Growth!

Since some of the seedlings were getting pretty large, they have been transplanted into some 4" pots from plants that we had bought in years past. Yeah, I don't really like to throw away plastic nursery pots. Which is a good thing since I didn't really want to buy any either.

Last week on Wednesday the Pac Choi and Chinese Cabbage got the upgrade. A couple of the cabbage seedlings didn't look so great, but they got transplanted anyway.

I was amazed at the difference that 4 days makes. It's so crazy! The puny plants look pretty decent too!!

The top was taken right after the plants were transplanted on the 5th. Then the bottom was taken just yesterday after we arrived home form church.

Hoping that this week will be the week that we get many of the big plants out into the garden. First we need to get some materials to make a low tunnel over the plants after they are in the garden.

Okay...Update Day

Alright, I'm going to change my Friday post to my Update Day - even though we don't have a whole lot going on right now I kind of do.

Planting/Garden Update...

It has been raining here for most of the week. Not much was done as far as the garden is concerned. Although that is not entirely true - the space where I plan to put in the fall crops is ready to go. Maybe this weekend would be a good time to make that happen. We are still planning what to do, but at least that space is ready!

The seedlings have been growing like crazy and we went ahead and transplanted the Pac Choi and Chinese Cabbage into 4 inch pots until they get into the garden for real. I might have to spend some time cleaning up some stuff out of the boxes and planning where to put some of the plants and possibly sow some seeds just to experiment some more. Hoping that the weekend weather won't be as wet and that we could muck around looking at what to go ahead and pull up.

BUT here is what happened this week -

Pac Choi on the left and the other is the Chinese Cabbage

This was taken right after the plants got a good drink. The poor little plant in the upper right looked pretty bad. However, in 24 hours it looked so much better and bigger - like it might have grown! It certainly was much happier!

Project(s) update...

It's bubbling away like crazy and we have been having fun checking on it every few days or daily...yeah - it's more like a daily thing. It's just so cool to see it working away! I think it will take a good couple of weeks before it starts to look like the sauerkraut that I'm looking for. So far so good. I love to experiment!

I think it's been a while since the fence has seen any action, but it is slowly getting there. The portion closest to the house is getting closer to being tied in with the garage. It was the hardest section because of how close it is to the driveway. The far side of the fence will be a lot easier as it is between what we have cultivated as yard and where the field starts. We do need to do some planning as we hope to do chickens and would like to locate them behind the garage first. Once the fence goes in any chance to make a change will be considerably difficult to do so. Discussions shall commence!

Dreaming...(The dreaming -  oh my goodness)

I just picked up the latest Mother Earth News at Target this week. This is a great issue! The Urban Farmer (aka Curtis Stone) had a pretty extensive article on making this whole backyard gardening thing into a business of  sorts. Curtis Stone outlined 3 or 4  different marketing models for people (like me) who would like to take their hobby to the next level. Perhaps this could be a good part-time gig starting next spring.

Another cool thing that I saw in this issue was an article on Rocket Stoves. Goodness, it's not like we don't have other things todo or anything. I have had this vision to revamp the area that is between our yuck-o driveway and the house and make it a patio area. It would be a great spot to do a rocket stove for cooking dinner or just firing up on a chilly evening to sit nearby. Go here for an older article...

I have so many things that I want to do and the list just keeps getting longer. Too many resources with reading magazines, blogs and books on homesteading, market gardening etc. Also, watching Justin Rhodes and Art & Bri doesn't help one bit. There are so many good resources. Gotta ditch this 40-hour a week job somehow!

Hoping and praying that we can turn this hobby into more than a hobby!

Homemade Sauerkraut

When we put cabbage into the garden I didn't have much more of a thought than seeing if I could grow cabbage. How would anyone know otherwise? So, as I watched the cabbage grow throughout the summer I was amazed at how they went from these loose leaves growing into a head type of shape. We checked on it several times throughout the summer and I was getting excited about having three heads of cabbage actually growing in the garden!  

A few weeks ago we had some store bought sauerkraut which I like to cook up with some brown sugar and sliced apple to serve along side either brats or pork chops. It dawned on me that maybe I could make sauerkraut with my cabbage. So I started to search Pinterest for recipes and landed on The Prairie Homestead pin and got interested - in the recipe AND the website. 

The recipe was easier than I thought and required no cooking! Well, that was a happy moment for me because I have been known to make a mess doing anything new. The least amount of items in use at anytime is best for me. I still made a fair size mess, but it was fun!

I was a little skeptical that all of the cabbage would fit in a quart size mason jar. Seriously - there was a lot. As soon as I started mooshing the cabbage into the jar, my skepticism turned into surprise and I had NOTHING left in the bowl after spooning and mooshing. Well, I had some of the liquid left over which I used to fill up the jar a bit more before storing it. 

Now the hard part will be to leave it be until it's time to open it up to try it out. I will need to "burp" it here and there, but otherwise it's a waiting game. I better take a look at the part where it needs to be burped!

I am hopeful that this will turn out and that instead of buying pouches or jars of kraut I can just make my own when the hankering strikes. 

If you are looking for homesteading tips or cool recipes check out the website HERE. 

A Little Late or REALLY Early!

We ended up heading to the coast Friday and I had intended to do an early post on Thursday, but that didn't happen. Then I thought I might do a post when we came back on Saturday and then that didn't happen. Sundays are too busy to do what we think we might want to do so nothing again.

I have a total down day (mostly) today and am catching up on a couple of things. Posting here is one of them!

For some reason I thought about growing beans to store. So, after doing some research online to figure out what kind of beans to get, I finally decided on these beans that are called Tongues of Fire. I wasn't sure how to cultivate a dry bean so I just let the plants grow. As is turns out, it's not that hard and all I had to do is pick the pods when they are dry and brittle. They actually are still a little "fresh" after shelling them, but they dried up pretty quickly. Hoping that there will be enough still to harvest to make this year's effort worth it.

My fall crops are looking GREAT! I did transplant some of the seedlings into 4" pots at the end of last week and they are growing like crazy! The garden spot which I want to put my fall crops into is being prepared right now - I probably will get stuff in within the next couple of weeks. 

Took a walk around the garden and ended up harvesting a few items. This might be the last time I have a mini-bounty of items. I was surprised to find a few of the Shishito Peppers ready to pick. The few that I got will be it for the season. 

Since it took me awhile to find the plants that I did have I decided to try saving some of the seeds for next season. I haven't been able to find the seeds at the store and I haven't seen them offered in my favorite seed catalogs. Yet another experiment!

Look at this perfect tomato! I was getting ready to close up the Hoop House for the night and before I got to the door I spied this tomato hiding in almost plain sight! I never noticed it changing color - then BAM! Vine Ripened Goodness!

There are quite a few Roma tomatoes that are in different stages of ripening. I'm hoping for a lot at one time so I can make sauce - from my own garden to save for future use. 

As my summer crops are coming to an end, I look forward to getting the fall crops in and starting to harvest the greens in the weeks to come. The real test will be how many of my seedlings will survive the transition. This is my first time trying out fall crops. It has been exciting checking out the seedlings several times a week and seeing the growth. I am pretty confident with my skills with the summer garden. Now all I need to do is start incorporating succession planting. After I get that down I'll work on crop rotation. 

There is so much to learn! So much fun!!!