byronandkathy2003
Veteran Member
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Misc/Chat Pics of my small suburban homestead & garden (no thumbs)
- Thread starter imaginative
- Start date
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imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
I should have taken a pic of the Swiss Chard...and the eggs...and spinach
(all from a tiny little plot)
(all from a tiny little plot)
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
That's awesome. I'll try to get pictures of my haul tomorrow. hey!
Its these kind of pics that get us garden junkies thru January and February, you know
I'd love to see your harvest
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Off the top of my head Vicki- Im not sure. I've got like 100 + pepper plants.
(Im planning on picking a plethora of peppers!)
(Im planning on picking a plethora of peppers!)
Loon
Inactive
Looks great. We have been getting tons of stuff out of our garden too. Too much. I've been sharing with friends and neighbors. I'm done picking for them though. I tell them if they want something to come pick it themselves. I over planted cherry tomatoes. THere has to be a billion of them and they are oh so sweet. I love the little orange ones. New for me this year are leeks which I love and red cabbage. Makes great sweet and sour cabbage. We also have pumpkins shaped like Cinderella's carriage. We're fighting the deer and raccoons though. One apple tree has died because something got through the steel cage around it and ate the bark in a perfect circle at the bottom. It had apples on it too 
One raccoon (I'm guessing) ate almost all the plums off the plum tree. A deer reached over the steel cage and snapped the leader branch on both my peach trees that were loaded with peaches. We pruned the best we could and doubled the size of the cage around them. Hubby's favorite Honeycrisp apples are getting bites out of them. We're setting traps nightly and executing the raccoons. We will have tons of fruit but I'm learning it is not as easy to grow food as you'd think. There are constant challenges with weather and predators. Thank God for the 8' fence we have around the main veggie garden. We do keep everything sprayed with Liquid Fence. It is a constant battle. Plant way more than you need because there can be some losses for one reason or another. Glad to be learning these lessons now rather than when we might depend more on all this food.
One raccoon (I'm guessing) ate almost all the plums off the plum tree. A deer reached over the steel cage and snapped the leader branch on both my peach trees that were loaded with peaches. We pruned the best we could and doubled the size of the cage around them. Hubby's favorite Honeycrisp apples are getting bites out of them. We're setting traps nightly and executing the raccoons. We will have tons of fruit but I'm learning it is not as easy to grow food as you'd think. There are constant challenges with weather and predators. Thank God for the 8' fence we have around the main veggie garden. We do keep everything sprayed with Liquid Fence. It is a constant battle. Plant way more than you need because there can be some losses for one reason or another. Glad to be learning these lessons now rather than when we might depend more on all this food.
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
I hear ya Loon, this year I've had much more company and now three sons here (2 are mine but I claim the third) and with so much activity going on the animals have been leaving my gardens alone thankfully. I did lose a cherry tree but plan on replacing that before winter bears down on us. This year for me has been really good with a different variety of veggies and fruit then I've had in the past. I have melons everywhere as well as butternut squash. Those plants went absolutely crazy. I have more garlic than I know what to do with. The garlic bed was about 5 by 8 and I've dug less than a quarter of it so far. You'll see what I dug in the picture in the white basket. Still much more out there. I have the same area of potatoes and haven't attempted to dig them yet.
Tomatoes look and taste wonderful and my summer squash this year was the best I've grown. Really tender and meaty. I have lots of peppers coming on and white eggplant and if you've never had the white I highly suggest trying it. It's mellow compared to the purple and makes a great parm casserole.
It looks like your pepper is a good and hot one Imaginative. I only planted cayenne this year for hot but have three kinds of sweet.
For my haul today I have from left to right cherry and roma tomatoes, garlic with seed heads, yellow beans, green beans, summer squash, cantelope, small sugar baby watermelon, 1/2 pint blueberries and a few cukes. That's what I picked anyway and dug up.
I'll add a garden shot too so you can see my mess.
Tomatoes look and taste wonderful and my summer squash this year was the best I've grown. Really tender and meaty. I have lots of peppers coming on and white eggplant and if you've never had the white I highly suggest trying it. It's mellow compared to the purple and makes a great parm casserole.
It looks like your pepper is a good and hot one Imaginative. I only planted cayenne this year for hot but have three kinds of sweet.
For my haul today I have from left to right cherry and roma tomatoes, garlic with seed heads, yellow beans, green beans, summer squash, cantelope, small sugar baby watermelon, 1/2 pint blueberries and a few cukes. That's what I picked anyway and dug up.
