Before I started phase II in the garden, I went on vacation and came back to ungodly amounts of summer squash. Maybe I should take another trip! To be honest, it was a bit stressful being five hours away and knowing that the anticipated rain was a no show. In the past few days, the green bean and squash production has slowed down. The honeymoon feelings have worn off and I blame the heat and humidity. I keep telling myself, "Much to learn, you still have." -Yoda
To start things off today, I became captive to my chickens patrolling the outskirts of the garden for bugs and leafy bits. They seem to be learning how to catch bugs better each day. I am guilty of hand feeding them protein snacks from the garden. Sometimes they wait for me to throw a bug. I might be enabling these chickens...ruh roh!
I pulled up three beds that contained weeds, lettuces, potatoes, and onions that didn't quite make the cut. The potatoes were awesomely huge and better looking than the first half I pulled up. I plan on buying some sweet potato seedlings once I can make it to the store.
Before planting seeds, I cleaned up the beds and added compost that had been brewing since I started the garden project. The heat and humidity really takes the fun out of gardening. On a more positive note, I have planted some new things!!! Feels like Christmas every time I buy seeds, plant seeds, and see them pop up out of the ground. If am I honest, I enjoy harvesting and eating less because I enjoy seeing them grow more than anything else in the world. Gotta eat though too!
I was out past dark sowing the seeds, repositioning the soaker hoses, and running the water. With beds ready for planting, I was on a mission. I was not alone out there as I had what felt like a swarm of mosquitoes taunting me, buzzing my ear, and biting my arms.
So I planted more delicious and beautiful kale, turnips, salad greens, bush beans, and rhubarb (variety of colors). I also planted cauliflower in my keyhole garden which has turned out great.
I am trying out plastic mulch with some corn that I plan on sowing this week. From what I have read and observed, you bury the sides of the sheet with dirt and it becomes water efficient and weedless. I am improvising with some white trash bags and I can't wait to see the finished results once the corn gets growing. I am exploring the different options we have when growing vegetables and I'm trying to grow smarter based on what I have read and seen so far. My hands-on experience has proved that mulching has been the best method yet when it comes to weed control. However, I have grown fearful of using straw or hay as they seem to create a lot of their own undesirable growth.
To wrap things up I will use pictures to give the run down on how things are going on our family food factory.
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| Drying our own herbs |
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| Beautiful cucumbers |
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Kale still thriving and ready for second harvest.
Favorite vegetable so far. |
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| Hello Beautiful Sunflowers! |
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| Happy bees moving from one to another. |
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Do marigolds get 2 to 3 feet high? I'm surprised.
Must not have read the package. |
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| Herb garden showing off |
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Put the mint plants in pots to prevent them
from taking over the garden. |
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| Chives look and taste great! |
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Strawberry rows taken over by weeds and grass.
Least favorite part of the garden at the moment. |
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Each tomato plant has green tomatoes. Not
sure I can wait much longer. It is killing me...
all I want is a tomato sliced with crispy toast
and melted cheese on top....Why me??? |
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Sowed bell peppers, chamomile, oregano,
and zucchini using toilet paper rolls. |
Last weekend I pulled up potatoes and lettuce that reached its end to replaced it with a direct sowing of kale, turnips, salad greens, bush beans, rhubarb, snow peas, and cauliflower. This may be old hat for some, but for me this is all new so I'll mention it, but I strongly suggest adding compost to your beds before you sow seeds again. I used some compost I had been working on since early spring and it saved me around 25 to 50 bucks. As of now, everything is growing and enjoying the sunshine and the rain. Two weeks ago, weather reports suggested a good chance of rain, but instead we got high humidity and heat. This past week has been optimally suited for germination and the seeds reaped the benefits of the balanced weather conditions.
I love pets that pay rent. Why am I saying this? We finally have eggs!! I felt so happy I could fly. I wonder if chickens ever feel that way? They do fly, but not... really well. However, their bug catching capabilities are unmatched. I can watch chickens for hours while they congregate around me and chase fireflies. 
I'm not sure what Ellouise is doing, but she sure ain't making any eggs. I'm beginning to think she is my trophy hen and that her rent is paid by looking pretty. I hope she gets to working because I'm standing a little bit closer to the deep fryer. Ok, yall know I'm not going to do anything to Ellouise because she is my baby girl. She stands with elegance and a raised beak. I even feel a little guilty for making the previous comment about the deep fryer. "I'm in love with a chicken!"
Rosemary has finally started to grow! It is slowly getting ready for planting in the herb garden. I can't wait to add this plant to my collection. So far I have chocolate mint, garlic chives, chives, lavender, basil, thyme, parsley, cilantro (coriander), a tiny dill plant, and oregano. Things couldn't be better in the herb sanctuary. I have chamomile growing too which can be used for herbal teas along with mint. 
After a failed attempt to dry herbs inside of the screened-in patio, I am now giving it another whirl. This time I'm going to take all precautions and use the inside of a dark closet which can be supplied with air flow from a ceiling fan as needed. I think my first attempt had too much exposure to natural light outside which in turn made the leaves lose their color or turn brown.
