Homemade Pickles - Straight from the Garden

 

 

Garden Update - Before & After

One benefit of living in Florida is the extended growing season. We are lucky that fairly mild winters make it possible for me to have a second planting...almost a second "garden."

Due to the heat of the summer, my garden started to slow in its production. The peppers remained the main staples that were able to brave and survive the heat. The volunteer watermelon did well, giving us four large watermelon. The tomatoes did fine too...that is until Lincoln broke into the garden and decided to romp through them, breaking many of the plants. We got one nice egg plant during the summer. The lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, potatoes and onions were a bust. Still operating on a Virginia planting cycle, I planted them too late into the season and they basically fried in the early heat wave we saw in May.

Below are photos of the garden at the close of summer -



Once the heat started to die down, I decided it was time to rip out the no longer producing plants and till under the overgrowth to prepare for my fall planting. I spent three hours one day pulling up plants, ripping out weeds, and tilling. Very therapeutic.

Here are some photos from my newly prepared-for-planting garden -




I have since planted three sections of green beans, with two types of lettuce and spinach in between. The broccoli and cauliflower that I started from seed have been transplanted next to my two sections of sweet potatoes. My egg plant decided to re-flower and currently has three fruit. The pepper plants (jalapeno, banana, bell, and cayenne) are still producing. I'm hoping to purchase a few tomato plants at the farmer's market this weekend, and will try to grow onions from seed again this fall. I am waiting for my garlic to arrive in the mail, and as soon as it does, I'll get it in the ground. The pumpkin plants that I started and transplanted, didn't make it. I think they got root bound before they were transplanted. I will miss having our own pie pumpkins this year, and am hoping that the farmer's market and/or our CSA will have some nice ones I can use to make pumpkin puree.

I am pleased with this year's garden. I am still working to learn the growing seasons down here. I figure as soon as I get everything figured out, it will be time to move again. I'm looking forward to seeing how this fall planting works out. I'll keep you posted.

A Fabulous Farm Fieldtrip

Today we celebrated Earth Day by going on a fieldtrip to a local farm. This farm is actually the one I get our free range chicken and eggs from, and starting next week (as well as in the fall), where I will be getting my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetables.

The kids got a chance to walk around the farm and see the raised vegetable beds, which they weren’t overly thrilled about. Mr. Farmer and one of our homeschool moms got to chatting about some organic/natural farming methods and the kids were not interested, so they wandered around, climbing on wood piles and playing with the farm cats. I enjoyed seeing how Mr. Farmer planted the vegetables in his raised beds so close together; having some vegetables “share” the same space. An example was turnips and carrots. Mr. Farmer explained that since the turnips would be harvested much sooner than the carrots, they could occupy the same space because when the turnips were ready to come out, the carrots would be ready to start rooting more deeply and would then have the space needed to thrive. I didn’t plant my seeds as closely as Mr. Farmer did, but did utilize more of a wide row planting method as opposed to traditional rows. I’ll have to do some more research and see if maybe next year I can have some of my veggies “share” the same space, thus saving me precious garden space.

The laying chickens and sheep were a huge success. There was a four day old lamb and a twelve day old lamb that the kids took a liking too. Mr. Farmer let the kids into the pen with the laying hens and let them feed the chickens some fresh grass. I was proud that none of the kids chased the birds, but instead respected their space and crouched down to feed the birds, allowing the birds to come to the kids if they were interested. The meat chickens weren’t as interesting. They were kept in smaller pens that are moved every day to allow them fresh “grazing” space. We had some vegans in the mix, so I’m not sure that the talk of utilizing animals for meat was very popular.

Mr. Farmer showed the kids a wild blackberry that had vined itself around a small hedge and the kids went to town. I don’t think my kids had ever had blackberries before, but let me tell you my boys loved them. Jolie wasn’t a big fan, but enjoyed picking them for her brothers. We also went mole cricket hunting, with no success.

The kids wrapped up the fieldtrip planting seeds of their own in small peat pots. Jake and Jensen planted watermelon, and Jolie planted watermelon and sunflowers. I have some watermelon plants ready to go in the ground, so we should have plenty of watermelon to go around this year. I also got to take home some goodies. Mr. Farmer had some left over pepper and tomato plants, so I grabbed two large red cherry tomato, two banana pepper, two jalapeño pepper, and two bell pepper plants. I need to try to get them in the garden tomorrow.

