I was a bit late heading outside to start my morning rounds. As I went into the sun room, there was a sudden chorus of meowing outside the door. There was at least half a dozen cats and kittens, crying for kibble! :-D
Once the food was out, almost all the kittens were at the kibble house, eating away. My presence made them nervous, but not enough to leave completely. Toesencrantz had the kibble tray under the shrine all to herself. The only kitten I didn’t see this morning was the tuxedo.
While heading out to do my evening rounds yesterday, I topped up the cat kibble – and got invaded by kittens!
There is only one adult cat in the kibble house in the above photo, plus Rosencrantz and her two are at their private dining area under the shrine.
All three litters of kittens were running all over the yard, playing with each other! The fact that most of them stayed to eat while I took photos – even with zoom – is very encouraging. :-) It will be good for them to get used to each other, since we can expect them all to be using the cat shelter over the winter.
While checking the garden beds, the girls gave me a hand moving one of the mesh covers so we could collect our very first chard leaves!
These are the Bright Lights chard, with their brilliant colours.
In the other bed where we had planted chard and radishes, only a single chard plant has survived the grasshoppers, and it’s pretty small, still.
Here we have the largest of the developing Hopi Black Dye sunflower heads. These are the ones that were direct sown after last frost.
This morning, I found this.
This is another Hopi Black Dye sunflower, from the row of transplants. These are the ones that did not germinate until after the others were direct sown, so they were much smaller and further behind. Then they had their tops chomped off by deer. Yet here they are, spindly and barely knee high, yet the seed heads are starting to open before the big ones!!
Speaking of seed heads…
I collected the driest of the poppy pods. I was a bit concerned that the rain and humidity would create a mold issue, so they are now in the sun room. As you can see, some of them are even dropping seeds!
These are Giant Rattle Breadseed Poppy, and the pods should be much, much larger than this, but given the growing conditions of this year, I’m just impressed we have any at all. There are still others that are green, but starting to dry out. I am debating just leaving them be, to self sow for next year. Given how few survived, there isn’t enough for eating, other than a taste, but more than enough to keep seeds for planting in a different area next year, if we want. I wouldn’t mind even finding a spot to scatter them as if they were wildflowers, where we can access them to harvest seed pods, but also where we can leave them to self seed, year after year. At the same time, I’m thinking of ordering more of this variety from Baker Creek, plus trying a different variety of eating poppies I found from a Canadian source. This is something I don’t mind having lots of, as poppy seeds are among those things I enjoy, but rarely buy. Neither variety I’ve found are like the ones I remember my mother growing, but I believe she got her seeds from Poland.
As things are maturing, my mind seems to constantly assess for next year or, as in the case of the poppies, for a more permanent crop. For all the difficulties we’ve had with this year’s garden, due to things pretty much out of our control, we have learned a lot that we can apply to future gardens, what we want to keep, and what we need to change. Especially as we move from our temporary garden beds to our permanent ones. :-)
On a completely different note, today we had an early birthday party to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday at my brother’s. I was my mother’s chauffeur. :-) We had a great time, and we able to see her great grandson for the first time in almost 2 years. They live in a different province, so it was fantastic that they could come out for the birthday party.
Between the drive and how long we stayed to visit, we were out pretty much all day, but my mother held out very well. She even seemed to like the necklace we got for her gift and put it on right away, though she was completely indifferent to the little bag I crocheted to “wrap” it in. Even when I suggested she could use it to hold one of her rosaries, she said nothing. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know if she took it home. I helped bring in and put away her packages, and it wasn’t in any of them, so unless someone tucked it into her purse, she doesn’t have it. Which is actually a better response than I was expecting. :-D
Some things just don’t change! ;-)
Anyhow.
As wonderful as it was to see everyone, this introvert needs a battery recharge. I think an early bed time is in order! :-D
Today, I was able to get back to working on our first low raised bed. The first thing I had to do was scrounge through a shed and the barn, looking for something I could use to support the long sides and prevent them from bowing outwards once the bed is full of soil.
I found a piece that was strong enough, and long enough that I could cut it in half, first, then cut the two pieces in half at an angle, so they could be driven into the ground. Two were used for this bed, and the other two will be for the next one. The soil here is soft enough that I was able to use the pretty sledge hammer I found in the pump shack to hammer them in. I wasn’t too worried about them being perfectly straight. If this were a high raised bed, I’d be sinking posts to support them.
Next, I shoveled about half of the soil into the box, raking it out against the sides a bit, then added soil all around the box to bury the wood foundation. In total, that took up about 2/3 of the soil on the tarp. The wood foundation will break down over time, and I expect the whole box will slowly sink with it, but I don’t expect this to last more than a few years. Hopefully, by the time these need to be replaced, we’ll have access to more permanent materials and can replace them with high raised beds.
