It's Easy Being Green

Our first major winter squash of 2012 is sprinting toward the finish line and I do hope it will make it. The plant seems to be infected with squash vine borers but this beauty is growing at a rapid rate. I think it knows it’s got something good and wants to at least finish it before the plant is done!

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As a gardener, you know summer has truly arrived when you step into your garden and are greeted by the first ripe tomato of the season. Sometimes it seems like the first sign you get that the past several months of hard work nurturing, coaxing and tending is going to pay off.

What makes these tomatoes even more special is they are from rogue tomato sprouts that came from our rabbit manure. We ended up with about 10 free tomato plants that way. These happen to look like sauce tomatoes. There are some large ribbed varieties and also what looks like a brandywine that sprouted too. I guess it’s nature’s way of passing on the hardiest of seeds!

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The daffodils around the Half-Acre homestead decided last Friday, the day of our tornado havoc here in the Midwest, was the best day to start blooming. It’s a bit early for both daffodils and tornadoes but both seem to indicate we really won’t be experiencing a winter this year.

As if last Friday wasn’t odd enough, Bertha (our one chicken who lays a brown egg) decided it was a good day to start dropping eggs after a 6-week long egg laying hiatus. Maybe it was the insane pressure drop as one of those funnel clouds passed over the Half-Acre Homestead.

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Proof positive that raised bed gardening has its perks: I unearthed these gems this cold late December afternoon out in the garden here at the Half-Acre Homestead. These were planted in late spring and there are many more in line to mature behind them. For anybody who doubts you can grow your own food in the winter this should tell you otherwise!

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In case you haven’t already noticed, we’re all chickens this week. Our three Auracana hens have already tripled in size over the past few days and their antics are getting more and more hilarious. They’ve taken to roosting on their feeder at night. I was able to sneak in and catch a photo of them in the act! Don’t forget to watch the live stream from their brooder cage by clicking the video box to the right!

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Surround Yourself With Fall

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