Recap of summer happenings at the garden

Frank the Toad is hanging out the strawberry plants around the stone wall in front of the cabin

Pansies from the garden ready to be placed in ice cubes for the party 

I also used borage flowers, chamomile flowers and mint leaves shaped as hearts 

Asa taking a nap in the middle of the morning 

This week I set out to move their fenced space to enclose a raspberry area near the garden

Asa and Che Che enjoy going on walks with us up the driveway 

and nibble on leaves that they find in their way 

Cauliflower that I forgot to cover up with leaves so that the head would be white 

It still tasted delicious and I blanched and froze two pounds of Broccoli and Cauliflower for the winter

Everything is doing well except for the onions that I tried to start from seed

Onions need a lot of compost, water and sunlight 

I will leave them in the ground in hopes that they will sprout next year 

Cabbage, small but pretty

Broccoli, Kale and Cauliflower do much better in our garden 

One of our lovely chickens cruising thru our garden 

Recently, they have discovered the tomatoes and they like them 

Which means that they are now hanging out with the goats in their pen 

All the them have names 

Blanquita, Negra, Dina and KG 

Our beets are doing great!

I don't think I can wrap one hand around them

I will leave them a little bit longer in the ground in hopes of keeping them in the root cellar 

One apple tree bear fruit this year 

They are getting big and getting some red on them 

I lost the tag of what the trees were, my guess is that they are eating apples 

Red Zebra or Green Zebra tomatoes on the vine 

This morning we had scrambled eggs from our neighbors, tomatoes and eggplant from the garden 

and onions from the farm I work at

Swiss Chard 

My favorite green to grow 

To tell the truth we haven't eaten any yet 

But we will plan to do that soon !

Broccoli, cut and blanched and ready to be bagged!

Time to harvest 

I have been weeding so much that I have forgotten the great feeling of harvesting 

Today I decided to pick, wash and dehydrate herbs from the garden 

Last year was a bad year for herbs, but not this year !!!

I am very excited to dehydrate: 

Rosemary !

Sage 

Thyme and others 

like lemon and Thai basil 

The coolest thing is that last fall I transplanted a thai basil plant to a pot and had it in my classroom

It was the saddest plant you have ever seen

But after being in the garden for a couple of months 

It came back to live

I think I will do that with most of the herbs from this year!

Gear up for seedlings

I'm headed out the door to buy some seeds and start them indoors at home and at school. 

This week in school, I had my students help me plant the bulbs that my dad gave me.  There were all flowers.  The students were very eager, dedicated and interested in helping me. Therefore,  I have decided to bring some of the seeds for our garden to school and teach a little bit about gardening during homeroom. 

I looked at the map of the garden from last year and I have thought about the many projects to do this year. Some of the projects include: 1) Start new beds. 2) Plant more flowers throughout the garden. 3) Try new varieties of veggies. Among other ones.  

Also, I picked up a book titled "Week by week, Vegetable Gardener's Handbook" by Ron Kujawski and Jennifer Kujawski. It has been very helpful in organizing the steps for gardening in the spring, summer and fall. The interesting thing is that it would work for most Northern zones in the U.S since it is based on the last day of frost in the spring and the first day of frost in the fall. 

When talking to farmers in the past, they have all agreed that the safest date for planting outside is Memorial Day Weekend. So, this weekend is the 10th week before Memorial Day.  Therefore, I will start the following seeds:

1. Onions and Leeks 

2. Cabbage

3. Broccoli 

4. Kale

5. Cauliflower

6. Celeriac 

7. Some herbs 

Note: I did not grow any plants of the Brassica family last year besides kale, because I didn't know the condition of the soil in our garden.  However, the kale did so well, that I cannot wait to try the rest of the family. 

I have started seeds in the past in grid trays, recycled cardboard containers or small pots.  I haven't had any problem with diseases in my seedlings.  I have covered the containers after seeding them and only placing them by a sunny window when the seeds have germinated. I watered them as needed. Be careful not to over-water your seedlings. 

This year, I will use vermiculite and mix it with compost. Vermiculite is a natural mineral that helps with aeration and drainage in the soil and holds water better and releases it when needed.