Garden Yield - 2009

Berries and other Fruit
-26 1/2 cups Black Raspberries
-49 1/2 cups Wineberries
-95 oz. Hybrid (Giant) Blackberries
-11 1/4 cups Blueberries
-3 to 4 dozen Figs picked,  many more rotted on the tree
Greens
-Beet Greens (4/27 - 6/28)  so delicious in fresh salads or cooked
-5 dozen stalks Rainbow Chard
-Basil (6/30 - 10/20)
Okra
-countless pods, more than we could eat!  The plants grew too tall for me to reach.
Peas and Beans
-6 cups Pink-Eyed Field Peas
-Purple Bush Beans, not very successful
-Pole Beans, more successful
-Butter Beans, planted late, harvested in Oct.
Potatoes and other Root Veggies
-8# Mixed New Potatoes
-6# Yukon Gold
-12# 6 oz Red Pontiac
-18 # Purple Viking
-7# Beets
-Carrots, not worth the trouble
-Radishes, plant 'em early
-Sweet Potatoes, dug 11/25, disappointing, planted too late
Tomatoes
-9 Arkansas Traveler
-14 Cherokee Purple - my favorite this year
-16 Early Girl - produces early and is prolific, but not much flavor
-24 Homestead
-8 Mule Team - big and flavorful
-43 Romas - disappointing, fruit fell off vine at stem before ripe
Not enough sun for these plants to produce much at all:
-Jelly Bean "grape" tomatoes
-Sun Gold "cherry" tomatoes
Squash -Plant them early!  (Stupid squash bugs.)
-14 butternut - a "do againer"
-1 crook neck
-1 patty-pan
Broccoli (fall)
-Best crop yet!  Nice sized center stalks, short season for side shoots.

Didn't keep track of the Sugar Snaps, lettuce, and other spring harvested crops.

First Broccoli

Cut two nice center stalks of broccoli for supper tonight.  What a fresh, green treat - and a nice way to start the Thanksgiving weekend feasting!  Drew, Abi, and Andrew West were here.  Melissa was in Cary visiting her aunt and uncle.  Noah will arrive later.

Butternut Squash Soup

Used our last butternut squash to make this delicious soup for supper tonight...

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
32 ounces chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a splash of 1/2 and 1/2

Directions:
Saute the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash in the butter for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Add the chicken broth, enough to cover the vegetables.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  Mash with a potato masher.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a splash of cream.

My Best Broccoli To-Date

We've been enjoying fresh salads out of the fall garden.  Spinach, arugula, beet greens, mixed lettuces... delicious!  The kale, mustard, and turnip greens are just getting big enough to cook.  The cabbage is heading up nicely, and my best-ever crop of brocolli might be ready to cut this week... just in time for all the family feasts around the Thanksgiving holiday!

Top of the Morning

The sun has climbed the hill, the day is on the downward slope.
Between the morning and the afternoon,
   stand I here with my soul, and lift it up.
My soul is heavy with sunshine, and steeped with strength.
The sunbeams have filled me like a honeycomb.
It is the moment of fullness,
   and the top of the morning.

D. H. Lawrence

Dirty Work

Today was a fine day for digging sweet potatoes. Thanksgiving is coming, and the sweet potatoes must be cured and ready to eat. We haven't had a hard freeze to force me to dig them. Plus, we've recently had so many wet days it's been hard to find a weather-appropriate day to do it. I missed the warm, sun-shiny days the weekend we travelled to NYC.

I planted an equal number of plants (9) in each of two raised beds. The bed closer to the house produced nicer, more filled-out, tubers. The other bed produced lots of skinny roots... many too small to be edible, and many that I'll call "fingerling" sweet potatoes. Overall, a disappointing harvest.  You can be sure that we'll enjoy what we got.   The tubers are laid out to cure on a table in the basement.

The difference in the development of the tubers from one bed to the other may have to do with the amount of sun that shone on each bed over the season.  But the disappointing harvest may have more to do with when I planted these plants.  I didn't put them into the ground until my other potatoes were harvested... July 4.  Turns out sweet potatoes need 150 frost-free days to fully develop.  Hmmm... mine had 142 frost-free days.  I guess the length of the growing season really does matter!  Live and learn.

Bye, bye, birdies!

The ducks have a new home!  My friend, Betsy, has prepared a duck habitat at her house, complete with bathtub swimming hole.  Today, after our music practice, she and I secured the ducks in the "safe" zone of the chicken yard, got them into a dog crate (easier than expected), and loaded them into the back of her car.  I hope they have a successful transition.

I'm a little worried about the two young barred rock hens that share the chicken yard with our original nine dominickers.  Without Elvis to keep everything in order, the young girls have definitely taken a place at the bottom of the pecking order.  They've been hanging out with the ducks since we first brought them all home in early July.  I hope they're not bullied too much now that their body guards are gone.

Hurrican Ida Moving Through

It rained all last night.  It's been raining all day.... a nice gentle soaking rain.  Couldn't be any better for the garden, the landscape, and the water table.  Forecasters are predicting up to 6 inches here in central North Carolina.

Trees Cleared Just in Time for Rain

On Friday I pulled up the okra "forest". The plants had gotten so tall I couldn't get to the tops at all. I was away the first week of October for a dulcimer workshop in Sandbridge, VA. While I was gone, nobody picked the okra. Left to grow, the pods became gigantic, causing the plants to become top-heavy. Several were bent over. A few were broken. I decided I was tired of okra. I also pulled up the shriveled up pole beans and cut down their string support.

The big trees are down and limbed. Yesterday, the crew had a bobcat out here, loading the trunks onto trucks in preparation to haul them to the saw mill where they'll be cut into boards. When they were finished, it started raining. Perfect timing.

I think my garden is growing better already!

More Sunshine on the Way

Our property is very much tucked into the woods. We really do not get enough sun for maximum growth of the summer garden. It's nearly 11 o'clock before the sun shines on my raised beds! In order to get healthier, sturdier plants and larger yields, we've decided to take down several large tulip poplars, opening up space in the canopy and letting the sunshine in. Today's the day!

This photo is a "before" shot. Notice the big trees marked with orange surveyor's tape.

Frost Threatens

The first frosty weather is upon us! I decided I better get the last of my basil processed and in the freezer. Some of the leaves had already been cold-hurt from last night's low temperatures. We're expecting more of the same tonight.

Presto! Change-O! Basil to Pesto!

I cut the sweet basil way back this morning. Although I expect to get a little more growth before frost finishes off the plants, this will probably be the last big batch of pesto for the year. Good bye summertime!

Rainy Week

There is such a thing as too much rain. The figs are rotting on the tree. The green beans have fungus on them! The okra pods turn gigantic overnight. The good news? The butter beans are finally filling out!

Okra

I had a big bag of okra accumulating in the 'fridge. Used the smaller tender pods to make my first attempt at okra pickles... 3 pint jars full. Froze the remaining larger pods. They'll be best suited for the soup pot or for seasoning beans.

Elvis Has Left the Chicken Yard

Today is a sad day. Elvis the King was dispatched to that hen house in the sky... death by dog. Grayson found a weakness in the fence surrounding the larger chicken yard. Once he got his nose under, I'm sure instincts took over. Not sure why he went for Elvis and not one of the hens or ducks. I like to think Elvis was the hero, coming forward to protect his girls.

