Birdhouse Gourd

My friend Steph grew gourds last year on her property.
Boy, did she grow gourds.
She was practically overrun.
Being the sweetheart that she is,
she gifted me with one not too long ago.

What a lovely opportunity to create a home for our feathered friends.
With a few simple tools, it was easy enough to do.

The flat-ended screwdriver easily punctured the dry outer shell.

Then I cut through the perforations with a utility knife.
Inside was found the dried flesh and a bonus!
I scooped out what was inside.

Wire was used to make a handle for hanging.

The same screwdriver was used to create ventilation holes in the bottom.

This will also allow for drainage, should it get wet.

An easy, free craft project!

Now to find the perfect perch.

The bonus found inside was a host of dried seeds,

so that I can start the whole process over again!

Nature is forever giving...

Garden Friday

Something wonderful arrived in the mail last week.

A gift from my farmer friends Faye & Lynn down south.

He raided his stash of tumeric
and sent me up a mess of it!
There was plenty to plant and share with fellow gardeners.
Tumeric is one of the best foods for inflammation.
Once it gets to growing, I'll show you what it looks like.
The leaves are edible.

The weather has been conducive to working outside,
so a few projects have been worked on.
There is always another project... 

One thing I crossed off of my list
was to fashion "cages" out of some of the grapevine
to protect the newly planted beautyberry from the mower.
I like the look and think I will work on making
other garden structures using the leftovers
from the wattle fence project.

This Freckles variety of lettuce
started taking off this week.
It's just as well, as there are other varieties that are bolting.

Nasturtiums have been planted in several locations 
around the veggies, to deter pests and add some color.

 The beets seem to have awakened this week too,
with a good dose of rain to encourage them right along.
Next week's cooler temperatures may help these do even better.

The garlic and shallots will be harvested in the next two weeks.
The beds will then be planted with sweet potatoes
and butternut squash.
I'll need to build a trellis or frame to accommodate the climbing vines.

 Surprisingly, the okra germinated earlier than expected.
There are two varieties planted,
the standard Clemson Spineless,
and the Bradford Family type that I grew last year.

 Cucumbers have a good start in the straw bales.
A trellis was recently added behind it to support the climbing tendrils.

Some of the strawberries in the straw bales are doing fine,
a couple of others didn't transplant well.
I'm hoping with a good soaking that they will bounce back.

 All is not well, however, with the beans.
Something's been after them,
but I have a solution in mind
and will work on finding what I need this weekend.

 The apple tree is loaded with fruit
and I'm keeping an eye out for spots on the leaves and fruit.
Several folks have told me that apples and peaches can be grown without spraying,
so I am inching back toward hope.

Tall Verbena

The butterfly garden has filled in well,
and everything seems to have suddenly just taken off.

 This dwarf variety of Joe Pye Weed is looking healthy and strong.
It is one of the best butterfly attractors.

gaillardia in bud

and in bloom

 These gorgeous blossoms jumped out at me when I was weedwhacking.
What a unique composition of color and texture.
Wish I knew what it is.

 These peonies belong to a neighbor across the street.
They are so amazingly complex, yet delicate.

garlic bloom

This weekend's rainfall is a welcome gift.
Even though it prevents many outdoor activities,
there is always a way to dodge the raindrops 
and get something done in the garden.
Working on the wattle fence will be priority one.

Here's hoping you get just the amount of rain your garden needs!

Going Local-Kasper Creek Farm

A couple of weeks ago,
several Master Gardeners were invited
to the homestead of a fellow gardener in Huntersville, NC.

This is Kasper Creek Farm.
I had the pleasure of working with Ranelle Kasper
during the plant sale hosted by Lincoln County Extension.
We met one early winter morning to dole out trees, bushes
and other plants that folks had pre-ordered.
It was a wonderful experience and time spent with Ranelle was fascinating.
She was kind enough to offer us a tour of her amazing farm.

Ranelle grew up on a family farm in Virginia,
and was blessed with a fortune of knowledge
that she still uses today when raising her well-known heirloom tomatoes
and other crops.
Her mother, especially, was influential in her current path.
Not only was she an avid gardener,
she also passed on the skills of preserving food,
and properly saving seeds for subsequent plantings.

No doubt her mother would be duly proud of her accomplishments.

Ranelle's booth at the Davidson Farmers' Market

often sells out well before the end of the day.

She must be doing something right!

This new irrigation system allows for consistent watering
and gives her more time to tend to other things.
These tomato plants used to be hand watered,
sometimes more than once a day during the heat of summer.

Ranelle has a passion for raising quality produce,
which she offers up at the local farmers' market.
Along with her tomatoes,
she also sells beans, squash, and a variety of preserves,
fashioned from her very own orchards.

Along with grapevines,
Ranelle also raises blackberries and peaches for preserves,
utilizing her mother's recipes.

On another part of the property,
we were shown the large vegetable garden,
although being so early in the spring,
there is not a lot going on just yet.
There is ample space for the beans, cucumbers, peppers and squash
to share space and spread out.

