farming
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts

Preparing for Winter

Did I ever tell you all about my 'choke?

last spring (two growing seasons ago now) i planted little artichoke seeds. yep. seeded the chokes from scratch baby. and three of them grew into beautiful spiky little seedlings. but i was stupid. oh so stupid. i thought you just plunk them in the ground and then that becomes their forever home....

beginner mistake: if the seed grows then doesn't that mean they're able to grow in this temp. region?

lesson learned: just cuz something germinates doesn't mean the plant is hardy to that zone.

Artichokes can grow in my zone (6-7)- no sweat. but to winter in my zone is another story. that's like hoping plumerias (native to tropical and subtropical regions) will be able to super-bulk up and bunker down for the heavy snow of the Pacific Northwest.... No, what will actually happen is they'll be thinking "WTF IS THIS COLD?! gaahhhhhhhhhhhh" {wither away.... die}.





poor plumeria... they're sooooo pretty!
from wikimedia



though artichokes are not that sensitive to cold, there does need to a be a LITTLE bit of coddling to make sure these little guys grow up to be the big strong edible flowers they need to be. 

Coddling which I absolutely did not do. yay me. but i didn't know! (ugh it's getting exhausting to constantly create mass destruction of some kind because "i didn't know")

No more.. this year the snow is yet to arrive and the coddling (though late) will happen. and my 'chokes will flourish!! you'll see!!
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Inheriting Problems

Actually this post isn't as depressing as I realize the title makes it seem. I inherited someone else's "problem" that is actually going to be my main source of sustenance come next year!

Back story:
A friend of mine who is a sweetheart of the utmost sweetheart kind... recently went through a break up. She was horrible, he was naive. She was demanding, he stopped yielding. He bought her a house, she....

He bought her a house. a beat up little house. on a GORGEOUS property...

How adorable is this idea:

"Hey darling- you're my forever. So i'm gonna buy us a house where you can raise your horses and i'll take care of the yard and you can garden and we'll fix up the house and...."

This is absolutely DARLING. I dream of this kind of thing. (When did i become such a homemaker?! i wish i knew!)

But here's how that ended:

(horrible response):
"You want me to take care of the garden? That is so sexist! I can drive a tractor too! I can ride the mower just like you. Don't worry I'll do everything for my horses on my own- I'm not some stupid girl. I'm independent and I can do everything myself. And how come your friends are always around? This is our house not theirs. I don't feel like cleaning and I'm not the only one making the mess anyway. No, I'll cook when I want to because I shouldn't have to make you food."

And then she left. After two years together and only 4 months living in this new our house of theirs. Mind you...
he cooked for her all the time.
And cleaned all the time.
And yes, he opened up the extra rooms in exterior buildings to his friends who need a bit of help to get financially stable so they were always around... the property
And paid all of the bills himself.
And put of the fence for her horses which she vehemently argued that she could- and WILL GODDAMMIT- herself.
And..
and...

He drank a lot. She demanded he stop and he decided no. because it's not like yielding to everything she demanded made her any happier.

How any of this matters:
A few months later.........

I go over to this gorgeous property. It's being invaded by weeds as tall as yours truly.

"Friend. I LOVE this property- and you said you bought this for HER? and she LEFT?! she's an idiot. I'm sorry... that was mean. She's an idiot. I'm sorry."

"No it's ok. I'm starting to get over it... I've defended her long enough and while I get where she's coming from with a lot of things, I'm having a harder time seeing only the good things like before."

"Good!! because she's an idiot. Because that GARDEN!! holy shit that garden is AMAZEBALLS! did you guys build it?!"

"Well... the previous owners had it and she was supposed to take care of it......"

"ah... so that's why it looks like shit. it looks like shit. no seriously. it's horrible. (point at weed that is a foot taller than I am) that's not a vegetable..... like.. that's not a 'flourishing' edible. btws."

"yeah........ i didn't know that. I don't know what any of this is... except!! I have blackberries! i know that! and grapes!!!! look at these grapes!! well let me find.. some........ ok well there are SUPPOSED to be grapes. i think."

"YOU HAVE GRAPES!! these vines are GLORIOUS!! and thornless blackberries?!!?! STFU!! and ooooooooooooooooo these were strawberries!! and .... woah. what... in god's name happened to your rhubarb...?"

"I thought those were weeds.... so i cut them up..."

So i've confiscated politely offered to take over his garden. He said I could have it and the plans are WHIRLING because now, suddenly, I've got a HUGE beautifully mulched, super sunny chunk of land to grow everything I've ever wanted!! And the water pressure. ooo baby the water pressure. it's a grand old thing to live in the country on TONS of property.... truly it is.

All of those plans that I had for my garden last year and the year before will come into fruition next spring. Because I am weeding the garden right now with every bit of energy that i have.... and beer.

Lots of beer.

because.... gardening. duh?
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genocide and a shitty mass grave





 
 
 
i killed them all :(
 
 


look how happy he looks!!




but no. my worms are not like this happy squiggler. I KILLED THEM!!!!!




more accurately, the accursed Apollo killed them. They got too hot. DAMN YOU APOLLO!! but who am i kidding? the blame lies equally with me- i aided the creation of the inescapable, unyielding inferno that my little worm babies were fried in till their dying breaths.....




how do i even live with myself?!
 
 
apparently i was doing it wrong anyway. too much poop to not enough worm ratio.
 