Growing Greens

Picked the last butternut squash and planted black-seeded green leaf lettuce and a mesclin mix. The salad greens (lettuce, arugula, spinach, beets) and the cooking greens (kale, turnips, mustard) are tucked into their beds. Of course, spinach and beets can be cooked, too! Now, if Mother Nature will do her thing - providing lots of good sun and rain - we can look forward to some good eating!

Speedy Seedlings

Can you believe the arugula has already sprouted? The kale is up, too. Greens are so much fun to grow, and good to eat, too!

More greens in the ground...

Planted arugula and spinach this morning. Waiting for the last of the butternut squash to ripen before I plant the rest of that bed in a variety of lettuce.

Time for Good-for-You Greens

Planted smooth kale, mustard, and turnip greens this afternoon. Purchased seeds for arugula, a mesclin mix, and black-seeded green leaf lettuce. I'm going to pull up the tomato plants, prepare that bed, and plant the salad greens there.

Rain

Darn! Wish I had gotten those kale, mustard, and turnip seeds into the ground yesterday. There's a nice gentle rain falling. It's been coming down throughout the night.

It's later than it seems...

The patty-pan plants are history. Too many bugs. Too many male blossoms. Not enough hope!

Dug all the carrots. Had a few nice long ones, but most were short and fat. A lot of waiting for a little reward.

I planted broccoli and cabbage this morning... 9 plants each. I think they were supposed to be in the ground by August 15. Maybe I'm not too late! This afternoon I sowed beet seeds down the middle of the cabbage rows. I prepared a bed for greens, but didn't get the seeds in the ground before it was time to go to Sunday dinner.

The chickens seem to be back to normal... I found 7 eggs in the hen house today.

Hot Summer Days

Today I found a patty-pan squash developing nicely. Alas, it had rotted in place on the vine! I spotted a couple more female blossoms amidst the many male blossoms, but also saw some bad caterpillars. The plants themselves seem to be suffering from squash bugs. Very disappointing.

The butternut squash has a few more fruits ripening, and several blossoms, too. That has been a deliciously successful crop. The okra is producing like crazy. If there's one thing we do well in the hot and humid south, it's grow okra! The green beans are coming in steadily. There are three good-sized Cherokee Purple tomatoes with a blush of red on them. I'm really looking forward to a little encore by them! Surprising, but there are still a few blueberries coming in.

I picked up 3 eggs today, 4 yesterday, 3 and 2 in the days before that. Seems like my girls are getting back on track. I really do believe they got dehydrated.

Why Have My Chickens Stopped Laying?

Hens stop laying eggs for a variety of reasons. External or internal stimuli affect hormone levels, which change the condition of the ovary and oviduct, the organs responsible for egg production. The result of these changes is the reduction or cessation of egg production. The most common stimuli that affect egg production are decreasing day length, disease, broodiness, poor nutrition, and stress. However, even under ideal conditions, every hen’s egg production eventually slows down and stops.

Decreasing day length
Days become shorter beginning June 22 and begin to lengthen again on December 22. This change in day length causes hens to molt and cease egg production, a process that may take several months.

Molt
Molting is a natural process that allows the hen to replace old, worn feathers and rejuvenates her oviduct, the organ that “makes” eggs. With the molt, the hen puts the bulk of her energy into feather growth, leaving little for egg production.

Natural molting is a seasonal process related to changes in day length. It usually occurs in the fall after chicks fledge, but in domestic birds it can occur at any time, especially if the hen is exposed to some stress. Rapid feather loss by the entire flock usually is the result of a serious stressful event such as lack of water and/or feed or lighting problems.

Poor nutrition
Diet is very important to maintaining maximum egg production. Chickens require a balanced diet, and any supplementation of scratch, table scraps, garden waste, etc. serves to unbalance the diet.

Stress
Egg production is a hen’s reproductive activity. It is not a requirement for hens to thrive. When a hen experiences stress, even so minimal as to go unnoticed, she may respond by ceasing egg production.

Moving, handling, overheating, fright, and lack of food or water are stresses that can be detrimental to egg production. Protection from the elements and predators, clean and well-maintained facilities, adequate ventilation in closed houses, constant availability of feed and water, etc. will reduce stress and help maintain high egg production.

Age
Eventually, all hens cease egg production. Normally, chickens produce well until they are 2 to 3 years old, and then egg production declines. Molts become more frequent and prolonged, and physical problems with the ovary or oviduct may occur. After all, when a high-producing hen has laid for 3 years, she may have produced more than 30 times her body weight in eggs.

Our Situation
The entire flock is molting. Could be the right time of year for that, but I think our chickens went without adequate water while we were on vacation. We had three ducks sharing the chicken yard. Ducks play in the water all the time, spilling most of it onto the ground. It's been a real challenge to keep the waterer filled. Abi was housesitting while we were away. She hurt her back and moved to Chapel Hill for a few days at the end of our absence so she could have help from a friend. When we got home, the waterer was dry. Don't know how long it had been that way, but that seems to be the point at which the laying pattern changed. Abi had been collecting eggs the previous week. In fact, the morning after we returned home I collected the normal amount of eggs. It was in our first week home that laying ceased.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/pnw/pnw565/

Two weeks of neglect take their toll...

It's amazing how quickly Mother Nature can get the upper hand. I went to the Swannanoa Gathering for one week. Turned around and flew to Seattle for a week in the North Cascades. Spent last week cleaning off my desks at the office and at home.

Since returning home, I've been picking green beans, okra, and butternut squash. I've pulled a few good sized carrots. I picked what seems to be the last of the blueberries... pitifully small. The tomatoes still have fruit on the vines, but ripening has slowed significantly. I harvested the basil this afternoon and made two big batches of pesto. The first was a basic basil/garlic mix, which I froze in 'blops'. The second batch contained walnuts and freshly grated parmesan. I used it to sauce up a big pot of pasta.

We missed out on the last of the field peas. There're plenty of dry peas for next year's seed, or to cook as dried beans... but to eat peas that are fresh and green is why I grow them. The aphids had taken them over, as they did by this time last year. I pulled the plants this morning and threw them into the chicken yard, along with the aphid-riddled rainbow chard and all the other weeds that had grown up in the last few weeks. The eggplant fruits are small and stunted. I don't think the garden got enough rain while I was away. Abi was holding down the fort while we were gone, but that entailed mainly picking produce so it wouldn't go to waste. I didn't expect her to water and weed and do real work.

Despite that, the patty-pan squash plants have been looking really good, with lots of blossoms. Today, though, I saw evidence of those darn squash bugs! It's a race now, to see if fruit will develop before the plant totally dies back. The sweet potato vines are growing like crazy. The butter bean plants look healthy and lush with lots of blossoms. I hope it's not too late in the season for the beans to actually develop. It's always hard for me to let go of hopes for the summer garden in time to get the fall garden in, and that time is here.

In news from the chicken house, my hens have stopped laying. I thought maybe something was getting the eggs, but I've had only 6 eggs all week. Don't know if it's the heat, the time of year, deficiencies in their diet and water - ducks in the chicken yard make it difficult to keep the waterer filled up - plus, Grayson is living here now. Having a doggie in the yard makes it difficult for the chickens to get their free-range time in. Will have to pay attention in the coming week.

The Beginning of Okra Season

Cut the first two okra pods this morning. Made a pot of tomato sauce with Roma and Early Girl tomatoes that have piled up on the counter. Cooked all the "scabby" and very small potatoes. Stored the rest of the potatoes in brown paper bags in the bottom of the pantry.

