Harvest Monday 11.18.13

Ah, it's Harvest Monday again. Maybe I should just start doing monthly installments.

I don't have much to share. I didn't take pictures of the last of the black eyed peas, or the single tomato that I got. My purple sweet potatoes are flowering like crazy (but that isn't a harvest, is it?) I got a few sprigs on cilantro as well. Things are super slow right now. I guess I need to really work on that soil problem so I can get the rest of my cauliflower in. It's no longer growing so at the least I need to up pot the little seedlings.

 

My neatest harvest this week? Crawfish!

 

We are heading to Alabama and this catch is coming with me. ALIVE! I also have a tank full of tadpoles to go as well. It will be nice to have these crustaceans in our pond though. I'm hoping for a few more to put in the lake as well. Then in a year or two we should have enough in there to harvest. I do love to eat crustaceans. They (all types, not just these) are some of my favorite food.

 

I am still getting a few eggs, but the laying has slowed considerably now. It's good and bad. I no longer have a large stash of eggs in the fridge waiting to be eaten, but then I also know that the laying will stop soon. Will I end up buying eggs before this is all said and done? That would be bad. I'm also no longer going out to the run as often. I find without my favorite hen out there it's harder to pay attention to the remaining two. Especially when one is aggressive. :-(  I guess it's time to start thinking about what I can do to remedy this situation once and for all.

 

Preparations are in order for our first fall hunt in Alabama. We are hoping for a turkey and quail for Thanksgiving and the first of the deer for the freezer. It's looking a bit shabby in there and it's time to refill! If it's warm enough we'll also harvest some of the fish from the lake. It will be good to get the freezer stocked again. I always worry that we won't have enough meat for the year and until the freezer is completely packed it will be on my mind.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 11.4.2013

It's November already. I can't believe it. The last month has been so incredibly busy that the time just *WOOSHED* right by me.

This weeks harvest is a few lemons and a pound of peanuts. This first harvest of peanuts is 1/3 of the peanut plants.

I have harvested a few times from this patch. A single plant here or there in order to keep a close eye on their development. The excessive rains had some fungal issues going on in the plants for a few weeks, but we got that corrected quickly enough. And though I got a pound of peanuts there is potential for so much more.

This picture shows just how much more. See, each of those things sticking up is a peg and that is what a peanut develops on. And every single plant I pulled up was covered with them.

So the only issue is... do I leave the peanuts to continue to do there thing and harvest the second crop and just hope the first crop hold on, or do I harvest the first crop and take what I can get?

 

Decisions, decisions.

 

This past weekend brought us the twins 7th birthday party. We went old school and had it at a skating rink. The girls had a blast, and even had a friend book their birthday party while we were there. Guess we'll be going back soon! :-)

I've discovered that I can still skate pretty well, and the girls got skates for their birthday so it looks like it's a new obsession 'round here.

 

Well, that was our big week this week. Last week included some Alabama time, and we are looking forward to go back in a few weeks to start restocking our freezer.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Growing, and busy.

We've been rather busy this last week or two. There was a quick trip up to the property to do a little work, and to check on the status of the herd up there. There was also a certain sometwinnies birthday to plan. This weekend will be fun for them, for sure! Not to mention the preparing the garden for fall planting, and getting the first set of seedlings in the ground. The main garden is still under quarantine though.  *pout*

But, right now I wanted to stop by and tell you about our herd. We've been managing this herd for 8 years now. The first couple years we didn't really know what we were doing. We tried, but our main objective was just to lower the hunting pressure and allow the herd to come back onto the land and get all cozy. The poaching that had gone on before us was intense and I'm pretty sure not even the squirrels came onto the property. Not to mention it was mostly barren with a few pockets of hardwoods. the second year we had the fields planted and all the trees planted and as they grew the herd slowly moved back in. At first only for foraging and the herd was very small. We didn't harvest animals for the first 3-4 years. Then we started noticing the deer were finally staying year round without fail. They visited the same places, and we saw the same deer time and again. But, the bucks - not so much. They are typically travelers anyway and wary. But, as the newer generation of deer matured those bucks tend to hang around more. Other bucks start coming in more because the herd size is growing so the does need mating...all good stuff. Last year the herd was finally large enough to not only meet the demands of our meat requirements, but my brothers and my uncles as well. This year?

