Our garden is really growing great!

I LOVE the part of the growing where everything seems to double in size every week, it is just give me such a sense of progress and forward movement.

I can’t get too comfortable though because before I know it I will have more harvest then I know what to do with!

Here are some highlights:

Broccoli

Ok, I swear I planted broccoli seeds in this one pot at the beginning of the season and it started rapidly growing. 

But, It didn’t look like broccoli.

Was it really broccoli?

 If not, what the heck was it?

I had no idea so I took a picture and posted it on the Mother Earth News Facebook Gardening Group and ask for help identifying it.

This Facebook Group is a great resource for plant identification, there are so many experts in that group and they are all so helpful and excited to practice their plant identification skills! If you ever need help, go there.

SO what was it?

It was a highly invasive weed called Pigweed, or Amaranthe.  I was advised that the leaves are edible and highly nutricious but whatever I do, do not let that plant go to seed!

I was told it will take over everything if I let it go to seed.  I decided to just pull it out and dump it in my weed pile in the woods.  I kind of regret not tasting it tough! Maybe next time.

Cucumber

They are coming!

So cute, they look like little pickles!

Zucchini

Every year we have had to battle blossom end rot with our zucchini plants.

I thought this year may have been different since we planted them in pots instead of in the ground.

Unfortunately, I noticed this week that we were having that same issue.  After some research, I found out that this is due to a calcium deficiency.  Several sources suggested adding eggshells as a natural remedy.

Why not try it?!  I ground up some eggshells and threw it in the soil, I will let you know if it helps at all!

Lemon Balm

My poor lemon balm hasn’t been doing too great, which is weird because it is suppossed to be a really easy herb to grow!

The leaves started turning a red/brown, they aren’t dying but they are changing colors.

MY first thought was that they were getting way too much hot sun and so I moved it to a shadier spot.  We will see.. I will let you know if there is any improvement.

Next Steps

We should be getting some great vegetables soon!

Also, our June berries should come in any day now!

They are such a treat!

Do you feel like you are behind with your garden this year?  If so, you are certainly not alone, this is a feeling I have been struggling with lately.

I can’t help but feel like I am already behind and our plants are just getting started.

I feel like this is pretty common feeling this time of year, regardless of whether you started your garden from seed or from transplant, there is also a lot of energy needed in the very beginning of the season.

Cleaning your garden up from the winter, preparing your soil and beds, and planting your plants or seeds, many of these tasks are required to be done early in the season.

Once they is done, it is sort of a waiting game with much less effort until the plants start producing.

Watering and monitoring progress only take so much energy each week. The extra free time tends to give me the feeling that I am slacking in my garden responsibilities.

If you are experiencing this period of down time, relax! We should enjoy the quiet time right now, because the work will pick up again soon. ​

Here are a few of our failures and successes this week:

Success #1: Beans

Our beans and peas are starting to sprout, hopefully I can keep them alive, fingers crossed.

Failure #1: Tomatoes

Since the cats ate our tomatoes seedlings back in April, I had to direct sow our tomatoes plants in our raised beds.  Unfortunately, they all died.

Luckily, we had one last option to ensure that we can have a harvest of some sort.  That option is to purchase and plant transplants.  I bought the following transplants from a local store:

2 Roma Tomato plants

2 Bonnie Original

1 Heatmaster

1 Sweet Million Cherry Tomato

1 Strawberry (I couldn’t resist, I always end up with one plant that I did not plan on purchasing.

While it is not my first choice to use transplants, I figure I will try my hand at starting from seed but in the worst case scenario, I can always purchase and plant transplants.  At least our raised beds look really pretty now:

Success #2: Mystery plant identified!

Every year we have this mystery plant that pops up and everyyear, I pull it out.  This was always done with extreme care because I was sure that it was poison.

This year, I took a picture of it and posted it on the Mother Earth News Gardening group asking for help identifying it. It caused quite the debate over whether it was a fig tree, or a sassafras tree.

Either of those, would be really cool to have! After many comments and suggestions to tasteand smell it, I am 95% sure it is a fig tree!  How awesome is that?!

Unfortunately it is in the worst spot possible, so I am going to try to figure out how to move it.  I really hope I do not kill it.

Failure #2: Some seeds from last year are not growing

I tried to reuse some of my seeds from last year for our summer squash and broccoli. Neither of them are growing, so I grabbed some transplants and planted those, I figure, I might as well fill those pots with something growing.

