Archive for the ‘Planting and Gardening’ Category

The Memory Garden

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Moving is never easy. Put aside all the hassle and stress and expense and you still have the most traumatic part - leaving behind beloved friends and family. When we arrived here in Indiana I desperately missed my friends that were left behind. I took solace in one of my favorite pastimes, planting.

I immediately went to work on the weed filled planters around the front porch. I chose plants that reminded me of all the loved ones I missed so much. I planted columbine, the state flower of our previous home. I put in stargazers to remind me of Michellyn and Doug. This lily grew abundantly in their front yard and was a reminder of their wedding. The peonies are for Kevin and Tracy, two dear friends who’s yard is a mass of peonies each May. The irises are for my grandfather. Many are actually saved from his garden. Sedum is for Kathy and all the hard work at the preschool. We planted sedum to welcome the children back each fall. Siberian irises remind me of my childhood church. They surrounded the olive trees where we used to play. I could go on and on.

Now is my favorite time of year. I can steal a few moments on the front porch swing and watch the bees feast on the nectar. I can see what is blooming and take time to remember loved ones and places. I know that no matter how much time and space is between us, that each spring this garden will bring me instantly back to those I hold dear.

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Our Plate Is Full

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Our Garlic

Our Garlic

Our poor blog has been suffering from serious neglect, but the gardens have not. Spring is finally here and there is plenty of work to go around.

The first round of weeding has been done as well as final pruning and trellising. The garden has been plowed and tilled. Many thanks are due to our neighbor, Bob, for helping out with the tractor.  Early plants are in the ground including a nice bed of onions.

Thanks, Bob!

Thanks, Bob!

I was able to visit my tomatoes and peppers in Norma Jean’s greenhouse. They look very nice. The pictures are from two weeks ago. I’ve also started several cool weather veggies out on the patio. They can come in at night if it gets too cold. The first batch of lettuce, swiss chard, fennel and bok choy are all off to a good start and I’l be planting more today. The little garden by the barn is thriving. Our garlic, planted last fall, is off to a great start.

We got word from the zoning department. We can now legally occupy our

Inside the Greenhouse

Inside the Greenhouse

building. I’ve been working hard on the details: utilities, equiptment, employees, etc. If only I could get the various city and county departments that still have to approve various things to call me back or answer an email. I would make life much simpler.

Today we are going to mulch the fruit trees, blackberries, blueberries and if there is time, the perennial beds.

Our Tomatoes

Our Tomatoes

Add to all this the day to day items of taking care of a family and house and you can see that our plates are certainly full. We are looking forward to this summer when those plates will be full of good things to eat straight from our garden.

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Spring Break News from Our Kids

Friday, March 20th, 2009

"E" and "E" Till the Garden

"E" and "E" Till the Garden

Our kids have been anxious for a chance to contribute to the blog. Here is the first of what I am sure will be many posts.

I forgot to pack the cord for my camera. I’ll have to add pictures after I get home.

Lori M

Happy spring everyone! I find it strange that on the first day of spring it is colder then it has been all week. I guess mother nature does not look at the calendar! All around us you can see spring popping up. The deer are out. Of course this not the best of news for garden growers.

We have had a very very fun week with the Moses family here and a lot of the talk has been about the prouduce stand this summer.I think we all get more excited with each passing day at least I know I do!

Tonight we go to Dinky’s, an Amish auction, where you can find everything except the people you came with. I know some of us kids will be looking for quail and rabbits, but other then that its just fun being there.

Other then that we have been waiting for seeds all week and I hope they arrive soon so we can plant!

Happy planting!
E Healy

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Spring at the Healy’s

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

It has been a busy week as we prepare to welcome the official start of Spring. We are spending Spring break at the Healy’s farm and we are having a great time.

During the past two days we have spent time riding the ATV and we have had lessons in marksmanship and crocheting. The girls are working on washcloths to sell at the store. We have all taken turns on the tractor preparing the gardens for planting. Later today we will be visiting some Amish friends and shopping at our favorite Amish stores. I predict homemade cinnamon rolls in the near future.

I can’t wait to see my new tomatoe and pepper plants in the Graber’s greenhouse. I’ll be taking pictures and posting them soon. And as much fun as I’m having here, I can’t wait to get home and do more planting. I’ll try to write another update later this week, or maybe I’ll give that job to some of the kids. They are anxious to contribute to the blog.

Enjoy your Spring!

Lori M

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Love Songs and Lady Bug Tea

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

The warm weather is finally here. A week ago we still had lows in the teens, so this 70 degree weather is a real treat. It feels downright hot. And with all the spring work that needs to be done, the blog has suffered from lack of attention.

