With the birth of our first child and an unusually difficult year at work it’s been a very busy year. We have been able to keep up the gardening and have expanded quite a bit, but until now I haven’t had the time to write about it. Naomi was born in March and the Spring garden, I admit, took second place. However it grew well. We had much more squash and peppers than we could eat or give away. The eggplants also did very well. The tomatoes were stunted severely by root knot nematodes. But we started with over sixty plants so we still did okay. We planted some blueberry and blackberry bushes and built a large chicken pen. Soon after it was built some friends of ours gave us a couple of turkeys followed by roosters. All were fed well and then eaten when too noisy for our neighborhood. Finally we got four young hens. Just this week they started laying eggs. This year I plan to raise rabbits. My father-in-law has been raising rabbits for many years and will be able to assist us in getting started. The fall garden grew well considering the limited time I could devote to it. As space in the front yard garden was available I added raised beds made from salvaged cedar planks. That project is almost complete. I was able to secure from the nursery in which I work a large amount of ground to plant upon. Beginning in September, with the help of the managers and my fellow employees, we planted over 5,400 square feet with the following crops: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, bulbing onions, and romaine and loose-leaf lettuce. That garden has been producing very well and we’ve been able to give food to many of the nursery’s employees. Last week we planted seven eighty foot rows of Green Arrow English Peas. Within the next week or so we will plant a fifty pound bag of Red Pontiac Potatoes. My last garden report was in June. My next post will be pictures from the garden at work. Below are some pictures of our gardening efforts of 2008.
Ruby Swiss Chard
They're not hot, I promise
Mimi with Pawpaw and his piggies
Chianti Hybrid Sunflower
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