Garden Plans

2012 marked our first year growing our own vegetables.  Last year we longed to have a garden, yet our property was still under construction with a big topsoil pile resting where our garden would be.  We had sand for a lawn, hence, no garden.

This year, with grass so green, it called my name at all hours to go spread out the blanket and read a good book.  So we dug in.

We stared with just he Garden Patch.  We managed to squeeze in three types of tomatoes, broccoli, summer squash, zucchini, pickling cuc's and straight eights, radishes, carrots, peppers, green/yellow beans, lettuce and mescalin.  It all looked so organized and put together in June.  Holy jungle right now.  All of the mound plants are creeping on each other, we can barley get to our plants to pick the veggies.

The blueberry bushes and strawberries came the week after the garden went in.  We put the strawberries in old whiskey barrels, which looked cool, but did not function properly for the strawberries growth.  Having my architecture background, i wanted a bush and a plant to follow each other around the garden to look symmetrical.  Fast forward one month later, the robins are enjoying their breakfast on all, yes all, of my blueberry bushes.  Total Fail.

Then two weeks after the garden patch went in, Jason decided that he really wanted corn, so we started that this year as well.  That lead to trips to Agway, and discount pumpkin plants we just couldn't let go to waste, and so we had some pumpkins lining the corn.

Here is what we are thinking for next year.  This plan includes spreading out the garden, to have all of the mound plants separate with ample room to roam and grow.  We already moved all of the strawberry plants out of the barrels and placed them in a nice long row for next season's harvest.  I think our plan below will provide much more room and better production for our gardens. 

Oh how i love to plan and dream.

At Home

One weekend in Vermont, exploring the countryside farms with my love, going to a farm auction and spending a night at home with my parents (and totally not taking even one picture). 

The next extended, wonderful weekend in Cape Cod without my love, but with four happy kids, brother, sister and parents.

So here i am, Sunday evening.  Feeling so grateful for my weekend at home.  For my routines to be restored, and my family to eat dinner together.  To work Sunday morning in the garden.

Buying a new-to-us rototiller for the tractor from a Alpaca farm in Canterbury.  The barn was beautiful, actually heavenly.  Hay filled the third loft, alpaca babies cozied up to their mama's on the second floor, while adult goats, turkeys and alpaca's grazed the back pasture and took their rest on the first floor.  The lady of the home spins the wool.  Workshops coming this fall, I'll be there.

To finally finish our dear friend's baby girl's quilt.  Feeling pretty good about it, except the binding, that needs work.

Canning Dill Pickles and Bread & Butter pickles.  Yum!

Baking chocolate chip cookies and Nana's macaroni & Cheese on Sunday afternoon.

Loving my beautiful glads from my husband for my birthday. 

Marveling at the tassel's that suddenly appeared on our corn and the miniature corn cobs growing.  Holy Moly i am going to have a ton of corn to freeze :)

 Picking so, so, so many vegetables every day.  Loving our garden and the plans we are making for next year.

Learning to use my new pressure canner/cooker from hubs.  We cooked up some fresh beans out of the garden in it.  Added a hunk of salt pork and made some Delicious string beans.

Looking at my kitchen and the sink that is full for the billionth time this weekend.  But loving the process that creates this lovely mess.

Thinning out the carrots and bringing all of the small ones in to munch on.

Getting excited for these hot, humid New England summer days to wind down, and the cooler temps to creep in.  Sweaters, flannel, wood heat, cooking on the cook-stove again, apple picking, making homemade apple cider donuts.  Oh how i love Autumn.

Yet also wishing time to stop, to let me catch up, give me time to pick the last of the blueberries and preserve so much more.

 

Enjoying my time at home.

This Summer's Start

Summer has always been my second favorite season (First being autumn, of course).  Summer holds some of my fondest memories of my childhood.  Summer's filled with trips to the lake, camping, hiking and just simply playing outside all day long.  I now long for a summer off, yet that is not in my horizon at this time.  I do have some things brewing that would make this possible in the future.  But for now, for this time and this summer, i will enjoy it in the mornings, evenings and weekends.

This summer started early in New England.  With temp's reaching 100 degrees last weekend, we took it in.  We took the canoe out on Hermit lake.  We began eating every meal outside.

I make homemade buttermilk biscuits with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for the hub's birthday.

Along with homemade french fries & grilled pineapple with a maple glaze.

We have picked the first of the harvest, radishes.

My herb barrels are growing ~ growing ~ growing.  Basil & Cilantro pictured above.

We spend all waking hours watching and hovering over our garden.  Oh how i love watching our garden grow.  While hubs hopes and tries to will the corn to get "knee high by the forth of July."  As my father says.

We beat the heat on the first 97 degree day with a cold veggie salad with our own radishes and basil included, similar to Soule Mama's.   Annie's mac & cheese and turkey dogs topped off the dinner.

Cold Veggie Summer Salad

Corn, fully cooked

Fresh Basil, cut/shred into small pieces

Cucumber

Tomato

Radish

Olive Oil

red wine vinegar

lemon juice

Cooked Orzo

~Mix all together.  Amounts of each ingredient to taste~

This weekend also included my first visit to Surowiec Farm for the season.  What a totally wonderful feeling. I love shopping at the farm for as much as i can.  This weekend i picked up some sugar snap peas, zucchini and fresh delicious strawberries.

We have sold so much maple syrup this week, that we spent Sunday morning bottling more.  I just Love syrup sales.  It feels that we are really making an honest dollar on what we truly love.  This lead to discussions and dreams of a farm stand for all the veggies from the garden that we won't be able to eat or preserve.  It lead to the hope of the day we can really live completely off our land.  

Dreams are a wonderful thing.  

Especially when you have the same ones as your partner.  It just makes you feel whole and happy.  

It makes me feel that our life is going in the direction we desire.

We puttered around, and it was wonderful.  Nothing on the schedule, just doing what we felt was right.

We had friends over for a Mexican dinner, then went out for ice cream, followed by fireworks in town.  Our first use of our beach blanket of the year, taking in the summer night, full of bright skies.

I have spent evenings on the front porch, on clear, warm nights.  Jason woke me up, just to show me the fireflies across the way.  Wow, they are marvelous and so, so alive.  There are thousands just lighting up my view.

I made fresh blueberry lemonade from Ashley English in my latest edition of Taproot!. (Simply amazing!)  That magazine totally rocks.  Anyone that doesn't have the subscription, is missing out.  I can't wait for the next edition already.

Refreshing 

I spent last Sunday afternoon, with my feet in the brook, reading Animal-Vegetable-Miracle. Then i ventured to the blanket on the lawn that was calling my name.  I napped there with my pup.  A wonderful way to put a close to the weekend.

Hubs helped his grandfather out, mowing the fields.  He didn't mind, he didn't mind one bit.  My man loves tractors.  Especially this Farmall.  This Farmall that is started with a crank in the front.  Its a total classic and so beautiful.

Summer has begun.

And we are taking it all in.

Every morning garden walk and every evening firefly show.

Garden Prep

A few weekends ago we brought in some fresh local manure, some topsoil and some fence posts.  It was wonderful to be outside, getting ready for the season ahead with my husband.

More updates to come very soon!