Farm Garden in the Off Season

I do think it is warmer this year than normal; with freezing temperatures at times often, but also some 50 degree days, and no snowfalls yet. Still I'm amazed that some things in the garden are still good. Tonight I wanted to try a kale soup recipe from pinterest (Smoked Sausage, Kale, and Potato Soup), so Mike headed out to the garden to collect the kale, rosemary, and thyme, all of which are still growing well. I also used previously harvested potatoes and garlic. Mike still has some carrots and potatoes in the ground that he needs to dig up, although he thinks the carrots have probably been eaten by voles by now.

abundant kale and herbs harvested in freezing temps

I also pulled some homegrown blackberries and raspberries from the freezer to make this Pioneer Woman cobbler recipe. If you're not familiar with the Pioneer Woman, I'd suggest you check out her web site and consider buying one of her cookbooks. If you like real farm food, like desserts made with lots of butter and sugar, delicious meat main dishes, and lots of other dishes, with easy, easy, step by step instructions, you will like her. I have never made one of her recipes that I didn't LOVE!

 

 It's just exciting when we're able to reap the benefits of Mike's farming in the off season. I've been thinking about ways to lengthen the growing season into winter, even considering planting some lettuce seeds outside in November and keeping row covers on them. Given that I still have some lettuce growing now, maybe it's not a bad idea! 

Whether fresh from the garden or freezer, it is great to be able to cook with homegrown produce in the winter!

Fall tasks

I haven't gardened in awhile. We went through a stretch of having these gnats that caused painful bites, and even though they didn't leave any itchy welts, it felt like getting pricked by needles all over! So we've been inside a lot. But now it's November and we're still having really nice days that don't even require a jacket! While we were outside, I decided to spend some time in the garden doing some non essential tasks. It is so glorious to be out in the sunshine digging in dirt! And it's not even Spring! 

Happy fall!

Frost

We had our first frost last night. I haven't been posting updates lately, but this is one I had to record. Here are some photos this morning before it all melted and some of the more sensitive plants started to wither. 

And check out what Mike finished in time to enjoy the Fall weather:

That's a cool new front deck, which kind of looks like a boardwalk. But hey, if you're going to DIY something, might as well make it big enough to really enjoy! I might put a couple big pots and a bench out there someday. It's a perfect place to sit and look over my garden. :) 

Spacing

 

We took a trip in mid-July for a week, and when we returned, it was exciting to see how plants were spreading to fill in the area around them. It's something you think about when you put them in the ground, how far the spacing should be between two plants. Even when you've grown something before, this time of year can be surprising with just how faithfully those tiny seedlings can fill up their allotted space! The best surprise was the area of squash (or was it pumpkins? can't remember what they all are), that are filling in my little part of the food garden. So, when you don't have time or energy to get around to planting all that you wanted to, come the end of July, you just might be surprised that you didn't need the other plants so much after all!

For a long time I didn't know what to do with this narrow, south-facing strip on the front of the house, but I finally decided to plant some vinca annuals given the hot location. They LOVE it, and I never dreamed they would have filled in this much area!

These impatiens have filled in even more here now, but I'm too lazy to go get that picture. These have done well, too! One of my few shady areas.

This corner is under construction. I've finally decided to throw in some perennials that I already have around the house. I think it will be nice. This daylily didn't end up in quite the spot I wanted, but I didn't feel up to moving it after I planted it. Oh well, it will probably fill in!

Bouquet Time

And finally, here are a few recent bouquets. Love this time of year for bouquets. The summer flowers are all blooming, so I can put vases in every room of the house if I want!

Here we go a harvesting

I decided to make a recipe tonight, a squash recipe, and you know how a parent needs to entertain little kids while trying to make some food, so I made it fun by bringing them outside for a trip to the garden to harvest the ingredients. And, let me tell you if you haven't done this lately, it is SO fun to walk out to the grocery store in your backyard, where everything is fresh and organic, pick what you need, then walk back into the house to prepare it. My 1.5 yr old waddled over to the peas so she could pick some to snack on, and my 4 yr old collected fennel, because for some reason she just loves to eat fresh fennel, and I found the squash, onion and herbs I wanted, and marveled at all the things we could make with the ripening produce on our land.

 

yellow squash / zucchini casserole

Mike has had great success from all his hard work in his garden this year. We are now getting summer squash, the first few cherry tomatoes, onions, and it's almost time to dig up potatoes.

There was a great strawberry harvest, a nice crop of summer raspberries, and very exciting, for the first time this year, some blueberries!

So there's a little garden update. Whether you're growing your own, or going to the farmer's market or store, I hope you have fun eating up the summer's harvest! 

