Day 100 of 365

Clear before sunrise,
beautiful almost full moon.
Then the sky turned gray.

• Low: 50
• High: 75

Started to rain after evening chores. We only got a sprinkle.

Planted:

• cucumbers, Straight 8 (Shumway's)
• radishes, Pink Beauty (Sustainable Seed Co)
• sorghum, Mennonite, (Baker Creek)
• popcorn, Japanese Hull-less (Shumway's)
• 2 hybrid tomato plants

The cukes are a new variety for me. I planted them in the 3rd pea bed, thinking I'd like to try growing cukes with a trellis. The radish seeds are leftover from last year and were a freebie. The tomato plants are for green tomatoes to can for frying. (Not worried about saving seed from these).

Harvested:

• parsnips

Coming Up:

• potatoes
• Jerusalem artichokes
• sugar beets
• Red Detroit beets
• Swiss chard (I think)
• flax? or else there's an awful lot of something coming up in that bed!

Found 5 eggs stashed behind the hay feeder. 

And somebody took a big bite out of my almost ripe strawberry!!!! I dug out a row cover and covered the bed with that. There are a lot of green berries so here's hoping for a good harvest. 

Eating:

• milk kefir
• water kefir (soda)
• goat cheese
• sourdough bread
• goat milk
• lettuce

Feb, 5 - 11, 2012

Temperature Range

• lows: - 23 - 49 F
• highs: 42 - 68 F

Rainfall: scant

Harvested:

• beets
• kale
• radishes
• collards
• cabbage-collards

Gathered:

• acorns for the goats

Egg Counts

• Sun. 7
• Mon. 6
• Tues. 9
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 8
• Fri. 6
• Sat. 8
• Week's Total: 48

Accomplished & Observed
Sunday

• day of rest
• break in the rain
• sprayed wheat with fish emulsion (5-1-1)

Tuesday

• cutting down milking to every other day
• pickled hard boiled eggs are yummy!

Wednesday

• day started with a drizzly rain
• terraced a few more garden beds
• mulched a few more garden beds
• steamed beets & garden salad for dinner
• fed tops & trimmings to goats
• they still like their grain better

Thursday

• seed order from Shumway arrived
• took the goats into the woods with my while I cut evergreen branches for the boys to eat

Friday

• got a puppy as a livestock dog!

Saturday

• wind! very cold, temperature dropping all day
• Welsummer egg today. 1st in a long time

Jan. 8 - 14, 2012

Temperature range

• lows: 24 - 50 F
• highs: 39 - 60 F

Rainfall: 1.25"

Harvested:

• lettuce
• radishes
• turnips
• kale
• broccoli & mangel leaves for goats
• collard, cabbage collard & cabbage leaves for goats

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 2
• Mon. 3
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 3
• Thurs. 3
• Fri. 5
• Sat. 3
• Week's Total: 22

Observed & Accomplished

Sunday

• day of rest
• rain
• some of the wheat looks a tad yellowish. Should I be concerned? Need to research

Monday

• damp and drizzly all day
• raked leaves & mulched empty garden bed

Tuesday

• another damp drizzly day
• raked leaves in the back field and mulched
• planted the potted lemon cypress Dan got me for my last birthday
• mulched the lemon cypress

Wednesday

• worked on the summer garden plan & seed order

Thursday

• winter blew in 

Friday

• I'm surprised the garden survived the low temps as well as it did
• Daffodils trying to bloom!

Saturday

Applied nitrogen fertilizer to the wheat. I hate to use a chemical fertilizer but I do believe it is nitrogen starved and that is what we had. 

Dec. 11 - 17, 2011

Temperature Range

• lows: 28 - 55 F
• highs: 45 - 66 F

Rainfall: 0.5"

Harvested:

• turnips
• kale
• beets
• radishes
• Meyers lemons

Preserved:

• 1 half-gallon raw goat milk
• 1 pint jar dehydrated lemon rind

Egg Counts

• Sun. 1
• Mon. 0
• Tues 1
• Wed. 0
• Thurs. 1
• Fri. 1
• Sat. 0
• Week's Total: 4

Observations & Accomplishments
Sunday

• day of rest
• substituted sweet potatoes in my scalloped potato & ham recipe for dinner. Yummy!