Blessed Rain

Yesterday morning we had a nice rain of 3/4 of an inch. Everything looks fresh and clean and "perked up". There's something about rain water that can't be matched by watering from the hose. Today, the humidity is low, temps are comfortable... it's a beautiful day out there!

Future Veggies

First okra blossom and immature butternut squash...

18 Pounds of Purple-Skinned Potatoes!

In light of the nasty potato beetle larvae invasion, I went ahead and pulled up the plants, then dug the Purple Viking potatoes. There are lots of nice sized tubers! 18 pounds in all.

Fall Garden... Already?!

Betsy forwarded me Al Cooke's newsletter. He says it's time to think about the fall garden! Wow, I'm thinking about reaping the reward of the summer garden, not tearing those plants out. Plus, I got a really late start on some of my summer plantings. They're going to be producing late into the summer. Hmmm... time to get organized. Here's the go-to article about fall gardens, complete with recommended planting dates.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-8001.pdf

Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae

Today I saw a "new-to-me" bug... larvae of the Colorado Potato Beetle. They were feasting on the Purple Viking potato plants. The first one I saw was small, and at first I thought it might be a different kind of lady bug beetle. But then I saw more, bigger and juicier specimans!
I picked all I could see off the plants and fed them to the chickens, although they didn't seem to be too interested. Maybe the potato bugs are toxic, since they feed on plants of the nightshade family.

Ring Around the Roma Stems

The not-quite-ripe Roma tomatoes have been falling off the vine... every one of them. At first I thought it might be related to drought, but upon closer inspection I discovered a white, fuzzy ring around the stem of several tomatoes. The fruit breaks off easily at this point. The problem may still be related to drought... fungus? Insect damage? Tried to google for an answer, but didn't find anything that I thought fit. In the meantime, I'm grateful the other tomato varieties don't seem to be effected. I bring the fallen fruit into the house to ripen on the counter.

Aerial View of the Garden

The other day, Noah was WAY up in the oak tree that grows next to the shed, trimming branches to open up space to allow more sun to get to the garden. While he was up there, he took an aerial shot of me in the garden. There's a different perspective!

Ducklings and Chicklets!

Andrew went to Southern States yesterday and bought 3 Pekin ducklings (think "Aflack") and 2 Barred Rock biddies. We'll put the ducks on the pond, in the hope that they'll eat up some of the aquatic plants that are taking over up there. Andrew and Noah will take the chickens to Asheville as soon as they've finished building a coop.

"Black Snake in the Hen House!!"

... Sue hollered. That got the attention of Rouse and Andrew, who came running in time to see this bad boy hanging out in the corner of the hen house. He's been helping himself to eggs for awhile, and I think he ate the baby cardinals from the nest in the wine berries. Rouse jerked him out by the tail, stuffed him in a box, and relocated him. My hero! While Rouse was handling him, he spit up egg yolk. There's the incriminating evidence! He was 4 - 5 feet long, and very healthy looking. And why not? He's been well fed!

Butter Beans

I can't believe how quickly beans and peas grow! Take butter beans, for example. The bed looked like a patch of dirt on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, I saw sprouts pushing up through the ground. Sunday, they were sure enough plants, with stems and leaves. Today, they're standing 3" tall! It's a late planting, for sure, but maybe we'll get a good mess or two out of 'em.

Yesterday I fixed a big bowl of potato salad with our very own Red Pontiac potatoes, enhanced with boiled eggs fresh from the chicken coop. Mmm, mmm, good!

Guidelines for Storing Potatoes

• Potatoes need to be stored somewhere cool and dark. Any light will cause the potatoes to go green and a green potato is a toxic one, so this point is vital.
• They need to be stored in brown paper sacks, wooden crates, or cardboard boxes. Polythene anything won’t be very successful due to the ease with which condensation can build up and cause mold and rot to set in and spoil them all.
• When you’ve harvested your potatoes, leave them in a cool dark place for 2-3 days. This will help the skins mature and protect them a little better throughout the storage period.
• Don’t rinse the potatoes before you store them. Even if you dry them as well as you can, there will always remain little pockets of moisture that can start up the mildew process, and allow bacteria in.
• As you place each potato into storage, examine each one. Do not store any that are sprouting, green, that have any soft patches, or damage from harvesting etc. Either throw them out or use what you can.
• It’s important that the air can circulate to as much of the potato as possible. Some people hang them up in old pairs of tights or pantyhose. The method is very good at allowing the air to circulate.
• Like a lot of plants, potatoes will enter a period of dormancy. This is the process they enter prior to sprouting, and obviously you want to delay this for as long as possible.There has been quite a lot of research into this topic and the findings suggest that if you storing potatoes at a temperature of 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit, will encourage the longest length of dormancy. A temperature any warmer than this will cause the potatoes to sprout much more quickly.
• It’s never a good idea to store potatoes in the fridge, despite this being a cool and dark place;(the light doesn’t stay on when the door’s shut!) The temperature is too cold and will turn the starch into sugar which will make the potatoes taste sweet when you cook them and they will go dark.
• Do not store potatoes with onions, or next to fruit. They produce hormones and gasses which will spoil both crops.
• When stored properly, potatoes can last 3-6 months. It’s important to check them periodically and remove any suspect characters that have gone brown, green or shrivelled, before they spoil the rest.

http://www.garden-pots.com/storingpotatoes.html

Sweet Potatoes in the Ground

This morning I dug up half of the Red Pontiac potato bed. Replanted it with 9 Beauregard sweet potato plants. Did the same with the rest of the red potato space this afternoon. That gives me twice the number (18) of sweet potato plants I had in my 2008 garden. I'm going to leave the Purple Vikings in the ground for a little while.

The wineberries are on the way out... picked only 1/2 cup this morning. The wild blackberries are starting to come in strong. I picked my first (and likely, only) crook necked squash this evening.

Field Peas Starting to Come In Today

Black Beauty

The hybrid blackberries really are as big as my thumb! Tasty and thornless, too.

Dry and Hot Weather

After all the nice spring rains, we are dry, dry, dry. Andrew and Noah put mulch out for me yesterday. The beds look "finished", but more than that, I'm counting on that mulch to help keep moisture in the soil. The boys watered after placing the mulch in the morning, and I watered again in the evening. I want to encourage plump blueberries and tomatoes that don't fall off the vine!

Last night I prepared wineberries for one more batch of jam, which I intend to process this morning. Of all the jams I make, I think wineberry is the most beautiful to look at... and the taste... fabuloso!

Garden Chores

Planted a bed of Dixie Lee Butter Peas in place of the crook neck and zucchini squash I pulled up yesterday due to invasion of the squash snatchers.

Harvested the basil and made a big batch of luscious pesto. Cut all the big rainbow chard leaves; Washed and prepared them for cooking tonight.

Thinned the carrots.

Picked the wineberries.

Made sure the pole beans were running in an organized manner.

Make Room for Okra

I decided to pull the rest of the beets. The roots aren't getting any bigger, and it's about time for the okra (planted between the rows of beets) to take off. I roasted the roots and prepared one last recipe of Harvard Beets - my favorite - then cooked the greens up with a splash of vinegar.

Promise and Problem

Blossoms and baby squash... my mouth is watering already! But not so fast... the squash bugs have invaded. I'm afraid these plants are doomed.

Treats and Trials

Today I picked the first two Early Girl tomatoes and the first fig of the season. Got 2 quarts of wineberries. Made a second batch of wineberry jam.

I noticed that the squash bugs have taken up residence in the yellow squash and zucchini. May not get any fruit from these plants. That makes me mad!

