Gardening Done

My season of gardening is over. I could never plant anything around fall because most of my vegetables last till fall. Plus, the rainy season pick-up. DH cannot til the soil when it's raining. Even if he can, I think what ever I can plant will drown with all the rain we are having.

I harvested the potatoes I planted from the grocery store. I got more of course, however I didn't like the taste, or should I say they are tasteless and the dead stalks become the home for slugs. I found a lot of eggs and slugs in the holes. I exposed them hoping the cold will kill them and less slugs when springs comes.

I harvested a few cilantro seeds that did not get rained on. I tried harvesting the others that are wet, and since there is no sun, the mold enjoyed them. My one and only lettuce is still in the garden, I'm not sure if it will flower. I hoping to get a few seeds from it for my spring season seeds. I can't even go out there to check on what else I can salvage, my yard is way too wet to walk on.

More Veggies of 2012

Bok Choy/Pak Choy 

Cilantro

Okra 

Squash

My very first eggplant, the flea bug never left this one alone. The leaves are eaten as soon as they sprout. The garlic, oil, & water pesticides that I made does not work here...:(

Long beans/yard beans/sitaw.

I didn't have any pictures of my peas. I planted 3 types of them. I have plenty of seeds for next year along with Pak choy and yard beans. I told DH that we should plant cucumber next year because we are having hard time finding sweet relish with no high fructose corn syrup in them. I will also plant popcorn. I heard they are hardy than the regular corn. I will inquire about comfrey  as well for our compost. I have to find a place where we don't have to move them.

I had read that if I want garlic and onions, that I should plant them now. Well, I don't have seed for both and the garden is not ready for it. I have to read about buckwheat also, I also heard they are good for human consumptions. I have to read more about them. I should probably plant more tomatoes next year for salsa, however, I can still find salsa with no high fructose corn syrup at the the store. I have to search for my grains for feeds. I really wanted to have chicken in the back yard next year. I haven't tried digging my potatoes as of yet. I will wait until all the leaves from the trees are gone. These are my 2012 vegetables.

I have no luck with fruit trees this year. We only gotten a bowl full of blueberries and that's it. My fruit jars are empty this year.

Some Veggies of 2012

Gourd 

Gourd 

Plum/Roma tomatoes. A few nights back DH saw ice on his windshield and sure enough this tomato plant suffered. You can see some withered leaves. Luckily this is the only vegetable leaves withered.

I don't really know what type of tomato this one is. 

Lettuce, the one and only that survive.

Very Moist Soil

Moist spots can be a challenge! Most evergreens prefer a better drained spot, but inkberry (Ilex glabra) is an evergreen which likes moist soil. Another holly, the winterberry (Ilex verticillata), is deciduous but very attractive in the winter nonetheless. The 'Brilliantissima' chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) also makes lovely berries and has excellent fall color. The small, shrubby, stoloniferous dogwoods (Cornus spp.) such as the Redosier have various bark colors and are lovely in the winter. Inkberry and the shrub dogwoods will tolerate sun or shade, the other two prefer more sun. Perennials for a damp sunny spot include Japanese Iris, bee balm, and Joe Pye weed. Shade lovers for wet soil include hosta and astilbe. Most ornamental grasses prefer better drainage, but the variegated sedge grass (Carex) will tolerate moister soil and needs part shade.

Finally A Growing Vegetables

Yes, life in this acre property had been hectic. The children are keeping me busy and on my toes. Not to mention I have to weed everyday to kept them out of my garden. I had been watering them, but I found out that the water I put in the garden wasn't enough.

We had a two days rain last week ( at the end of the week), and what a difference that made. There was not too much pods on my peas before the rain. Then after two days of rain I went out there and check, I was surprised to see that most of them have pods. So, I came to conclusion that I wasn't watering enough.

And what else did the rain helped, the weeds. They never stop growing. I kept telling DH that we should start growing them instead of vegetables. However, I don't see any use for them, rather making alcohol/fuel. We can't eat them but it will power a vehicle, not ours, and use as a lamp when power is out. However, it would be very expensive buying the gadget to make it. I think I will stick to removing them instead.

So, far, our garden have (growing); potatoes, long eggplants, tomatoes, three kinds of peas, long/yard beans, pak/bok choy (seeds kept on growing years after years from the ground, I never have to plant any seeds at all), okra, squash, melon, and cilantros. I also planted garlic from the one I bought from the store (to use everyday at home, from the vegetable area of a grocery store, not from packets) as well as ginger. They are doing very well. Looking forward on harvesting them from our garden.

These are the cilantro and a few pak/bok choy.

