Garden Friday

 Welcome to the first Garden Friday of 2019.
Here's an update on what's been happening (or not)
in the garden.

 Basically, things are one, big, soggy mess.
We do have a few stalwart plants making it through our winter.
Our rain average of 46 inches per year
has been passed by almost 20 additional inches as of the last day of 2018.

 If it were a different time of year,
all that rain would do us a lot of good.
But with cold temperatures,
we're not getting much growth in the veggie garden.
The broccoli is barely hanging on
and the plants may be just too old to produce.
They will be resown in early spring.

The carrots look healthy,
with lots of top growth,
but have produced little in the way of food.

 One thing I have enjoyed is eating the sugar snap leaves.
Winter came upon us so quickly that the crops hadn't yet flowered,
but there are plenty of tender and sweet leaves to forage.

 The tat soil is another crop that I will replant in spring.
This precious little thing tastes good,
but there's not much of it.
I will be sure to make space for this Asian green.

 The garlic and shallots never let me down.
They don't seem to mind the 
wickedest 
of 
weather.

Next year I will be sure to plant a lot more,
as these are two foods that get used a lot.

Shallots are so fun to dig up.
They are like an underground gift.
One thing I forgot to plant this year was leek.
I'm hoping that I will be able to get some in 
around the end of February and still be able to harvest.
I've only grown them in winter,
so I have no idea if this will work.

 The cover crops have enjoyed the consistent rain.
This is our first time growing these in raised rows.
We chose to add these to the veggie garden
so that we could improve our success with spring crops.
The cover crops are aimed at adding nutrients
and fixing nitrogen in the soil
so that food crops end up healthier.

 This is a blend I got from Sow True Seed.
So far, it's been a fairly hands-off  project
after the initial sowing.
Time will tell if it is worth repeating next year.

 One thing is for sure.
Herbs are my new best friends.
Look at this parsley that was planted for the butterflies.
It has weathered the winter so far, unscathed.
I never knew that parsley could be so hardy!

 Although the lavender isn't its usual stunning self,
the fragrance is still potent.

 And rosemary?
Fah-get-about-it!
It is untouched by freeze, frost or snow.
I'm considering creating a rosemary hedge around the veggie garden.
The scent alone would be captivating!



Another surprise is this butterfly bush.
Even though it's no longer blooming,
it is still green!

Whodathunkit?

We still have lots of leaves to rake up.
Just as things start to dry up a bit,
we get hit with more dreary, damp weather. 
I'm still pondering what type of pathway to create
here on the back of the house.
I'm partial to pea gravel or river rock.
Most importantly, we need good drainage,
as this part of the property slopes.

 

We did finally manage to mount a couple of birdhouses.
These are supposed to house bluebirds,
so we'll see what happens in the spring.

Did I say spring?
Right now it seems a long way off!
It looks like we'll have plenty more dreary days
in which to daydream about garden plans.

Wordless Wednesday

New Year 2019

We've spent a quiet holiday season close to home.
Our second anniversary of living here in North Carolina
reminded us of how many blessings we have.
Steady employment.
A cozy home.
Room to garden.
Friends with which to share and grow.
Seasonal living.
It's been a great change for us.

We still have many things to work toward,
and in fact, looking forward keeps me motivated.
While enjoying a book recently,
a unique phrase struck a chord.

"Good things are constantly happening to me."

I'm thinking that's a pretty good mantra
to remember into the new year.
Knowing it is the first step toward 
          making 
            it 
               a 
                             reality.
What a blessing this life is.

May you be gifted
with dreams coming true.
God bless us, everyone.
~daisy

Christmas 2018

Have a "berry" Merry Christmas!

~daisy & crew

Garden Friday

Welcome Winter Solstice!

It seems like winter has been here already for weeks,

with freezes, snow and ice frequenting our area.

For the next week, we expect daytime temperatures in the 50's,

which will be a welcome change.

We might actually be able to get something done outside!

There were two small projects I wanted to tackle before winter officially hit,

and I made it in under the wire.

The first was turning our leaf pile.

This has been on my project list since we moved into the house,

but other things just took a front seat.

It felt great to get out there in the brisk air

using a pitchfork and shovel to get air back into the pile.

Happily, a treasure trove of earthworms were found,

so I know that this heap will eventually aide in the garden's health.

With a neighbor supplying us with bags and bags of leaves,

along with our own stash, there should be a great foundation

of leaf mulch ready to add to the veggie beds in the spring.

Leaf mulch adds nutrients, suppresses weeds,

helps retain moisture and aids in soil fertility.

It's an easy way to give the garden a boost.

The second winter project was to remove castings from our worm bin.

Earlier this year,

we put together a worm bin out of a few simple materials.

You can find that project here. 

We ordered our worms online,

after failing to find a local resource.

The castings are the waste product that these workhorses leave behind

as they digest coffee grounds, eggs, kitchen scraps, paper and cardboard.

In theory, the bedding material (shredded paper) and food are placed on one side of the bin,

and when it comes time to remove the castings, 

the bedding and food are moved to the other side of the bin,

thus encouraging the worms to move toward the food source.

The castings can then be removed from the opposite side and placed in the garden.

 It didn't exactly work out that way with this homemade bin.

Although I did move the bedding and food to one side,

the worms just stayed in the castings.

Maybe there were still tidbits of decomposed food there

and they didn't want to leave.

In any case, I just decided to take some of the worms out with the castings

and place some of them in the compost pile and some in the leaf bin.

As you can see, there were enough to go around.

I couldn't believe how much the population exploded in that bin

over the last 6 months.

And just thinking about all that food and paper that didn't end up in the landfill

does my heart good.

I'm giving it another go with the remaining population,

and the castings I collect come springtime will go directly in the veggie garden.

I'm also considering purchasing a 3-tiered commercial bin,

to make it easier to collect the castings 

and keep the worms better corralled.

A friend has one of these type and I will try to get an update from her.

In the meantime, let them eat scraps!