Sunday = Garden Tour

I've been thinking a lot about the difference between farming and gardening. I have to say that beyond the size issue, i just don't see the difference in a veggie garden versus 120 acres of pick-a-crop. Well, beyond size and the fact that my family's livelihood doesn't depend on us growing all our food and that for thousands of other individuals or animals. Maybe someone like Linda will have a good insight into this.

Still, while i may not be a "farmer" by true definition of the word, i think we certainly have taken a big leap toward "farming" this year. Hoping that in the years to come, be it here on our little 1/3 of an acre or somewhere else with majour square footage, that we can reduce our food bills for things that we buy that we just shouldn't need to. Like tomato sauce or lettuce. :o)

We accomplished a lot in the garden this weekend, so let's get to the pictures:

The Front "40" -- our yard has a street view, so i feel so conspicuous about what we do. But hey, during the summer, we like our dinner fresh from the yard!

This is our main growing area this year. Hoping to cover the bags with straw after they are all planted and sprouting. Moose erected a chicken barrier this weekend too. Take that, you biddies! We didn't fence the entire perimetre, so we'll see how long it takes a chicken's pea brain to figure out if they strut down the driveway and hop up the retaining wall, they could be up to their waddles in earthworms and fresh greens.

Peas, onions, fennel and a few dandelions for the girls

I've been following a lot of the advice from the book Great Garden Companions. If executed properly, it should help with our weed problems. I hope.

Fennel, onions, and carrots

Using grass mulch on the broccoli has worked wonderfully.

We're trying a different system for tomato stakes this year to try to plant more intensively, so i am repurposing one of the tomato cages into a cucumber trellis. Hoping to grow spinach in the shade underneath.

The potatoes are going nuts.

But so are the moles. We'll see who gets more taters this year: so far the score is

People zero, Moles zero.

From bloomin' strawberries to

bloomin' huge blueberries to

our new boysenberries Moose planted next to our new blueberries and existing 2nd year grape and our diabolical stretch of raspberries,

one thing is for certain...

maybe we should also buy some stock in Ball Canning Jars this year!

Our rhubarb was looking sad, until we mulched with some chicken coop goodness,

now it seems to be sprouting a few new stalks.

The bag experiment seems to be working well so far.

I've only planted peas, radishes and scallions in them.

I noticed the radishes are up now though.