I'll add a garden shot too so you can see my mess.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Just beautiful Vicki. Nice haul & your garden looks so healthy. Good vibes for sure
I let the chickens out a bit ago and notice a few ripe tomatos. 62 tomatos later I had to stop....
(If it rains tomorrow I need to can some sauce)
I let the chickens out a bit ago and notice a few ripe tomatos. 62 tomatos later I had to stop....
(If it rains tomorrow I need to can some sauce)
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Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
Thanks Imaginative.
I'm curious as to your sauce method. What do you do when the tomatoes are coming on slowly? Do you start the sauce and just refridgerate it for a few days while adding more or do you can up smaller portions? What spices do you go with? Am I being too noisey? lol
I want chickens!
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Noisey? Nah- I've got some Tom Petty on my headphones and cant really hear anything else. But, as for making sauce- you made me smile. I remember standing in my great-grandmother's kitchen and asking her how she makes her sauce (and I was taking notes) and she is basically saying (in broken English) "a pinch of this" "a little of that" and my analytical mind was getting frustrated; I wanted a formula.
Fast-forward to the present and now, when folks ask how I make my sauce I swear I must be channeling my Great-Grandmother and I say, "a pinch of this" "a little of that". Anyway, I usually make sauce every weekend and can it every other weekend thru the harvest season. I should end up canning about 40 qts every year. I will use the 'hot-pack' method when canning. And I'll only add "a pinch of salt" and "a little garlic and basil" to the sauce.
On the weeks when I'm making sauce for the fridge/just to eat- thats a lot more fun. Heres what I do;
cut tomatoes in 1/2, core and squeeze seeds into a bowl(leave the skin on)
put the 1/2 tomatos into the vitamixer and blend when full
pour the juice into the sauce pot
sausage is cooking in the cast iron skillet
when sauce pot is about half full- add the not-quite finished sausage to pot
then put meatballs into the cast iron skillet and cook(I like to scorch the outside of the meatball)
add meatballs to sauce
continue adding blended tomatos until full
add-basil-garlic- and onion cut in half -salt -parsley -oregano -maybe a 1/2 cayenne pepper-maybe a red pepper
I'll drop a few potatos into the sauce if there is room in the pot sometimes even some uncooked ears of corn
dump the seeds & cores in the coop for the chickens
The entire process takes less than 1 1/2 hrs (and that includes a through kitchen cleaning)
Then just simmer all day and drive the neighbors crazy
Bonus points if all your ingredients come from the backyard
During the winter months- I'll take the sauce out of the bsmt & do the same - more or less- method of preparation as I just listed.
You should get chickens. And a rooster too. Now that your sons are home, spend some time at
www.backyardchickens.com and design a coop for them to build.
Definitely go for it Vicki.
Fast-forward to the present and now, when folks ask how I make my sauce I swear I must be channeling my Great-Grandmother and I say, "a pinch of this" "a little of that". Anyway, I usually make sauce every weekend and can it every other weekend thru the harvest season. I should end up canning about 40 qts every year. I will use the 'hot-pack' method when canning. And I'll only add "a pinch of salt" and "a little garlic and basil" to the sauce.
On the weeks when I'm making sauce for the fridge/just to eat- thats a lot more fun. Heres what I do;
cut tomatoes in 1/2, core and squeeze seeds into a bowl(leave the skin on)
put the 1/2 tomatos into the vitamixer and blend when full
pour the juice into the sauce pot
sausage is cooking in the cast iron skillet
when sauce pot is about half full- add the not-quite finished sausage to pot
then put meatballs into the cast iron skillet and cook(I like to scorch the outside of the meatball)
add meatballs to sauce
continue adding blended tomatos until full
add-basil-garlic- and onion cut in half -salt -parsley -oregano -maybe a 1/2 cayenne pepper-maybe a red pepper
I'll drop a few potatos into the sauce if there is room in the pot sometimes even some uncooked ears of corn
dump the seeds & cores in the coop for the chickens
The entire process takes less than 1 1/2 hrs (and that includes a through kitchen cleaning)
Then just simmer all day and drive the neighbors crazy
Bonus points if all your ingredients come from the backyard
During the winter months- I'll take the sauce out of the bsmt & do the same - more or less- method of preparation as I just listed.
You should get chickens. And a rooster too. Now that your sons are home, spend some time at
www.backyardchickens.com and design a coop for them to build.
Definitely go for it Vicki.
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
Ok Imaginative, you've inspired me again. I'm calling the village clerk today and see if there's a problem with me having chickens.
