Wednesday, 7 September, 2016

The Gladioli are blooming and look wonderful. Torn between the idea of cutting them to bring into the house or leaving them to enjoy in the garden. No decision so far.

Chickens are doing great. Getting bigger every day. We are now bringing them out of the run for a few minutes in the morning to wander around. They have eaten all the grass in their run and there is nothing left in there but scratched up dirt. Excellent idea to put them on a piece of ground to have them work it for us. They would love it. Frank catches grasshoppers daily to feed them and they really love that.

Still unbearably dry and we are in the middle of yet another heat wave...in September. 

The garden is still producing well. Harvesting potatoes, millions of tomatoes, carrots, beans, courgettes, chard, and basil. Want to be able to plant more herbs next year. All annuals of course until a permanent herb bed is established.

I have the name of a man in town with a backhoe who I am going to call to see if he can clean up the outside of the fence for me. It will be well worth paying him to do it just to get it all done in a short space of time. If his tractor will fit inside the garden I will get him to clear away the back of the raspberry border and the pathway, the large mound of weeds and the stump and also the area on the west side of the garden to start on the orchard beds.

Monday, 29 August, 2016

We tried out the new pressure canner. It certainly does take a long time what with getting it hot enough and then the cool down but the actual processing time is MUCH shorter. Only 25 minutes instead of 85 minutes in the hot water bath for tomatoes. We did one batch in the hot water bath and then the next batch in the pressure canner. One of the jars did not seal and this is probably the first time this has happened. The jar may have been a bit too full and that is why it did not seal. Have put it in the fridge and will likely just freeze the contents.

Drought continues. Watered a couple days ago but we have really had no rain at all.

Sunday, 28 August, 2016

The chicken run is completely finished. We have the fencing done to over 5 feet high so I can comfortably walk inside and also the top is covered with a very strong bird netting so they are safe from flying predators. They are just loving the run. When I open the pop hole in the morning they all come tumbling out. I just love to watch them.

Got a 12 liter box of dill cucumbers and made 11 jars of bread and butter pickles. Have not made them in years and I cannot think why as I just love them. 

Thursday, 18 August, 2016

We managed to get the fencing done all around the chicken run to the 4 foot high point. Frank blocked the gate with a large piece of plywood and we opened the pop hole.

Very surprisingly the 4 white Jersey Giants were the first ones out the door, followed by Naked Neck, then the 3 black Australorps. Poor little Hamburger was the last one out. She was so timid until she was left all alone in the coop and then she ventured out.

The 3 Australorps got the hang of it right away. In and out multiple times. Naked Neck was not too bad either but I had to physically put the Jerseys, Hamburger and Andi back in. Andi was a problem and we ended up almost chasing her around to get her back in. Right now since there is no netting up over the run I did not want to leave them out on their own. We hope to finish up that part tomorrow.

Sunday, 14 August, 2016

Got an incredible amount of rain yesterday. At one point the driveway was completely underwater until it could all be absorbed. Same with several areas of the lawn. The area between the house and the chicken coop was also submerged and unfortunately the driving rain got into the coop a little bit. The wood 6x6 is wet just by the door and I had to almost close the south window as it was coming in there a wee bit. The poor birds were freaking out as they have never experienced a storm before. I put an extra flake or so of straw in the coop to absorb any excess water. Checked this morning and the wood is of course still wet. Unfortunately it is very humid this morning so I see no chance of the wood drying out any time soon. Will need to keep an eye on that.

Also plan to move the dust box and roost today and will add more "soil" to the dust box as the coop is unbelievably dusty. I will sweep down the windows and the top of the nest boxes to clean things up. Actually, since they are not yet even using it, I may remove it completely for the time being and install it outside. 

The garden looks LUSH after all that rain. Much as I water all the time, I think that merely keeps things alive. The natural rain is what makes the garden thrive.

Saturday, 13 August, 2016

The heat has broken somewhat and we getting desperately needed rain. Forecast says that it will rain all day long. Fingers crossed.

The poor chickens had a struggle through this last heat wave. It was ghastly. I was taking them frozen courgettes shreds and frozen berries and changing their water 4-5 times a day and adding ice to it to keep it cool. I also misted them down every time I went out. It seemed to help as they would stop panting after I had misted them.

Have not been in the garden for two days due to the heat. Frank has been out and harvested courgettes, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. Everything is delicious.

We are still building the chicken run out back of the coop. All the upright posts have been installed and we have done the lowest round of 1/4" hardware cloth on two of the three sides. It is splayed out at the bottom and buried and I will lay stone all around the sides for added protection. We certainly have enough stone here to do it.

Thinking of moving the location of the dust box and the roost to switch sides. I think that with the south window open they may get a bit of a breeze on them at night if the wind is blowing from the east. Better to be safe. I am sure that will freak them all out to have everything moved. Poor chickens.

Wednesday, 10 August, 2016

Horribly hot today.

The poor chickens were feeling the heat. I repeatedly took in frozen courgette and berries for them which the LOVE! Also spray misted them with very cold water which they did not love. I found that a very gentle mist sprayed a couple feet above them was most effective. It falls on them very gently but it is enough to help to cool them for a short while. Needed to repeat about every hour.

I have put a thermometer into the coop to check whether the ceiling vent helps to cool the coop or is making it worse. Will check tomorrow as it is supposed to be utter hell with humidity and temperature reaching 106F. Will need to go in every hour or so and mist them and give them frozen treats. If they seem in too much distress, will dunk them bodily in cool water if necessary. Hope it will not come to that.

Watered the garden early in the morning and then it was far too hot out there for me to do anything else.

Frank harvested the first potatoes. Yukon Gold. Utterly delicious. Some were small but one plant provided enough potatoes for two meals.

Also harvested a couple of the heirloom carrots. Again, really delicious.

And of course, we are eating the heirloom tomatoes. That is real tomato flavour.

Tuesday, 9 August, 2016

Frank purchased some patio slabs and levelled them in the spots where the post for the chicken run should go. He attached metal brackets to them which will hold the supports. All five are in place. He has nailed together some spruce 2x4s for the supports as we did not want to use pressure treated 4 x 4s.  Work will continue tomorrow in the blazing heat. 

