Happy Mother's Day.

A little late. Went out and planted some more corn. Only one row survived the 'flooding' of March and April, so we planted more. We'll see if it was a good idea or not.

As you know, hubby didn't like the new broccoli we tried. It went into the compost pile, bush beans took their place.

A couple years ago, Linda over at Colorado Farm Life sent me some of her red canna lilys. This is the first one to bloom this year. ^_^

We are trying a new tomato this year, too. Burpee's Bush Steak tomato.

Crossing my fingers to get some good ones from them this summer.

Hope all the mothers out there are having a wonderful day. ♥

Around the Farm

Some sort of weed with pretty yellow flowers.

Red clover.

Pineapple sage. We never learned how to cook with herbs, I just grow them for the bees and other bugs. The good ones, hopefully. This is my first time with the pineapple sage. I like the flowers.

Purple basil.

Red nasturtium. They don't seem to like the ground here. None of the ones I planted last year sprouted. This is the only one of two that survived this year. It's really pretty.

We had the first broccoli from our planting yesterday. Hubby didn't like it. Has a strong flavor. My guess is because of all the rain and harvesting late.

It's still pretty wet here.

I think I'll stop here for today. I think if you click on the pictures, you can see them better. Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday!

Bits and Pieces Sunday

Hope you're all having a quiet Memorial Day weekend.

I thought I'd show you some of my Nasturtiums. I planted them with the beans, thinking the flowers would draw bees to fertilize the beans. Little did I know the beans would flower circles around the Nasturtiums; and weeks before the flowers bloomed.






These are the colors I ended up with.

Also, a few random tomato and bell pepper plants.









That second picture is supposed to be cherry tomatoes, but they're a bit oblong for that.
I'd tell you their names, but they have WAY overgrown where I put the name tags. I do know we planted some Big Boy and some Better Boy, but other than that, I just don't remember.
I had to stake some of the bell peppers due to wind and the peppers, too. Some of them are survivors of that late frost we had.

The sunflowers are between 4 and maybe 12 feet high? I don't know. I just know they are waaaay over my head.
And full of leaf-legged bugs! Took these with my phone so they aren't very good, sorry.





I was going to dry the sunflowers for seeds, but now that I see them full of the leaf-legged bugs, I am undecided. While trying to find out what bug it was, I learned that I had unknowingly possibly protected the tomatoes from being attacked by them. The bugs, of course, like everything that we planted in this garden, but right now seem to like the broccoli and sunflowers more.
So, the broccoli I was going to pull up, and the sunflowers, are staying put for now.
Then maybe we'll get a few nice tomatoes before the bugs do.
If you remember, last year in North Carolina, our tomatoes got blossom end rot. Whether from low calcium, or those same bugs, I don't know.
I'm reluctant to use insecticide, because 1) it's poison; 2) we also have ladybugs out there (though I think the yellow ones are squash bugs?); 3) there might be other helpers I'm not aware of.

The plastic bags I used for 'mulch' around the tomatoes and pepper plants? Double edged sword. They did keep the weeds down, but fire ants love to build under them. Ugh!

Oh, I should update on the one celery plant that is still alive. We got a lot of stalks. But only about 4-6 inches tall? And it's flowering now, haha. So maybe I'll try again in the fall. I think Celery is a cool weather plant.




That's it for today. I think I'm mostly updated and talked out, so I'll see you around. Have a blessed Sunday! ♥

We picked our first bell pepper today.

and we already ate it. :-)


And while picking beans, I found this.





Aren't they cute?

Some of the beans (they're Blue Lake Bush beans) had a light purple color on them. Not sure if the camera shows it very well.



And when I went out to get the laundry, I took some pictures of the garden with my phone. Sorry if they won't expand.





That's the garden behind the garage. I showed you the same area earlier. Bush beans (and one bush bean that wants to be a pole bean - that's why the fence post in the front), bell peppers (the shorter ones have recovered from our late frost), tomatoes, cucumbers (where the plastic fence is), more broccoli and brussels sprouts, watermelon, and sunflowers.

There are also 4 new fruit trees out there.

We also have tomatoes in buckets, and a tire tower with potatoes. They look ragged because we just added more compost to them.





Oh. Can't forget the onions. Yes, I know I planted them too close together.



I did forget to take pictures of the grapes, but I'll get them some other time. ;-)

So far the fix to the sewer line seems to be working. And the people farming the field behind us were out with tractors doing their planting, so no problems there, either.

Have a wonderful weekend! ♥

First

bush beans and wild blackberries of the season. :-)




Have a wonderful weekend. ♥

Try this before and after again

I've been trying to do a before and after post, but haven't taken enough of the right pictures. Oh well.
Here are a few, anyway.



This was behind the garage, back in 2009.
Here is that area now.






Broccoli, brussels sprouts, bush beans, pickle cucumbers, watermelon. bell peppers and four dwarf, or semi-dwarf fruit trees.
These are pictures from last month, sorry. Oh, can't forget the sunflowers. Got some of those in there, too.

Since we started coming here in 2008, we have planted about 26 trees of various sorts. Three died for who knows why. Three are not for food, but hopefully for catching fish. Yup. Catalpa trees. They grow a 'worm', or caterpillar, that is supposed to be a really hot fish bait.
I don't know, but that is what I've read.
Here is one of the catalpa trees from last fall.



Most of the trees we planted were pecan trees. We also planted 2 dwarf apple trees, 1 semi-dwarf apple tree, 4 dwarf pear trees, and an orange tree.
The orange tree took two years (or maybe three, darn memory) before it showed signs of any growth-though it never lost it's leaves.
This year, it surprised us by blooming like crazy.



Now we wait and see if we get any fruit...

2009



2012



2009



2013



I know, a different sort of mess.

So there is progress being made. Seems slow sometimes.
And since I lost my train of thought - something I seem to do a lot - I'll close here.
Hope you all have a wonderful, safe, Blessed weekend! ♥

P.S. I just wanted to add that my prayers and thoughts go out to those in Texas affected by that terrible explosion.