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!!

Progress

Spud experiment progress. As you remember I used a few methods to grow a few potatoes to see what works best in my soil.  I've learned that I need to space the potatoes much further!!!  Use the tires as it also gives them support and they are growing like crazy!  I really like the small tires that are very wide.  Those work the best if you will be scavenging.

We have our first yellow squash and are so excited to grill it tonight.  Bring on the Zuchini!

I'm beginning my painting project for our garage, shed and trim between work and am going to try my hand at putting in the windows in my garden shed and get it cleaned out.

My tomatoes are poking along slowly.  Very very slowly.

But the bees are very busy around my salvia and other flowers.  The butterfly bush is just about to bloom so that is exciting to me!  The doves seem to enjoy picking in my beds and scratching out what they can find and the finches are flitting in and out of the grapevines to get to the bird feeder.  

My husband and I have been looking for flat rocks and flat pieces of cement from the dumping spot here in town and he is making me a pad of sorts and a walk between the beds.

Thanks for enjoying this journey with me!

Growing a garden was necesity when I grew up as in the generations past.  Parents passed down how to grow their own food and be self sufficient.  I think it is time to walk those footsteps again.  

Teaching our sons and daughters the value and experience of growing our own food and other simple life skills.  Whether we need it or not at least we have an appreciation of where food comes from and something to fall back on.  Plus children learn and grow in so many ways when they are outside.

Wild Flower

My Favorite:  Wild Roses

Yucca in Bloom!

Native grasses mesmerize me with their waving tops and varying textures and shades of green.  Little wild flowers are tucked in.

Nature at it's finest!

Amazing at how beautiful simplicity is.

Garden Helpers

A peaceful two quiet hours outside this morning before church watering, reading, thinking and praying.  And... enjoying the company workers in my yard.

I have friendly robin who will walk right up on the patio with me and she was a hunting machine this morning as she ate breakfast, patched her nest and fed her babes.

 And a friendly...as long as I stay an arms length away...garden snake who lives in the rocks under the spicket in my flowers.  I have to be careful to warn him before going to turn the water off or on.  But if he will travel my yard eating bugs then he can stay!

I also have Peter and Paul...names of two wild bunnies whom I never have my camera ready when they are out who forage on dandelions and dropped cotton tree leaves.