• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

mamakay

managing a household of 10 by the grace of God

  • 2020 Book List
  • Seasonal Living
  • Blogging
  • Investment Cooking

Cucumbers

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

0902131830a

Filed Under: Faith, Gardening, God Stops Tagged With: Acre Garden, Backyard Garden, Beets And Potatoes, Bust, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Chickens, Cows, Cucumbers, Garden Weeds, Green Beans, Lettuce, Onions, Pasture, Patty Pan Squash, Peaches, Planting Seeds, Pumpkin Plant, Second Time, Squash Plants, Storms, Sunflowers, Tomato Plants, Watermelon Plants, Weak Spot, Wonderful Time

Garden Updates

September 29, 2011 by mamakay 1 Comment

Although I have been trying to keep careful records of our efforts this summer I have not kept up with writing posts like I had hoped to. It has definitely been a year of learning for us. The challenges of taking care of a large garden,animals, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and taking care of a family of 8 has kept me crazy busy! I’m looking forward to the winter and a time to reflect and plan how to do things better.

Here are some quick stats on our homestead so far:

Chickens: We now have 53 chickens which I find remarkable considering that’s how many we started with. We have added 23 to our flock from donations, lost 15 to deaths and butchered 8.

We are getting anywhere from 14-20 eggs a day.

Garden:

The potato bins did not work out as we had hoped but we learned some things to improve next year.  We got 5 pounds, 12 ounces total.

The zucchini is still in full force and we get 1-3 zucchinis a day. I have 24 (3 cup) bags of shredded zucchini stored in the freezer and we’ve been eating lots.

The peas did pretty well. I was able to harvest over 34 days. We got 5.4 pounds (including pods). We ate lots and shelled enough for 2 quarts for the freezer.

The green beans were doing very nicely until the grasshoppers decided to devour them. We harvested about 4 1/2 pounds and put 3 lbs 5 oz in the freezer.

The tomatoes are coming along. We had our first red tomato on 8/20.  We have been getting a handful or two of cherry and pear tomatoes and 2 bigger tomatoes every day. There are still lots waiting to ripen.

The grasshoppers devoured our cabbage patch.

Although there are lots of them my onions are all rather small.

The cucumbers are somewhat slow put I really like the A-frame. We have been getting 4-5 pickling cucumbers and 1-2 slicing cucumbers every day.

The apples and plums are starting to turn and I am looking forward to seeing how they taste!

Our biggest challenges this summer have been getting the water where we need it, time and grasshoppers!

Considering that this year is our first on this big a scale I think it went quite well. The pumpkins and acorn squash are coming along. We’ve also had a few raspberries & strawberries to munch although I didn’t expect anything from those plants until next year.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Filed Under: Homestead Tagged With: 2 Quarts, 3 Lbs, Cabbage Patch, Careful Records, Chickens, Cucumbers, Doing Laundry, Freezer, Full Force, Garden Animals, Grasshoppers, Green Beans, Onions, Pear Tomatoes, Plums, Pods, Potato Bins, Quick Stats, Red Tomato, Shredded Zucchini

Primary Sidebar

Stitch Fix outfit

So glad you stopped by. I am a Christian wife and mother of 8 in the middle years. My kids are aged 4 to 20 and just about every 2 years in between. I write about our life as a big family, what God is personally doing in my life, food and books.

Hopewriters

Our Sponsors


This website includes affiliate links. Please help support our site by clicking through and purchasing from our sponsors! Thank you!

Newsletter

Simplified Organization Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat

Recent Posts

  • How Yoga Helped Me Fight Depression
  • What is the Best Way to Practice Advent?
  • Amazon Prime Days 2020
  • What I Learned This Spring 2020
  • Favorite Family Read Aloud Books

Categories

Copyright © 2022 · Wellness Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in