The garden is at the base of a sloped area,
and The Kaspers have put in substantial efforts
to get the expanse to work for their purposes.

The greenhouse is one of the keys to the farm's success.
Seedlings are started well before the season,
which ensures there will plenty to harvest for market.

The indoor watering system was absolutely brilliant.
The water is pumped through tubing
into the countertops, which have a lip to hold water.
Plants get watered from below, which is best for the health of young seedlings.
Once the irrigation is complete, the water drains back into these tubs.

As if all of this splendor wasn't enough,
Ranelle let us take a gander at her root cellar,
built right into the side of the house.
Rocky leads the way...

During peak season, this gem houses so many tasty delights.
Ranelle and her husband live off the land
as much as possible,
and so fill this room with canned, pickled and preserved
treats of their own making.
Her mother's lessons have stayed with her.

On a designated shelf,
heirloom seeds wait for planting.
Ranelle is an avid seed saver,
and deems it her responsibility to keep these safe.

Spending an afternoon with someone 
who so passionately follows her path,
is truly inspirational.


"The only durable sense of success
is if you've followed your calling."
~Jim Harrison


More Going Local posts:
Grace Tree Farm 
Faith Family Farm 
Davidson Farmers' Market 
Mount Holly Farmers' Market 
Cobblestone Farmers' Market

Garden Friday

Welcome back to Garden Friday!

Things are hoppin' in the garden.

Let's see what's going on this week...

 Lettuce is still doing well

and will hopefully continue.

Our temperatures during the day have been in the 80's,

with overnights in the 60's,

so I'm hoping it continues so that I can keep on pickin'!

 This Red Planet variety has been grown strictly for baby greens.

They will soon be big enough to add to my daily salad.

This is the first year I have grown mixed lettuces,

and the diversity of colors is quite appealing.

The buttercrunch (seen here) and the green oakleaf

have been favorites up to now.

What a blessing to have such an assortment to grow.

Three red cabbages are holding their own.

This is the first year I've tried growing cabbage,

and I think I will grow more next year.

They store well and I just love adding it raw to salads

or roasting it on a sheet pan as a side.

 This green cabbage is hiding underneath a giant kale plant.

Although the kale has had cabbage worms on it,

so far, this cabbage has stayed clean.

Hope I don't jinx it!

Here's the giant Premier kale plant I was talking about.

It's been harvested for a couple of months now,

but it's finally bolting.

I left it where it is as a trap crop,

to keep the cabbage worms off other things in the raised bed. 

(Did you notice the flowers on the peas behind it?

Whoo-hoo!)

The leeks are planted all around the perimeter on this side of the trellis.

The leek on the left have some smaller crops around them,

while the leek on the right are covered by that same kale plant.

It's easy to see that they are not getting enough sun,

as all other variables are the same.

Lesson learned for next time.

 The potatoes are growing by leaps and bounds!

I just hilled them on Tuesday with more straw,

and they need to be banked again.

Strawberries were transplanted into two straw bales.

I've never had much success with strawberries,

so I'm curious to see how they do.

The blueberries are a new crop too,

and they are doing great.

What an easy plant to grow!

I can't wait to have the first taste.

I see bowls-o-berries in my future!

 Last weekend was a planting marathon!

I got our cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, bush and pole beans,

melon and watermelon all planted.
I had planned where everything would go
and tweaked it as I went along.

 To each new planting hole,
whether in the ground or containerized,
I added these three ingredients:
eggshells, coffee grounds, and worm castings.
The secret's in the sauce.

This is where the melons and runner beans will grow up the arches.

They are in pots and I plan to add flower seeds between them.

I'm so glad we added the arches and I can't wait to see them

with crops covering them to create a food tunnel!

This little corner of our property is right next to the veggie garden.

It's so peaceful to go out there and listen to all of the birds singing.

The assortment of trees we have is wonderful,

as they each attract and house different species.

Our yard is full of clover and I love that the pollinators

have an ample supply of what they need.

More clover, less lawn!

The parsley that made it through the winter with no problem

is finally getting ready to flower.

Plants are so amazing, they are all so different,

but equally beautiful, in all stages of development.

The mailbox bed is framed with iris,

which are getting closer to flowering.

A couple of weeks ago I seeded this bed

with daisies, rudbekia, echinacea, alyssum, sunflowers and zinnias.

Things are slowly popping up.

Spring is such an exciting time!

 I guess this sunflower is a late bloomer like me.

It came up before I planted the front porch bed,

so it must have been dormant all winter.

Better late than never!

Here's a cute lil' fella that seems to have taken up residence

under our outdoor garbage can.
The bonus?
Brown snakes eat slugs!
Yeah, have at it, bud!

What a fun time to be out in the garden.

Food is making its way to the table,

seedlings are showing themselves

and so many flowers are about to bloom

and grace us with untold beauty.

Every day is filled with abundance.