Category Archives: Garden

Winter Blahs

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Right now we are in the middle of a rain /sleet/ ice storm.  It’s the end of January which officially marks the point when I get tired of the winter  weather.  I enjoy snow, cold and everything else that comes with winter until the end of January, then I am done with it all.  February is my least favorite month because even though I am done with winter, winter does not seem to be done with us.

Although February is my least favorite it’s not all bad because it is the month when I start to get my garden planning under way.  Besides pruning apple trees , I also start planning the seed starting process, and the garden layout.  This year I will be rotating the onions and tomatoes for sure.  I also will be starting seeds with newspaper pots again.  They worked very well last year, much better than I thought they would.  I also loved not having all those dumb plastic pots hanging around.  My herb garden was great fun last summer.  If you have young kids, I recommend a herb garden.  Cori never complained when I told her to run out and cut me some mint and basil for dinner, and she usually came back with the right ones.  I think I will add to the herbs, although a few herbs go a long way and are very easy to grow.

When winter gets you down, check out a few good garden blogs.  I have a few very good ones on my right tool bar.  Click on a couple if you have a minute.  Some of my favorites are The Museum of forgotten Pickles, A Way to Garden, and Garden Betty.  Some are already starting their seeds.  It’s fun to watch because we are still a month or so from that point.  Also go to the library and check out  gardening books.  That always helps me get through the end of winter. Keep your mind in a happy place, even if your body is somewhere where it’s 10 degrees outside.

The Farm Wife

Then and Now!

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Ok I’m guilty, I absolutely have been neglecting my blog.  October is one of my favorite months and I usually pack it full of getting my final days of good weather, outdoor enjoyment in .  This October has been no different.  My sister came to visit the farm and that week was non stop laughter and driving around in the farmers truck (shh).  Then I get my bike out for my last ride for the season.  I had about 15 last rides this year.  Every bike ride in October is my last ride.  I really do think that my last ride WAS my last ride.   So sad.  Right now, I am in a limbo period where I have to do a little more running than my knees would like.  When the snow starts flying, it’s snow shoe time!

I would like to give an update on what my garden is looking like right now.  Sorry to say, it’s not much.  It’s ready for winter and the compost pile is full.Compared to a few short months ago when it looked like this……..This must have been early July because the basil looks pretty small and my tomatoes got so much bigger than that.  Things change quickly here in Wisconsin.  It’s a short season.  The key is to enjoy every minute of it so when winter comes it’s a welcome break, at least until February (my least favorite month).

My herb garden is surprisingly still doing quite well.  I actually used some parsley tonight for our stew.  This is my first year for the herb garden and it’s been fantastic having herbs to just grab and use even almost into November.

My herb garden is the small one in the front with the mint in the pot.  Very good tip by the way, always contain your mint.    This photo looks like later July.

Well, that’s then and now.  I am really going to try to get back on my once weekly blogging schedule and as long as technical issues stay at bay, and my sister stays out west, I don’t think I’ll have too much of a problem with that goal.  Until next week,

The Farm Wife

The Tomato Report

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Tomatoes are slowing down.  The days are getting shorter, nights are getting cooler, and I am not picking tomatoes at a rate of 22lbs every other day.  The one good thing about having a hot summer is the tomatoes just love it.  I have heard very little this year about tomato blight.  When I talk tomatoes at the coffee shop, everyone has had a good year and very few problems. That is of course if they watered once a week or so.

The beefsteak tomatoes proved to be a winner this year.  They are huge and you do have to cut a lot out when canning, but there is so much there that it more than makes up for it.  I still preferred the Celebrity tomatoes for canning.  They are so easy to remove skins and quarter.  The Yellow Beefsteaks had such a strong stalk that I had a hard time getting them off the vine.  Then, when I finally was able to pry them loose, the tomato was half mutilated.