Now it was time to amend the remaining soil.
First I added about half a bag of wood pellets (roughly 20 pounds), maybe less, then got a load of the garden soil we bought in the spring.
An arm full of grass clippings was added on top of the load of soil, then a second load of soil was added.
The whole thing was mixed together using a garden fork and the tarp itself. After a while, I shoveled about a third of it into the box, then used the tarp to mix it some more, shoveled more into the box, mixed the remains with the tarp again, and by then I was able to use the tarp to heave the whole thing into the box and dump the mixture out.
Then it was time to level it all out.
I also used the back of a hoe to tamp down the soil around the outside of the box a bit. If I can figure out how to transport it, after all the beds are done, I want to bring gravel from the pit over, to put around the boxes and in the paths.
The final step was to cover it all with a grass clipping mulch and give it all a soak. It was a good chance to power wash the box itself a bit, in the process.
Here, you can see some of the wood pellets. This is why I decided to use these. Once the water hits the pellets, the sawdust begins to absorb it and expands pretty much immediately. Which means that all the pellets that are buried in the soil will push the soil away, breaking it up and preventing compaction. Depending on the conditions for the next while, these should decompose completely by the time we’re ready to plant into here, together with the grass clippings, adding organic matter that will keep the soil light and increase moisture retention.
As you could see from the previous photo, the box is not full to the top. It is, however, at a stage that it could be left as is, and be ready for planting in the spring. I might have a lead on getting a truck load of manure. If that pans out, and we can get some this fall, I would use some and, together with the garden soil and probably other organic material, top up the boxes. We shall see. Either way, this should all settle further over the winter, so I expect to need to add more material in the spring, before planting.
For now, the bed is done. The next two will be done the same way, though I still have to build the box for the bed that has beets growing in it. That will wait until after the second box is set up, since there’s nothing to do with that bed until the beets are harvested.
This is so very late in the season, but it finally happened.
Our first Hopi Black Dye sunflower seed head is opening!
When the seeds we’d started indoors neglected to germinate until after we’d already direct seeded outside, there was just one for a while. That one got transplanted into the old kitchen garden, and when a second seedling sprouted, it was planted here as well. Then a whole bunch sprouted, and they got transplanted to the main garden.
Of the two that were planted here, the first one was broken by high winds and did not recover, so there is just this one, now.
However, this one plant has three seed heads forming! The third one is mostly hidden under a leaf to the left of the one that’s opening.
It should be interesting to see how far they are able to develop before first frost hits!
Meanwhile, our recent rains have given us more sunflowers. Sort of.
This is where the large birdhouse landed, when the raccoons broke it. It had been almost full of black oilseed. The critters ate most of it, but as you can see, that still left lots behind to start sprouting! I think recently mowing over this area gave them the sunlight they needed to explode like this.
I’ve read that sunflower seedlings make for tasty microgreens. I don’t plan to harvest this out of the lawn, but one of these days, I think we should give it a try. :-)
As I go into the sunroom to get cat kibble and start my morning rounds, I usually see at least one cat waiting outside for me. Typically, it’s Potato Beetle, sometimes Butterscotch or Rosencrantz, and once in a while, I’ll see Broccoli or Nosencrantz near the door.
This morning, I saw a little tuxedo at the door!!!
Even Junk Pile’s kittens are figuring out where the food is coming from, and getting curious!
A couple of kittens had run off before I could take this picture. The kittens inside the kibble house with Potato Beetle (against the wall on the right) are tree of Butterscotch’s. The white tail tip shows that it’s Bradicous in the kibble house, which makes it Chadicous at the food tray outside the kibble house. There are actually three kittens there. You can see the tuxedo’s tail, Chadicous’ face and body, and behind Chadicous is one of Junk Pile’s tabbies.
While Nosencrantz will come to the kibble house as I bring the food out, in the end, Rosencrantz, Nosencrantz and Toesencrantz all prefer their separate kibble tray under the shrine.
I’ve been finding the tray on the ground every now and then. The skunks also like this tray, and pull it off the platform when it’s empty.
On a completely different topic, our lovely rains have brought out the ‘shrooms.
I love finding these tree mushrooms! Which should be oyster mushrooms, but I am not confident enough about that to try eating any. :-D
Today is supposed to be on the hot side, though well within average temperature, with no rain, so I hope to get more progress on the low raised bed today. Tomorrow we celebrated my mother’s 90th birthday early, so it’s either today, or I won’t be able to get at it until next week. Thankfully, these beds are for next year, so there is no urgency to get it done, yet.
We did not get the predicted thunderstorms last night, though we did get rain. While I was out doing my morning rounds, I could hear thunder around us, and it was even starting to rain a bit by the time I was done. So, no work was done on the garden bed I’d started on yesterday. We had rain on and off all day, so hopefully those bottom layers got a good soaking.