This past week brought a chorus of love songs from the spring peepers. It is a magical night every spring when they first start singing. I could have listened to them all night. This week also brought the asian lady bugs out of hibernation. Every fall our house and barn are overrun with hundreds of these biting ladybugs as they look for a place to spend the winter. We vacuum them up by the hundreds. Every spring the few that escaped emerge and fly around the house like mad, trying to find a way out. They also seem to be thirsty as we often find them in drinks and sinks and the tea pot. I go through more cups on tea in a day than I care to count starting with a good Irish Breakfast and moving on to herbal teas in the afternoon. Nothing ruins a cup a tea more than a couple of boiled ladybugs.  And if you don’t actually see them, you can’t miss the terrible taste. So a new spring ritual is to rinse out the tea pot before each cup.

Tim Tills the Early Garden

Tim Tills the Early Garden

Yesterday Tim tilled my small garden by the barn. It always warms up first and stays warm in the micro-climate created by the barn. Today I planted some early spring crops: spinach, lettuce, turnips, swiss chard and beets. I’m waiting to plant radishes since they are ready so quickly. It was such a pleasure to smell the warm earth as we dug the beds. Planting seeds is an act of pure hope. Burying these hard little pebbles in the ground and expecting a vibrant nourishing plant to emerge. There is something miraculous about the process that brings me pure joy. It was also a pleasure to have the help of Tim and our daughter. It made the work lighter and happier.

I spent a good deal of time cleaning up the berry beds. I’m afraid we probably lost all the strawberries to the chickens. We let them free range every afternoon and they really enjoyed the mulch on the strawberries. There won’t be many left so we’ll have to decide wether to replant of not. Many of our Amish growers will have strawberries so we may wait until next year.

Tonight I noticed the bats are out and looking for insects. We aren’t supposed to have a night below freezing for at least 10 days so I expect to see more signs of spring each day. The problem will come when we do get a freeze. This warm weather will coax all the plants into blossom and a freeze will be devastating to the fruit harvest. But I won’t worry too much, I’m going to enjoy the warmth while it lasts.

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Tomatoes and Peppers

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Amish Milk Cow

Amish Milk Cow

Our weekend trip was a flurry of activity and a big success. We had a lovely time visiting our friends. Friday night we met the Healy’s for dinner and worked on some more details for our growing season. Saturday morning brought seed catalogs and discussions of which flowers to grow. Before lunch we squeezed in a trip to the CPA. We needed to tie up the loose ends in the formation of our LLC. Who ever thought we’d be a corporation? As much as I dislike all the “business” details, they are necessary to running a thriving farm “business”. We spent the early afternoon meeting with a couple of Amish families who want to grow with us. I am happy to report that they are working on organic certification and care very much about preserving the soil on their farm for future generations.

Winter Raspberry Patch at Twilight

Winter Raspberry Patch at Twilight

After some quick farewells to the Healy’s we headed over to the Grabers’ for supper. We had a haystack supper followed by the most incredible selection of desserts. I must say that the Amish are definitely talented when it comes to dessert. I think there were six to choose from and each was more delicious than the next. My favorite was the homemade ice cream with preserved strawberries.

Before supper we had a chance to see the now completed greenhouse. It is quite a set up and I must admit I was a bit jealous. They have several flats of tomatoes and peppers already started and I will have them start all of my seeds this week. It’s time to start the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. I plan to have plenty of extra plants to sell at the shop in May.

greenhouse

In the Greenhouse

I did not get many pictures. It was snowing and wet most of Saturday. I did get a few pictures in the greenhouse. I love to see all those little plants getting their start on life. It reminds me that spring is just a few weeks away.

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Seeds Glorious Seeds

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Seed packets in the snow.

Seed packets in the snow.

They’ve arrived! Those lovely, colorful packets full of hope and promise, each with it’s perfect picture bringing the promise of a bountiful, beautiful harvest.

Today the first of several seed orders arrived in the mail. The excitement began back in December with the arrival of the seed catalogs. They greeted me at the mail box with countless possibilities. After planning and plotting I narrowed down the choices and placed the order. Then began the wait.

Finally they arrived bringing with them the promise of spring, warm weather, new life, hope. They are the perfect remedy to a drab, cold day.

The snow of last week has faded. It is dirty and old and tired. But my seed packets are bright and new. They hold a rainbow of colors, green edamame, purple lettuce, neon chard, orange, red and black tomatoes, chocolate peppers, yellow cucumbers, pink eggplant.

There will be a day late this summer that is the perfect contrast to this day. It will be hot and humid. The weeds will grow inches every day. It won’t cool off even at night. I’ll stand in the garden and think of winter, of cool weather and no weeds or bugs. I won’t remember being tired of cold, tired of the indoors, tired of the dark. I will try to appreciate the heat as I look forward to winter days and fire places.

For now I get to play with my seeds. I spread them out and look at them.  I sort them by variety and planting times and start making notes about what gets planted and when.  I dream of long warm days in the garden and perfect weedless rows of vegetables. And I try to appreciate the few weeks of winter that remain.

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