My kids left saying that they all wanted to be farmers when they grew up. I said I too wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. Jake spoke with Mr. Farmer about coming back at some point and doing some work around the farm. I think that might be a great plan. Mr. Farmer offered to have us back again soon, maybe to see one of the other plots they have…either cows, timber, or some other wonderful farm area.

I think it the farm fieldtrip was a wonderful way to spend Earth Day. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Updated Garden

Okay. So I'm still slacking in the blogging department, but the garden is coming along.

Here is an updated view of My Garden Design. The items off to the side have yet to be planted.

I hope to get a bell pepper plant this week and get the pumpkin, watermelon, and cucumber planted. I still haven't found a place for the vining plants. They will probably have to be planted outside of the fenced garden because of spacing issues. My herbs have not yet arrived from the organic grower. I'm not pleased thus far with that particular seed company, so we'll see if I order from then again. Hopefully the herbs will arrive this week. I've decided to plant them out front, again because of spacing issues. My garlic will be arriving this fall some time. The last thing I need to do is to order my sweet potato slips. I could/should have started them on my own, but I want several varieties that aren't available at the natural foods store.

Let me know what you think. I know the garden will be crowded, but I'd rather use every square inch rather than loose out on precious gardening space.

Tilling Begins

The garden is coming along. I went ahead and started tilling on Saturday. I worked until I ran out of gas, tilling about 50 sq. ft. I estimate the garden will be 500 sq ft. or so. The tilling wasn’t hard. The soil isn’t as sandy as I thought it would be. It isn’t nearly as fertile as our soil in central Washington, but I think it will work. I decided to wait on the mushroom compost (I don’t have a truck readily available to get it here and delivery costs as much as the compost itself!). I will use what compost I have out of my composter as mulch once the plants are established. We’ll see if I’ll need something more to supplement.

My fence was finished yesterday, and looks wonderful. Thanks, Big Al.

Today was beautiful, so I was able to get half the garden tilled. It took some time and I got a workout, but I got it done. I was so excited when I finished that I went ahead and planted about ¼ of the garden. I redesigned my garden on PlanGarden.com. I’m not done with the remodel…it’s a work in progress. After printing out my original plan and taking it to the garden, it just wasn’t flowing well.

I decided to plan my peas between the different varieties of corn. Since peas tend to like cooler weather, I thought that some shade from the corn stalks might be helpful. We’ll see. I’ve not had much success with corn before, so I’m hoping they will do well.

I plan to plant another ¼ of the garden tomorrow and will hopefully get some more tilling done. We have freeze watch in effect for the next two nights, so I’ll be bringing in my tomato, pepper, strawberry and cucumber seedlings to ensure they don’t sustain any damage. As soon as the warning has lifted, I hope to get them in the ground, hopefully before the end of the week.

Let the gardening begin!

Getting Started on the Garden

After what seems like forever, we were able to get started on the garden today.

The weather has not been cooperative the past week or so, preventing any real outside work. Tornado warnings and flash flooding tend to keep home gardeners inside. The rain was much needed, though, and helped to green up our no longer dormant lawn. My rain barrels runneth over and are eager to be of assistance during the dry weeks.

We have also been waiting on our “fence guy” to get started on our fence. We debated back and forth for several weeks about what type of fence we wanted to enclose our garden. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t need a fence at all. But as you saw, my angelic puppy and his little sidekick enjoy making landscaping adjustments without prior approval, necessitating a garden enclosure. I originally thought that a simple poultry fence would be fine, but after looking at one at a friend’s house, I wasn’t sure that it would hold up to the dogs. I then thought that maybe a chain link fence would work. It would allow plenty of light through and keep the dogs out. My fence guy suggested a wood picket fence, which he felt would add much more value to the property and didn’t cost much more than the chain link. I decided on a short, wood picket fence. Fence Guy is going to hand make it so that the slats will be wider apart than a standard fence, allowing the most light through without letting Chester in. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product…hopefully before the end of the week.

Jake, Jolie, and I spent the morning digging up and transferring piles of last year’s pine needles and oak leaves that we saved from last year. Well, actually they just didn't fit into our composter, so we had to pile them all up next to the composter and add them to the mix as the compost broke down over time. We spread the partially decomposed material over the garden area, having just enough to cover most of the garden. My goal is to have the area tilled before the weekend so that I can add one more layer. I will be getting one cubic yard of mushroom compost from a local garden supply store this weekend to spread over the top and till it one more time. If the weather holds, hopefully I’ll be able to start planting Sunday after church.