Our herd?

 Our herd is growing in leaps and bounds!

The fawns are numerous and we even have a set of twins!

Last years fawns have sized up nicely (top photo all the way right) and this years are beginning to lose their spots and all are healthy and happy.

 

Along with these shots we had plenty of turkey (some with the turkey and deer at the same time) and other wildlife as well. It feels great to know that we've completely changed this land. The deer that used to be here were very thin and the fawn population by this time of the year was very low if any due to high predator pressure. Turkey were non existent on this property as well. This year? I fully plan on a true turkey Thanksgiving dinner.

 

And? I. Can't. Wait!

 

See you soon!

Barbie~

Soil issues.

I eluded to the fact that I would be back to discuss the issues I'm having with getting my green beans to grow. So- here I am. The first batch I sowed I"m pretty sure just got drowned. Nothing more, nothing less. They were about 4" high when we had an entire week of nothing but rain all.day.long. No joke. It was canoe weather. The second batch of beans I sowed managed to climb and grow and stretch and just die one after the other with no real beans produced. The last of the beans ended up with rust pretty badly, but I'm not thinking that is what actually killed the plants. The third succession of beans? This set didn't make it more than 2-3 inches tall. The second set of true leaves before just kind of disappearing.

So, the problem is getting worse over all. I've let the garden get a bit weedy the last few weeks just waiting for the fall season here. I figured a bit drier conditions and more manageable humidity would help whatever was causing the issues. MAN, I could kick my own butt for that! If I hadn't let the beds get weedy and had paid closer attention as the plants were dying off yet again I may have noticed the problem sooner and been able to do something about it. Then again, as long as the soil was wet I may have not seen the problem. I don't really know. What I do know is that now that it has dried out? Oh what a MESS!

THIS is what my garden bed looks like after having weeded and turned it over:

Not only do I have these clumps of white nastiness, but the entire soil seems infiltrated with it!  UGH. Here is a close up of that gross white clump when I broke it open...

So, Uh- Yeah. I have a pretty serious problem here. Everything I've read (and it hasn't been easy to find anything about this particular problem) says I should "replace my potting soil" HAHAHAHAH! Ah, well. That is not an option. What I can find says that the soils was probably TOO high in organic matter and the decomposition process had not completed before adding it. Well, that is a distinct possibility. But, now that I have this problem what do I do? I can't just dig 6-8" of dirt out. How am I going to rehome BAD dirt anyway???

So the only thing I can think is that this is from turning under my crops, and then the excessive amount of rain not allowing it to decompose correctly (bad aerobic/non aerobic balance = gross!)

Nevertheless, I have to endure, and after all I did not spend the last 5 years building this soil just to abandon it and start all over with nasty Florida SAND. (AGAIN)

 

Not knowing what my options are and not being able to find any real experiences out there I decided it's probably best if I myself put this out here. I have white, gross garden soil. I'm bound and determined to save it, and use it again - successfully!

I have come to the conclusion that this white substance is most likely either a mold or a fungus. Either one should be controlled by one of my favorite mostly organic concoctions. Good old fashioned copper. It of course is going to work better on fungi - but if I can flood the area should also work to dry out any mold.

 

The most unfortunate thing in all of this? Remember all those worms I had in my soil last year? All of them are gone! I didn't see a single one while I was digging through this mess. Not that I blame them. It just makes me sad. It also makes me realize that if a worm won't hang out here, how could I expect for my plants to grow?

 

Oh Mother Nature - Why must you spite me?!

 

Hopefully I'll be back in a week or two with good news.

 

See you soon!  

