Starting the mostly daily postings and Potatoes

I try.... really I do.  But then these silly things call "Big Gurl Town Job" and "Farm Wife Life" get in the way and by the time I get some free minutes, it's late o'clock or I'm just plain tired of looking at a computer screen and thinking.  Reading others' blogs is fine, along with Facebook and Pinterest but that's about all I'm good for.

So I'm going to try doing what Kristen at Going Country does and that's just write a little bit most days about whatever she's doing or done or going to do that day.  It works so I'm going to try too.  Maybe I won't end up going AWOL for weeks/months/years on end again.

So, today... Thursday (which felt like a non-day because Yesterday was Thursday to me)... did the 8-5 routine and then a quickie to the local grocery for a few sale items and home-sweet-home.  My ebook is calling me but darn that old Catholic guilt.  I can't just sit and read when I know there's chores/stuff/work to be done.

I rounded up the daily laundry and started that.  Watched the weather because apparently I'm the one who is suppose to know what the weather will do later/tomorrow/this weekend at any given moment.

Then it was supper prep time.  Potato packets for the grill, check.  Pork chops brining, check.  Cut up the cantelope I got.  And threw it to the cows because it was totally tasteless.  I hate when that happens.
GRRR!  Waste of $$ and time.

Thought about sitting for a spell and then heard the tractor/windrower close by and thought perhaps the Farmer was coming home from behind the house, but no, he was just on the field closest to the house. that killed any idea of just sitting.  He would need the gates opened when he came home.

Headed out to see how the garden looked and realized the potatoes need to be dug NOW!  Especially the volunteers.  The weeds are taking over and last year we didn't get to the potatoes before Farmer mowed off the weeds and dried tops.  We had a terrible time finding the plants.  (Hense all the volunteers this year.)  So I got my trusty potato fork and started in, telling myself I'd only do the North half of the space.

Farmer came home and I watered the calves.  Then he brought down the sprayer to be filled with 180 gallons of water. I decided to keep digging since I had to watch the water while he finished cutting hay by the road.  And then the mosquitoes found me!!
(If I get malaria, I loved you all first....)

In the end, I dug all the volunteers I could find.  I have a good 10-15 pounds on the back porch, drying.  Ds2 can dig the potatoes he planted in rows and we'll have to pull the onions.  The hail we had last week really did a number on their stems/stalks/greens.

This is the craziest year for growing things.  Everything is EARLY, including the locusts singing.  Old Farmers tales say it's 90 days from the first locust to the first frost.  I heard them a week ago so mid-Sept should be a frost.

I'm in the house now. I'm showered and the potato packets are in the oven because I couldn't get the grill started (still too damp after last nights showers/rain.)  Farmer should be home soon, in fact I hear him now.

I hope this mostly-daily posting works out.  I've missed "talking" to you all.   Comment if you have a minute and let me know I'm not all alone here.

Hugs,
Kay

**How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?  ~Paul Sweeney

Changes are in the Air…

Oh Dears… the changes… they are a-comin’… I can’t divulge some of them right now but as someone special said to me the other day, (paraphrased) “Just when life starts getting calm and settled, it all goes kaflooey!”  Never get “settled.”  


Some changes I can talk about here… Our church’s Easter Drama is coming up soon.  For you local-yokels, it will be April 13, 15-17.  Here is the official announcement and information.


Stretching the theme a little but I have a "newly changed" light fixture in my kitchen.  The old one was put up by Farmer-dear's parents back in probably the 1970s.  It has worked beautifully everyday for over 30 years.  I have a new fixture and new "daylight" bulbs now.  Will it keep going for 30 years?  All I know for sure is it is SO bright and there will no more cooking in the shadows or by flash light.  


Changing times… it’s almost spring!  It has been a couple of beautiful 70° days and then WHAM!  The cold front came in this afternoon and it’s wildly windy and very chilly tonight.  Warmer temps again by the end of the week. Schwoo~


While south of the Big City yesterday, I heard the Peeper Frogs.  None are singing here yet, but I always figure we are about a week later than the City for Spring advancements. The forsythia are blooming there and the daffy-o-dills too.  I figure in 2 weeks we’ll be blooming and “singing” too.


