Wordless Wednesday

 

Homestead Happenings

We're experiencing a true (for us) winter

here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, 

minus the snow.

We've been living here for just over 7 years,

and this is the coldest temperature we have had thus far.

Thankfully, the extreme chilliness only lasted for a few days,

and our averages are again ranging in the 40's to 60's.

So grateful for our toasty fireplace!

Most of the brassicas did well with an extra layer of protection.

The additional row cover saved most of the broccoli,

kale, and even lettuce plants.

The cauliflower was not so fortunate.

The leaves can still be shared with the chooks.

A few of the broccoli heads were harvested before the coldest weather,

even though they were not full-sized.

Oh, my, they didn't disappoint.

It was the tastiest broccoli I think I've ever eaten.

The remaining crops will offer side shoots for future picking.

Winter sowing has begun!

Time spent indoors allowed me to work on

the crops I want to grow for this spring.

The focus for this season is on crops I eat regularly.

The basics are carrots, kale, onions, potatoes,

and a handful of herbs.

Several containers were sown using the winter sowing method.

You can read about that here.

The bins remain outside placed in the asparagus bed,

and will be watered only when necessary.

Fortunately, we've had a long stretch of rain visit the garden,

so these should be quite content.

As the weather allows, more seeds will be started.

Betty actually spent some time inside.

We used our closet-sized room 

off the master bathroom to nurse her.

She has been limping for a while,

although I can find no sign of problems with her feet or legs.

She stayed warm, dry and bully-free for a week.

She's walking better and is back outside.

Several of the mailboxes in our cul-de-sac have been destroyed.

For some reason, over the course of a week,

someone found it necessary to

knock them over, run into them or

somehow make them unusable.

We ended up replacing the post with a metal one

and replaced the box on top.

These were originally purchased at the library bookshop.

I am looking for a local "free library",

(the kind where folks can give and take books)

so that they can be donated.

With the book banning going on these days,

it makes it a bit more difficult to find the right spot.

Hopefully, others will get to enjoy these.

The blueberries are waking up!

I spied buds on the branches about a week ago,

and despite the neglect over the summer,

(I didn't water them much),

and their poor placement in the garden,

they still keep working toward a harvest.

A few of the blueberry crops were stretching to reach the sun,

so the pots have been moved to the outside of the chook run.

I'm hoping they will get a better distribution of sunshine here.

The plan was to put them in the ground this year

and hope for the best.  I have thus far not had a great harvest from the plants,

but I am still tweaking the soil to get the right balance of acidity.

Maybe the proximity to the chooks and their fertilizer will help.

The cold is part of winter,

and we are so glad to be living with the seasons.

It does require me to alter my day-to-day a bit.

One thing I enjoy doing in the heat of summer

and in the cold of winter is jigsaw puzzles.

Almost done with this beauty!

I usually go for a 1-mile walk through the neighborhood

at least four days a week.

With the rain and cold, that's not possible,

so I have found a great resource for walking inside.

It's called "Walk at Home", and it can be found on YouTube.

Each day I can pick from a number of videos to complete my walk for the day.

In fact, I've been enjoying them so much,

that I have increased my walk inside to 2 miles.

If you need an alternative or just want to get started

taking better care of yourself,

this is an easy way to do something for you.

Even better, have family or friends join in!

Here's the link.

What's happening on your homestead?

Homestead Happenings

 

The end of another week,

and the sunsets have been simply spectacular!

It looks as if the sky is on fire through the trees,

but not to worry, it is only Mother Nature showcasing one of Her many talents.

Here are a few of the things that went on this week.

The leaf collection and mulching are complete

in both our yard and our neighbors'.

Our wonderful next-door neighbor allows us to use her 

mower with attached bagger to clean up our yard,

and in return we take care of hers.

Everyone wins!

We have this massive leaf pile out by the garden,

and another two cubic yards in heavy duty bags.

I think we're set for leaf mulch for a while!

I finally got around to cleaning up the loofah.

We ended up with about 20 usable loofahs.

These will be listed on our local Next Door

for anyone who can use them.

Considering that I wasn't sure they would dry in time,

(we got cold weather earlier than expected),

I'm quite pleased with the harvest.

One of the big projects we've been 

dragging our feet on pondering for months,

was how to level our shed.

Big K can fix just about anything,

but this lil' conundrum was a little out of his comfort zone.

The floor inside had started to buckle,

and after calling a couple of shed companies,

ended up with no one who would do the job.

Until I asked our neighbor Joe.

Joe is an 80-something gentleman 

who lives a block over and does all sorts of odd jobs

for folks in the neighborhood.

He cuts grass, chops wood, builds stuff,

he's truly a talented guy.

Not only did he do a fabulous job of leveling the shed,

he would not take payment for it.

We ended up dropping off a Lowe's gift card,

knowing that he'll put it to good use.

Generous neighbors are such a blessing.

A couple of the raised beds have been dismantled,

to make room for our new Birdie's beds.

The garden is being reconfigured,

and two of the beds need to be moved anyway.

The soil from these beds will be added to

the asparagus bed,

as it has settled quite a bit.

I've been working on getting rid of things 

that I don't really need.