 
 
....BUT A POUND OF WORMS!!
but too much poop.
but so many worms!!!!
but still too much poop.



i underestimated the poopiness of my beloved number 1's poop. thank god i didn't try anything with number 2's!! evilocity plus poop toxicity can only equal zombified worms that can probably open the lid of their own worm bin. before coming into the house to eat our brainzzzzzzzzzzz


 


"braaaainnnnzzzzzz"





the fact of the matter is i need to step up my game.





and step up i shall. 



worm bin round 2 will be on its way shortly. plan of action? slow and steady will win this race. hopefully only ONE more batch of worms will be needed... with some sage advice from some serious veteran composters and a resolve to brave the nefarious odors of number 1's very special waste I head back into the darkness.

as for the worms in bin 1:


I'M SO SORRY!!!  SOOO SOOO SORRY!!!
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Shit. I think I have worms

If you know me in real life, you've probably heard me talk about poop. I talk about poop regularly. Probably because it is a mystery to me as I don't do it.... {crickets chirping} Now is the time to stop reading this post if solid waste is a sensitive subject for you.


You've been warned.
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On the Grounds of Coffee

I'm on a high right now... i know- different end of the spectrum from my last post but this should not surprise anyone. The latest and greatest and not-all-that-new-but-still-kinda-new thing in my life is gardening!!

Remember last year when it was gonna be AMAZEBALLS??

So many plans, so many seeds, so much watering!! gaaahhhhh!!

and then.

remember last year when it was a total fail?

THIS year i'm workin it (yeah yeah it's a little late in the year), makin it, doin it (the gardening you creep heh heh), and it's makin me harder, better, fa- wait wait i'm getting this wrong.
 
TAKE 2:

THIS year i'm workin it harder ripping up that NASTY grass!



makin it soooo much better!


and better...


K, i dunno about doin it faster though... there's only so much my back and shoulders can handle.
But for sure it's making me stronger :)

I have a different focus this year. Instead of creating new life, I'm working on cultivating the lives I've already got. Like the tree pictured above. last year it was just an awkward looking treeling with two skinny long arms. this year, after an entire spring of branching and filling out and getting dressed, a whole galaxy of aphids came and stunted so much of the new growth. I didn't know what was ailing it and at that particular time i didn't really care to notice due to my whole not caring to notice much of anything. The other thing killing this tree was complete dehydration- not because i was withholding water mind you! but the tree was planted on a complete slope and none of the water would stay anywhere near the tree... hence: STONE WALL! hour after hour i kept stacking the damn rocks trying to make them stay... and then finally i've got a teeny little dam to keep my tree drunk with water to grow and be merry. the flowers underneath are gardners' strategy that i'm slowly picking up on to attract predators of the aphids that will mosey on over to the foliage and then stumble on a feast of the little aphid bastards to eat away at! HA!

what else this year? a little ways away from my tree i ripped up even MORE grass and built what will be my herb garden next year. I'll be finishing my patio table today- i'll be posting about that soon. I want to build some kind of shade pergola over the patio but that's something i still have to work out...planning on cutting down the plum tree this fall so the nectarine tree can flourish- they're starting to choke each other out now {sad}. I'll have to fix my raised beds once the season ends because we've already got tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers growing in them now. and lastly- maybe most ambitiously- i want to build my green closet. somewhere to grow plumeria and a lemon tree...this project is particularly tricky because adequate lighting is essential and location may be a difficult thing in my yard... no matter. I will make it work. Did i say i've started composting? I've started composting. and learning about feeding my plants. i'm going to have amazing compost in about 3-4 weeks, i'm also going to make some Worm Cafe's for them to come compost around the yard for me, and COFFEE!! who knew coffee could be so amazing for the yard? i've been asprinklin' and asprinklin' some more. everywhere. because my office produces CRAZY amounts of coffee grounds and that means i have an unending supply of food for my garden. stay tuned.....
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Harvest Fail...

Remember all those crops I planted? yeah so this was definitely a "first year farmer" experience. Some crops were beautiful, some crops never were, and some crops were taken out by Moribear before their time :(

Tomatoes: destroyed in their green with not even a chance to cry for their lives. Mori discovered that he rather liked the tartness of green tomatoes. Two today, three tomorrow.. an entire bush vine of tomatoes annihilated in less than a month. There were only three survivors who later became amazing tomato basil pasta sauce in memory of their late vine siblings. Next year, vines will need to be Mori-proofed before he realizes what the tomato plants are. Challenge accepted.

he's doing it again.... contemplating which one will be dinner...


Eggplants: my mom's were singled out by Mori for early devouring. We never even saw them pass. Each morning we would wake up to realize one had been taken in the night. But who? But how?? They weren't even ready..... only pieces of soft purple flesh and bits of stem could be recovered... littering the sleeping place of the monster.

