toly loves to run the tiller. tristan was giving his expert opinion. toly would have none of it--he has to do it his way.
toly was convinced that i needed this hammer. his method of taking a soil sample was to taste it--yummy.
this is the second row of onions with some mixed greens and beets.
here is a nice wide row of beets.
here is our over-wintered swiss chard. the arugula already went to seed.
here is the carrot bed. i dug out down to the sub soil and piled the dirt on a tarp. the soil from the 17 by 3 area amounted to about three wheelbarrow loads. i built some frames from some rough sawed wood. we then mixed in a load of compost and a load of sand. we pulled the edges of the tarp and folded the soil over and over. i set the frames about 1/2 half way into the earth. we added the carrot mix and soakers. if this method doesn't produce decent carrots then we'll cross them off our list.
i moved the bale ring form the cows mostly eaten bale. it becomes an instant bed.
my bees are happy with the peach blossoms. they are such wonderful creatures.
their activity is amazing.
the asparagus is about to start coming on. there are two tiny spear heads in this photo can you see them?
11 comments:
I see them! Your gardens are just inspiring, thank you so much for sharing them.
Oooooooh! Bees! I don't see the asparagus. But, then, I've never had an eye for veggies. I see the cows though!
thank you so much for the asparagus pics. I planted two year old crowns last spring and had about given up hope for them this year. I didn't know when they were suppose to bud. I saw your pic and went straight to my asparagus bed and saw 2 spears!! I was thrilled.
Could you give some pointers on planting using soaker hoses. With our extreme drought conditions, we have to use soaker hoses and I have never used them before. I have looked at your pics from this year and previous years and can't quiet wrap my brain around what I see. Do you plant on both sides of the hose or just one side?
Thanks,
Beth
*sighs* i just love bees!
it's the only animal danny would never let me have on this place......until a few weeks ago when we had a swarm! now he's fascinated and wants them as badly as i do! the swarm was hived and left at my daughter's house (just down the road) and i've just send off an order for our own starter supplies! ain't life grand?
unfortunately, he won't let me work the bees (yet) i was allergic as a kid and since my mom is no longer around to ask how i reacted, i promised to be good (for awhile) and carry an epi pen when i'm out and about (just in case) but, it's a small price to pay.
vintagechica, thanks
matt, how many cows do you see?
beth, we usually plant on either side of the soaker. a good thing to try is to prepare the soil, lay the soaker and turn it on for a while. then plant in the wet areas. we did this until we got used to the soaker behavior.
jayedee, congrats on bees. we love them--especially kassi. tabitha got stung the very first day.
How long can you expect from your soaker hoses? We only got a few years of service from ours before they got too brittle and leaked rather tan soaked.
pablo, of course there is a natural attrition in something so fragile and heavily used. i repair them. i cut them stick in a short piece of 1/2" cpvc tube and wire either side with thin galvanized wire.
hillbilly, funny i just commented on your site seconds ago. we also planted a short variety as to not take any chances.
Hi Karl- It's great to see your garden progress and great to see the kids running around too! How many acres is your spread?, it seems quite big and that you guys utilize the space really well. In some ways we have too much space, it is hard to manage it all and decide where to put our energy. I am curious about your bees- are you going to get honey from them or just have them hang out to pollinate? How much research did you do before you got them? We would really like to get a couple of hives but need to find some more info. thanks for your comments!
dogfight cove, we have only five acres--more than we can manage yet. the back half is just woods. we'll migrate our efforts there over the next few years. i read about bees for about three days. the book bee keeping for dummies and lots and lots of websites--three full days. the dummy book was highly recommended by several sources--my inferiority complex usually doesn't allow me to read those dummy books.
we'll take about ten or twelve gallons of honey from the bees per year. we'll probably let them keep the rest--at least for the first year. we might use any other honey surplus to barter with the locals.
Hey Karl. I was wondering if you share with me some of your asparagus knowledge? I transplanted 2 year old crowns last year and this is the first year that they are producing any spears. Do I harvest them this year or just leave them alone for another year? I seem to be finding 2 different recommendations on the on-line sites I've read and I don't know anybody IRL that has grown it.
Thank you.
Beth
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