More Garden News

On my day off this week we are going to can pickled beets. I will also make more pickles. Gotta make hay while the sun shines. I really must confess that I am enjoying all this. A long time ago I did this type of thing every year. I love the whole process.

I think I would have loved to have been a farmer. The fact of the matter is, we have had the best of both worlds. We had a little taste of farming/ranching, but our lively hood wasn't dependent on it. We had all the animals, steer, goats for meat and milk, chickens, rabbits, pigs, horses, and dogs and cats of course. But we just played at farming. We didn't have to depend on the weather which around here there isn't any and we had a well, so we had plenty of water. I haven't done this in years because of all the hard work and my back just isn't up to it. But I'm having a ball.

More garden pictures. This is beets and onions

Some of the harvest. Squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, crookneck squash funny little flowery looking zucchinis.

Now we have spaghetti squash getting ripe, and butternut squash too. Yummy I could be a vegetarian. Maybe a hamburger now and then or a steak once a month, but for now veggies are the best. Did I mention that we have 28 tomato plants. Big Boys, Better Girls, Roma, cherry, yellow pear tomatoes and a wonderful full size yellow tomato. They are so good.

When talking about the garden , I forgot to mention Ron's little corner of the garden. His friend gave him some seeds to grow water melons and cantaloupe. They are doing really good and that is what got him hooked on watering the garden. He has a vested interest. In fact I hear him saying things like" next year I'll do this" and next year I'll do that." He is enjoying the garden more than he thought he would and now sees the value of growing your own produce because everyone is so excited about the stuff, it must be good. (he doesn't eat vegetables himself, we count onions as a veggie just for him) I have been cooking lots of veggies and he has been eating some even when he doesn't know it. We are practising the "Don't ask, don't tell" rule around here when it comes to dinner. We also don't tell Nan that she is eating goat. that's another story.

I don't know how to tell when a watermelon is ripe on the vine??? I guess we'll just pick one and see. I am kind of waiting to see when they stop growing then waiting to see if they change. The cantaloupe are easier to tell and we have about 12 of them on three plants. There is also one that is starting to look like a honey due although no one admits to planting one. It's a renegade!

I'll take some pictures of the Watermelon tonight.

till then,

Spin on....................Sheena

PS I got some new roving on it's way. It is from Mollie who is 3/4 Moreno and 1/4 Ramboulet. Luscious chocolate brown. Can't wait!