A couple of items were found that I didn't even realize I had.

One was this French newspaper,

which must have been with my mom's things.

Our next-door neighbor is going to help me

with the translation.

Someone suggested that perhaps the paper

held some information about a family member.

I don't really know what to do with this,

as I have no way to contact any of my mom's family in France,

if they are even still around.

Suggestions?

Here's the other item.

Remember these?

Here's the flip side.

Again, what to do with these random things?

I know that C will not be interested in them,

so there's really no reason to save them,

but I can't bring myself to just throw them out.

Not my style.

The baking has commenced.

Another year of sharing my mom's recipe for Madelienes.

They are a traditional French "cookie"

that my momma used to bake at Christmas time.

They taste like miniature sponge cakes more than cookies.

Unfortunately for me, I can't eat them because they contain gluten,

but I do enjoy making them for others,

knowing that they've probably never had anything like them.

Our indoor decorations are fairly simple.

We always decorate the mantel with our various holiday Lego sets.

It's a fun activity for the whole family,

and it gives our home a unique, cheerful theme.

Hoping you are enjoying this holiday season,

however you celebrate!

Got Fire Ants?

It's spring and with so many people sheltering at home,
it's more likely than ever that you may run into 
an encounter with fire ant mounds.
These pesky critters can cause major damage outside,
but have also been known to chew through wires,
creating indoor hazards and loss of electrical power.
We learned how destructive these insects can be
in our Master Gardener class.
Anyone who has been bitten by these insects
is no doubt motivated to be rid of them.

The main goal of eliminating fire ants is to get to the queen.
Without the queen, the colony will perish
because no one will be laying eggs.
To determine if the time is right to apply your fire ant controls,
decide if the ants are active by spreading a few potato chips
in the designated area.
If you return to the spot a few hours later and they are feeding on the chips,
it would be a good time to treat.



The first step of chemical control used in this application
is broadcasting the bait, 
which can be distributed using a hand spreader,
(the kind that is used for spreading grass seed).
This should be done once a year,
until the mounds are no longer visible.
The second step includes drenching the individual mounds
that return to the same area.
Sprinkling the bait around each mound
when conditions are expected to stay dry
should take care of problematic areas.
Here's a video showing the method.

Two methods that have been proposed to work are
hot water and grits.
Neither has been an effective method for managing fire ants.
Unfortunately, I haven't found an effective organic method
for dealing with these creatures.


For more information, contact your local Cooperative Extension Center.

 From the NCSU website:

• "Use fresh bait. Remember that the food portion of the bait must be attractive to the ants. Old bait (particularly past its expiration date) will not attract the ants to feed on it. You can test the bait by putting some out where ants are active and see if they take it.
• In the spring when ant foraging first starts to increase, you can gauge ant activity by placing pieces of hot dogs or potato chips in areas of known or suspected ant mounds. Watch for ants to start feeding on the food items and then apply the bait as needed. At that point, baiting is likely to be more successful.
• Apply the bait according to label directions. Sprinkle the recommended amount around each mound (not on top of the mound itself). It is best to apply the bait in the early evening.
• Many bait labels recommend that the material not be applied within 6 hours after rainfall or heavy dew. Moisture can lead to the bait’s attractant oils becoming rancid and less attractive to foraging ants or may cause the bait granules to lodge in the grass foliage and so the ants do not readily find them."

 Hopefully, this will help you rid  your yard of fire ants,
and enable you to enjoy the great outdoors.

Sweet Support

We recently planted white sweet potato slips into one of our raised beds.
This is first-time crop for us,
although we have grown the standard variety in the past.
In a matter of weeks, these slips have grown quite a bit
and I wanted to prepare something for the vines to climb.

We had just what I needed around the homestead.

Some welded wire, wooden stakes, u-staples

and a wire cutter were all that were required.

The project began by using a jigsaw to create a sharp point

on the wooden stakes.

This will make it so much easier to get them into the soil.

These wire cutters do a great job on all kinds of wire.
They've been in Big K's toolbox forever.
I cut two panels of welded wire out,
after measuring the raised bed's sides.

 It turns out, the U-staples were too wide,

so I raided the "junk" drawer in the kitchen.
We had some twist ties from various things,
so I put two of them together,

and placed a couple of twist ties every so often.

If they don't hold up,

tie wraps will be purchased. 
Another option would be to use a staple gun.
Sometimes you just gotta use what ya got.

Ta-da!

Easy, schmeesy.

This little project took very little time,

not much effort and didn't cost a dime.

Sounds like a dynamite combination!

They were pounded into the soil just outside of the box.

Now the vines have somewhere to roam.

If we get the rain we're supposed to,

I expect they'll be covering the panels in no time.

The bed right next to the sweet potatoes houses the butternut squash.
They're not even waiting for the rain,
they are pretty much taking over the cattle panel we placed there on the weekend.
I'm enjoying the vertical elements in the garden.

It's not always necessary to purchase what you need to make things work in the garden.
Sometimes things can be created from what is already there.
It's all about letting your creativity run free.


"A garden is a grand teacher.  It teaches
patience and careful watchfulness;
it teaches industry and thrift;
above all, it teaches entire trust."
~Gertrude Jekyll