The Ugly Truth

The plain, cold truth about my end of summer garden, is simply that it becomes ugly. No longer green and lush and bordering on uninviting. Not that I get to stay out of it. It does however continue to yield massive amounts of produce for me to can or feed to the chickens. The corn patch was roughly 70x15 and gave about 450 ears of corn. A little over 200 of those we put up and the rest we shared. It was very sweet and done to perfection.

This is my sea of Roma tomatoes. The tall ones in the background are Celebrity and Better Boys. They are all doing well. I have canned loads of crushed tomatoes, made V8 juice and will try my hand at sauce tonight. Apparently many others in my area don't have red tomatoes yet. I have been harvesting mine for 4 weeks now. I am getting kind of tired of them.

I ordered some cool green tomato spirals for trellising from Gardener Supply this spring. They would have done beautifully had I not overburdened them with the tomatoes I chose to put in there. The Celebrity is such a prolific grower that these spirals would have been great save for the not big enough part. I will try some other variety in them next year.

We do have a couple of these huge pumpkins on the vine. Pumpkins are a total waste of space in my opinion but my hubby loves them so there you have it. He's the muscle behind all of these projects so pumpkins it is.

I admit the cucumbers have totally gotten away from us. They turn from usable to football sized in one day and I am not exaggerating. Those things don't mess around. I haven't been pickling like I thought I would so we give them away as fast as we can. Chickens love them too. Good thing. Doyle is slowly but surely removing the corn rows and drying some of them for the goats to chew on this winter. They like dried stuff so he hangs them in the barn to crisp up. Spoiled goats.

This photo shows just how tired the squash and zucchini end of the garden is looking. The sunflowers are doing their part to beautify the garden but the beans are tired and I have been ripping them out as they become done. I still have to can one more harvest of green beans and finish shelling the dark red kidneys for storage.

This assemblage of photos was to show that a practical garden doesn't normally look pretty all season. The reality is; as the fruits and veggies become harvestable, the plants become less attractive. I like (need) things to look nice and clean, green and healthy. When the late summer hits and things become less aesthetically appealing, I find my interest waning. Yet, there is still so much to do. Try to tell the tomatoes I don't want to play with them anymore. I think I can hear them laughing now.

Intimidating Row Garden

 

The (not so new) Intimidating Row Garden is coming along nicely! I am so pleased with the permanent paths with the wood shavings in them. They really are great for easy access and less muddy feed. This picture is of the East end of the garden. The patty pan sqaush, zucchini and crookneck are here along with all the different kinds of beans. Doyle also has sunflowers for the birds at the end here too.

 

The corn is officially taller than me in all places but this end. We think this end got wet during all the rain and stayed wet the longest. From our research we have learned that corn likes to get thirsty between watering and we had three weeks of constant rain. It wasn't thirsty but the other end is 6 feet tall and going crazy. 

 

My bell peppers are doing great despite the cooler weather for this summer so far. I picked most of the 7 inchers to make way for the smaller ones to grow. I was running an experiment to see at what point the walls of this fruit become plump and thick. I still haven't figured it out but leaving such huge bells on the plant was driving Doyle nuts.

 

This is the cucumber area and it needs a little weeding. The smaller stature cucumbers are on heavily but the others are taking their sweet time. I know when they are ready I will be really busy so I welcome the stall.

 

This here beauty is Doyle's big pimpkin. He loves to grow pumpkins for the little people in our lives. They have so much fun checking the progress with him that he really ought to grow more but we have been there done that. What does one do with 100+ pumpkins? Put them in unlocked cars:-D

 

I was trying to get the whole thing in one picture but no such luck. 90 feet is a lot to have in one shot. We are thinking about expanding this for next year. We will likely just keep going where it ends way down at the end of this picure. We would like to add a raspberry patch and more planting areas for easier rotation. I never thought I would fill this garden up but I was out of room before I was finished planting. We will see how the rest of this summer goes before we make up our minds. Someday I would really like to go camping and so far we have worked our way into too much work to leave for any period of time. Silly us!

