Evie and Daddy planted cucurbits last Thursday (Holy Thursday). Four or Five different varieties of winter squash, with two varieties of pumpkin and three rather scrawny looking cucumbers and two absolutely emaciated melons. (We have never had a good melon harvest. I am about ready to give up on them.) It has been unseasonably dry,… Continue reading Cucurbits in the Garden.
Category: Gardening and Homesteading
Catch Up
We are a little behind on blogging. Holy Week and the Triduum were busy, plus the kids decided to start a little Strepidemic running through the house. So what can we say, it's been an off week. Happy cows are tasty cows! The willow and witch hazel in the pasture are starting to leaf out.… Continue reading Catch Up
Finishing the Gutters
Tuesday was the easiest day of putting up gutters I have ever experienced. This was true for three reasons: The weather was gorgeous, warm but not hot, with no wind. This side of the roof is low enough I can reach it from the ground. This makes moving back and forth much faster, since I… Continue reading Finishing the Gutters
The Meat Ducks
After our success with raising ducks last year, we have decided to raise a batch of meat ducks this year. We bought twenty Grimaud Pekins from Metzer farm. They are a fast-growing variety of pekin ducks from a French breeder (Grimaud) that are supposed to have a more efficient feed conversion ratio, and reach 8… Continue reading The Meat Ducks
Make Ready for Ducklings
Tomato troubles
Let's see how the tomatoes are doing in their little house. Look at this... Happy little 'mater plant in there. Look at him just growing away. But that was before we sowed sunflower seeds. Two days later... All the tomatoes are looking great except the two closest to the water riser. Those have been trampled… Continue reading Tomato troubles
Monday, Bread Day.
Monday is the day we bake bread, most weeks. We try to get it done as early as possible in the morning, so that we can have fresh bread for lunch. Since Seppi still doesn't have very much school this year, and Winnie has no school at all (except for coloring "pretty pictures") they usually… Continue reading Monday, Bread Day.
Ellie’s Garden
While we don't have an active garden at the house anymore (we barely have time for the one garden at the farm) Ellie still cares about her little flower bed at the end of the orchard. Still looks pretty wintery, but... There are some buds on some of the trees. Especially this little Hollywood Plum.… Continue reading Ellie’s Garden
Planting out Cold Weather Crops
A tray of brussels sprouts. A tray of celery. A tray of Swiss chard and a tray of cabbage. All the girls are inside, out of the rain. You can see where the cold frame was. Of course, what we didn't know when we planted these out was that there is a storm developing off… Continue reading Planting out Cold Weather Crops
Building a Low Tunnel
First of, I can't claim any credit for this idea, but it was too cheap and simple and quick to build, I just had to steal it. It comes from a youtube channel by a vegetable grower in Saskatoon, and the whole channel has some great insights and tips. I mentioned before we built the… Continue reading Building a Low Tunnel