What's Growing This Year

Here at Farm Wanna Be, we have limited space when it comes to a vegetable garden. It used to be about 28' by 10', but the chickens hijacked some of it. And if I build a new rabbit shed this summer, my garden will then shrink to about 16' by 12'. So I have to plan out every bit of space if I want to grow anything worthwhile. This year I hope to harvest the following:

tomatoes
radishes
assortment of lettuces
carrots
peas
parsley
lots of marigold
2 kinds of sunflowers
Row of rhubarb
zucchini
sweet peppers
potatoes

The peppers I usually plant in large pots close to the house so they get more sun/heat reflected from off of the house and so they aren't so close to the tomatoes. I have never tried growing lettuce before, but found a good looking mixture that has me intrigued. I have never grown radishes before either, but my neighbor gave me some extra seeds and so I will try that also.

Quote from FL

Time for another quote from FL. I am going to clarify right now that our family does NOT smoke anything, drink questionable substances til we're knocked out, or chew anything that needs to be spit out on purpose. (Ok, we do chew some gum, but that's it.) That being said, here she goes:

As FL and I were entering Wally's World, I listed outloud the camping supplies needed for dad's upcoming campout. Stopping first to grab a box of bandaids, I was distracted just long enough not to notice FL's sudden quietness, which means she's thinking really hard. And of course, in the middle of Wally's packed pharmacy, FL loudly askes, "Why does Dad need COCAINE?"

Thank goodness I had had my Wheaties that morning and I was able to think fast. I quickly and as loudly as I could so everyone who had heard "COCAINE" could also hear me say "Dad needs PROPANE, not COCAINE!"

I grabbed the bandaids and headed straight for the sporting goods section and put that propane right on top of the cart, in case anyone had any questions about dear Dad.

What did I accomplish today??!!

I am a list maker. Not so I don't forget something, but I make lists so I can cross things off from them. It makes me feel like I really did get something done. Sometimes I deviate from the list, and then add what I have already done back on the list, just so I can cross it off. A little OCD I know! FL can't read yet, but she has started to make her own "lists" also. Hmmmm.

Here's what got crossed off my list today:

1. got out of bed (ok, that really wasn't on my list)


2. washed dishes


3. made breakfast


4. washed laundry, about 8 loads I think


5. hung about 5 loads of laundry on the line outside, then brought them all back in and put them in the dryer after it started to rain (weatherman was not accurate about when the rain would start, he was only off by 5 hours or so.)


6. fed the outside critters


7. finally planted the peas, radishes, and lettuce mix


8. made lunch


9. moved some irises and mint to another flower bed


10. moved some rocks back to the flower bed border


11. cleaned out one rabbit pen


12. collected the chicken eggs. today I got 8 eggs from 6 chickens. very strange.


13. called my parents (this was one of those things added to the list after I did it)


14. stopped a couple of fights between the kids (also, added to the list after, although I think I should just permanently keep this on the list)


15. played Farmville (yes, it was on the list, afterall, a girl's got to live a little~hehe!)


16. trimmed some forcynthia stems to try to root for another row of bushes


17. trimmed some mint to root


18. made 3 different suppers, at three different times.

Here is what gets moved over to tomorrow's list 'cuz it didn't get done today:

1. one more load of laundry


2. take some extra clothes to a neighbor for her grandkids


3. clean off the porch


4. put nest boxes in the momma rabbits' pens


5. water the plants


6. check on the peat pot seeds I started on Wednesday


7. delete some DVR recordings before we run out of space


8. dry some more dandelion leaves for the rabbits


9. wash dishes (that is never all the way done, I hate to wash dishes)


10. make tomorrow's to do list

Blossoms

Seasons

Spring is here. Trout season started last week and spring gobbler is open today. It was rainy and cold for trout opening day and the campout was short. D and CBS are leaving early in the a.m. in hopes of getting their first turkey. Hopefully the rain forcasted for today will hold off til nightfall and they can get a shot at some longbeards. A couple of days ago I heard gobbling from across the mountain, it lasted about 10 full minutes. So we know they are out and about, the guys just have to call them in.

Lesson to learn

Prayer was something I was taught at a young age, at home, at Sunday School, and everyday at my church-run school. "Pray without ceasing" is something I try to do. My problem is that I have to work on praying specifically. "Lord, I really need some money today." And He provides by letting me find a dime on the walkway. Ok, I should have asked for Him to pay that bill in full, my fault. "Lord, I know a snowstorm is coming and I messed up by not planning ahead and am out of bread. Please let the store have bread left." He provides by the store shelves still full but of the most expensive bread there is. My fault again, I should have said our usual cheap bread. And yet again today, I didn't pray correctly. Today was the start of garage sale season here and as I drove to the first sale, I was mentally making a list of what I should be looking for. Clothes for FL, water dishes for the rabbits, canning jars. "Lord, the boys could really use clothes. It would be nice to find some." We went to the sale, but no boy clothes in their sizes. Not discouraged though, it was the first sale of the season and I know the Lord will not let my teens go to school naked. I went thru the work of the day, which eventually led me to the garden to plant the peas. Seeing the neighbor, I stopped to say hi. We talked for a minute, and suddenly he said that he had come across some clothes that might fit my boys. (Thank you Lord! I knew you heard me!) "Come on over, they're in the back of my truck," said the neighbor. Almost skipping with happiness, I followed him to his driveway. I about fell on my face when I saw he didn't mean his pickup truck, he meant his DUMPTRUCK. Yes, a dumptruck, albeit, a small one, but never the less, a dumptruck full of clothes. As I spent the next four (4) hours going thru the clothes, I reminded myself again, "Pray more specifically next time, girl! I mean seriously, how many clothes can a boy need? Thank you Lord for providing the boys jeans for the next few YEARS. Please help me be a good steward and keep the clothes organized, clean, and oh, Lord, can you provide another shelf for these clothes? Just the right size shelf, or dresser or space, just exactly what these clothes need? Thank you Lord. Amen."

Quotes from FL

FL is keeping us in stitches and I will quote her often. She is a very "quick on her feet" thinker and I love to hear her views of the world. For instance, she thinks eating cheesy puffed popcorn with your mouth open makes them taste better.
And on the way into Kindergarten registration, I told FL they would probably ask her to write out some letters or numbers. She smiled and said she would tell them she knew the number "derf." You know, 1,2,3,4,5,6, derf, 7,8,9, etc. (She got it off a TV show, and she knows full well it's not a real number.)
After registration, she told me she wished she was mother nature. She would make it Fall right now so she could start Kindergarten. (It was only April.)
To keep current of FL's quips, just search under "Quotes from FL" at the right.

Garden seeds

Found this really cool seed company, I just have to share it. They have an awesome catalog and website.
http://www.seedsavers.org/


I have ordered from them once and plan on ordering some more this spring. If you are even thinking of becoming concerned with the quality of vegetable seeds or plants, well, more importantly, the overuse of hybrid seeds or genetically altered seeds, this is for you. Their prices aren't bad either. I love the history they give behind these heritage seeds.

From personal experience, I found that the heirloom seeds I bought from them were exceptional. Not only did my grape tomatoes grow wonderfully, they self-seeded the next spring and were the only tomatoes that survived the tomato blight everyone had here that summer.

The Blue and White

My life: the good, the bad, and the funny

After reading some very interesting blogs, I decided I better start blogging about my life before I get old(er) and forget what has happened in my life. Noticing that the first posts of new blogs are usually a bit awkward, I decided to skip the awkwardness and make the first few posts short and sweet. So here we go!