What we're up to in the garden...
It's nothing fancy but I will try to update this every other week or so, so stay tuned!
Making sauerkraut!
Preserving corn from the garden!
Making homemade applesauce!
My personal favorite part of the garden -- green beans of plenty!
Still learning about our new house... beautiful plants popping up at every corner!
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2015 Garden (first half)
Note: We moved into our new house midway through 2015, so my 2015 and 2016 garden pictures will be a little disorganized.
2-28-15: Here's some of the progress!
2-8-15: 609 seeds were sown today during our planting party. Not a bad start! Like I said before, we have added a lot of herbs this year. Most of them are direct sow, but we decided to plant a few of them today anyway.
1-12-15: Hooray, it has begun! The genius minds behind the garden have started to collaborate, and a "planting party" is in the works on the first or second weekend of February. We'll be dropping seeds, sipping homemade wine, and dreaming of warmer weather! We've decided to add peanuts this year, so say a prayer that they are successful as this is a new venture for us. We're also expanding our herb selection. Stay tuned!
My 2018 garden was an epic fail! I planted all of my seeds, but we found out that we were pregnant, and I had severe morning sickness during peak harvest time.
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First signs of life!
Thornless black raspberry bushes!
Preserving corn from the garden!
Canning homemade peach jam!
The base for our homemade spaghetti sauce!
Freshly picked produce daily! Cucumbers awaiting their pickle status.
Still learning about our new house... beautiful plants popping up at every corner!
2015 Garden (first half)
Note: We moved into our new house midway through 2015, so my 2015 and 2016 garden pictures will be a little disorganized.
3-29-15: Let the transplanting begin! It's been a little on the cold side, so we decided to wait until a little later to transplant the tomatoes and some other plants.
What was transplanted today:
- 140 broccoli
- 42 cabbage
- 42 Brussels sprouts
- 7 cauliflower
- 14 collard greens
- More to come...
245 plants to transplant in a 100-degrees greenhouse
Basil is coming along well!
(not transplanted)
Broccoli bathing in the sun after a nice drink
Buddy overseeing the operation
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2-28-15: Here's some of the progress!
2-8-15: 609 seeds were sown today during our planting party. Not a bad start! Like I said before, we have added a lot of herbs this year. Most of them are direct sow, but we decided to plant a few of them today anyway.
It starts with a mixture of soil from the garden and this...
All that were sown minus the rosemary
Broccoli seed from last year's garden
And the 2015 garden begins with this tiny guy
1-12-15: Hooray, it has begun! The genius minds behind the garden have started to collaborate, and a "planting party" is in the works on the first or second weekend of February. We'll be dropping seeds, sipping homemade wine, and dreaming of warmer weather! We've decided to add peanuts this year, so say a prayer that they are successful as this is a new venture for us. We're also expanding our herb selection. Stay tuned!
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2014 Garden
2013 Garden
2014 Garden
Very summarized summary: So, I didn't do so well taking pictures of the garden in the year 2014. At. All. We did so many amazing things and I didn't come close to capturing all of the beauty. BUT I promise to do better for 2015.
The greenhouse gets a fresh coat of paint!
(Photo credit: Martha Yoder)
2014 Garden
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As usual, we had walls and walls of sunflowers.
Prepping the tomatoes for homemade tomato sauce.
Lots and lots of tomato sauce!
We made popcorn this year!
Our harvest of potatoes was amazing!
So many potatoes. Seriously - come help us eat them! Or at least grab your peeler!
Organic gardening has its cons.
Sowing corn.
So much goodness comes from this tiny corn seed.
My Little Sous Chef making me a mud pie.
Perfectly manicured.
"Helping" to transplant.
Tomatoes looking lovely in the greenhouse.
Tilling the land.
The greenhouse gets a fresh coat of paint!
(Photo credit: Martha Yoder)
2014 Garden
2013 Garden
8-14-13: We haven't been around very much recently, but here are a few updated photos of the garden. The harvest is plenty!
