a little bit to harvest

I took these photos at the worst time of day, but the truth is I have been putting it off for too long and I just needed to get the photos of the fruit on the vine before harvesting my ONE acorn squash and my ONE cucumber... Behold, my wee little patio garden. This year I have been operating on the fly. I planted a garden in April in the community square foot garden. Let me just tell you - that has been a total flop. Bottom line is that it does not get enough sunlight. Seeds that have been in the ground since April have remained basically seedlings. I transplanted four plants from down there a week or two ago into pots and put them on the patio and they've doubled in size since then. So I am trying to make this happen on the fly. I hope to have at least a handful of something to harvest this summer. So far only tomatoes and one pepper in addition to what I harvested today. So, we'll see... I am learning about container gardening as I go... how big the containers should be, how often to water/feed, soil conditions, etc. For now, here are some photos. This fall I am hoping to have my husband build me a proper square foot raised bed that I can fit onto the patio for my favorites - collards, kale, lettuces, and radishes with the babies. <3

out of control Pothos vines...

attempting: zucchini, crookneck squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, two types of bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, rosemary and basil.

pepper plants + basil from seen on the right

poor squash plant that once was crowded in a pot with another plant, now set free and seems to want to produce some fruit for me...

one squash plant doing well and two I rescued, trying to get them to do something... poor zucchini I also rescued in Monrovia pot.

mystery plant now identified as acorn squash

peppers... bad pic I know...

big ole cucumber

walking up to the front door

love these tendrils... always looking for something to hold onto

wee harvest for today... peppers were weaklings so I pulled them off... enough for a salad, right?

garden update (radish harvest) and front yard picnic fun

Hello friends! Welp, I have completely failed to provide regular status updates on the growth and progress of this year's fall vegetable garden. However, not to worry. Things have been growing fine (har har) and yesterday we harvested our first fruits... radishes!

Radishes are ridiculously easy to grow and are really ready for harvest in about three to four weeks (a great learning experience for my little girl who both planted the seeds and harvested each one). I let mine stay in the ground for longer, but thankfully they didn't get grainy or fibrous like I thought they would. Instead, there was a certain sweetness to them that was delightful and different. I plan to use them in a salad or something tonight and I am hoping I can squeeze in another crop of them before the winter comes.

The collards are doing great, as well as the turnips (below) which will be ready for harvest very soon. The kale is not doing so well, mostly because I have random squash and tomato plants which I DID NOT PLANT that decided to start growing all of a sudden that are sort of crowding out the kale. I WISH the squash would yield something to make it worth sacrificing my precious greens, but with the inevitable cold snap coming I am afraid that it'll just be a waste. One can hope though, right? Oh and those tomato plants? It will be a miracle if they grow to yield anything at all. I should probably just pull them. Still it has been an interesting experiment. I will say the stalks look sturdy and the plants quite healthy.

After tending the garden the little ones and I had a not-so-fancy picnic under our pretty maple tree... PB & Nutella, apples and the Stonyfield Farm version of Gogurts. Whatever they are. Carried out on a broiler pan (lololol at myself), with a bottle, and a Hello Kitty juice, and paper towel napkins. You know, something so neatly arranged and suitable for a photo. Staged perfectly for my blog. HAHAHA. Sorry.

don't judge me... I put the timer on the camera on the tripod.... (*wants to run and hide in closet*)

After they ate their lunch, the kiddos ventured out into the yard. Noah decided to try to climb a tree. Lord help me! Shiloh started picking leaves from trees, and so began the idea to collect as many different leaves as possible for a leaf craft. I've learned how much she loves crafting and I am trying to find something new for her to do every day.

Here's Shiloh doing her "leaf craft" - originally we were going to do leaf prints, but that was a little too much for her, though we did do some, she just got frustrated and painted a big glob on the paper. So we glued instead and she loved that.

...and here are our radishes after their bath:

...and now it is time for me to be done with this post. My daughter is oh so quietly sitting at the top of the stairs post nap waiting for me... she is being sneaky but I know she's awake!

Much love.

Brooke

over Sunday morning coffee...

A couple of times over the last month Jason and I have found ourselves on the front porch double rocker, drinking coffee while Shiloh naps and Dakota plays on the computer talking about all that we want to do or wish we were doing with the house and the yard and ways to make money doing what we love... This leads to much longing and hopefully results in some momentum towards change. I feel like there is a gentle prodding towards a different path by the Holy Spirit but I am not sure if he is preparing us for the bottom to fall out or what... just not sure where he is in all of this? That's a whole 'nother discussion for a whole 'nother day.

The garden is doing well - though there've been many hard lessons learned along the way. Seems like with every season I learn something new about what to do and what not to do. I also would like to expand it to the side of the house, and put in some rows. I am just not getting the volume I'd like - would like more room for error I guess, and more space. I'd also like to be able to depend on it for food should Jason or I become unemployed or our budget was cut somehow. Not to mention, it's kind of been hard to grow squash and cukes in my square foot garden (you have to grow them UP).

I've put together some great dishes from the things I've grown which I'd like to share. I'm craving a BLT at this very moment...

On another note, I have slowly been building a small business in my mind, crafted from all the things I know I CAN do and make and all of that without putting too much pressure on myself to learn something new. The truth is I know how to do a lot of things and I think if I were to put them all together I could have a nice stand at the farmers market selling homegrown and handmade things that people would buy. I gotta get on that... I need to get the sewing machine out this week while I am on furlough and start trying to put those ideas I've had into action. I'm not looking to make a lot of money I just want to try to make enough extra cash to keep the family fed and clothed.

So much to do, so little time... here are some pics of the garden for your enjoyment. I'll try to blog more regularly I guess.