June 10 - 16, 2012

Temperature Range:

• lows: 60 - 70° F
• highs: 68 - 87° F

Rainfall: 2.1"

Planted:

• sweet potato slips, homegrown, Vardaman

Harvested:

• peaches
• strawberries
• onions
• blueberries

Preserved:

• peaches, frozen

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 5
• Mon. 9
• Tues. 8
• Wed. 6
• Thurs. 4
• Fri. 8
• Sat 5
• Week's Total: 45

Observed & Accomplished:
Sunday

• day of rest
• light rain all day
• glad I planted the corn & cowpeas yesterday

Monday

• rained almost all day
• inventoried, defrosted & cleaned chest freezer
• cleaned out pantry refrigerator 
• identified brown rot as what's getting my peaches

Tuesday

• It's. Still. Raaaaaiiiiiniiiiing! (That drizzly, things are never gonna dry out kind of rain)
• put out the sweet potato slips in the mud
• pulled the rest of the sp sprouts to root
• 1st volunteer calendula blooming
• froze 1 more quarts of peaches

Wednesday

• checked on the worms & gave them more bedding. Saw lots of worm babies
• weeded tomato beds
• found some strawberries buried in the wiregrass
• drizzled in the PM

Thursday

• woke up to more rain!

Friday

• picked about a gallon of blueberries!
• weeded tomato beds
• mowed weeds between rows of corn & cowpeas
• cowpeas sprouting

Saturday

• harvested half the 2nd potato bed

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

April 22 - 28, 2012

Temperature Range:

• lows: 39 - 70° F
• highs: 59 - 80° F

Rainfall: 0.75"

Planted:

• petunias

Harvested:

• broccoli
• lettuce
• strawberries
• parsnips

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 5
• Mon 8
• Tues 9
• Wed. 8
• Thurs. 6
• Fri. 10
• Sat. 6
• Week's Total: 52

Observed & Accomplished:

Sunday

• day of rest
• little bit more rain
• turning chilly

Monday

• too wet
• wind is cold

Tuesday

• hilled Red Norland potatoes
• hauled more logs for terraces

Wednesday

• weeded one of the herb beds & planted red petunias there
• raked up hay Dan had scythed last week but it sprinkled before I finished

Thursday

• worked on pulling out old landscape cloth from around almond tree
• finished raking up hay
• more rain 

Friday

• ground is wet
• made yogurt from frozen milk
• made pie from frozen blueberries

Saturday

• Dan scythed grass in front pasture
• ants in worm bed
• breaded & fried a quart of the canned green tomatoes

April 15 - 21, 2012

Temperature Range:

• lows: 51 - 61° F
• highs: 59 - 78° F

Rainfall: 2 inches

Harvested:

• lettuce
• broccoli
• carrots
• 1st strawberries

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 9
• Mon. 7
• Tues. 8
• Wed. 7
• Thurs. 8
• Fri. 8
• Sat: 8
• Week's Total: 55

Accomplished & Observed:
Sunday

• day of rest

Monday

• Dan scythed weeds & grass for where we'll plant corn
• gathered up dried grass & weeds and put in hay mow
• bought corrugated poly roofing sheets for worm bed cover

Tuesday

• Dan scythed grass & weeds by fruit trees

Wednesday

• poured all day long

Thursday

• too wet & muddy to do much outside
• compost worms arrived!
• gathered more kudzu for hay
• made yogurt from frozen milk

Friday

• ground is still very wet
• I hope it dries up tomorrow so I can plant 
• gathered honeysuckle vines to dry 
• started to weed echinacea patch
• gave a dozen eggs to DIL

Saturday

• damp & drizzly
• fresh strawberries on cereal & yogurt this morning!
• too wet too plant!
• took a peek into the worm bed, I see wigglers!

Mar. 25 - 31, 2012

Temperature Range

• lows: 52 - 62° F
• highs: 66 - 83° F

Rainfall: 0.25"

Planted:

• potatoes, Red Norland (TSC), 5 #
• elder bushes, 2 (Shumway), 1 York, 1 
• strawberries, 25 Junes, 25 evers (Shumway)

Transplanted:

• strawberry plants

Harvested:

• broccoli
• kale
• lettuce
• asparagus

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 7
• Mon. 9
• Tues. 8
• Wed. 8
• Thurs. 8
• Fri. 9
• Sat. 9
• Week's Total: 58

Accomplished & Observed:

Sunday

• day of rest
• sprinkle of rain

Monday

• planted the rest of the potatoes
• planted the 2 elders
• discovered that the 2 I planted last year weren't dead
• apples, cherry, & pears blooming

Tuesday

• sent soil sample of back field to Kinsey Agricultural Services for a detailed soil test
• Dan built the frame for our worm bed

