Garden in Progrress

The Cabbage, Broccoli an Cauliflower are doing well

now that their fenced in and protected from the chickens.

The beans have sprouted around the bean trellis

and I got the cucumbers planted along the cucumber trellis

that the husband built for me over the weekend.

All the peppers are planted, 

beets are sprouting,

peas are popping up 

and tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe and squash have been planted.

I just need to plant the pumpkin seed, add a little more watermelon seed

and possibly plant potatoes.

Hopefully all those wheelbarrows full of composted maure

will give us a plentiful yield this summer!

Busy Weekend

It was a busy and productive weekend around here

for a change.

There was an abundance of produce on the counter that needed some attention.

And by abundance I mean

there was stuff on the counter.

Our harvests this year have been nothing like last year

and that's disappointing.

But I digress.

We have bugs decimating our cucumber plants

so I made sure I used the ones I managed to harvest.

I made 1 quart and 3 pints of refrigerator pickles.

Sadly, these won't last long.

You can find the recipe here.

Then I had a bunch of beets to contend with,

so I pickled them.

We'll see how they taste,

but at least they look pretty.

I also managed to can 2 quarts of green beans.

Hoping to save the cucumbers,

and hoping that the tomatoes on the vine

ripen soon.

Garden of Weedin

We finally had some time to work in the garden this weekend.

It's no longer the "Garden of Weedin'"

Our corn is growing- sort of.

Some didn't come up at all.

We staggered the plantings-

2 rows, then planted 2 more rows 2 weeks later, etc.

Hoping this allows us to use what we harvest rather than

having 50+ ears to deal with all at once.

The pumpkins are growing like crazy.

Unfortunately, I discovered some squash bugs in the garden.

These things are my nemesis.

They single handedly killed the pumpkins and most of the zucchini and squash last year.
I have a plan though.

Here is one of our 3 potato plants.

I don't recommending deciding to order potatoes

and wanting to make a potato tower 2 weeks before your wedding.

We just planted them in the ground, so I don't have too much hope of potatoes this year.

The beans love the trellis.

I have green beans and black beans growing here.

The cucumbers needed a little help with the trellis.

For the future, I plan to use strips of wood to make more climbing area

for the vines.

The peas are doing well. 

We harvested a bagful.

And I ate several pods.

The zucchini has been producing for a couple of weeks now.

It's delicious.

The squash bugs think so too,

unfortunately.

We pulled beets, zucchini, squash and peas.

This photo doesn't show the huge bucket full

of squash and zucchini.

There was one tomato, but those mother cluckers got to it before I did.

 

Bertha was checking out the produce being offered.

She and Martha Stewart got to the one ripening tomato before I could.

 I have tons of green tomatoes.

I'm thinking of trying to fry some up- something I've never cooked or eaten.

Finally Planted

I finally finished planting the garden

(except for the potatoes- they haven't arrived yet)

The girls enjoyed checking out the new plants-

and scratched up a few new baby tomatoes.

Peas are popping

The beans are popping too.

And so are the cucumbers. 

Can't wait to see them on the trellis.

 And in the meantime I'm trying to finish

all those wedding DIY projects

like the pennant banner.

74 feet long

and 66 feet long.

Now I'm hot gluing them. 

What was I thinking??

The Cucumber Bean Trellis

Last year I made this cucumber trellis.

It served its purpose for the most part,

but it wasn't the greatest.

The chicken wire allowed the cukes to grow through them

but it sometimes pinched off the growing veggie.

It also wasn't very sturdy, so Big E and I knew we'd either have to improve the design of this 

or find something else.

So I found something else here: The Rhinestone Beagle.

Basically it uses 8- 1x2's and 7- 2x2's

some galvanized nails and some twine.

The original design uses 8 foot lengths

but I opted for 6 foot 1x2's for length and

stuck with the 8 foot 2x2's for height.

You're going to use 6 2x2's as your vertical posts and the 1x2's for the cross pieces.

Lay them out and then nail them together.

Be sure to use 2 nails at each juncture to prevent the board from spinning.

