Thursday, July 9, 2015

Gardening - 8 Weeks After Last Frost 2015- Weekly Goals

My garden book with my notes

     By having a journal you can see what was going on in the garden the years before and that will help you prepare for your garden this week. As you can see last year around this week it was super hot and my plants were dying. This note will help me be prepared for hot weather and think about my plants in pots. Do you keep notes on what's going on in your garden? Does it help you with your garden? 

Weekly Gardening Goals
  1.  Plant Fall Seeds - I need to plant lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, and turnips.
  2. Hornworms - I need to keep an eye out for Hornworms. 
  3. Cleaning veggie and fruit - I need to make some veggie and fruit cleaner. 
  4. Mulch - I need to mulch around the fence around the garden. 
  5. Harvest - harvest squash, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, raspberries, and beans. 


This week I also want to work on my gardening goals for 7 weeks before last frost. What are you doing in your gardens his week? 
Check here to see what I did last week in the garden. 

Gardening - 7 Weeks after last frost 2015 - Garden Goals review

    I hate to say this but I'm going to perfectly honest. I didn't get any of my goals done this week. I don't want to lye and say I did. I know what your thinking then what did I do this week? Did I do anything around the homestead? The answer is yes we did a lot.

This week I 
  1. Hubby and I harvesting raspberries
    Harvested raspberries! We harvested over 3lbs worth. We harvest in the rain, and after work. You can read more about our adventure on my post Gardening- Harvesting Raspberries .
  2.  We also bought $10 worth of corn last Saturday and we worked on storing it. On Monday night we froze the corn for future use. You will see a post about this later on when I finish with all my ways of storing my corn. 
    Freezing corn
  3.  I also bought $20 each of blueberries and strawberries and cleaned and froze them for future us!!
  4. Baggie of freeze raspberries
  5. I also stored our raspberries that we picked this weekend by freezing them!  You can check out my post Harvesting and Storage - Freezing Raspberries for my step to step instructions for how to freeze raspberries. 
  6. I also weeded around my vegetable garden and planted flowers. It's ready to be mulched. 
    My weeded area!

Last Weeks Garden goals
  1. Rooting plants - I want to start to cut plants that won't seed and start to help them grow roots. I would like to do this to the lavender and rosemary. - didn't get to
  2. Blossom Blight - It has rained her so much that I need to keep a good eye on my plants. I have to really keep an eye on the squash so it doesn't get blossom blight. - I didn't get to
  3. Plant seeds for fall harvest - in all the areas around the garden that haven't gotten plants growning in them I want to start to plant carrots, turips, Swiss chard, brussel sprouts. - I didn't get too
  4. Plant the plants that are growning - I have flowers and veggies to get in to the ground. I want to work on that this week. - started but didn't finish 
  5. Mulch - mulch around the garden fence. I planted plants in it but the wedding are coming back so fast. I really need to mulch it - started but didn't get too 

Check here to see what I did last week in the garden. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Harvesting and Storage - Freezing Raspberries


Harvesting and clean raspberries

     After harvesting so many raspberries, we had to save them for use though out the year. This week we decide to save them by putting them in the freezer. I have 6 easy steps to have raspberries in the freezer. 

Laying out the raspberries and freezing them
How to Freeze Raspberries
  1. Harvest raspberry/ or buy them
  2. Clean them - soak them in 2-3tbsp of vinegar and gallon of water. I let them soak for about 15-20 minute. This kills bacteria and any bugs in it. 
  3. Drain - I drain then and let them dry for a few minutes. 
  4. Cookie sheet - Put them on a cookie sheet and speard them out. 
  5. Freezer - I stick the whole cookie sheet in the freezer and freeze them for about 4-5 hours. 
  6. Freeze Bag - I take a spatula and scoop the frozen berries off the cookie sheet and but them in a freezer bag. 
my 2/3 full gallon freezer bag of raspberries
     It's that easy! Then you have raspberries to cook with or eat frozen. Do you freeze any of your fruit? If so how do you freeze it?


Gardening - Harvesting raspberries


Mmmm raspberries on the vine
          This weekend red raspberries have come in! I was so excited. I love fresh fruit. We try to harvest more then we will eat in a week to freeze and us though out the year. It helps us save money. It give us free organic raspberries. 
I harvest these with Hubby on Sunday
     We had my niece and nephew over for the day on Friday and the picked about a half of pound. It was nice to see them picking them and having fun. 

Everyone helped even the dog 
     Hubby and I went harvesting on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. We took the dog with us. He love eating the few berries we dropped. We did find some black berries too. Mmmmm 

Here are the other ones harvested this week. One from cass and one with hubby. 

     We harvested about 2.5lbs of berries this weekend. It was a lot of fun and there are still many berries to harvest next weekend! Are you harvesting wild berries near you? If so what kinds are you harvesting.








Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Gardening and Harvesting - 2015

     Everything is starting to come in this week! I know I won't be getting a huge harvest but every little bit counts! 


Strawberries 
          Started to harvest around June 1st
                               2015 strawberries
 I have harvest 
  •  .9
  •  .5
  •  .9
  • .9
Total 3.2lbs for strawberries. 

Basil
     I start to harvest basil on June 8th . We planted basil in two places. One between the tomato plants, and the other in the herb garden. 
                              2015 Basil
 I have harvested
  •  .01
  • .01
Total .01lbs of basil

Asparagus 
         I started to harvest on April 29 and May 3rd. (I did leave some to grow into ferns, which will help the root system.
                            2015 Asparagus 
I have harvest 
  •  13.1oz
  •  13.4oz
Total harvested 1.65lbs of asparagus 

Mulberries 
          Started to harvest them on June 25th. We were behind on harvesting them so the birds got most of them. 

Mulberries on the scale 
  •  .33
Total .33lbs for mulberries. 

Raspberries 
          Started to harvest around end of June.
My 1st raspberry of the season
I have harvested
  •  .01
  •  .43
  •  1.25.
  • .8
Total 2.49 lbs for strawberries. 

 Mini Purple Peppers 
          I harvest my 1st mini pepper before the 1st started to die. Lucky I only lost one in the transplant process. 
Mini Purple Pepper
I have harvested
  • .25
Total .25lbs for mini purple peppers 

Yellow Squash  
          Started to harvest around July 5th, I'm so excited to have them growing very well. 
Yellow Squash
I have havested
  •  2.14


Total 2.14lbs for yellow squash  

2015 Harvest 
10.08lbs harvested so far this year!! 

     It might not sound like a lot but I'm excite to have it harvest and 89.02lbs more pounds to go!! What are you harvesting out of your garden? How much have you harvest this year? 


Monday, July 6, 2015

Organization - Weekly Goals ~ July 6th-13th, 2015

I write my goals down it's easier for me. 

     This week I decide to start to write down my goals again. My life seem so busy, and one way to know what I getting done is to write it down! 

Weekly goals 
  1. Garden Goals - I want to work on getting them done, Gardening - 7 weeks after last frost 2015 - weekly gardening goals ,this week. 
  2. Reading - My goal is to scripture study for 10 minutes a day. I want to read, 4th of July by James Patterson. 
  3. Cleaning - I want to focus on my cleaning cards. I need to get the house back in order. 
  4. Work - I work Monday - Thursday this week. 
  5. Workout - I want to workout 3x this week. It's time to get back in shape. 
  6. Cooking- stick to the menu for the week. I'll post it for you tomorrow. 
  7. Kids Kroner - make a lesson plan for our beach lesson this week. 
  8. Community - make a care package for one of our friends over seas. 
  9. Pets - make 2 chicken swings. These things will be so cool. 
  10. Pets - buy hay and clean out chicken coop. 
What are your goals for the week? Do you write them down like I do? 

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Gardening - July 3rd gardening tour

     I love showing you around the gardening. I will show you all of it, the good the bad and the ugly. My gardening isn't prefect and won't ever be. I will be honest with you and tell you what Is rally going on. Hope you like my garden. 
Fruit trees


     We will start with the trees. I have over 20 fruit trees. I have pear, plum, peach, cherry, apricot, mulberry, apple, orange, lemon, lime and fig. Some of my trees are doing great! They have fruit on it and are thriving. 


     Some are coming coming back from a bad place. My lemon tree almost died over the winter. My peach is coming back after leaf curl fungus. Then I have a pear tree that we thought died and is growing again. I am very happy to see these trees come back and start to thrive again. It might take a few years to get them on the right path, but I will keep trying. 


     Now we have the ugly, yes some of the trees are in an ugly place. I have my cherry tree,this tree is diving slowly and I don't know why. I'm so sad. It was already planted when we moved in and a reason I wanted the house. 2 out of 3 of my plum trees just dried up and died. I don't know why that would happen. It has been raining, therefore I know they were watered. To see more in depth pictures of my trees this week check on my page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PaGardeners?ref=tn_tnmn I will be posting more of the trees around 1 pm. 

Driveway Boxes


    Now let's look at the drive way garden boxes. These are mostly flowers. I do have some veggies planted in them too. The triangle boxes are a mix of flower that I have gotten on sale. I have Lilies, dusty millers, coleus, panseies, voilets, and asparagus.


