Homestead Happenings

 

Greetings from the Piedmont of North Carolina!

Thank you for visiting our Homestead Happenings post.

We've had summer-like weather with warmer days

and a few afternoon thunderstorms.

We get out when we can and attend our garden chores.

Last weekend the garlic was harvested.

We ran out of room for the 2-week curing process,

so we are using the front porch as a secondary drying station.

Any visitors to our front porch get the aroma of a pizzeria!

A few red onions were pulled up too,

although I don't remember planting any!

Any success with growing onions is welcome,

as I have not had much luck in the past.

Chamomile was also picked,

with the help of Buttercup.

This is being dried for future use as a tea.

This plant for us has been prolific!

It is a wonderful splash of white

that breaks up the mostly blue/purple garden.

There are a few pumpkins starting to grow

on our mostly volunteer plants.

It's always exciting to see the gourds form,

and not being sure what you'll end up with.

This trellis is lined with pumpkins that were all

volunteers last year, and used for our fall decorating.

It's so easy to save seeds from these crops.

I may never need to buy pumpkins again!

The front porch bed is filling up with color!

Here we have calla lilies, salvia, sedum,

coneflowers, rudebekia, a sunflower,

and lamb's ear all living harmoniously.

The bees absolutely adore it!

The canna lily forest is sharing space with

the milkweed.

We have so many pollinators enjoying the blossoms,

and there is a constant hum of activity there.

The turmeric is rejuvenating itself

near the chook runs.

This plant lives in the garage during winter,

and then comes back to life 

when the heat of spring and summer hits.

lily

Some time was spent this week

examining the blooms on the elderberry.

These delicate white snowflake-type petals

are absolutely magical.

Another bee magnet, the comfrey

gets plenty of visitors daily.

What a blessing to have these amazing critters to watch.

Looks like something has been having its way 

with the red cabbage.

Most likely moths got underneath the netting

and laid eggs on the leaves.

Ah well, the leaves will be just fine for the girls.

With the ample rain we've enjoyed,

it was a great time to replant this border.

The lamb's ear was taking over the front porch bed,

spilling onto the sidewalk,

and so I transplanted it here along our woodland bed.

The last time I did this, it wasn't watered enough,

and most of the plants didn't make it.

With abundant rain expected over the next 10 days,

it should get just what it needs.

The garden is exploding in color right now,

and I have to say,

it makes the thought of the upcoming heat of summer

almost worthwhile.

Maybe I'll complain less about the temperature

if I have some lovely flowers to look at,

and bring into the house.

How's your spring garden coming along?

Garden Friday

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday!

Autumn is finally here,

and you'll find no one more excited about that than yours truly.

Fall is such a great time to be in the garden,

whether it's sowing cool weather crops or picking what nature has provided to enjoy inside.

 

Sweet potatoes were harvested this week.

We got 14.5 pounds, which isn't bad, 

considering we planted only one small bed.

 

The tubers in this crop were smaller than in past years,

and they seemed to grow more in clusters, instead of individually.

The slips were started in February,

so this was a long process from seed to table.

 

They will cure in the garage for two weeks before being sampled.

We're using a hitch-haul and the bifold door that I use to use at the Market.

 

Some time was spent earlier in the season on planting the front flower beds.

I've added quite a few things and seeded many zinnias.

In fact, they grew so big,

that the evergreens and grasses behind them are well hidden.

 

Every morning when I open up my curtain,

I look down into this beautiful display of flowers and busy pollinators.

I even noticed a goldfinch eating bugs off of the milkweed!

The zinnias just went wild with the rainfall we got.

They are filling in the front bed so wonderfully.

 

 

Seed saving continues,

with flower seeds and dried beans making their way into our stash for next season.

It's a tranquil and fastidious task

that can be savored with the anticipation of future harvest.

 

The Seminole pumpkin has grown outside of its bed.

It's still too early to know if fruit will show itself,

but we'll leave it be for now.

The Piggot peas have started producing,

and I'm curious to learn more about them.

This is a new crop for me,

but so far, they have been easy to grow.

We're even getting some late-planted cucumbers coming up.

 

We've got visitors, folks!

Although we were not blessed with Monarch caterpillars this year,

a few black swallowtails were spied on the Rue.

This no-fuss plant is one of the host plants for this species.

What wonders have the fall season brought you?

 

Garden Friday

 

watermelon lemonade

 

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share what's growing on in our

Zone 7b Piedmont garden.

Summer has arrived and it's the perfect weather 

for this tasty treat.

You can find the recipe here,

although I now sweeten with honey instead of sugar .

 

 

The garlic that had been cured over the last two weeks

has been braided or placed in a net bag

for all of our culinary needs.

Feels good to have a year's worth of it on hand.

The green beans are starting to strut their stuff.