Summer is Here, and of course Mosquitoes

During my research about watering gardens, I came across a tip that the best way to do is in the afternoon. I usually do it early in the morning before my children wake up and ask everything under the sun.

Well, last night was very hot and I decided to let my vegetables drink/cool down with some water. It was fine at the beginning, however I started to enjoy it and in the process I lure some mosquitoes to join me.

Those little pests left six big bumps on my legs, arm and shoulder. So today, I got my sprinkler out of the garage. They can't get a meal out of me anymore. DH commented that most of these pest likes Asian blood. I think they can tell that Asians have the healthiest blood...lol. Or I should say that I have a healthy blood.

I hate bugs. Oh by the way, I started planting seeds in the garden last week. Most of the beans and squash are out because I replaced the black plastic for four days. The seeds that I bought this year are giving me such hard time. They sprout very fast & tall, then die when they fall because the stem cannot support the two leaves they get.

I tried planting them directly into the garden (last week), but I have not seen any of them sprout yet.

Now to blueberries next to our front walk path: every time I see them with ripe blueberries I picked them and eat on the spot...I think I will harvest about a bowl full this year.

I didn't find concord grapes this year at my local farm who sells fruit trees. I will try again next year, I guess. 

Fruit Trees

Pears

Peaches

Plums

Blueberries

There are not much on the tree at this time. From storm with strong winds, most these little fruits did not made it. Except for blueberries, their counts are still the same from the start.

Way Too Wet Now

I was very happy when we were able to mix the soil before the rainy weeks came. The garden is covered with black plastic like I said before. We are waiting for the grass to grow and die before removing it. Well, with all the rain we are having, even my seeds are not sprouting and the grass under the cover are not growing. I might end up with no fresh vegetables this year...AGAIN.

Each fruit trees have small fruits in them. I'm not sure if they will not fall with all the rain and storms we are having. I have my garlic oil spray ready. I can't hardly spray them because it will get wash from the rain. Even the asparagus on the staging area is not having any more sprouts. I cannot pick the seeds because they are soaking wet.

I wish I just planted the seeds directly on the ground after mixing it. At least they are already in the ground and all I have to do is removed the cover when they sprouted. Ah, another lesson learned here.

Garden is Done

Yes, the weather had been dry for us and our garden is done. I still have the seedlings inside the house. The beans are growing like crazy but I can't put them out yet because we still get cold nights. We could not find a place to get dry manure this year, so we used all of our used coffee grind and DH mixed it a lot of times. Right now the garden is covered with plastic to stop the weeds or grass for growing. We did not made it bigger because we still need to turn the soil. It was hard to use the tiller when the soil wasn't turn first. The man in the picture is DH. The bucket/pail at the bottom of the picture is where I put all the rocks I found after DH mixed the soil. I was following behind him picking all I can find. Hoping it will help my carrots to shoot downward rather than all directions because of rocks. Looking forward to a great harvest. How about you?

Hello Spring! Giveaway

After a long winter cold month, spring can be very exciting time for me. My children cannot wait for the constant warm temperature. They can finally spend a lot of time outside far away from each other, and that means less arguing and fighting.

As for me, spring is the best time to start our vegetable garden. My family is not big with vegetables however, we try every year to plant. Knowing what kind of soil my vegetables came from is very important. Hopefully we can buy a bigger lot and become self sufficient. Anyway, I helped DH till/mix the garden once yesterday. He bought an attachment for his tractor and yesterday was the very first time he used it on our garden. I tell him all the time that we should go live where I came from to garden all year long. Maybe one of these years, we will eventually say yes.

I also love admiring the different color of spring, especially the flowers. The only sad part of spring for me is the sneezing. I'm not use to allergic on anything, but I think it came with age. No, I do not take drugs for it. Actually, I like it when I sneeze however that's always not the case. There is plenty of time that I can't do it and even looking straight to the sun does not cut it. Yes, it can be prostrated at times.

All in all, I love spring. This is my entry post to "HELLO SPRING CASH GIVEAWAY." If you are interested about entering, just click the link.

Elderberry

This is the one and only Elderberry we have. The information from the tag says that this is going to be tall and wide. We only bought one because of its medicinal properties and having more than one will crowd everything around the house. However, we might still buy three Apricot for its medicinal properties also. Our weekend had been very hectic, and we haven't visit the local tree farm yet.

Pear Tree

One of the three Pear tree that is. I cannot put all three in one shot. And if I take a picture one by one, they look like all the same.

Blueberries

These are our blueberry area. Yes, still no mulch because DH cannot find a truck he can borrow for free. Having the mulch deliver to our house will cost more than the mulch itself. We do have a truck but cannot haul anything heavy, we might end up losing the little truck.

