Ap. 29 - May 5, 2012

Temperature Range:

• lows: 55 - 67° F
• highs: 83 - 87° F

Rainfall: sprinkle

Planted:

• tomatoes, Amish Paste (Sustainable)
• borage (Pinetree Gardens)
• marigolds, antique (saved seeds)
• BOSS (boughten bird seed)
• cucumbers, Marketmore 76 (saved seeds)
• Eggplant, Florida High Bush (Seed Savers)
• soup beans, Dwarf Horticultural Taylor (Sustainable)
• buckwheat

Harvested:

• strawberries (just a few)
• lettuce
• broccoli
• carrots

Egg Counts

• Sun. 8
• Mon. 7
• Tues. 7
• Wed. 10
• Thurs. 8
• Fri. 7
• Sat. 8
• Week's Total: 55

Observed & Accomplished:

Sunday

• day of rest
• days are getting hotter
• potted ginger is sprouting

Monday

• pulled all but one collard cabbage for seed
• did a lot of my spring planting

Tuesday

• raked up hay and cut more
• Dan tilled part of this summer's corn patch
• ordered barley & flax seed

Wednesday

• magnolia is blooming
• planted buckwheat near the almond tree where the old landscape cloth isn't pinned to the ground
• brought house plants outside
• scales on Meyers Lemon (scraped & washed off)
• compost worms seems sparse in that big bed, but they're there
• starting to get hot. I'm not ready for that

Thursday

• scythed & raked more hay
• Dan finished tilling the corn patch
• repotted banana tree

Saturday

• Dan finished scything pasture for hay

October 23 - 29, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 41 - 51 F
• highs:  57 - 74 F

Rainfall: 0.25"

Planted: 

• 1st section of winter wheat

Harvested:

• horehound
• sage
• Hutterite soup beans
• calendula flowers
• kale
• beet greens
• broccoli thinnings
• lettuce
• collards
• cabbage leaves

Seeds saved:

• okra
• antique marigolds

Gathered:

• pecans
• wild onion tops

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 0
• Mon. 1
• Tues. 2
• Wed. 0
• Thurs. 1
• Fri. 0
• Sat 1
• Week's total: 5

Accomplished & Observed:

Sunday

• day of rest
• added chopped wild onion tops to scrambled eggs
• found one of my layers (the Delaware) dead in the coop

Monday

• picked herbs & dried beans
• gathered & shelled pecans

Tuesday

• pulled half the okra plants & fed to goats
• pulled 1 bed of popcorn stalks
• cleaned chicken coop & spread litter over an empty bed for the winter
• pulled dead melon vines. Noted nematode nodes on roots
• made yogurt

Thursday

• planted 1st section of wheat
• tilled for a 2nd section
• cut broom corn sprouts to dry for goats
• gathered more pecans

Friday

• waxed cheese #15

Saturday

• a light rain
• autumn has definitely arrived
• frost warning for tonight

October 16 - 22, 2011

Temperature Range

• lows: 35 - 54 F
• highs: 54 - 79 F

Rainfall: 0.6"

Harvested:

• spearmint
• thyme
• sweet potatoes
• beets
• pecans
• persimmons

Preserved:

• 1 ice cube tray of whey
• 1 hard cheese

Seeds saved:

• antique marigold

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 1
• Mon. 0
• Tues. 1
• Wed. 1
• Thurs. 2
• Fri. 1
• Sat. 2
• Week's Total: 8

Accomplished:

Sunday
• day of rest
• discovered deer had been eating & pulling out my beets!
• covered beets with black plastic for the night
Monday
• harvested 2nd bed of sweet potatoes
• made cheese
• covered beets again
Tuesday
• rain
Wednesday
• more rain
• made mozzarella
• gathered pecans
• made sweet potato fries!
• Dan made a live animal trap to catch the ground hog living under the house
• no further deer damage so far
Thursday
• gathered & shelled pecans
• one of the Welsummers is laying again
• ground hog trap remains empty
Friday
• heard 2 owls in our oak trees before 1st light
• gathered more pecans
Saturday
• checked persimmon tree & gathered what we could
• gathered pecans
• tilled part of the corn field to plant wheat