Luckily, he hasn't figured out where my eggplants are growing. So they are in hiding and steadily growing. They're a bit late for the season but they are survivors. They will be delicious.





Frig peppers: also late, also surviving. Will report back once tasted.

 
Rhubarb looked to be dying but bounced back full force! It has made a healthy recovery and will be ready for pies and co. come next summer. Leaves are big, stalks are red; expecting a nice harvest next year.

Cucumbers: ducked out early on. Seemed to be getting with the crew but decided they wanted to go elsewhere. Hopefully we will be revisited for lemon cucumbers next year.

Bok Choy: was amazing. Those things were relentless. Grow ANYWHERE seriously. they were nice, juicy, and very crisp- most disgustingly, full of earwigs. I absolutely hate earwigs. {shudder} but the harvest was good, and was shared with all.

Strawberries were dropped like dominos one by one. Every time one turned red, it was disappeared into the maw of Morizilla. By the time July rolled around to start having some nice ones, he was definitely big enough to start poking his nose into the little berry bush. It was all over from there.

My purple snaps yielded much... but they were not so yummy. I think next year I will have to strategize better.

Artichokes.... out of six, three remain. Technically four but the one is off on its own and winter survival is highly unlikely. The other three i will protect with utmost care. If i can just save ONE......

Nectarines were amazing this year- pruning is the key!!!
Plums are still on the tree: They look pretty good, decent yield, fairly sweet. Should be ready here soon..

 
Potatoes blue and red: surprisingly I had a lot of little potatolings!! but i confess, i didn't keep up with my vertical potato planting so that's all I had... potatolings. however they're perfect for planting next year and I now know, the location was an ill choice for these particular babies.

Sweet potatoes: well well.... the vines were amazingly lush. I would grow sweet potatoes just for their aesthetic appeal as the little tubers grow. I have yet to unearth and see whether any potatoes grew underneath. Meh... that's not as heartbreaking for me, they were beautiful to see grow. Plus my tomato vines and the sweet potatoes are literally choking each other out. we'll see who the victors are!

So many others didn't make it :( Too little sun, too much water, too much sun, too little water, random torrential rains, giant starving monster... What's left is left and I'm glad to have had the little that I got and next year I will be prepared. Strawberries on the fence- HIGH on the fence!
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..........and strawberries

yeah i went there.. two strawberry plants: berries galore and loran.

I have a problem.
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I just wanna be a foodie~

Is that too much to ask for? I want to read about food, look at food, definitely make the food, then eat the food, then talk about food, and take pictures of food, and write about food! I want to do all of these things! WHY? WHY WHY?!  It's just... that I don't have to time to devote to being a total food junkie.
I don't even have time to be an anything junkie. I just... can't be a junkie of any kind. I consider this a huge failure and a gaping hole in my life. sad.
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Decisions and more decisions

I have to rein in my life and get a handle on my shit for the next couple of months. Like my garden, my life is out of control right now. I've got too many things going on and a ridiculous number of ideas and wants and craziness just stockpiling in the back of my over cluttered, already exploding, little brain.
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Gasworks then B&O

What a weekend~ super busy finishing up my patio and then some!

Friday night I went out!!! and picked up rocks for my yard... of course. What did you think I meant out to party? pshaw! that's something only young people do. Didn't I mention I'm already in my EARLY TWENTIES!? {sigh} it disturbs me how much my granny-like tendencies don't disturb me. To ask "what's wrong with me" wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface so.... I went to pick up rocks, brought back a small pickup full and on the way, I went to another random person's house who was giving away free raspberry plants! How could I resist?!?! So I went and dug up some spindly raspberry canes to plant in my garden that has already run out of room {sad}. Got home, unloaded half of the rocks, checked on my plant babies, put down a few patio pavers, got tired, and went inside....
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IT'S SUMMAH!!! and an update... and it's long. and that is what she said.

The weather has been getting SOOOOOO nice here and I've got projects lining up around the block! First things first of course- gotta finish my patio. It's moving on to its second summer.. i think it's time. Actually, I'm only three rows from finishing it up and sadly, because it is near the end, it is also the most complicated rows. This is where the shit hits the fan. Where all the ugly is exposed. Where everyone gets naked. And dance around a bon fire... wait, what?
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farming~~~

I wish I could be a farmer. Not just the backyard garden kind- the multi-acre kind. I've been planting little seeds and my babies have been growing! I haven't had this much fun in forever. Climbing is thrilling, buying is thrilling, reading is pleasurable, sleeping is euphoric, but gardening and seeing the fruits of your labor... it makes me giddy like a child in a candy store. The funny thing about it is I didn't have to do anything but pop the seeds in, water it, and very occasionally put a cover over the tray so that the wind doesn't cool the soil too much. The plants basically just grow on their own and what's more, it went from a week of not seeing any changes in the soil to four sprouts shooting through in one day!! I'll be posting pictures soon but crazily, when I took pictures at 7 am Saturday morning, only one of the tray pods had a little sprout but when I came back from working at about 11 am, there were four! How did that happen?! It was so amazing that randomly I catch myself sitting next to the tray and staring at the soil as if I'll be able to see the damn things actually pop out of the ground.... Don't laugh.
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