 

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 10.14.13

It's the middle of October and I can't believe it! Welcome back to Harvest Monday. Thanks Daphne for always being such a great hostess. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't all get together to celebrate the harvest that are happening all over the world!

The last few weeks I have lost almost all of my bean plants. I think I also figured out why - but that is another post. I've replanted my green beans (AND my winter squash) 6 different times this year to no avail. All the seeds come up the seedlings look great and then - poof they just disappear into nothingness. Deader than a doornail. It's been frustrating to say the least. At first I chalked it up to our extreme weather. This summer, more than any other we've had enough rain to continually drown out the plants. But, I garden in raised beds and while the rain would still cause issues and allow certain types of plants to die off this amount of destruction was unprecedented. We've had more than 6 months in a row with over 10" of rain each month. You'd think that would be enough to cause the problem after all!

But, I have been able to harvest some beans. The lady peas and black eyes made it through OK, but even those are no starting to succumb to diseases. I can't wait to plant out my fall plants. I sure hope they do better!

This weeks harvest? BEANS... well, southern peas but it is still a bean. 

 

Don't let the pictures fool you. That is not a plate they are on. This is a very large serving bowl. The first picking was just over a half pound, the second a pound and the third a good 2 pounds. The green ones weigh more because they are not dried, nor will they be dried. They'll be used as snaps in my beans.  For a reference the green beans on the side of the bowl are 6-7" long.

 

Yes, I also harvest a few handfuls of green beans each time I harvested the southern peas and a couple lemons as well. They continue to trickle in a couple every few days. But, I've only got a few green bean plants that made it so the pickings are slim. I'll probably just throw them in the pot along with the beans and make some cornbread to call it good. Nothing like it!

 

Unfortunately like the rest of the year has been my harvest is not varied. (Thank goodness for eggs!) I sure hope to cure that with the cooler nighttime temperatures upon us now. Hope all is well in your garden.

 

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Humph.

Harvest Monday came and went again. I harvested! I did! Rather than sharing my entire harvest I'll share my most interesting one.

 

My purple sweet potato. SOOOO pretty. So, yummy... so dry! I didn't bake it - I nuked it. BIG mistake! Oh well. It was dry but after adding some butter and smashing some it was still quite yummy.  After doing some research I found out that purple sweet potatoes in general have a tendency to be dry, much less one that only cured for 2 days. The other sweets I've been eating have been dry as well and I can't quite tell if it is the type of spud or if it is the excess rainfall. Fully half of my taters have been split and they are in a (VERY) raised bed. It shouldn't happen to them. Next year I'm going to pay for a few slips to try another type. The Amish Porto Rico has always performed well, but I do like a sweeter, moister potato - and let me tell you I'm LOVING this purple. Look at how vibrant that potato is after cooking! (That's AFTER!)

 

I'm saving the rest of my harvest(s) for this coming Monday.

 

October 15th is Stillbirth and Infant Loss Awareness Day. I'm posting this on my page now in honor of the day. I wanted to post it earlier this week but work and other family obligations kept me away.So I decided to hold off. I'm posting it early because I want the awareness out there ahead of the date. Traditionally at 7pm in your time zone a candle is lit in remembrance for all of those that have lost children during pregnancy or in early infancy. 

 

 

The grey bear - He's my constant companion. If you haven't read his story, you should. Tatty Teddy's story. I can't remember where I got the first one, but once I read the story I realized that little teddy stole my heart. At times I felt like I WAS that teddy. They are in my home, my office, my car. Hard to find because they are a UK thing - I'm always searching for them here.

 

So, that's it today. I'll be back Monday.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 9.30.13

It's still September, and no- I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. It just seems like it. Linking into Daphne's Dandelions. (Sorry I missed y'all for so long!)