Just to keep up with “the neighbors”,  Farmer-dear tilled my 2 garden areas this afternoon.  

From 2 years ago, but same tiller and same Farmer.

This is the bed south of the patio.  It will be for flowers and shade loving plants--Hostas! Columbine! Bleeding Hearts!  Lupine!


The only veggies that ever did very well here were lettuce, peas, spinach and chard since they grew before the trees leaf out.  I will probably plant my sugar snap peas and put up the fencing for them again but as soon as they are done in June, I can pull it down and plant some annuals.  The edge closest to the patio is sunny all summer.


 I just read about planting potatoes in bottom-less 5-gal buckets.  We have an abundance of bottom-less cattle lick barrels (half 50gal drum size).  Farmer suggested using those for the tomatoes too, since one is not supposed to plant tomatoes where potatoes were the previous year.  
I’m hopeful that by using these taller containers I will:  
A.  Get more potatoes from fewer seed potatoes. (you just keep mounding up the dirt as the plant grows, then in the late summer, remove the container and knock the dirt aside to find the potatoes… no more digging for them!  Ds2 will be happy.) 
And B. Whatever varmint that keeps eating my tomatoes as they start to ripen will be deterred with having them 2 feet off the ground.  My only concern will be caging the plants.  I will need taller cages if I plant the vining kind of tomatoes.


I am reading “Lasagna Gardening” by  right now. 

 I’ve done variations of this type of gardening for years.  Basically it involves layers of wet newspaper, compost or mulch and then planting.  I want to seriously implement this in the main garden and plant more peppers, zucchini (darn squash bugs anyway!), onions, maybe green beans.  I’d like more perennial plants around the garden.  More rhubarb and some berries.  I have a pyramid strawberry “bed” that has never been used.  I just need to find a spot for it.  It’s hard living on a hillside.  And I’d like to plant more asparagus or move the bed I have by the peonies.




Speaking of Lasagna Gardening, few years ago I surrounded our Big Rock...

Thank goodness for a couple of friendly trees.

 with wet newspapers and rubber border and filled it all in with river rock.  The Rock needed to be “grounded” and this worked very well to keep the weeds out for a while.  I wish I had made the newspaper layer thicker as now the weeds come through, since the paper has disintegrated.  My hope this year is to “zap” the weeds as soon as we see them and also to plant some Yucca plants in that hot, barren landscape.  The Rock looks a little lonely up there all alone. 

While in the City this weekend, I noticed the pop-up garden centers are open.  Pansies!!  And my favorite family-owned bedding plant market will be opening April 25!  Be still my heart!  I don’t anticipate any huge events this early summer to keep me too busy, so I hope to get everything weeded, mulched and settled in before the heat gets going and actually have a decent garden again.


And then there are those Standing Salad Tables (read about those HERE) I made 2 years ago.  They need to be painted (Badly!) but they are just waiting for some new potting soil and seeds.


I guess it’s good that nothing stays stagnant and boring.  Shake out the cobwebs and throw open the windows of our souls to all the good things Father God has for us with each change in our lives.  Everything He allows for His glory and our good.


Be watching tomorrow for another Change… a new menu for this week. 


Hugs!
Kay~

** “Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.”  ~Pauline R. Kezer

It's here! *shhh~~~*

Yes, dear Puffins... I do believe Spring may actually be here.  (shh~  don't say that too loudly or we'll have a snow storm tomorrow!)


While the warm temps have been very welcome, I'm trusting the other evidences more.


Such as:

My Thyme coming back vibrantly on the back porch.

Swiss Chard greening up, having survived the winter.

New baby calves in the lot.

Chives (and garlic, Surprise Lilies, Day Lilies and Peonies)  poking through to meet the sun.

The female robins are here and many other song birds, flitting here and there, nest building.  


