It’s the middle of Summer and you wouldn’t say so. The Boston Globe reported that eastern Massachusetts may have had its “dimmest” June since recording began in 1885. Through June 22, Boston and vicinity had received just 32% of the available sunshine. In an average June, the region gets 55% of the possible sunshine between …
Category Archives: homestead
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 …
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 …
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 …
To Play in a Wild Garden
Connected At The Roots writes about children in nature, and usually reports on going out into the wild, several kids at once, with magical results. Recently there was an interesting post on kinesthetic adventure at home (but still outside). This inspired me to make our rather wild property more kinesthetically challenging. Amie is always hanging …
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 …
Independence Days – Week I
Baby spinach microgreens This is my first installment of the Independence Days Challenge. Plant something. We double-dug three raised beds and constructed the bases of four 4×4 potato bins. I chitted the early potatoes, and those and many seeds and seedlings are ready to go in this week (will update when that happens; it’s raining …
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 …