Gardening

Spring on the Homestead

May 21, 2014 by mamakay Leave a Comment

Spring is always such a time of hope and renewed enthusiasm around here. It feels so good to be out in the sunshine especially after the very long cold winter we had this year. Everything is coming to life. The grass is lush and green. The trees are getting their leaves. The apple trees are blossoming. The birds are singing. Oh how I love this time of year!

After last year’s fiasco of a garden I have determined that this year is going to be a better year! We decided to put all of the garden into the backyard and redo the fencing. There should be no chance of a cow breaking in this year!
I also went back to my roots and designed my garden with square foot gardening principles although we didn’t buy any soil amendments. We just tilled up the space and added cow manure. Also the chickens were over this space during the winter so they did there job of cleaning up lasts year garden and adding their fertilizer. Instead of trying to do trenches like last year we are just going to use a sprinkler.

I was also excited this year because our next door neighbor has been chipping up their fallen branches and had basically a mulch pile of chipped wood, grass clippings and leaves he was just going to burn. They gave it to us for the hauling away! So now we have mulch to cover the paths and to add around the plants once they come up!

In the next post I will detail what we planted this year!

May God bless our garden!

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,

but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:7

MamaKay

God Provides

September 19, 2013 by mamakay 2 Comments

This year our garden was nearly a bust!

We started a little earlier with a backyard garden planted the end of April. We enjoyed some peas and lettuce and had hopes of carrots, onions, beets and potatoes. Only the potatoes materialized. (So far we have had 3 meals from our own potatoes and there are still lots in the ground that I haven’t dug up yet.) Sunflowers also took over the garden. (I think from the chickens’ feed as they wintered in this spot.) At least they are pretty and we can use them for feed for the chickens this winter.

In May we tilled a much bigger garden in the back pasture and had a wonderful time purchasing plants at the local nursery and planting seeds but our return was very sad. We tried to fence that garden to protect it from the cows but alas they found a weak spot and broke in. What they did not eat they trampled. All that remained were 2 patty pan squash plants, 1 green bean plant, 1 pumpkin plant, and 2 watermelon plants. Just before they closed for the summer I returned to the nursery and bought a few more tomato plants to try again. We planted them the next day. Not one but two storms raged across my garden uprooting all we had planted for the second time. But somehow a few tomato plants remained.

By August I completely gave up on working in the garden. The weeds have taken over and everything has been sadly neglected. But I just couldn’t justify pouring my time into it for so little return. We were able to harvest a few pounds of cherry tomatoes, some patty pan squash, 1 watermelon, enough peas for a couple meals, and a few salads. The potatoes are looking promising although we’ve only dug a few of them up so far.

Midway through August a cousin called me to ask if I’d like to buy some peaches they had trucked up from Colorado. Of course, I said, “Yes!” We went that evening to retrieve them and she gifted me with 28 pounds of cucumbers and 11 pounds of green beans from their garden. The next week she called again asking me to come get more cucumbers and beans. The following week another friend who had planted a one acre garden asked us to please come pick from their garden. She couldn’t deal with anymore produce and didn’t want it to go to waste. Then last week another friend called to ask us to please come pick peaches from her tree. (Who knew peach trees could produce fruit in Montana!) She just had too many and not enough time to deal with them all!

The Lord has provided above and beyond what I could have ever imagined even (and maybe because) my own efforts failed to produce fruit.

Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord,
    studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.
    Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever!

Psalm 111

One of the Best Ways to Invest in Your Health: Planting A Garden

May 21, 2010 by mamakay Leave a Comment

Garden May 2010

One of the best (& cheaper) ways to invest in quality foods for your family is to plant a garden. You can choose the items your family likes to eat, control what goes on your food and even get some exercise in the process.

There are so many different ways to garden. You can plant a salad garden in a container on your patio if your space is limited. We have planted several raised bed gardens and particularly like the Square Foot garden we planted last year.

We also got lots of good ideas from watching Homestead Blessings: The Art of Gardening (In fact I highly recommend this series for learning all types of skills.)

Mother Earth News also has a great article on getting started with a garden including a nice garden plan. We are hoping to implement something like it next year when we have our own place again.

This year we are blessed to be able to garden in a much bigger plot at my grandparents’ house. We planted onions, potatoes, peas, corn, beets, turnips, lettuce, carrots, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, banana peppers, cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, and broccoli. onion sets We still have sunflower seeds, pumpkins and beans left to plant.

It is such a wonderful experience for the whole family and provides so much quality food for so little money.

I highly recommend it!