MAY - GARDEN UPDATE

by Robin

It has been such a long time since I updated.  Photobucket was giving me grief about uploading pictures and that squashed my creativity before I even began to write about things.  But, God is good and I was able to create a new library to upload pics for you.  I hope this is the beginning of a new season of blogging for me again.

Ok, so on Mother's Day, the guys took care of the house & had me rest.  But, I couldn't rest for long and grabbed the camera to take pictures of my garden.  Oh how things have come & gone.  Most of the 'gone' is thanks to the chickens but I'm learning to not be upset at them because they bring me so much joy in other ways.



And if I wasn't obsessed enough over chickens, I found somebody else who is worse than I am. Tiki. I could barely see him between the rows from where I sat on my green bench that Jack restored.
 

And it wasn't long before I could see why he was laying right there. Miss Pearl was laying down in the dirt on the far row.



I thought I may be able to catch a better picture at another angle but everyone moved around. So, like any patient stalker, I waited. Tiki settled back down and continued to watch his chickens.



Tiki has a thing for our newest Miss Thang.. Peaches....the buff Orpington at the end of the row.  Sometimes it is too much for him to resist and he jumps up to spook her and watch her give flight. I do believe he lives for that.



And so we continued to move counter-clockwise through the garden. Me stalking Tiki. Tiki stalking chickens. It was certainly a game of cat & mouse where neither cat nor mouse existed.



Eventually, I grew bored of the chase and took photos of the garden.












These are my late-coming turnips. Red Spider mites wiped out my cherry tomato crop, and so I turned to the unknown to see if I could get anything to produce where the pest was. So far, it looks like we have a good start on our hands.



However, I did see the bugs jump from the tomatoes to potatoes. Not good. I managed to get it under-control (after all the fishing left it unnoticed for days). However, I think the damage was far too great. Many of the leaves were destroyed.



Thankfully, they didn't bother the Mayflower beans that were sitting next to the potatoes. They seem to be thriving. These beans supposedly originated from the line of beans coming over with the Mayflower. Heirlooms. I will not eat any of these beans while they were green. I am saving them for winter soups.


 

A friend and I decided to share these & the Black Valentine beans. We're trying to prevent cross-pollination so I have a couple varieties place away from other varieties and she has some too. At the end of the season, we will share beans. It may be slim this first year, but at least we can probably produce enough to have a big crop next year. I was only entrusted with 6 black beans.  Hopefully, I've done a good job of multiplying them  (or rather God has).

 And then there are my herbs.



Back over a year ago, when I ripped out all the tropical misfits & weeds over here, I envisioned an herb garden that was easily accessible and full of life. I didn't want perfect rows. I wanted something FULL. I got it. They can self-germinate right here and hopefully never be bothered by tilling & being stepped on.

 

And then, there are my potted babies. And Easter lily that was a gift to us when Jack's grandmother passed. An aloe plant that has came to me as half-dead 1" baby and yet has multiplied beyond my wildest dreams. I have a pot of sage which is our bunny, Lulu's, favorite herb to nibble on. And there is dill, about to go to seed. I'm hoping I can use these seed for my first jars of canned pickles. I think I have timed that out perfectly for both to finish about the same time.



Here is my first zucchini.  I do believe we've eaten 4 to-date right now.  I'm not seeing too many girl blooms on them or my squash.  This zucchini was supposed to be super-prolific.  Hmmmm....


Here was a later haul where we ate a lot of these things for dinner over the weekend.



Oh and I wanted to share one more brag picture of my herbs.  I'm having a banner year for basil which makes me very happy.  I can see a lot of pesto in my future.



I didn't take pictures of the swiss chard or peppers but they're coming along nicely.  Why have I never known how good swiss chard was??  It has become a garden favorite.  Of course, I have to beat the chickens to it.  ha ha.

God bless! Happy Gardening.
Robin

APRIL's UPDATE!

by  Robin

We had a pretty big month filled with great things.  The garden & chickens are keeping me very busy, but while I was busy with that, somebody grew up on me!

Yep, he's got his license.