Monday

• cold and drizzly
• made yogurt
• finished shelling & winnowing the popcorn. Yield: 17.75#
• 3 pounds popcorn for Christmas gifts
• 1/2 pound saved for next year's seed

Tuesday

• raked leaves
• mulched turnips & lettuce
• fed turnip greens to goats

Wednesday

• used turnip for a 1 gallon crock of sauerruben. Tried adding whey to the salt solution in this batch.
• lost a quart of canned green tomatoes  :( Seal broke.

Thursday

• raked more leaves & mulched garlic bed
• made a lemon pie with homestead lemons, eggs, & milk!
• sliced & dehydrated leftover lemon rind
• kale & radish salad for dinner
• roasted sweet potatoes, turnips, & beets for dinner too

Friday

• started culling roosters

Saturday

• raked more leaves & mulched
• cleared away black plastic in old strawberry bed. It was supposed to smother everything underneath but tore in a few places & didn't do a good job. Wire grass is a plague over there. 
• thinned broccoli

Dec. 4 - 10, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 27 - 55 F
• highs: 41 - 62 

Rainfall: 1.3"

Harvested:

• collard greens
• cabbage collards
• kale
• lettuce
• radishes
• turnips
• dill weed

Egg Counts

• Sun. 1
• Mon. 0
• Tues. 1
• Wed. 0
• Thurs. 1
• Fri. 1
• Sat. 0
• Week's total: 4

Observed & Accomplished
Sunday

• day of rest
• took some garden photos for a blog update

Monday

• buried a bucket of kitchen scraps in last summer's turnip bed
• raked leaves & mulched until it started to rain

Tuesday

• rain

Wednesday

• garden post up on my blog
• rain, then windy and cold
• picked some lettuce & radishes for lunch
• sweet potato fries for dinner

Thursday

• picked kale for dinner
• ice on the edges of the chicken's water this morning

Nov. 13 - 19, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 29 - 63 F
• highs: 49 - 68 F

Rainfall: 1.95"

Harvested:

• green tomatoes
• green peppers
• collards for the goats
• rosemary
• kale
• Hutterite soup beans (last of)
• Christmas limas (very scant)
• radishes
• lettuce

Gathered:

• pecans
• persimmons

Preserved:

• 1 hard cheese
• 7 qts. green tomatoes
• froze sliced green peppers

Egg Counts

• Sun. 1
• Mon. 1
• Tues. 0
• Wed. 0
• Thurs. 0
• Fri. 1
• Sat 0
• Week's Total: 3

Observed & Accomplished
Sunday

• day of rest

Monday

• Rearranged pantry. Again.
• Dan put down some flooring in the attic for storage

Tuesday

• shelled pecans & popcorn
• I think the Ameraucanas are hiding their eggs. But where???
• sprinkle of rain

Wednesday

• rain
• made yogurt
• made cheese
• put empty canning jar boxes in attic
• canned green tomato slices for frying
• sliced & froze the last of the green peppers

Thursday

• still raining in a.m. then turned colder
• picked last of Hutterite soup beans
• picked Christmas limas, very poor production
• rain knocked almost all the leaves off the trees

Friday

• opened last jar of 2010 pizza sauce
• had one of the last tomatoes for lunch

Saturday

• gathered pecans & persimmons
• both patches of wheat are growing well
• ate the other 3 red tomatoes in salad for dinner

October 2 - 8, 2011

Temperature Range

• lows: 42 - 53 F
• highs: 67 - 78 F

Rainfall: none

Planted:

• radishes (saved seed)
• garlic (saved cloves)
• multiplier onions (Territorial Seed Co)
• lettuce (saved seed)

Harvested:

• beet thinnings
• Swiss chard
• 1st lemon
• tomatoes
• melons (to feed chickens & goats)
• radishes

Seeds Saved

• 4 o'clocks
• antique marigolds
• okra
• melon

Egg Counts

• Sun. 1
• Mon. 0
• Tues. 0 (found broken egg shell out in the field though)
• Wed. 1
• Thurs. 2
• Fri. 1
• Sat. 2
• Week's Total: 8

Accomplished:

Sunday
• day of rest
Monday
• planted radishes & garlic
• found 1st lemon on the ground
Tuesday
• waxed a cheese for food storage
Wednesday
• thinned beets
• gathered 4 o'clock seeds
• watered fall garden
• made mozzarella
Thursday
• multiplier onion sets arrived from Territorial Seed Co
• fed overripe watermelons to chickens
Friday
• gathered antique marigold seeds
• planted multiplier onions & more lettuce (Ruby lettuce had poor germination)
• cut broom corn sprouts to dry for goats
Saturday
• planted radishes & lettuce
• gathered seeds
• weeded fall garden
• waxed cheeses

Sept. 25 - Oct. 1

Temperature Range

• lows: 46 - 70 F
• highs: 64 - 82 F

Rainfall: 0.15"

Planted: Nothing this week

Harvested

• spearmint
• horehound
• beets
• radishes
• sweet pepper

Preserved

• 3 cheeses

Egg Counts

• Sun. 5
• Mon. 2
• Tues. 1
• Wed. 2
• Thurs. 1
• Fri. 2 (I think Mrs. Gold Ameraucana is hiding her eggs again)
• Sat. 1
• Week's Total: 14 

Accomplished:

Sunday
• day of rest
• checked soil in corn field, very muddy
Monday
• started cucumber pulp for seeds
• made cheese
Tuesday
• made cheese
Wednesday
• weeded herb garden and trimmed border beds
• harvested new growth of spearmint & horehound
• started cutting corn stalks in corn field
Thursday
• thinned a few things in fall garden
• 1st steamed beets & greens for dinner
• 1st fall radishes
Friday
• nothing in garden, ran errands & worked on house
Saturday
• made one more cheese

Sept 18 - 24, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 57 - 66 F
• highs: 68 - 82 F

Rainfall: 4.75 inches

Planted:

• broccoli, Waltham 29, saved seed
• cabbage collard plants, purchased
• radishes, China Rose, packaged seed
• Kale, Siberian Dwarf (Baker Creek)

Harvested:

• Swiss Chard
• popcorn
• buckwheat for hay
• green peppers
• tomatoes
• watermelons

Seeds gathered:

• buckwheat
• 4 o'clocks
• popcorn
• pole beans

Preserved:

• 2, half-gallons goat milk, frozen

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 2
• Mon. 2
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 2
• Thurs. 3
• Fri. 3
• Sat. 2
• Week's Total: 17

Accomplished:
Sunday

• day of rest

Monday

• cleared more summer garden beds
• planted broccoli, radish seeds & cabbage collards plants
• harvested popcorn
• saved popcorn stalks for goats
• cut buckwheat for goats (hay)
• watered fall garden
• watered hazelnut trees

Tuesday

• planted kale
• husked popcorn

Wednesday

• Rain! Welcome rain! No gardening activities.
• froze 2 more half-gallon jars of milk

Thursday

• more rain
• worked on shelling turnip seeds

Friday

• more rain

Saturday

• harvested watermelons
• deer track noted in buckwheat
• ground too wet to do anything
• noted fall seeds coming up!

Aug. 28 - Sept. 3

Temperature range:

• lows: 60 - 68 F
• highs: 88 - 97 F

Rainfall: none :(

Planted:

• red salad bowl lettuce
• cherry belle radishes

Harvested:

• broom corn (1st half)
• green beans
• 1st few onions
• last tomato

Saved for seed:

• green beans

Preserved:

• pizza sauce, 3 pints canned
• okra, 2 quarts frozen
• bell pepper, handful frozen
• half-pints milk, 24 frozen
• watermelon, dehydrated
• green nutmeg melon, dehydrated

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 3
• Mon. 6
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 3
• Thurs. 2
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 1
• Week's Total: 22

Accomplished:

Sunday
• day of rest
Monday
• cleaned out chicken coop
• started new compost pile
• canned pizza sauce
• froze okra & bell pepper
• watered pepper plants
Tuesday
• sorted and packaged saved seeds
• picked okra
• froze 1/2-pints of milk
Wednesday
• harvested part of the broom corn
• weeded
• watered pepper plants
• froze ice cube tray of whey
Thursday
• watered fall garden
• made hard cheese
Friday
• checked on field corn
• picked green beans
• dried overripe melons
• started shelling cowpeas
Saturday
• planted lettuce & radishes
• dug up 1st few onions, need to do the rest soon
• watered fall garden
• watered sand cherry bushes
• sorted & packed saved lettuce seeds