This is a summer staple on the supper table,

and beans will grow throughout the summer,

as long as they are continuously harvested.

We also have drying beans growing,

so that they can be dried for use all through the year.

Rice and beans, soups, and bean burgers

are some of the different dishes in which they are used.

 

 

 

 It looks like the corn will indeed be knee high

by the Fourth of July,

so something is going right!

Time will tell if the squirrels beat us to it!

 

Next to the corn grow pinto beans,

which are making their way up

the bamboo poles.

Bamboo is one of the most versatile tools

in the garden, and its strength

makes it optimal for trellising and staking.

 

 

The elderberry is blooming,

which is a first for us.

This plant has been on the property for 

a couple of years, but we haven't gotten berries yet.

Maybe the surrounding trees being trimmed aided this along,

by providing more sunlight. 

 

 

We have tithonia blooming,

which is one of my summertime favorites.

This plant is a prolific bloomer and will 

bless you with flowers well past summer.

 

rudebekia blossom

 

The pollinator bed where the old garden was located,

is exploding with blooms, 

including these beautiful Shasta daisies.

We also have marigolds, nasturtiums, rudebekia, 

sunflowers, and zinnias planted there.

I'll take another photo in a few weeks

when everything is in bloom.

cactus zinnia

nasturtiums

 

I've never before seen the Japanese beetle damage

on zinnias, but they are eating them this year.

It seems they are getting less fussy about what they munch.

Fortunately for us, we have chooks that enjoying

the beetles as a daily treat!

 

 

Apparently, someone didn't care for my pest management

technique.  I used insect netting to cover the strawberry bed.

Except for 1 or 2 berries, this gardener has been robbed!

They managed to find a way in to the goodies.

 

 

This critter was on our cannas.

Not sure if it is friend or foe,

so I left it alone.

I tend to let Mother Nature battle these things out.

 

 

Can you ever get enough of sunflowers?

 

 

 Most of these are the Mammoth variety.

Our summer garden just wouldn't be the same

without them.

 

 

The dust bath/chill area was recently expanded

for the chooks and are they loving it!

It's rare to see them all together like this 

in one big free for all!

Welcome to July!

 

"Roll out those lazy, hazy

crazy days of summer."

~Sam Cooke

Garden Friday

 Welcome back to Garden Friday!

Here in our Zone 7b garden,

the flowers are starting to burst into color

and a big project has begun.

Queenie and Wilma have seemingly bonded recently,

and can often be seen beak-to-beak in the chicken run.

The irises are not only lovely in full flower,

but the buds are beautiful in every form.

 

These geraniums that a friend gifted me

are starting to spread out and love their sunny spot

near the front door.

 

We have become overrun with yarrow!

Much of it has been dug out of our front flower beds

as a reboot has taken place.

Some of this was relocated to a sunny spot

in the back of the house.

We recently had those trees trimmed,

allowing more space to grow things that need sunlight.

 

This 3X8 bed is being deconstructed.

The wood on the side was starting to fall apart,

so the decision was made to remove it and keep

it as an above-ground bed.

Straw has since been added to the area

and the plan is to grow corn here via the Ruth Stout method.

 

The beans and peas were planted underneath the bamboo trellis.

These are bush beans and snap peas and a few modifications

keep them safe from curious chooks.

 

I used lengths of flexible twine with scrap pieces

of welded wire inserted between to keep them out.

They love scratching anywhere there might be a tasty treat!

This week we did a massive spring cleaning to the coops.

The girls seemed to be wondering what happened to their homes.

The top was removed so that we could really get in there and tidy up.

 

The power washer made quick work of it.

 

The project referred to earlier was the removal 

of most of the plants in the front flower beds.

The majority of them were relocated to other spots.

The edging was also redone to define the space.

 

The garlic border stayed in place,

but many new things will be added to this bed.

I'm going for a cottage vibe.

 

Before the removal took place,

the yarrow can be seen in this shot, 

 taking over almost half of the bed.

 

This is the after shot, making a clean slate in which to build the new garden.

That yarrow kicked my butt!

One thing I realized,

is that it's much easier to remove it if it has been cut back.

So, I pruned like mad and then started digging.

Yarrow grows like a weed, 

so there will be no problem in it flushing back before too long.

 

These strawberries grow wild

all over our lawn.

I don't find them too tasty,

but the chooks love 'em!

I spend some time almost daily

tossing them into their free range area

and they gobble them up like nobody's business!

 

Here's a bluebird update.

Just look at those sweet things all snug and cozy.

We have counted four babies in this particular box.

This amazing display of crimson clover is planted

in a field at one of my jobs.

The picture really doesn't do it justice, 

but if you click on the photo, it will increase in size.

What a glorious sight it is to behold!

What discoveries have you made in your garden this week?