We are at the start of yet another heat wave. Temperatures to get into the high 90's with humidity into the 100's. I loathe summer.

It would appear that the buckwheat has begun to germinate but I believe that the birds have snatched a good bit of the seed. Note to self.... cover the beds with row cover next time until germination.

We are ready to begin to harvest some of the potatoes. Fingers crossed.

Raspberries have been good. Plentiful, but again, we are fighting the birds for them.

The apples are getting larger and look pretty good.

Tomatoes are all doing pretty well but we have a good bit of  blossom end rot on the newest fruits at the top of the plants due to the watering issues. The fruit at the bottom of the plants appear to be unaffected.

Courgettes are ailing. Despite watering the plants are severely struggling. To be honest, I believe that I have eaten quite enough courgettes for this year and will begin to remove the worst of them. If we have just one or two for the remainder of the season it will be quite enough.

Have learned quite a lot this year and will make notes of things to do differently next season.

Monday, 8 August, 2016

Have missed a few days as we had company staying over.

We tried to dig the holes for the last posts for the chicken coop run  but hit solid rock about 2 feet down and that was not deep enough so we just filled in the holes. VERY FRUSTRATING! Did the work on a miserable hot day so that just made it all that much worse. 

Have decided to use different method. Will not dig holes but will attach 4 x 4's onto metal plate designed to hold porch posts that are secured to concrete porch only we will attach them to large 24" patio slabs. We already had three of them so only needed to purchase two more.

The chickens are doing well. They definitely suffered somewhat during that last heat wave and another is on the way in a couple of days. I have been freezing raspberries and blueberries and pieces of cucumber and shredded courgette for them. They LOVE it. Have also been misting them with ice cold water. They do not much care for that but it is a very fine mist and I have noticed that they stop panting when they are misted. I have been doing it 2-3 times per day, along with giving them fresh ice cold water several times per day.

Have picked courgettes, again. A few of the plants are dying. Not sure if it is the cucumber beetles that are weakening them or if it is the drought. I water every second day but even with 2 hours of watering, it is not near enough. A lot of the tomatoes have blossom end rot so have been pulling them off. 

Also began to remove the tomato plants that are lying all over the ground in Bed 2-Row 2. They should have been staked and it is now a great whacking mess in that bed. As we will shortly be completely overrun with tomatoes, we can afford to let the plants in that bed go. A great many of them have blossom end rot anyway.

Monday, 1 August, 2016

Picked all the beans that I could find in the one full bed. Mixture of all three kinds.

Picked courgettes and the side shoots of the broccoli plants. Will leave them in there for another week or so to see if we get anything else from them. Then out they come and I will send them through the shredder.

We began work on the chicken run today. Frank line trimmed the grass which I then raked up into a big pile. Frank cut down overhanging branches and had to cut down one pine tree that was in the way. I piled up the debris which we will take to the dump on Wednesday. Frank then ran the lawn mower over the area to clean it up a bit.

We then laid out the size of the run, corrected the measurements and began to hand dig the holes for posts. We have 5 holes dug. We will put in the posts (either 4x4 or natural cedar post) and then we can determine where the last two holes will need to be and dig them. 

What a lot of work. Hard graft and no mistake about it.

Saw a snake in the kitchen garden this morning.

Added some hardware cloth on the inside of the pop holes in the coop as it was stifling hot in there. Were then able to open the pop holes and also opened the ceiling vent and with the bit of a breeze, the coop felt much better. Will remove the hardware cloth from the pop hole on the north wall when we have finished the run and they can go outside. Will leave it on the east hole for the time being.

Sunday, 31 July, 2016

Thoroughly cleaned up the four Rhubarb beds.

Pulled out the Broad Beans.... failed experiment.

Picked cucumbers.

Saturday, 30 July, 2016

Harvested courgettes...again. 

Harvested quite a lot of green beans which I processed and they are all now in the freezer. Yellow beans tomorrow.

Spent some time with the chickens. The Australorps are getting braver and will eat crumbles right out of my hand. They will also nibble at lettuce leaves. So far they are the only ones who are that brave. The four huge Jersey Giants are still mostly hiding in corners but if I sit still they will come out and wander all around. They do not get too close to me but at least they are a microscopic bit less afraid.

Friday, 29 July, 2016

Another day with not much done that was not related to the chickens. 

Pretty much all of them are picking on the little Hamburg. She is by far the cutest and certainly my favourite. She runs under my dress when I go into the coop for safety. Poor little munchkin.

Thursday, 28 July, 2016

At long last....picked up the chickens. Beyond excitement. Nothing else done all day that was not chicken related.

Tuesday, 26 July, 2016

Have finished bundling up all the garlic. It needs to be hung up somehow.

Went to feed store and purchased waterer, feeder and grower feed for the chickens which we will pick up Thursday.

Picked all the beans. Green beans were fine but the Dragon's Tongue and the yellow beans were very disappointing. Tossed most of it into the compost heap. This is a new variety of both the green and the yellow and I do not like them. Will go back to my old variety. Have had an issue this year with some of the seed from Early's. May rethink for next season.

Sunday, 24 July, 2016

Out in the garden at 5:30 to water.

With a bit of help, cleared all the weeds along the south fence so that can now be covered with landscape fabric and pea stone. Looks SO much better.

Frank has been cleaning up the garlic and I have been making bundles. Not braided since it is Hardneck but nice looking bundles.

Picked a good size bowl of blueberries today. Delicious.

Garden is doing well. Need to plant out the last few tiny broccoli plants and then cover up the bed once again against the cabbage white butterflies. The wee plants in there look very sad and weak. Next year will set out larger transplants.

As soon as the last of the garlic has been cleaned, will sow buckwheat in the garlic beds. Same for the broccoli bed but waiting for the chipper to arrive so I can send those big broccoli stalks through it before I compost it.

Friday, 22 July, 2016

Brutal heat and humidity today. It is 97 degrees out there, plus humidex. For me anyway, completely unbearable.

Ran errands.

Helped Frank to install the second half of the chicken coop ceiling. It looks amazing.

Been in touch with Danielle and we will be picking up the chicken pullets on Thursday. So excited.

Thursday, 21 July, 2016

Very hot today.

Re-planted carrot and beet seeds in the gaps in Bed 1 - Row 3.