Sept 11 - 17, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 53 - 63
• highs: 63 - 89

Rainfall: sprinkle

Planted:

• turnips, white globe purple top (saved seed)
• mangels, Colossal Long Red (Shumways)
• cabbage seeds, Late Flat Dutch (Henry Fields)
• Egyptian Walking Onion sets, (Chris)

Harvested:

• last of the broom corn
• mature cukes for seed
• cowpeas
• onions, the ones I could find
• almonds
• volunteer turnip (only 1)
• a few more ears of field corn
• Vardeman sweet potatoes

Seeds Saved:

• antique marigolds
• giant marigolds
• cowpeas
• pole beans, KY wonder

Preserved:

• two hard cheeses
• handful sweet pepper, frozen

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 4
• Mon. 1
• Tues. 4
• Wed. 1
• Thurs. 4
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 2
• Week's Total: 20

Accomplished:

Sunday
• day of rest
Monday
• harvested last of broom corn
• started weeding strawberry/asparagus bed in search of the onions
• made mozzarella
• cleaned up several summer garden beds
• watered fall garden
• watered fruit trees
• pulled some wheat heads for a sample of flour & pancakes
• shelling cowpeas
Tuesday
• planted cabbage seed, turnips, mangels, Egyptian Walking onions
• watered onions
• hunted for wild muscadines. No joy.
• made hard cheese
• froze sweet pepper
Wednesday
• cleared out front flower bed
• deadheaded marigolds
• watered almond & crabapple trees
Thursday
• checked for dried pole beans, found a few more ears of corn
Friday
• harvested Vardeman sweet potatoes
Saturday
• no garden activities

April Wk. 4: 24 - 30

Temperature Range:

• lows: 50 - 67 F
• highs: 77 - 84 F

Rainfall: sprinkle

Planted:

• bergamot seedlings 
• bergamot seeds (Shumway)
• skullcap seedling 
• Roma tomato plants (local feed store)
• Vardaman sweet potato slips (Shumway)
• summer savory (Pinetree)
• dill seed (saved)
• field corn, Truckers Favorite (Shumway)

Transplanted:

• volunteer marigolds

Harvested:

• strawberries
• yarrow
• wild onions
• carrots

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 4
• Mon. 6
• Tues. 5
• Wed. 7
• Thurs. 6
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 4
• Week's Total: 36

Eating our own:

• fresh lettuce
• fresh strawberries
• fresh carrots
• fresh broccoli
• fresh eggs
• canned green beans
• canned blueberry jam
• canned apple butter
• canned pizza sauce
• canned sweet potatoes
• canned strawberry jam
• frozen green pepper
• goats milk

Accomplished:

• covered old strawberry beds with black plastic
• starting to mulch strawberry/asparagus beds
• tilled corn field
• trimmed branches overhanging corn field

Observations:

• Blooming: irises, honeysuckle, wild roses

April Wk. 3: 17 - 23

Temperature Range:

• lows: 41 - 63 F
• highs: 51 - 82 F

Rainfall: 0.65"

Planted:

• spearmint seedlings (Shumway)
• green nutmeg melon (Pinetree)
• St. Johnwort seedlings (Pinetree)
• marigolds, antique (Chris)
• zinnias, antique lavender (Chris)
• horehound seedlings (Pinetree)
• horehound seed (Pinetree)
• skullcap seed (Baker Creek)
• pyrethrum seed (Shumway)
• chicory seed (Sustainable)
• calendula seed (saved)
• cukes, Marketmore (Baker Creek)
• Hungarian poppy (Baker Creek)
• Valerian (Pinetree)
• giant marigolds (Chris)
• broad leaf parsley (Pinetree)
• Ruby Chard (Baker Creek)

Transplanted:

• marigolds

Harvested:

• beets (last of, except a few for seed)
• lettuce
• carrots
• 1st 2 strawberries!