Today's Garden Chores...

Made 7 pints of wineberry jam this morning from berries picked yesterday.

Picked today's wineberries and black raspberries. Checked for blueberries and hybrid blackberries. Not quite ready.

Planted the "Sun Gold" cherry tomato plant purchased at the tailgate market in Asheville this past weekend.

Guided the running pole beans onto string.

Dug the Yukon Gold potatoes. Their plants had died back. Boiled some for supper. Heavenly!

Pulled more beets. Ate the greens for supper.

Berries Rule!

The wineberries are coming in strong. Thank goodness Abi was here to pick this weekend! She picked about 6 cups while we were away. She and I picked enough today for one batch of jam. I've prepared the berries; will turn them into jam tomorrow. The black raspberries are down to a good handful per day - enough for our cereal in the morning. The blackberries and blueberries are just starting.

The "Early Girls" are turning red. Real tomatoes, soon! There were a few purple snap beans which I added to a pot of soup this afternoon. The squash are blossoming. The golden yukons are dying back. The pole beans are about to run. The beets need to be dug. The okra is ready to take off. Rouse is ready to cut down some trees. I'm ready to agree. We need more sun!

I Love My Berries!

The black raspberries are coming in slowly, but surely... I picked 1 cup today. They're a little soggy with all the rain, but there're still plenty of unripe berries on the bush. We need some sunny days. In the meantime, the wineberry canes are loaded with berries! They're starting to ripen now. I picked 2 cups this morning. The blueberries are not far behind. By the time we get back from Asheville Sunday evening there should be plenty to pick, if the birds don't beat us to it.

Speaking of rain... We got another 3/4 inch last night. Temperatures are expected to rise today. 90's - Here we come! I'm expecting big changes in the garden while we're away the next few days.

I pulled up the lettuce leftovers. We sure have enjoyed the fresh salads. Cooler temperatures this spring (and my shady garden) allowed for a longer season of sweet lettuce. I harvested more beets today, too. Now that the summer is heating up, the okra should take off. Time to get the beets out of the way. I still left the ones with "baby" roots, though. All in good time.

Enjoy Cool Temps While You Can...

The heat wave is coming. We may hit the 100 degree mark this weekend. We're heading to Asheville tomorrow night. Maybe it'll be a little cooler there.

We ate the last of the lettuce for supper tonight. I'll miss those fresh salads! We do still have beet greens available...

I used tape to remove flea beetles from my eggplant. Very effective!

The wineberries are about to explode into ripeness. Hope we don't miss them while we're in Asheville!

Flood Warnings Today in Central NC

It's raining! It's pouring!

Today I picked the first wineberries (only 1/2 a dozen) and one giant blackberry.

I attacked the flea beetles that are attacking my eggplant. I hope I made a significant dent in their population.

Chance of Thunderstorms, Morning and Night

The black raspberries are slowing down - found only 1/2 cup today. It's an overcast day, but still... I found plenty of ants and spiders.

I picked the first handful of purple "green" beans this afternoon. They're purple on the vine, but turn green when cooked.

The bad news today: Flea beetles are eating my eggplant leaves! Flea Beetles are tiny (smaller than the size of a pin head), dark colored, and very much flea-like in the way that they can jump up and disappear from the plant when disturbed.

The traditional organic approach to controlling flea beetles has been to resort to the application of an organic pesticide such as pyrethrins or rotenone. While organic, this is still a pesticide that has to be handled carefully and can kill non-targeted insects including the beneficial ones that we want to keep around the garden. Since I have only 4 plants, I think I'll try picking them off by hand and squishing the little buggers. Must be quick, before they hop away!

Thievin' Squirrels!

We keep the 2-grain chicken scratch in a metal trash can in the chicken yard. The lid was off the other day when I went to let the chickens out in the morning. Grayson, the granddog, was visiting. I thought maybe he had been nosing around and knocked the lid off.

The next day, the lid was off again. Grayson had gone home the previous day, so I knew I couldn't blame the dog! I know deer will go after corn in containers, but our deer fence is effectively keeping deer out of the yard. My next thought was raccoon, or possum. So I moved the trash can into the "safe" zone where it would be inaccessible to such animals at night.

A couple days later, as I was walking out to the garden in the afternoon, I saw the lid off again! Then I saw the culprit pop up out of the can.... a dad-gum squirrel!! I ran to the chicken yard. He saw me coming and went crazy, jumping from one side of the "safe" zone to the other. He didn't want to come out into the larger chicken yard because I was standing by the door opening. So he ducked into the hen house through the little chicken door. I jerked open the door, intending to terrorize him some more, and he was gone! I assume he escaped through a space between the walls and the roof.

When I told Rouse about it that evening, he had a good idea. He placed a bungy cord over the can to keep the lid in place. The very next day I went out to the chicken yard. There was the lid... on the ground... next to 4 bits of the bungy cord. The rascally rascals had chewed that bungy cord to pieces! Rouse said, "That pisses me off!" I was in total agreement.

I put a 25-pound weight on top of the can. Rouse says it's overkill, but guess what? The squirrels can't get the lid off now. Of course, it's a little inconvenient for us people who want to open the can daily to throw out corn. Brother! The things we do to keep nature at bay.

Can't Beat Beets!

The field peas I recently planted are up and growing. The pole beans are just starting to peak through the soil. Some of my tomato plants are out-growing their support. I'll have to do something about that. The squash plants are looking healthy and lush. The chives in the herb bed are loaded with little black bugs. Yuck! The black raspberries continue to produce well.

The real prize that I'm focusing on this weekend, though, are the beets. Beets are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat, and good for you, too! Beet roots boast folacin, vitamin C and fiber, but the real nutritional treasure lies in the green tops: they're packed with beta carotene, calcium and iron. I have two red varieties and one golden. We've eaten baby beet roots a couple of times this spring, and have eaten lots of beet greens, but I've been waiting for the roots to get a little size on them before digging them. For maximum flavor, both beet greens and roots should be eaten as soon as picked, but they will keep in the 'fridge for a period of time. Some beet tips:

• Pick up to 1/3 of the foliage from a beet plant at any time to use as salad/cooked greens.
• Harvest both roots and green tops when they're young and tender for best flavor.
• Pull or dig the roots when they reach the desired size for cooking or canning; this varies with the variety of beet and the spacing in the row.
• Store unwashed beet roots in plastic bags in your refrigerator's crisper section for up to three weeks; to increase storage life, remove the greens but leave at least an inch of stem.
• Store beet greens the same way and use them as soon as possible; they'll last only a few days.
• Keep unwashed beet roots long-term by covering them with sand or sawdust and storing in a moist, cool spot (35 to 40 degrees F).

Roasted Beets: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean beets, trimming stems and roots to 1-inch. Do not peel. Place in a well sealed foil packet, or in a roasting pan with a tight fitting lid. Roast about 1 - 1/4 hours, until easily pierced with a fork. Adjust cooking time based on size of beets. Use in your favorite beet recipe!

Mother Nature is Watering the Garden

The heirloom okra sprouts that Noah gave me are up, only two days after sticking them in the ground. Amazing! And it's raining tonight... 2nd night in a row. We got about 1/2" rain last night. Thank you, Mother Nature. I won't have to water this week.

Transition Time

I picked the last scant handful of sugar snaps, then tore the plants out of the ground and threw them into the chicken yard. I planted two more rows of pink-eyed, purple-hulled field peas in their place. I already have two rows of the field peas along the edges of the raised bed. Looking forward to some good ol' southern peas!