My harvest? Well they have been many but my brain refused to remind me to take many pictures. The last few weeks I've harvested green beans, (YIPPEE! They're back!) black eyed peas, lady peas (ha, that sounds dirty, doesn't it?) loads of sweet potatoes, a few leeks, some strawberries, (WAHOO!) lemons, limes and... I know there is something I'm forgetting here. Eggs. Yes, eggs. How could I ever forget them?

   The citrus is from the tree that I am treating for "greening disease" Following the protocol of antibiotics and an overabundance of fertilizer this tree did not produce edible fruit last year, but this years fruit is once again edible! I'm shocked but also aware that I am only prolonging the inevitable. I'll lose the tree eventually and if the replant any of the dead groves around me I'll take my tree out so as to not reinfect their new stock. Meanwhile though, I'm enjoying fruit again this year!





The leeks are a few representatives of what I pulled out of the garden over the last couple of weeks. These were destined for stir fry and some soup. I wasn't feeling well this past weekend and soup was just the thing for this Mamma.

Poor Dusty. I miss my little (OK, LARGE) girl. She had gotten down to a single tail feather and one side of her neck feathers were completely replaced already. She was looking rough, but really coming along nicely in her molting process. I think that within just another 10-15 days she would have been completely feathered in except the tail and ready to rejoin the flock again. It was nice to see her turning back to white. It was so strange that her down was grey. I don't know why I didn't think it would be. I have checked her thoroughly for mites time and again but never noticed that. Go figure. See that her feet had completely feathered back out again?

I now know why she passed away. She was murdered. It was an act of carelessness really. I did it, and I feel completely terrible. I didn't realize that her food dish in her isolation pen was holding water. It had rained every day that week, and her food had gotten moldy. I'm a bad chicken Mom. :-( Moldy food can kill a chicken quickly. She didn't act sickly at all. I spent a good hour outside with her as she preened and hunted up some grub the night before and she was acting completely normal so I know she went quickly and didn't suffer, but it still hurts to know I was responsible.




 Large eggs this week, and limes, too. The next round of seedlings are almost ready to go into the garden. If the rain will hold off for just a couple days it would be nice. The seedlings tend to do better with a watering rather than our crazy rains when they are first transplanted.

I pulled up a little more than half the sweet potato bed. Remember that this is the half I just harvested last month. I have continually harvested from this bed all year long as I needed them and yet I still had a decent yield. This bed is almost 4' square. After providing spuds all year long it gave me 4 taters that were unusable thanks to the rain (splitting) and 8 pounds of beautiful usable delectable sweet potatoes. These spuds are going to the crock pot to be used this weekend for my Father-In Laws Memorial. Well- for afterward when we all gather together.




Funny how funerals and food go together hand in hand. I guess that it's just a way to comfort ourselves.  We find comfort in each other and in food that we are familiar with. I'm going to put a crushed pecan and brown sugar crust on them. I'm hoping I'm not the only one that finds them soothing and comforting. TO me sweet potatoes always remind me of family coming together for the holidays and this is no exception. It may not be a holiday but we will all be coming together.

The other half of the sweet potato patch will be allowed to continue on until the first frost. The night before I'll go out and yank a few of the vines and keep them in a vase in the kitchen so I will have good starts for the next year. Sometimes I don't even need them!

Well- I think that's it. I'm busy with guests and arrangements and still trying to get the garden ready for those little seedlings. It's going to be a wild couple weeks. Hopefully things will settle down soon.

Be back soon!

Barbie~

It's been a while.

I've been ignoring you. But, It's been on purpose.

 

September 11th is always a very emotional day. I had plans to come here and post something poignant. Meaningful and heartfelt, but my plans were changed. September 11th now has a new memory for me.

 

Now instead of thinking of it as the day that America lost the twin towers and we as a country mourned that loss that  changed the lives of so many - now instead it's the day I lost my Father-in Law. I could tell you about the events of that morning and how things went into a tailspin and what all transpired. But, the reality is ... no one wants to truly be faced with their own mortality. Bringing up all that would only make people feel sad.  Instead I'll tell you that he was an amazing man and I've been incredibly lucky to have had him as my Father-in-Law for the last 19 years.  He's always treated me with love and respect my children have had the best Poppi ever!

