The Gardens of 2014

The snows have come and except for the lingering kale, the gardens are at rest. We had a good season. We packed a freezer with produce to use through the winter. We canned 70+ quarts of tomatoes and numerous fermented items.  Most exciting to me, I finally feel like I know what I’m doing.  Much of my desire for the novel and risky has been satiated so that I look forward to producing an abundance of the food that will fit  well with my family. The end of one growing season begins the planning for the next. I am full of plans.

 

The Arrival

–Berry

Like a tide it comes in,

wave after wave of foliage and fruit,

the nurtured and the wild,

out of the light to this shore.

In its extravagance we shape

the strenuous outline of enough.

picking lunch
picking lunch
chard
chard
green goodness
green goodness
Second year strawberries were fun for the kids to harvest.
Second year strawberries were fun for the kids to harvest.

DSCF6798back yard and strip garden

garlic
garlic
salad peppers
salad peppers
Bell Peppers were a big success this year!
Bell Peppers were a big success this year!
awaiting the ripening
awaiting the ripening
Nice try, teeny watermelon.
Nice try, teeny watermelon.
volunteer amaranth
volunteer amaranth
lime basil
lime basil
Jacob's Cattle Beans grow up the trellis.
Jacob’s Cattle Beans grow up the trellis.
cuke smile
cuke smile

DSCF8003cukeson trellis

Next year I will dedicate an entire row to parsley.
Next year I will dedicate an entire row to parsley.
Nasturtium flowers add beauty to salads.
Nasturtium flowers add beauty to salads.
Snails came out in force this year, though we didn't sustain any loss to them.
Snails came out in force this year, though we didn’t sustain any loss to them.
1200 scapes
1200 scapes
culinary mustard blooming
culinary mustard blooming
peas please
peas please
beautiful borage flower--pretty on a salad
beautiful borage flower–pretty on a salad
chives
chives
Beans are one of my easiest crops: the sprouts are easily recognised, once established they shade out most of the weeds, and they produce profusely. These black beans were easiest of all since I left the beans on the plant until they were already dried out. I simply crushed the shells and blew off the chaff.
Beans are one of my easiest crops: the sprouts are easily recognised, once established they shade out most of the weeds, and they produce profusely. These black beans were easiest of all since I left the beans on the plant until they were already dried out. I simply crushed the shells and blew off the chaff.
bean sprout beauty
bean sprout beauty
the biodegradable weed block worked well and cut down on a lot of maintenance.  We'll see in the spring how well it decays.
the biodegradable weed block worked well and cut down on a lot of maintenance. We’ll see in the spring how well it decays.

1 thought on “The Gardens of 2014”

  1. Hey Dave,
    I emailed you today since I live not-too-far away and would love to see your set-up. Just now I’ve been scrolling through your blog archive looking at your various ideas. For my whey tanks (I’m feeding pigs too) I built wooden boxes over the valves and stuffed them full of hay. On really cold nights I put a 1 gallon bucket of hot water into the box next to the valve and replaced the lid. By the morning the water was cool, but still far from frozen. On really cold days I’d put a new bucket in during morning chores. during marginally cold times I could go 24 hrs between bucket refreshers. Much better than frozen valves!

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