Thoroughly watered entire garden.

Planted assorted lettuce behind the cucumbers beside the fava beans.

Dug up ALL the garlic, laid it out on the beds to dry. Fantastic harvest. Probably the best garlic we have ever grown. My gloves smell like garlic. Brilliant.

Helped Frank to begin to install the ceiling in the chicken coop. Got half done and he also built and installed the ceiling hatch to open it up to vent out the heat. Fantastic job.

Laid tarps on remaining center area of row 5 up to the squash plants. They are struggling in the poor soil, especially compared to the plants in the raised beds.

Tuesday, 19 July, 2016

Frank went fishing so it is fish for dinner and a couple more to put in the smoker.

We had a nice long gentle rain last night so no need to water today.

Weeded whole of garden. Spent a good bit of time completely cleaning out under the old raspberries, front and back of bed.

Planted out Bed 1-Row 2 with a crop of late brassicas. Two savoy cabbage, 6 green cabbage and purple kohlrabi interplanted with them. Have left room for about 6 broccoli as soon as the seedlings are big enough to transplant. Watered in well and covered with row cover to protect from cabbage white butterflies.

Picked huge amount of some kind of bug off one of the beds of potatoes. They are very sluggish so easy to gather by hand and dispose of them. They are NOT potato beetles but have no idea what they are.

Cleaned out weeds at the bottom of row 3 as they had begun to sprout again since have run out of gravel so it is all bare soil at the moment.

Recommenced working along the inside of the south fence to clear the weeds. Slow work, hard graft but will get it done in a couple of days hopefully. As soon as it is finished will get a load or two of pea stone in the truck and cover.

Monday, 18 July, 2016

Have harvested all the remaining side shoots from all the broccoli plants. Not a great deal but certainly enough for a meal or two.

Only a few kohlrabi left and they are all getting huge. Using them in coleslaw where I can grate them so they are not going to waste.

Seedlings are appearing in Bed 1-Row 3 but germination is spotty. Will seed again in the blank spaces.

Frank has suckered and tied in the tomatoes again.

Picked lots of small bugs off the potatoes.

Cucumber beetles are still with us but appear to be posing to problem to the maturing plants. We are now harvesting lots of courgettes.

Went through and weeded out the strawberry beds. Likely missed a few but got most of them.

Noah came to help me for a couple of hours and we cleared another large area of weeds in Row 5 and covered with tarps. Looks SO much better.

Raspberries are showing lots of fruit but it looks small to me. No doubt on account of our drought conditions. We have been watering them and we have received a bit of rain in the last week but clearly not enough. They will still be delicious but small.

Have picked quite a few blueberries before the birds figure out how to get under the nets to get them. Will design proper fruit cage for next year to be built.

The natural rain that we have had has made a great deal of rich lush growth in the garden. Watering keeps them alive but rain makes them thrive.

Friday, 15 July, 2016

Have done virtually no work at all in the garden. Company here for 5 days, weather was brutally hot and humid and finally in the last two days, we have had a substantial amount of rain. So thankful.

Have harvested all the broccoli main heads from the plants. Just got them in the nick of time before they burst into flower. Blanched and frozen.

It is amazing what the natural rain does for the garden. I have been watering constantly and everything is growing but a good blast of natural rain and everything seems to surge to life with renewed vigor. Amazing.

Have sown a few more broccoli seeds into a pot. The first lot sown had poor germination with only two seedlings. Not really happy with the quality of the seed I purchased this year. Germination has been poor all around.

Bed 1 in Row 3 is germinating reasonably well. Lots of misses in the beets and carrots and also a few in the beans. Most of all of this is brand new seed so this should not be happening. Will need to replant tomorrow in the vacant spots to fill in the gaps.

The weather has broken finally tonight and it is deliciously cold. Will need extra blankies on the bed. Frank says it is absurd that we have more quilts on the bed now than we do in the winter. Great, I say.

Monday, 11 July, 2016

The heat has returned.

We did manage to get a day of rain on Saturday. Still not nearly enough.

Have begun to harvest the broccoli today. Cut one huge head. Beautiful. Have also cut some courgettes, radish and a very large kohlrabi.

Checked out the trees and there are quite a few apples on various trees so we should actually get to eat a few of them this year which will be a treat.

It looks like all the iris and daylilies that I transplanted have taken. They all look nice and healthy.

Garden doing amazingly well. Lush after the rain. Bed 1 in Row 3 is germinating. Even saw evidence of a couple of carrots that are up.

The pots of brassicas that I seeded are up as well and I will transplant in a few days.

Friday, 8 July, 2016

Very overcast morning. Watered the entire veg patch thoroughly. 

A couple of the broccoli look like they are getting ready to bolt. The heads are a pretty good size so will need to cut them in the next day or so.

Still millions of cucumber beetles. Despite that, all the cucumber and squash seem to be putting on some decent growth, again despite the lack of rain.

The weather forecast is calling for rain tomorrow. We shall see.

Need to get some straw around the potatoes very soon.

Need to pick the last of the peas.

Only a few kohlrabi left and they are getting pretty large. Need to be picked and used.

Some really decent size chard all ready to use. Same goes for the beets. Some just lovely ones out there, even the golden ones.

First sign of germination in Bed 1 - Row 3. I do believe that it is radish, arugula and beets that are starting. Still have the carrots covered. Nothing yet.

Need to cut off the runners from the pineberries.

This latest heat wave is to break to some extent by tomorrow night. If we do get rain tomorrow and it is NOT a thunderstorm, I will work in the garden anyway. Even if it is hot, a nice bit of rain will not melt me away.

Thursday, 7 July, 2016

I set up some line and aluminium pie plates in the strawberry patch to attempt to keep the birds away. We will see if it makes any difference.

Still brutally hot here. Humidex was over 100 today. Spent as little time out of doors as possible.

Frank has completed exterior work on the shed and almost finished the coop. Just needs to install the pop hole doors and he is ready to start on the ceiling in the coop as well.

I started more seed of broccoli, kohlrabi and two cabbages a couple days ago but nothing from them yet.

We have had quite a few birds visiting the bird bath for a drink and also quite a few have been taking baths. Love to see that.  :)

Garden is doing well. I have been watering every second day as still bone dry here. They say rain in the forecast for Saturday but will believe it when I see it.