I'm just waiting for the Peeper Frogs to start their Spring serenade.  There is an old rhyme about them starting to sing 3 times and then Spring is truly here to stay.  


I also know that until the Barn Swallows come back, we could still have a freeze.  Our earliest last frost date is April 15th.


I've missed the pea planting moon dates for this month, but my garden is just too wet to do any kind of planting yet.  We'll try for April along with the potatoes on Good Friday.


I'm trying to be patient.   Guess I'll have to do something else, like wash windows, clean cupboards, or....  


THIS!  

Happy National Quilting Day!!

Hugs!

Kay~

"Spring Cleaning

March bustles in on windy feet

And sweeps my doorstep and my street.

She washes and cleans with pounding rains,

Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.

She shakes the grime from carpet green

Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.

Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,

She ushers gentle springtime in."  ~~ Susan Reiner

Harvesting: Soybeans, Corn and Potatoes (Oh My!)

 Blue-eyed Farmer unloading corn into the '63.  

He is so glad we bought the grain cart last year.

We are harvesting as you know.... and Praise God!  The soybeans are off (except for 10 acres that have to finish drying down and can't be cut until the corn is down alongside them.)

The Blue-eyed Farmer is cutting corn now.  It's a much less stressful job.  The corn head does not need to be as close to the ground as the bean head and there is little worry of a rock going through the combine.  That is NOT a good thing to have happen.  Rocks and fast-moving parts just don't mix.

Unfortunately with harvest comes a few repairs.  Over 2 days earlier this week, Farmer-dear welded on 3 different combines.  No, we are not BIG farmers like that.  Our neighbors/relatives had some break-downs and called for help.  Which was a good thing, as our combine had a few "issues" also, that they helped diagnose and repair.

For 2 days he ran without a monitor inside the cab, to keep track of overloading and such.  It was combining "old school," listening for odd noises and watching for the outflow and the grain inflow.  He was blessed to find a local circuit board manufacturer who was willing to work on it.  We picked it up this morning, so I'm hoping it is all working as it should.

Then yesterday it was the feeder chain working itself looser than it should be.

As he said, "If it's not one thing, it's another..." 

While the last of the beans were being combined, Ds2 helped me start digging our potatoes.  We finished yesterday.  From 3 long rows and 2 short rows, we got these:

Photo dedicated to Kristen of Going Country and her love of potatoes.

I'll be boxing them up and storing them in the storm shelter where it's cool and dark.

Ds2 also pulled the onion crop.  A lot of them started to re-sprout, so I'll be chopping and freezing them in the next few days.  My farmer's wife-mentor told me that you should dig them in late July.  Now I know.

I also harvested The sweet potato.  As in ONE, small sweet potato.  They obviously did NOT like where I planted them this year, as opposed to last year.  Last year Farmer-dear brought me up a dump of pond soil, all gooey with manure.  "yum-yum"... for sweet potatoes anyway.

Next comes harvesting the last of the basil, potting up the thyme and rooting some rosemary and drying some Swiss Chard.

But first, I'm off to ride in the the combine and grain truck.  I hope to get some photos from the combine cab and maybe a video.  And then I'll get to those veggies.

Stay well and enjoy the Harvest, Puffins.  Just remember to give the right-of-way to the combines and grain trucks/trailers you meet. 

 The '75 Orange (left) and the '63 Red International Grain Trucks.  I ride along in the '63.

Hugs,

K~

** "It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn."  ~ B.C. Forbes

Wordless Wednesday-Amongst the Dill

It's amazing what you can find if you just look closely...





K~

** "How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence." ~Benjamin Disraeli

Garden Photos & a special note for my Mom

I'm behind in posting, but the kids were here and now I'm drowning in undone chores. Plus I have an ear that is plugged and hurts. And I want to sew. So these few photos of my garden will have to sustain you until I return.

And one more important item of note:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
I hope it's as special as you are!
(hugs from your favorite daughter-- lol)

and now on to the photos...


The front of the Farm House, in early June. And if you look to where the blue 1/2-barrels are, there is a blue pool there now... 1/3 empty from last night's storms. **mad face**



But on a happier note... aren't my new hydrangeas, hosta and yellow day lily, lovely together.