It’s a good indication that the tomato season is over when you would rather stick a needle in your eye than look at another tomato.  I am just about there.   Another good indication that tomatoes are just about done is when spiders are taking over your tomato plants.   I think I have 4 big boys in my garden right now.  I dont’ mind them being there, I just don’t want them in my face when I am trying to pick.

Actually, one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed was one time on the farm when I was younger, I threw a grasshopper into a web of one of these garden spiders.   This particular spider must have been hungry because she didn’t miss a beat and in an instant had that grasshopper wrapped up in a web and I think it ate some of it and saved the rest for dinner.  I kept going back to check on that spider and eventually she cut it from the web but the grasshopper bundle stayed there for a few days.  So cool.  I would highly recommend trying it at home, but I believe the spider has to be pretty hungry for it to act.

Back to the tomatoes, it’s a rare year that I  don’t have enough tomatoes to can, but I have had a year or two when all my tomatoes had to be used for canning and not much for sandwiches and salsa.  Then you have a year like this and everyone has a sore or two in their mouth and there is time set aside everyday for some sort of tomato prep.  I’m thankful for it all, and come February, will be very pleased that all those tomatoes were canned, froze, pureed and the list could go on.

The Farm Wife

Today’s Harvest

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The tomatoes are rollin’ in.  Everyday there are a few more to bring in and make something out of.  The more circular in shape tomatoes are Celebrities, the odd shaped red ones are an heirloom beefsteak, the yellow one is an heirloom yellow beefsteak.  That one, by the way, weighed 1 and 3/4 lbs.  The pepper is a Big Bertha.  I will be inside making salsa if anyone needs me.

The Farm Wife

The Farm in July

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My tomatoes are livin’ large this year.  I believe they like all the sun and warm weather we have been getting.  I water them once a week so they don’t care that it’s not raining.  The farmers corn on the other hand is a different story,  So are the apples, the  grapes and everything else I just planted this spring.  Having a drought summer is not a lot of fun.  You have to keep a close eye on everything which has put a major damper on my weekend getaways.  I just hope that it doesn’t continue into the fall and winter.

I did secure some sweet corn from neighbors that have been irrigating it.  Awesome!  I totally lucked out on that one.  A lot of people are going to have to go without sweet corn this season.  I thought I was going to be one of them, but a last-minute hail Mary pass was completed. Now there is 12 dozen ears with my name all over them.  Stay tuned for next weeks installment of “Freezing Corn”.

This is a little curious to me.  I have never had an eggplant do this.  Usually I will have just a couple on a single plant.  It must be the variety.  I pulled a few of the small ones off in hopes that  the bigger ones will do a little better.  I will have to wait and see if these turn out ok.Like the tomatoes, the basil couldn’t be happier with the warm temperatures as long as they get their shot of water once a week via the sprinkler.  Just beyond the basil, you can see how brown our lawn has gotten.This Hibiscus is always a nice surprise every year.  I transplanted this from our old house and it does so much better here on the farm.  It’s a surprise because I don’t even notice it until these big blooms pop out.  Usually this happens around my birthday.  This year they are a little fast.  My birthday is in about 3 weeks so there is some heads up for you  to start your shopping now.I happy with the way my garden is looking and producing this year.  I am hoping for a record tomato harvest, the peppers are also doing great and every plant has several nice looking peppers on it. Here is some of the corn that is really having a hard time this year.  It is not common for us to not get the rain that we need during the growing season.  For that reason, we do not irrigate fields.  At this point, the experts are saying it’s too late  for our corn crop to be salvaged by rain.  We will do what we can with it and take what we get and pray for a better growing season next year.

The Farm Wife

 

Much Needed Relief for the Garden

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I have not had to water my garden (even a little bit) since the summer I got married.  That summer was dry but not drought or anything.  I had a lot of material that year that was newly planted and I just wanted everything to look really nice for the wedding which was at our farm.  This year is very dry and my garden is just not going to survive without some water.

My tomatoes are looking so nice.  I am still hoping for a record crop.  I know the farmer was looking forward to a record crop in the corn field, but those dreams are all but out the window now.  There still is hope, it’s not a goner yet.

