Garden Update

This summer has turned out to be quite the opposite of last years which made it difficult to predict how the gardens would do. Last year we had a lot of early rain that continued into summer, nearly washing out and over watering all the plants, and then a very dry finish. This year turned out to be one of the driest on record where we struggled to keep the soil damp  and at times we ran our well nearly dry doing so. In the past few weeks, we have had more rain that we have had all summer, and also some of the hottest days on record, however our gardens produced better than we could have hoped. 

I have had the somewhat uneventful task playing Elmer Fudd this year with the wood chucks and rabbits when it comes to our watermelon, squash, and pumpkin crops.  Luckily I have began evening the score as the old .22 has come home. The one happy occupant of the farm during this time has been the chickens as they enjoy the half fruits that are left behind as a couple bites out of each one is better than eating the whole thing according to rabbits and wood chucks. 

The cucumbers have done quite well this year, even though the plants have not grown very large, they have produced enough to make over a dozen jars of refrigerator pickles. 

We had planted around 200 heads of garlic last fall and it was time to dig it all up and hang it to dry a few weeks back. We should have enough to last us most of the coming year.  

(That's not all of it)

And a decent harvest of onions too