It's Been a While!

Wow, where to start?  I've been off of here for quite a while.  So much has happened.  Things that I want to talk about, and things that I don't want to talk about.  I've lost a parent, quit my job, my health issues have gotten worse, and my dog has a rare disease.  I've started my garden again this year, started and transplanted my seedlings, and continue to work on finishing a room in the basement that I'm confident will, one day, be a studio/craft room.  I'm working on opening a new shop on Etsy, but in light of all that's been going on, it's on the back burner right now. 

Herb bed on the left, asparagus bed on the right

My main goal with the garden this year is preservation!  My garden last year was experimental.  I tried several types of plants to see what grew well and what struggled.  Here in northwest Ohio, we have very clay-ey soil.  I wanted to know what could grow without amending the soil at all--it was once farmland--and I learned a lot.  I learned that tomatoes and green beans grow well here (but I believe they grow well anywhere!).  I learned that growing a sweet corn variety next to an Indian corn variety will result in cross-pollination and some seriously unappetizing corn.  Haha, once my hubby found out how I planted the corn, he found it hilarious, because he would have told me not to do it!  I learned that there was no need for more than one plant each of zucchini, yellow squash, and winter squashes, although my abundance of winter squash kept very well in the basement for most of the winter.  I learned that potato plants should be planted in a different area of the garden on account of how wet certain areas of the garden become after heavy rains.  I had great success with carrots last year!  A five-gallon pail was overflowing with the harvest.  I processed and froze them in slices. 

A rainbow of carrot varieties

Sugar Baby Watermelon

Melons seemed to like the growing environment, and I ate some of the sweetest cantaloupe I've ever had from the garden.  I learned that garlic just doesn't like my soil.  Vidalia onions seemed to do well, even though I don't like to eat onions.  Home-grown strawberries are delicious, but hard to maintain and keep de-weeded, and when it's time to replant the patch, there will be a raised bed with weed block underneath.  I started an herb garden directly in the soil last year, but moved everything to a raised bed after the herbs struggled to get established in the clay.  I've tried to start a lavender patch, and some lavender came back and some didn't.  This year, we started an asparagus patch that should yield a harvest, even if only a light harvest, next year.  I dried and preserved herbs at the end of last year, and plan to dry and preserve much more this year (more about that in another post).  I dealt with insect issues and other plant diseases.  I fought a losing battle with weeds that continues this year.  So I say all of that to say that this year, I've planted an abundance of tomatoes, herbs, green beans, potatoes, corn, and melons, with the plan of preserving as much as I can this summer and fall.

Strawberry, before the weeds invaded

Herbs drying on a rack in the basement

I love the education that this garden has provided.  Having a large garden space has been a dream of mine for years.  Thankfully now, I have it and can continue to learn.  And maybe even pass a few tips along to others who read this! :)

Let's Get Dirty!

"Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building."--1 Cor. 3:8-9

Last weekend my hubby and I worked on our yard.  The weather is so nice right now!  I'm doing all I can to enjoy it and soak it up.  I'm looking forward to the warm summer months ahead, and I'm enjoying all of the green that's been appearing over the past few weeks.

We are planning to have the cap on our front porch re-poured sometime this summer.  As a result, some plants needed to be moved.  We also have a bed of shady plants that becomes overgrown with weeds every summer, regardless of the weed block under the mulch and the weed killer that we spray, so I had an idea to move them to a better location and just cover that bed completely with mulch.  Then, we'll keep up the weed spray, and hopefully keep it looking nice!  It's a north bed that remains in constant shade and stays pretty damp, so it'll be a never-ending battle, but at least we won't have to be careful of the plants now.

We moved those plants to a bare area that used to contain an large round evergreen bush.  Our neighbor was kind enough to cut the bush down last summer, just leaving the stump.  However, the ground was bare underneath from years of growth, so I transplanted four day lilies, four bell flowers (which I split from one large plant), and two little tiger lily bulbs to that space, and lined it with paver brick that we already had.  No cost, just a little elbow grease, and we'll have a gorgeous space with orange and purple flowers this summer!  At least, I hope they bloom this summer.

I also transplanted several hostas and a sedum plant that split in two when I dug it up.  The hostas are now against the house, and the main problem will be to keep them watered, because they are under the eave and that area tends to stay pretty dry.  The sedum doesn't have a home right now, and will just have to hang out in pots, along with the columbines that I had to dig up in front of our porch. 

It was a lot of work, but the day was beautiful, and I always love doing projects around the house with my husband.  We make a great team!