So what are the rules of watering?  I can’t speak for everyone, but out in the country we water gardens and newly planted landscaping material and that is about it.  Lawns don’t get top priority.  If I start to see signs of distress in my apple trees, I will try to keep them alive.  I just hope it doesn’t come to that.  The last major drought we had was the summer of ’88 and my apples were not around then.

I do remember ’88.  I was about 10 years old and I just remember it being hotter than blazes.  We did not have air conditioning and my dad actually wore shorts a couple of times.  My dad NEVER wears shorts so that was a big deal.  Everyone remembers the summer of ’88.  We had several days that hit the 100′s and lots of days in the 90′s.  Summer is our fun season, and it’s no fun when you walk outside and can’t hardly breath.  We have air conditioning now so it doesn’t seem so bad, but telling the corn and garden that we are comfortable in the house doesn’t seem to do the trick.

We will keep praying and hope this doesn’t turn into another drought of ’88.

The Farm Wife

Garden Report

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The garden is doing really well.  Everything looks nice and coming along.  We do have a little problem though, we have not had rain for a while.  The grass is getting brown, my garden is still looking good, but may need a little water.   We are so hoping for some rain soon.  We are not at emergency levels yet and I hope we don’t get there.  This is when I am really happy that I have a nice thick layer of mulch on the garden it is helping to retain that soil moisture as much as possible.

When I woke up this morning, this is the shot I was able to capture of the sun coming up.  Red sky in the morning…. Does that mean rain?

The Farm Wife

New Find in the Garden

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Today during my morning garden scouting, (that’s what I call it when the farmer calls for me looking for his breakfast) I saw something dash from the cabbage to the peas.  Was that my rabbit?  I have an old farm dog who’s arthritis hinders him from effectively performing his farm dog duties.  This is the first year I have ever had rabbit issues in my garden.  So I go over to the peas to investigate and there was a tiny little rabbit hiding for his life.  I called the kids over to see and with a quick swipe I was able to catch it.  The kids are thrilled to have a pet baby rabbit.

 

The rabbit, on the other hand, couldn’t be less thrilled.

The Farm Wife

Garden Experiments Revisited

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In February and March, I posted two garden experiments .  The titles of these were Compost Hits and Misses and Spinach Experiment.   Follow the links to get a quick refresher.  Basically to sum it up the compost experiment was to see if an anaerobic compost pile is easier to keep than an aerobic compost pile.  The spinach experiment was testing the germination rate of  mulched seeds.

One was a success, one was… in Myth Buster lingo, we will call it plausible.  We will start with the success.  The anaerobic compost pile.  I was pretty happy with the end product of the pile.  I put in almost all the contents of my “after winter” compost pile.  Which is basically kitchen scraps, pumpkins, landscape material from last fall, all not really decomposed because it sat all winter.  So I took all that plus some manure and made a pile where my herb garden is going to be.  Then I threw a black tarp on top and secured it with rocks.  Every week I would dumped a 5 gallon bucket of water or two on it and once gave it a good stir around with my pitch fork.

This is the anaerobic compost pile after 3 months. It is pretty well decomposed. The farmer ran over it with the tractor.

Pros

  1. The pile decomposed fairly quickly.
  2. Almost no management except adding the water.
  3. Lots of worms when the pile was used.
  4. The pile did not really stink.

Cons

  1. The black tarp was an eye sore in my yard for a few months.
  2. The farmer ran over it with the tractor when we were getting other garden areas ready for spring.

I would use the anaerobic method again.  I would suggest, I guess with all compost methods, put it somewhere out-of-the-way and out of sight.  It was nice to put it on my future herb garden spot, because the farmer just tilled all that compost right into the ground and it is now part of my herb garden.  Over all, a good experiment.