    The long box drive garden box. I just finished up this box, therefore my flowers are small. So are growing, but some of them have died. One of the mini purple plants didn't transplant well. I don't now why. I'm going to let it go for another week, if it doesn't come back I will have to pull it. In this box I have red, white and blue petunias, mini purple pepper, tomatoes, okra, sunflowers and calendula. You can read more about what I planted and how at Gardening - 6 weeks after last frost - planting http://missy-lifeofaworkingmom.blogspot.com/2015/06/gardening-6-weeks-after-last-frost.html. To see more in depth pictures of my trees this week check on my page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PaGardeners?ref=tn_tnmn I will be posting more of the Driveway Boxes around 3pm. 
Garden boxes around the house


    I have 4 other gardening bed around the house. I have done by the deck, I call my deck garden box. This one I am have good luck with! I have yellow squash growing and my cucumber plants are starting to climb! I also have voilets, panseies, pineapple sage and coleus growing. The ugly truth though about this box is that it keeps killing off my sunflowers. I have lost them, because a basket fell on them, or the chicks dug them up or just died. 


     My next box is my firepit box, this box is doing great! I have echinacea, coleus, voilet, St. John wart, cherry bushes, mums, stevia,and a fern. The ugly truth about this box is that I have planted rhubarb, and feverfew. They haven't done well. I don't even know what happen to the rhubarb it disappeared. I am still happy with this box though. It is doing great!


     Ugly truth I haven't planted my herb box. I have parsley, basil and dill to plant. I just don't have time to plant it. Hoping to get to it soon. In this box there is chives, sage and oregano growing in it. Mmmmm I love this box, it make my food taste amazing. 


    The last box is Cass Garden box. She planted a bunch of flowers in it that she bought herself. Her daisy are coming up nicely! We do need to weed it though. To see more in depth pictures of my Garden Boxes around the House check on my page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PaGardeners?ref=tn_tnmn I will be posting more of the trees around 5pm. 
    Come back next Saturday and check out what is going on in my Vegetable garden. See more photoes join me at https://www.facebook.com/PaGardeners?ref=tn_tnmn on Facebook or Instagram at . 

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Gardening - 7 weeks after last frost 2015 - weekly gardening goals

My grasshopper water catcher

     Rain rain go away, please come back next week. I don't know about you but I'm a little rained out. I'm good with one or two showers a week, but here in PA it feels like all it does is rain on the days that I have off. How is the weather were you are?

Weekly goals
  1. Rooting plants - I want to start to cut plants that won't seed and start to help them grow roots. I would like to do this to the lavender and rosemary. 
  2. Blossom Blight - It has rained her so much that I need to keep a good eye on my plants. I have to really keep an eye on the squash so it doesn't get blossom blight. 
  3. Plant seeds for fall harvest - in all the areas around the garden that haven't gotten plants growning in them I want to start to plant carrots, turips, Swiss chard, brussel sprouts.
  4. Plant the plants that are growning - I have flowers and veggies to get in to the ground. I want to work on that this week. 
  5. Mulch - mulch around the garden fence. I planted plants in it but the wedding are coming back so fast. I really need to mulch it
    What are you doing in the garden this week? What are your gardening goals?

Check here to see what I did last week in the garden. 

Gardening- Gardening - 6 weeks after last frost 2015 - weekly gardenreview

Last week was such a rainy week, getting into the garden was hard. Tuesday, we got over 2 inches of rain. I have so much to get planted into the ground and no dry time to do it. Here is what I got done in the garden last week.

Last Weekly Garden Goals

All the flowers 
  1. Plant flowers- I have found so many great deals on flowers this week. I have 5 flats to plant and didn't paid $17. - I got this 1/2 done. There are still so many plant to get planted. Gardening - 6 week after last frost - planting flower
  2. My pepper and tomato plants
  3. Plant the rest of my peppers and orka- I got this done!!  Gardening - 6 weeks after last frost - planting 
  4. Plant my herbs - I have basil, dill and parsley that need to be planted. - I didn't get to this, the rain beat me out. 
  5. Till the corn field - yes I know this is late but my corn is tall enough to go in the ground just have to till again. - The only try day it was still to wet to till. 
  6. Harvest Mulberries and basil- my mulberry tress and basil plants are ready to harvest! - This goal we did this goal as a family!! It was fun. Gardening - 6 week after last frost - harvesting mulberries
  7. Mulberries mmmmm

     3 out of 5 of my goal getting done, isn't that bad. I have so much to do though. How did your goals go for last week? How is you planting coming a long? What are you harvesting now? 

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Gardening - 6 week after last frost - harvesting mulberries

   
My harvest in the basket

     One of my gardening goals for 6 weeks after my last frost was to Harvest Mulberries and basil- my mulberry tress and basil plants are ready to harvest! This goal was a little trick to get done, because I want to do it as a family. It seemed like every night it rain. I got lucky on Monday and we had a little time before it rained. My little one and I head out and start to pick them off the tree. Then hubby came out with the latter not many were ready to be picked. We did harvest .33lbs so I will take that. I did also harvest some basil for dinner about 15 leaves which wasn't that much but it was something!! 

I weighed them.