 

 It's taken me a few weeks to come back here to this space because I didn't want to bring the negativity back with me that I knew would be inevitable if I came back sooner. To make matters worse my backyard rainbow is now a little dimmer. My flock has been reduced by one. My favorite hen is now gone as well. She passed away this past week. My children have suffered greatly with these two deaths and they (of course) are taking this personally.

 

So I just wanted to stop in today to jot a note and let you all know I'm alive and well. I just needed to take a mental health break. I'll be back to share on Harvest Monday. My world is still turning, I just got a little turned around in it for a few days.

 

 

Be Back Soon

 

 

Barbie~

What remains...

What remains?

What remains of the bees? This remains of the bees.

Soon the Bee Keeper will be(Bee?) Back to vacuum the few stragglers away and take them to the rest of the hive. Speaking of... The hive was much, MUCH larger than anyone realized. Jeff was thrilled to have received such a gift. The hive is very healthy and must have simply been hidden by the vines longer than we realized. Thankfully the vines are easily trimmed and the hive removed. If it had been in the trellis instead... :-( it would not have been as easy and the bees would have been very agitated.

What remains of a molting chicken? Solitary confinement. Not only that, but I don't really have the resources for solitary - so we have improv! I took a beat up old playhouse and made it into something that would do. At least for short term...

 

Do you normally have to put your hens into solitary confinement? NO! But, see I have mean red that like to pick on her and I came home to a BLOODY hen instead of a bald one. Poor baby. So into the pen she went. Good news is she's so darn concerned about pruning she couldn't care less that she's all alone. It's only been a week and she's already got 4 of her flight feathers back! What a mess she is.

My normally pristine WHITE bird is GREY, and dappled and....balding and....embarrassed!

 (here she has spotted me with the camera)

(now she is running away from the camera)

 

Below is her normal behavior. Running TOWARD the camera. LOL. What a difference. Look at that sparkling WHITE bird!

 

 It's hard to believe she is actually grey under all that white and hides it that well! Her face looks gargantuan without any feathers on it, and that tail? Oh, My! She looks like someone has already pre-plucked her for the frying pan. It's a good thing we love her. I can't wait until RED molts. There will be no solitary confinement for her. If she gets picked on, oh well. She deserves it! Mean old biddy! She needs to just be soup, but I can't seem to find the time to do it when the kids aren't around. When the chicks are in the feed stores in spring may just be the time for her to disappear. Then two brand new chicks can take her place. That may just do. LOL.

OH, Did I mention that Dusty is like- Super molter? She's only one week in - half bald (or more) and she LAID AND EGG this week! Yes, only one - but still. Would you? I sure as heck wouldn't! I'd be putting my feet up and telling my people to go lay their own dang eggs!

See you soon!

Barbie~

Harvest Monday 9.9.13

Oh what a Monday it is!

 

This is definitely the top of my harvest weeks. What I am harvesting today is pure, sheer, genuineness. OK. Maybe not but I sure do wish I had a way to keep what I am harvesting today. BECAUSE today I am harvesting....

 

Look deep into my foliage....

 

BEES!!!!

 

That's right! Thursday evening or Friday morning a swarm of bees showed up. Today they are still here and they can't be left here. This is at my work and there are far too many people here. People who like bug spray. I'm currently waiting for the Beekeeper to show up. Like I said - I just wish I had a way to keep them for myself. It would be so nice to have these wonderful workers at my house!

 

I harvested a handful of blackberries while I was working outside this weekend. The other thing I harvested this week was a rogue pomegranate. It was growing on the wrong side of the fence. I didn't even know it existed until I went out front to do some cleaning up in the hibiscus bushes. :-)

I <3 surprises!

 

 

I really do, and this weekend I got 2 great ones!

 

Now, if the corn I sowed would just show up.... WAHHHHH....

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~