Homestead Happenings

 

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

our feature where we share what's been

going on here on our Piedmont Zone 8A property.

Having been pup sitting for a bit,

there wasn't much chance to garden here at home,

but things are humming along nicely.

Earlier in the week,

I tweaked my lower back,

and recuperation didn't lend itself to anything strenuous.

Things are better now,

and I hope to be back up and in full vigor by the weekend.

It felt triumphant to be able to again 

walk the neighborhood without any discomfort.

Some of the beds are about done,

and some will be replanted with fall crops.

This (lower) bed full of lemon balm

never stopped growing, even through

our severe drought this summer.

Good to know there will be enough tea

to get me through some chilly days!

As vigorous as this pumpkin vine looks,

we have only a few gourds to show for it.

I figured I might as well leave it growing,

and maybe we'll get a handful more before Thanksgiving.

The loofah hasn't done much either,

but we do have a smattering hanging on the trellis.

The drought really made it difficult this season,

but we'll be grateful for whatever we can harvest.

The turmeric seemed unbothered by the heat

and lack of precipitation.

It will be harvested and the roots given away.

I have plenty growing elsewhere in the ground.

The first picking of the new lettuce happened this week.

There's nothing like fresh greens from the garden.

More lettuce has been sown,

along with beets and kale.

These will be succession sown over the next month or two.

This bed was prepped for garlic sowing later this month.

The tarp will keep the sun off of the bed,

which should kill any weeds or other plants from creeping in.

This will be a new location for garlic,

and I'm curious to see how it does.

My garlic harvest over the last 3 years has been less than ideal.

We had a pleasant surprise this week!

The babies (Wyandottes) started laying!

Their eggs are tiny compared to the older girls,

but they will grow in size with time.

Each of these mini eggs is about half the size

of a standard egg.

The Wyandottes lay brown eggs,

while the four Olive Eggers lay green.

Fresh milled flour is still being used for 

all of my bread products.

I'm looking forward to Sunday,

when it is supposed to rain all day long.

Rainy days just put me in the mood to bake.

I'm thinking I might try scones next!

All of the following pictures reflect my

utter fascination with Monarch caterpillars.

They are such magical creatures and 
I never tire of watching their magnificent transformation.

There are at least a half a dozen out in our 

front porch bed,

and I find myself checking them each morning

when letting the chooks out.

I hope you have some milkweed growing

so that you can be mesmerized by these captivating creatures!

Two for one!