Gathered:

• cleavers
• wild onions

Preserved:

• dehydrated wild onions
• dried cleavers herb

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 4
• Mon. 5 (+2 hidden)
• Tues. 6
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 2
• Fri. 2 (+ 1 hidden)
• Sat. 7
• Week's Total: 33

Eating our own:

• canned green beans
• canned pizza sauce
• canned Swiss chard
• canned sweet potatoes
• canned blueberry jam
• dehydrated onions
• fresh eggs
• fresh broccoli
• fresh lettuce
• fresh carrot
• frozen green peppers
• frozen corn
• frozen summer squash
• sauerkraut

Accomplished:

• made more terraced garden beds
• weeded echinacea/hollyhock bed
• weeded asparagus & strawberries
• starting to fill herb beds

Observations:

• English peas blooming (at last!)
• 1st echinacea bloom
• small peaches forming 
• strawberries beginning to ripen
• everything needs mulch!!!
• ginger rhizome sprouting
• wheat heads forming

April Wk. 2: 10 - 16

Temperature Range

• lows: 44 - 61 F
• highs: 63 - 83 F

Rainfall: 1.65"

Planted:

• fingerling salad potatoes
• cabbage plants
• marigolds, mixed Brocade
• cow peas, Ozark Razorback
• tomato plants, Roma
• tomato plants, Brandywine
• petunia plants
• chicory seedlings

Transplanted:

• calendula

Harvested:

• lettuce
• broccoli
• beets

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 5
• Mon. 5
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 6
• Thurs. 6
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 5 (+1)
• Week's total: 35

Eating our own:

• fresh eggs
• fresh lettuce
• fresh broccoli
• fresh beets
• frozen okra
• frozen green pepper
• canned blueberry jam
• canned apple butter
• canned applesauce
• canned dill pickles
• canned figs
• canned green tomato salsa
• canned pizza sauce
• dried cantaloupe
• dried apples
• sauerkraut

Fed to chickens & goats:

• amaranth
• broccoli plants
• sunflower seed heads
• cabbage plants
• rose bush prunings
• weeds

Accomplished:

• tilled annual rye in
• weeded strawberries
• working on permanent beds
• pulled old cabbage, broccoli, & Swiss chard plants
• cleaned out goat shed & started new compost pile

Observed:

• Mourning doves calling in the evenings
• heard an owl back in the woods
• poison ivy taking over again (sigh)

April 17, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 59 F
~ high 79 F

Planted:
~ Stowell's Evergreen sweet corn (untreated)
~ white half-runner bean
~ marigold plants

Harvested:
~ broccoli (fall planted) - 1.1 oz
~ carrots (fall planted) - 2 ct, 2.3 oz
~ radishes (spring planted) - 8 ct, 3.1 oz

April 15, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 52 F
~ high 77 F

Planted:
~ 30 Roma tomato seedlings
~ 5 Chinese Giant sweet pepper seedlings
~ 5 sweet basil seedlings
~ the rest of the comfrey
~ marigolds

Notes on planting tomato & pepper seedlings:
~ Found some 9-12-12 tomato fertilizer in the cabinet and added a spoonful of that to each hole
~ made a newspaper cutworm collar for each
~ planted marigold seedlings in between each tomato plant

January 30, 2010

Everything's covered with ice today, from freezing rain. Highs barely above freezing.
Rainfall - 0.9"

Checked on my seed germination test:
~ leeks - 60% germination
~ echinacea - needs about another week (germination 10 to 12 days)
~ marigolds - none yet.

January 26, 2010

Started test for viability of some old:
~ echinacea seeds
~ marigold seeds
~ leek seeds (American Flag)

Procedure:
place 10 seeds of each on several sheets of dampened paper towel. Roll up paper towels, roll up in dampened wash cloth and place in plastic zip lock bag. leave in warm place 4 - 5 days.

Check on Saturday or Sunday