I decided to take a break from those wives tales/ household skills posts for a little state of the farm update. With almost 6 inches of rain last week everything is again green. The heat is back up in the nineties but bearable. With earthquakes and hurricanes on the Atlantic coast and the droughts in Texas we will not complain. There are no leaves turning yet, although the nights are starting to cool off drastically. The hay is baled and that chore is finished.
On the gardening front the porch rail is again lined with tomatoes waiting to be canned. Lots of cucumbers, squash, zucchini, okra and potatoes. The beans are all done now both the red beans and the green beans are either canned or frozen ready for winter. Next week we will start cleaning the plants out and feeding them to the rabbits. It will soon be time to add the compost and rabbit manure to the gardens and disk the ground to lie fallow for the winter.
The Indian Blood Red peaches are the last to come in and are running a little late this year. Since I have already put up both peach slices and jelly I am not sure how I am going to preserve them yet.
The apples are not quite ready yet but the harvest is not what it was last year. With dry weather and winds many of the apples were lost to the wind. We are thankful for what is left and look forward to some apple sauce and the apple chips from last year were wonderful . They were the first thing we ran out of : )
All of the spring chicks have now been butchered except 8 that will replace the older hens going out of egg production. I got my first pullet egg yesterday.
These guys now weigh almost 200 pounds apiece and by October will be ready to butcher for the freezer.
We have been working on cleaning up flower beds and mulching along with splitting up some perennials. The flower beds were all looking especially rundown after the heat of July and early August. Many of the annuals we just pulled up and composted with the exception of those great Laura Bush Petunias. Here it is almost the first of September and they are still looking better than ever! No mums blooming yet.
Grandson Baby Hank is sporting a new tooth. He went to a wedding on Saturday with his parents and we picked him up at the reception and he spent the night so the parents could enjoy themselves. Sunday morning we got up and had biscuits and gravy then all went to a fish fry at the neighbors. They had caught this monster during the week!
It was delicious served with french fries, baked beans, noodle salad and a "better than sex" cake.
The neighbors even sent us home a couple bags of frozen fillets.
Baby O is flourishing in her new home school work.
O Wise One and I are as ornery as ever but I have to admit we are ready for the gardening season to end. It has been a hard one with the heat on our old bodies.
I would love to hear some other "state of the farms". How is your early fall shaping up ?
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
My farm consists of a few vegetables in the front yard. I'm blessed that my neighbors don't complain, but most folks find it interesting. I've pulled up all the beans and volunteer tomatoes and am hoping to get some winter greens planted soon. The squash and okra is in full swing right now!
ReplyDeleteMy back yard garden is much bigger but the neighbors' trees cast too much shade to grow anything. I can grow cole crops in the early spring but that is about it.
Things are looking better here since the heat has lessened and the rain came.
ReplyDeleteI am missing the longer days already.
We are actually adding to our fall garden. Its a bit late but beets, turnips, lettuce and daikon radish are already in. We needed more beets and we added rocket too. We will erect cold frames if things look good towards first frost. Its great to have fresh food in winter and its not that much more work.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest surprise for me was the green beans. After a long summer of non production, they suddenly yielded a very large bowl full of beans and more to come. Not sure what had happened but I'm happy:)
My "Almost an Acre" farm has worked me hard these past weeks, there is no time to rest as we are getting the land ready for fall plantings..This is time for some of my favorite crops, fresh Greens :o)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Baby Hank is doing better!
ReplyDeleteWe survived the hurricane and have electricity and AC again.
Having problems with the washer now. lol.
Your porch looks quite tasty. Never heard of leaving 'maters on the porch like that. My granny used to put them in her window, but she only bought from the farmers market when she wanted to can.
Glad to hear Baby O is doing well, too! Congratulations and God Bless. :-)