I can never decide if I like hot pink, red or salmon-colored flowers the best.



And sometimes it's all about texture with color.




See... texture and color.... makes me swoon....



More texture & color.... or are they tiny fireworks?


All those little branches and puffs of flowers.... **happy sigh**



And then sometimes, it's all about the eating.... does it get any fresher than this???



This is the stuff my dreams are made of.... Parsley, rosemary (out of shot) and thyme... and BASIL!

How does Your garden grow, Puffins?

Until next time (please, pray for my ear)
K~

** "Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul." ~Author Unknown

I meant to

I meant to blog today... actually I've meant to blog for several days now. But I want to take photos of my "bursting out all over" gardens! And I have to take photos in the mornings or by noon because in the late afternoon, my veggies are in the shade.

But today I cleaned and made a few phone calls and weeded and made an apple pie and then mowed and then it was cloudy and coming on dusk.

So... hopefully tomorrow or by the weekend.

Other "news":

Today is my baby's 26th birthday!


Yes, I had him when I was 3 years old. (lol) Seriously.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Baby Boy! We are so proud of the young man you have grown to be. You make me smile constantly.


And...

I went antiquing on Saturday with BFF. I took photos of a display I'd like to implement into my porch decor, but they are on my phone yet. And I came home with "old iron" and a lamp and some smalls. I'll try to get those photos taken this week too.

I have plants to plant yet out in the gardens and I need to get more to fill my old enamelware and get those set out where I want them in the yard.

And....

The grandgirlies will be here in 10 days, for 2 weeks (Mommy & Daddy will join us after the 10th day of their visit.) Grammie has some cleaning and organizing and planning to do before the 19th!

So, while I'm not blogging, I'm not just sitting around, twiddling my thumbs. I'll be back soon with those photos and more ideas for using vintage stuff in my house.
Like this:



Until then, I remain, truly yours...

Hugs!
K~

** "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see." ~John Burroughs

The corn is planted and Amos checks in

Yes, the corn is planted for 2010 and Amos' "little swimmers" are alive and active for the 2011 crop of new calves.

The potatoes (all but 4) are up and growing, as are the onions, sugar snap peas (time for a fence!), and both colors of chard. The spinach and lettuce were slow, but with the last rains and warmth the lettuce looks like lettuce now.

I dug, divided and replanted an old rhubarb plant in hopes I can make lots of desserts and some Strawberry-Rhubarb jam in the future.

The berm is mulched and the new purple coneflowers seem to have settled in, as has the Easter Lily.

This week I hope to dig up and return the 2 hydrangeas I bought last year from the local nursery. They winter-killed and I'm going to get either a butterfly bush or some other smallish hardy bush for those 2 areas.
Also on the list is to clean off the patio. How embarrassing, we had a party for the Blue-eyed Farmer's 50th birthday 2 Saturdays ago and they all gathered on my messy, leaf-molded, muddy patio. **blushing** At least the guests were all farm folk who understand dust, leaf mold, mud, cat tracks, etc....
While I'm working on the east side of the house, I'll straw the potatoes, put up the pea fence, and hopefully plant the first of the cilantro and basil. I need to take cuttings from the rosemary and repot or fertilize the sage. Oh and the volunteer dill is up!! (lots of it!!) So is the volunteer lettuce and I'm assuming the spaghetti squash (right smack-dap in the middle of the onions. sigh~~). But hey! Free plants are free plants.
And my final goal for this week, is to weed the day lily bed east of the porch. It will need mulch too but there is too large an area to haul it there myself. I figure if I can get the flower beds weeded, then when I get my ONE day (annually) of Farmer help, the mulching will go quickly and I might get all the beds done this year!

That is life on the Prairie Farm for now.

In consideration of your sensibilities, I left out some cattle angst & rebellion; the round-the-world cruise we are financing for someone at the local John Deere shop after 3 pieces have/are being worked on and my on-going and now increased displeasure of push mowing that Danged Ditch!