Monday, 4 July, 2016

Finished up the last of the pea stone yesterday. Have run out and will need to get a load in the pick up to complete the last area.

Have started seed for purple kohlrabi, broccoli and two varieties of cabbage in pots.

Planted out Bed 1 in Row 3 today with Scarlet Runner beans, Chard, Beets, Beans, Carrots, Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula and a few Radishes. It is a big bed so I got a lot in there. All seeds, no transplants.

Need to get to the triangles around the pea support to replant.

Cucumber beetles are still with us. They are doing some damage but all the plants seem to be holding their own against them. Next year will start everything under row cover.

Tomatoes are doing great. Lots of growth. They love this God awful heat that we are having... again. Third heat wave of temperatures/humidex close to 100F and it is only the first week of July. 

Chicken coop almost finished. Emailing back and forth with hatchery to see what they have available.

Was out at 6:00 to water the garden. Hope the well hold up.

Saturday, 2 July, 2016

Frank has busted up enough of the HUGE rock that we were able to install a bed at the bottom of row 2. It is already filled with garden loam.

All the other beds that we are building for this year have been built and filled with garden loam. I have done almost all of the pea stone pathways but will run out of stone before I finish. Will likely be able to get just enough in the pick up.

Garden doing very well. We have been harvesting lots of lettuce, peas, kohlrabi and some small courgettes. Have sown more spinach and lettuce.

Now that the last three beds are in place and filled, I will sow seed in them tomorrow.

We have received a wee bit of rain, not nearly enough though. Temperatures not too bad. Cooler and VERY windy today but a nice break from the heat.

Birds have eaten almost all of our remaining strawberries. Not happy.

Monday, 27 June, 2016

Hard to believe that June is almost over already. 

Thankfully we received some desperately needed rain during the night. Not nearly enough but we are grateful for what we got. However, the air today is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Horribly humid.

Will run errands and then stay inside. I cannot function in this kind of heat. It is supposed to break completely Tuesday night.

Sunday, 26 June, 2016

I am doing absolutely nothing outside today other than water the potted plants. The temperature with the humidex is to reach 100 today. That is utter madness and way too hot for me to function.

I will stay in and work on a landscape plan to surround the house.... where I want the patios to be, pathways, etc. Much more pleasant than shoveling gravel in this scorching heat.

Saturday, 25 June, 2016

The heat wave is fully with us. Utterly vile. There are only 6 more months until Christmas! At this stage I will be welcoming the cold weather. Summer is my least favourite season. And this heat is the reason why.

Frank filled Bed 3 in Row 3. We still seem to have quite a bit of garden loam left with only one more bed to go. I think that they sent us too much. We will have to use it up somewhere.

I have continued to lay the pea stone pathways. Now working in Row 3. Did between beds 2 and 3 and also beds 5 and 6 which are the 12 foot beds running vertically up the garden. Even that little bit looks nice. Far too hot a day to be doing this though so have retired to the house where it is still quite comfortable.

Frank is installing door knobs and locks on the chicken coop and feed storage area. Lucky him... he is not bothered by the heat at all.

Friday, 24 June, 2016

The hot weather has returned and is making life miserable, at least for me.

Frank and I have built the last two 12 foot beds at the bottom of row 3 only to discover that the south fence is so far out of true that things are going to look very odd indeed along that line. Now trying to sort out what best to do to correct the problem as we cannot move any of the installed beds.

We are having a pretty serious drought and have needed to water almost every single day. Now that the weather is getting much hotter again, things are just that much worse. I am now watering very early in the morning, just after sun up. It is somewhat cooler outside so the water is better absorbed and there is much less evaporation. Easier on me also not to be baking out there in the heat.

We have filled bed 3 in row 3 so it is ready to plant out. Will wait until this latest heat wave is over so will plant out on Tuesday.

I have been working on the gravel pathways between the beds and have finished row 2 except the area at the bottom where the large rock is. Debating what to do about that... leave it there and just gravel around it or drill into it and try to break off the top so we can put a bed in there.

Pretty much all the plants are doing very well. We have been harvesting lots of spinach, lettuce and kohlrabi for salads every night. Also taken quite a bit of rhubarb and lots of strawberries. The June berries are mostly quite small but they have wonderful flavour. 

Tuesday, 21 June, 2016

I checked the weather station this morning and they say that we will have one more minute of daylight than we did yesterday, which was the Solstice. ???

The beans in Bed 3-Row 2 are leaping from the ground. They have grown about 2" since yesterday which is amazing. Still nothing from the carrots in same bed.

Gladioli are making strides in the diamond bed as are the pineberries.

I completely weeded the entire veg patch today, all 12 beds. Not really all that bad a job as I try to keep on top of it. I am working my way through the asparagus beds once again and have finished 1, 2 & 3. The problem is the tufted vetch and the blackberries and raspberries that are determined to grow there. I am equally determined that they shall not. I am going to win this battle no matter what!

Spent a good bit of time working to clear the last of the area in Row 3 for the last two beds.

Frank will need to "adjust" Bed 1 in row 3 due to large rock that it will be sitting upon.

Strawberries coming fast and furious now. Delicious. Will harvest some tonight along with some rhubarb to make pie. Yum.

Need to pull out the rest of the spinach at the back of pea bed as it is starting to bolt due to this horrid hot weather. Still quite a bit of lettuce there still so will not reseed that bed until the lettuce is out.

Will start to harvest kohlrabi today for addition to salad.

Monday, 20 June, 2016

Today is the Summer Solstice. Sun up at 5:19 and will not set until 8:53. That means 15 hours and 34 minutes of daylight. Lovely.

The strawberries are now starting to ripen quickly. Will pick a bunch to have with breakfast and also dessert for dinner.

The beans I planted in Bed 3-Row 2 are just breaking the soil this morning. Nothing from the carrots in that bed yet but that is not surprising. Kohlrabi are getting larger and we can likely start to harvest a few of them this week. I have pulled another patch of spinach from the pea bed, weeded the little triangle and replanted with three varieties of lettuce.