Just a little harvesting in one day
Sun peeking through a wall of sunflowers surrounding the garden
Some of the harvest prepped for dinner
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6-29-13: Okay, so I've done a terrible job with updating garden pics. Life gets in the way, what can I say.
The greenhouse, currently in hibernation
The harvest is plenty... and at times, the laborers are few!
Dreaming of coleslaw and sauerkraut...
Lots of weeding to be done by yours truly!
Staking up and twining 100 tomato plants
4-28-13: Lots of sprouting going on in the soil! We planted potatoes and carrots and more tilling was done. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. Rain away!
Can't wait for those blueberries to start bearing fruit!
Pouring sand to plant the carrots.
Two brothers tilling and tilling and tilling...
Ladies planting potatoes
(Photo courtesy of Martha Yoder)
Those are some fine looking onions!
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4-7-13: We completed transferring everything into the greenhouse, plowed and tilled the garden, even making it larger! There were some drainage issues, so we dug a ditch to take care of the problem.
Everything in its place... for now.
Plowing the fields
Digging a ditch to help with drainage
Broccoli doing just fine
Robbie takes the reigns and plows for the first time. Big moment!
April showers... in the greenhouse
3-10-13: Greenhouse transplanting begins! Broccoli, cabbage and green peppers were transplanted. We removed the seeds from last year's dried onions, lettuce, spinach and green beans for future planting.
Greenhouse: 2013
First thing's first: The greenhouse is cleaned out & organized
Cabbage waiting their turn to be transplanted
Bathed Broccoli
Removing the seeds from last year's green beans
Great expectations... come on, broccoli!
The canvas...
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2-28-13: The seeds are sprouting to life! So simple... yet so rewarding!
Photo courtesy of Robbie Jenkins
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2-17-13: And so it begins... again. The 2013 garden is underway. Here is the rundown of what was sown today:
- 30 Cayenne pepper plants
- 90 Broccoli plants
- 60 Cauliflower plants
- 42 Cabbage plants
- 54 Brussels sprouts plants
- 30 Collard green plants
- 60 Rutgers tomato plants
- 60 Big boy tomato plants
- 45 Roma tomato plants
- 30 Beefsteak tomato plants
- 40 Endless summer tomato plants
- 72 Green bell pepper plants
- 42 Jalapeno plants
Getting prepped with seed starting mix
It all begins with an itty bitty seed
Organic heirlooms, to be exact!
Accompanied by a glass of my brother-in-law's homemade Merlot.
660 plants sown and ready to grow.
2013 Garden
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2012 GARDEN
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5-12-12: This year, we have a special section in the garden for heirlooms, separate from the hybrids.
A partial view of the heirloom section of the garden
Sowing the corn
Freshly watered, organic vegetables
10-27-12: So much for updating this every other week! While activities of daily living have kept my husband and I from the garden for a several weeks, there have been many hands of family and friends who have been working hard in it!
Harvested the rest of the peppers
Pretty pumpkins!
(Photo courtesy of Martha Yoder)
Potatoes popping out of the ground
The last of four rows of potatoes
Some of the freshly harvested potatoes
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8-7-12: Tonight, we enjoyed some delicious sweet and juicy corn on the cob from the first of three plantings.
Freshly picked corn on the cob
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7-28-12: Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! About 50 tomatoes were harvested for delicious homemade salsa for canning. There is plenty of broccoli, green beans and cauliflower, too.
7-28-12: Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! About 50 tomatoes were harvested for delicious homemade salsa for canning. There is plenty of broccoli, green beans and cauliflower, too.
Tomatoes being prepped for canned homemade salsa
Freshly blanched veggies ready to be frozen
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7-19-12: Still harvesting, harvesting, harvesting! We harvested some tomatoes, string beans, cucumbers, beets, squash, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and blueberries. The first planting of corn should be ready for harvesting in about one or two weeks!
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7-12-12: The garden is looking handsome! Lots of harvesting on this beautiful summer evening.
7-19-12: Still harvesting, harvesting, harvesting! We harvested some tomatoes, string beans, cucumbers, beets, squash, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and blueberries. The first planting of corn should be ready for harvesting in about one or two weeks!
