Babysitting Some Chicks!

Happily babysitting two sweet chicks while my friends are away on vacation!

It is blooming!

My blackberry bush is flowering.  I am so excited!  My husband's parents gave us this bush last April.  We were embarking into unknown territory given that we had never planted any type of food before.  I quickly read up on some successful planting tips and we were on our way.  I am glad I did because it informed me that blackberry bushes do not yield for one year.  It grew a lot from April to October.  We forgot to fertilize before winter came so hopes were low, but it took off growing once again and started to flower. Hopes are back up! I want to get a blueberry bush too now.

Tomatoes! And Peppers! Oh, My!

So exciting! As a first time vegetable gardener this thrills me. We are growing cherry and regular sized tomatoes, banana peppers and blackberries. The squash did not come up. When we first put everything into the ground an animal came through and pluck off every leaf (except the blackberries). Since the squash was so small I think the root came out with the leaves. The banana peppers are budding too. The blackberry bush is doing great, but it will not yield until next summer. I am told that I will need to pick the blackberries often because the yield will be so high. Everyone get ready for free blackberry goodness such as jam, wine, pies, breads and other goodies. With it just being me and my husband, we will have to give some of it away! We will also plant much more food next year. This was just a test to see what would thrive. I will be planting some cold hardy vegetables and herbs soon too. I got the gardening bug. I am not too big on flowers. Food, not lawns is a motto I am steering towards. Everyone can afford to be more sustainable.

I will post recipes as I start to pick my produce. A lot of it I will be preserving for later use.