Both brassica beds are doing just wonderful. The interplanted lettuce are getting larger so soon time to get them out of there. There has been no sign of Cabbage White Butterflies so I am thinking that I can roll up the fleece and put it away.

The garlic beds are doing well and now starting to produce scapes.

The lettuce, spinach and radish that I planted in the pea bed a week or so is now up. That bed has just been amazing. Will plan to have at least two of them for next year. I think that one bed alone will keep us in salading for most of the summer. The actual peas themselves are starting to fill out the pods. Not a lot of them though which is disappointing.

Potatoes are up in both beds and doing well.

Gladioli have finally broken soil in the diamond bed. The pineberries in that same bed are simply amazing. They are in flower and also sending out runners all over the place. I will cut off the runners but allow them to keep a few flowers just to get a taste of these lovely white berries.

Lots of new little shoots coming up in the Asparagus beds. Still working away at keeping those beds weed free.

Frank has been working his way along the Raspberry border and digging up everything that is in there, except the canes we brought from the old house. He is just past the halfway point. Foul job. I have yet to finish cleaning up the north side of this border (25% done) but will resume work this coming week.

Have two more beds to build and install in Row 3. Must finish clearing the last of the weeds on that ground first and remove all the straw. Have at least cleared the area beside the south fence to the end of Row 3. Must press on with that to the end of Row 5. Another foul job but must be done.

Sunday, 19 June, 2016

Playing catch up with the posts.

The weather is really messing with us. We are in a serious drought now. I am out there watering the garden every day. Had been doing it at night, just as the sun was setting but have since found that morning is better. The soil is not as hot, the water does not evaporate as quickly and it takes me much less time to do it. Morning it is from now on.

Also just in the midst of second heat wave of the summer. Humidity to hit close to 100F today. I loathe this weather. This is only June. I shudder to think what August will be like.

Frank thinks that he may be able to break the top off the big rock at the bottom of row 2. He has drilled many little holes in it and when the time it right, he will give it a good whack with a sledge. If the top can be removed, we will put a bed there. I will cover with a tarp for the time being to keep the weeds at bay.

Continue to work on Row 3. We now have 4 beds installed, filled and planted out. We have built the bed that will be at the bottom of the row but once again there is a flattish rock in the way. The end of the bed will need to be sculpted so it can sit on top of the rock and keep the rest of the bed level.

The plants are all doing very well indeed. We have lost two courgettes due to the heat. A couple of the tomatoes are looking somewhat grim but I have been pouring water on them so perhaps they will make a comeback.

Sunday, 12 June, 2016

Temperatures plummeted today and the wind picked up like a gale force. Frank went for a bike ride and I stayed in and read all about Hidcote garden in England. Would have liked to work on the new beds but just too cold and windy.
Hopefully better tomorrow.

Saturday, 11 June, 2016

Harvested quite a lot of rhubarb today. There is still a huge amount on each plant.

We had a gentle steady rain for the entire morning. I am hoping that it will prove beneficial as I watered the garden very thoroughly last night so with luck it will have had a chance to seep in deeply. Fingers crossed.

Checked on the strawberries and have noticed that one or two are starting to show that beautiful red colour. It will not be long now until we are enjoying them.

Friday, 10 June, 2016

Worked in the garden all day. Harvested some arugula and some radish.

Weeded and replanted out a couple areas near the peas with Basil, spinach, lettuce, small sowing of arugula and small amount of radish.

Finished weeding the garlic. Weeded out all the other beds.

Deadheaded the daffodils under the apple trees and weeded out the grass.

Planted seed of parsnip, carrot, beet and chard to fill in the gaps from poor germination.

Completely cleared the ground for the last bed in row two which we built and also cleared the top end of row three and we built the two 12' beds in that area. We have chosen to make them wider at 48" than all the other garden beds as they will eventually have a pergola over top of them and we have the space. We did not get a chance to fill any of them yet. 

Checked on the strawberries and they are doing great. The early June bearing plants are absolutely hanging with berries.

The garden is really taking shape and looks wonderful.

Thursday, 9 June, 2016

Frank is continuing to work on chicken coop. Now installing board and batten.

We have built one more of the 15' beds and filled it. Also built the 4' diamond bed in the center of row 3, filled it and planted out with Gladioli and Pineberries.

Today I weeded just about all the beds and am almost finished cleaning out the garlic beds. 1/2 of one bed to go.

Have begun to clear the ground for the 12' beds that will be in row 3.

Have planted out a second bed of potatoes.

Harvesting a good amount of spinach now. Salad tonight.

Sawfly larva continue to wreak havoc on the red and white currants. Damage temporarily stopped on the gooseberries. We will need to spray again with insecticidal soap, much as we hate to do it.

Tuesday, 7 June, 2016

Frank and I have constructed 5 beds from the Hemlock and using the lousy soil at the very bottom on top of newspaper and then filled them with the beautiful garden loam we got.

Have planted out all the courgettes, one bed of potatoes, we now have three full beds of tomatoes.

Uncovered the brassicas today and they all look pretty good. Thoroughly weeded both the beds and will recover. We got a bit of a rain shower today and the beds were uncovered so they got a good soaking. Lettuce doing well in that bed. Also interplanted lettuce between some of the tomatoes.

Strawberries have thousands of blossoms and starting to produce little berries!

The sawfly larvae have utterly devastated the gooseberry bushes and the white and red currants. Tempted to just dig them up and plant something else.

Frank cleared once fence panel in the raspberry border. Only 5 more to go.

He also started to clear the weeds in row 5 so we can plant it out with the squash and the rest of the tomatoes.

Monday, 30 May, 2016

Ordered Garden Loam from new landscaping company. They delivered it tonight. It looks like wonderful stuff. We will begin building a few beds tomorrow and use the last of the original stuff to line the very bottom of the beds and then top it up completely with this wonderful new loam. Cannot wait.

Frank installed the nest boxes in the chicken coop. Looks great.

The heat wave has finally broken. I celebrated by running the lawn mower and cutting the front lawn and half of the east side of the house. I had forgotten that I actually enjoy cutting grass.

Sunday, 29 May, 2016

We are in the midst of our first heat wave of the season. The humidex reached 100 here today. I have done almost no work in the garden for the last 3 days because of this heat. Did a few minutes of weeding this morning but that was about it.