Some freshly picked veggies and fruit gathered in a corner
Look at all of those beautiful beans just waiting to be picked!
Beautiful beets!
Love that broccoli!
The corn is nearly ready!
One of the many beautiful keepers of the garden
7-12-12: The garden is looking handsome! Lots of harvesting on this beautiful summer evening.
New rototiller!
Sweet, ripe blueberries
Such a pretty garden
First corn planting getting so big
Green Peppers
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Some of the harvested vegetables
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6-15-12: The tomatoes are completely staked up and the garden is looking handsome! The plants seemed to have doubled in size in one weeks' time.
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6-9-12: The vegetables are growing! Here are some photos from Saturday. Last week (no pictures), a good portion of the tomatoes were staked and the second planting of corn was sown. The rest of the tomatoe plants will most likely be staked this coming week. A good amount of weeding will also be done, especially to the carrots.
6-15-12: The tomatoes are completely staked up and the garden is looking handsome! The plants seemed to have doubled in size in one weeks' time.
Wood fresh from the sawmill cut into stakes for the tomatoes
Field of sticks for the 100 tomato plants
Rows of hilled potatoes.
They're growing up so fast!
The greenhouse near dusk
6-9-12: The vegetables are growing! Here are some photos from Saturday. Last week (no pictures), a good portion of the tomatoes were staked and the second planting of corn was sown. The rest of the tomatoe plants will most likely be staked this coming week. A good amount of weeding will also be done, especially to the carrots.
Peas a climbing
Tomatoes coming along well
Lots of lettuce!
Perfect patch of onions
Hello, little blueberries
Raspberries coming along nicely
5-12-12: This year, we have a special section in the garden for heirlooms, separate from the hybrids.
I have experienced my first set of hand blisters after hoeing for the tomato plants. We transplanted the tomatoes and have a total of 96 plants! There are more tomato plants in the greenhouse intended for family and friends; however, we may keep 4 more to make it an even 100 tomato plants in the garden. We also sowed several rows of green beans, beets, pumpkins, cantaloupe and honey dew. 10 rows of corn were also sown, which will be the first of three sowing stages that we will do.
There is still much to be done. We still have to plant squash, and zucchini, and stake the tomatoes (we need about 300 stakes).
A partial view of the heirloom section of the garden
Sowing the corn
Freshly watered, organic vegetables
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4-15-12: Sowing beats, carrots, lettuce and spinach seeds.
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5-6-12: We have had lots of rain, so we're holding off on transplanting the tomatoes until next weekend. We planted plenty of white, blue and red potatoes. We also transplanted cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. The peas were strung up, too. Four large posts were put in for four new grape vines.
Beautiful day for transplanting!
Plenty of asparagus ready to be harvested
My mother-in-law and father-in-law helping to cut potatoes
Prepping the potatoes for planting
My husband, daughter, brother-in-law and Mrs. Yoder transplanting broccoli
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4-15-12: Sowing beats, carrots, lettuce and spinach seeds.
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4-1-12: Working in the greenhouse, completing the transplanting of the broccoli, cauliflower collard greens, assorted bell peppers, cayenne peppers, assorted tomatoes, beets, cabbage, brussels sprouts, coleus and a bunch of flowers. Also did some more seeding.
Two brothers and their daughters...
3-15-12: Pig manure and lime have been laid this week and the rototilling was completed today, just in time for two days' worth of rain!
What we planted in the ground:
- Peas
- Red onions
- White onions
No pesticides here! How do we keep the pests away? As Mr. Yoder says, "Just plant enough for everyone to share." He's so funny!
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3-14-2012: Sowing 500 plants.
Some of the seeds that were sown:
Some of the seeds that were sown:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Collard greens
- Assorted bell peppers
- Cayenne peppers
- Tomatoes
- Beets
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Coleus
- Marigolds
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THE CANVAS:
Side A
Side B
2012 Garden
THE CANVAS:
Side A
Side B
2012 Garden