Thinking Time

It is time to think about spring. For those of you who think I am jumping the gun, that is one of the perks of being a gardener. We get to jump the gun on the warmer weather. I love the early planning stages when all things are possible. All things can turn out just as we envision them and that is a special time indeed. I have made a list of seeds that I want to grow this year. I have added beefsteak tomatoes as they were requested quite often last year. This year we should have a small harvest of all things berry. Blue, straw rasp and black were all planted last year and we are hoping this year we will be able to reap what we have sown.
We have planned to increase our ground cherry production. We made a jam last year and it was one of the tastiest. We are also going to sell the berries. Everyone who tastes one thinks they are the best and no two people have agreed on what they taste like. In a pie, jam or right from the husk I think they taste like heaven.
I will keep you updated and when I do my order I will post a list of what I will be growing for the 2011 season.

Tea Time

Steve and I make our own tea these days. Right now we make it with fresh lemon balm and mint, but we are going to experiment with drying the leaves for winter. We are going to experiment with different herbs to see what different combinations taste the best.

We have been harvesting bush beans like mad. Plus our cherry tomatoes feel like they are all ripening at once. We are also having a bumper crop of ground cherries. As predicted Gracie eats them before anything can be done with them. We bought a ten pound box of blueberries as ours will not be ready until next year. We have made blueberry and blueberry peach jam. Very good. Next up will be spaghetti sauce and salsa. Can't wait.

Paradise Squared

We are truly blessed to have two places to go that we consider heaven on earth. Both are relaxing peaceful and feel like home. What more could a family ask for.

In-Laws Laptops and Vacations

We have been away for a while and home with family. Steve's Dad and Vivian were here from Ontario and we had an awesome visit and it was nice to finally show them our home and our farm in person. We have been just doing upkeep around here. Weeding is an everyday chore wit the sun rain sun rain chain , they are growing like crazy. Our ground cherries are finally becoming ripe and we have been enjoying tomatoes and beans for a while. The beans are very tasty and are an extra special treat after they were almost wiped out by bugs.
We had our dog Furgus at a friends house while we vacationed and he loves being there so we let him stay for a couple of weeks. It was time to get him back though, as we started seeing deer scat in the woods close to our house.
It continues to be hot everyday and the sun seems so strong this year. It has been good for some plants and terrible for others. I guess that is what farming is about and we are rolling with the punches. Hopefully we can get  enough produce ready at the same time so we can go to a farmers market and actually sell some of this yummy stuff. Although eating it ourselves is not hard to take. Hope everyone is having a good summer.
Electa

It's Raining it's Pouring

It has been very wet lately and after a long bought of sun and extreme heat the plants really needed it. I have bought some beautiful ribbon to make lavender sticks. When I get a bunch made then I will post a picture.
Everything has just exploded in the garden and I can't wait to start to pick. The peas are ready and so are some lettuces. The ground cherries and tomatoes are not far off.
We are hoping to have the road side stand up and running next friday at 1pm. That is at 2207 Chester Road.
We will have peas, herbs, ground cherries and tomatoes if all goes well. Plus a few lavender crafts.
I read about making fire bundles. You use the stems from the lavender and bundle them up after they are dried and you use them start a fire. The lavender gives off a beautiful smell. They also make a great decorations if you but a basket of them by the fireplace.

Finally

Finally some progress. I was thinking it was taking forever for anything to be ready to harvest. Now it seems like everything is coming at once and there are still a million things to do. Plus today it was almost 40 degrees. That is just too hot for words. So things take a little longer to get done. Late in the afternoon the kids and I went for a swim and it was heavenly. Here is some of the lavender that I harvested today. It was nice to have my gardening gloves smell like lavender than some of the other things it has smelled like.

We are hoping to have enough produce to sell by next Friday. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that we can finally make a little money. 

On to the Next Phase

Today I am finally harvesting something other than rhubarb and chives (although I may harvest them as well). I have a ton of oregano and lavender. So my first foray into drying begins. Plus I am going to freeze some as well. It is all an experiment at this phase and we will have to see what works and what does not. In the next few days  we will be harvesting the biggest raspberry bush I have ever seen. We found it on our property in a clearing in the woods. I want to make raspberry jam and maybe freeze some as the kids love smoothies. Hopefully there will be enough to sell as well. Plus I am going to try and take some slips from it to transplant into different areas, so we can have an even bigger harvest next year.

I will get a picture of the raspberry bush and post it. It is too big to believe.

The other chore for today will be to water. The temperature will be over 30 degrees today and my plants are feeling the heat. They need a cool drink to help them through it. I will write more tonight with some pictures.