Eating Good

Just a quick post, since I took a few pictures tonight-- after the sun had set so they're extra blurry. It was just a quick run out to the garden at bedtime, and decided to grab a few peas to eat tomorrow while I was out there. Prior to now, there has been a decent harvest, but not of the things I've been really waiting for. Now, we have some of the special things ready to pick! Tonight was the first raspberry harvest. We've been getting some strawberries for about a week, and Mike could have sold some at the farmer's market, but was waiting to make sure he had enough for the CSA boxes. And, he just informed me tonight that the zinnias are getting petals, and there will be zucchini ready tomorrow. I've also been happy with the lettuce harvest so far-- so night to be able to run out to grab some to make a BLT! Although for the lettuce, I have my own little kitchen garden right off the deck, so I don't have to run all the way out to the garden, which isn't much farther, but makes a difference when you're watching little kids and there's bacon in the oven!

snap peas

zucchini

strawberries

zinnia!

The temps have been in the 80s every day, sometimes higher, so all thoughts of frosts and freezes are gone, although they were here not very long ago!  We haven't been in the garden very much the last few days; it's been hot, a few of us have colds, and we all have at least some chigger bites. We have been enjoying one of the best parts of this time of year, when it's actually warm in the evenings, and the lightning bugs are out, and it's so serene with the nighttime noises. Beautiful summer nights!

Mid May Freeze

I'm sorry to say we've seen snowflakes the past few days. Not many, but any is too many for May. Last night we had a freeze warning, and it got down to at least 30. I was worried about things that were already blooming, like lilacs. Of course, it was easy enough to bring all my annuals in pots in, and I covered my row of vincas with success. They seemed so cozy under their little blanket tent. 

This morning the peony stems looked wilted, but seem to have recovered. The irises are still bent over, so we'll see. Both have full buds getting ready to flower. 

Mike was worried about his grapes. He took my advice and placed an electric space heater under them, and thinks he saved the flowers on one. He lost potatoes to the freeze, but the jury is out on whether they'll regrow or need to be replanted. 

You definitely pay much closer attention to the weather when the well being of your garden depends upon it! I've learned that the 10 day forecast is just a suggestion, and that you really can't plan on the last frost in mid May in our area. Which means you can't reliably plant many things until June. June! That should be full on summer! I guess I'm still adjusting to gardening in zone 4b. 

I have yet to buy a crabapple, and I'm mildly discouraged about choosing one, since apparently the crabapple we have decided to "take a year off" blooming. We do live on a nice road with lots of pretty crab apples, which have finished blooming, and now the gigantic lilac bushes everywhere are full of flowers. They really are gigantic. There is one nearby that is comparable in size to a house! Ours, which are in a woodland type area, have a lot of flowers this year, and we're planning to dig up some shoots to plant in other areas of the yard. Lilacs might make a nice hedge along the border of our yard. Oh, and the lilacs made it fine through the freeze! 

Mike has started his farmers markets, and has done well both times. He had the opportunity to spend a day each week hunting for morels, oyster mushrooms, and leeks, which he sold along with some things he made/grew (jam, syrup, rhubarb, sunchokes) and plants, such as heirloom tomatoes he started from seed. 

It's very encouraging to see people so excited about what he has to offer, and even to see repeat customers from last year. He may be starting small and just learning, but he really is gifted in this work. There's quite a bit more pressure this year with his several member CSA, friends who've already paid him for their food; food that is like a whole bunch of potential energy waiting to be released, once the weather finally decides to warm up and the plants can grow! I convinced him to close the membership this year after several people signed up, so that there would be less stress in filling the CSA boxes. Here's hoping for a productive year! 

Lastly, a photo of our backyard, taken from behind and showing Mike's mulched bed of fruit trees, which he added after running out of places to plant them. I'm thinking soon our backyard will resemble an orchard!

A bouquet

Perennial update

The last month we've gone from snow, to playing in the pool, to perfect Spring weather. Tonight looks like it's going to be the last frost of the season!!

Just a little update on where things are at now. These tulips have stolen the show the past couple weeks, and today their petals are now falling off.

 

One of my phlox, and the rest of my tulips are now blooming. My peonies and catmint seem to be great tulip companions. The foliage is good contrast for the tulips, and as the flowers fade, will grow to quickly engulf the waning bulb foliage.

My perennial garden now:

 

 

I've spent some time researching ornamental trees and landscaping ideas. I'm going to try my hand at landscaping the new bed on the other side of the front of the house. Currently, I'm in search of the perfect dwarf crabapple, pink flowers with persistent fruit. We'll see what I end up with!

 A few more pics of right now:

Mike's garlic bed

garlic

my annuals waiting to be planted after the frost!

Little girls entertaining themselves with a pile of dirt

Mike's vegetable plants, also waiting for warm weather to be planted

tulips in my back garden bed

neighbors' apple tree

lilac buds

To top it all off, the little foxes are back living in our yard. We saw 1 adult and at least 4 babies, which all came out to play this evening. Happy Spring!