by Susan | Aug 2, 2014 | Garden
It appears that I’ve finally hit on a gardening strategy that works in my inhospitable clay soil. After a few years of playing with raised beds, my hugulkulture experiment is yielding fabulous results. My pumpkins and cucumbers are waist deep. I wasn’t...
by Susan | Jul 20, 2014 | Garden
Snapshots from the garden this weekend… My hugulkultures are doing great. You’re looking at pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers. In hindsight, I may have placed them a little close together and set the fence? in a little too tight. I can’t move in...
by Susan | Jun 28, 2014 | Garden, On the Farm
While tending the garden today, I was struck by how sweet the pea blossoms are. Fuchsia and delicate pink. Demure white. White, that upon closer look gives way to the palest of green. And then, I got carried away. The peonies have popped. Pretty in pink. Wild daisies...
by Susan | Jun 11, 2014 | Garden, On the Farm
Sometimes you don’t really know what you have in a photo until you load it onto the computer and have a closer look. I love this picture where you can actually see the bumblebee’s tongue dipping inside the flower sipping at the nectar.
by Susan | Jun 9, 2014 | Garden, On the Farm
Gardening in a climate where you run the furnace 6.5 months out of the year can be challenging. Not only are we fairly far north – the 44th parallel – we’re near the coast. That means practically no spring and short, cool summers. Add to that the...
by Susan | Mar 16, 2014 | Garden, On My Mind
The ground may be frozen and snowy, but spring arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Given my gardening history, I may have been just a little optimistic when ordering seeds – 32 varieties!?A typical spring involves me starting seeds, killing the seedlings at some...
by Susan | Oct 28, 2013 | Garden, On the Farm
I spent the afternoon harvesting (almost) the last of my veggies. The Bennett family could live like Kings if one could survive on carrots, garlic, and herbs alone. ‘Cause that’s what I’m most successful growing! Everything else this year has been a...
by Susan | Aug 14, 2013 | Garden
This spring,Granny Gadget sent me hens and chicks. Not of the laying variety, but a new plant for my garden. They looked a bit like a cactus. I didn’t have a plan for them, so I just tucked them into an empty space to keep them alive. They were cute, if a bit...
by Susan | Aug 7, 2013 | Garden, On the Farm
I have only been seriously gardening for the last few years. I work painstakingly to create the perfect garden environment for growing my vegetables. I read up on growing veggies. I test pH levels. I work in peat and compost and diligently weed the garden beds. I...
by Susan | Jul 28, 2013 | Garden
The morning sunshine quickly faded to a cool steady drizzle. Despite the weather, I had garden chores on my to do list. With so little free time, I didn’t let the rain stop me. I harvested garlic. The Banties moved in as soon as I cleared the bed, scratching and...
by Susan | Jul 24, 2013 | Garden
Something has invaded my kale bed. I went out last night to harvest some kale for dinner and found the entire bed nibbled within an inch of its life. Upon further inspection, I found these tiny green worms to be the culprit. I spent hours last night searching the...
by Susan | Jun 29, 2013 | Garden
I enjoy watching the Mourning Doves out my kitchen window. They visit the garden feeder for breakfast and dinner. Here they are pictured with the fading lilacs. Lilacs that are all but gone after days of torrential rains!
by Susan | Jun 15, 2013 | Garden, On the Farm
My lilacs are in full bloom making the garden smell wonderul. As I sit and write this, the breeze is carrying the scent of lilac in the window. Late this afternoon, when we were feeding critters and putting things away outdoors, I found these Hummingbird Clearwing...
by Susan | Jun 1, 2013 | Chickens, Garden, On the Farm
I’d noticed that my Phlox was looking a little sparse. Just the other day it was in full bloom, and today, only a couple of the plants had flowers on them. I justified this by telling myself that the ones in bloom were planted later last year – therefore...
by Susan | Apr 27, 2013 | Garden, On the Farm
Last summer I lamented that my raised bed gardens didn’t do as well as my neighbors’. He told me his secret is lining the bottom of the raised bed with moss – plain old moss from the woods – to retain moisture. Eager to begin planing, I decided...
by Susan | Jan 29, 2013 | 2011 Garden Journal
Ice huts on the Pleasant River in Columbia Falls.
by Susan | Oct 2, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
Intellectually, I understand the value of a greenhouse, but this is the first time I’ve really put the theory to test. In mid-August, when summer was still in the air, I planted a second crop of green beans. Then September came and it was as if Mother Nature...
by Susan | Sep 10, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
My first potato harvest started in the spring when Hannah helped me build this basket for growing potatoes. I planted Kennebec and a red variety of seed potatoes. Excited when the potatoes sprouted, I dutifully layered the plants with straw and compost as they grew....
by Susan | Aug 26, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
Day two of my homecation started with sleeping in and then a lazy day puttering around the property. Paul and I played with pieces of an old tent framework, mixing and matching them until we came up with this layout for a little greenhouse. Situated over an existing...
by Susan | Aug 14, 2012 | Garden
These garlic bulbs, recently harvested, are the most beautiful variegated purple and white color. The purple color is so soft and rich, there ought to be a Crayola named after my Russian Red Garlic. This year’s garlic harvest yield was 6 ¾ pounds – less...
