Death of a zucchini plant.

Some of the roots were torn off and in the bottom of the six pack I planted them in.  No sign of bugs so I think this must be the cause.  Roots are fragile. Handle with care.

Zucchini Plants

I transplanted the 3 zucchini plants yesterday and now today I find that one of them has died already.  I mean really dried up dead.  The other 2 are fine. I need to take a better look.  Perhaps the squash bugs are here.  

This is why I planted them on the porch to begin with.  The nasty squash bugs.  I haven't seen any yet.  I had believed I fooled them.  Like I said, I'll have to inspect it and see what happened.

I'll transplant some of the kale and purple sprouting broccoli in window boxes on the porch.  Flea beetles attack those veg.  I'll put most in a raised bed though.  Dust with diatemaceous earth.  Diatemaceous earth will kill them when they crawl over it.

Note to self:  do not promise anyone I will do anything for or with them on Saturday!!!  Work in the garden!! 

Two More Garden Favorites

I love a colorful salad and radishes have to be one of the most beautiful ingredients in salad.  The ones I find in the store, however, are way to sharp of a flavor.  Biting and hot!  I think they're offensive.  I just love the colors though.

So anyway, I read the following description in a seed catalog and just had to give them a try.  I'm so glad I did!

FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISH

HEIRLOOM 1879 An elongated radish, scarlet on top and white on the bottom. Tender and mild in flavor. Suitable for hot, dry conditions. 300 seeds. PLANTING: Outdoors- Sow 1/2” deep, 1/2 -1” apart in early spring. Thin to 1-2’ apart, soon after they emerge Harvest- 3-4 weeks after planting at 1” in diameter, pull them promptly as they rapidly decline becoming tough and pithy Tips- They need rapid growth for optimum results, provided by fertile soil and consistent moisture. For continuous harvest make successive planting every 7-10 days when weather is still cool.

I got the picture from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds.  Great Company.












The other "must have" in my garden are these beets:

CYLINDRA BEET (58 DAYS)

HEIRLOOM 1880 These beets are shaped more like a fat carrot or a thin rutabaga than a traditional beet, 6 to 8 inches long and 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. The dark red roots taste great and are ideal for slicing, either fresh or for pickling. 300 seeds. PLANTING: Indoors – 1/2” deep, 4-6 weeks before the last heavy frost. Sow into individual cells, transplant out as soon as possible (when first true leaves appear.) 3” apart in early spring, as soon as soil can be worked. Outdoors- Early spring 1/2” deep 1-2” apart with soil temperatures at 50 degrees. Soaking seed overnight aids in germination. Thin seedlings to 3-4” apart. Harvest- Begin picking at 1” for baby beets and up to 3” across for the most tender and best tasting. For best storage cut off the greens 2” above the top of the beet. Tip - Use the thinning’s for beet greens or plant a heavily seeded row for baby beet greens. Sow every 2 weeks for a continuous harvest.

It's a lot of beet in a small area.  We can also plant these close together like we do the Masai beans and have a larger harvest.  While we are always on the lookout for heirloom veggies that meet the criteria for our raised beds, we felt we were in need of more space.  Then we saw Larry Hall's rain gutter garden idea.  There's several videos about these now on youtube.

We came to the conclusion that beauty wasn't everything in a garden.  It has to be all about the food.  Our raised bed garden area is a nice place to be, with the pond and sound of the small waterfall.  But it hasn't been able to really stock the pantry for us.

The rain gutters are doing a good job.  This was the first year we used this method and it has worked well.  We will make it larger and provide more support for the plants next year.  We are going to add onions but our list isn't complete yet.

Our Journey

Looking back over the years, starting from the time we first realized we longed for a very different lifestyle until now, the small advances and the failures, one thing became clear.  There was not enough time in the day to do what had to be done in order to achieve our goal.

For one thing, our home is not set up for it and it is too small. Storage is an issue for both necessary kitchen tools and processed food.  For instance, I had to eliminate 2 drawers to make a place to keep the pressure canner.  My lids and rings are in containers under the kitchen table.  This is just one of many similar problems.