New Row Garden

I thought I would share some progress pictures of the new garden. This garden was built in the field north of my house and was likely used to feed the previous owners dairy cows in the winter (for 65 years). Very pretty soil in this area but lot of weeds now that the earth has been disturbed. I know that if I just keep up on it for the next two years or so, it will become a breeze to take care of. It is always just the beginning that is overwhelming. We have had two weeks of cooler weather and lots of rain. I am behind on my weeding but thought you would all forgive me my weeds.

These little mountains are the hills for pattypan squash, summer crookneck squash and zucchini. I haven't grown squash type plants in several years as I have always hosted some kind of squash vine borer and they gross me out. I gave up and rely on someone else's surplus. It has always worked in the past but since we had a new location, we thought we would give it another try.

These are the bean beds and they aren't looking so hot. The tree limb teepees are for climbing pole type beans. I have yellow wax and Kentucky wonder growing on these three. The other beds are pinto, dark red kidney and green bush beans. Something is attacking my beans and I have yet to figure out what but they seem to come up without leaves and none grow on the stem. If they get past the first week they seem to be OK, it's just the first push through the soil that is problematic for them.

The corn is doing well. We spaced the first two rows to 8 inches and had to replant some bald spots so we over planted the last two rows and thinned. Thinning is hard for me because it feels so wasteful but it does save time.

These mounds are for the cucumbers. They have been replanted to fill in bald spots several times. For some reason they are having a hard time getting started this year. Hopefully they will take off next week. Beyond those are the tomatoes and pepper beds (wide rows).

These tomato spirals are new to me this season. I have always searched for prettier ways to cage my tomatoes and I hope this works, it is prettier to me. The other beds of tomatoes have some other methods going. I will let you know what I like best.

And this is a view from the other end of that area. I am basically standing in the bean bed to take this photo. I am off to a dental convention for the next two days so it will be heavy weeding when I get home. I am still finalizing the trim details on the chicken house and need to finish the new flower garden bed but I am going to get them all done, one at a time. I can't wait to start eating out of this garden.

Progress In The New Garden

So far so good in the new garden. The wide rows have been shaped and the hills for cucumbers have been mounded. Corn rows are planted and everything is going well. We added 3 inches of wood shavings to the permanent walkways and will add more to finish is the next few days. Already that has made a tremendous difference in how muddy my feet get when I am out there. The corn, tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumbers have all been planted and I will finish planting squash, zuccini, beans and melons tomorrow. This garden is primarily for the warm weather plantings and the raised bed garden has been fully planted with all the cool season crops this year.

These are the planting areas to the east of the main north/south walkway. The picture above this is to the west of that same path. I still need to add wood shavings to my paths on this side, but you get the general idea. I can already tell this garden is going to be labor intensive as it has been constructed in our north field. I am just worried about grass growing off of bits of root still in the dirt. But the highlight is that the soil seems happy and healthy. The worms are amazing in this ground and I hope they continue to be happy here. I need their help.

New Intimidating Row Garden

When we decided to put in a new garden in the north field, we expected to have so much space that we would have to plant cover crops in some of it. Well guess what? I am out of space and all the area not yet planted is slated for planting with seeds that I have stacked up all over the place. I honestly didn't see that one coming. This garden has intimidated me from the beginning. My husband wanted to weed with a rototiller and I wanted a no-till garden with permanent planting areas accessible by paths around them. That way, once established, there would be no walking in the wide rows and no need to till and disturb the microbial underworld of the dirt. We compromised. His corn rows he could do with as he pleased. My area I could try my new method. We have worked very hard on this area in the last few days. We installed fencing (farm fencing) around the perimeter and electrified it. There are 50 or more cows on our place as of this past week and I don't want deer helping themselves. So far, so good.

 

Later today or tomorrow we are picking up some wood shavings to put in all the permanent paths to keep our feet out of the mud and further define the planting beds from the walkways. I think that will make it look very nice. You can also see my Aquadomes at work in the garden. They are filled with water and are protecting 20 of the tomato plants so far. The others are just going to have to tough it out without them. 24 was the max the budget could handle this year. Maybe more next year. The long rows towards the top of the picture are 70 foot long rows for Doyle's corn. I hope to have that planted later today or tomorrow. I have a little more space to the east of the main walkway that you can't see in this picture. I need to define those areas before I show them to you. I am planting as much from seed as possible this year and only bought tomato and pepper plants. Next year I will start those from seed too.