The sauce sounds wonderful and boy, squeezing the seeds out like that sounds way easier than the way I do it. I was taught to use a sieve and swirl away till all the sauce is run through. That takes quite a bit of time and certainly makes a mess of things. I'm going to try it your way for my next batch.
Funny I told you I have three sons here now and the one I didn't birth is a vet and an avid hunter. He got a nice doe off my back woods last year and I know there are at least 6 or 8 more out there with probably more this year for sure. Being on the village edge like i am, no one dares hunt and I now have my land posted so they are just breeding out there.
Looks like when I run out of money to feed these guys, we'll still get venison.
Thanks for your post Imaginative and blessings to you!
Vicki
The sauce sounds wonderful and boy, squeezing the seeds out like that sounds way easier than the way I do it. I was taught to use a sieve and swirl away till all the sauce is run through. That takes quite a bit of time and certainly makes a mess of things. I'm going to try it your way for my next batch.
Funny I told you I have three sons here now and the one I didn't birth is a vet and an avid hunter. He got a nice doe off my back woods last year and I know there are at least 6 or 8 more out there with probably more this year for sure. Being on the village edge like i am, no one dares hunt and I now have my land posted so they are just breeding out there.
Looks like when I run out of money to feed these guys, we'll still get venison.
Thanks for your post Imaginative and blessings to you!
Vicki
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
You should of seen the tomato haul I had today... yehaw!!! lol Got some of those big Mariglobes today along with tons of Roma. That made me happy. Oh, I also had honeydew, cantelope, watermelon and blueberries so I made a salad. Even took a picture of it but atlas my camara is in the other room and I'm too lazy to get up to get it right now.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Smile
With this early Autumn chill in the air- it seems all the tomatoes are hurrying up their ripening. By tomorrow I ought to have enough to can up another case.
Are you a chestnut gatherer too, Vicki? The trees really seem loaded this year.
With this early Autumn chill in the air- it seems all the tomatoes are hurrying up their ripening. By tomorrow I ought to have enough to can up another case.
Are you a chestnut gatherer too, Vicki? The trees really seem loaded this year.
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
I have no nuts Imaginative. lol
I do have walnut trees but they aren't producing fruit yet. A couple more years maybe. They are less than 20 feet tall or probably 8 to 10 years old now. I was promised some chestnut saplings this fall. Maybe I should give my source a poke and remind them eh!
Shooting Star
Veteran Member
Imaginative, I just wanted to say that I love your homestead - It is beautiful - thanks for sharing.
Loon
Inactive
I have 4 hazlenut trees that are about 2 feet tall. I wonder how many years before they start producing nuts?
We have some oaks in the woods so I'm guessing there may be some acorns out there. I don't know. I haven't really looked. THey're huge.
I'm making some sweet and sour cabbage today with some red cabbage out of the garden. It was my first year to grow the red cabbage. It is really good. Need to dig the leeks out too. First year growing them. I find I really like them.
Peachs are in as are the plums. Trees loaded. Pears are still a bit hard. Grapes not ready yet. We're eating apples now. The Honeycrisp are SO GOOD. Last evening when hubby went to bait the trap with a northern pike fish he got out of our pond, he saw 14 deer walking around our trees in the orchard. Dang deer.
We have some oaks in the woods so I'm guessing there may be some acorns out there. I don't know. I haven't really looked. THey're huge.
I'm making some sweet and sour cabbage today with some red cabbage out of the garden. It was my first year to grow the red cabbage. It is really good. Need to dig the leeks out too. First year growing them. I find I really like them.
Peachs are in as are the plums. Trees loaded. Pears are still a bit hard. Grapes not ready yet. We're eating apples now. The Honeycrisp are SO GOOD. Last evening when hubby went to bait the trap with a northern pike fish he got out of our pond, he saw 14 deer walking around our trees in the orchard.
Dang deer.
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
I have 4 hazlenut trees that are about 2 feet tall. I wonder how many years before they start producing nuts?
We have some oaks in the woods so I'm guessing there may be some acorns out there. I don't know. I haven't really looked. THey're huge.
I'm making some sweet and sour cabbage today with some red cabbage out of the garden. It was my first year to grow the red cabbage. It is really good. Need to dig the leeks out too. First year growing them. I find I really like them.
Peachs are in as are the plums. Trees loaded. Pears are still a bit hard. Grapes not ready yet. We're eating apples now. The Honeycrisp are SO GOOD. Last evening when hubby went to bait the trap with a northern pike fish he got out of our pond, he saw 14 deer walking around our trees in the orchard.