I planted two rows of Kentucky Wonder pole beans in the place of my green onions. According to the Gurney's web site, they're one of "Grandma's Favorites", an old-fashioned variety, long on flavor--vigorous, rust-resistant and successful in all parts of the country. Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans produce enormous yields of straight and smooth 8- to 9-inch pods. A good all-around pick for processing. 67 DAYS. I chose them because they were the only pole bean seeds available at the feed and seed store!

There's a storm brewing. Sure hope it brings us some rain!

Marvelous Mojitos and Mint Juleps

The mint is growing vigorously in the herb garden. Time to enjoy a cool, fresh, minty drink - the perfect summertime refreshment. The hard part is making a choice... mint julep or mojito?!

Mint Julep: Muddle 12 mint leaves in the bottom of a silver cup (mine is pewter). Add 1 tablespoon simple sugar syrup and 1 1/2 oz bourbon. Add ice and top off with club soda. (Bourbon lovers and traditionalists would leave off the club soda, but I'm a light weight.) Stir. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Mojitos: For 6 - 8 servings: Muddle lots of mint leaves (at least 12 per intended serving) into a glass jar. Pour 12 oz frozen limeade concentrate over the mint. Cover and chill in the 'fridge, allowing all that fresh minty flavor to be released into the limeade. Strain out the mint. For each serving, pour 2 oz of the mint infused lime juice and 1-1/2 oz rum over ice. Top it off with club soda. Stir. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Sit on the porch and enjoy summertime!

Good Morning, Garden

I pulled up the last of the green onions. We'll enjoy them for another week or so out of the 'fridge. I still plan to sow pole beans in their place. I don't have any other place to put them! I just hope the weather will be such that the blight is kept at bay.

I picked a few sugar snaps. Their productivity has gone way down. It'll be time to pull them soon and replace them with another row of field peas.

Some of the lettuce has bolted and become bitter. I pulled all that up and threw it to the chickens. They thought it was quite a treat! I harvested the rest of the green leaf lettuce, left some of the mesclin mix, then cleaned up that bed and planted 2 regular eggplants and a couple of japanese eggplants.

Noah, my father-in-law, gave me some okra that he had sprouted. The seeds were given to him by one of his patients. Apparently, they came from an heirloom variety that has been planted by their family for three generations. I really didn't have any place to put it, but decided to stick some in my okra bed - which is currently populated by three rows of beets and two rows of baby okra plants! I planted them along the outside edges. Maybe they'll do fine, once the beets are harvested.

I cut the rainbow chard for the first time - about 3 dozen stalks. Rainbow chard will produce all summer long if you keep it cut. Very nice to have fresh greens in the hot summer months.

I pulled weeds around and between the beds. The violets are going crazy out there. The creeping charlie is creeping in. The grass wants to grow. But, overall, the cardboard and mulch is doing a pretty good job at weed control.

I still need to find somewhere to plant butter beans, sweet potatoes, and more eggplant, but all available space is currently taken. Two full beds will be freed up when I harvest the potatoes, but that will be no time soon. There are still lots of tiny potatoes forming and I don't want to miss any of them!

Razzle Dazzle Berries

The black raspberries are really coming in now. With all the nice rain we had last week, followed by warm temperatures, the berries are plump and abundant. Picking berries requires serious covering up... long sleeves, long pants, real shoes, and bug spray - but it's worth it! Grayson, the granddog, has been here the past several days. He accompanies me to the berry patch and likes to graze the berries himself. The people in the family have been eating them on cereal, in salads and yogurt, out-of-hand. I sense a raspberry roll-up in my future!

Bush Beans Look Diseased

My beans are not looking so good. Looks like they are suffering from some sort of blight. I treated them as I do my tomato plants when they show signs of Early Blight. I removed the diseased leaves and threw them far away.

Here are some Quick Facts from the web site: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/crops/02913.html

• Halo blight and bacterial brown spot are favored by cool to moderate temperatures, high moisture and plant wounds before flowering.
• Common bacterial blight is favored by moderate to warm temperatures, high moisture and plant wounds during and after flowering.
• The pathogens can survive in infected debris and are seed-borne.
• Disease management recommendations rely upon crop rotation, sanitation, planting treated certified seed, varietal selection, stress and wound avoidance, and proper pesticide scheduling.

So, removing the diseased leaves may not be enough. These beans are in the same bed I had green beans in last year. It might be best to remove all the bean plants and try something else in that space this summer. But there's such a nice support system built into that bed! I guess best gardening practices will have to take priority over reusing existing garden structures.

Another good web site to refer to : http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Beans_BactBlights.htm

Egg Thief?

This afternoon I went out to the hen house to pick up eggs. There were only 3 eggs in the nesting box... and a big "egg-y" mess - with no broken eggshells in sight! Makes we wonder if a snake might have had a feast that day. On Sunday afternoon I did see this nice black snake making his way up the back steps. I like having black snakes around. They eat rodents and other non-desirables. But don't mess with my eggs!

Radish Issues

This afternoon, I posed a relatively simple question to my friend, Betsy. "Why aren't my radishes forming a bulb?" She did a little on-line research and within a few minutes had found the answer to my question. Then, as a bonus, informed me of two more things that were wrong with my radish plants!

My first crop of radishes (planted in March) were lovely and delicious. I planted this last row of radishes on April 19, wondering at the time if it might be too late. It was. Radishes will not bulb properly if forced to mature in temperatures over 82 degrees. Recent high temps have been in the mid to upper 80's. Instead of nice round globes, I got a bunch of long, thickened roots. Not very pretty!

On top of that, the plants were infected with black scab and flea beetles. Yikes! I pulled up all the plants and threw them to the chickens. Good riddance! Now I have room to plant another row of okra...

Hot and Humid

I dug up some baby basil plants for Abi's container garden, transplanted my young basil and winter squash plants to their permanent spaces in the garden, and dug a variety of new potatoes for tonight's supper. Enough work to make me light-headed and sweaty!

Yes! We do have potatoes!

The above-ground portion of the potato plants are so lush, I was afraid the soil was too rich... an abundance of nutrients leading to great foliage growth but not optimal tuber growth. I took a peek this afternoon. "Ta-da!" I was rewarded with this fine speciman!

It's always nice to have a little help in the garden...

Yarri visited 5 nights, 5 days while his parents traveled to the Bahamas. He loved helping with the chickens and the garden chores! Each day he collected the eggs and made note of how many there were. He helped pick sugar snaps, lettuce, onions, and radishes. He ate what he picked. He said the radishes were too spicy for him, but he did enjoy the peas and fresh salads. Plus, he ate beets! Of course, he loved browsing the black raspberry bushes.

I did indeed have to pull up the rest of the brocolli plants. They just kept looking more and more unhealthy. My basil plants have finally gotten some size on them and are being shaded out by the tomato plants. Time to transplant them to the other end of the bed now that the broccoli plants are gone. Plus, Abi says she wants some basil to plant in a container. I have plenty to share with her.

Speaking of tomatoes, I finally got some stakes and a support system rigged up. They're growing well and some have green fruit on them. I pulled off some of the lower leaves today that were beginning to yellow.

I pulled the arugula. It bolted a long time ago, but I decided I'd enjoy the flowers for awhile. We're still getting plenty of lettuce. The rainbow chard is getting big enough to cut. I've started to pull the second crop of radishes. The carrots are growing well, but aren't ready to eat yet.

