Shades of White

Square Foot Gardening

I'm trying something new this year--Square Foot Gardening. At one time, my garden was the size of a 6-car garage. As my children have gotten older and we are involved in more activities outside the home, I've found it harder and harder to keep the garden looking nice. This year I decided to try the raised bed. I have 3 of these right now, and I may add a few more next year. No hoeing, no tilling--just some quick weeding and watering. We will see, as the summer progresses, how well this system works!

The Raspberry Patch

The raspberry patch has come to summer's end.  Since our plants are a variety that sets fruit on new canes, we can mow them off in the fall and still have berries the following year--most raspberries set fruit on 2-year canes.

The trees are just beginning to change color. If we get a hard frost soon, the colors will be more brilliant than if the frost comes late. The corn would benefit from a late frost, however, since it was planted late in the spring due to wet weather, and if it has time to finish maturing, there will be more bushels per acre when we harvest.

Today is a rainy, dreary day. I put the cat food inside a bucket, and tipped the bucket on its side to keep the food dry. The cats do not like this arrangement as much because they cannot all eat at the same time...and waiting in line when Orion is trying to hunt them is unnerving. Not everything in a cat's life is hunky dory!

Blessed Monday!

And the Cat Went Poof

I did not grab my camera fast enough and missed a great photo opportunity. When I looked out the window yesterday morning, Orion (the big, black, fluffy cat in the lower left) was heading out to hunt in the field across the stream when a calf (top right) spied him and decided it was worth a frolicking look at the intruder. Across the stream trotted the bovine; across the stream, in the opposite direction, fled the very large, poofy-tailed cat.

Today and tomorrow I do not have school, and the family is busy with other activities. I have two days to put my house in order and do a few necessary tasks. When those are done, I get to decide how to spend my time.

One activity will be to evaluate our food supplies for the winter. I have plenty of wheat berries, and I just purchased a 50 lb. bag of rolled oats. I need to sort through the canned goods and see what I need there. I pulled up my list from last year on my computer this morning, and I'm going to go through and make some changes and then figure out what I want to purchase.

I'd also like to find someone who sells non-hybridized seed so that I can go back to saving seed from my garden. Anyone have a suggestion for a good vendor?

Off and running! Have a great day!

The Bleeding Heart

Our Bleeding Heart has already begun to bloom. You can see that there are several flowers that have not yet matured on this stalk, and the leaves are just coming out at the tops. Bleeding Hearts bloom early in the spring, and they die off in late summer, earlier than most other plants. It is a delicate flower.

My daughter decided that she wanted to plant the garden this year, help to maintain it, and participate in the canning and freezing. She has helped me in the past, but by in large, the garden has been my responsibility. Last night and this evening we have been working to plant--up until now the ground has been too wet to till. Due to the damp ground, we were not able to get it to till up without a lot of clumping; even so, we planted peas, beans, carrots, onions, beets, lettuce, spinach, and radishes. We put up some cattle panels tonight, and tomorrow we will plant the tomatoes next to them. We hope to get them in before the rain comes, which may be tomorrow afternoon. We will try to plant the potatoes soon since it is nearly full moon, a good time to plant root crops. Then we will have the Kohl crops, cucumbers, Indian corn, peppers...and more than I can remember at this hour of the night.

Tomorrow will be a busy day; we have the gardening to do and then we will have company coming for supper. I plan to vacuum a few of the dust bunnies away before they come. My daughter will help me, and we will get the food made ahead of time so that we can enjoy the evening once our friends get here.

I'm tired! I'm going to get myself to bed early if I can. Blessings to all of you and yours!

Scattered Thoughts

Oreo

Something Worth Reading Slowly:

Just as in prayer it is not we who momentarily catch His attention,
but He ours, so when we fail to hear His voice,
it is not because He is not speaking so much as that we are not listening.

We must recognize that all things are in God and that God is in all things,
and we must learn to be very attentive,
in order to hear God speaking in His ordinary tone without any special accent.

A man must not stop listening any more than praying when he rises from his knees.

No one questions the need of times of formal address to God,
but few admit in any practical way the need of quiet waiting upon God,
gazing into His face, feeling for His hand, listening for His voice.

"I will hearken what the Lord God will say concerning me."

God has special confidences for each soul.

Indeed, it would seem as though the deepest truths
came only in moments of profound devotional silence and contemplation.

Charles H. Brent

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More with Gardening:

Well, I was going to order through Gurney's.