Frank has been working on cutting the grass but we are looking at garden tractors as we would prefer to keep all the grass anywhere around the house short to reduce the problem with ticks.

I have planted out all the germinated beans and filled one whole bed with three different varieties.

Continuing to weed the asparagus beds almost daily. Tufted Vetch and of course the blackberry and raspberry canes still trying to grow in the beds. I am trying to stay on top of them. A bit behind in beds 4 and 5 due to the heat.

Need to weed out the bed with the parsnips now that they have finally begun to germinate and I can see them.

Something was eating the brassicas... again. I made wire hoops from a roll of wire we had and covered both beds with row cover. It would appear that is has worked. We checked today and counted the missing plants so we can continue to check and see if there are any more missing. I will just go to a garden center and pick up a few plants to replace them.

The bed with the peas is doing very well. I have compared the direct sown plants to the transplanted ones and really, the DS are doing much better. Will not bother to transplant spinach and beets in future. Not worth the trouble. 

The beets did not transplant well. We have lost most of them. Will clear most of that bed and just plant seed. Lesson learned from this experiment.

Wood order has come for the new raised beds in rows 2 and 3. Frank began to cut them up today. Will begin to build the beds this week. 

Tuesday, 24 May, 2016

Frank cut the front lawn area, lots of grass but now it looks amazing.

I weeded out the entire carrot bed. There are some misses in germination so I will take out some seed and fill in the spaces. Cannot really tell what are parsnips and what are weeds so will wait for another few days and hopefully will be able to tell by then.

We planted out two full beds of leeks. Still have quite a few left over so will look for somewhere else to put them.

I have pulled that tarps off the remainder of rows 2 & 3 and then laid them over row 4, sometimes double or even triple thick. All are weighed down with rocks, bricks and whatever else I could find.

There is a lot of weed growth from under the tarps. A very good size area was under the straw from when we built the house so it is pretty clear.

Noticed a huge flat rock that it looks like may possibly be in a pathway. Fingers crossed for that one.

Something ate one of my broccoli plants and one of my Brussels Sprout plants. Only one of each and all they did was bite off the leaves and just leave them. Last year when we lost ALL the plants they were eaten totally with no evidence left over. Fingers crossed for that also.

The weather has been utterly unbearable. SO HOT. I can work outside for about 15 - 20 minutes and then I must come inside to cool off. We had all the windows open all night and the house went right down to 63F degrees. Actually cold when we got up. Got all the windows closed quickly and closed the curtains in our bedroom and in the living room and the house remained quite cool all day. It is 5:00 pm as I write this and the sun is full in the west pounding down on the house and the temperature in here is still only 69F degrees. Very comfortable. The key to all this is being able to open the windows at night to cool off the house. The problem with this is when the nights are unbearable also and the house cannot be cooled off. Welcome to a hot, humid Ontario summer.

Apple trees are in bloom and look simply lovely. Daffodils underneath them are just finishing. Far too hot and they finished quickly.

The beets, spinach and chard that I transplanted are not doing well. However, the spinach that I direct seeded is looking wonderful. Note to self: no more transplants of spinach, beets or chard. Not worth the extra work and it does not do as well.

Monday, 23 May, 2016

Another hot spring day.

Frank worked on the coop. Installed the large window Beth gave us. It looks terrific. He also build 4 nest boxes. They are 12" x 12" with a hardware cloth floor. Easier to keep the boxes clean as all the dust and fine particles from the straw bedding will just fall out.

I continued working in the garden. Cleaned up one of the tarps (garbage) and began removing rocks and bricks from some of the remaining tarps as they will be moved tomorrow.

Finished laying stone to the end of fence panel 2 behind the raspberries.

Weeded the asparagus of vetch and canes... again. This is going to continue all summer, I just know it.

Gave everything a really good watering in the evening. It has been so horribly hot that a lot of the newly planted veg is really suffering, especially the beets and broccoli. I hope I do not lose them.

Sunday, 22 May, 2016

Started out as an absolutely perfect summer day... in my opinion anyway.
Good strong breeze and lots of sunshine. Kept the Black Flies away... or so I thought. By the end of the day I had blood running down the back of my neck where the little beggars got me good. I have never had this many Black Fly bites before. One of them even got me inside my ear. Very itchy and unpleasant.

Frank cut all the grass in the kitchen garden and it just looks wonderful.

I weeded out the beds for all the brassicas and then planted out two beds of them. Two varieties of cabbage, kale, Brussels Sprouts and kohlrabi interplanted and then in the second bed, all broccoli interplanted with lettuce. All the kohlrabi and the lettuce should be out of there before the other plants need the room.

Planted out one other bed with 3 varieties of beets that I started in the house and then filled in with some Swiss Chard. The bed it not really full so I may go back and sow some beet seeds to fill in the gaps.

I am daily going through the Asparagus beds to pull out any Tufted Vetch that I find and there is ALWAYS some growing somewhere. I also pull out the Raspberry and Blackberry canes. This will become less of a problem as I work my way along the Raspberry border removing all the plants to a hedgerow along the property line where they can misbehave as much as they like.

Laid down several barrows of pea stone on the path behind the Raspberry border. I am now 25% done and although that does not seem like much, it really is and I am pretty happy. Wish it were all done but that will come in time.

The Apple trees are coming into blossom. Alas, not all of them, but some. I can see nothing yet on the plum tree or the pears and certainly not the apricots as they are still far too young.

Saturday, 21 May, 2016

Very little work beyond watering the plants that are waiting to go into the garden and pulling out some of the couch grass that is still coming up through the cardboard and the mulch along the side of the drive. When I continue with this along the rest of the drive I will need to lay down a lot more newspaper, top that with cardboard and then add the mulch as a lot of weeds are making it through. Very annoying.

Black Flies still very bad. I have untold bites on me. 

Friday, 20 May, 2016

The Black Flies are horrendous. Have had to work continuously in the bug shirt. It was quite warm, in fact, almost hot today and I was boiling in that blasted bug shirt.

Got several bags of soil amendments added to three of the garden beds, namely some peat moss to aid in moisture retention and also some composted manure.