Here are some photos -

Before



Step 1

Mother Nature's Reminder

Since placing my seed orders, I’ve received one box of seeds in the mail. I have measured out the garden and started working with the PlanGarden software. Jolie and I bought some tomato and pepper plants from the farmer’s market last weekend and are planning to get some strawberry plants this weekend. There are also some blueberry bushes and an orange tree in our near future.

Needless to say, I have the itch to get planting.

Luckily for me, Mother Nature has her own special way of reminding those of us with plant-itis to just hold our horsies for a little bit longer. Several nights of below freezing temperatures will solidify that hint every time.

It has been cold here the past few nights with temps in the low 30s at night and mid 50s during the day. According to PlanGarden, our last spring frost is around March 13th, so not too long before I can really get out there and get my hands dirty. There are a few plants that I can start indoors. Unfortunately, most of those plants are in my second seed order that hasn’t arrived. Hopefully it will be here soon, so I can get some of those seeds started.

Here is my garden plan thus far.

My Garden Design

I’m not finished with it yet. I still have some tweaking to do here and there, but you can get the general idea of it all.

I’ll keep an eye on the weather and follow Mother Nature’s cues. I’ll plant soon, but not too soon. Mother Nature is sure to keep my on my toes this year.

Seed Orders are In

I finally got around to ordering the seeds for my garden. I’m probably a little late considering we live in Florida and the weather seems to be making the shift toward spring. I am also delinquent in planning my garden design, building fencing, and getting my tilling done. If the weather holds, I will be getting my hands dirty this weekend for sure. I did find a garden planning website that looks promising. Plangarden.com has a 45-day free trial, so I think I might give them a try and see if it works for me.

I ordered seeds and live plants from two different companies. I’ve never ordered seeds online before. In the past, I have just grabbed some seeds when we were at a home improvement store and threw them in the ground. I have had fairly good luck with my generic seeds, but since we are making adjustments in other areas of our lives in order to be more health and eco-conscious, I decided it was time to spring for something a little different.

As I learn more about homesteading, becoming self-sustaining, improving our nutrition, and eco-friendly practices, I am realizing the importance of growing food to sustain my family nutritionally and financially, as well as ensuring that my gardening is having a positive impact on the environment.

Buying organic is important to me not only for the nutritional value of the organic food, but also the way in which the food is grown. There is some great information on sustainable agriculture and organic farming on the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website. We buy organic products to reduce the amount of pesticides being used, support non-GMO crops, and encourage the growth of the local farming community.

Because our garden is in the start-up phases this year due to our move, we have decided to participate in our local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program offered by one of the local farmers. His produce will help to supplement the veggies and fruits we will have in our garden this year. We are also currently purchasing eggs from this local farmer and will have chicken this spring and turkey in the fall. Supporting the local famers is important to our family, so we will be making a trip to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday to see what is available.

It should be no surprise that the seeds I ordered are organic, open-pollinated, and in many cases heirloom. I am excited about their arrival and know that I need to get a move on so that I’m ready to plant not long after they arrive.

Here is the list of seeds (by company) that I ordered. I’m looking forward to trying out some new varieties (Hopi Blue Flour Corn, for instance) and getting back in touch with some old favorites (Blue Lake Bush Green Beans).

Wish us luck!

Seeds of Change
Seeds-
CAULIFLOWER, ALL-THE-YEAR-ROUND
CORN, HOPI BLUE FLOUR
CORN, DAKOTA BLACK POPCORN
CORN, SWEET, HOOKERS
CORN, SWEET, STOWELLS
ONION, VALENCIA
PEA, SHELL, PIONEER
PEA SNAP, CASCADIA

Heirloom Acres Seeds
Seeds-
Black Turtle Bean
Small Reds Bean
Black Eyed Pea
Sunflower, Mammoth Gray Striped
Blue Lake Bush Green Bean
Green Sprouting Broccoli
RedCore Chanteney Carrot
Paris White Cos Romaine Lettuce
Buttercrunch Head Lettuce
Evergreen White Bunching Oregon
Sugar Pod Snow Pea
California Wonder Pepper
Jalapeno Pepper
Long Red Cayenne Pepper
Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach
Sugar Baby Watermelon
Tall Utah Celery
Sesame

Live Plants-
Inchelium Red (garlic)
Yukon Gold Potato
Bay, SweetDill Plant
Basil, Genovese
Chives, Onion
Parsley, Flat
Rosemary, Arp
Sage, Broadleaf
Oregano, Greek
Tarragon, French
Thyme, English