Hectic Week

Okay so it has been a hectic week- We finally got our well fixed, come to find out we needed both a new Well pump and a well tank- but we have water and it is working like a champ! We did end up getting an impressive thunderstorm last night and a good bit of rain so hopefully that will help the garden some.

How to build Community

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook, I really wish I knew who the artist is so that I could give them credit, this is so true! A strong community is vital, get to know your Neighbors!

Orange Peel Oil Candle

This is a really cool idea! Using an orange and some olive oil to make an oil lamp!

Mulch for the plants

Since I've had no work to do today we are working on mulching around the plants in the front yard-mainly our grapes, Catawba trees, Blackberries, blueberries, and Comfrey plants. Mulch has really made a huge difference in the amount of required watering in our backyard garden so we are hoping it will help in the front yard beds as well. We are trying to make sure these are well established before winter so hopefully next year when we are ready to add the drip irrigation we will only need to toss on a bit more mulch and be done :) I'd love to hear any and all suggestions on effective watering as this drought has hit Georgia hard for the past few years, and it makes gardening tough sometimes!

Asking your local county workers to drop some off when they trim trees, or by asking your local tree trimmers is a great way to get a few truckloads of mulch for free or next to free! We still have a 3 foot tall pile of mulch from early summer, and it is great for adding nutrients to the soil as well.

Well Pump Woes

This weekend was fun- our well pump decided to go kaput so we have been roughing it for the past few days-just like camping but with no running water. I guess you could call it a personal SHTF situation as it is tough keeping a house clean, water to drink, and four kids clean with no running water. We do keep water on hand so it wasn't as bad as it could have been but I never knew it took 2 gallons per flush every time we flush the toilet! I can't lie, even though most people would probably have found it upsetting we took it as a challenge to see if we could "get by" until the well guy gets here. He was supposed to show Friday or Saturday but didn't, we are still waiting for him today(Monday) but no show so far. At any rate, it gave us a good indication that the water we have in case of an emergency wouldn't be nearly enough for just a few days with our well pump working. I really want to install a hand pump so that we always have water as our lights also went off this weekend for a day due to storms. It really makes sense to me to always have a backup plan for your backup plan! Oh, and always store twice the water you think you will need!

"Spring Gardener Gable Greenhouse" I'm wanting to purchase one of these for the spot I cleared in back.

Life, Liberty, and Happiness~

Just in case you haven't heard, this week the House of Representatives is planning to consider a provision to the House Agricultural Appropriations Bill that will fundamentally undermine the concept of judicial review. This provision will deal another blow to the freedoms we have always held dear. Please follow the link below to petition Congress to stop the Monsanto Protection Act, which has been buried in section 733.

Goodies from the Garden

This is some of what our garden gave us in the past few days~ We are 100% Organic here, from fertilizer to pest control. We are lucky to have a large population of beneficial insects in our garden, so that really helps keep the bad bugs out! If you are just getting started and need a hand please feel free to drop me a line, I will help in any way that I can.

I'm a BzzAgent and I just tried the Awesome Pizza, Tortilla Cupz, and Lime Fruit Bars this past weekend and I was very pleased. The pizza tastes better than the premium brand we usually purchase, the tortilla cups were great with homemade dip, and the Lime Fruit Bars tasted like real fruit! Kroger makes it easy to have family night and have a great meal!

Work a little, "Play" a little

Today I'd like to think I got a good bit of work done, both at work and in the garden. I work from home so my breaks usually consist of taking a break to work outside awhile in the garden. Today we harvested a load of Cayenne Peppers, Cajun Bell Peppers, Heirloom Beefsteak tomatoes, Cucumbers, and a load of Zuchinni Squash. I also went and did a bit of grocery shopping and managed to dehydrate a pound of mushrooms I got on sale at the store yesterday. Then we went out and worked this afternoon in the garden spreading cow manure and wood chip mulch around the watermelons (the poor wilting things). It seems I can't water them enough, and with the added issues with my well not pumping correctly it looks as if I will need rain barrels sooner, rather than later! I watered them probably two minutes before our water shut off again. I definitely need to get someone out to look at the well, and soon! We also got four eggs today, one of the ladies had to have laid two as our pullets are too small to be laying yet. We now have 2 Black Australorp Hens, 1 Barred Rock hen, 1 Barred Rock rooster, 2 Rhode Island Red pullets, and 4 Copper Maran Pullets in our main pen. We have 2 Cochin, 2 Guinea Fowl, and a pair of Bantams in the chicken tractor at the moment. We are hoping to add Muscovies,a few more Guinea fowl, and a turkey or two(for holiday dining). Eventually we hope to add some to raise on pasture as well for the freezer. We are also looking into replacing our rabbits, and maybe getting a milk goat. Pigs are not allowed here due to covenants but other livestock is permitted so I think a goat will be perfect. We have loads of Kudzu so graze shouldn't be an issue :)

Rain!!!!

After an exhaustively hot day we have rain!! Not just sprinkles, but

real

rain! Our well has been acting up lately so any rain is a blessing, but a good heavy rain like we have this evening is twice as good! We managed to harvest two cucumbers today, and two large zucchini. In other news, something has been devouring our beefsteak tomatoes, but I was unable to find anything on them but a roly poly and several sugar ants. We managed to mulch around the zucchini plants and cucumbers late yesterday afternoon, and it seems to be helping already. Most of our watermelons appear to be doing well, at least the ones who are mulched. The UN-mulched melons were wilting badly from this heat we have had. I can hardly wait until the weather cools off some!

Back to the Garden

It's been a week or so since I last posted, unfortunately we have been very busy with tasks in the garden. We've managed to get weeds pulled on our main vegetable beds, and we are currently in the process of adding a thick mulch underneath. I'm hoping that the mulch will help reduce the need for irrigation as we have been in drought conditions here for the past 10-12 years. We've harvested an amazing amount of cucumbers this season, especially given the excessive heat and overactive weeds. We have 2 crisper drawers full in the fridge plus the shelf above, time to make some tasty pickles! We've also harvested a good bit of zucchini, which we have cut into matchstick size pieces, steamed or sauteed-delicious!