All the squash is growing well, including the winter squash that I planted between the rows of crooked neck and zucchini. I'll have to transplant it soon. I planted a row of okra between two rows of beets. The new plants are growing well, but won't really do much until the weather gets hot.... about the time the beets are harvested! I'll plant another row in place of the radishes - between the other two rows of beets.

I expanded the height of my sugar snap support system, and so far it's been adequate. We've eaten several small batches of peas (sometimes mixed with carrots to make them go further) in the past week. They sure are tasty! Picked about 1/4 pound today.

The black raspberries have started to ripen in the past 2 - 3 days, just in time for Yarri to get a taste.

The potato plants look lush but I'm not sure there are any tubers down there! Hope our dirt isn't too rich for 'taters!

Noah was home for supper two nights ago. Knowing how much he loves beets, I decided to go ahead and pull some baby beets - some red and some golden. I steamed them up with butter, salt and pepper. I stir-fried the beet greens with onions, garlic, and dried red peppers in a little bacon grease, with a splash of red wine vinegar to finish it off. Now that's some good eatin'!

Disappointments in the Garden

The sugar snaps have outgrown their support system. Add several days of rain to weigh them down... many are bent and broken.

The caterpillars have found my broccoli plants. I pulled up one heavily infested plant. Hand-picked the critters off the other plants and fed them to the chickens. The side shoots I was looking forward to don't look very healthy. May have to pull up the rest.

Not tired of salad yet!

We're enjoying salads of mixed greens (red and green leaf lettuce, mesclin mix, beets, the last of the spinach and arugula), eating fresh spring onions every day, and salivating over the sugar snaps which are filling out nicely.

I've cut all the central broccoli stalks, but I do expect to continue to get plenty of side shoots to keep us satisfied through the end of the month.

I planted summer squash yesterday - "Early Yellow Crook Neck" and Burpee's "Fordhook" zucchini. About 55 days to maturity, so we can look forward to squash around the 4th of July.

Would love to find space to plant some winter squash. I have seeds for Burpee's "Butterbush" butternut squash. It's supposed to be a compact plant, taking up 1/4 the space of regular vining types. 80 days to maturity, so I better get going. I may plant it right between the yellow and zucchini squashes, hoping there will be a place to transplant it when all those plants grow up.

It's a challenge to figure out the most efficient use of dirt... getting the most out of spring crops before replacing them with summer crops; pulling the summer crops in time to plant the fall garden. We have only so many raised beds!

Time for Broccoli

We've had several days of showers, amounting to nearly 2 inches of rain in the garden. Today the sun is shining. I can almost see the plants growing right before my eyes! This is a good time in the garden... nice weather and few bugs, although I did see a red-eyed cicada resting on one of my broccoli plants the other day. Didn't know it was time for them to come around again.

I hate to note that the arugula is bolting. It can't take the heat at all. There are flower buds on the potatoes. I ate the first sugar snap pea this morning. It'll be a few days before we have enough for a meal. Tonight, broccoli will be featured on the dinner menu, and I'm looking forward to that!

Lush Garden and Happy Hens - Life is Good!

We had a nice soaking rain Monday night, then heavy pouring rain Tuesday afternoon. There was severe weather all around, but nothing damaging here. The pollen has been washed away. Everything looks green and clean.

I'm cutting the broccoli now, and it is delicious. Pea pods are forming on the sugar snaps. The potato plants are robust. Salad greens are lush. Everything is growing well. I've thinned the radishes, and continue thinning the beets as needed in the salad mix. I've read that you can eat the radish tops, too, but even the small ones are a little too bitter for me.

The chickens are at maximum egg production right now... 9 hens, 9 eggs per day!

Peas

The first blossoms have appeared on the sugar snaps. The plants are rapidly climbing the wire support. Fresh peas will be on the menu soon!

Nothing like a Spring Salad

Summer temperatures have come to Pittsboro and the raised beds are looking pretty dry. I spent a good amount of time watering this morning.

Everything is growing well. The recently planted radishes, field peas, and green beans are up. They have incredibly speedy germination! After a relatively lengthy germination, the carrots and basil have finally pushed through the dirt. The basil seedlings are getting a good start in between the tomato plants. I'll thin them in a day or two. The basil plants will eventually have to be moved once the tomatoes get some size on them. I'll likely transplant them to the end of the bed after the broccoli is harvested. Speaking of broccoli... we'll be eating some within the week!

I thinned the beet plants and will enjoy a salad of baby beet greens for lunch. The fall-planted spinach has run its course. I harvested the last of those tasty leaves and pulled the plants. I'm still getting a handful of radishes every day or two from the first planting. The rest of the salad bed is looking gorgeously green. Spring salad season is here!

More Tomatoes

I replaced the deceased Romas...

... and bought some heirloom tomato plants at the Pittsboro Farmer's Market - two of each: Purple Cherokee, Arkansas Traveler, and Mule Team. They are tucked into the tomato bed. That should just about do it for the tomatoes, although I still want some sort of cherry tomato.

Dead Tomato Plants

Two of the three Roma tomato plants have wilted and dried up - dead! What happened?!

Cream of Spinach Soup

The autumn-planted spinach is about to bolt, so that's what's for supper tonight. Here's a delicious way to eat your greens!

1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 # potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 # cauliflower florets
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cups (packed) fresh spinach, chopped
5-oz can fat free evaporated milk
3-oz half-and-half (optional decadent ingredient)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
(chopped ham, kielbasa sausage, etc. - optional)

Saute onion in butter ~ 3 minutes. Add potatoes, cauliflower, chicken broth, water, bouillon. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer ~ 20 minutes. Add spinach; cook 2 - 4 minutes. Puree all or part of soup in blender. Return to saucepan. Whisk in milk, salt, and pepper. Add ham or sausage, if desired. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Whisk in sour cream. Serve with some nice bread.

Is that a promise, or a threat?

It rained last night. According to the gauge in the garden, about 3/8 of an inch... enough to keep the newly planted seeds damp, but not really enough to thoroughly hydrate the beds. It'd be nice to get a little more rain this week... a good soaking rain. This afternoon is breezy and mostly cloudy. The clouds are moving swiftly across the sky, and are mostly white and fluffy. There's still plenty of sunshine and blue sky in sight, although the weatherman says we could get some severe weather. In fact, there's a tornado watch currently in effect. Despite the possibility of bad weather, it's been a very pleasant spring day.

Beans, Field Peas, and Radishes Grow

It's hard to believe how quickly radishes grow! The seed packet says 20 - 50 days to maturity. We started eating our first crop 40 days after sowing the seed. Those early plants will soon be consumed. I should've followed the seed packet suggestion of putting in successive plantings every two weeks. Maybe it's not too late! This morning I planted another 12' of radishes, sowing the seed between two rows of beets. Seemed like a good use of dirt. Maybe I can get another planting in before temperatures get too hot.

I currently have white onions planted down the center of the "green bean" bed. The idea was that the onions would be ready to harvest (as "green" onions) before any beans planted down the sides of the bed overwhelmed the space. Just today I read on the website Seedman.com: "Try companion planting with bush beans. Bush beans are excellent grown with most vegetables except the onion family, basil, fennel, kohlrabi." Oops.