Now the spinach experiment.  I mulched one of my raised beds with hay and made rows to plant spinach seeds.  I did not have a great germination rate.  Maybe somewhere around 50% or less.  Some rows did better than others.  I believe they just did not get enough sunlight to really pop up.  I do have spinach though, and we enjoy a spinach salad just about every night so it was not a total loss.  Also it took longer than normal for the spinach to really get going.  Again, because of the lack of sunlight right when they were emerging from the soil.  I don’t think I will do this again.  I will just plant in rows and hoe in between.  Then when spinach is done, I will do consecutive plantings or if not in the mood just mulch the whole bed, to keep weeds down, until fall when I can plant more spinach.

Since I now read a lot of garden blogs, I have noticed that many gardeners will have an experiment going in one form or another.  It’s just not enough sometimes to hear someone tell you something works or does not work.  You have to see it for yourself.  I had books and others warn me about trying an anaerobic compost pile.  It would stink, it takes longer, maybe I didn’t do it right, but I sort of liked it.  It gave me some quick (3 month) compost.  It’s worth it to just try something and make your own conclusions.  Those are this farm wife’s thoughts on the subject.

The Farm Wife

Garden Install and Mulch

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I learned my lesson a few years ago.  Don’t put your garden in before Mother’s Day.  It’s an easy rule to follow.  A few years ago the weather was getting nice and it was wednesday before Mothers Day.  I thought, what the heck just a few days early won’t matter.  Yes, you know where this story is going.  The night before Mothers Day the evening temp got down to 30 degrees.  I lost all my tomatoes, basil, peppers and eggplant.  I made two mistakes that year.  I planted before Mothers Day and I didn’t watch the weather.

This year I do have my garden in and it is before Mother’s Day, but I am watching the weather.  Since the spring trend has been warm I felt pretty safe in making my move to get my garden in last weekend.  First, I looked at the 10 day forecast, 40 degrees is as low as it’s going to get between now and Mothers Day.  Pretty sure I’m going to be safe.

I was very happy with my newspaper pots, and disappointed in my peat pots.  I think that I will be using newspaper pots exclusively in the future.  Above I have my pots in a egg collecting basket.  This is a farm auction find for $1.00.

Between my tomatoes and peppers they take up 50% of my garden.  The rest is peas, beans, basil, eggplant,  broccoli, head lettuce and cucumbers.  That is my main kitchen garden plot.  I have another plot that is the strawberry patch another dedicated to onions this year and another that is the pumpkin patch.  The farmer is in charge of the pumpkin patch.    This is after everything is planted but before the mulch is put on.  The stick structure is my bean pole.  Here is my mulch.  I used all of this and I am going to need more for touch ups.  Thank goodness we had a good hay crop last year.  We have some to spare.  That is my sons favorite outfit.  I can’t get him to stop wearing it.  He does rotate between two different John Deere t-shirts though.After mulching.  I have more mulch to install I am just going to wait until some plants get a little bigger.This picture shows how thick the mulch is.  It’s probably a good 6″ thick.  This mulch will cut my weeding time dramatically.  I will have to weed in between plants until they grow and form a canopy to block the sun.

These are my tomato cages.  They are bent hog fences.  Don’t waste your money on the dinky tomato cages at Walmart.  There are many other options to try.  I have a friend who ties her tomatoes to a stake as they grow.  Works well.  I like these bent fences.  This idea came from my neighbor Lynn.  I got him the fences and he bent them for me.

Mulched onions.  I have 4 rows of onions I could probably have 6 if I didn’t mulch.  To me the loss of planting space is worth not having to spend all my time weeding.  I also have a lot of garden space so that is not an issue for me.  I enjoy the look of the hay much.  In these pictures it looks real fluffy.  It does compress as the season goes on and it’s easy to walk on with bare feet.  It also shows the kids where the garden aisles are so they are not running through the whole garden when the plants are little.

I’m very excited about my garden this year.  So far it is doing well.  We have gotten good rain and good sunshine days.  God has blessed us to have such great growing conditions.  This is why I love living in Wisconsin.  We can forget about winter for now.

The Farm Wife