Today was that day of the year that takes up the morning, the afternoon and into the evening. It was garden planting day! Now you’re going to laugh when you see our puny little garden…it’s not acres like you might think of when I say the word “garden.” Ours is only a small plot; actually 14′ x 17′ and we only planted 2 different things… tomatoes and cucumbers. We’ve had gardens in the past where we planted everything under the sun; peppers, onions, lettuce, broccoli, cantaloupes, watermelons, okra, zucchini, etc, but we decided to just stick to our 2 favorites. It’s a nice size but it yields a lot of produce.
Since there was no time for sewing, I thought I’d show you the “sowing” we did together…
(If you click on any picture, it will enlarge.)
Here are a few pictures from past gardens…
This picture of my hubby and Scruff was taken on July 4th last year. The tomatoes were tall there, but they got even taller. My hubby is 6’4″ and he had to add taller stakes to hold them up!
What’s our secret to a great garden with wonderful produce?
Lots of chicken manure!!
I made a light dinner tonight and then decided to make a half batch of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies…
Y-U-M-M-Y!!! Wish you were here!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful little patch of “God’s Garden” , Jeanne! While I have tried for a few tomato plants in the past, it just didn’t work out for me. I guess if I had more room, (our yard is just 1/3 of an acre), I would try for a veggie garden, but it is really hard for us to do that. I stick with the flowers and shrubs! Your yard looks lovely! Those were some monster tomato plants!!
I love your chickens too! I lived on a farm, (in the loosest form of the word) when growing up, actually 400 acres, and we did have chickens! Loved them! We even named them and the were more pets than farm animals.
Next time you make some cookies, give me 2 hrs. notice, and I’ll be there!!!
HI Linda,
It’s mostly my hubby’s “baby” but I do make things from the bounty! It’s get to the point where we give and give away to everyone. I’ll have to take some pictures when it gets in full blown harvest time! You can’t imagine how many tomatoes we get in one day! I love fresh tomatoes and cukes on my salads! Plus add a little sliced boiled eggs on top and it’s a perfect salad.
When our kids were smaller we used to name the hens, but not so much any more…
Okay…next time for cookies… I’m calling!!!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne. I wish I were there too. I would have loved hanging out with you and helping you with your garden. What fun! Your gardens (over the years) look so healthy and beautiful. Mine are always overrun with pests. My thumb wants to be green, but sadly isn’t. My husband has given up on me and won’t even till a spot for me. I may just put in some plants where my flowers usually grow. What do you use on the ground? Straw? I didn’t know you have chickens! They’re adorable.
Yummy looking cookies and a well deserved treat! BTW, love the title of this post!
Hi Cindy,
Oh, we could have had fun together…getting dirt under our fingernails! Maybe you could do just do one of those Earth Boxes. If you don’t know what that is, just google it. You can grow wonderful tomatoes in it… or other things too…
When we get ready to plant, my hubby tills up the soil and lets it set for a few days. He collects the chicken manure (from cleaning out the coop) and lets it compost over to the side of the garden all winter and early Spring. (You can’t use the fresh manure… it’s too strong) After tilling the manure under a couple of times, he then spreads a layer of lime on top of the soil. Tomatoes like limestone. Then he tills the lime under and we’re ready to plant. We plant our tomatoes and cukes and water them lightly. We only water in the morning because evening water on the roots sometimes causes them to rot.
When they start growing up somewhat, we put the straw down to keep the weeds away and to keep the moisture in. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.
Yes, we have 10 or 12 hens.. I forget… They are characters…
Those cookies disappeared quickly… there are 6 left in there in the kitchen…
Thanks Cindy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow! Thanks for all of the information, Jeanne. No wonder you can grow so much wonderful produce. You make it sound so easy. I will look into the Earth Boxes you mentioned. Maybe that would work for this “not so green” thumbed person.
I love seeing your garden photos though, so please post them from time to time.
Hi Jeanne,
What a wonderful looking garden and your property looks like a beautiful park. Just beautiful. Summer straw hats off to you and your hubby.
We have 2 very small gardens, for tomatoes and cucumbers also. My husband really loves gardening. He would love to have one as large as yours. Perhaps this year?
Your chickens are a pretty color. I am sure they all have little personalities. There are so many stories I’ve read about chickens and their interesting personalities, they look like they could be neat pets.
Delicious looking cookies. Love the plate and table cloth. You must be a good cook and baker. How do you do it all ??????
Have a lovely sunny day!
HI Paula,
Our neighbors have a huge garden and they are always out working in it. We just like to have some extra “fixins” for our salads mostly. I love to go pick a cucumber in the afternoon and sprinkle it with salt and eat it. Yummy!
We used to name our hens when the kids were smaller but not now… they do have personalities.
That isn’t a table cloth…it’s a piece of fabric… what else? I do like to cook and bake… and my hubby likes me to too!
