Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Around the Garden

















It has been raining for the last two days, off and on, with the sun coming out in the evening to tease us just a little bit. Truth be told, I am very happy for the rain, the gardens were a little dry, and the hand watering takes forever. They should be good for the next week, making this homesteader very happy.

Around the garden snow peas and beans are flowering, the pole beans are growing up their trellis, the potato beds got another layer of straw and manure, all the beds have been weeded, and bugs are being taken care of as needed. The cucumber, squash and zucchini plants look amazing, and the tomatoes are growing like crazy. We are harvesting salad greens, kale, Swiss chard, beet greens, herbs and strawberries on a daily basis, and we enjoyed the first few raspberries yesterday...what a treat that was!

I walk around the garden a few times a day, and it feels so good and so very right, this path we are walking. It isn't an easy path, there is a lot of work, but it fills us all with so much joy. And when we sit back at the end of the day, and look out at the work we have done, we smile. It's a tired smile, but a smile none the less.

How are things around your garden?

29 comments:

  1. it's looking so lovely...all you hard work is VISIBLE !!! one of these days i will get an edible garden going ( the big walnut tree in the back just won't let us)... but there is always the front yard.

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    1. Awe, thank you. Yes, front yards are good too :)

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  2. We've been picking the raspberries on our walk, I'm amazed the birds have left them....I checked the cucumber plants and so far just flowers. Glad you are reaping the garden's benefits!

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    1. How lucky for you :) We have flowers about to blossom, I can't wait for cucumbers.

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  3. It's looking beautiful!!! You have a lovely spot of land. We just (very late!) got our seedlings in the ground this past weekend!!

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    1. Thank you. I really do love this piece of land. It is definitely something special.

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  4. Oh, Kim - I have such garden envy, looking at your photos!
    I am not on top of things as well as you are (and the week away has really set things back...); every year I say next year I will be, and every year I am a bit more on top of things, but never as much as I want to be. If that makes sense.
    Your tomatoes look wonderful! I've been pinching mine back this year but they still seem a little unwieldy to me. Not nearly as bad as last year, though! One of these days I will try staking them up the way you have, rather than caging them. I feel like that might help me keep them from getting too unruly. :) xo

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    1. It is tough going away, eh? On one hand it is lovely to get away, but then the garden gets a little out of hand and there is always so much work to be done when you get back. Little steps my friend, if it gets better each year that is all you can ask for.

      Thanks! Last year I really pruned them back, thinned them out a lot and we had a great crop, so doing the same thing this year and so far so good. I love the stacks, so much easier and they don't collapse as the plants get bigger.

      Happy gardening my friend. xo

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  5. All your hard work Kim, you should be SO very proud of your accomplishment. I feel like a schlepp when I see these lovely fresh images. Enjoy your garden!

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  6. Everything looks to be growing wonderfully! Things here are good... actually ate my first green bean this morning. How very satisfying. We are heavy into the tomato pruning now, having let the suckers outgrow what we like them to be. Adding some straw to the beds, adding some compost... Picking peas everyday! We've also been counting cucumbers : 9 so far! Things are truly wonderful.

    May I ask what the white powder is around all your squashes and zuchs?

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    1. It is! First green bean, yeah!!!! Reece is patiently waiting for his. He just sits by his garden and picks and eats, picks and eats :)

      Get those suckers! I have been on top of mine, and done some heavy pruning as well. This weekend I have to do a little more tying.

      You most certainly can, it is diatomaceous earth. I noticed a few holes in the leaves and knew the bugs were hanging out, so I sprinkle around the base of the plants, and on the leaves. It gets rid of them :)

      You can read about it here http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/diatomaceous-earth-insect-control.htm

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  7. It is looking so beautiful, all your work is looking very much worth it.

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  8. Wow!! Your garden is looking amazing! Many of your heat loving plants are more ahead than ours, although I planted them late as we were going to move this fall and I *almost* didn't put in tomatoes & squash.
    Ooh I can taste your harvests! Beans soon! yay for summer food!

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    1. Thanks Isis! So glad you decided to put them in, you will be happy at harvest time :) Summer food is the best!

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  9. Its so lovely! I can't believe that you've laready got some tomatoes ... (green of course, but mine are flowering just now...) I love the space organization of your piece of land, I can feel so much peace in it:)

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    1. Thank you. It is amazing all our different growing seasons, eh? I love it! And that is so lovely of you to say. It does feel very peaceful to me :)

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  10. I just love to see the contrast between your midwinter garden and mid summer. :) It makes me smile to see all the food growing.

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  11. Everything looks great, especially the raspberries. My strawberries are finishing up now and we're still a few weeks from raspberries. I'm drawn to the raised beds and think I'm to start setting them up as the garden empties this year so that a few are ready to go in the spring. We've had so much rain that the weeds are overwhelming. Smaller beds and clover in the path...I think that's my plan.


    My garden tour this week comes from the high tunnel. http://robinfollette.com/?p=7306

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    1. Thank you. The raised beds are awesome. We made the move three years ago now and have been adding more each year. We love them!

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  12. I absolutely love the morning when I wake up to see that we have gotten a bit of rain overnight and so I don't need to water... Our garden is small, and it still takes a good bit of time. In a way, I like having that outside morning time to myself, but on a busy morning, it can be a struggle to fit it in. We haven't had any rain in over a week though.... Your garden looks fantastic!!

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    1. It is the best not having to water :) I agree, my solo walk around the garden in the morning is so soul filling. I hope rain finds you soon. And thank you!

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  13. Fabulous! Everything looks so healthy- and your golden raspberries look divine!

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  14. Lovely, our garden is overrunning with zucchini right now and our tomatoes look to be at about the same growing stage as yours. Maybe I'll get some photos up this week. This makes the summer heat all worth it. Be well.

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    1. Yay for zucchini, we are just starting to get flowers and the first few zucchinis. I can't wait to grill up the first one. Totally makes the summer heat worth it :)

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