Loon, I've never planted leeks but somebody did at least 30 years ago and they grow all over my west side yard. They grow up in tuffs out of the grass and they grow closer to the house. I think they just spread like crazy much like chives. I find if I plant them with the wind direction in mind and leave room where the wind blows, I get an awesome bed.
The cabbage sounds wonderful! I usually plant cabbage but didn't this year for some reason. Probably ran out of room!
My grapes aren't ready yet either but I'm going to have a crop and this is from vines I planted two years ago now. Love to hear you have a pond and Northern Pike even, wow, good for you and hubby! Mine is full of perch and bluegill. Hopefully there's still perch in there. I should go fishing and check! Great idea!!
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
Ok, hope Imaginative doesn't mind but I took some pictures of today's haul from the garden. I also will post a similar picture of one of my bean beds before and after. The first shot was on 7-10-11 and the second today, 8-30-11. What a difference 7 weeks made and you can see the green beans in the basket of todays haul. I had the same amount of beans yesterday in that same basket but they were the yellow ones. They ALL got eaten too! lol
Ok today's haul first with "Monkey" sneaking into the picture. Then the beans.
I also will post a similar picture of one of my bean beds before and after. The first shot was on 7-10-11 and the second today, 8-30-11. What a difference 7 weeks made and you can see the green beans in the basket of todays haul. I had the same amount of beans yesterday in that same basket but they were the yellow ones. They ALL got eaten too! lol Ok today's haul first with "Monkey" sneaking into the picture.
Then the beans.
Loon
Inactive
Hey Vicki, is that a little bichon? I have two of them. Love them to death. Nice haul. I always forget to take pictures. We got two bushels of tomatoes out today. I gave up picking the cherries. Just enough for us to eat and let anyone else who comes by pick the rest.
We don't want the pike in our pond. They are tresspassing! We live down the road from the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. The pike come in from the lake via the ditch by the road. In the spring, our pond overflows and the buggars swim into our pond. I'm sure they're eating my perch and God knows what else. I had the pond stocked with 6,000 fish about 4 or 5 years ago. I have no clue what's in there now. We do have perch and bass I know but not sure how many of the pike are there. We're trying to fish the pike out. I doubt we'll ever get them all but they are so big it's fun to fish for them. They put up a good fight.
Well I'm ready for bed. Keep the pictures coming.
Brenda
We don't want the pike in our pond. They are tresspassing! We live down the road from the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. The pike come in from the lake via the ditch by the road. In the spring, our pond overflows and the buggars swim into our pond. I'm sure they're eating my perch and God knows what else. I had the pond stocked with 6,000 fish about 4 or 5 years ago. I have no clue what's in there now. We do have perch and bass I know but not sure how many of the pike are there. We're trying to fish the pike out. I doubt we'll ever get them all but they are so big it's fun to fish for them. They put up a good fight.
Well I'm ready for bed. Keep the pictures coming.
Brenda
Vicki
Girls With Guns Member
Hey Vicki, is that a little bichon? I have two of them. Love them to death. Nice haul. I always forget to take pictures. We got two bushels of tomatoes out today. I gave up picking the cherries. Just enough for us to eat and let anyone else who comes by pick the rest.
We don't want the pike in our pond. They are tresspassing! We live down the road from the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. The pike come in from the lake via the ditch by the road. In the spring, our pond overflows and the buggars swim into our pond. I'm sure they're eating my perch and God knows what else. I had the pond stocked with 6,000 fish about 4 or 5 years ago. I have no clue what's in there now. We do have perch and bass I know but not sure how many of the pike are there. We're trying to fish the pike out. I doubt we'll ever get them all but they are so big it's fun to fish for them. They put up a good fight.
Well I'm ready for bed. Keep the pictures coming.
Brenda
He is a Bichon Loon. You have two? I'm jealous!! I love him so much. He is a toy and I rescued him 2 years ago this month. He is my best friend. A wonderful companion!
I'll try to get more pictures down the road and keep this thread even more alive. Gardening is a passion.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Thanks!
Ok, hope Imaginative doesn't mind but I took some pictures of today's haul from the garden.
Great pics Vicki. And of course I dont mind- especially since you posted pics of Monkey!
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
The garden is winding down (in tandem with Western civilization it seems) for the year. The beans have been the biggest producers of the year- just relentless. Had a nice early AM haul of chestnuts- the trees where I gather these are just loaded this year. The pepper plants are just starting to really produce- tomatos are about finished- grapes are done- zucchinis are down to 2 plants- brussel sprouts look decent- quince are bountiful but hard as a rock still- and the tomatillos are quite abundant.
Here is todays haul...