Thanks Paula,
blessings, Jeanne
I think there is nothing prettier than a well kept garden and yours are very neat. The straw mulch certainly cuts down on the weeding, doesn’t it? What does the fence keep out? Just the chickens? Rabbits? It’s not high enough for deer, but is your wood fence high enough to keep them out? Since your tomatoes grow so high I’m wondering if you’re growing heritage types? I love chickens roaming free, just means two pairs of shoes by the back door, one for inside and one for outside. lol How many chickens do you have? I see Buff Orpingtons and I think a Rhode Island Red. The silver laced are so pretty.
We don’t have to look at sewing everyday. I enjoyed this peek in to your ‘other’ life.
Thanks Jevne,
My hubby likes things neat and orderly so that’s all his doing mostly. The small green fence mostly keeps out rabbits. We do get deer in our yard, but we’ve never had them get in our garden. The tall fence is just to separate our property from our neighbors. It’s not on the property line, but it gives us some privacy when we are working in our garden.
No, our tomatoes aren’t heritage, just plain ole kinds like everyone else has.
We don’t let our chickens roam in the yard all the time…but sometimes when we are out in the yard. I know what you mean about needing 2 pairs of shoes… yikes!
We have 10 or 12, I forget… we usually get 8-10 eggs a day. Yes, you see them all correctly.
Thanks so much for enjoying today’s post…
Blessings, Jeanne
Beautiful gardens! Wish I had a fraction of your energy!
HI Marsha,
It’s not energy, it’s just doing what needs to be done. I’m sure you probably do more than me in something else…
Thanks for the compliment on the garden.
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, you have brought back the most wonderful memories of the early years I was raising children. We lived in MN with that beautiful loam soil. I had the neighborhood boy come over with his dad’s tiller and we cut in a small garden. The next years it got bigger and bigger. All three of my kids helped me work the garden laying down seeds and pulling weeds. It was time I actually did not hear complaints from them. In 1978 we had a bumper crop in the garden, thanks for a good layer of “black gold”. I remember my dad coming over and saying “holy smokes, take a look at those tomato plants”. I was so proud of that garden. oh, such good days………. !! Now my middle daughter is working a garden in raised beds. The Butterflies are very involved with the planting as well as helping Grandma plant the flower pots. Of course we planted all purple and pink flowers!
You husband must be an Engineer with the methodically laid out plan of your garden. Clearly your chicken make their wonderful contribution to the success of the gardens production. They are plump chickens so certainly they are happy. Nothing better than fresh farm eggs. With all those tomatoes and cukes do you set up a stand to sell them?
Hi Jeannie,
So glad this brought back fond memories of your earlier years with your young children. I think having a garden and being around farm animals is wonderful fun for kids. My sister in law has a raised bed garden and did very well with it last year.
My hubby isn’t an engineer but sometimes he thinks like one. He is very detail oriented and very organized. He likes things to be well thought out and put together. He’s a perfectionist on some things and he likes things to be the right way. Everything he does, he does excellently!!! I mean that!
Yes, I think our chickens are happy… and they love a good treat, like cucumber peelings, grapes, strawberries, and watermelon rinds are their favorites… they pick them down till it’s as thin as a piece of cardboard.
We don’t sell our stuff. We just usually take our extras to church and give them to people… we do the same with our eggs… they love to see us coming with cartons of eggs.
Blessings, Jeanne
Green with envy! That looks awesome..lots of room to grow too!
The only weird thing I’m planting this year is going to be the
Tiny Gourds…then they are made into the cutest itsy ornaments..only about 3 inches long.
HI Kathie,
My brother in law paints the gourds… in the most beautiful pictures. I might have to show one of mine…
Those little tiny ones would be fun for ornaments.
Thanks for the compliments on our garden. It’s nothing really special, but we like it.
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, I would so like to have time to garden! I was doing a raised bed garden before I moved and it really didn’t require much maintenance although I did a lot of “pre-work” getting the soil ready and building a compost bin. Since moving, I haven’t been able to make time to build my beds. It’s something I”ll definitely do after I retire. There’s nothing better to eat than a fresh tomato from the garden!
Hi Carolyn,
How right you are about those fresh tomatoes and cucumbers straight off the vines! It makes the salad taste heavenly and it’s so much fun knowing you grew them yourself.
I hope you can find the time to get back to your gardening soon. How long till you retire?
Blessings, Jeanne
Maybe 5 more years if all goes well…….maybe sooner if the work load doesn’t get a little more reasonable!
I am also in love with your garden and to-the-moon-and-back crazy about your chickens!!
Blessings!!
Thanks Bobi,
It’s funny how people love chickens… I’m glad you enjoyed seeing them. We’re getting ready to paint our coop so maybe I’ll feature them again… and give an update on the garden..
Blessings, Jeanne