Cut Off From the World

Okay, I don't consider myself to be very high tech. I haven't used my ipod in 6 months and I refuse to text message. However, today I felt so cut off from the world it was scary, and I was having major withdrawals. Our internet is only working off and on so if I'm missing for awhile that will be why. We can no longer pick up a good signal and there is nothing the company can do to fix it so we're looking for a new service provider. Every time I turned around today I couldn't continue with my plans because I couldn't get online. Here's what I mean:

I wanted to preserve my garlic scapes but I didn't remember how they said to do it on that website I looked at the other day.

Since my Mom, Brian, and I picked a bunch of strawberries on Saturday I was dying to try Abbie's Strawberry Shortcake recipe but couldn't get the page to load.

I was planning to browse recipes for this weeks' menu plan and knew I wanted to make Quick Cheese Bread with dinner tonight. Luckily this thing started working. The bread is in the oven so I'll keep you posted!

More importantly, the builder was here repairing the shed that burned and I needed to write him another check. I had to tell him not to cash it for a few days since I couldn't get online to transfer the money from our savings to our checking, or to update our check register and compare the online banking with our Quickbooks.

Maybe I really am addicted to the internet like my husband used to claim. Of course he doesn't say that now, he's too busy fighting me for the computer so he can check the weather, browse craigslist, drool over tractors on ebay, and watch the grain prices on our local elevator's website. Oh, what is this world coming to!?!

Where do you spend your time online? Do you rely on the web like we do?

Growing Challenge Check-In: Planting

My garden isn't small but I didn't have any room to plant corn. Our neighbor Jeff was kind enough to come by with his tractor and rototiller and make the above long strip of garden for me. It is between the pasture fence and the road. We had to put the fence far off the road to make room for snow in the winter but can still use the space all summer.

I planted 5 different kinds of corn the first day. I still had some room so in went 2 packets of sunflowers, hopefully to use in granola bars this fall. Well, there was still a ton of room left so I just kept planting. All the peas and beans went in. Then watermelon, zucchini, and squash. There is still room so I added eggplant seeds and may stick in some eggplant seedlings to fill it up. I'm trying to plant less valuable crops there since I wouldn't put it past some idiot to drive through it or pick from it. The tomatoes and other crops will stay in the main garden. Plus, now there is room in the main garden for pumpkins!!

Here's the complete running list, new additions in bold, the rest are updated.

Seedlings still under light (they really need to get outside but the weather is poor):
Amish Paste Tomatoes
Green Zebra Tomatoes
Waltham 29 Broccoli
Ping Tung Eggplant
Long Purple Eggplant

In the main garden:
Red pioneer potatoes- 10# - growing well, need straw
Red onions - 8-10" tall
Dwarf Grey Sugar Peas (hybrid) - 1 20' row - 8" tall
Asparagus - mostly gone to seed, some still coming up
Black seeded simpson lettuce - 1 20' row - up
Black seeded simpson lettuce - 1 20' row planted 4/27 - up
Sugar Ann snap pea - 1 20' row planted 4/27 - 4" tall
Victoria Rhubarb - approx. 25 seeds planted 4/27 - didn't come up, disappeared!
Amish Paste Tomato seedlings - 10 planted out 5/25 - 2 died, others holding on

In the long garden:
Country Gentleman sweet corn - 1 packet - planted 5/25
Golden Bantam 8-Row sweet corn - 1 pkt. - planted 5/25
Carousel mini ornamental corn - 1 pkt. - planted 5/25
Strawberry popcorn - 1 pkt. - planted 5/25
Japanese White Hull-less popcorn - 1 pkt. - planted 5/25
Mammoth Grey sunflowers - 1 pkt. - planted 5/30
Buff Valentine (Contender) bush bean - 3 pkts. - planted 5/31
Sugar Ann snap peas - remainder of 1 pkt. - 5/31
Laxton's Progress 9 garden pea - 3 pkts. - 5/31
Tall Telephone garden pea - 1 pkt. - 5/31
Blacktail Mountain watermelon - 1 pkt. = 5 hills - 5/31
Butternut Roosa squash - partial pkt. = 2 hills - 5/31
Black Beauty zucchini - partial pkt. = 2 hills - 5/31
Ping Tung eggplant - partial pkt. = 2 hlls - 5/31

Around the farm:
Heritage Raspberry - 4 canes planted 4/26 - doing great
Strawberries - a few blossoms, only half dozen plants survived winter without mulch
Gooseberry and Currants - 2 of each - planted last year - huge w/ small berries forming!
2 Red Haven Peach trees - planted - all fruit trees are healthy and green
1 Harrow pear tree - planted last year - only tree with blossoms
1 Bartlett pear tree - planted
1 Montmorency Cherry tree - planted
1 Gala apple tree - planted
1 Golden Delicious apple tree - planted
4 blueberry bushes - planted last year - greening up
Mature apple trees - small apples forming!

