Wow, what a rainy season we have had. I have already planted and started to grow my early spring crops. As you can imagine, some are doing better than others. I buy my seed from Baker Creek Seeds. I have planted turnips, arugula, potatoes, shallots, onions, basil, parsley, and dill. The turnips and arugula are coming up by the handfuls. My onions are doing very well. The herbs are not doing so well. It's the first time I have done these types of basil, parsley, and dill. My potatoes are doing poorly, but it is the first time I have tried the raised garden bed method for them. I still have time to throw a bunch in a field. The shallots are also growing poorly in the same raised bed set up. The author I got the idea from must have had some secret trick I know nothing about.
Tomorrow I will harvest some turnip greens for soup. I will also harvest a bit of arugula for salad. I intend to plant some more items tomorrow, though I'm not sure what just yet. I'll look through my seed packets in the morning. It's getting time to plant the tomatoes, egg plants, cucumbers, okra, squash, and melons.
The goats are doing fine. One is named Butter and the other Sugar. Sugar may have been bred. If she was, we should have a baby goat in May. She doesn't look big enough to be carrying though. They like to eat the grass in the yard, but one of them got into the onions! She only nibbled a little off the tops though. Butter is a nuisance goat, though I do like her. She has broken two collars, one of them made of metal! She is quite determined to NOT be chained up. I enjoy their company in the garden...far away from my onions. It can be a chore to chase them out of the garden though, so that is why we were chaining them.
I'm looking into getting a small late flock of chickens. I swore after I got ducks that I would never go back to chickens. However, there is nothing quite like the taste of a free range chicken egg. I may get a more "wild" type which will make it harder for wild animals to kill. Docile chickens are great for children to get to learn to grow, but horrible at self defense.
That's all for tonight. Awfully tired.
Planting Time!
April 23rd, 2014 at 07:51 am
April 23rd, 2014 at 12:38 pm 1398256706
We have a big garden brewing too, and are part of a backyard farming mentor group right now. Busy busy!
April 23rd, 2014 at 02:43 pm 1398264233
We're east facing and shaded by trees so it's hard to find edibles to grow in shade. Any suggestions?
April 26th, 2014 at 11:32 am 1398511971
I focus mostly on full sun and drought tolerant varieties to be honest, but I will say that a lot of seed catalogs, baker creek does any way, will tell you if they are shade tolerant or not. My honest to goodness suggestion, find things that like it cool, moist, and shady. Some watercresses come to mind, some fava beans, and a few different greens. You will have to look for yourself though, because I don't even know what zone you are in, when your frost dates are, how many frost free days you have, or anything else.