You're welcome.

Hugs!
K~

** "The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing." ~Lord Chesterfield

Yes I know.....

Yes, I know the Mrs. Dash widget is so out of place and random. That's me... Ms Random.

Yes, I know it's been 32 days since my last "real" post. That's me... Ms. Forever Late-er

Yes, I know you are all STILL waiting for that video about the calves. Hope no-one was holding their breath, waiting on me, Ms. Procrastinator.

Yes, I know.... Spring is here and some of my Winter decorations are Still up. What?! Cardinals don't go with Spring Flowers? Those ice crystals could be rain drops if you squint at them and are going by on a fast horse.

But if you are still with me, I hope to have photos of my 2010 garden (The Spinach, Lettuce and Onions were up as of yesterday!!); the new compost enclosure (no more skunks in my compost pile!) and my newly organized & rearranged Sewing Studio (if that Farmer EVER gets that miter saw out of the room!)

And Yes..... I know.... that video....... s~i~g~h~~~~

Soon, Grasshopper, Soon...... (but don't hold your breath.... you know me.....)

Hugs!
K~

** "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." ~Don Marquis

Garden 2009 final report

Blog Jan 7

A small update on the Garden 2009, I finally had to toss the last 3 onions. 2 were very sprouted and the third was rotting. It was definitely worth the cost of the sets and the time and effort of planting them and harvesting them. I can’t say I did anything else to them. Matter of fact we had to hunt for them in the weeds & grass to pull them up. They lasted from a good 3-4 months in my pantry, resting in a coffee-filter lined colander.

The last 5 pounds of red potatoes are still in the pantry in a cardboard box.




A few of them are getting wrinkly and sprouted so I need to get them cooked up asap. I’ve been reading through some old food-preserving Yahoo group emails and found a method of shredding the potatoes, boiling them, then drying for 8-12 hours. When dried you can power them for “instant” potatoes. It may not be as good as commercial instant mashed potatoes but it’s better than throwing away 5 pounds of home-grown potatoes. That may be my project for this weekend. The dehydrator will help keep the kitchen warmer.

I also found a way to dry pumpkin, which was exciting to me. I did freeze some pumpkin pulp blobs last year but didn’t vacuum-seal them, so they are getting freezer-burnt. The pumpkin was free so I’m only out of my time and the electricity used to cook it, but still....

Speaking of freezer-burn, I’m so miffed at myself. I tossed 2 bags of frozen vegetables this evening, that were all freezer burnt. It’s been months since we’ve eaten frozen vegetables, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. Just erks me that they were wasted. There just wasn’t any way to save them. I doubt they’d even be good in soup or pureed and added to red sauce or meat loaf.
And that zucchini in the fridge, was wasted also. But the peppers are still looking good.

I also did a little pantry reorganization after the holidays it got to be a bit of a mess with all the big storage containers stacked up and then falling down. I can see I need to watch for some canned vegetable sales, but everything else seems to be plentiful for now. I need to do a thorough freezer inventory yet and then will have a complete restocking list. Right now I know I need walnut pieces and bacon. Also I think the cheddar cheese is low. I have a gift card to our local natural foods store and can’t wait to get some local organic cheese for eating fresh. We don’t drink alot of milk, so we get our calcium from cheese, half-n-half and yogurt.

Winter is also a great time to plan ahead for the growing season. Even if you don’t plan to garden, there are local farmer’s markets, pick-your-own farms, road-side stands, neighbors with extra produce; all that can be processed and stored for eating later. I would much rather eat locally produced foods.

Have you done a recent pantry and freezer inventory? What is your favorite long-term storage method? Canning? Drying? Freezing? Do you use what you store? Are you planning to learn a new skill this year?

My goal is to can some meat this year.... if I still have my pressure canner and if it works. I am hoping to have a neighbor help me do this. I’ve never pressure canned anything before.

