Wow, that’s awesomeView attachment 206767
The juice factory. Not exactly gardening cuz they are growing naturally out back, but my wife has picked 18 quarts of blackberry's and hasn't put a dent in this years crop!
Robin
Grape pie is great.I just picked the first few muscadine that were ripe. Never had those before. Not bad at all. The grapes are ready to be picked. Not sure what to do with all of them yet.
Strangely not one of my fruit trees bore fruit this year. No peaches, pears or apples .
I didn’t notice any decline in any of the pollinator’s . Actually we had more hummingbirds than previous years. And the bees seemed to be everywhere this year. All of my various varieties of berry plants did really well this year. We did get a late spring frost but I didn’t think that it affected my fruit trees that much. Guess I was wrong . I did hear of some smaller local orchards that were affected as well.How was your pollinator population?
I've heard of some honey bee pops declining due to the varroa virus.
Butterflies? Hummingbirds?
I Always grow sweet potatoes every year. ( Beauregard variety ) one of my all time favorites and they keep very well. Sweet potato pie is my specialty. I make them every year for our family Thanksgiving dinner.It was a late season freeze that did in my plum and pear crop, oh yeah, the black walnuts too. Apples, were just so so, blueberries, currents, raspberries, and blackberries were a bumper crop this year. First time growing sweet potatoes, a very cool plant and we got a lot of taters, wife made me a sweet potato pie, first one ever. all in all, a pretty good year for fruits and berries.
Robin
Frost got them. Big problem around me with the May 18th cold spell.This year’s garden was just so so. Got a few things canned up and frozen , not even close to last year’s harvest though. Every little bit helps the grocery bill though. Strangely not one of my fruit trees bore fruit this year. No peaches, pears or apples .
Yes our herbs also did very well this year, basil, Italian Oregano , sage and flat leaf parsley. especially the basil. Mrs. S&W Fan made and froze tons of Basil pesto.My freezer is stocked with peppers, onions, strawberry jam, raspberries, tomatoes galore, and overflowing with basil. I’m very pleased with what I got out of my meager sized garden.
I Always grow sweet potatoes every year. ( Beauregard variety ) one of my all time favorites and they keep very well. Sweet potato pie is my specialty. I make them every year for our family Thanks Giving dinner.
I hate when people add tons of sweet to sweet potatoes. I did add some bourbon, butter, and a tad bit of brown sugar last year for thanksgiving and they were to die for. I did carrots the same way and they were great too.i love sweet potatoes .. just bake it .. cut the skin mash it on the plate and toss some butter on it ..
Then i show up at moms for Turkey day one year and there is a square pan of sweet potatoes covered in melted marshmallows WTH ..
now mom bakes a few for me ... no marshmallows
That’s pretty much the recipe ingredients for my sweet potato pie.I hate when people add tons of sweet to sweet potatoes. I did add some bourbon, butter, and a tad bit of brown sugar last year for thanksgiving and they were to die for. I did carrots the same way and they were great too.
That’s a big garden. Yes you need to add organic matter but when you do that will be fantastic soil. Make sure you get something that hold water so you don’t have to irrigate all the time.I set the first 2 corner posts for the garden fence today. Hopefully I can get a bunch more done tomorrow.
Soil in those 2 spots was a nice Sandy loam all the way to the bottom of the hole, with just a few small rocks. I'll need to bring in a bunch of organic material to richen it up a bit. Maybe I'll get a bagger for my zero-turn next year, and pick up all the leaves in the yard instead of mulching them.
100x100 doesn't sound all that big, but it is pretty damn big for a veggie garden. Hoping to get it tilled and the fence completed over the next few weeks as time permits.
Tractor with a 3-point post hole digger beats the crap out of digging by hand. Without it, everything probably would have just gone in pots in the spring.
Good idea on the chickens. They will eat weed seeds and pests. Just be aware salmonella has a long life span of sitting dormant in spore form and can come back to life when conditions are right. Research that to be safe.This is hard work. My neck is sore from turning to watch this auger dig these holes for me.
Corner posts are set in concrete, several line posts are in the ground, gate locations are marked.
I'll probably build a new chicken coop outside the NW corner and let them dig around inside the garden from fall to spring.
It gets full sun until about 4pm.