(not bad for a tiny property)
Here is todays haul...
(not bad for a tiny property)
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Loon
Inactive
Looks great! It's a busy time for us too. We're cleaning out the garden. We let the chickens in there yesterday to feast on all the cherry tomatoes that hit the ground and other stuff. Today I'm trying to learn how to make plum jam from the plums off our tree. My hands are tired of peeling plums. Next will be the grapes. Thinking of dehydrating those and some apples.
Next will be the grapes. Thinking of dehydrating those and some apples.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Thanks for the bump. Yeah, it is nice to scroll thru the green pics- right now everything is blanketed in white.
But soon... we will be back at it...
But soon... we will be back at it...
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
"But soon... we will be back at it... "
Aaand another spin around the calendar. I've employed the 'Back-to-Eden' method of Paul Gautchi and I put the tree grindings down on my beds on Dec 30. All my Swiss chard and spinach survived the Winter. I had to post a pic of this one monster gnarly Swiss chard plant- its about 46" tall with a 1 1/2 diameter stem- just a monster. (The rest of the garden looks real promising also)...
Aaand another spin around the calendar. I've employed the 'Back-to-Eden' method of Paul Gautchi and I put the tree grindings down on my beds on Dec 30. All my Swiss chard and spinach survived the Winter. I had to post a pic of this one monster gnarly Swiss chard plant- its about 46" tall with a 1 1/2 diameter stem- just a monster. (The rest of the garden looks real promising also)...
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imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Another year and the garden is just exploding.
I'll have to get my camera out and chronicle the growth and all the changes to the garden. Hopefully everyone's garden is doing well
I'll have to get my camera out and chronicle the growth and all the changes to the garden. Hopefully everyone's garden is doing well
Night Owl
Veteran Member
Lovely home, looks perfect, lots of love in the caring for that home.
The picture of your back porch gazebo ....I flashed back to a friend's home with that same gazebo where we spend our summer for years on weekends playing Mexican Train with Dominos with lots of friends. They passed always, but good memories. hope you are making many memories in that beautiful home.
The picture of your back porch gazebo ....I flashed back to a friend's home with that same gazebo where we spend our summer for years on weekends playing Mexican Train with Dominos with lots of friends. They passed always, but good memories. hope you are making many memories in that beautiful home.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
July is dressed up and ready to go
Apples, Paw-Paws, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Potatoes, Chard, Arugula, a multitude of peppers, beans, Quince, Grapes, lettuces, Mustard Greens, Kale, Kohlrabi, Rapini, herbs, flowers, Beets, Anise Hyssop, cucumbers and a bunch of stuff that Im not remembering.
Anyway, this is a new camera- it these pic post- I will post more
Apples, Paw-Paws, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Potatoes, Chard, Arugula, a multitude of peppers, beans, Quince, Grapes, lettuces, Mustard Greens, Kale, Kohlrabi, Rapini, herbs, flowers, Beets, Anise Hyssop, cucumbers and a bunch of stuff that Im not remembering.
Anyway, this is a new camera- it these pic post- I will post more
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imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Thanks & thanks...finally getting the hang of posting with this phone. In the last set of pics you can see a newer creation of mine; I call it the bean tunnel. I will make 2 rows of concrete blocks and fill them with good compost and then arch a fence or cattle panel between the 2 rows. I will plant pole beans and cucumbers in the dirt in the blocks -It takes about 10 weeks for the panels to be completely covered in bean leaves/ The beans will then hang down and you can walk thru the tunnel and easily pick the hanging down beans. It is always a hit with my garden admirers.
A few more
A few more
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Wow, imaginative! That looks awesome!!!! It also makes me ashamed that we haven't done more with the land we have. Love the idea of the arch for beans!
Loon
Inactive
Love the photos imaginative. Thanks for bumping up this old thread. Brings back memories. We still put in a large garden but our diet has changed and we no longer eat fruit or plants. We just give it all away. Some goes to our chickens and ducks. Yesterday we drove our RTV around and gave away cabbage, yellow squash and zucchini to quite a few neighbors. Some we know and some we don't. Made some new friends. We have over 50+ fruit trees. We'll give that all away too and use some for deer bait come hunting season. We just like to grow stuff whether we eat it or not.
We just give it all away. Some goes to our chickens and ducks. Yesterday we drove our RTV around and gave away cabbage, yellow squash and zucchini to quite a few neighbors. Some we know and some we don't. Made some new friends. We have over 50+ fruit trees. We'll give that all away too and use some for deer bait come hunting season. We just like to grow stuff whether we eat it or not. 