The warm temperature we had last week was followed by colder ones this week. I'm not really sure if the peaches got pollinated by the wild bees last week. I have not seen much bees last week.

You can see our kitten, maybe the 8th litter from our cat. This one is the second look alike we kept. The first one got hit by a passing car. Hopefully this one is smarter. She is the same as the last one, playful and jump on your lap when you are sitting and not doing anything. I love playful cats.

Staging Area

This Asparagus was given to us by DH friend. He actually gave this to us sometimes in January. It was living in our basement for a while. Then his friend kept on asking if DH planted them yet. So, here they are in a staging area. We will not harvest them this year, and hopefully by next year we can move it in a better area. Yes, they are thriving well. Can you see three asparagus?

Fruit Trees Survived the Winter

I am very happy to report that all of our fruit trees survive the winter. They are very willing to blossoms and most of them have, except for the apples, blueberries, and elderberry. These three have buds and leaves sprouting, maybe they are late bloomers (I'm not sure). Click images to see it better.

Peach Tree

Plum Tree

We have three of each of the above fruit trees. I thought I took a picture of the Pear, however I cannot find it in list of what I had taken. I have to take another one later. I hate being out in the back yard when my neighbors are outside too. I feel funny taking pictures of the trees.

More update to come since spring came early this year. I can't wait to sank my teeth to all the fruits my family will be having this year...I hope.

We Want This

This property is located half hour south west of us. It sits across from a golf course and the house is well hidden at the back where the tress are. It has a little brook that I bet get enough water when raining to run a wheel to power the house.

In addition, it has one detach big garage with power and fire place. One summer kitchen that looks like a barn (run down of course) where I can make my soaps and combing my yarns. Self sufficient here we come. I wish, the realtor agent hasn't get back to us yet. We have a feeling that it's not for sale anymore...sigh:(

The front clear part is perfect for an orchard. The clearing on top will be our farm. Ahhh, not to mention the goats, sheep, chickens, and cow that we can have. Ahh, self sufficient...on 14 acres.

OK, I am dreaming. We need to contact the agents again, first. The perimeter I drew is less than 14 acres. Maybe it touches the other farm behind the property, we will find out as soon as we speak to someone.

What a Nice Day

It's been very nice at my neck of the woods since yesterday. I went for a walk around the yard and the ground is not squishy at all. The problem is, DH started working on Monday. That means he is not home to do the tilling for me.

With my luck, when he don't have to work, then it will rain and the ground will be so muddy to mix. I can't win with this weather. Last year, it never stopped raining when it was time to till the garden. This time, DH has no time to do it...ugh.

Green House Started

DH and his friend are putting the greenhouse together. I never thought how big it was until all the pieces are together. I thought what DH had standing was half of it, what they added today was more than half of the whole thing.

Actually, DH was using it as a garage when he still have his business. That was more than 11 years ago. We have to buy more plastic covering for it because half of what he used to half is ruined. Hoping I can start my seedling soon. I can't wait.

2/21/2012

In Need of Things

Well, DH friend was nice enough (not really) to lend his spinning wheel to us and he also bought wool for us to try making yarn. DH and I paid for the wool when he got to our house. The spinning wheel wasn't even set-up and they did it when he got here. Yes, new not even open. I priced it and found out it was pretty expensive.

The wool that he bought was spun (pieces connected together to make a big spool) just like other people who sells them. However, I don't think it was washed or comb at all. DH argue with me that it is because all I have to do is put it on the stake and start spinning.

First, I haven't spin anything in my life. Second, I watch so much video that people that does this for a long time have a very nice looking wool for spinning. I kept telling DH that our wool is not even close to them.

Today, I showed him a few videos and he finally agree with me that the wool needed combing. And yes, we need to buy wool comb and hackle set. I like them better than two combs, or carder (i don't really know what you call it).

He tried spinning the wool the way it is, but it was very clumpy. Plus I can still see some grass in them. The cheapest set I found was from Etsy, it is hand made and will be coming from Colorado. If only my father is not too far away, I can have hand made by him before this weekend is over. I bet it will be done by tomorrow. Or I can ask DH to make one. Hopefully he can whip one before summer comes...:)) that would be something.

2nd Snow Fall of the Season

That's right, (1/21/12) today we had our second snow fall. I'm glad that I can say, "second" and not a higher number. However, the weather is still pretty cold. One more month and the winter months will be over. I am looking forward to longer day light. Moving back to the tropic will solve all of my daylight problem, but that is another story. Have a great January everyone! (whatever is left of it)