Homestead Happenings

Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's been going on 

here on our zone 8A Piedmont homestead.

The gazebo frame is being covered in morning glory.

Unfortunately, the loofah that I had planted (twice),

never took off.

We'll try again next year. 

The garden is a bit of a mess at the moment.

The temperatures here have been blistering,

as in much of the country,

and motivation to be outside has waned.

With this weekend being a little cooler,

I am hoping to give some attention to filling the raised beds

with adequate growing material.

There have been several disappointments this season.

This Seminole pumpkin that I had great success with

the last two years, has not produced even one gourd.

I think that it is too late in the season to expect 

any recovery, so another thing to look forward to next year.

I guess it's not surprising,

as even the nasturtiums,

seen here in the bed next to the round strawberry bed,

have withered in the heat, despite hand watering.

The Red Ripper beans never disappoint.

They are starting to take off and dry on the vines.

These red beans have a mild flavor,

and are great for using in chili, sloppy joes,

and anywhere you might use meat.

These store amazingly well, and, in fact,

I recently just finished last year's harvest.

Some things currently growing are green beans,

leeks, okra and turmeric.

Fall seedlings will be started soon.

Although their timing is a bit off,

these volunteer pumpkins did exceptionally well,

despite the scorching heat and humidity.

These three were harvested yesterday and brought inside,

and are absolutely beautiful.

There's no way they will make it until fall

left outdoors.

As I don't know the variety, I was planning to keep them

for decorating the front porch.

We'll see how well they do.

The morning glory is vigorously adorning the compost area.

For some reason, it seems a lot of folks in this state

don't care for it.

The heart-shaped leaves alone are so pretty,

and the purple flowers just add to it.

There are a number of orbital spiders residing here.

It was mesmerizing to watch as this gal

turned this moth into her silk to trap it.

Nature is fascinating.

A few of these yellow fuzzy caterpillars 

were found on the baptisia this week.

It may be an American dagger moth caterpillar.

I'm so grateful that critters can find a home here.

Our neighborhood groundhog (?)

has been visiting the garden as of late.

I wonder if s/he could be the culprit

eating one of the green bean plants?

Something not as welcome are the bag worms,

which infest our persimmon tree every year.

These insects are a true menace,

and can defoliate and destroy many types of plants.

Just look at the inside of one of the sacks.

It is best to remove the entire bag

and dispose of it in the trash, not compost.

These gluten-free almond flour muffins

were made this week.

I tweaked the recipe just a bit,

and they turned out great!

This will definitely be going into

the family recipe file.

You can find it here.

There is some good news to report.

All of our girls are together again,

enjoying ranging time as one unit.

The two chooks who were broody,

despite our efforts to dissuade them,

broke their broodiness all on their own.