Wednesday

• planted 50 strawberry plants in lettuce & multiplier onion patch
• weeded herb beds

Thursday

• pulled all but 2 cabbage collard plants for seed
• fed pulled plants to goats
• transplanted strawberry plants being choked out by wiregrass 
• shredded cardboard & paper for worm bedding

Friday

• made yogurt from frozen milk
• newly planted comfrey blooming
• potatoes coming up

Saturday

• a little bit of rain

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

June Wk 2: 12 - 18

Temperature Range:

• lows: 59 - 67 F
• highs: 82 - 91 F

Rainfall: 0.95"

Planted:

• dwarf basil blend (Shumway)
• popcorn, calico (Territorial Seed)

Harvested:

• turnips (volunteers)
• potatoes, Red Pontiac (volunteers)
• lettuce, Romaine (volunteers)
• onions (leftover from last year?)
• peaches
• strawberries
• calendula flowers
• cucumbers

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 4
• Mon 4
• Tues. 2
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 5
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 7
• Week's Total: 30

Eating Our Own:

• fresh turnips
• fresh peaches
• fresh strawberries
• fresh eggs
• goats milk including:
• yogurt
• whey
• cottage cheese
• hard cheese
• yogurt cheese
• stored potatoes
• canned blueberry jam
• canned green tomato salsa
• canned dill pickles
• canned apple butter
• canned pizza sauce
• frozen green peppers
• frozen okra
• dehydrated watermelon
• lacto-fermented Swiss chard

Accomplished:

• seeds from turnips, broccoli, and radishes sorted and labeled
• tilled most of fall garden & wheat patch
• mulched spearmint & horehound
• continued mulching main garden
• made two new permanent beds

June Wk 1: 5 - 11

Temperature range:

• lows: 62 - 69 F
• highs: 89 - 96

Rainfall: 1.1"

Planted:

• summer savory (2nd try)
• 4 O'clocks (Mirabilis)
• 2 hybrid bell pepper plants (feed store)
• St. John's wort (2nd try)

Harvested:

• peaches
• strawberries (handful)
• comfrey (for the goats)
• cucumbers (1st two)

Seeds gathered:

• peas, Wando
• turnips, purple top white
• radish, variety unknown
• broccoli, Waltham 29

Preserved:

• milk as 2 hard cheeses
• 3/4 gallon Swiss chard, lactofermented

Eating our own:

• frozen okra
• frozen bell pepper
• canned green tomato salsa
• canned blueberry jam
• canned strawberry jam
• canned figs
• canned pizza sauce
• fresh eggs
• fresh peaches
• fresh cucumbers
• fresh goats milk including:
• yogurt
• cottage cheese
• cheese
• yogurt cheese
• whey
• dehydrated watermelon
• dried herbs

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 4
• Mon. 4 + stash of 4
• Tues. 6
• Wed. 5
• Thurs. 5
• Fri. 3
• Sat. 7
• Week's Total: 38

Accomplished:

• raked leaves for mulch
• watered new plantings
• watered strawberry & asparagus bed

Observed:

• echinacea blooming
• hardy hibiscus blooming

May Wk 2: 8 - 14

Temperature range:

• lows: 46 - 67
• highs: 77 - 88

Rainfall: several days worth of sprinkles

Planted:

• potatoes, Red Pontiac (saved)
• sweet potato slips, Porto Rico (saved)

Harvested:

• English peas
• strawberries
• yarrow
• comfrey leaves
• poke root
• broccoli

Egg counts:

• Sun. 5
• Mon. 5
• Tues. 4
• Wed. 4
• Thurs 5
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 5
• Week's Total: 32

Eating our own:

• canned pizza sauce
• canned strawberry jam
• canned sweet pickles
• canned dill pickles
• canned turkey/sausage gumbo
• fresh carrots
• fresh strawberries
• fresh carrots
• fresh broccoli
• fresh peas
• fresh eggs
• fresh goat milk plus
• yogurt
• yogurt cheese
• whipped cream
• cheese (1st attempt)
• frozen okra
  
• frozen chicken

Seeds saved:

• turnips, purple top
• lettuce from mesclun blend

Observations:

• magnolias blooming

May Wk. 1: 1 - 7

Temperature Range:

• lows: 37 - 63
• highs: 68 - 83

Rainfall: none

Planted:

• white broom corn (Baker Creek)
• okra, Clemson Spineless (saved seed)
• eggplant, FL High Bush (Seed Savers)
• habanero peppers (Pinetree Garden)
• cosmos (saved seed)
• black oil sunflowers (feed store)
• summer squash, Bennings Green Tint (Pinetree Garden)

Harvested:

• lettuce
• strawberries

Egg Counts:

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

Eating our own:

• fresh lettuce
• fresh goats milk
• fresh eggs
• fresh beets
• fresh carrots
• fresh strawberries
• canned green beans
• canned tomato soup
• canned pizza sauce
• canned dill pickles
• frozen summer squash
• frozen okra
• frozen green pepper
• dried cantaloupe

Accomplished:

• continued mulching strawberry bed
• fenced off corn field

Observations:

• pea pods filling out
• corn coming up!

