Sprung!

Spring, that is...

I love walking around the farm and seeing bright colors begin to bloom....

Tender baby leaves emerge...


Do YOU like butter?...


I anxiously watch for my first sweet, juicy tomato of the season....


I marvel at the spectacular colors...


Happy little flowers pop their heads up everywhere!


They make me smile.


New life everywhere gives me hope.


I Love Spring!!

Don't you?

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Things that haven't died.

This summer we have had the worst drought I can remember!
Seriously, we've had less rain than they had during the Great Dust Bowl of the 1930's!

I've had trees die,
My garden died,
grass is dying,
everything seems to be parched beyond repair.

Just when I was about to give up on pretty alive things on the farm, I stumbled upon these beauties.
For some reason they make me happy!

They give me hope!

But, they don't give me fresh veggies. "sigh"

There is always next year...

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Monday Morning Harvest

33...
Thats right 33 cucumbers off of my vines that haven't even made it half way up the fence yet!
Momma is happy... very happy!

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Happiness Is...

Happiness is...
The first home-grown tomato of the season!

ignore the green marker on the palm of my hand...
the 5 yr old Little-Foreman in Pink is neater than me when coloring!

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Beauty & Substance

I often ask people who live in the city if they plant a small veggie garden.
I promise that ANYONE can have something growing that they can eat.

Apartment dwellers can have a "Salad in a pot" (lettuce, tomatoes and a cucumber plant in a large pot) on their patio.

Any small corner in a small city lot can easily squeeze in a small (3x3) vegetable plot.

Any flower bed can also hold a vegetable plant amongst the flowers.

The smallest windowsill can hold small pots for herbs.

Cucumbers or beans don't need much soil space.... just a fence to climb, and most city yards have fences already!

The newest reason I've heard is that people want "pretty plants" in their limited spaces.
They don't want to use their precious space for plants that don't add beauty and color to their landscape.

Who said you can't have both?

Look!

This is my summer squash.
These plants are covered with BIG beautiful yellow flowers!
I'd say this flower is just a pretty as just about any other I've seen growing in a flowerbed!

These onions add height and a clean fresh look to your garden with it's long dramatic tubular leaves and stems supporting it's puffy white cluster of flowers. This one is almost three feet tall!


Cucumber vines can easily cover an ugly fence with big green leaves sprinkled with happy and bright yellow flowers.


Want more interest and drama?
My freaky lettuce plants fit the bill!

It's time to think about form AND function.
There is nothing better than producing your own food!
You control what goes in it, on it, and around it.

And you don't have to sacrifice beauty for home-grown veggies!
Try it!
You'll be glad you did!

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I think I'm Doing it Wrong!

Isn't this pretty??

This is my lettuce.
I've never grown lettuce that isn't a leaf variety.

It's Buttercrunch.
It's Bibb lettuce.

The back of the seed packet says...

Light: full sun... Check!
Maturity: 55 days... Check!
Head Size: 4.5"... ummm Not quite!

These suckers are pushing 3 and a half FEET tall!
I think I'm doing it wrong...

Anybody wanna come over for a salad?
I have plenty to share!

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Happy Earth Day!

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Garden Report (April 21, 2009)

The garden is looking good!
In spite of the 9 inches of rain we got on Saturday.
In spite of the marble-size hail storms.
In spite of the rogue rabbit thats running around,

Tomatoes are ripening.
You say Toe-May-Toe
I Say YUMMMMM!
See this one?? That one right up there?
It won't even make it into the house!
It'll be gobbled up right there in the garden.
I can almost feel the juices running down my chin.
We are Getting close, people!! really close!

This is the first year I've grown cabbage and lettuce.
Sol far so good!
Sauerkraut and salads will abound!

The babies!!!
Soft, fuzzy, green, babies!

"Beans, Beans, my favorite fruit....
The more you eat...
The more you...." Oh never-mind.
Green beans don't do that to you!
**sigh**
I life with too many boys... every story can become a fart story!


Onions! I LOVE onions!
I use them in everything!!
I'd stick em in chocolate pudding if I could figure out how to make it work!

Dana Loves the little Onions....
All the onions of the world...
Red, green, yellow, sweet, and white...
They are precious in my sight,
Dana Loves the little onions of the world!

Grapes are growing too!
Can You Say Homemade wine??...
No?
Ok... say Homemade jelly!
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
a peck of pickled peppers,
Peter Piper picked,

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
What the HECK was he doin in MY garden??


Here is the squash.
I have nothing clever to say about squash.
I think I broke my clever button.
Sorry.

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BEST Time of The Year!!

This is my favorite time of year.
I'm not melting into a sweaty puddle of smelly goo each time I walk outside.
I can have the windows open to air out the house.
There are baby critters everywhere I look.
Spring is in the air!!!

But... My favorite thing about spring??
Are these!!

Lookie what I've got!!!

Soon we'll have fresh strawberry Jam!!

The green beans and onions are reaching up towards the sky.

The cucumbers are sprouting, soon to reach for the fence and
climb, climb, climb.
Oh the Pickles we'll have!!
mmmmm

The pepper plants look so perky!

Fresh Salads will soon grace our table.

This is Stevia.
It's my first year growing this plant.
It is sweeter than sugar and no calories!
crushed up in some Fresh Sun Tea?
DIVINE!!

The chives look so dainty and sweet, popping their heads out of the soil.

The cilantro is making an appearance too!
Getting ready for homemade salsa.

The downy-soft fuzzy Sage leaves beg to be stuffed into a chicken.

Oh.. Oh... The Oregano we'll have!

Whats your favorite season?
And Why?

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