 

A couple weeks ago, Jack and I had an overnight trip to John's Pass. What a beautiful little town.  I can't wait to go back again.




We had intended to do an overnight charter trip on this boat but the trip was cancelled for bad weather.  We still enjoyed time with friends and a great dinner.  Our boys enjoyed their time with another great family and had the best time hanging out & rehearsing bluegrass music.



The following weekend, we travelled to Barberville Spring Frolic to perform!!  I'm so proud of our kids.  They rehearsed for months and put together a 30 min set and played it twice. 


My youngest picked up a new instrument in the process.  He was playing the wash drum bass.  Very cool toy... um, I mean instrument. :)




I'll have to downsize new garden pictures.

I was blessed to have eaten my first zucchini yesterday.  We also picked blueberries and can't wait to make more jam.  Cucumbers are coming & the jalapenos are overflowing again.  Beans are close to picking. 

I added a new plant to the garden - turnips!  And they're coming in like gang-busters.  I guess I had better figure out how to cook them.

God bless,
Robin

GARDEN INVENTORY

by Robin

Just a log of what I put in the past couple weeks.  And in no particular order.

Cherry tomatoes

Big Mama Paste tomatoes

Compari tomatoes

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Red Russian Kale

Farao (?) Cabbage

Green onions

Mayflower heirloom (pole) beans for drying

Black heirloom beans (bush) for drying

Blue Lake heirloom (pole) beans

Sunray yellow squash

Zucchini

Jalapeno

Hot chili

Purple, orange, yellow sweet bell peppers

Clemson spineless organic okra

Burpless cucumbers (slicers)

Gerkin-type cucumbers (pickling)

Canteloupe

Sunflowers

White potatoes (bought today and yet to be planted)

And then the regulars in the herb garden:

Asparagus

Sweet basil

Thai basil

Lemon basil

Thyme

Common Sage

Rosemary

Flat-leaf parsley

Oregano

Chocolate peppermint
Aloe

Seems ambitious to be growing 32 different items at once, but my goal this year was to have less excess and more variety in the same space as last year.  Make use of every spicket. 

(Picture of last year's garden.)

DOWN ON THE FARM - Garden & Pullet pics

by Robin

Quick overview of what's happening.  This garden is about 90-95% full.  Still have some spickets that need a plant.  I'm looking for some drying beans to put in there.  (Garden #2)




My winter cabbage only did so-so.  They all ate fine but some just didn't grow like I thought they would.  So, I put some early spring cabbage in a new location and a couple of the heads took off like gang-busters!  They're sitting in that area where my okra were last year.  I think the soil is just super fertile here.




Here's a side view so you can see the seedlings behind the established first 2 rows.  Also, the jalapenos never died during the frost, so while they look gangly on the lower side, their tops are full of new leaves & blooms.



From the cabbage upward, there are baby bell peppers that you can't really see.  We decided to cut this row back from full to half.  Then, from the cabbage down, I have an empty spot and an old broccoli that's taking it's sweet time growing from the winter.  My chihuahua is about to step on the cucumbers (same as last year's).  Great slicers & picklers. Trellis is set up & ready to go.  Green Beans are ready to go also. In the far back right are the okra, which will take off with the heat.



Here is this week's project.  Garden #1.  I have to remove a lot of dead stuff and remove (delicately) all these leaves that are covering up my seedlings.  I'm on my 2nd set of seedlings in the far back row but they keep getting covered by leaf debris and dying.  I have plenty of area to plant some seed here.




Here's the other side.... largely destroyed by frost in the back.  A lot of the other new stuff is too small to see.  It will look completely different in a couple weeks when the heat turns on and I have it all cleaned up and seedlings are several inches tall.



And here is this year's new project.  Instead of extending a garden, we opted to use our winter time with converting a playhouse into a coop with a deluxe pen. 

Here is one of our 5-6 wk-old pullets.  White Leghorn.  White eggs.



Our white silky who was sold to me as a 1.5 yr old, but she hasn't laid a single egg yet. I will say that she has a home here with us where she can be happy.  Her feathers are coming back.  I think she was picked on at her old home. Small white eggs.