The bottom cross piece we nailed 12" from the bottom

and the top piece was about 2 feet from the top

and I think the other 2 were spaced about 18" apart from the others.

(you can tell I'm not one for exact perfect measurements, that why Big E built it)

The original plans called for the 7th 2x2 to lay in the crook at the top

of the trellis and everything gets lashed together with rope or twine.

Because I was too lazy to walk to the barn to get twine 

we were running out of time,

and Big E wasn't keen on lashing, 

he suggested we nail the sides together at the top.

So using 3 1/2" galvanized nails

(they were a little too long but it didn't matter)

he nailed the sides together at each of the 3 posts.

This also made the trellis able to close as if hinged.

This makes it easier to carry and a cinch to store in the winter.

(this is why I'm learning to let Big E build things how he wants 

because he usually knows what he's doing)

 

 And here we have the finished product.

Cucumbers are planted on one side

and pole beans on the other.

One improvement I think we'll have to make is that 

I think there needs to be either 2 more vertical pieces 

and/or extra cross pieces to make for easier climbing for the plants.  

But I think that's something that I can add after the fact 

as it won't be for sturdiness just for the plants' benefit.

Also, because it's so easy to get under the trellis,

I'm going to grow my lettuces under there.

The cucumbers and beans will provide some shade for the lettuce.

We also managed to get nearly everything planted

with the exception of the plants I started

and the tomatoes.

That's on for the weekend.

Pickles in the Jar

 Sunday night I made 6 more quarts of refrigerator pickles.

My first batch was a success

with the exception of 1 pint of pickles that tasted totally of apple cider vinegar.

Despite that one issue, 

I went ahead with these 6 quarts. 

And as promised, here is the recipe:

Garlic Dill Refrigerator Pickles

Makes 3 pints- 2 pints=1 quart so double recipe makes 3 quarts

2 pounds cucumbers 

(I didn't really weigh any, I just cut up and used what would fit in the jar)

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

2 Tablespoons pickling salt

6 garlic cloves (2 per jar)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper per jar

1 teaspoon dill seed per jar

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns per jar

Wash and slice cucumbers

In large saucepan combine vinegar water and salt, bring to simmer

Dole out spices to each jar

Pack cucumbers firmly into jars- you want them packed tight without damaging them

Pour the brine into the jars leaving 1/2 inch head space

Tap jars gently on counter top to dislodge any air bubbles

Apply lids and let jars cool

When they've reached room temperature place in refrigerator

Let them sit for at least 48 hours before eating.

Enjoy!

Pickles

With the garden producing copious amounts of veggies,

I needed to get going on the preserving otherwise all the time, 

effort and money but into the garden would be wasted. 

I started with pickles. 

I've never made pickles.

And because I have yet to gather all my canning needs,

I went with a recipe for refrigerator garlic dill pickles

(if they taste good, I'll share the recipe).

I ended up with 4 quart jars and 3 pint jars.

We get to taste them on Thursday,

hopefully they're good or I wasted a lot of cucumbers

(though there are plenty more where they came from).

I also cut enough zucchini and squash to fill 7 quart freezer bags.

There's still an entire basket of squash and more in the garden. 

I see zucchini bread in my future.

Cucumber Trellis

Last year I saw something on Pinterest about a cucumber trellis.  

I have never been able to grow decent cukes in my garden- ever- 

and never knew anything about growing them on a trellis.  

But I figured what the heck.  

Last year I did get a few cukes- more than I have before.  

So this year I decided to plant more and make the trellis again.

I used some garden stakes for the frame. 
They work, but if you want something really sturdy
or something you can reuse each season,
I'd suggest using wood that is a little stronger.

(Next year I'll be buying better wood).

With the frame built, I stapled chicken wire to the frame.

Then attached stakes at the appropriate height and secured it in the ground.  

Not sure why it seems to work- maybe the increased air circulation- but it does work.

Hoping for enough cucumbers to pickle and have in my salad.

(Left trellis is pickling cukes, right is burpless for salad)