Continued to clear out the nursery border. The couch grass is absolutely everywhere. I am merely trying to keep it in check at this point as ultimately everything will be dug up and moved elsewhere and then I can really get in there and clear it out properly. Slow work.

Also did some work on the pathway behind the raspberry border. Laying down landscape fabric and pea stone. Very slow work in the bug shirt (too hot) but did manage to get a bit done.

The tufted vetch and of course the raspberry and blackberry canes are still coming up in the asparagus beds. I will simply continue to pull it out daily as I see it in the hopes of eventually killing it all off. Fingers crossed.

Thursday, 19 May, 2016

Errands today to pick up some bamboo to make wigwams for the Broad Beans and also some netting. Going to try it on the brassicas to hopefully defeat the Cabbage White Butterflies. If they can still get through the openings, I will use row cover and use the netting on the blueberries to keep the birds off.

Lovely day today. Sunshine mixed with the odd rain shower which we do really need.

I continued working on cleaning out the nursery border and also the Raspberry border. 

Thoroughly weeded out bed 8 in row 1, set up the two wigwams and also the contraption that I bought from Lee Valley for the cucumbers. Planted out all the Broad Beans so they can grow up the wigwams. Also planted out Kohlrabi behind the peas.

Frank did a bit of work on the chicken coop (starting on the shingles) and he cut TONS of grass. Even though a lot of it is just perennial weeds like couch grass, clover and who knows what else, it is all lovely and green.

The Couch grass is getting through the cardboard and black mulch down the side of the driveway. I have sprayed it with vinegar to no avail. I will simply go down there once a week and pull it out. Not going to bother to dig it out just yet. I will do that in a couple of years when I plant out that area.

As I sat weeding in the garden this afternoon I could not help but notice the overwhelming amount of bird song. It was simply splendid and I sat for a while just listening to that glorious chorus of song. Brilliant.

Wednesday, 18 May, 2016

The Black Flies are horrible. Needed to keep on the bug shirt the whole day in the garden.

I have weeded out beds 1, 2 & 3 in row 1 so they are ready to plant out tomorrow. Weeded around the peas I have planted and then proceeded to plant out all the remaining peas that I had pre-germinated. Planted all the baby spinach plants in front of the peas. Filled the entire front of the bed.

Continued with cleaning up the nursery border. It is hard graft doing that but it will eventually get done as I work on it for a bit every day.

Have also been working on the Raspberry border. Dug up 4 of what I hope are the old raspberries that we brought with us from the old house and potted them up. Continued to weed and clean out behind the border. Almost at the end of the second fence panel so that means almost 25% done. It is actually going a wee bit faster than I thought it would.

Harvested a good amount of asparagus for dinner tonight.

Todd came over and gave Frank and hand today for several hours and they got the entire roof finished on the chicken coop. It looks fantastic.

Sunday, 15 May, 2016

Weather utterly foul today. Cold and unbelievably, it actually snowed! Of course it did not gather on the ground but for a while it was blowing around quite hard out there.

Absolutely nothing done in the garden ... simply too miserable to work.

I gave Frank an electric digital smoker as a gift and today he used it for the first time to smoke some trout. We had it for dinner on a large salad and it was utterly delicious! Well done Frank!

I went out and collected a small handful of asparagus but it was not enough for a meal. Hopefully more tomorrow. The raspberries and blackberries are trying to send up new canes in the beds again. Will need to get out there this week and remove them all .... again. Also, the Tufted Vetch is making a determined attempt to establish itself as well. My goal is to stay on top of these beds all this year to see if I can seriously reduce the weed pressure in them.

We found what we believe to be a single Morel mushroom in one of the Gooseberry boxes. It is quite small but it certainly looks like a Morel. Will need to investigate to see if there are any poisonous mushrooms that look like them. It is very small to eat but I suppose I could put it into something.

Saturday, 14 May, 2016

Foul weather again, but much needed rain.

Went into town and did indeed purchase a Yew Hicksii. Nice one with many little branches which is perfect to take multiple cuttings later in the summer.

Also purchased a Viburnum Snowball bush to replace a casualty down the drive. I have always liked these plants.

We took yet another load of brush from the front wooded area to the dump. Frank has been doing a splendid job of clearing out in there. It actually has begun to look a bit like parkland now that he has limbed up the trees and cleared away all the dead branches and brush.

The temperature has plummeted yet again. As the day wore on we could feel it getting colder. 

Friday, 13 May, 2016

Much needed rain has finally fallen. Skies cleared in the late afternoon to brilliant sunshine and a fierce wind. 

We had left the tomato plants on the side porch over night for their first taste of staying outside all night. The temperature is supposed to drop again tonight so they will need to come back inside. Much time is spent moving them from place to place.

We went to a nursery today and have found a replacement crabapple tree for the one that died down the drive. Will go back on Monday to get it, property armed with protective plastic to keep it safe on the drive back home in the truck.

I am also looking for a Yew Hicksii which I am intending to propagate. I am hopeful that it will be hardy enough for this area. If so, I intend to begin making hedges from it. 

The asparagus is growing right before our eyes after that heavy rainfall and now the sunshine. Likely have the first cutting tonight for dinner.

Thursday, 12 May, 2016

Frank has dug out the one large blackberry bush. The canes were going all over the place and a lot of them are popping up in the asparagus beds. I cut back 5 pieces and potted them up to be transplanted elsewhere later.

Continued to work on weeding the raspberry border. Almost to the end of the second fence panel. 6 more to go.

Began also to weed out under the Kiwi and then onto the nursery border. Got about 5 feet of that done. The couch grass is unbelievable in there. I tried to get it all but I know that it will be back.

Went to a couple of garden centers looking for a tree to replace the dead Crabapple. Could not find one I liked but there are a few others in the area to check.

Did purchase a small plant of Green Mountain Box and a small plant of Hidcote Lavender. Intend to propagate these and see if they are hardy enough to use as edging to the proposed cottage garden.

Frank has been working on the chicken coop. The four exterior walls are now in place.

Wednesday, 11 May, 2016

Finally finished cutting down all those blasted raspberries. We hauled them away to the dump.

I started weeding out the raspberry border at the west side where the canes are that we transplanted from the old house. It is very slow work.

Installed some galvanized pea fencing in one bed. It looks good and strong so we will see how it works out. If good, I will purchase a second section for the other bed.

