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It’s In the Little Things

There are tiny things in this world….

The Royal Antelope

The Brookesia Micra Chameleon

The Fennec Fox

The Paedophryne Amauensis Frog:

Photos found at http://http://www.viralnova.com/smallest-animals-in-the-world/

…..then there are the fruits from my garden. It’s been an interesting year for growth. Maybe it’s the water, maybe the soil. Whatever the reason, many of the veggies and fruits are quite small…some are plentiful, but most are kind of tiny. Guess what?? There are powerfully big, fresh flavors coming out of those little packages! I wish I could share more with you than just their pictures.

Little yellow bell peppers

Tiny, tiny strawberries

Beautiful Jalepenos

Okay, Grape Tomatoes are supposed to be small…er

This is the entire harvest of nine potato plants…hahahaha…there is one fat little gopher running around here somewhere full of my potatoes!!

The apple in these pictures is there for size comparison (of course you needed that explanation, ;D )…

We actually got pears off of the 1st year pear trees…hahahaha

The mighty artichoke

Tiny Cantaloupe…smaller than a softball, bigger than a baseball

Major big flavor in a tiny little package!

Apples from an old, old apple tree.

Each year a different garden has grown, same basic varieties, very different results. We have been playing around with soil and location a bit, this year mainly soil. Time to start taking notes.

I hope you have a wonderful day…go ahead and pick a few tomatoes…they are amazing!!

Tami

Category:

Artichoke, Bell Peppers, building a new home, Cantaloupe, First Fruits, Grape Tomatoes, Growing potatoes, Harvesting, Homesteading, Jalepeno Peppers, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Planting a garden, Vegetable Garden

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What’s Going On??!!

It always confuses me when parts of the garden goes crazy with growth, and other parts struggle to stay alive. Obviously, providing a good soil, water, and sunshine is not all there is to growing fruits and vegetables.

I learned last year that onions do not want a lot of water, they need to be able to drain or you get squishy, disintegrated mush. The green of potato plants may grow like crazy, but the tubers underneath may not be as grand (I got potatoes, but some were huge and misshapen, and others were small, and they were just kind of flavorless.)

Misshapen and gnarly.

Peppers…well let’s just say my peppers never really took off..they were small and frail.

This year’s garden has some problems, as well. Take a look….

What is going on with my pepper plants??

My sweet pepper plants are struggling AGAIN!!! I am the worst at trying to grow bell peppers. These plants just have not taken off, their leaves are curling, and the flowers seem to get to a point, then they just fall off. SO FRUSTRATING!!

Eggplant – fail!!

My eggplants are alive, but they haven’t grown in size, and they have not yet flowered. They were planted the same time everything else was. They are not happy.

These are pumpkin plants. Do you see any pumpkins??? Again, no growth!! Do you think that big flower will produce a pumpkin?? I don’t know!!! Thankfully I started some others by seed in a different container and those are doing pretty well…fairly well…I might get a pumpkin or two from them…maybe.

These are my serrano peppers….kind of scrappy looking, aren’t they!! The plants behind them are my jalepeno’s and they are doing well. The serranos got a bit of a late start, planted from seed…it will be interesting to see what they produce if anything.

Actually, the artichoke is doing well. However, I have noticed a small amount of aphids…thankful for this little critter who is happy to eat those aphids!!

UGGHHHH!!

I have no idea what is happening to my zucchini!! The zucch developed, then the flower fell off the end leaving a rotting hole. I hope this is a fluke and not a problem.

Thankfully, there is a flip-side to these garden difficulties.

Tomatoes and onions

There are rogue tomato plants growing within some of my onions! There must have been seeds from discarded tomatoes from last year’s garden. All I need is a jalepeno plant over there, and we’ll have salsa tasting tomatoes!! 😉

Watermelon

This little watermelon is a VERY welcome sight…

….and the strawberries are delicious!!

We’ve got thunderstorms going on today…but no rain yet. Hopefully the rain will come because the forest is really dry right now. The trees would appreciate the water. Keeping my fingers crossed that there won’t be any hail…that would not be good for the garden.

Thanks for walking through the garden with me!
Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday!!

Tami FYI – it just started raining…YAY….ooopps…it stopped!!

Category:

Artichoke, Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Growing potatoes, Harvesting, Homesteading, Jalepeno Peppers, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Planting a garden, Serrano Peppers, Strawberries, Strawberry, Summer Rain, Thunder Storms, Vegetable Garden, Watermelon

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Fir Chips in the Garden

Remember my attempt to squelch the inevitable…??

That empty container is waiting for watermelon.

The Douglas Fir mulch lining the garden.

…You know, those dreaded parasites that continually steal water, minerals, and sunlight from their rightful heirs. What are they called? Oh yeah, malas hierbas, les mauvaises herbes, bagīcē mātama, …. weeds…garden weeds. Two months or so later, here’s how things look…

Uuugghhhh the invasion is on!!!

I’m glad the good stuff are in pots.

…well, I guess my experiment in Douglas Fir chips was a wash. Not exactly the results I was hoping for, but easily fixed….

Now that’s better!

I can see the fir chips!!

Lookin’ purdy!

…thank you Mr. Weed-Wacker!!! Nope, I didn’t get the roots, and yeah they will grow back. Mr. Weed-Wacker and I will have a few more dates this growing season, but you know, it’s easier than trying to pull them up, and healthier than using a weed killer. Anyway, there is more exciting news

The zucchini is blooming!

Wee little strawberries.

The peas are awesome.

Future bad boys…my Jalapeños are blooming!!

And did I show you these beauties??

Look at those little red jewels!!

And the most important…. Penni’s happy!!

My happy girl!!

Thanks for taking a walk with me through the garden. Have an awesome day!
Tami

Category:

Chipper, Cutting grasses, First Fruits, Harvesting, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Mowing, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Planting a garden, Strawberries, Vegetable Garden, Weed-Wacker

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First Things First

VERY EXCITING NEWS!!! Okay, those “firsts” in life are usually very exciting, but the firsts on the roster today are the first fruits of our 2014 Garden. Take a look!!

Pretty, little, yellow, watermelon flower.

Not exactly a fruit…but it’s the first flower leading to the fruit. I think it counts 😉

I spy with my little eye…..

You might have to zoom this picture to find the first pea pods.

The first cantaloup flower…leading to the first fruit.

The first really big “fruit”….

Look at that BROCCOLI!!

…that we have actually been able to harvest!!

Look at that beauty!!!

I’m so excited for this next one!! Can you see it? Can you see it?? Look again, it’s right there!!!

Our first, little, itty, bitty, Roma Tomato!

Lots more firsts to come, lots more fruits and veggies on the way……….P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E!! Now, I’ve got to go stir fry a bunch of broccoli.. 😀

Category:

Broccoli, Cantaloupe, First Fruits, Harvesting, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Planting a garden, Roma Tomatos, Sugar Snap Peas, Vegetable Garden, Watermelon

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Before, After, and Today

For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. – Isaiah 61:11

We’ve had growth…growth in the garden….

SUGAR SNAP PEAS