A few more of the Mongolian Giant sunflowers have started to open up. If the mild temperature continue, I hope to at least see some Hopi Black Dye sunflowers open as well, before the first frost hits. Some areas in our province have already had frost in August, but so far, we are good.
I am really hoping that first frost holds off for quite a while, so that these Red Kuri squash get a chance to mature. Our first frost date for our area is Sept. 10; just over a week from now. From the looks of our long range forecasts, we will continue to have very nice overnight temperatures; cool, but nowhere near freezing.
I especially would love for the Teddy winter squash to have a chance. Yes, we finally have fruit developing on them! Again. I found three of them this morning. Where the Red Kuri/Little Gem squash ripen to a deep orange-red, the Teddy are a mini acorn squash, becoming a deep green and only about a pound in size. The critters have been staying away, after using the cayenne pepper all over the garden beds, even though we have no been able to re-apply the cayenne due to the rain. I am hoping that, having gotten a mouth full of pepper, the critters have learned to associate the garden beds with “ouch”. :-D If we can keep them away, these are supposed to be a prolific variety, and their small mature size should mean they may have a chance to fully ripen if we have a mild fall.
After checking the outside of the squash tunnel on the winter squash side, I went through the inside of the tunnel and found something waiting for me!
One of the Halona melons had dropped to the ground! I am so happy with how they are doing. :-) Of course, after finding this, I checked all the others, but none were loose. After I finished my morning rounds, I made a quick trip into town to run some errands, then headed out again later to meet a friend. While I was gone and there was a break in the rain, the girls picked the beans and some summer squash – and found two more Halona melons on the ground! I’m a bit surprised that it’s only the Halona melons that are dropping; the Pixies are still hanging in there. Literally! :-D
My friend and I went to the local Farmer’s Market this afternoon, and I had a chance to talk to my neighbour that sells pork – this time with a budget, and I picked up some sausages. :-) We had a chance to talk for quite a while, and I’m really looking forward to being able to get together with them. There are quite a few things they are doing that I would like to do as well, and I am eager to see their methods! And, from the looks of it, I won’t be able to go back to the market this year. Starting tomorrow, our province is imposing medical apartheid. With nothing to justify it, either. If we want to go to any “non-essential” places, we will have to show our papers to prove we’ve gotten the double jab for Schrodinger’s virus. The jab that works so well, those that have already got it are going to have to get a third one, while still covering their faces and remaining in physical isolation from other human beings. Our government doesn’t actually have the authority to impose such segregation, but they’re doing it anyhow, and people are being forced to comply through threats and coercion. Most illogically, while those who can’t have, or decline to have, the jab are now barred from doing things like buying food from a farmer at a market, instead of in a grocery store, the market vendors themselves are not required to have the jab. The levels of psychological manipulation and behavioural modification from our politicians and in the media, including social media, have gone into overdrive and, sadly, many people are getting sucked in and don’t even realize it. The levels of bullying and verbal abuse I’m seeing online has also increased substantially, in just the last few days. In typical gaslighting fashion, the same people who are doing the bullying are also the same people virtue signalling about how, if we don’t like it, don’t take it out on the poor employees trying to enforce the (illegal) restrictions. The obvious implication being that people who disagree with anyone being forced to partake in medical interventions against their will are the bullies when they voice their objections.
Meanwhile, another neighbor of ours I only recently met in person had an accident almost a week ago, breaking his neck. He requires surgery but isn’t getting it, nor is his family allowed to see him. They are literally denying him health care right now, because he is declining medical certain medical procedures that are unnecessary. Our health care system sucked before this, but now, it’s gotten beyond ridiculous.
Ugh. I was talking about my garden. I didn’t intend to go into a rant. It’s part of what we’re dealing with now, though, so I’m leaving it there.
I am so incredibly thankful that we are living here on the farm, and not in any urban setting. When I came up with the sub-title for the blog, “Sometimes you need to go back, to go forward”, I had no idea how true that would be.
This evening, I finally got around to working on the first of the low raised beds in what had been our garlic beds this year.
The boxes are ready and waiting, and the beds had been left for any weeds to get larger, so they would be easier to pull.
The plan: dig out all the soil and buried layers of compostable material beneath, set up the box frame, then add the layers back, Hugelkultur style, with wood at the very bottom layer.
The first order of business was to loosen the soil a bit further than the new length the bed will be, and clear out all the weeds by the roots.
The first problem was in adding length. I was originally going to make it longer just at one end, only to find myself hitting large roots and rocks. So I did a bit at one end, then extended the other end, only to have the same problem!
Once the soil was as clear of weeds and roots as I could, it was time to remove the topsoil onto the waiting tarp.
