Constructive Thinking Time

Doing things seems to free my mind and my spirit to reflect and recharge.  The last few days I've taken off from work and "should" be doing many important things like cleaning my house or laundry.  

However, I have spent quite a few of my hours:  buying 6 Mil plastic and stapling the inside of my "new" shed, spraying foam insulation,  and caulking to fill in holes where the boys were attacked by an intruder when it was their fort.  While I painted, I was visited by wasp, garden snakes and butterflies.  My dog, of course kept watch!

I scored big at both the hardware and the lumber yard where I found light bulbs for plants that are perfect for my heating lamp and cheap!

I'm going to pull off an East Panel and cover with plastic, put up some shelves on that wall some hanging baskets.  Now to decide what to plant for fall both out and within.

Any ideas????

Outside:

1. Potato

2. Carrots

  

Inside:

1. Tomato

2. Pepper

Pruning, Pulling and Replanting

That wonderful time of year when the dead needs pulled or pruned!  The herbs cut and dried.  I also just planted beans and several different kinds of carrots where the old squash was.  Excited to check that out.

I wondered if any of you have tried this method of storing cabbage as I read in "The Backwoodsman" July/August 2011 edition?  My father-in-law shares his with us.  

Dennis Byrd from California wrote that his parents planted cabbage to be ready about the time o first snow.  "Once it had snowed the cabbages were dug and turned upside down, root up, into their own holds and covered with dirt and snow.  Over the course of winter you could dig these up, the outside leaves would be wrinkled and rotten, but inside was a fresh white head of cabbage."

Might be a new experiment I have to try.  I'm a beginner at planting a fall garden and am excited to see what that will be like.

I'm curious what you plant in your fall garden?  What works in the Midwest and what doesn't?  I'm looking for a mentor!!!

A Little Saggy!

My garden is looking a little saggy and weary after the hot and humid days they have faced lately.  They look slightly better after a rain last night. 

And yet... they continue to produce.  The tomatoes loaded and beginning to ripen.  Zucchini is piled at the door for the neighbors and blended and hidden in whatever I can sneak to the boys!  Peppers have been grilled and potatoes are dug.  In fact, I pulled out a potato that I thought was dead to find dozens of spuds in it's roots.

Herbs are growing like mad-now what do we do with them?  That's the new thing I need to learn!

Looking out my back window is a lesson in looking past the obvious to what is under and within.  When the plants were gorgeous without a dry leaf or a bug bite- they were not producing.  Now, looking a little worse for wear- they are providing for our table.

Makes one wonder if those times in our lives when we are a little saggy, shaggy, dry, beat up and wilted- is when we produce the most fruit?  Something to think about!

Pruning Tomatoes

Our family Grandmother-Maurine- Beat her tomato plants with a stick after she watched the plants take off after a beating from a summer hail storm.  I have learned not to doubt Maurine because she DID gardening, making her own soap, quilting, canning etc. etc.

Since I'm not into beating my tomatoes though-I decided last year to begin to prune them.  I just went at them and it worked.  This year I'm actually being more intentional with it but here is a good article that I want to share.

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/pruning-tomatoes.aspx

Growing and Producing

Tomato Take Over!

Potatoes!

The squash I planted behind my flowers. 

I love these colors and textures together!

Russian Sage, Lavender, Butterfly Bush and Native Grass.

Volunteer Tomato!

Herbs and Asparagus. 

Beautiful Prairie

Walking among native grasses and flowers gives wings to my heart!!!!  I feel like I'm soaring in the wide open skies and could tough the clouds.

Treasure Hunting

We were invited to our friends' house for supper last night and it is beautiful!  They have worked so hard painting, scrubbing, carpet and tile.  It is gorgeous.  But then I checked out the back yard.....  It was a jungle as the house had not been lived in for a while but it was amazing!  

Grape vines, rhubarb, strawberries, dill and who knows what else were stubbornly standing among the weeds.  So of course I asked if I could dig a rhubarb plant!!

The coolest thing was that this family had taken trash cans with lids and put the the down spout into it to use as their water barrel.  Since we have so much rain our friend attached an overflow hose on to them which can water the grass instead of running down the street.  It was a wonderful treasure to find!  My husband and I were excitedly talking on the way home about it and where we would put it.

Amazing what we find when we SEE!!