Homestead Happenings

 Welcome to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here

on our Piedmont, NC homestead.

It's been creeping toward summer

with rising temperatures and the sightings of more bugs.

Maintenance chores are keeping us busy,

but we will slow down as summer draws near.

The heat is just too difficult to deal with.

I may resort to pulling out my jigsaw puzzles

in order to stay inside during the hottest part of the day.

I felt the need to share these gorgeous photos of 

the Piedmont Farmstead,

one of the farms where I get some of my produce.

It's important to me to be able to source nutritious, clean

food from local farms.

Piedmont's produce is superb.

I just couldn't resist taking some shots

of their tidy rows.

Straight lines and I don't really get along,

so my garden will never look like this.

But I sure do admire other folks who create 

such a beautiful vista.

Back on our homestead,

the lettuce and kale just keep on comin'!

It's been wonderful to be able to share

some of this produce with neighbors.

Another full bed of lettuce was sown this week,

as we are expecting several days of rain.

There is our usual planting of red ripper beans,

which store so well and taste delicious.

Our first crop of potatoes is ready for harvest,

with a second crop about halfway through the growing cycle.

Thank goodness the squirrels are leaving something alone!

For the life of me,

I can't figure out what this crop is.

The tag says broccoli, but it doesn't look anything like it.

And it appears to be bolting.

I tasted the tiniest bit of the tips

and it was very spicy.

I may just save this for sister,

as she enjoys a little spice in her diet.

Any ideas about what it could be?

Our babies are about 6 weeks old now,

and have been going out on grass for a 

couple of weeks.

Their color is really starting to come in now,

and they are almost fully feathered.

It won't be long before they are outside full time,

enjoying their own cozy coop.

Once they are similar in size to our 2-year old hens,

we will attempt to integrate them.

Focaccia was made this week,

using fresh-milled flour.

Oh.  My.  Stars.

It was like eating a cloud,

so light and airy.

This is definitely a keeper.

Basil was picked fresh from the garden

to make pesto as a topping.

Real food tastes SO good!

If we are blessed with a good amount of rain,

(which we desparately need),

it should cool things off a bit

before the scorching bite of summer begins.

Spring has barreled past us,

but there can be no spring, fall or winter

without summer.

And so, although it is my least favorite season,

I embrace all the good things that it brings.

Things like:

blueberries

cool, refreshing showers

fireflies

ice cream runs to Kilwin's

lemonade

longer days

watermelon.

What are you most grateful for in summer?

Homestead Happenings

 

Hey there, and welcome back to Homestead Happenings,

where we share what's going on here in the Piedmont area

of North Carolina.

The first daisy was spied this week, always able to cheer me.

The beds of lettuce continue to produce,

keeping the fridge full of crisp, flavorful greens.

It feels good to be able to share the bounty with others as well.

Several areas have been planted with garlic,

including this grow bag.

In the next 6 weeks or so, it will be harvested and cured

before storing it for the rest of the year.

Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow in the home garden.

The bed of leeks seems to be sailing along just fine.

We finally got a good dowsing yesterday,

but before that, rain was very scarce.

No doubt all of the beds will be happy to keep growing now.

This is the most success I've ever had with growing onions.

The bed was filled with Walla Walla onion starts from

Sow True Seed in Asheville,

one of my favorite seed companies.

I'm looking forward to a bumper crop!

I purchased some starts from Piedmont Farmstead,

a local farm which supplies me with greens and other goodies

when my garden is less productive.

Just look at this mouth-watering head of lettuce.

There are still seeds going into the ground,

or container, as the case may be.

These are pigeon peas, a staple of the Carribean diet,

and I told sister I'd try to grow her some this year.

The first step was sprouting in a damp paper towel,

then planted into a pot to grow on.

I'd love to be able to give her a little taste of home.

Here are the soil block trays 2 weeks after sowing.

They did well and had to be watered regularly,

as our precipitation has been absent.

We have a combination of flowers and veg that will be

ready to be planted into the Birdie beds this weekend.

The beans and loofah can't wait for more space!

The continuing temperate weather has allowed

all sorts of perennials to pop back up

and fill our flower beds with lovely blooms.

The mailbox bed hosts thyme, yarrow, sedum,

guara, irises and baptisia.

The pink yarrow is such a treat.

Most of our beds house the white variety,

so it's always so fun to see this beautiful color

displayed among the greenery.

I recently read that yarrow is a medicinal plant,

and makes a wonderful tea.

The pollinator bed is awash in color.

The rue has certainly been a showstopper,

with a bright yellow addition to the bed.

Rue is one of the host plants for the

black swallowtail butterfly,

so we'll be looking for caterpillars soon.

The babies are gone!

The tufted titmouse babies have fledged.

It took only a few weeks before they were ready

to leave the nest.

The parents did an amazing job feeding

six hungry mouths.

The fresh milled flour voyage continues,

and I could never imagine going back to gluten-free eating.

What a wonderful discovery this was,

and I am encouraging everyone I know who has health issues related to digestion

to give it a go.

It's a great gift to me to be able to share this healing bread with others.

For all the mommas out there,

enjoy your special day this Sunday!

"Motherhood:  All love begins and ends there."

~Robert Browning