and get those in.  We plan on doing a watermelon patch as well.  I went out to water this morning before checking on the goats and chickens.  I was pleased to see that last nights post planting watering was sufficient for most of the areas.

I tended to the goats and chickens, which continue to increase in number.  We brought Gus home this week and picked up a bantam rooster as well.  All told, we should have eleven chickens.  However, I only saw seven or eight.  I am afraid more have gone the way of Bud and Helen, whom we are pretty sure were eaten.  The only thing that makes me sad about that is I wasn't the one eating them!

I thought of posting a picture of the garden, but decided to wait until things start to pop up from the ground.  With the exception of our garlic starters we planted, everything else was seed.  So the only thing you would see would be the few weeds we already need to pull.

By the way, my sweet potato experiment is failing.  I am going to have to look that up again and find out if I have done something wrong.  Anyone with advice on growing potatoes and sweet potatoes from eyes, I would appreciate you sharing.

Sweet Sweet Potato

In the previously mentioned garden (still yet to be planted) we are trying some new stuff.  One of which is sweet potatoes. So today I took a sweet potato from the pantry, and placed it in a mason jar of water.  My understanding is that it will begin to grow vines, which I can remove and transplant to the garden.  Stay tuned for the results.

Asparagus Omelettes

As I type this, I've been inside now for 41 minutes.  I finished tilling the garden at 9:42, after a day of working on some landscaping around the property and doing some mother's day/birthday shopping.  My wife shares her birthday with Mother's Day occasionally, and this is one of those years.

Now, I may be very late in tilling my garden.  In my defense, I am a part time farmer with a day job.  In addition I have two sons playing high school baseball, one son in middle school track, and my daughter plays softball.  So Sunday is my only true free day and given the rain we had lately, it was the first time I could do it.  Plus, I put priority on the purchase of gifts for my wife.  

Which, I might add, she has apparently found one of them, and is asking my son why it is in his closet.  Apparently, she can't remember she asked for it.  Let's give her some time and maybe she'll forget she saw it.

Anyway, back to the farm.  Today Jared found a new hiding place for our egg layers.  20 eggs was the bounty.  Using the "does it float" test, we determined them all to still be good eggs.  We are still harvesting asparagus, and I think breakfast tomorrow will be asparagus omelets with Parmesan cheese.  

It makes me a bit sad to think that if I just plant the garden this week we will be waiting patiently for a harvest from that endeavor.  In the mean time, I will concentrate on the cherry tree and try to beat the birds to them for some wonderful cherry pie.

I also notice the black raspberry bushes in full bloom, so I am getting anxious to see them begin to fruit.  I can't wait to begin to reap the harvest.  Patience is a virtue, but not one that God gave to me.  Next year I am definitely going to have to start my garden indoors so that I can be enjoying it sooner.

Up next, I'll begin posting pictures of the cherry blossoms and black raspberry bushes.  As soon as the plants in the garden begin to grow, I'll post pictures of that too.

She's Closer to the Ground

You may recall my earlier post about finding immense pleasure when walking in the woods looking for morel mushrooms.  My point was that you don't have to always succeed in your original quest, life has many twists and turns and adult ADD only heightens the pleasure experienced around each corner.

Well...my beautiful daughter Grace, who herself takes more twists and turns in five minutes than any one human should experience in a day, stayed quite focused, and found a mushroom within 30 seconds of getting to our honey hole.  Here she is with a tiny morel that has long since been battered, fried, and consumed.

We had been looking all along the path on our way to the secret location first stumbled upon by Larry Cline.  Here you can see her looking diligently, walking stick and collection pail in hand.   I really felt as though I was doing a more thorough job, in between snapping pictures, and was sure I was going to win this collection competition.

However, within minutes of finding this first mushroom, life (or Grace) changed direction and bloodroot became the coveted prey.  Within five minutes she had three or four in hand and was ready to head back.  That left me without so much as a pecker head mushroom to my credit.

I have been out at least four times and only have two mushrooms.  Grace has half that total in 5 minutes.  I argue she is closer to the ground and they are easier for her to spot.  Now if I can just get her out more often, we could have a bona fide feast.

Gus the Easter Goat

Well Easter Sunday on the farm.  Our newest addition to the farm, Gus the Fainting Goat, made an appearance at the farm.  He had to hurry back to mom later in the day but spent a few hours visiting with his new friends Norbert and Rocky.  This picture is him and the kids just after we returned home from Mass.

I say he is our newest addition, but as I write, Callie is having kittens in the master closet.  So I guess they are the newest additions.  By the way, anyone want one?

Gus can reclaim the title of newest when he finally is weaned from mama and comes to live permanently here at the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 34.

A Good Walk Unspoiled

I used to golf quite a bit.  Not so much anymore.  There is a book about the game called A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein.  While I have never read the book I can certainly relate to the concept.  When I played, and I was certainly not any good, I was constantly competing.  Either with friends or with myself to get better.  What was supposed to be relaxation turned to frustration.

Now, I spend my walking time in the woods.  Here on the property we believe we have about 40 acres of woods.  They start at the edge of the farm fields and cover hills, ravines, and bottom land that leads to a creek. Regardless of the reason for my walk, I rarely come back frustrated.

Yesterday's reason was mushrooms.  A couple friends met me in the morning with a cup of coffee, and we proceeded to stroll through the woods in a very random manner.  At times we followed trails made by the deer we so love to hunt in the fall.  Then we would roam off the path to search a patch of Mayapples that supposedly contain the elusive morel.  Sometimes we were merely yards apart, and could share stories each trying to make the others laugh.  At other times, we were so distant it was as if we were alone out there.

As social as I am, I very much enjoy that time.  I find myself thinking about everything and nothing, all while trying to find wild mushrooms.  Yesterday wasn't a great success.  I found two pluteus cervinus, or deer mushrooms.  I researched and found they are edible, but easily confused with a couple inedible types.  I am leaning towards not eating them and living to hunt and write another day.

Often when walking, when I stop to focus around a fallen tree or another patch of mayapples, when I glance back up I notice what a beautiful surrounding I am in.  I snap a few pictures like these and take a relaxing breath, knowing even without a bountiful harvest I have communed with nature and my soul is better for it.

Even though yesterday didn't result in an edible harvest, I did manage to not come home empty handed.  Along a ravine on the northern end of our property, I found a few intact old bottles.  Apparently this particular ravine, many on the property contain old metal trash, was used to dump old glass and ceramic.  I waded through, careful to not get cut, and found a variety of bottles and jars which I am sure will decorate our house at some point.

I also grabbed an old well head, I assume from the unused well for the original farm house.  I am going to use it as a chimney on the smoker I build.  I really enjoy trying to reclaim old materials for use in my projects.  There are bricks from the old farm silo which I intend on using for a fire pit in our backyard.  Those were also discovered on a walk, unspoiled, on the east half of the southwest quarter.