Next Steps

Build a fence, these plants will start growing and I need to keep out the rabbits and deer.

Every winter, around February, I get super exited for the spring season. This year was no different, in fact, that excitement was amplified due to the prospect of officially starting our homestead.  A couple of months ago, I posted this list of goals and dreams.

• Fence in a play area for the kids.
• Build a chicken coup and run.
• Purchase chicks and raise them.
• Combine two vegetable gardens and fence it in.
• Plant trees for a privacy wall in front of the house.
• Tear out our juniper hill and start plans for herb/tea garden.
• Learn to bake bread.
• Organize our recipe library.

Looking at this list that I put together just a few months ago conjures all kinds of negative feelings.

What the heck was I thinking?!

Achieving these goals meant that quite a bit of heavy work be completed in March and April.  I meant well, I was excited, motivated, and felt like I could accomplish everything and anything regardless of our time constraints.

Fence in Play Area for Kids

So this is a very important project for us, but we have not done it yet.  It is kind of a catch-22, we need it to do other projects more easily, but this project requires a lot  of work and some expense that we haven’t had. 

With limited time, it was more important that we scramble to get our garden planted within a reasonable time.

I am hoping that this can be accomplished by the end of the summer and hope that by having it, next year’s projects will be that much easier.

Chickens!

Ha! This one makes me laugh because I sure did have some high hopes for getting some chicks this spring and raising them.

We narrowed down a space that you see in the picture below.

We think that this area will be perfect for a chicken coop and run.  It is far enough away from the house, as well as the neighbors that the noise shouldn’t be an issue.  However, it is close enough that we will  be able to see and observe the chickens every time we go to our car.

The issue this is that right now with this area is that it is currently overgrown with wineberries and will need need to be cleared in order to put in a chicken run.

They are a horribly invasive, but truly delicious, plant that produces raspberry like fruit every June. We love having them on our property but controling the spread of them is really challenging.  I am sure I will write more about them when they start producing.

We should have cleared it out in March before they started growing but we just did not get around to it.  Now this project will probably have to wait until later in the summer.

My goal is to have it cleared and a chicken coop and run built by the end of this year so that we can actually get chickens next spring.

Vegetable Gardens

We FINALLY put our vegetable garden in about a week ago. FINALLY! We had some setbacks. We started our tomatoes and peppers from seed on 3/13/12019.   We kept them at my mother’s house since she has more counter space that we do in our kitchen. They were growing really nicely until the tomatoes stopped growing.  After they sprouted and the plants were about 3 in tall, they just kind of stopped. They never died or anything, just stopped growing. The peppers were another story. They were growing really nicely until one of my mom’s cats ate them all.  SO DISAPPOINTING! The seeds that we used were gifted to us from Burpee.  They sent us a collection of free seed packets when we became affiliates with their company.  I was so excited because they included the ^4th of July tomatoes which I just love and have only been able to find through Burpee.

Here are the plants that we started from seed on 3/13/2019:

Pepper, Sweet, Costa Rican Sweet Hybrid 1 Pkt. (40 seeds)

Once we got these seeds started, we had several decisions about the garden we had to make.

We debated for several months how we were going to handle the garden this year.

Were we going to move the garden to the area where we really want it, even though that area is not prepped yet?

Are we going to keep it where it is, but fence it in?

Are we going to till the ground or are we going to try some raised beds this year?

We actually decided not to move our garden this year. It would just be too much work to have it ready in time.  In March and April, we are still battling rainy/cold weather and it is really hard to get a head start on projects.

We plan to prep the area (take down two trees, remove gravel and pavers, and fence in the new area so that we can use that next year.

We are using pots and made 3 raised beds this year.  We decided not to till the ground and to raised beds because I really wanted to test out the benefits.

This year we have this set up:

3 Raised Beds, 12 Pots, 2 window sill pots.

Raised Bed #3:

Hot Pepper – Jalepeno Gigante

2 rows of Carrots

2 rows of Buttercrunch Lettuce

12 Pots and 2 window sill pots with herbs

• Broccoli
• Summer Squash
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Sweet peppers
• Bush Peas
• Basil
• Lavender
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Parsley
• Lemon Balm
• Mint

Fingers crossed…

Natural Privacy Borders

Our front yard is relatively dangerous because we sort of sit up on a hill and there are portions of our yard that drop off to a road in front of our house. Right now there is a fence bordering with honeysuckle and other vine plants.  This fence covers about 80% of the opening to the road.