So, the decision was made for me to work 25 hours a week so I can have time to organize our home for this lifestyle change, micro plan the garden (because of small space), care for the animals, cooking, canning and food dehydrating and storing!  

Opting for an organic lifestyle means taking on a lot more work.  I want to love the lifestyle and not resent it.  Time is now more valuable to me than money. Quitting my 10 - 12 hour a day job was our first serious move in the direction of the homestead.  A scary one too.  We cut our income by a little more than a third.  (Great Big Ouch!)

We are learning to adjust financially and have created a book to monitor what we owe, own, spend, save and give.  I think I will call it our Homestead Book. Eventually that is what it will be.  Full of information regarding our animals ~ the feed we purchase and where we get it from, how much it costs and what we can grow to supplement.  Future plans as well as our income information and bills, expenses.  We mess up a bit but we are getting there.  Also, the journey is fun.

I'm thankful for all I am learning and doing and the people I am meeting.  It's just all around good stuff ;).  Not one itty bitty regret.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

I'm looking for great veggies that don't have a long growing time to maturity so that I can make the best use of my limited space.  One of my finds is this purple sprouting broccoli.  This is where I purchased the seed:

http://www.superseeds.com/early-purple-sprouting-broc-35-days.html?___SID=U

EARLY PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI (35 DAYS)

The description: (35 awesome days to maturity!)
This purple version of Raab is popular in the North. An alternative way to grow it is to plant in mid-summer, over-winter it and then get two months of delicious cuttings the following spring. High in vitamins with a tangy flavor. 100 seeds PLANTING: Indoors - 4-6 weeks before last frost and 1/4” deep with soil temperature at 65-75 degrees. Liquid fertilize seedlings every 7-10 days. Transplant out just before last frost. Outdoors – Early spring until mid summer for fall crops. Plant 1/2” deep and 6” apart. Thin seedlings to 18” apart. Harvest- Pick when heads are tight before flower buds starts to open. For varieties that produce side shoots keep picked for a longer production Tips - A heavy feeder transplant/direct seed into well composted soil and side dress when buds begin to form.

I plan to use this as part of my fall/winter garden each year.  I'll try over wintering but some of our winters are far worse than others.  I suspect not all plantings will be successful.  However,  I think the kale will survive.  I've had it last till January with no cover.

Another favored veg in my garden is this early bean:

MASAI BEAN (47 DAYS)

Green Bush Bean. Small plants produce huge yields of thin, smooth, flavorful beans. Plants are only a foot tall but are covered with 4 inch long beans, a couple dozen per plant. Several plants will provide a meal for two and due to the growth habit the harvest is quick and easy. The best bean we know of for container growing and a great choice for late summer planting. The fall yields appear to be almost as heavy as those we got in the summer. Reportedly Masai is now "the standard" bean in Europe. 2 oz packet ( 200 seeds)

What I love about this variety is that they are not only heavy producers, but they can be planted like 3" apart!  I can plant a whole 4 x 4 bed, harvest a couple times (big harvests) and then remove the plants to the compost pile.  I can then add compost and plant another short season veg.

Also from Pinetree Garden Seeds:
http://www.superseeds.com/masai-bean-47-days.html?___SID=U

Some Of The Chickens

Here's some of the girls and boys. They are very well behaved. Especially when you have food!

Garden Stuff Busy!

Although I haven't been posting, I really have been busy.  Our weather is cooling and not sure if this is early autumn or just a passing thing.  I need to make protection for the peppers, tomatoes and eggplants.

After all this time growing, it would be tragic to lose the harvest!  So, as I'm finishing up with the cages, I'll have to come up with something for the gutter part of the garden.  Probably just some PVC pipe and green house plastic.

Now these little babies should be fine because they do great in cooler weather:

The picture doesn't show the whole tray but believe me, it's filled!  We have curly blue kale and purple sprouting broccoli.  Then there are 3 zucchinis.  Not sure if they will have opportunity to fully mature but I'm not happy with the zucchini harvest so far.  We'll see how it goes.
Information on the seedlings will follow shortly.  
Today is a shopping day with mom.