Gardening for Dummies

 I should probably write a book.  You know, like those that are Raising Bees for Dummies or Blogging for  Dummies.  Only I will call it Gardening for Dummies.  We have been here in Missouri now three years.  Each year we plant a garden and each year we are disappointed when the amount of effort does not equal the amount of production.  Well, my friends.  Not this year.  

Last year we planted 26 tomato plants.  They got tall but leggy.  There were enough tomatoes along with some my neighbor gave me to make a little salsa.  That was okay since I was dealing with a boatload of pears at the time.  We got a few squash, some peppers, and a few potatoes.  This year we increased the tomatoes to 33 plants.  We planted cabbage, onions, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and green beans.  The garden soon grew to jungle proportions.  The tomatoes are caged, but the plants are so big and so heavy with tomatoes that they are falling over.  I even took some wire and some jute and tied them up to keep them off the ground. Every single plant has produced epic amounts of tomatoes.  I have Romas, cherry, big boys, early boys, and heritage.  

The picture above is a daily picking.  Cucumbers and beans and zucchini, oh my!  

This picture is from July when the garden was first starting to get going.  Our pole beans got so tall and so thick that when we had a heavy rain, the whole trellis fell over.  We used mule tape and heavy wood stakes to hold it up.  (I staked them up myself, thinking they would be like last year's pole beans....wrong!)

I planted two plants of the scallop squash.  Next year it will be one.  We fried it.  We baked bread with it.  We grated it and froze it.  I even breaded it and froze it for use later.  Then I donated 70 to the local food bank and on Monday I have about 25 more to take there.

So I started canning.  I bought a pressure canner this year to take care of all the green beans, but the amount of produce I have gotten has also supplied some family members and neighbors.

Glad we are getting eggs as well since the price of eggs has gone up over 40%!  Yikes!

  

My freezer is full and so is my basement storage.  I guess we are ready for the apocalypse!  So far I have frozen:  

• freezer slaw
• shredded squash
• breaded squash

And canned:

• ground tomatoes
• tomato soup
• corn
• green beans
• dill slices
• bread and butter pickles
• salsa
• pasta sauce
• soup starter
• tomato juice
• chili base 
• dill relish
• sweet zucchini relish 
• dilly beans
• corn relish

I feel tired from just writing all this.  We are still harvesting.  Today I picked beans, cukes, tomatoes, and a watermelon.  We still have pumpkins, potatoes, more cabbage, and some onions.  Though I am tired I feel so blessed to have this produce available.  It has been lots of work, but I feel some pride and enjoyment in seeing the bounty.  

Well, off to do more farm stuff!  Hope your weekend is great and your find happiness wherever you live!

                        

Garden Spot

Weekends are always busy here at the house.  I have been working frantically on getting my garden ready.  Here at 9000 feet elevation, gardening can be so trying.....but can also be very rewarding.  Finally my taters and onions, radishes and beets are poking through the soil, but now what I need is a peaceful place to sit and relax.  But on my budget, there are just no funds to go out and buy outdoor furniture.  Then  I remembered this old bench that I moved that went with a dining room set that I had years ago.

Yep, pretty ugly and dated.  So I gave it a light all over sanding and found some Ooops paint that I had.  (Ooops paint is paint that has been returned to the hardware store because of being the wrong shade, not matching, etc and is sold at a very deep discount.)

Better, yes....But it still needs a little more......

So I painted the spindles with some more oops paint that I had on hand.....but.....it kinda looked like a nursery bench, not a garden bench.  So I added some critter tracks....

I had a stencil for this, but you could do it free-handed as well.  I put a couple of coats of spray sealer over the entire bench.......now, if I just had a nice cold drink......