May Wk 4: 22 - 28

Temperature Range:

• lows: 60 - 68
• highs: 73 - 93

Rainfall: 0.8"

Planted:

• pole beans, Kentucky Wonder (in the field corn)
• pumpkins, Small Sugar (in the field corn)
• sweet peppers (2nd try), Chinese Giant
• yellow cosmos

Transplanted:

• dill volunteers, to sweet potato beds

Harvested:

• peas
• 1 lone potato
• garlic
• yarrow
• sage
• oregano
• thyme
• Swiss chard

Seeds Collected:

• radish (variety unknown)
• shell peas, Wando
• calendula

Preserved:

• 6 pints strawberry jam

Eating Our Own:

• canned green beans
• canned green tomato salsa
• canned sweet potatoes
• canned pizza sauce
• canned Swiss chard
• goats milk including:
• cheese
• yogurt
• yogurt cheese
• whey (in muffins)
• fresh eggs
  
• fresh peas
• fresh strawberry jam
• fresh Swiss chard
• stored potatoes
• stored carrots
• stored pecans
• frozen blueberries
• frozen cantaloupe
• frozen strawberries
• frozen bell peppers
• frozen eggs
• dried herbs

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 4
• Mon. 5
• Tues. 5
• Wed. 5
• Thurs. 0
• Fri. 6
• Sat. 5
• Week's Total: 30

Accomplished:

• watered herb garden & corn field
• watered fall garden & Brandywines
• cardboard mulched side of garden by corn field fence
• tried bunches of sage as fly repellant
• tried bunches of thyme too, but the goats ate them
• scythed part of hay field
• transplanted volunteer dill plants to sweet potato beds

Observations:

• daylilies, daisies, & hydrangia blooming

March Wk 2: 6 - 12

Going to try utilizing my garden calendar again.

Temperature Range:

• lows: 33 - 41 F
• highs: 48 - 71 F

Rainfall:  3.75 inches

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 2
• Mon. 7
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 6
• Fri. 5
• Sat. 5
• Week's total: 32

Planted:

• tomato seeds (Roma)
• asparagus roots (Mary Washington)
• onion sets (yellow)

Harvested:

• lettuce
• radishes
• broccoli
• cabbage
• Swiss chard (for chickens)

Eating:

• canned figs
• canned green beans
• canned dill pickles
• canned strawberry jam
• canned pizza sauce
• frozen chicken
• frozen okra
• frozen green peppers
• sauerruben
• dried watermelon
• fresh lettuce
• fresh broccoli
• fresh radishes
• fresh eggs

Preserved:

• canned chicken stock, 11.5 qts.

Accomplished:

• not much due to all the rain
• started new compost pile
• started planting asparagus & onions but the ground was too muddy

Observations:

• violets blooming
• almond tree blooming
• Periwinkle (Vinca Major) blooming
• chicory seeds sprouting
• 1st tomato seeds (Brandywine) sprouting
• chickens don't like Swiss chard
• they do like grubs

Feb Wk 3: 13 - 19

Temperature Range:

• lows: 27 - 52 F
• highs: 60 - 72 F

Rainfall: none

Egg Counts:

• Mon. 6
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 5
• Thurs. 4
• Fri. 3
• Sat. 3
• Weekly total (minus Sunday) = 24

Planted:

• cabbage seeds, Late Flat Dutch
• English peas, Wando
• lettuce, Parris Island Cos
• radishes, Pink Beauty

Harvested:

• beets
• carrots
• turnips
• horseradish
• lettuce
• mesclun
• radishes

Accomplished:

• dug new row for strawberries and asparagus
• applied compost & wood ashes
• finished companion group plan for this year's garden
• raked & hauled more leaves for mulch
• mulched daffodils with cardboard & wood chips

Nov. Wk. 1, (31st) - 6th

Temperature Range:

• Lows: 34 - 52 F
• Highs: 50 - 71 F

Rainfall: 0.4"