While this helps a lot!  Toddlers, if loose, are sure to run right to the area without a fence.  For this reason, it is extremely important for us to address this area.

Unfortunately, after much research, it became clear that this project would be expensive and time consuming.

We would need to have some sort of fence already in place when planting the trees because it would take several years at a minimum for the trees/bushes to grow and form a natural privacy border.

This requires more research and planning before taking action.

Remove Juniper Bushes and make way for Herb/Tea Garden

We have not started this project yet.  Since we were focusing on planting our vegetable garden, I had planned for this project to be started later in the summer.

I have planted some herbs in pots that I would love for our tea garden.

They are:

• Mint
• Lemon Balm
• Lavender
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Dill
• Oregano
• Parsley

I am sure I will plant more herbs. I am a sucker for buying herb plants!

I did start taking more care in pruning our juniper bushes.  I wrote an article for Mother Earth News about how to properly maintain and care for Juniper.  Check it out here: Landscaping with Juniper: Maintain and Prune this Hearty Conifer.

Learning to Bake Bread

I have been having a lot of fun with the bread making.  I have made this REALLY simple white bread recipe several times now and it has turned out so good.

I love that it makes two loaves! I usually make one and have it with dinner. Then I use that other one for french toast the next day.

I can never find bread thick enough to use for french toast so this is always perfect.

If you have any bread recipes that you love, please comment with them, I am looking for difference recipes to try.

Organizing My Recipe Collection

I have not completed this project yet.  I will probably hold this project for a rainy day or for later in the winter after the garden is over.  More on this later.

Do you have a system for organizing all of your recipes for meal planning? Leave a message, I would love to hear about your brilliant methods!

Hello! We are so excited to start our first official year of serious homesteading on what we are reffering to as, “The Leaf Homestead”.  It is actually quite weird to say and think about but I just keep calling it that and hope that eventually it won’t sound so strange anymore!

While we have done gardens in past years, this year we have several rather big projects we are hoping to accomplish.  I am writing them down here and sharing them so we will be held accountable for meeting those goals!

I am also hoping that being witness to our many struggles, challenges, and successes along the way will encourage and inspire you and your family to pursue a homesteading lifestyle also!

If we can do it so can you, we may be wingin’ it most of the way but in the end we are living a life that we love and will benefit our family greatly.

Fence in Play Area for Kids

The very first task we need to accomplish this year if we have any hope of successfully meeting our goals is to create a fenced-in play area for the kids.

Right now our property is pretty dangerous and we really do not have anywhere for the boys to safely play without us needing to be two steps from them.

Our property is made up of 45% wooded area, 25% blacktop, and 25% weird small tiered areas.

Basically, if the kid runs off they could fall off a ledge into the road or down a hill, it is just very dangerous and honestly, it is very stressful to have them outside.

All of this can easily be fixed by creating a fenced in area that will be their primary play spot.

Chickens!

I am so excited and kind of terrified to take on chickens this year.  I know that once we have the chicken coop and run constructed it will be done and then it will just require some maitenance every year.  That is veryencouraging.

Right now we are in the planning phases of this chicken business thing.

There are many things to consider so while there is still snow on the ground, we will be finishing up our chicken plans.  I hope to start working on it in March.

Several decisions we will be making:

• Location
• Coop and Run Design
• Types of Chickens

Location

When I first decided we should start raising chickens, Brian thought I was insane and was not really on board.   I am not sure he is completely on board yet but he is at least humoring me and we are moving forward.

The one compromise that we had to come to (I am sure there will be hundreds more) was the location.

The spot I initially thought was perfect is actually too close to the house.  We finally decided on a spot that would be far enough away from the house, but close enough that I could get to it easily, and this location will actually require less work to prepare for construction.

Chicken Coop and Run Plans

We are debating whether it is truly cheaper to build your own coop or if purchasing a coop would be worth the headache.

Brian is crunching numbers on the prices for fencing, lumber, paint, hardware, etc. There are so many companies that sell preassembled kits or require very little assembly.  While building one is not the problem, the amount of time and cost would determine which route we go. Chicken coops are so cute by the way!  I will share pictures of the process!

Types of Chickens

Since we virtually know nothing about chickens, I have been doing a lot of research on the topic so far this winter.  I have read articles, watched many videos, and have talked to several people I know who own chickens.  My biggest questions have been about what type of chickens should I get.