Moving on... On the upper side of the green bean bed I planted about 4 feet of Lek's pole beans. Lek, my hair dresser, raves about them and gave me some seed. She says they produce long pods. I finished out that row with Burpee's Stringless Green Pod, a bush-type plant. These beans are supposed to be round, tender, juicy, and stringless. On the bottom side of that bed I planted a purple-podded, Romano-style (flat) bean, called Sequoia. It also is a bush-type plant. Although the pods are purple, they cook to a bright green. This is the first time I've planted bush beans. They will mature in 50 to 60 days.

Once I harvest those badly placed white onions, I intend to plant a row or two of pole beans down the center of the bed. Pole beans offer great use of vertical space since they are climbers. They also have a longer growing season and are more tolerant of hot temperatures than bush beans. Consequently, they will yield two to three times more than bush beans from the same amount of space. So why bother with bush beans? I guess I'll know better after this summer. Pole beans mature in 60 to 90 days. Looks like we'll have bush beans early in the season and pole beans later.

Also got a bed of "southern peas" started. Sugar snaps are currently growing down the center of this particular bed. Today, I planted two rows of Pink-eyed Purple-hulled Peas down the long outside edges. Fresh field peas can't be beat!

Counting on no more frost...

Today I took the plunge and planted a few tomato plants... three each of Early Girl, Roma, and Homestead.

Early Girl is known as an outstanding early variety of tomato, producing dependable, tasty, uniform, 4 to 5 ounce tomatoes. Besides, one of our favorite places to eat brunch in Asheville is named for this tomato! Early Girl is an indeterminate variety (tall growing) so will need support as the plants grow. Approximately 62 days to maturity from transplanting (mid to late June).

Roma tomatoes are a less juicy type and are milder in flavor than other tomatoes. They are commonly referred to as paste tomatoes as they are great for making tomato paste, ketchup and preserving. The vines are determinate (bush-type) and fruit heavily. Approximately 75 days to maturity (late June - early July).

Homestead is an heirloom variety. This old-time favorite produces firm, meaty, medium-sized fruit, yielding a large crop on determinate vines. This variety sets fruit well in hot climates. Disease and crack resistant. 81 days to maturity (mid July).

I plan to fill up most of one bed with a variety of tomato plants, saving a little space at one end for basil. The plants described here were acquired at the feed and seed store and at Lowes home improvement. I hope to round out the bed with some cherry-type tomatoes and indeterminate varieties. Maybe I'll find something interesting at the Pittsboro Farmer's Market next week.

Easter Weekend

After a stormy Good Friday night, it turned out to be a beautiful Easter weekend. The chickens provided us with plenty of eggs for dying and for the traditional Easter Sunday potato salad. The kale showed signs of bolting, so on Friday I pulled the plants and harvested all the good leaves. I saved out enough to make kale-potato soup this week, then blanched the rest, ending up with two small packages for the freezer.

On Saturday night, Rouse and I enjoyed a fresh salad of spinach and a variety of lettuces from the garden. I pulled a half-dozen radishes. They were small, but perfectly round and zesty. I fixed another big green salad for Easter Sunday dinner.

Sunday afternoon I sowed carrot seeds in the salad bed, parsley and cilantro seeds in the herb bed, and basil seeds in the bed that will eventually contain tomatoes. This is my first attempt at growing carrots. As for the other plants, this is my first attempt at starting them directly from seed in the garden... I usually buy plants from the farm and garden supply store. Starting from seed is definitely more cost effective. I just hope they actually germinate!

Greening of the Woods

"The birch tree is all over green in small leaf, more light and elegant than when it is full out. It bends to the breezes, as if for the love of its own delightful motions." -- Henry David Thoreau

A Near Miss

Good news! It was 34 degrees at 6:00am this morning. Mother Nature has given us a pass. I peeled the plastic protective sheets off the raised beds first thing this morning and gratefully acknowledged the unblemished blossoms of the blueberry bushes. By mid-afternoon, the temperature had risen to a comfortable 60 degrees. The butterflies and bumblebees - blessed pollinators - were working over the blueberry blossoms. Such promise in those clusters of flowers!

It's not April 15 yet!

A cold front has blown in. The wind has a bite to it. There's snow in the western part of the state. The low tonight in Pittsboro is predicted to be 32 degrees. Must Mother Nature show her frigid side once more before warmth settles in?

With temps right at freezing, I'm not taking any chances. I have a few nice lettuce plants that have somehow survived the winter. I cut the largest bunches, and even though kale is cold-hardy, I cut the biggest leaves of kale, too. I've covered the beds containing new salad greens, broccoli, and tiny beet plants with plastic. Don't know if it's necessary - or if it will do any good - but it makes me feel better. The biggest worry is the blueberry blossoms. Unfortunately, I have nothing large enough to cover those bushes.

Waiting for "Real" Warm Weather

The high temperature today was in the mid-70's. Seems like a good day to sow some seeds or plant some young seedlings, but not so fast! The low Tuesday night is expected to be 33 degrees... dangerously close to freezing. Most planting directions are based on the average last frost date, i.e. the last day in the spring that you might have a killing frost. That would be April 15 here in the Piedmont of NC.

So there's not much happening in the garden this weekend. I harvested the collards that were planted last fall, then pulled the plants from the bed. Everything else is growing well. Just waiting for that magic "go-ahead-and-plant" date!

Exotic Visitor

We see a lot of beautiful birds in our backyard, but this one beats them all! Come springtime, this exotic creature travels the neighborhood. His home base is X-Farms, located a half mile down the road from us. He's definitely on the prowl, frequently displaying his gorgeous tail feathers in an attempt to attract a suitable mate. Either his territory is widely expanded during mating season, or he's the low man on the totem pole at home and has been pushed off his usual territory. Whatever the reason, we enjoy having him around. He makes a great "watch dog", although I have to admit his bugle-like call can be disarmingly loud. At the end of the season, he drops his tail feathers all around the property. Taking a walk turns into a treasure hunt!

Confronting the Enemy

Yesterday I went out to the garden to fetch a mess o' greens. I was happily cutting the kale... it's been looking so pretty, and the leaves are starting to get a little size on them. When I got to the far corner of the kale patch, though -- horror of horrors -- I saw that the aphids have moved in! Nothing that a little salt water bath can't take care of, as far as human consumption, but I don't want those little buggers eating up my crop! So I removed the bulk of the bugs by pulling up the infested plants, cut the biggest leaves, washed them in cold salt water, then cooked them up. I checked the spinach while I was at it, and found a few aphids there as well. Lady bugs, lady bugs, fly away home... to my home that is. I need you!

Disheartening Work

The most disheartening work in the garden must be the thinning of young seedlings! I set to work on my radishes this afternoon, making room for the survivers to grow. One thing that makes me feel better about this chore is I know nothing is truly wasted. My chickens will enjoy the rejects and will turn that raw material into eggs.

I pulled up the cabbage plants that were planted at the end of September. They didn't have enough time to grow and "head up" in the fall, so I left them in the garden to see what would happen. After surviving the winter, they bolted instead of making nice solid heads. So, that experiment didn't work. I'll have to check the proper time to plant cabbage.

The turnip greens had also bolted and gone to flower. We ate some of the tender young buds last week. The bright yellow flowers are actually quite pretty. Despite their good looks, today I pulled them all up and dumped them into the chicken yard. The chickens enjoyed the diversion.

To Wash or Not to Wash the Eggs?