Hugs!
K~

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.
It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing;
it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it."
~ Margaret Thatcher ~

Making a Map

What do you think? Is it understandable? These are the plantings I did on Monday. As you can tell from A-E, I really needed to keep track this year of what went where. Otherwise next year, it'll be "Large pink DL, 2nd large pink DL, Small Red DL, etc..."

And here is a photo of "E- Lg Maroon DL":


And a photo of the same view as the diagram with the Coral Bells in bloom:


Do you make gardening diagrams? How do you keep track of what is planted where?

Hugs
Kay

PS I forgot to tell you those funky rounded corner squares indicate the rocks on the berm. Paint programs don't have a "rock" shape button. Who knew?

PSS We're waging another battle of the MOUSE WARS! Again in my silverware drawer.... UGH! This time we have 3 whirling traps (THANKS LEESIE) and the low frequency repellent in the lazy susan. I'm about beside myself. Send help!

** "... a flower which perisheth at night, and buddeth at the sunne rising,
... and therefore is called the Day Lillie, or Lillie for a day."
~ John Gerard, 1597

Fall!

1. I'm still alive, but a bit congested in head and chest. My typical way of handling a cold is to have it settle down in my chest and hack/cough/bark for a while.

My dear Blue-eyed Farmer got before the crack of dawn and was kind enough to let me sleep. He reset the alarm so I would actually wake up for work. That was so nice. I guess I'll keep him. **grin**


2. The Wild Yeasties were Not captured in this first try, so I plan to buy a loaf of sour dough bread at the store today and leave a slice or two near my next batch.

I had such high hopes with the first one seeing all the bubbles right away. This time I'll try the pineapple juice route. Maybe the pastureized apple juice I used, didn't allow the yeast to live?

3. I forgot to mention that I have actually been down in the sewing room, working on more Brenda's Roses blocks. I had a siggie block to make for a friend (that will be sent off today) and worked for another hour on sewing triangles to center squares. I wish there was an easier way to do find the centers without finger pressing each piece. I'm over half done with that part and the rest will just be HST and block assembly.

I'd love to go down there now, but fuzzy cold-infected brains do not mix well with sewing machines, irons and rotary cutters.

4. Blue-eyed Farmer and ds2 worked more on getting the combine prepped for harvest. The rain we had yesterday and the cool weather now (46° this morning!!), should push the beans along.

I'm thinking of easy meals I can make for those evenings. Not huge meals because who wants that after 9 p.m., but something nutritous. Small well-balanced portions.
Mini meatloaf, individual scalloped potatoes, easy lasagna, individual frittata cups are a few of the recipes on my list.

5. With the turning of the season comes the end of the garden work for me. It is not entirely over just yet but it's time to start putting it to bed for winter.

I have a huge job of weeding to do first. Farmer-dear wants to just mow off my flower bed and I won't let him. Yes, it is a horrible mess and full of waist high weeds. Something had to give this year and that was it. (stupid horr0r-moans)
I am going to pull all those weeds and hope he has time to help me move the mulch to that bed.

There is a gate to be painted. And maybe some barn doors.

The Swiss Chard will be need to be cut and froze or dried.

My tomatoes are still going strong. I'll just enjoy picking them and eating them until they freeze

Potatoes are getting dug little by little. And the sweet potatoes will be dug at first frost.

Several herbs need to be potted up to be brought inside for the winter.

And the new day lilies need to be planted outside for next year.

Thankfully most of these jobs can be done in small increments of time so shouldn't interfer with harvest and some necessary Fall house-cleaning.


How will you be getting ready for the colder months? What jobs are on your To Do list?

Hugs
K~

** "Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile."
-- William Cullen Bryan

Catching Up

Thanks for being patient and waiting for me to come back, friends. I've had some short, random musing posts, but I have more I want to share.

It was a great time having the girlies here for 2 weeks in June. I have a few photos to share soon. We enjoyed (almost) every second with them. (ok, there were a few minutes on a couple of nights when someone couldn't sleep that I wasn't too happy with....)

