Harvest

Harvesting my own crops is so fulfilling. I love picking things for dinner. We had many meals this year where everything on the table was something from the farm. Grilled chicken, corn on the cob, fried green tomatoes, raw zuchinni, green beans, ripe tomato slices, green onions, pickled beets, chicken and noodles, (store bought flour, homemade noodles), eggs, etc.

I am rather new to gardening and have a much better idea for what I will do this fall and next spring. I ordered garlic and am going to plant it in about two weeks in the pepper bed. I also have loads of composting coop bedding and some "fresh" coop bedding which I will cover all the harvested beds, and till it in a little. This will provide my beds with lots of good organic material and also some good chicken poo. Letting it sit over the winter will allow the "hot" poo to break down into usable fertilizer.

Here are some of the things I am harvesting this year!

Sweet Corn

Wow! This is the "Three Sisters Garden" and I will definitely do this again next year. I need to be more diligent with fertilizer so the cobs will get a little larger. However, the corn was superb. I also harvested many meals of green beans from this bed and there are 6 pumpkins scattered throughout this bed.

Tomatoes

I love vine-ripened tomatoes. This is a Pink Brandywine ready to come in for a visit. The tomatoes grew so huge that I had to use fencing instead of stakes or wire cones to keep them upright. This didn't help too well as many branches bent over and pinched themselves to death. (all the brown leaves)

Pumpkins

I have two types of pumpkins: Jack O' Lanterns and Cinderella. This is a litlle dude hanging from some corn. I have a feeling it doesn't have enough time to be succcessful.

The interesting markings on this pumpkin were made by free-ranging chickens! The little boogars!

Banana Peppers

I don't know what I was thinking when I planted eight of these plants. We hardly eat them and there are probably over fifty of these waiting for chili or something. What do you recommend?

Basil

Boy do we love basil. Ruth makes the best pesto and we faint with the taste of freshly made basil pesto. I have three different kinds and they are flourishing. I took a bouquet of them and surprised my principal with them and the whole school office was rich with the aroma of basil.

Black Peppers

This is a pepper, (not the kind you put in a grinder), which I intended to grow for my daughter's wedding bouquet. However, the Michigan weather didn't cooperate and it is just now (6 weeks late) coming into its own. The leaves are black and the peppers will turn a cherry red. I think they are beautiful, but probably won't grow them again. They need lots of hot weather.

Popcorn

I am trying this out because I thought it sounded like something cool to do. The cobs are all a really nice size, and now I just have to wait for the husks to turn brown. I plan on giving some of this as Xmas gifts.

Zuchinni

I planted one zuchinni this year and it just keeps on producing! I must have picked 20 already and there are another 10 getting ready. This is one crop that can make you feel like a successful farmer.

I am thinking about next year and what the garden will produce. If you have something you grew this year and want to recommend, please let me know. I may name the raised bed after you!

I can't catch you up!

Well, I decided to just post some words today.

I have been busy this summer getting my daughter married off on the farm. Then I jumped back into my routine of spending a lot of time in August getting ready for the new school year. Add to that a new computer and a more complex waay of getting Ruth's photos, and I have fallen off the blog cliff.

I miss all of my blog pals!

Green Barn Update

• I have 44 hens busily laying eggs and eating grass. You can see from my sidebar the different breed I have. I have opinions about breeds and which ones I would recommend, but you don't want to hear that now.
• I don't have any roosters now. I am not sure if I will ever have one again, but never say never.
• I have seven turkeys. I had to butcher one that got injured. After spending two hours doing that job, I am definitely happy to pay the local butcher $7.00 to do that. I have an appointment on November 25 to have the remaining seven "processed."
• My garden has done a great job! We have been eating lots of sweetcorn, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, fried green tomatoes and various herbs.
• I just received my order of garlic bulbs to plant soon. If you live in a cold climate, order your garlic NOW and get it planted around the time of your first frost.
• My pumpkin production is way down! I have about a dozen pumpkins in various stages and none of them look all that great. Did anyone have good luck with pumpkins this year?
• I have several piles of chicken coop bedding composting away right now. I am planning on giving them a few more turns and then I will cover all my beds with about six inches of it and till it in for the winter. I would be happy to give you a bushel or two of coop bedding! C'mon out and get it. BYOBB (bring your own bushel baskets)
• If anyone is planning on a Hawaii cruise between now and next summer, my son is playing his guitar on the Princess cruise! Let me know and I can hook you (or your cute daughter) up with him! ;)
• I have vanilla still brewing in the cupboard. I ordered cute little amber bottles to put it in. Nice gifts!!
• Another Green Barn gift (hopefully) will be popcorn. I have about 100 popcorn stalks out there and it looks like a bumper crop! I hope to fill pint jars with it. Stay tuned.
• Maybe I need to have a November drawing and give some vanilla and popcorn away.
• I love beets! I grew one row and they went absolutely nuts. I cooked them and canned them and wish I had five rows. No, I won't give this away.

I need to go blog visiting. I hope to see you soon on your blog!