I did not order through them the last couple of years--gardening time was short, and I picked up packets at the hardware store.

Now a friend told me that the seeds she had so much trouble with last year came from them (or Henry Field's; they've merged.) They obviously had problems with seed quality. One packet of tomatoes seemed to have different types of tomatoes in it--some being large, others small. One packet of seeds were wormy and didn't grow. This is a person who majored in biology and whose hubby works with the state nursery. I'm sure she knows what she is talking about.

Hmmmm. Do I want to change companies?

Sigh.

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Healthy Living

What is healthy living?

They have always told us that our lifestyle catches up to us when we get older.

They lie.

I'm not a fanatic about eating healthy and exercise, but I've always tried to make it a part of my life. It does not seem to matter. I'm still being caught in the cholesterol/bone density treadmill.

Sooooooooooo.....

Today is the day. New Year's resolution #1-100:
Changing my lifestyle.

Today?
Stretches.
Record what I eat.
Weight lifting and aerobics.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can...

More for the Garden

Ears

I posted this story on October 4th, 2005. I thought it was a good story to add to my list of garden seeds:

Today I went outside to weed my flower and herb garden. Blackie came by and sat in the grass by me while I weeded around the sage. I tried not to throw the weeds on top of him. About the time I had made it to the lavender, Mama Kitty walked over and rubbed her fuzzy body against me. She kept on going. I got to the chives and wondered why they were flattened against the ground; chives normally grow tall and upright.

Ruffy walked by and sat a few feet away from me while I weeded around the bleeding heart. I talked to her, and she looked at me with her all-knowing stare. Then she walked around the end of the garage and was off for an evening stroll. As I headed down again along the back of the garden, Ears saw me and greeted me with his soft, purring mew. He rubbed against my legs and then curled up comfortably—on my chives.

Now we know!

My wish list for my garden is growing! I'm not going to order $100 worth of seeds and plants, but if I could these would be on my list:

Large Leaf Italian Basil
I always buy this and plant it in my herb garden. When it begins to flower, I pinch the blooms off so that it will continue to grow leaves. I nip the stalks and rinse them well and wrap them in a light towel and set them on top of the dehumidifier in the basement. When dry, I pull the leaves off and crush them. When I am certain they are completely dry, I put them into the spice cupboard in a canning jar.

Mammoth Dill
Always needed if I'm going to do any pickling.

Champion Moss Curled Parsley
This, too, is something I always grow. I get several pickings from it each year and dry it like the basil.

Sage, Lavender, and Chives
I already have these in my herb garden, but if they do not come up, I will replant them. Chives are hardy, but my sage plant periodically does not survive the winter. I dry the leaves of the sage like I do basil. The lavender does not always come up each spring, either. I love using this is soaps and sachets--or just the wonderful scent of it in my garden.

Rhubarb
We moved the plant the previous owner had growing in the garden. The plants do not do as well where we have them now. I've thought of moving them, but they do supply us with enough rhubarb as long as we do not plan to make juice.

Perennial Flower Mix
I use to have a flower bed with these. The Northeast Mix looks attractive--I wonder if it would grow in Wisconsin.

Pastiche Sunflower
I don't always plant these, but they are fun to watch track across the sky, following the summer sun. In the fall, I let them dry on the roof of the garage and then store them for the winter birds.

Castor Bean
I've always wanted to see it these really did repel the moles we have in our yard!

Mix Inca II Marigold
My mom always grew marigolds. In my childhood, I assumed all flowers must smell nice--and it was not until I was much older that I learned that most folks do not like the smell of marigolds or dandelions! I still put the 1st dandelions of spring into a little vase :-).

Brilliant Oriental Poppies
My dad use to plant these around the house. I'd like to put some into my garden to remind me of him each time I step into my flower garden. He made me a trellis that I used for years, but it finally rotted beyond repair. Perhaps this would be a good replacement.

Bulbs
I will need to find a different catalog to purchase some bulbs--tulips, crocus, narcissus. I've always wanted to add some, but I think they are usually planted in the fall, aren't they? Any catalog suggestions?

Thanks for the comments! It is fun to see what others are doing with their gardens!
Jean

The Spring Seed Catalog

It's time.

I'm planning to start my seeds in the bay window this year. I've not done that for a while--I've set that aside the last few years so that I could get other tasks accomplished.

