So, just to prove the point I made in this post: I wrote this in August. I thought I published it. In my sleep deprivation, I clearly did not. I am going to go ahead and publish it now, just you know, I was thinking about you all and your need to know what the farm was up to!
As it is on just about every farm in America, April-August are pretty much non-stop. We've been busy growing our gardens, our landscaping, our animals, and designing gorgeous fresh cut flower arrangements for weddings and special events, like our son's Junior Prom.
As August begins winding down, and the kids are headed back to school, I find myself looking forward to some peace and quiet, just me, the dogs and the cats. I have an overabundance of zucchini that needs made into bread for the freezer, and SO many tomatoes, I'll be saucing, juicing, slicing and canning for days.
Seeing the garden wind down always leaves me a little sad. This year, we had bumper crops of beans, tomatoes, zucchini/squash, eggplant and collards. We've been thrilled. But, inevitably, even after a ton of rain in the spring, and cooler nights in July, then August heat and dry days, after hours of watering with a hose, of fish fertilizer and weeding, the plants start to call it quits. This week, it's tomatoes. They're starting to show their age, with their dried out lower leaves. They've put out an insane amount of tomatoes, so I understand, they're tired. As the week progresses, I plan on thinning them out and only leaving the healthiest ones to get us through September.
We're also busy getting to plant a second crop of bush beans, cucumbers, and salad greens. I'm toying with the idea of planting beets and turnips for treats for the goats and rabbits.
Oh, and I believe our pygmy goat doe, Eriu, might be expecting again. That...or she's been stealing the hay from her man, Clyde. (I caught Eriu and my sweet baby boy Bres doing just that today. No wonder Clyde always acts like he's starving!)
I'm eager to show some photos of what we've been up to the last few months, since I couldn't ever find the time to really pull a post of true substance together while buried under the weeding, feeding, fertilizing and raising a new livestock guardian dog (more on that later). Just for now, here's a start of what the garden looked like in May when we first started out. I'm already working out next year's plan.
As it is on just about every farm in America, April-August are pretty much non-stop. We've been busy growing our gardens, our landscaping, our animals, and designing gorgeous fresh cut flower arrangements for weddings and special events, like our son's Junior Prom.
As August begins winding down, and the kids are headed back to school, I find myself looking forward to some peace and quiet, just me, the dogs and the cats. I have an overabundance of zucchini that needs made into bread for the freezer, and SO many tomatoes, I'll be saucing, juicing, slicing and canning for days.
Seeing the garden wind down always leaves me a little sad. This year, we had bumper crops of beans, tomatoes, zucchini/squash, eggplant and collards. We've been thrilled. But, inevitably, even after a ton of rain in the spring, and cooler nights in July, then August heat and dry days, after hours of watering with a hose, of fish fertilizer and weeding, the plants start to call it quits. This week, it's tomatoes. They're starting to show their age, with their dried out lower leaves. They've put out an insane amount of tomatoes, so I understand, they're tired. As the week progresses, I plan on thinning them out and only leaving the healthiest ones to get us through September.
We're also busy getting to plant a second crop of bush beans, cucumbers, and salad greens. I'm toying with the idea of planting beets and turnips for treats for the goats and rabbits.
Oh, and I believe our pygmy goat doe, Eriu, might be expecting again. That...or she's been stealing the hay from her man, Clyde. (I caught Eriu and my sweet baby boy Bres doing just that today. No wonder Clyde always acts like he's starving!)
I'm eager to show some photos of what we've been up to the last few months, since I couldn't ever find the time to really pull a post of true substance together while buried under the weeding, feeding, fertilizing and raising a new livestock guardian dog (more on that later). Just for now, here's a start of what the garden looked like in May when we first started out. I'm already working out next year's plan.