After a bit of a delay, the garlic is in the ground and bedded well with straw. The potato bed has been amended, and covered with a tarp until freezing temperatures take hold – neighborhood cats are an issue and the thought grosses me out.
Got another batch of pasta sauce into the freezer today – with a total haul of about 150 lbs of green tomatoes (mostly cherries… next year I’ll limit myself to one plant of each variety), I’m pretty happy that 25 lbs has been made into sauce. I’ve also dehydrated a fair bit, but there’s still lots to sort through and use. Although a good portion will end up spoiled, it’s nice knowing that more than half of that will end up processed to feed my family. And even the portion I lose, ends up going back into the soil to return the nutrients lost during the growing season.
Salsa still needs to be made – perhaps tomorrow.
This is the time of year I can take stock of what I need to change for the next growing season. I was incredibly pleased with the celery we grew – it’s since been consumed except for a portion that was dehydrated or frozen for soups. Broccoli did well too, but I know I need to be more on the ball about using it immediately when it’s ready. Carrot… did not plant even remotely enough. Same with beans, though the beans were a battle between me and the local murder, who kept stealing my seed stock as it went into the ground (as well as the young shoots as they emerged). Also need a dedicated space for onions… what we harvested gets used quickly.
Potatoes? I think we’ll be mostly set, though hitting the 100 lb mark would be fantastic.
Tomatoes – I need to restrict myself to one of each cherry variety, then two of the larger ones. My go-to’s are definitely Mortgage Lifter, Principe Borgheis, and then either Amish Paste or Roma (or maybe one of each).
I need to remember not to waste valuable garden space on chard or spinach – we don’t eat it. Lettuce, ultimately goes to the rabbits, which is great… but I don’t need to plant it because it volunteers itself through my lawn every year.
Herbs… another bed that needs further organizing. I never have enough basil. The abundance of oregano I had last year failed to materialize this year. But the sage! The sage was lovely. And I have Rosemary and Thyme in an indoor garden box, to keep in the kitchen for the winter.
I think I need to take a few moments to write all this down, for my 2026 planning…
Tag: planning
-
I kinda suck at updating
-
July! And rolling right along
We have had the strangest weather… hot and humid yesterday, to the point that I moved the rest of my rabbits into my workshop, where it stays nice and cool. Rabbits do not do well in the heat. When it started to cool down in the evening, the wind started to pick up, and I received notification that Prince George, just over 100km away, had received a tornado warning!
Where yesterday’s temperature reached over 30C, today is a nice change, currently sitting at about 15C as I write this. Windows are open, and I’m enjoying a gentle breeze as I work on a university course for work (I’m taking a brief break from the math).
Because of the fact that I have a pesky autoimmune disease that makes it difficult to function in heat (hello, heat intolerance), I truly do identify with my rabbits. Hence, why I’ve placed so much importance on the completion of my bunny barn.
With yesterday’s heat, I try to get most of my chores done in the morning, before it heats up too much. After taking care of all the rabbits, and moving the last of the cages into the shop to keep everyone cool, I was pretty much done for the day. At that point, I tend to do a lot of laying low where ever I can find a cool spot. If I can find a good combination of energy and motivation, I’ll get little projects done. The day before, I started a batch of Chive blossom vinegar.
It was a pretty simple process; all I had to do was harvest about a cup of fresh chive blossoms, rinse them and dry them, then place them in a sterile jar. After adding 2 cups of warm vinegar (I used white wine vinegar), I simply had to apply the lid to the jar, give it a good shake, and place it in a sunny window.
If I shake the jar every day for about 2 weeks, I’ll be able to strain the chives out, and have a beautiful pink vinegar for making salad dressings.
Top, fresh chive blossoms. Bottom left, immediately after adding vinegar, bottom right, several hours later. 24 hours after adding vinegar. Today, I just may use my harvested garlic scapes to make pesto. Almost all the scapes have been picked now… the first few I dehydrated to make garlic powder. With what’s left, I think I’ll be able to make a few servings of pesto to store in the freezer.
Fresh Garlic Scapes! -
Baby Steps
I have portions of my yard that I’d really like to reclaim, especially from some of the invasive weeds like orange hawkweed and bindweed. Here’s what I accomplished today, despite the rainy weather.
I’ll need to paint the fence this year; it hasn’t been done since I bought this place nine years ago. I’m not quite sure what I’ll do with this space, but I wouldn’t mind putting down wildflower seed for the pollinators.
-
It’s Happening!
The day has finally arrived, the Bunny Barn has broken ground!
I am so, SO stoked about this – to have the entire fluffle located in one, organized space… climate controlled, so no longer do I have to worry about overheating in the summer, and the winters won’t be as frigid. I will have a proper working surface to weigh, groom, and photograph my stock… and how awesome is that?
I know I am definitely one to invest way too much brain-space into my projects, and that’s ok… that’s part of who I am. And for me… well, this is a huge project. Gigantic. But I really feel that it is worth the investment.
Down the road, if I move to a more rural setting, I absolutely plan to put this barn onto a flat deck trailer, and bring it with me.
-
In like a lamb, out like a lion…
This March was backwards… Started beautiful, then turned wild.
Snow melted, mud emerged, then…
Another freeze. More snow. My hopes of an early planting season dashed.
Not all is bad though. I can see buds on my fruit trees. The chickens have started to lay. And I’m so excited to welcome new bunnies and chicks. I’ve started filling the new raised beds with winter’s compost, and the first traces of rhubarb are erupting from the ground.
I have so many amazing plans for this year, and I can’t wait to get started!
