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

Day 99 of 365

A sunny, pleasant, and dry day.

• Low: 42 F
• High: 74 F

Dan sank the t-posts for pea trellises, 3 rows worth. After that I composted the peas and mulched.

Composted the comfrey and applied dolomite. I've learned that comfrey likes a rich, sweet soil and I'm going to try harder with my plants this year. Almost all survived the winter, which is good news.

Planted:

• Amish paste tomatoes & marigolds (direct sow) in the pea rows.
• Borage in the strawberry beds. Saw an almost red strawberry!

Transplanted:

• a few random volunteer potatoes
• a volunteer horseradish plant in the potato bed

Harvested:

• lettuce
• also gathered cleavers & chickweed for my goat mineral mix

Dinner:

• lettuce salad
• poached eggs on sourdough bread toast
• butter
• kefir tea
• parsnip cake for dessert

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

Dec. 25 - 31, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 27 - 42 F
• highs: 48 - 59 F

Rainfall: 1.35"

Harvested:

• collards
• cabbage collards
• lettuce
• kale
• calendula blossoms

Egg Counts

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

Observed & Accomplished
Sunday

• scalloped homegrown sweet potatoes

Tuesday

• heavy rain then winterish winds
• garden is very muddy
• lots of seed catalogs arrived today
• used a few more windowsill ripened garden tomatoes in scrambled (frozen) eggs
• violets are blooming

Wednesday

• finished off the rest of the roosters (all but 1)
• froze 3 chickens
• cleaned out goat stalls & started new compost pile
• put last of made compost where new comfrey bed will be

Thursday

• raked more pecan leaves for mulch
• mulched parsnips
• 2 Welsummer eggs today

Friday

• chilly & drizzly 
• saw 3 black vultures in the old oak trees

Saturday

• Barred Holland started laying again
• seeded most of the broom corn

Nov. 27 - Dec. 3, 2011

Temperature Ranges

• lows: 29 - 50 F
• highs: 42 - 67 F

Rainfall: 2.5"

Harvested

• collards
• kale
• broccoli thinnings
• mangel thinnings
• cabbage collards

Gathered 

• persimmons

Preserved:

• 5, half-pints green tomato jam
• 1 more hard cheese
• froze persimmon pulp

Egg Counts

• Sun. 0
• Mon. 1 + stash of 11
• Tues. 1
• Wed. 1
• Thurs. 1
• Fri. 3
• Sat. 0
• Week's Total: 18

Observed & Accomplished:
Sunday

• day of rest
• thinned broccoli & mangels to feed the goats

Monday

• Rained all day. So much for garden chores
• made yogurt
• canned the green tomato jam I'd been working on
• found an Ameraucana's secret nest in the haymow - 12 eggs!
• ordered more cheese wax
• found 1 more jar of 2010 pizza sauce
• persimmons seem about done

Tuesday

• wintry feel to the air
• light rain in p.m.
• inside day

Wednesday

• opened a jar of the chicken / okra gumbo for lunch, YUM
• pulled dead okra, marigolds, & broom corn stalks from garden
• raked pecan leaves

Thursday

• made cheese #20
• waxed cheese #19
• collected okra seeds from pulled plants
• need to pull popcorn stalks but the ground's too wet
• sauteed cabbage collards with onions for dinner. Very tasty

Friday

• One of today's eggs was light brown like the Delaware's, except she's dead. Could it be that the Buffs have started to lay?
• raked leaves for mulch

Saturday

• raked more mulch
• mulched collards & beets
• partially mulched kale & carrots
• pulled dead popcorn & bean plants
• fixed terrace logs
• thinned broccoli (& fed to goats)

Nov. 20 - 26, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 34 - 58 F
• highs: 59 - 72 F

Rainfall: 1.05"

Harvested:

• collard greens
• Meyers lemon

Gathered:

• persimmons
• pecans

Egg Counts

• Sun. 0
• Mon. 1
• Tues 1
• Wed. 0
• Thurs. 3
• Fri. 0
• Sat. 2
• Week's Total: 7

Observed & Accomplished
Sunday

• day of rest
• seeded & froze more persimmon pulp
• potted 2 sweet basil cutting I made that rooted
• light, chilly rain

Monday

• foggy in the a.m.
• thundershower in late afternoon
• gathered more persimmons

Tuesday

• more rain after sunset
• made another hard cheese
• made a pie with green tomatoes. Recipe needs work :o

