Sunday, April 19, 2009

strawberry fields forever

tabitha's strawberry beds are really looking great.


the kids are praying for a big harvest.


black raspberry bramble


asparagus bounty for today.

we harvested heavily while my parents were visiting. we need another asparagus bed.

the replacement girls are doing very well.

they are cleaning up where the new tomato beds will be.

the beets are really coming on. we love beets.


henry is getting huge


this is compost from the chicken coop. it is still very hot and needs to be turned badly.


spring is such an exciting time


hello dinner, i mean phoenix..


i moved the square bale feeder as to open the view of the new "show" chicken coop. we are tentatively calling it francis ford coopula.


the kids love playing there.


a little cedar rust?

it feels funny.

these are the new flower beds. kassi is so excited. the materials were purchased outright. it almost seemed like cheating. although my back is just as sore from digging them in as if they were made from cedar logs like i cut for the strawberry beds.


this is the fresh salad that we just had for dinner.

tabitha picked it fresh. there is nothing like fresh greens in the spring. my body craves them and no store bought imitation can fulfill me in comparison.

we feel very blessed to be able to eat so well. spring nutrients are answering an overdue call. we are beginning to recharge from the long winter.

12 comments:

warren said...

I feel the recharge too...my goodness this winter was hard for me for some reason. Still, being outside and in the dirt is all I need! Glad you are getting some dirt time too!

Ron said...

I need your kids to come pray over my strawberry bed. :)

There's never enough compost, is there?

Things are looking good. Fresh salad - finally!

Ron

kristen said...

Thanks again for sharing pictures and news of your beautiful family. I am so glad to see everyone and everything thriving!

LannaM said...

Whoa, what kind of strawberries are those? Mine stay much flatter than that.

And, what are you guys using to mulch your strawberries and asparagus?
I need to figure something out, and soon - we've finally gotten a few days of spring so I've been out there weeding and attempting to get places ready to plant.

Shannon said...

So jealous of Tabitha's strawberry bed!!

Wendy said...

Everything is so green there, it almost makes my eyes hurt ;) ... but not really. I am a little jealous, though, as things are still in that early spring brown stage here ;).

I have some seeds for Kassi's edible flower garden, but I don't know where to send them ;).

Anonymous said...

i adore watching your blog. you all inspire me! i've ventured into three raised beds and six little chicks that are in our living room right now. baby steps.... but what an inspiration you pile of o'melays are! love to tabitha and all the wee ones! jill in portland

Unknown said...

I cant wait to put in our garden. It has rained so much lately that we have not even been able to use a tiller yet. Love the chicken house.

Kaat said...

Looks great! That does it: we're growing strawberries this year. I thought to postpone it till next year, but really...
Thanks for the inspiration, time and time again!

amy said...

Beautiful family, yummy garden, animals, life..... inspiring.

I've been reading your blog for a bit.
May I ask if you have any advice on a few good crops outside of the usual for a large family?
I'm trying to think outside of the box.
I don't think I ever saw a beet that didn't come from a can when I was a girl, Yuck!!
But who knew I'd fall in love with squash, celeriac, leeks, parsnips, and cabbages. I couldn't stand those things as a child. Yet I didn't give them a chance.
My opinion of hominy has not changed, lol. No thanks. :)

We have five acres. What would you suggest we do with it to be self sufficient?
There is a pond and creek as well.

Thank you for sharing your life.

Omelay said...

warren, dirt time is a good thing although after this weekend i feel i might have over done it.

ron, i'm sure they would happily entreat the god of strawberries for your personal bounty too. we have been conservative with compost so far. i have to rebuild a couple of my bins. one of the reasons we are keeping our bull calf is because of the compost he'll produce. the other night there was actually more salad at the table then we could eat.

kristen, we hope to happily thrive for your viewing pleasure. thank you

lannaM, i think the berry trick is the rich compost.

shannon alex, tabitha is an amazing gardener.

wendy, thanks for the seeds. yes it is even greener here now.

jill, thanks for visiting. good luck with the chicks.

tim, good luck with your garden. that stupid chicken house still isn't finished yet.

kaat, happy to help. if our garden fails at least we'll have done something.

barefoot mama, you have a nice blog. i consulted my resident expert in these matters and tabitha suggests edamame easy to grow and the kids love it. freezer space needed though.

eD said...

Hey Karl,

I was searching Google for chicken related terms and spotted you coop pictures. That is going to be a great looking coop! I just finished my own much smaller coop: www.attentioncitizensofearth.com.

I grew up south of St. Louis in a town named Bonne Terre so I know the temperature extremes that you are experiencing.

You have a great blog. Thanks for sharing.

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