Here's a pic I snapped from where I sat planting the endless patch.


Also, this is the broken hoe that I've repurposed to help me plant. It makes a great little tool to cut rows in the soil. Then I just drop the seeds in and pat over them with my hand.



I've enjoy reading many of your garden updates and how everyone's plant are flourishing. What's your favorite garden tool? How do you plant your seeds?

Sunday Stroll: Garden Update

I have been taking a stroll around my yard every morning and evening lately. There is a lot of activity to keep up with! All of these pictures are from the garden today. I thought I would combine the garden update and Sunday Stroll this week to keep things simple. Plus, I have a lot of other things to post about this coming week.

Potatoes are finally up! Yay!!

I have picked and picked, eaten and shared, and yet till - the asparagus is going to seed.

The first row of peas is really growing. The second row is up and about 1-2" tall.

My little bitty lettuce. This was one of the first things I planted. It is growing very slowly but I'm just glad it lived.

The onions have doing great all along.

The garlic is huge!

I saved the best for last. Check out the blossoms on our new pear tree! This is the one that I just planted a few weeks ago. The pear tree that I planted last year has a lot more leaves but no blossoms yet. I can see this little blossoming tree from my window.

See who else is strolling on Sunday over at Quiet Country House.

Sunday Stroll... Sort of

I just really didn't feel like doing much today. Yesterday Brian cut up our old rabbit cage so I could have 2 pieces of plywood for our new farm sign. I painted them this morning. Then we went to breakfast with Brian's Grandpa. I'm pretty sure he turned 93 this year! After breakfast I put on a second coat of paint. We watched King Corn. I was really disappointed! I guess it might make a bigger impact on people who don't farm but it really didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I was hoping the film would help Brian to see why corn in everything is a bad thing, but it wasn't too convincing.

After the movie Brian worked out in the shop for awhile. It was pretty rainy and cold today so I didn't go out. I've been working on our website like crazy and it is almost done!! Get ready, I'm going to want everyone's opinions of it once it is done! :) Then I worked on tracing our logo on to the farm sign. I've got one piece almost done, then I can paint it. Anyway, since I'd really like to get back in to Sunday Strolls, I have some garden pictures to share from this week, plus one that shows where I've spent most of my day!

The garlic is getting so tall!


The onions are coming up!


I have been so tempted to snap off a piece of asparagus to taste...


The peas are coming up. I really thought they wouldn't make it since I planted them so early. I'm glad they did!


This is where the cat and I have been, and I think I'm heading back there...


Head over to Quiet Country House to see who else is strolling today.

Spring has sprung - here!!!

I've been watching jealously as one by one my fellow bloggers have posted pictures of their first spring shoots. Now I can finally join in the fun!!

Farm mom inspired me to plant garlic for the first time last fall. I have not yet removed the thick layer of straw that covered the planted cloves all winter. Today I went out to inspect the patch and guess what - the garlic is already growing even through all that mulch! I still didn't remove it but I pulled back a good section and found several sturdy looking sprouts. How exciting!


Then I wandered over to my strawberries. I planted them last spring in a big metal pot that we found when we tore out the bushes around our house. I neglectfully forgot to mulch them over the winter so was prepared to find them dead this spring. They are more durable than I expected. I found several fresh green plants making their start already. Mmmm, I can't wait for that first batch of jam.


I planted two pear trees last spring as well. One tree didn't even live through the summer but the other is doing well. Check out the little tips already growing this spring.


I am so excited now and all fired up for spring. Last year my Mom and I went to our favorite nursery on Mother's Day. I'm hoping we can make that a tradition and find some great new plants this year. What are looking forward to this spring? How did your plants come through the winter?