MEAT CHICKEN UPDATE

  

Things are going well with the meat chickens we have growing in the barn. They hatched on the 5th of May and journeyed from Madison, Nebraska to rural Idaho. They all showed up alive and I am happy to say we have yet to lose one. Knock on wood! This type of chicken is hybridized to grow lightening fast and therefor  have a high mortality rate. This bothers me so, to maximize the health of these guys, we take their food from them 12 hours each night and give it back in the morning. That should help to keep them from eating themselves to death. I am still coming to terms with raising my own meat but I do still feel that they have a better life here with us than in a huge farm for factory use and subsequent grocery store sale. Healthier eating too! That is really the main goal here, to provide safe and healthy food for my family.

Intimidating New Garden in Beginning Phase

 

Have you ever wondered how to get help on the big projects you want done? Well, in or around our home it means renting heavy equipment and letting my husband play on it. Big boy toys, I guess you would say. His friend owns this pretty little mini excavator and he was more than happy to let Doyle play on it to begin construction on the new Intimidating Row Garden. I happily call it that as I can't imagine how I will keep up with it all when it is done. 

 

After digging up all the field sod growing in this area, Doyle began tilling it. By hand.... well, with a very old tiller he borrowed and never returned to his mom and dad. It is officially dead now that it has tilled this spot. The actual garden turned out to be 91 x 27 feet and I say that is more than enough to weed.  I guess we will be buying a new bigger, healthier tiller after the chicken house is constructed. We decided the family that lived here before us and erected the milking barn, must have fed their cows in this space in the winter. There were thousands, and I am not exaggerating, of bale strings that wrapped around the tines of the tiller and had to be burnt off dozens of times during this process. We also unearthed tons of old metal things, and who knows what else in this spot. Sometimes I wonder what people were thinking back in the old days. The dump must have been way too far an old farm truck.  Doyle tilled in the nasty old wind we had last week and got all of the area tilled twice. Now the Super Highway pathways and the side road paths can go in. We have that started but then get overwhelmed with the sheer size of this project.

More on the layout in an upcoming post. I would like to plant onions and a few other cool items in here soon as the raised bed garden is full to the brim. I know I really was out of room in the raised beds, it just seems all so big to me. Hope we can keep up with it.

What DId I Get Myself Into?

We have been talking about adding a row garden into the north field all winter. We actually started planning it last fall but just didn't get it done for spring. My husband wants to grow corn, melons, and some of the larger plants in this garden so my raised bed garden stays neat and tidy. I thought, no problem, I only work 3 days per week, I can handle it. He said he thought 100 x 40 would be a nice size. I agreed. Did I mention I don't visualize very well? Well in reality that is 1/3 of a football field. Dammit. He scraped it off and called me to come look at it. Crap. That is one big area. I actually started to panic. I don't sleep if things still need weeding. I know I have mentioned my 'issues' with mild OCD. Well, that is one of the ways it manifests itself. Still have weeds, no sleep. This picture does not truly represent the scope of the size here. I had a better picture from the other end but the barn is in that picture and the barn is very ugly. I am not really ready to show off an ugly old (old is the key word here) milking barn. No, I don't milk cows. There is just so much cement in the flooring in that barn, it's easier to leave it standing and let the goats live in it, than to dynamite all the cement out of it. It really was a masterpiece of engineering for it's day. Maybe I will show you the barn someday:D


I have some plans as to how to build this garden. My husband want a true old fashioned row garden he can weed with a rototiller. I want permanent paths with slightly raised wide rows in a no-till garden. I have a feeling it will be a combination of both. Corn, his way. Everything else my way. See how we compromise? I want the path down the center and one perpendicular to that to be drivable with a garden tractor or four-wheeler. That will make adding compost much easier every year. I will draw a big map of what I envision and let you all help me plan it better. I love input. That will be tomorrow. Today, you get to see the site of the future end of my free time. The excavator is coming on Friday and the Bobcat will likely follow. Even in a no-till garden, if you are converting field to garden you must till it first. Then plan to be kind to the soil for the rest of your life.