We had a family wedding in June also. Congratulations to Matt & Jo!! My youngest sister's son. It was a beautiful wedding and fun. The girls made a new friend at the reception/dinner so that was fun for them and kept them occupied. I was honored to help cut the cake with my other sisters.

We also had a week of Vacation Bible School while the girls were here. The girls got to join the 4-year olds class. Schwooo.... they have lots of energy and then plonk! They fade fast at about 8 p.m.
The highlight of the week was the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Bird in the skits. I thought maybe he would be a bit scary for the kids but they all loved his antics (hiding, sneaking around, the chase-scene). I hope there will be photos of him available so I can share them. It was very cute. Good Job- Daphne, Tamara, the Buresh boys and Randall!!

I flew the girls home on the 29th. They were excellent travelers and we had no problems at all. I hated to see them go off with Mommy and it was a bit lonely here on the Farm the next day, but it was time. They all missed each other. I am looking forward to next year's visit and hopefully Mommy & Daddy can come for the 4th.


On the Prairie Farm--

Now that the girls' visit is over and the wedding is past, as well as the 4th of July & wheat harvest; we are in summer down-time. My Blue-eyed Farmer has cut the alfalfa again and got the prairie hay all baled up and home.

Normally this time of year, we are thinking of painting something outside but ick! The north door on the big barn needs to be painted. The garage (especially the back side). And the wash-house. The wash-house might have to wait as there is a nest of hornets lodged on the SW corner. We've sprayed them once but I still see some flying around the place in the afternoons.
I suppose I'll get around to some of that painting later this month or in September.

The gardens are sad, sad, Sad! After I burnt my arm, I kept out of the grass & weeds so I wouldn't get it infected. I'm all healed up now and must do something with that mess.

I worked on the long bed east of the porch but it really needs weed cloth, edging and mulch. Now that we made the front beds look so nice the rest of them look trashy. It's a work in progress...

The potato & tomato garden isn't too bad. The potatoes should be dug now. The tomatoes are loaded with fruit but they aren't ripening. I've been picking a few cucumbers and the Swiss Chard is going strong. And I have a volunteer spaghetti squash vine growing like crazy! :oD

I ordered five new day lilies from Papa Geno's website. Scroll down to the red collection. I've thoroughly enjoyed my lilies this year. Most of the ones I got as bare root stock last year are thriving. There are a few in some poor soil on the SW corner of the house I need to move. Just can't decide where to put 2 more "Stella" daylilies. Maybe by the culvert that goes under the driveway.

Well, that's some of the newest happenings on the prairie farm. I haven't even touched on the new power line going in behind the place, the dirt we've gotten from them. I have some new recipes to share and those photos of the girls and the new bedroom.
Soon, I promise.

Now it's time to figure out what we're having for supper. I think it'll be CORN (Clean Out [the] Refrigerator Night). lol

Have a wonderful, relaxing Saturday evening!
Hugs!
Kay~

** "If you are single, there is always one thing you should take out with you on a Saturday Night.... Your Friends." ~Sarah Jessica Parker

In my Kitchen today....

Any guesses what I'm doing today?

I have a draft entru waiting for me to edit and post. Hopefully this week. After I sing the "Ode to Sweet Corn." ;o)


".... Sweet corn: the best thing in life. I grew up in a house about a hundred feet from a cornfield, and every evening we'd put the water on to boil, then pick the corn and husk it as we walked rapidly toward the house and chuck it in and dish up the chicken and say a prayer and out came the corn, on went the butter and salt, eight minutes flat from stalk to mouth, and when you ate sweet corn, life had nothing better to offer. You'd been to the top. That's how it'll be in heaven, I'm sure. But I'm not sure we'll have chicken.

We praise you Lord for this good good life
And praise for the day we were born
And the gifts you have given including this heaven-Ly fresh sweet corn. "

**Garrison Keillor May, 2007


Hugs
Kay~

Box Salad Garden

I learned a new skill last evening. I learned how to use tin snips and a staple gun. It's about time. Every woman should know how to use a staple gun.

