Dec. 18 - 24, 2011

Temperature ranges

• lows: 25 - 59 F
• highs: 52 - 61 F

Rainfall: 2.2"

Harvested:

• turnips
• kale
• rosemary
• sage
• lettuce

Egg counts:

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

Observations & Accomplishments
Sunday

• day of rest
• looked back at garden journal entries for Dec. 2010. By this time last year we'd had freezing rain, snow, and temps in the teens! So glad we have milder weather this year considering the house renovations we have to do.

Tuesday

• light rain
• made chicken stew with our chicken, potatoes, turnips & herbs

Wednesday

• rain all day
• good day for finishing up the drywall
• chopped and packed dried horehound & dill weed

Thursday

• more rain
• butchered 4 more roosters & froze them

Saturday

• my green egg Ameraucana started laying again today
• made a persimmon pie for Christmas breakfast

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

July Wk. 4: 24 - 30

Temperature range:

• lows: 69 -74 F
• highs: 93 - 98 F

rainfall: 0.2"

Harvested:

• watermelon
• green nutmeg melon
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• cowpeas
• okra
• scallop summer squash
• green beans
• green peppers (2 small)
• oregano
• thyme
• rosemary
• sweet basil
• figs

Preserved:

• pizza sauce, 18 pints canned
• okra, 3 quarts frozen
• okra & tomatoes, 6 qts canned
• mozzarella, 7 pizzas worth
• green nutmeg melon, 1 pint dehydrated
• 1 ice cube tray of whey

Eating our own:

• fresh goats milk
• yogurt
• ricotta
• mozzarella
• sour milk (pancakes)
• fresh tomatoes
• fresh eggs
• fresh herbs
• fresh watermelon (not quite ripe)
• fresh green nutmeg melons
• fresh green beans
• fresh summer squash
• fresh cucumber
• lacto-fermented Swiss chard
• lacto-fermented sour dill pickles
• canned pickle relish
• canned pizza sauce
• canned figs
• frozen bell peppers

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 2
• Mon. 3
• Tues. 6
• Wed. 5
• Thurs. 3
• Fri. 3
• Sat. 4
• Week's total: 26

July 3: 17 - 23

Temperature Range:

• lows: 65 - 75
• highs: 84 - 96

Rainfall: sprinkle

Planted:

• buckwheat

Harvested:

• oregano
• thyme
• rosemary
• okra
• strawberries
• beets, volunteers
• potatoes, volunteers, red pontiac
• potatoes, fingerling salad
• carrots, volunteers, Scarlet Nantes
• turnips, volunteers, purple top
• tomatoes, Romas
• cucumbers, Marketmore 76
• melon, green nutmeg
• blueberries
• cabbage
• cowpeas
• green beans (1st few)

Preserved:

• tomatoes & okra, 10 qts canned (fresh tomatoes, frozen okra)
• pizza sauce, 5 pints canned
• okra, 1 qt frozen
• mozzarella, frozen 5 pizzas worth
• whey, 1 ice cube trayful
• summer squash, shredded, frozen, 2 quarts

Seeds Saved:

• carrots, Scarlet Nantes
• lettuce, Romaine, & mixed

Eating Our Own:

• fresh eggs
• fresh blueberries
• fresh cabbage
• fresh carrots (volunteers)
• fresh tomatoes
• fresh cucumbers
• fresh okra
• fresh melon
• fresh strawberries
• fresh turnips (volunteers)
• fresh beets (volunteers)
• fresh goat milk
• yogurt
• mozzarella
• whey
• ricotta
• canned blueberry jam
• canned figs
• canned pizza sauce
• canned cucumber relish
• canned pickles
• frozen blueberries
• frozen cantaloupe
• frozen bell peppers
• dried cantaloupe (last of)
• dried watermelon
• lacto-fermented Swiss chard
• lacto-fermented cucumbers

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 3
• Mon. 2
• Tues. 5
• Wed. 4 
• Thurs. 2
• Fri. 2
• Sat. 3
• Week's Total: 21

Accomplished:

• tilled fall garden
• mulched
• weeded

July Wk. 2: 10 - 16

Temperature range:

• lows: 62 - 75 F
• highs: 65 - 97 F

Rainfall: 1.7"

Harvested:

• blueberries
• okra
• tomatoes
• cowpeas
• cucumbers
• thyme
• oregano
• rosemary
• strawberries
• sweet basil
• dill
• melons (green nutmeg)
• summer squash

Seeds saved:

• calendula
• cowpeas
• yellow cosmos
• carrots, Scarlet Nantes

Preserved:

• blueberries, 4 quarts frozen
• blueberry jam, 6 pints canned (from 2010 frozen berries)
• mozzarella cheese, 11 pizzas worth frozen
• okra, 1 quart frozen
• cukes, 1 gal crock of lacto-fermented sour dill pickles

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 7
• Mon. 3
• Tues. 4
• Wed. 2
• Thurs. 6
• Fri. 3
• Sat. 3
• Week's total: 28

Eating Our Own:

• fresh eggs
• fresh tomatoes
• fresh cucumbers
• fresh cabbage
• fresh blueberries (on cereal)
• fresh summer squash
• fresh melon
• fresh herbs
• goats milk:
• yogurt (on cereal)
• mozzarella cheese (pizza!)
• sour milk (pancakes)
• canned figs
• canned sweet potatoes
• canned pickle relish
• canned blueberry jam
• canned pizza sauce
• canned green tomato salsa
• frozen bell pepper
• frozen blueberries (smoothie)
• frozen cantaloupe (smoothie)
• stored carrots
• dried cantaloupe
• lacto-fermented Swiss Chard

March 17, 2010

Temperature:
~ Low 48 F
~ High 53 F

Garden Prep:
~ front herb bed - hoed in sand, hardwood ashes, & kelp meal

Planted:
~ rosemary bush in prepared herb bed

Transplanted:
~ more daffodils

Weeded:
~ cabbage row
~ pea row

Coming Up:
~ one pea plant, only one in a 30 ft double row!

Mulched:
~ paths in big garden with cardboard and leaves