It's such a blessing to see them all 

hanging out together again.

~~~~~

For those of you who were thinking about our son C,

his surgery was a bust and he is scheduled to see

another oral surgeon next week.

Fingers crossed that these folks will be 

 able to help him.

He's been so patient through it all.

We are looking forward to having it behind us.

Garden Friday

Welcome back to Garden Friday!

When the gardener's away,

the okra will grow.

         And grow.

                           And grow!

 I was dogsitting for friends and away from home for a few days.
This is what I came back to.
If okra isn't picked twice a day,
it can grow out of control.
This Bradford Family variety can still be enjoyed if it gets away from  you,
but this is a bit beyond what would probably taste good.
Thankfully, nothing goes to waste,
we have several compost piles for just this purpose.

Since we are getting ready to add a couple of new beds to the garden,
the okra had to be pulled out to make room.
These stalks will be added to our open-air pile.

 The okra stems were left in place,
so that I'll have a "handle" with which to pull them up.
Removing the stems after they've had a while to dry up
is much easier than trying to yank them out while they're still green.
(Ask me how I know.)
Two okra plants remain in straw bales until it gets cooler and they're done.

A wonderful vision as I visited the garden for the first time in days
was the riot of Red Ripper beans, drying on the vines.
This new-to-me crop has been very satisfying to grow.

 It's one of my favorite things to sprout in the kitchen
to use on salads or sandwiches.
Once the pods turn brown, they can be plucked off of the vines.

I'll have my work cut out for me this weekend,
shelling this pile of beans,
but it's a labor of love.

 These beautiful beans will be a great addition 
to any soups or stews I'll be creating this fall and winter.
And, of course, sprouting can happen year-round.

The Diamond eggplant variety is just now getting close to harvest.
With a recent cooling off, I'm not sure if they will continue to grow.

 For some reason, the strawberries are lookin' mighty fine!
It hasn't rained in weeks, but you wouldn't know it to see these.

 Isn't this loofah a beautiful shade of copper?
I decided to try to harvest one,
just to see how difficult it would be to peel.
I cut this one down from the vine
and made slices in the skin vertically.
The husk came off so easily!

It is so exciting to grow something new!
The seeds are inside the loofah,
and removed by shaking or using a long, narrow instrument to coax them out.
Loofah is one of the best exfoliators to be found,
and rejuvenates the skin.
 
 

 We're still waiting to harvest even one of our watermelons,
and with temperatures fluctuating,
I hope we still get the chance.

The bush beans transplanted a few weeks ago
have almost all been eaten up by something.
It's the same problem I had earlier in the spring.
I will just direct seed in another week or two,
once cooler temperatures are more consistent.

With no rain in the forecast,
hand watering is still the best way to keep the garden going.
I'm hoping to purchase the materials necessary
so that I can work on my drip irrigation system.
By spring planting, I would like the new beds in place,
and the drip working to irrigate all the beds.
I can't imagine how much time that will save me.


Autumn is (literally) right around the corner!
What have you got planned for your fall garden?

Garden Friday

black-eyed Susan vine

 The garden is beginning the transition to fall,
with new transplants added, plans for new beds,
and the pollinators stocking up for the cool change that's sure to come.

 The Red Ripper beans have really come into their own in the past week,
with the vines covering the arch.

 The beans are harvested when the pods turn tan,
and the shelled beans are left out to dry for a week or so.
They will be added to the pantry for future soups, stews and sprouting.

 The cukes from the garden have been quite refreshing,
although I have to admit,
it's one of the few things I have pretty much ignored in the produce aisle.
We are still getting a few of these each week
and have had some to share with neighbors.

 Okra is picked nearly every day
and it shows no sign of slowing down.
At least not until we get our first cold snap.

 No matter how many different angles I view the plants from,
there is always one or two that escape my vision
and don't get picked at the right size.
Ah well, that's what compost is for, right?

The loofah continue to amaze us with their size,
and it will be fun to harvest and collect seed for next year.

We've now lost two of the watermelons,
one due to the weight of the melon on the trellis,
and the other that somehow escaped the sling.
This one looks better everyday
and will hopefully remain in the sling until picking time.

Green bush beans have been transplanted
into one of the amended beds
where butternut squash had previously resided.
This weekend I hope to be able to direct seed lettuce to fill in the space on the perimeter.
The nasturtiums will remain to deter bugs.

Lookee what I spied on our milkweed plants!!!
They have been furiously eating and getting chunky.

 We are proud of our Monarch Way Station status
and feel honored to help them along their journey.

 The four that are enjoying our goodies will soon be 
looking for a place to form their chrysalis and transform themselves.
I've been checking them daily so that I can capture it on my camera.

Plenty of seeds will make their way to other parts of the property,
ensuring that future Monarch butterflies make their home here.
The white, wispy material helps the seeds float on air,
so that each time the wind blows, more of it gets scattered about.

With the temperatures still in the high 80's this week,
it seems that summer wants to hang on for a while.
We are ready for a change,
but will wait patiently for it to come.
A gardener must be willing to embrace what is.