   


This is our Red-crested Polish pullet, also about a 5-6 wks old.  See her plume??  Not a great egg-layer (like the Silky) but will put out small tan eggs.



Here is my 3 mo Easter Egger, lavender splash color. She should give me x-large blue eggs.



My Barred Rock is now 2-3 wks old, but here is her last picture.  She should lay nice brown eggs.





My Lt Brahma is now approx 10 days old but here is her baby pic.  When she gets older, she should lay large brown eggs.  We had one of these before and really loved them and their feathery legs.



And no pre-Easter blog would be complete without a picture of my son's Lulu who is posing as the Easter bunny.  She believes that Jesus died on a cross and was resurrected on the third day.  He who was without sin, demonstrated His love for her and yet laid down His life while she was still yet a sinner.  She believed He did all that, repented of her pellet droppings & chewing habits and then invited Him to be a part of her life, being her personal Savior.  And now, Lulu is rejoicing.  Can't you tell she just wants to hop!!  (I think she may lean a bit more Pentacostal.)



God bless and I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog today.

Robin

OUR BLIZZARD DAY - NOT!

by Robin

I am so sorry that so many of you are snowed under a few feet of snow.  I'm really not  bragging but Florida couldn't be having a nicer winter - E-V-E-R!!!!!  in my 10 yrs of being in Central FL. 
Jack worked on the car & the boat today while I had a full day of work in the gardens.  I got a tan working outside today.

First thing I had to do was pick what was ripe or done growing!



Then, it was already lunch time.  Yeah...that's how I roll on weekends.  I don't rise at the crack of dawn, either.  LOL. 



Next, it was time to clear out all the cauliflower plants.  I left just a couple that were to the side but everything else went.  I'm going to freeze back my excess.  Then, I heavily pruned my 'suckers' on the cherry tomato WALL (that's what I'm going to start calling it).  After that, I sprayed it down with Neem Oil to kill off the spider mites that were taking over the first few tomatoes on the right side of the garden.  You have to stay on top of them or they will take over & kill your entire crop. 




Then, I was able to pull back my irrigation lines & till the mid-section. My eldest, Simon Peter, helped me throw in a couple rows of chicken wire to make for a trellis.  Then, he quickly disappeared leaving me to transplant all my campari & ugly ripe babies.  (Isn't that just like kids??) 


In the 2nd garden, it was time to transplant what I wanted to keep.  I moved some cabbage into that front row so that I could make for a full empty row.  I had sweet bell pepper seedlings that are growing right now for that area.  I put my epsom salt mixture on the jalapenos to help fertilize them for the upcoming growing season.  You can see they are a little yellow. I had 6 survivors that I hope will make it as the spring heats up. 




I did not pull out the broccoli, although I seriously contemplated it.  I will order my seed for that area before I pull them.  I am going to try to make the best of utilizing the stalks & leaves for meals until all that gets switched over to spring crops.  Tiki is on stand-by for any lizard or snake killing duty.

Sometimes I get a little too ambitious and my hobby turns into full-time work.  There are so many things to plant and so little space.  Jack and I had considered adding another couple hundered square feet again but it overwhelmed both of us just thinking about what needed to be done.  Instead, we are going to do our best to focus on enclosing the tomato garden with shade netting & possibly some butterfly/moth and squirrel defense. 

Now, I need to spend some serious time in prayer.  We desperately need rain.  Drip irrigation is a wonderful thing, but nothing can replace what the good Lord gives us.  As I worked the soil, I could see that it was in serious need of any moisture. 

Take care & Happy Gardening.
Robin

WE'RE GROWING!!

by Robin

No, I'm not pregnant!!  LOL. 

We're expanding.  We bought the lot next door on January 18th!!  Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary to us!!!  We have official double our land size and are so excited about it.  Our goals are to leave it very "Florida Natural" but Jack has definitely claimed a small section to put in a boat barn under all those beautiful oaks & fruit trees.  How can I complain?  He works so hard and it's a big blessing to have the extra space to expand out with water toys. 

