My grandfather passed away a few weeks ago, after a prolonged illness. Again I couldn’t be in Belgium for the funeral, nor could I fly over to see him during those three weeks that he was in the hospital. But I did call him at the hospital every other day. Usually the conversation was very …
Category Archives: garden
They’ve Arrived!
So it stopped raining. Of course.
The Mobility of Skills and Spirit
Someone asked me: What if you would have to move now? This was with reference to the vegetable garden, to which I have devoted many, many hours of hard labor and a whole lot more of research, hopes and dreams. My answer was: It would be no problem. Really? You could leave all of this …
Birds, Some Sweet, Some Bitter
Just as we’re putting in the fence, up pops another predator: a big wild turkey, right in our front yard! I think it was munching the buckwheat, which is succulent right now. So just a few yards away from the vegetable garden (luckily, at that side, the fence was already up). It’s bittersweet to spot …
So Tired!
Now I really AM tired! We spent the day digging a long one foot trench, then installed the fence. We’re talking 150 feet of trench/fence in mostly stone and rootbound soil. We still have 1/3 to go. For budget reasons we went with simple chicken wire, three feet high. It doesn’t look too bad – …
So Tired
The beds (see here for map) Bed 3: beans. A couple of days ago I sowed garbanzo and lima beans, haricots verts and Provider bush beans. It’s so much fun, tucking in those beans: big, hefty, and immediate reminders of what you will be harvesting. The French lentils I sowed on the 13th have all …
Life on the Outside
– Seedlings hardening off on patio Gave some away to a friend – – Mama and Amie potting up That’s Hyssop – – First Catnip Tea Homegrown: so good! Licorice? – – Rough plumbing in playhouse For all the cooking and washing up –
Vegetable Gardening Update
I finished Bed 8 (see here for layout beds) and planted: Red Baron onion: 1 row, 79 sets Banana fingerling potatoes: 3 short rows (5 feet), about 20, several eyes on each Nasturtium: 1 square Blue flax: 2 squares Carrots: 4 squares Radishes: 1 square In Bed 3 I sowed: French green lentil: 33 plants …
Planted Potatoes
Three days ago I chitted the Dark Red Norland (early) and the Keuka Gold (mid-season) and they were all callused over and ready to be planted yesterday. I planted (sowed?) about 1 lb of each. I dug 3 trenches each 8 feet long (the length of our raised beds), added some well-rotted cow manure to …
Good Fences and all that…
Eek! The joke in my banner has come true. First Rabbit of the Season Two of them brazenly hopped right by the bed with the lettuces – our only crop, so far! They passed by it either because they didn’t notice the food, which I doubt, or because they were spooked when they spotted me …