Storms

Today we had some crazy weather. Two storms back to back that knocked down tomatoes, beans, squash and corn. 

I wasn't happy. But then the sun broke and out front was an amazing rainbow.

The tomatoes were saved, the beans and squash will bounce back and tomorrow I'll come up with an idea about the corn- some sort of windbreak (any suggestions??)

Tonight I'm grilling the first squash from the garden and eating some steak.

Life is good

Bean Trellis

We like beans around here,  

but I only managed one measly row of bush beans in the garden.

So I decided to find a spot to fit in a bean trellis for some pole beans.

So I hiked to the back 40

which is really only the back 2.

Or Tick Haven as I came to call it.

It needs to be mowed.

I found some straight locust branches growing on the stump of a tree 

we cleared from the fence line

and cut them off. 

I'm guessing they were around 10 feet long.

I dragged them back up to the garden and cleaned off all the smaller branches and leaves

and cut them to about 8 foot lengths.

Abby watched, 

probably waiting till I turned my back so she could mess with them

(don't leave iced tea cups on the fence while you garden, she sticks her tongue in them)

I ended up needing 2 more poles

and the help of Big E because he's taller.

We tied the poles together and buried the ends in the ground a few inches for stabilization.

I planted the beans.

Now I just need to tie twine around it for more area for the beans to climb.

We'll see what happens.

The end result should be a crap load of beans in a much smaller space.

In fact, Big E thinks we need to go with pole beans entirely if things go well with this one.

I agree since I discovered the chickens have trampled some bush beans

because they were impeding their route between the shade of the cucumber trellis

and the shade of the squash plants.

Looking Good

I'm so tickled about how well the garden is doing.

After coming home from a weekend of Cub Scout Camp,

the weeds had sprouted everywhere 

and the task of weeding the garden seemed gargantuan.

Impossible even.

And that's usually where the garden takes a wrong turn and it's downhill from there.

But

my little Mantis tiller makes short work of the weeds between the rows

and this year I have the help of Big E 

and the combined teamwork of man and machine has this garden looking great.

Time to order the canner.

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)

Wordless Wednesday

Evening Primrose

We have an Evening Primrose growing in the garden here.

The blossoms open at night

and take only about a minute to open.

Last night, there were several blossoms ready to open 

so I pulled up a lawn chair and waited.

Here is a photo of the flowers completely open.

Someone is Eating the Sun!

As a kid, I enjoyed reading a book called Someone is Eating the Sun

It's about some farm animals that freak out because the sun is disappearing.

They think someone is eating it, only to learn at the end of the book that it's just a solar eclipse.

  It starts off with Hen who is picking at corn when she notices

 the sky getting darker and she takes off with a 

"flippity flap and a flutter".

Lately the chickens have been randomly taking off with 

a flippity flap and a flutter 

and I think about that book every time.  

Only my chickens are running for no apparent reason.