The original plan had been to remove the soil up to the buried straw and compost pile contents into one pile, then remove the straw and other matter onto another. With the extended length, there was already the problem of not being able to dig far because of the roots and rocks I was hitting.
As expected, the straw was barely decomposed. It takes a long time for straw to rot away. That made it harder to dig down further.
I decided to leave it and modify my plans. If it wasn’t practical to dig down further, I would just have to build up higher!
Using a garden hoe, I flattened and somewhat leveled the perimeter, pushing the soil into the middle.
The box was then laid over the bed and stomped on, to create guidelines.
Then, it was time to raid the junk pile of old boards and create a foundation.
A first layer was placed on the guide lines, leveling the soil out more in the process. Then it was just a matter of digging out more boards and adding more layers. The boards are in varying states of condition and length, and a few were cut to size to fill in gaps.
I stopped at 5 layers of boards, which put the foundation at about level with the ground.
Then the box was lined up on top of the foundation.
That was definitely a two person job. :-D
The next step was to use the hoe to move the soil from the middle to the sides, burying the foundation on the inside.
Now it was time to do our use-watcha-got, Hugelkultur layering.
I raided one of our branch piles and brought small branches and twigs to cover the bottom. If we were doing a high raised bed, I would have used larger branches and logs, but these will do for a small bed. The idea with the wood is that, as it decomposes, it acts like a sponge, absorbing moisture that later becomes available to the roots of the plants above, and reducing the need to water.
The next layer was shredded paper. We’ve been saving and shredding our compost safe fliers and other paper, just for this purpose.
Then a layer of grass clippings from our new little “haystack” got added.
Then, the contents of our compost pile was added. Plenty of egg shells, coffee grounds, banana peels – all sorts of things that “garden hack” lists include. :-D
The last step for today was to hose the whole thing down, partly to keep things from blowing away. We have thunderstorms predicted for tonight. If we do get rain, it will help soak down the layers and get a kickstart in decomposition. If we don’t get rain, it will get saturated with the hose before the soil is returned.
Before the soil is added, however, I’ll have to find something I can pound into the ground on the outside of the long sides of the box, to prevent the boards from bowing out.
As lovely as the soil here is, it did test low in nitrogen, so before returning the soil to the bed, I will be mixing in some of the new garden soil, as well as more grass clippings, plus some of the pellets we’re using for cat litter now. It’s just compressed sawdust. As they get wet, they expand and break apart. This will add organic matter to the soil to keep it from compacting, plus the sawdust will absorb moisture and act as a sponge. The clipping and pellets will have the fall and winter to break down, and help increase the nitrogen levels.
If we had wood chips, they would have been included in the layers, and would be added as a layer of mulch at the very end. Alas, that will have to wait until we either get a wood chipper, or hire the tree guys to come out with their massive chipper for a few hours, and break down some branch piles for us. :-)
Which, weather willing, I should be able to work on tomorrow. :-) Unless something else comes up. Which happens often! :-D
A while back, severe winds had broken some large branches on a couple of Mosaic Mix tomato plants. They were laden with green tomatoes, so I ended up just sticking them into the soil and leaving them.
It worked.
Not only are the green tomatoes continuing to ripen in the sun, but the branches themselves have started to grow new leaves among the ones that have wilted and died!
I mean, by the time someone reaches 90, they pretty much have everything they want and need by then.
Ah, but there is an added twist.
The 90 year old in question is my mother.
My mother is… difficult. And often obliviously cruel.
Still, the family is planning a birthday party for her, and I will be driving her to it.
Yesterday, I finally settled on getting her a necklace. I already know she will complain about it but she might actually wear it anyway.
I also decided to make it a double gift, and stayed up late last night to make this little bag, rather than wrapping the necklace in a jewelry box.
It’s about 3 inches square, and the necklace is already in it in the photos. I figure she can use the bag to hold her rosary or something, afterwards.
This was done using a tulip stitch, which I’ve never done before. Here is the video tutorial that I used. It’s really quite simple.
The main difference is that I worked the bag in the round, rather than a flat panel, so I just needed to have a total number of stitches divisible by three, without the +1 needed in the starting chain when having to turn rows. The single crochet rounds in the bag are 48 stitches.
The yarn is from a package of cotton mini skeins in 8 colours, similar to Lion Brand’s Bonbons. It was gifted to me, and I’ve hung on to it for years before finding a project I wanted to use it for! :-) The bag used four colours, and I used a 2.25mm hook. After the bag was completed, I did a round of single crochet to finish the edges and create a button loop, then crocheted bobble stitch flower petals around the button loop. The button itself was from a bag of mixed, vintage buttons.
I’m happy with how it turned out. My mother will probably hate it. At least out loud and in public. Privately, she might actually like it. It’s really hard to know, with her! :-D
The Re-Farmer 