Melon Time and Garden Update

Tomatoes are an epic fail this year but our cucumbers and cantaloupe crops are going like gangbusters.  I have no idea how many pounds of cucumbers we have harvested so far but it has been a LOT!  I picked our 5th cantaloupe out of the garden today.  They are SO yummy and sweet!!  Hopefully, with the amount of cucumbers I will be able to can enough so that if we have a poor crop next year it won't matter. The okra is really starting to take off too so I am looking forward to putting up some pickled okra.  It's been quite a few years since I last remembered to plant any so we haven't had okra in quite some time.  I remember the last time I pickled it we really liked it!

The corn is slowly coming along.  Not sure how good it will be.  Hopefully, we will get a few edible ears out of it.  Last year the worms got them pretty bad.  The rhubarb is slowly making a come back as are the strawberries.  We should have a good crop of strawberries next year and rhubarb the following year.  The peppers are not doing so well again.  I haven't had a good pepper crop in several years so I really need to figure out what the problem might be.  We crop rotate so that is not the problem.  It must be a heat, light, fertilizer issue.

Sweet, juicy goodness!

I was able to get the cabbage put up and have sauerkraut fermenting as we speak.  The first part of the batch was way too salty so I am worried that it may not be too edible.  It was my first time so I learned a lesson.  I put up the white and purple cabbage so we'll see how the purple does.  I also tried fermented pickles for the first time. I tested one the other day and it wasn't too bad.  I left the other one to sit a little longer and I will test it tomorrow.  Hopefully, it will be done.

How is your garden growing?  What are your successes and failures?

Nature Delights

I was so excited the other morning to see this little gem climbing all over my peppermint by the duck pen (Do you see him?).  It is so exciting when I see a healthy ecosystem growing around us in our garden and yard.  I really love growing apple mint in the garden because the ladybugs LOVE it!  I get to see them in the nymph stage as well as plenty of adults.  When the apple mint flowers out it also draws a lot of other beneficial insects including the parasitic wasps that keep tomato hornworms and other types of caterpillars at bay.

I've also seen a lot of toads, frogs and a few snakes (generally we have the rat snakes around the garden and chicken coop).  It's nice to know that these critters have a home in our garden area.  The healthier the ecosystem the better things will work, especially in the garden!

Rosie and Rowdy at approximately 14 wks old now

The ducks continue to grow and young Rowdy is becoming quite handsome.  He is finally starting to get some of his adult colorings.  He has a way to go, but he is definitely maturing.

So handsome!

The Teenagers Are Growing!

The baby chicks in the red coop are growing!  They are considered teenagers at this point and look like miniature chickens, so cute!  I'm pretty sure I have at least 2 pullets at this point and am hoping that the lighter one is also a pullet though I suspect it is a cockerel.  The 4th one is definitely a cockerel.  He has had quite a prominent comb from the beginning and it is only getting bigger!

They are pretty skittish since they don't get a lot of handling from anyone and Junior, the rooster in that coop has been harassing them pretty bad lately.  I am anxious to see what the one definite cockerel will feather out to look like.  He has slightly feathered legs like a Maran but he still seems to be all black with no highlights.  Time will tell.  

For now, I will enjoy their cuteness and hope for more pullets. They do seem to hang together pretty well which is nice when they are being picked on.  They seem to help each other out for the most part and get along pretty well as a small group.