I've always washed the eggs I collect because I don't like the idea of having dirty eggs (think 'feces') in the 'fridge. I've heard conflicting advice, though, and have been wondering what the official word is on washing fresh eggs. Of course I went on-line to see what I could find. The Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension site had information on the proper handling of eggs. Specifically, regarding egg washing:

• Never cool eggs rapidly before they are cleaned. The egg shell will contract and pull any dirt or bacteria on the surface deep into the pores when cooled. Try to keep the temperature relatively constant until they are washed.
• Wash eggs as soon as you collect them. This helps limit the opportunity of contamination and loss of interior quality.
• Wash eggs with water 10 degrees warmer than the egg. This will make the egg contents swell and push the dirt away from the pores of the egg. If you have extremely dirty eggs, a mild detergent approved for washing eggs can be used.
• Never let eggs sit in water. Once the temperature equalizes the egg can absorb contaminants out of the water.
• Cool and dry eggs quickly after washing. Store eggs, large end up, at 50-55ÉF and at 75% relative humidity. If eggs sit at room temperature (75ÉF) they can drop as much as one grade per day. If fertile eggs are kept at a temperature above 85ÉF for more than a few hours the germinal disc (embryo) can start to develop. If fertile eggs are kept above 85ÉF over two days the blood vessels of the embryo may become visible.
• If eggs are stored properly in their own carton or other stable environment they should hold a quality of Grade A for at least four weeks.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/9.html

Blue Sky, Sunshine, and the March Wind

The rain clouds are gone. A nice March wind is blowing, reminding me of a song my grandma used to sing:

Blow old March wind, blow, blow, blow.
Make the arms of the windmill go.
Flutter the clothes on the clothesline high.
Sail our kites to the far blue sky.
Push the sailboats over the deep,
And waken the buds from their winter sleep.

The buds are surely being awakened, the soggy ground is getting a little help with the drying-out process, and I feel a noticeable lift in my spirit just looking out upon the advent of spring.

Another Rainy Day

I woke up this morning to the voice of the radio weatherman predicting 90% chance of rain today. It's been gray all day, with low hanging clouds. Rain has begun to gently fall this afternoon. Thunder is rumbling ominously in the distance. Thankfully, in recent days the temperature has been in the upper 60's.

The warmth has been enough. Despite the lack of sunshine, the kale has grown noticeably in the last two days. The turnips have gone to flower. The beets have pushed their way through the dirt. Everything is thriving. Just wait until the sun comes out. There'll be an explosion of growth!

I left a couple of eggs, each marked with an X, in each of the two favorite nesting spots in the chicken coop yesterday. Trying to do what I can to encourage "broodiness".

Feathers are Missing

I've noticed some of the hens are missing feathers. A couple of weeks ago I saw that one hen had a bare spot on her back. Rouse and I joked that she'd be the first one in the stew pot. But now, several of the girls have bare spots on their backs.

I went to the Kansas State Agricultural Experiment Station / Cooperative Extension Service website to read up on feather problems in the small flock. It could be one of several things:

• Molting... but this usually occurs in the fall as days are getting shorter.
• Inadequate diet... unlikely in chickens fed balanced, commercially produced feeds.
• Pecking... a common problem, usually brought on by overcrowding, boredom, high light intensity, mites or other external parasites. Doesn't seem to fit our situation. Plus, I haven't noticed any pecking behavior.

What I think is the most likely explanation:

• In a natural setting with mature roosters present, some of the females may exhibit "barebacks" which are a result of the mating process.

Elvis -- Leave those girls alone!

http://www.oznet.k-state.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx

Good reason to grow your own eggs...

I know the eggs I get from my hens are a rich, golden, color. And I know the yolks are "perkier" than those found in store-bought eggs. Intuitively, I think they must be better than those commercially produced eggs. There actually is evidence that a diet rich in grubs and greens does make a better, more nutritious egg.

According to a "Mother Earth News" article, eggs from true free-range hens may contain:
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

That's good reason to love my layers!

Read the entire article here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx

A gentle soaking rain is good for the garden...

The temperature is in the mid-40's and it's raining. I cut collard greens this morning before the rain started, and snipped off the the tender flower buds at the top of the bolting center stalks. I'll cook the leaves and the buds together for a tasty cruciferous dish.

The hens are approaching full egg production as the days get longer. Today I collected 8 eggs. Rouse and I are wondering when these hens will go broody. I probably should leave some eggs - or place a fake egg or two - in the nesting boxes to give the maternal instinct a chance to surface.

The Last of the Sweet Potatoes

I roasted up the tail-end of last fall's sweet potatoes. Added them to some cooked fresh kale and seasoned black beans. Spooned it all onto flour tortillas. Added pepper-jack cheese. Folded it up burrito style. Mighty fine eatin'!

Fall Crops on the Way Out

I pulled up the fall crop of arugula. It had bolted and gotten bitter. The chickens will enjoy a little arugula salad! The turnip greens have also bolted, but we're eating the young, tender, turnip flower heads that look like little brocolli bunches. The mustard greens got infested with aphids. I pulled it all up. The kale is still tender and good, and the leaves are a bit larger now. We'll still have some good meals from this fall crop.



The cabbage planted in the fall looked like it was going to head up, but has bolted. The collards are starting to bolt, too, so we'll have to go ahead and eat them up. Broccoli plants that I put in last month are growing well. They made it through the cold nights.



The onions and sugar snaps are up and growing well. The spring crop of cooking greens and salad greens have popped up and look neat and tidy in their little green rows. The beets are just starting to peek through the dirt. No sign of potato plants.

Full Nest!

100% production in the hen house today... 9 hens, 9 eggs!

Beets in the Ground

I planted three varieties of beets... Detroit Dark Red, Golden, and Chicago Red.

Lazy Bed

I planted my potatoes under leaf mulch and straw in what is known as a "lazy bed". I filled two beds - 3 rows per bed, ~8" apart. I placed the seed potato chunks, cut side down, about 4-6" apart; pressed them firmly into the soil; layered leaf mulch and then straw on top. Young potatoes should be ready to eat in 8 weeks!

Before planting: I cut my seed potatoes into 1 3/4 - 2 oz pieces, making sure each piece had at least a couple of growth buds (eyes). Then I allowed them to dry at room temperature for 2 -4 days prior to planting.

I ordered 4# each of three potato varieties... Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac, Purple Viking. I puchased them on-line from Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. I had a few seed potatoes left over, which I gave to Andrew for his garden.

The potatoes will be ready to dig for winter storage when the plant tops begin to dry. The beauty of the lazy bed is the potatoes don't have to be "dug" out of the earth, which decreases the chance of bruising the skin. After picking up tubers, dry 2 -3 hours, then store in a cool, dry, dark, well-ventilated space.

At one end of the cooking greens bed, I planted a spring crop of kale and some rainbow chard. There are also a few lettuce plants in that space that have survived the winter. I left them, anticipating an early salad.

I filled up the salad greens bed with a second planting of arugula, a second planting of spinach, a variety of lettuces, and radishes.

Onions

I planted yellow and white onion bulbs purchased from Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. I planned for 36 plants per 12' row, planting them 1 - 2" deep, 4" apart. The yellow onions are in the old blackberry bed. The white onions are planted down the center of the green beans bed.

Sugar Snaps

I planted my sugar snaps - seeds that have been soaking for a few days. They're all nice and plump. Planted them 1" deep, 2" apart in two 12' rows.

Winter Clean Up

It was 60 degrees today! I spent some of the afternoon removing the old canes from the black raspberry patch. Drew and I already cleaned up the wineberries when he was home for Christmas. At that time, he also built me some PVC pipe arches over selected beds which will be used to support protective plastic on cold winter nights.