Planted:

• annual rye (green manure)
• winter wheat (2.25 lbs over about 120 sq ft.)
• rutabagas, purple top  
• parsnips, Harris Model

Harvested:

• tomatoes
• sweet peppers
• green beans (last of)
• Swiss chard
• popcorn (missed a few the 1st time)
• buckwheat
• turnips

Gathered:

• pecans

Preserved:

• dehydrated Swiss chard

Accomplished:

• tilled lower half of garden
• tilled old cucumber patch
• pulled the rest of the bush beans
• pulled popcorn stalks
• pulled most of the pole beans
• applied compost to cabbages
• applied compost to old cuke patch
• started new compost pile
• planted annual rye for a green manure cover crop
• planted an experimental patch of hard winter wheat.
• Joined our area food co-op
• Fri. pm, covered toms & peppers in preparation for frost

Noted:

• mesclun coming up
• radishes coming up
• garlic coming up
• broccoli starting to head
• ate our last mess of fresh steamed green beans for the year

Oct. Wk 3, 17th - 23rd

Temperature range:

• lows: 46 - 59° F
• highs: 71 - 77° F

Rainfall: 0.1"

Planted:

• garlic
• China Rose winter radishes
• mild mesclun mix

Harvested:

• zucchini
• Pink Beauty radishes
• Swiss chard
• oregano
• sweet peppers
• state half runner beans
• last black turtle bean plant
• watermelons (last ones)
• baby beets
• baby turnips
• baby carrots
• tomato - 1 ripe Roma

Preserved:

• pickled beets using this recipe

Accomplished:

• thinned beets, turnips, & carrots
• fed tops to goats & chickens (llama wasn't interested)
• applied compost to new beds & broccoli
• started mulching potatoes
• pulled old dill plants, noted lots of new volunteers
• watered zucchini, sweet peppers, cabbages

To Do:

• plant parsnips & more beets?
• finish packing & labeling saved seeds
• finish organizing pantry
• harvest herbs
• clean out front flower beds

Sept/Oct Transition Week (Sept 26 - Oct 2)

Rainfall: 3.1 inches

Harvested:

• zucchini
• black turtle beans
• sweet peppers
• buttercup squash
• sunflowers

Problems noted:

• powdery mildew on zucchini
  

Preserved:

• froze 1 pint pumpkin
• froze eggs
• froze sweet peppers
• cured sunflower heads

Accomplished:

• Sorted stored potatoes. Some going bad, all sprouting
• Composted bad potatoes
• cleaned out pantry fridge for sprouting potatoes
• made potato soup (it's getting to be that soup time of year)
• pulled black turtle bean plants & sunflower stalks
• shelling saved seeds: radishes, turnips
• Finally visited my area food co-op and got a one month trial membership. I will probably join.  They do buy produce from members so maybe this will be an outlet in the future. They also told me about an area locavore group. It's good to be finding some area resources.
  

To Do:

• spray zucchini for the mildew
• sort sweet potatoes for storage
• shake seeds from dried amaranth heads
• finish cleaning up garden
• plant more radishes
• mulch fall garden

May 18, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 62 F
~ high 80 F

Harvested:
~ broccoli (fall planted) - 0.2 oz
~ lettuce (spring planted) - 2.8 oz
~ peas - 0.1 oz
~ radish (spring planted) - 1 ct, 0.9 oz
~ Swiss chard (thinnings) - 7.8 oz

Notes:
~ sifted the oldest compost pile, using hardware cloth. Got a wheel barrow and a half of compost!
~ Mulched the Swiss chard, cabbages, broccoli, & lettuce with compost

May 12, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 61 F
~ high 82 F

Planted:
~ black turtle beans
~ buttercup squash
~ Clemson spineless okra (from saved seed)

Harvested:
~ lettuce (fall planted) - 0.4 oz
~ radish - 1 ct, 0.5 oz

May 6, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 62 F
~ high 86 F

Harvested -
~ cabbage leaves - 1 oz
~ radishes - 3 ct, 1.9 oz

Mulched:
~ strawberries

April 30, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 54 F
~ high 80 F

Harvested:
~ radishes (spring planting) - 8 ct,5.1 oz