Company and Gardening

We have visitors .. my parents .. so in between being a good hostess .. and letting them fend for themselves quite a bit .. the garden is flourishing. 

Our Montmormency (sour) cherries are ready to pick. 

This past spring I made a homemade dormant oil spray (water, vinegar, coconut oil soap, tea tree oil) and applied it to our fruit trees; we have not had any insect pests on the apples or cherries .. A scarecrow, fake owl and bird netting over the tree have helped GREATLY keeping the birds from having breakfast, lunch and dinner.


We're harvesting lettuce, Asian peas, bok choy, onions, black currents, cherries and herbs galore.

With the heat last weak, I decided to try my hand at outdoor Dutch oven (D.O.) cooking.

 The Mr. has set up an outdoor cooking area complete with propane burners and a place to cook in the D.O.

 

Summer is in full swing with home projects (garden gates),

 

mini trips and family get-togethers.

 

 

How does your garden grow?

Time In The Garden

Weather wise ... yesterday and today have been perfect.  Potatoes and onion sets were planted.  The last of my veggie garden was double dug and tilled.  This is a fairly new garden.  Last year I planted lasagna style (layered).  With all of the composted manure hubby hauled in it was time to prepare a proper garden.  Our back property is slightly sloped and I have devised using peeled logs from our woods to make semi raised beds by terracing some areas.  Today I will get out my 'wall-o-water' (mini water filled devices) set out where the tomatoes and peppers will eventually be planted.  This will help warm up the soil ahead of planting and provide protection from frost.  You know I'm crazy about old time gardening tips ... so today I'll leave you with two places to visit.  One is at Tipnuts .. they are showcasing Sunset magazine gardening tips from the 1930's.  And two ... over to Larry's weed free vegetable garden.  He's been gardening since 1947 and has a wealth of information to share.  Enjoy your day ... get out and garden!

Update: 2/16/09 Well, all of our birds that we had in January have flown the coup. Not a one has been spotted in my back or front yard. We've had food in the feeder. They stayed while we had all of the nasty cold weather and now it's been rather nice. I did see a few Canadian Geese and one robin while in town today. Less snow and more lawn showing. Hopefully if anyone participated in the bird count, you actually had some birds to count.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Take part in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. This special event is to take place February 13-16, 2009, so mark your calendars. What a great way to spend a winter weekend with your kids or grandchildren. Grab a pair of binoculars and a camera ... follow the directions here. Stop back and let me know if you participate ... I'd love to see your photos.

Photo Credit