I had a project in mind for several weeks now. This project needed tin snips and a staple gun. A bit removed from my usual wooden spoons, pots & pans or sewing machine & thread.


You might remember I had started some romaine lettuce inside a few weeks ago. Last year I tried to make a portable lettuce garden in an old enamel pan. It didn't work very well. The soil was too dense and there were no drain holes and the weeds from the soil took over.

So when I saw THIS in the April-May 2008 issue of Mary Janes Farm magazine,



I was thrilled and finally had a design that would work. I had to order some of the supplies from my hometown hardware store. They came in yesterday.

So after I got home from buying more plants (herbs, sweet potatoes, hydrangea, coreopsis and dianthus), I grabbed my camera and gathered my supplies and found a (semi-) sheltered spot from the wind and made myself a Box Salad Garden.

First, I gathered the supplies:



Hardware Cloth, Fiberglass screening, Gloves (very important), a tape measure, tin snips and a staple gun.



I did not build these stands. I'm not that handy. (I will paint them a better color later. Yuck!)

I had gotten these 2 sturdy wooden stands at an auction last fall but really wasn't sure what they were for. I had the idea of making this kind of garden using some kind of rubber totes for holding the plants but I couldn't find any the right size.


I wonder if there were liners for these stands but in the midst of cleaning up the auction debris maybe they were thrown away. I know Farmer-dear wondered what I was going to do with them. But then he often wonders what I'm doing.... **laughing**

Back to the construction...

After gathering the supplies, I measured the tops for the hardware cloth.

I added an extra 2" to each side for "ease."

Then I donned my gloves.

I love my gloves. They are the first pair I've found that fit well and have the suede protection on the palm side. You'll see why this is important in a minute.

I measured the hardware cloth and marked my cutting point.



See why gloves are important? Sharp, pokey ends!

Keep cutting.


And now we're ready to attach it to the bottom of the box bed.

I used the good old staple gun to staple it to the underside of the top.


Being careful to fold the edges over so the soil would stay in when I fill it and to give the cloth more holding power.


Here is the completed bottom:


Notice the folded over pieces on the legs. That was an interesting development & design change. lol I suppose a master carpenter would have measured each leg and cut the cloth to take them into account. But I'm not a master carpenter and this worked.




I turned it right side up and measured the individual openings. I cut the screening with scissors and laid the screening over the hardware cloth.

(there are those darn leg corners again....)

Both sides are ready for the potting soil and planting.


I just used the potting soil I had for my flower pots. It has the fertilizer in it so I won't have to add more like the article recommended.

I watered it down a little and made some pilot holes for the plants.

I had grown my lettuce starts in a 18-ct egg carton (cardboard). I knew the carton would disappear after planting.
First 2 baby plants in the bed. You can just see the carton around them.


Here's what they looked like cut apart:



See, their roots are coming through the bottom. They were ready to be transplanted.


After all eighteen were planted, it looked like this:

(ignore the scraggly grass under the box .... you'd think someone would trim around here. sheesh!)

While I was working on this project, I had some company...


And knowing my barn cats & their idea of the perfect "potty" is anywhere I don't want them to go, I figured they'd find my new beds and that pretty clean potting soil. So I had to cover my boxes with some ugly old wire fencing.

This photo was taken this afternoon. The baby lettuce survived a windy night. I have the boxes against the east side of the bathroom, where it's sheltered from the hot southwest wind and will get some afternoon shade during the summer. It will still get morning sun, so I should have lettuce all summer.

The other box was lined and filled with soil too but I'll be planting it directly with seeds....after the wind dies down. Right now I'd be broadcasting the seeds everywhere except in the planting box.

Now, go out and plant something! It doesn't have to be this elaborate. Get a big flower pot, (or a small one) and plant a patio garden or a single sunflower. Find some herb plants and pot them up. Or be wild and courageous and plow up the back yard and put in 2 dozen tomato plants!
It's SPRING and it's time to play in the dirt.

Let me know what you are planting or if you have any questions.

Hugs!
Kay~
PS next time.... the potato bed!

** "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
~~Margaret Atwood