Monday, 9 May, 2016

The last two days have been very sunny but cold and the wind has been causing a wind chill. We have had frost at night so all the plants have had to come back inside. There is no point in trying to grow them just to leave them all outside to freeze. 

Frank noted that a few of the Asparagus spears appear to have been hit by the frost. Thankfully the fruit trees are not yet in bloom.

Have done absolutely no work in the garden because of the cold. They are predicting better temperatures for the next few days so will get back to work. That will help to take my mind off Teally as well.

Saturday, 7 May, 2016

Spent a bit of time in the garden today continuing to cut back the raspberry canes. Hard to concentrate because of Teally.

The Black Flies have started. Had to wear the Bug Shirt.

Friday, 6 May, 2016

We lost our beautiful sweet boy Teally today.

Tuesday, 3 May, 2016

Not been keeping track as Teally very sick for last week.

Frank filled Asparagus Bed #4 with triple mix for me while I weeded out Asparagus Bed #5. LOTS of couch grass. Frank then topped up the bed for me.

Work is proceeding on the chicken coop. Frank has dug it out down about a foot or so, laid 1/2" hardware cloth all around for protection, laid in a couple inches of pea stone and rocks and then replaced the soil he had dug out so that the coop will have an earthen floor.

I managed to get out to the garden to do a wee bit of work. Worked at weeding the raspberry border a bit. 
Planted one entire bed full of parsnips and 4 varieties of carrot.
Planted spinach, mesclun lettuce, arugula and two varieties of radish in behind the first area planted with peas.
Gave everything a good watering and also watered the garlic which is growing a treat.
Also made a quick trip around checking all the cleared areas looking for weeds.
The daffodils planted under the 4 apple trees are in bloom and look wonderful.

ALL the seedlings of all varieties spent a bit of time outside today as the weather was wonderful.

Wednesday, 27 April, 2016

Completely finished weeding Asparagus Bed #4. Very wet. Lots of moss on the surface of the bed which I have removed.

Began to lay down paper, fabric and stone on the new pathway behind the Raspberry border.

Tuesday, 26 April, 2016

Laid down the paper, fabric and pea stone between Bed 10 in row 2 and the Asparagus bed. Looks great.

Began to weed out Asparagus Bed #4.

Spend a bit of time checking all the veg beds and the cleared Asparagus beds and the area in the Raspberry border that is already cleared looking for regrowth of weeds.

Monday, 25 April, 2016

Unsettled weather today. Occasionally sunny, some clouds, bit of wind, threat of rain which never actually came.

Filled Asparagus bed #3 with triple mix. 3 done, 2 to go.

Laid down lots of newspaper, landscape fabric and pea stone in the pathways between the beds in Row 2 and the pathway between Row 1 and Row 2. I had been hoping to get the pathway done between Bed 10 in Row 2 and the Asparagus bed but I finally ran out of steam to keep working.

Just to do something a bit different I started to weed Asparagus Bed #4.

The garlic is doing quite well and looks great.

3 of the Rhubarb plants are doing really well, one of them is somewhat slow.

The two Black Currants are way too large and about to achieve bud break.

One of the Gooseberries has fully opened, the other looks like it is trying hard to open.

Nothing yet from the Red and the White Currant bushes.

The Daffodils under the 4 Apple trees are doing really well, about to bloom.

Sunday, 24 April, 2016

Finished filling the last veg bed that we had built last year.

Finally finished weeding out Asparagus bed #3. The weeds were horrendous.

Side dressed all the garlic with wood ash. Replaced the straw mulch around the garlic.

Used the leftover straw, since I did not need all of it for the garlic, and applied it to the strawberry beds.

Frank worked on the Chicken Coop, principally the feed room area floor. He laid larger stones on the bottom and then topped them with a couple barrows of pea stone and leveled it off. Now we need patio slabs to complete the floor.

Saturday, 23 April, 2016

Beautiful sunny day but the wind is so strong it could carry you away.

We did a bit of work on the foundation of the chicken coop. Got it squared up and used huge nails to connect the pieces. As it is made of 6 x 6 cedar, it is not going anywhere. 
Frank started gathering largish stones to put in the bottom of the feed room side to begin to fill it up. We will then top off with  stone and finally patio slabs so nothing can tunnel in.

Tried to get a bit of work done in the garden. I want to sprinkle wood ash around the garlic, and I tried, but it was just too windy.

Did manage to get about a 1/4 of Asparagus bed number 3 weeded but, again, the wind just kept blowing dirt into my face and after an hour or so I gave up.

Quickly went all around all the veg and fruit beds and weeded them which amounted to about 6 weeds all told.

Daffodils that I planted in the raspberry border (transferred from out old house and they had to go somewhere) are now in bloom and look lovely.

Daffodils I planted last fall under the 4 apple trees are growing a treat. I cannot wait until they all bloom. It will look wonderful.

Friday, 22 April, 2016

Rain most of the day today. Actually felt almost a wee bit humid and the temperature dropped as the day went along. We have not needed a fire for the last couple of nights but the house is cooling down so we decided to give in, build a fire and be comfortable.

Could not work outside today so Frank and I made venison sausages from the last of the venison in the freezer along with some leftover bacon from last years pig order. Had them for dinner. Yum.

Did some seed starting as well. Started Spinach, Swiss Chard and Rainbow Chard, Cucumbers (two varieties), Lettuce (three varieties), Celeriac (first time trying to grow this for me) and two varieties of Courgette.

Thursday, 21 April, 2016

Finished weeding out Asparagus bed #2 and then topped it up with Triple Mix.

Quickly weeded out all the 13 veg beds. Nothing much to it. Only took 5 minutes.

Finished weeding out and clearing the path behind the raspberries up to end of first fence panel. 

Frank has almost completed the base for the chicken coop. It just needs to be squared up and nailed together.

Pulled any grass coming up in the cleared circles under the apple trees where I planted the daffodils. That couch grass is wicked to deal with.

Tuesday, 19 April, 2016

Much needed day off. Did absolutely nothing in the garden other than watering all my little seedlings. Sometimes you just need to take a wee bit of time to recharge the batteries. Will be back at it tomorrow with renewed enthusiasm.