Saturday, June 28, 2008

Little Bits of Lots of Things

Today, I pulled one of my garlic up to check on it. I think they are ready to harvest. We had a really nice size bulb on the end. I should have put something in the picture to show you how big it is. The stem was really thick.
Here is another couple of pictures of my little banty silky chicks. I love their markings.


We have been getting lots of small rains. We did have a pretty nice rain the other night. This is what it does to the garden where we don't have mulch yet. Can you see the rows of corn in the back? Beans and beets are in the front. We have already been out there trying to remedy the situation and got stopped by another little rain shower. We are VERY grateful for the rain as we were in a drought last year at this time.

Here is one of the pepper plants. Something was eating them before we planted them. I hope they survive.

The same thing with our cabbage. I have seen a lot of those little white butterflies out there. They are very hard to catch.

Here are my pole beans coming up by the trellis my sweet Michael put up for me.

Here is my zucchini. The leaves do this every year. Is this a fungus or do zucchini leaves always get the white stuff like this? Does anyone know?

I scattered all sorts of lettuce seeds under another trellis. They are starting to come up. At this point it is hard to tell what is weeds and what is lettuce other than the really light green stuff.

Can you believe it? This is Pepper. Her colors are really changing.

I am not sure which of my little black lambs this is, but wow... do you see all the light color under the black?

Here is Charity with Knit or Purl. I love these little lambs faces.

This rooster is HUGE. He surprises me sometimes when I see him from the house. I wonder if there is a dog back by the chickens. He saw me coming and headed for the chicken jungle. I showed you the chicken yard in a video here. It was mostly bare then. This picture and the next picture shows you what a nice shady area they have.


This is one of the peach trees in the chicken yard area. They are covered in peaches.

This is a picture of a wild cherry in that area. Most of them are already gone. I guess the birds eat them green.

We went to get feed today from an organic farmer. I love how the heads on this grain is bowing down. You may have to click on the next 2 pictures to see the detail. The second picture is of grain right next to this first grain. I am not sure what either one is. I know he has grown wheat, oats and other crops.


Here is a field of grain turning golden for the harvest.

I hope you enjoyed the picture tour. Let me know if you have answers to my zucchini question above.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Your zucchini leaves are just showing their natural colors. It is variegated. The mildew that forms later looks different. You will be able to tell the difference, if you get it. I don't think all varieties of zucchini are variegated, but that one is. So was mine, last year. I don't know what I will get this year.

TnFullQuiver said...

Marci,
Our zucchini does the same thing..and I too have wondered the same thing. I don't think it is something bad because our squash plants never have the same issue and they are planted in the same bed.

I have a question about the dehydrator that you sell. Can you make fruit leather in it? If yes, do you have to buy extra pieces in order to accomplish this task. Thanks!
grace and peace,
julie

Marci said...

Thanks Ladies!!! I sent Julie an email, but in case anyone else wonders I will post the answer here as well...

Here is what is included when you buy the dehydrator: 8 drying trays, plus Nesco's dehydrating guide, plus 8 stick-resistant poly mesh screens, plus 8 fruit leather/jerky sheets. Shipping would be $10.

Theresa said...

Thanks for the fun tour of your farm! I enjoy it so much. We are stuck in the house this week as the air quality is in the top of the unhealthy range due to 800 wildfires burning. It's playing havoc with my asthma! I hate it! I can't wait until we go home next month and can breathe fresh air! Do you spin from your sheep wool or are they meat sheep?

The Sisters said...

Hi Marci,
We enjoyed all of your pictures!
We were just wondering..Do you have any trouble with Japanese beetles? We have them pretty bad here. We have to keep an eye on our flowers.
~Hope you have a great Sunday!

Unknown said...

The garlic looks really good. You are Blessed with lovely animals and beautiful scenes.
Blessings.Lisa

Anonymous said...

Marci,

That looks like powdery mildew to me. Google it for pics.

Marci said...

Amy, that is what I thought it was as well. I did find this and I believe I am going to try it. I have also heard spraying them with milk weekly can help. We always have tons of extra milk.

Organic Sprays

Sulfur is highly effective against powdery mildew if used in a protectant program with a minimum of 7 to 14 days between applications. Garlic naturally contains high levels of sulphur and a few cloves crushed in water can be used to make a homemade spray. Apply a sulfur-based fungicide at first evidence of mildew and repeat applications as necessary. Proper timing of fungicide applications is critical to successful control so make sure to begin at the first sign of the disease.

However, sulfur can be damaging to some squash and melon varieties. Another option is to spray once a week with a solution of baking soda. Baking soda increases the surface pH of the leaf making it unsuitable for the growth of powdery mildew spores. Be sure to spray the undersides of leaves as well as the upper surfaces when using any of these sprays.

Here's a recipe to make your own spray:

* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 quart water
* a few drops of liquid soap