Garden Blog 2010

Garden Blog 2010
We try to update it once a week. Monthly in the fall and winter

Where we note gardening ideas and hints. Sorrows and joys!

2010

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9-12-10 -- I have been very bad about posting on this site about the plants and crops.
I was amazed by a houseplant that bloomed! It has never bloomed in all the time we have had it. We even moved it from Paducah back in 1986 and then to Erin in 2006. Still no bloom until now. It was wild. I am sharing the photos!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7-14-10 -- Things have gone crazy in our lives. It took three plantings to finally get the plants going. There were two major floods in our gardens. We had an abundance of berries this year. It is good to see strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries in the freezer. The raspberries did not make it into the freezer. We ate ALL of the berries the bushes produced.

The Purple Hull peas are coming in. It is hard to stay ahead of them. We had our first tomato of the season with our supper. MMM! The squash and cukes are coming in. The peppers are coming in also. I made and took Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki sauce with to a meeting last night. They went over well.

Michelle has been a boon since she has moved back home in early June. Now there is help with picking and eating all the goodies coming in. While we were picking early one morning, we heard a yowling. A small kitten came from the neighbor’s field. We called around and no one claimed it. So, we now have three cats. We are working on names. Jane likes Flynn! (which means “son of the red haired one)

We are working hard to keep the rabbits and deer from eating our lower garden.

Dill Relish and Pickles are canned for later use. Purple Hull peas are in the freezer. YUM!

There has been so much heat. It is hard to workout in the garden. We have been working in the early morning and very late even evening.

**no prodce photos this time - Mitch had the camera for while.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5-20-10 -- Everytime we get the garden planted - the rain tries to wash it all away! It is another rainy day - HEAVY rains. Jane planted some zinnias before the rain started to fall. Let's hope they did not wash away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5-16-10 -- A repeat pie performance!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5-10 10 -- TA-DAH! Strawberry Rhubarb crumble pie!!!!

The recipe came off from the web: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/StrawberryRhubarb-Crumb-Pie/Detail.aspx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5-08-10 -- We came back from Chattanooga and the Choo-Choo Forge meeting. We had a great time. We got together with friends.

Our first strawberries are Our first strawberries are coming in! We also have rhubarb coming in. We may have a pie in our future!

The other items in the photo are rose petals and daisies. Daisies are one of my favorite flowers. So Mitch found some on the hillside while he was mowing our hayfield (aka yard). The roses have gone bonkers this year. So, I am saving the petals for a craft.

We bought a few plants at a place in Chattanooga. We got those plants in the ground.

We planted our tomatoes and our pepper plants in the kitchen garden. We have to get down into the BIG garden to plant the rest of the starts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5-03-10 -- I TAKE IT BACK!!!!! We need a little rain now and then!! - See What's Up page for updates!

We had what is being tauted as the "100 year flood". 14" inches of rain. Many people have lost their homes. So much damage!!

We have been very lucky. Very little damage. Living on the top of a hill helps.

The roses are doing wonderful this year!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-23-10 -- Rain is what we need most!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-22-10 -- HIP-HIP-HURRAY!

Our daughter, Michelle Freeman, has passed her written tests and orals for her PhD.

No one dissenting! J! J! J! J!

She was “sweating bullets”! She gave herself ten days between written tests and orals, hoping to be able to study what she missed. She did not realize that she would get no feedback. It drove her nuts!!

She has had a long hard ordeal and she is almost there!!! She has worked very hard and deserves all of this. Now, she can focus on her dissertation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-18-10 -- We worked hard today. Mitch played "hooky" from all of his work to "play" around in the shop and garden. We got more corn planted. Jane replaced the mulch around the A/C units with gravel. It looks nice. Mitch worked on the bee hives. We cut the lawn. The grass had grown very deep. Mitch is working on the tiller. It was a very busy day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-17-10 --

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-15-10 -- I skipped working outside yesterday. I worked on the inventory of the freezers and organizing the remaining seeds for planting in the big gardens. Most of the gardens around the house are done! 50 bags of cypress mulch, all hauled from Dickson in 2 trips! I think things are coming together. The last few bags need to be spread around on one side. Carrots, basil, dill and more onions went in today. Maggie and Jasper helped a WHOLE lot with the plantings. They were into EVERYTHING!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4-10-10 -- I hurt beyond belief – Mitch says I am out of shape. Boy is he right! I did work many, many hours on the gardens yesterday. I got more peas planted. Almost all the plants I bought in Chattanooga are in the ground. The plants I bought in Dickson are in the ground too. I dug three little retaining wall trenches and laid the brick in them. I have to fill in behind them today. I pulled up the mulch and landscape fabric and cut THREE wheelbarrow loads of Nandina volunteer plants and wheeled them into the woods. Maybe they will take root over there! The eight blueberries are planted along the porch. I am going to plant the volunteers from the strawberry bed (called runners) underneath the blueberries. Then put landscape fabric and mulch over that bed. If I can find the strength, I am going to do more planting, mulching and cleaning up!

4/08/2010 - Mitch and his tractor - "a good thing"!

4/06/2010 - We have started working in the gardens

The asparagus is coming in - YUM!!

The strawberries are in bloom. The blueberries are blossoming. The fruit trees are in bloom. All is springing into season here.

We had a "Tom Sawyer" activity here. Jane met an older gent at the Nashville Flea Market. He was looking for boxwoods. She told him that he could have 30 something of them if he came and dug them up. He brought a trailer and a friend to help dig. He dug up ALL 39 of them! We did not have to pay to have someone dig them while Mitch was working the outage. The gardens around the house look like a moonscape. That will change soon!

Welcome to Little Dipper Forge!!!

Glad you could visit!