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. 1: 3 - 9

Temperature Range:

• lows: 36 - 61 F
• highs: 59 - 83 F

Rainfall: 1.05"

Planted:

• 6 dwarf flowering (sand) cherries
• 2 elder bushes
• 2 hazelnut trees

Transplanted:

• strawberries
• daylilies
• tulips
• violets

Re-potted:

• dwarf banana plant

Harvested:

• wild onions
• lettuce

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 6
• Mon. 7
• Tues. 6
• Wed. 6
• Thurs 5
• Fri 5
• Sat. 6
• Week's Total: 41

Preserved:

• canned 7 qts. turkey file gumbo
• froze 1.5 qts file gumbo broth
• dehydrated 1 qt. wild onions

Eating our own:

• canned blueberry jam
• canned dill pickles
• canned pickled beets
• canned pizza sauce
• frozen green pepper
• fresh broccoli
• fresh eggs
• fresh lettuce
• dried watermelon
• dried cantaloupe
• dried popcorn (last of)
• sauerkraut

Feeding to chickens & goats:

• amaranth
• sunflower seeds
• weeds

Accomplished:

• weeded strawberry/asparagus/onion bed
• finished transplanting strawberries
• measured garden for center aisle & new beds
• calculated garden slope

Observed:

• tulips blooming
• cherry & apple trees blooming
• bridal wreath blooming
• 1st wheat heads!

Mar. Wk 1: 2/27 - 3/5

Temperature Range

• lows: 36 - 61 F
• highs: 48 - 75 F

Rainfall: 1.5"

Egg Counts

• Sun. 7
• Mon. 5
• Tues. 2
• Wed. 6
• Thurs. 6
• Fri. 5
• Sat. 5
• Week's Total: 36

Accomplished:

• finished transplanting everbearing strawberries
• mulched crabapple
• mulched almond tree
• bordered existing herb beds with bricks
• double dug a new herb bed
• froze 2 more dozen eggs

Observations:

• peas sprouting
• peach trees blooming
• indoor cabbages sprouting
• rhubarb sprouting
• Japanese magnolia blooming
• forsythia blooming

Eating:

• fresh carrots
• fresh turnips
• fresh eggs
• canned pizza sauce
• frozen okra
• stored potatoes
• canned Swiss chard
• frozen green peppers
• canned dill pickles
• canned figs
• canned blueberry topping
• dried watermelon
• dried cantaloupe
• sauerruben

Feb Wk 4: 20 - 26

Temperature Range

• lows: 35 - 60 F
• highs: 58 - 71 F

Rainfall: 0.1"

Egg Count:

• Sun. 3
• Mon. 5
• Tues. 3
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 3
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 5
• Week's total= 27

Planted (indoors):

• Joe Pye Weed
• Pyrethrum
• Spearmint
• St. Johns Wort
• Horehound
• Skullcap
• Chicory
• Valerian
• Bergamot
• Creeping Thyme
• Tomato, Brandywine

Planted (outdoors):

• 2 dogwoods (from National Arbor Day Foundation) in bird garden

Transplanted:

• strawberries

Seeds in freezer:

• Narrowleaf Echinacea
• marshmallow

Harvested:

• lettuce
• carrots

Accomplished:

• actually remembering to turn the compost almost daily
• tilled in annual rye
• made a compost sifter

Noted:

• winter wheat starting to grow
• daffodils blooming everywhere
• raspberries beginning to leaf

May 7, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 62 F
~ high 85 F
Warm & sunny

Harvested -
~ strawberries - 1.1 oz

Planted -
~ cucumbers, National Pickling from saved seed

May 6, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 62 F
~ high 86 F

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

Mulched:
~ strawberries

April 13, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 53 F
~ high 80 F

Harvested:
~ turnips - 20 ct, 6 oz

Planted:
~ 25 All Star Junebearing replacement strawberry plants

April 4, 2010

Temperature:
~ low 55 F
~ high 82 F

Harvested:
~ beet leaves - 0.1 oz
~ broccoli - 1.2 oz
~ cabbage leaves - 0.1 oz
~ carrot - 1 ct, 1.5 oz
~ lettuce - 0.2 oz
~ radishes - 2 ct, 0.2 oz
~ spinach - 0.3 oz

Blooming:
~ almond - 2 blossoms
~ blueberry (rabbiteye) - loaded
~ peaches - 2 blossoms
~ strawberries - lots