So, that's one thing we've been busy doing.  Secondly, we've been extremely busy with cars breaking down.  Poor Jack has been fixing one after another.  In the midst of all this, we were fortunate to change out tires on our suburban, which hauls the boat.  I will be much happier as I pull the boat out of the water at the ramps.  The new ones have a much better grip.



Third, we've spent a lot of the cold & windy days in the backyard.  My garden is growing very well.  I was able to make fresh spaghetti sauce with those romas this week.  I have many seedlings ready to go for spring.  We're still trying to finish eating all the broccoli and cauliflower. 



When Jack is done repairing vehicles, he comes out here and we build a fire.  He also gets the smoker going and will smoke several different meats to keep us fed for the next few days.  It makes my life much easier when Mondays & Tuesdays are spent running the kids back-n-forth.  We are spending a lot of time with my eldest dual-enrolling in college.  He is doing very well there.



And last, but certainly not least, my youngest was able to soften our hearts into getting him a bunny on Feb 3rd.  Lulu is the most adorable bunny ever!  I do think it was a God-thing because we saw her Saturday and I didn't think it was possible.  Saturday night, we looked on Craig's list and there was the entire bunny set-up for sale for $20.  We couldn't get in the car fast enough!  Sunday, she was still at the pet store and so she came home with us.

And this guy, is the happiest boy ever!


Now, my job is to make sure everyone begs seeing each other as one pack and not prey.  So far, it is all going very well. My dogs have killed numerous snakes & possum, but they seem to be accepting Lulu as family.  My larger chihuahua, Captain, even was cleaning her ears two nights ago. 




I will do my best to make sure I get on here more often.  I miss getting to share our life with family & friends.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

by Robin

You should know by now that we're not big on cooking the full turkey or ham for the holidays.  We had another seafood feast.



We headed over to Seafood Atlantic and picked up our salty delights.  We had originally thought about going for the mahi mahi but for $2/lb, we chose the yellowfin tuna instead.  The left side are middle-neck clams and bottom is Canaveral White shrimp, all caught locally.  We support our local fishermen!!

I have to say that it was mighty delicious.  We kept the portions small since we're all (Jack and I) are supposed to be dieting.  I think we did a great job of eating well and not stuffing ourselves.

Merry Christmas and Happy, Blessed New Year to you all!!
Jack and Robin

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND

by Robin

I thought I would share just a few highlights of the special moments from over the weekend. 

Sunday morning, I signed (deaf ministry) up at church and after we had a quick lunch, three of us set out to hunt for blue crabs.  My other son was home sick with a cold, so he was able to chill at home.



We soaked and soaked chicken necks in our nets but absolute nothing, nada, zilch was moving after that cold front that came through.



We even put out a couple poles and didn't lose a single shrimp to small pin fish or trout.
 


BUT, we had a spectacular sunset. No photoshop needed.  I had every color added by God.



After the sun had set, people came out to the pier to set up for shrimping.  They put these lights out and then watch the water.  When the shrimp run, they catch them in a dip net.  Very time consuming but a lot of people do it.



Christmas Eve was fairly uneventful.  I stayed in the kitchen cooking up a storm and watching after my son while Jack and my eldest went all around the water's edge to find crab.   They managed to find only 1 stone crab, no blue crab.  They measured & popped the claws and brought them home.  Thankfully they are in season if they're male, not females.

Christmas morning came and everyone opened up their gifts. 



My eldest worked very hard all semester to make straight-A's at the local community college for his dual-enrollment credits.  So, we had been saving a little bit the entire time to buy him his own computer.



For over 14 yrs, my husband has wanted to have his family crest framed and sure-enough.... I was able to pull it off and have his good friend do it (& keep it a secret).  What a great surprise!!  I wish I could tell you more about the crest & the significance of it but that would mean giving up my anonymity here and I can't do that.



Even the dogs enjoyed a couple treats & stuffed animals.  I think Captain is thrilled.  What a smile!







(I straightened my hair for the holidays!)

Here we are, coming up on our 20th anniversary very soon.  Merry Christmas!!

I will have to blog on some of the food I made on another day.

God bless!