Flirty McSkirty

Ridiculous Garden; Chicken Fights

2009-08-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

So the tomatoes are going crazy and will all ripen at once. The green bean teepee is insanely productive and I've had to give away so many beans as I am thoroughly sick of them. Maybe next week I won't feel so negative. The winter squash vines (which I didn't actually think would grow!!) have taken over the entire back of the garden area. I actually planted MORE beans so we'll have a surplus that I can freeze for the winter. The beets are just popping up and I am soooo looking forward to having beets through the cold season; I got a mix of gold, red, striped, etc. so maybe the kids will eat them? I'm not sure...
The ladies are finally laying! Yay! Well, 2 of them at least. Donna is not quite there but hopefully the other 2 will kick-start her soon. Today Buffy and Skeletor are fighting over the nest box which is actually really funny. 2 eggs a day keeps us happy. I will post pictures of the insane garden soon.

Sorry, I suck at blog

2009-05-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

Since I've been working at 3am the last couple of weeks, plus it's been crappy weather, not much going on garden-wise. Mostly I'm just trying to keep the chickens out of the garden, plus trying to figure out what to plant when, and why my greens refuse to grow. I feel like they've been the same height since early April. Pics when there is not torrential, people-killing rain up here. Ugh. Maybe then I won't want to nap all afternoon.
On a brighter note, FH is all moved in and settled and all that good stuff. The kids are pretty stoked to have him here all the time and I've noticed that the "is FH coming over tonight" question is pretty much non-existent now.

Everything begins now

2009-04-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

The bed with the kale, brussels sprouts, chard, and butterhead lettuce. The little colorful blobs are really cute ceramic mushrooms that my friend/co-worker/employee Jenny got me for my birthday. Something's eating the spinach so I put slug bait out and hopefully that will end the holes in the leaves.
That's the chicken coop/run. It's actually a rehabbed rabbit hutch inside a run. The girls free-range whenever we can supervise them. Our big orange kitty thinks they are loads of fun, and the small black cat thinks that he should be allowed to live in the coop. I'll find a pic of that later.

The "girls". One may be a rooster. We've heard some crowing but they're still a bit young to tell which one is the culprit. They are named Skeletor, Buffy, Donna, Lil' Puff, and Grandma.

Many, many changes here at the K/F/C household. My mother is semi-retiring to Southeast Oregon and I'm taking over the bakery. My man is (officially) moving in next week. I'm starting cucumber, tomato, melon, and squash seeds indoors (waaaay too late but I'm looking at it as an experiment) and they're already popping up! I turned 35 on Monday and I have to say it was the best birthday EVER. Life is great. Just keeps getting better and better.
Except for puberty. I'm about ready to send them both to boarding school until this is all over.

Too Much

2009-04-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

So I was going to take some pics of my tiny little future food plants, but I left my camera on a table at the Sandy Hut last night. Maybe this weekend? When it's sunny? Cool.
So between the nasty cold, Eva's surgery and subsequent recovery, and the usual weekend bakery craziness, I've gotten sweet FA done. Such is life.

How does my garden grow?

2009-04-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well, thank you! We've got peas, strawberries and lettuce in so far, as well as chives, shallots, rosemary, thyme, and potatoes. There are kale, chard, spinach, and brussels sprouts waiting to get planted. It's nasty out today so they're waiting patiently to go in. I'm very excited to start getting food from our little property! With the chickens and the garden, plus my plans to convert lawn/flowerbed/lame ornamental grass plots to more useable food-growing areas, we'll be eating (and preserving) tons of stuff that we've grown ourselves. Makes me feel a little smug, truth be told.
I was so tempted at the nursery today. They had tons and tons of bee-you-tiful fruit trees and bushes and canes and plants- I could have bought all of them, for real. But I have no idea where I would put them all and then what's the point?

I'm back! And better than ever!

2009-04-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

I guess I'll give this blogging thing another try.
I'm planting my garden in the shite weather today. I'm excited to get fresh produce from my yard! I bought a book about producing a great deal of food from a small space and I'm a little obsessed. Mom and I are going to Portland Nursery after work to get chard, kale and brussels sprouts plants for my first round of planting. Whee! Dirt!