My favorite seed catalog is Gurney's. The garden vegetables I'm consider are:

Early Contender Bush Beans
My favorite for freezing. The plants are supple and do not break off while being picked. When you buy bean seeds, be sure you pay attention to what they say the bean can do--if it does not say it is a good freezer bean and you plan to freeze them, don't buy it! Some are good canned; others, frozen.

Scarlet Nantes Carrots
If you plan to harvest carrots and store them for the winter, be sure to buy the ones that are good keepers. The keepers have a bigger core than the others.

Gotta Have It Corn
I've never tried this, but they make it sound good!

Perfect Detroit Beets
My old stand-by.

Hybrid Lil' Indian Corn
We like to have a few of these around for table decorations in the fall.

Burpless II Hybrid Pickling Cucumber
The burpless hybreds are rather nice :-)

Sweet Success Hybrid Cucumber
Sometimes I only plant one cucumber--if I don't plant to make pickles, I buy the table cucumbers only.

 

Walla Walla Early Garlic
I enjoy harvesting this!

Butter Crunch Lettuce
My favorite is Green Ice--but they seem to have dropped it when they merged with Henry Field's. Maybe I can find some in the stores rather than changing to a different kind. My mom always grew Black Seeded Simpson, but I prefer the sweeter varieties.

Lisbon White Bunching Onion
My mom always planted these. Mmmm.

Yellow Ebenezer Onion Sets
I always plant yellow onions and then store them in my basement through the winter.

Oregon Sugar Pea Pod II
A lot less work than regular peas!

Champion Radish
Radishes are fun to grow. They are one of the 1st of the vegetables to be ready to harvest.

Medania Spinach
I like fresh from the garden spinach in my salads.

Improved gurney Girl Tomatoes
Mom always planted the Rutger tomatoes, but they blight and crack too much (although I prefer their flavor). I switched to the Celebrity for a while, but I think I'll try a couple of different ones this year.

Gurney's Baby Girl Tomatoes
I wonder if these would grow in a pot on my deck?

Do I want June Bearing or Everbearing Strawberries? I have always had June bearing, but maybe it would be nice not to have so many all at one time. But then, I'll have to be picking them all summer long...

I usually buy cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and pepper plants from a local store in the spring. Should I consider growing them under the grow light in the window this year?

I've cut my garden in half last year because I was not getting it cared for as I like. I don't think I'll plant squash (easy to buy around here), potatoes (large bags sell for almost nothing in the fall) or pumpkins (Grandma always plants extra).

Tomorrow, perhaps, I'll check out the herbs, flowers, and bulbs.
Jean

Abundance

I went out at dusk to putter in my garden.

Beets, broccoli, and onions. The tomatoes are growing, but still green. The beans look as though they are dying--I had hoped they would have blossomed for a second, or perhaps, a third crop. Perhaps it has been too dry for them; I do not know. If I want lettuce and spinach for fall, I will need to plant them again. And the cucumbers--I can't keep ahead of them!

Enjoy the harvest!
Jean

July

We have been working with the cattle. With our better cows, we like to use artificial insemination to be certain their calves are good quality. This involves rounding them up and putting them through the chute three times in two weeks.

I've been picking beans and picking beans and picking beans...

I ignored my garden for a couple of days, and when I returned, the broccoli had 12 inch heads!

I can't finish off this post without a picture of one of my friends. Spit Fire has been wandering a lot. She comes home for a while, and then she leaves again. She tends to irritate the other cats with her zealous attention and big staring eyes (which is considered aggression), and so the rest of the farm cats take great delight in jumping on her and chasing her. I honestly think she was born without the inbred knowledge of how to get along with the rest of her breed--so I try to protect her from them when I can. This morning as she came in for breakfast, Ears took after her. I called him and plopped him inside the house just long enough for Spit to come and eat.

Silly kitties.

Enjoy life!
Jean

And the Lion Shall Lie Down With the Lamb

How did this happen? William of Orange quivers at the sight of Snowflake. Snowflake quivers, too--only his is more like the hunter catching sight of his prey! When we found these two sitting together they both had their eyes partly closed as if they were dozing. Who'd have ever guessed!

Last night when I went to bed, I saw that most of the clouds had passed, and the stars were out. I just could not convince myself to get my telescope out at that hour, though. I wish it had been clear a couple of hours earlier. Alas! This morning the sun is bright and there is almost no snow left anywhere. It feels balmy like spring. This year I must plant some bulbs in my garden so that we can have tulips and crocuses next year! I've never made it a priority, but I wish each spring that I had done so. Blessings!

Jean