What I have gathered so far is that you have to have a good idea why you want to have chickens.  Some are great layers, some are good for meat, others are great around children and small enough for them to hold.

Our primary goal for our chickens is for eggs.  I also would like ones that are easy to care for and have a good temperament for children.

Vegetable Gardens

Last year we had two small gardens, one on each side of the house.  I know I have said before that last year was a disaster and it was mainly because of the deer.  Boy, once they found the garden, they were relentless.

This year we need to prevent the deer.  I really think that the only way to do so is to fence in the entire garden.  It might be a pain but it has several benefits.

1. It will keep deer, rabbits, and other animals out.
2. It will keep my children in when they are outside with me in the garden.

This really is a must have this year.  However, fencing in two small gardens is not a realistic plan. Talk about an eyesore.

Therefore, Brian and I have been discussing where to relocate the garden so that we only have one large garden we will need to fence in.

More on that to come.

Garden Planning

Garden planning is in full swing!  I am determined to have a more successful garden than last year.  I do feel like we are kind of starting over from scratch because we are completely changing locations.

We are still working on finalizing the particulars of location and timing.  I will post again when that is finalized.

Natural Privacy Borders

As I mentioned above, there are certain areas of our property that are pretty dangerous. Our front yard is one of those areas, and it really should be addressed this year.  I would love to plant some evergreens along the front of our yard.

I need to do some more research into what type of trees or bushes would be best.  I would be looking for something that grows quickly and provides thick coverage.  I also want something that doesn’t require any pruning or maintenance.  I am not sure if such a tree or bush exists but I will let you know when I find out.

Remove Juniper Bushes and make way for Herb/Tea Garden

This is a large project that will probably take us the entire summer to complete but in order to save my sanity, it is a must do this summer.

Right outside of our back door is a hill that comes down and meets our small back patio.  It has always been covered with juniper bushes and they have always been a pain in the ass.  I hate them.

They are mainly there as a retainment for all of the soil that is in that area.  It prevents the soil from washing out and flooding down to our back door.  I understand why it is there but it needs to go.

For one, it is starting to die anyway and it is largely brown in color, instead of the nice green color that juniper usually is, so it is not attractive.

For two, it is a snake den and weeding it out is scary. It attracts snakes because it provides such good coverage for them, but it is right outside our back door.  Over the last couple of years, I have seen 3 or 4 large black snakes in the juniper while trying to weed it.  It needs to be weeded frequently and I hate doing it.  So it doesn’t get done and then the overgrowth eyesore it is the first thing we see when we go outside. It is depressing.  No thank you, not anymore.

I would have ripped it out years ago but we need to have a plan for something else to do with the area. I would love to plant an herb/tea garden there, it really is the perfect spot.

Learning to Bake Bread

While I am hoping to spend the majority of our lives this spring and summer playing and working outside, there are some kitchen skills that I am hoping to develop this year.

This past year I was really started to focus on my cooking skills.  Instead of just throwing diner together, I really tried to learn some new techniques, use some tools that I have never used, and tried to expand our recipe collection.  It has been a lot of fun and I plan to continue that this next year.

My main focus this year is learning to bake bread!  I am hoping to try a few recipes each month and by the end of the year, hopefully, I will have a number of awesome bread recipes that I can make regularly.

I already tried this recipe from Lil Luna for white bread and it turned out awesome!  I made it alongside some chicken noodle soup and had it with some sandwiches.  I then used it the next morning to make some AWESOME french toast!  I could see making this each week as a substitute for store bought bread.

Organizing my Recipe Collection

I try really hard to meal plan, I really do and I usually do a really good job for 3-4 days at the beginning of the week.  However midweek I usually realize that I didn’t plan enough meals to get us to grocery shopping day and we have to make some meals out of the freezer and pantry.

Luckily we keep things on hand so that we can easily do this but being a little more organized would really help.

One of the main issues is that we have recipes that we make pretty regularly but we also have a lot of recipes that we use and then forget about.  I would love to have this more organized so that meal planning is easier.  When I plan our meals I am usually looking to make a different kind of meat each night so if I organize the recipes in that way, it could really be helpful.

This is something that in reality should not take me too long to accomplish but for some reason, I haven’t done it yet. Adding it to this list will keep me accountable this year.  Hopefully, it will save me a lot of headaches.

Do you have a system for organizing all of your recipes for meal planning? Leave a message, I would love to hear about your brilliant methods!