Wednesday

• day 1 of green tomato jam
• using 1 of my Meyers lemons in the jam
• picked up more pecans
• ground our corn for cornmeal
• homegrown cornmeal pancakes for lunch. Yum!
• made corn bread for turkey stuffing tomorrow
• used last of the 2010 pizza sauce (spaghetti)

Thursday - ingredients from the homestead for my share of Thanksgiving dinner:

• sweet potatoes
• thyme
• rosemary
• corn for cornmeal for cornbread for stuffing
• lemon for iced tea
• day 2 of green tomato jam
• ate 2 of the last window sill ripened tomatoes

Friday

• opened 1st jar of 2011 pizza sauce

Saturday

• a few more persimmons
• egg laying seems to be picking up(?)
• found 'possum poop in the hay mow

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

Nov. 6 - 12, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 31 - 54 F
• highs: 54 - 68 F

Rainfall: 0.05"

Harvested:

• rugosa rose hips
• sweet peppers
• green tomatoes
• broccoli thinnings
• calendula flowers
• volunteer potatoes

Gathered:

• pecans
• persimmons

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 1
• Mon. 1
• Tues. 1
• Wed. 1
• Thurs. 0
• Fri. 2
• Sat. 1
• Week's Total: 7

Accomplished & Observed
Sunday

• day of rest
• picked up several pocketfuls of pecans
• found a few more persimmons
• gathered rugosa rose hips
• noted fresh deer tracks in the garden

Monday

• sorted and packed sweet potatoes

Tuesday

• finished scattering compost over wheat
• 2nd patch of wheat sprouting
• processed persimmons with food mill & froze pulp

Wednesday

• still picking up pecans
• cleaned out goat stalls & started new compost pile
• thinned broccoli & steamed for dinner

Thursday

• a sprinkling of rain
• gathered more pecans & persimmons
• started shelling popcorn

Friday

• killing frost this a.m.
• harvested all the tomatoes, peppers, & potatoes
• found 9, gallon glass jars at the thrift store for $1 each

Saturday

• made mozzarella out of 1 gallon. Didn't turn out so put it in the press

Oct. 30 - Nov. 6, 2011

Temperature Range:

• lows: 33 - 49 F
• highs: 56 - 64 F

First Frost: Oct 30

Rainfall: 1.2"

Planted:

• 2nd section of wheat (total 46#)

Harvested:

• green peppers
• green tomatoes
• thyme
• spearmint
• calendula blossoms
• Hutterite soup beans

Gathered:

• pecans

Egg Counts

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

Accomplished & Observed:

Sunday
• day of rest
• first frost
• picked frost damaged green peppers
• green tomatoes still look okay
Monday
• sliced & froze those peppers
• planted most of the rest of the wheat
• sprinkled compost over most of that
• shelled pecans
• noted frost damage on tender plants but everything seems to still be alive
• watered Egyptian onions, mangels, broccoli, lettuce, radishes
Tuesday 
• made & froze banana bread & muffins from bag of overripe bananas 
Wednesday
• made mozzarella (1 gal milk)
• made hard cheese (1.5 gal milk)
• gathered a few handfuls of pecans & hickory nuts
• gold Ameraucana is starting to lay again
Thursday
• rain
Friday
• more rain
• the wheat is up! (1st planting)
Saturday
• gathered more pecans

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 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

Aug. Wk 1: 31 - 6

Temperature Range:

• lows: 68 - 76
• highs: 89 - 100

Rainfall: sprinkle

Harvested:

• green beans
• okra
• watermelon
• cowpeas
• green nutmeg melon
• tomatoes
• Hutterite soup beans
• summer squash
• elderberries
• fingerling potatoes
• black oil sunflower seed heads
• figs

Preserved:

• dehydrated watermelon, 1 pint
• dehydrated figs, 3 pints
• froze 1 ice cube tray of whey
• chicken/okra gumbo soup, 11 quarts canned
• chicken/tomato soup base, 2 quarts canned
• tomato/veggie juice, 10 quarts canned
• okra, 2 quarts frozen
• mozzarella, 6 pizza's worth frozen
• scallop squash, froze 1 quart

Seeds Saved:

• dill
• green nutmeg melon

Egg Counts:

• Sun: 4
• Mon. 2
• Tues. 5
• Wed. 3
• Thurs. 2
• Fri. 4
• Sat. 3
• Week's total: 23

Eating Our Own:

• fresh eggs
• fresh tomatoes
• fresh figs
• fresh cabbage
• fresh carrots
• fresh okra
• fresh green beans
• fresh scallop squash
• fresh watermelon
• fresh nutmeg melon
• goats milk including:
• mozzarella
• yogurt
• sour milk (cake)
• frozen bell pepper
• lacto-fermented dill pickles
• lacto-fermented Swiss chard
• canned pickle relish
• canned blueberry jam

Accomplished:

• Sunday
• day of rest
• chicks hatched
• placed mail order chicks under Mama Hen
• Monday:
• picked
• watered main garden
• started more tomato juice
• made mozzarella from 2 gallons milk
• Tuesday:
• made & canned chicken okra gumbo
• canned surplus broth as soup base
• had to go buy more quart canning jars
• made yogurt
• froze more whey
• veggies through food mill for tomato juice
• watered raspberries, blueberries, elderberries
• Wednesday:
• dug potatoes (2nd bed of fingerlings)
• picked okra, toms, squash
• picked figs
• watered new pumpkins
• harvested BOSS heads
• canned tomato/veggie juice
• froze okra & ate some fresh
• chopped & froze 4.5 qts figs for jam making later
• Thursday:
• grated & froze Monday's mozzarella
• made more mozzarella from 1.5 gallons milk
• Friday:
• picked green beans, okra, soup beans, toms
• harvested dried dill heads for seed
• set melon seeds to soak for saving
• watered popcorn
• watered comfrey
• Saturday:
• helped finish goat fencing
• grated & froze scallop squash

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

July Wk. 1: 3 - 9

Temperature range:

• lows: 65 - 71 F
• highs: 74 - 95 F

Rainfall: 2.65"

Planted:

• lima beans, Christmas
• gourds, luffa sponge

Harvested:

• Roma tomatoes
• cowpeas
• okra
• cucumbers
• blueberries
• cabbage
• peaches (last of)

Preserved:

• 6 pints sweet pickle chips, canned
• 1/2 gal raw goat milk, frozen
• okra, 1 qt. frozen
• blueberries, 2 qts frozen
• mozzarella, 10 pizzas worth

Eating our own:

• fresh cucumbers
• fresh eggs
• fresh blueberries
• fresh cabbage (cole slaw)
• fresh peaches
• fresh tomatoes
• goats milk:
• hard cheese
• sour milk (coffee cake)
• yogurt
• yogurt cheese
• mozzarella
• canned green beans
• canned Swiss chard
• canned blueberry jam
• canned pizza sauce
• canned pickle relish
• canned dill pickles
• stored carrots (cole slaw)
• dried wild onions (hush puppies)
• frozen bell peppers
• lacto-fermented Swiss chard

Egg counts:

• Sun. 5
• Mon. 3 + stash of 4
• Tues. 6
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 4
• Fri. 5 + 1 "rubber" egg
• Sat. 4
• Week's Total: 36

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. 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)

March Wk 4: 20 - 26

Temperature range:

• lows: 35 - 67 F
• highs: 52 - 81 F

Rainfall:  2.05"

Planted:

• sweet pepper seeds (indoors)

Potted:

• horseradish root
• Dan's olive tree (into larger pot)

Transplanted:

• 1 sassafras tree
• 2 redbud trees
• 1 Sargent crabapple
• violets
• daffodils
• strawberries
• 1 crepe myrtle
• forsythia

Harvested:

• beets
• lettuce
• broccoli
• carrots

Egg Counts:

• Sun. 6
• Mon. 5
• Tues. 5
• Wed. 4
• Thurs. 5
• Fri. 6 plus a stash of 5
• Sat. 3
• Weekly Total: 39

Eating Our Own:

• fresh beets
• fresh turnips
• fresh lettuce
• fresh carrots
• fresh broccoli
• fresh eggs
• stored potatoes
• canned strawberry jam
• canned blueberry pie filling
• canned dill pickles
• canned cucumber relish
• canned applesauce
• canned tomato relish
• canned blueberry jam
• frozen hash browns
• frozen blueberries
• sauerruben

Feeding to chickens and goats:

• amaranth
• sunflower seeds
• cabbage leaves
• Swiss chard
• overripe buttercup squash

Accomplished:

• measured & staked new permanent garden beds
• pulled cabbage plants except those going to seed
• moving strawberries to new double dug rows

Observations:

• Sprouting:
• St. Johnswort seeds 
• Roma tomato seeds 
• Spearmint 
• creeping thyme
• pyrethrum
• volunteer calendula coming up 
• strawberries flowering
• fig tree beginning to leaf out
• blueberry flower buds forming
• azaleas blooming
• robins everywhere
• lots more rain on Saturday