Our 2013 Garden and Mini-Experiments (a.k.a. "Really Cool Tips!")

Hello! We have been busy busy little gardeners, doing what we can to coax our little seeds out of their respective shells. Our starts did beautifully in their mini greenhouse, and are now safely tucked in pots and buckets inside our little greenhouse. Speaking of my new greenhouse. I ADORE it! It has become my little, quiet oasis in the midst of summer noise and chaos.  It's nothing fancy;  just one of those little quick-set kits that we got 2 years ago when they were on end-of-season clearance. I paid a whopping $30 for it instead of the original $149 sticker (so very centsible of me, if I do say so myself!), and have been anxious to set it up since.  However, last year with a newborn and a record-setting rainfall, I wasn't feeling my green thumb groove, and the kit stayed in it's box. That's just made me garden with pent-up demand this year!

Farmer Boy has been diligently helping his Mama set up the greenhouse and fill the beds with all sorts of roots and leafy greens! I love that farmhand wanna-be!  :)

Ta-Da! Greenhouse up, ready, and planted! I have since modified it by inserting two patches of window screen just below the point of the roof on the short ends in order to vent the excess heat. I just cut  a rectangle out of the plastic cover and taped in the scraps of window screen using thick plastic tape (and duct tape when I ran out of clear plastic).

Farmer Boy has been anxious to move his pumpkin starts out of the living room and into the greenhouse. We had thought we would put them in a pallet, but the pallet was too wide for the floor of our little structure. So, into some big pots they went, and I'm sure we'll have to thin as they grow. I am thinking I will rest squares of plywood between the pots as they start to vine. I am really trying to keep them up and away from the slugs that always seem to enjoy them before we can. (sigh)

We also planted tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, and strawberries. Now I am left with one empty shelf and pondering how I can fill it?! Maybe more zucc's?

  Yay! I finally got to plant my heirloom tomato seeds that I had saved two seasons ago! At the time I had filed them away, I was a garden newbie and didn't realize that seeds should be planted the following year. I had completely forgotten about them until recently, so we'll see if I get anything! (Fingers crossed)

 One rain gutter on the deck that is sprouting Black Simpson lettuce and green onions.

This one is sporting French Breakfast radishes and more scallions.

Potato buckets on the back deck awaiting planting this weekend. (The spuds are still sprouting in the bathroom cabinet :)

A hazy shot of the beds. This year we added three pallets and removed one swimming pool.

We have spinach and kale in the pallets. Beets, carrots, onion, sugar snap peas, and snow peas are in the beds.

TIP ALERT! We wrapped our unsightly swimming pool garden with a scrap of burlap after finding the idea on-line. It looks SO  much better, and I'm sure the neighbors are thrilled. However, as you can see, I need to go visit my yard with the weed-eater this weekend!

The greenhouse addition! If you look closely under the peak of the roof, you can see the window screen patch I mentioned above. There is one on the opposing wall, as well,  to allow for air flow and venting.

Love Love LOVE my herb garden. Pesto and salsa are definitely on my summer menu!

TIP ALERT #2! What a great way to re-use old jar lids! Thanks Pinterest and Pinners for this handy tip!

I'm actually really pleased with my front door this year. I love the mixed containers and accessories that make up our whimsical fairy garden. You can also see the beautiful rocks that the children in my Farmer Jr's Sunday School class embellished and handed out to the congregation on Easter Sunday.

Well, that's what we've been up to our eyeballs in doing lately. We are pooped, but pleased! I can't wait until the harvest begins!

Blessings to you and your Homestead,
Hillary At Home

HE#26-Hand Pollinating By A Wanna-be Green Thumb

I wanted to include cucumbers and tomatoes in the indoor portion of our garden this year. I am without a greenhouse, and it is so wet outside, that I figured the best option would be to place them in front of our large picture windows. Thankfully, we are blessed with an abundant amount of summer sunshine (when it occurs!).  The only question was about pollinating them. I knew I'd have to hand pollinate and didn't have any clue how to go about it.  Thankfully I was able to find that it is extremely simple!  I just watched the following youtube videos to explain it:

Cucumbers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAZBSocpDoI

Tomatoes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bueCLH3u7vM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6f-2yP3Gnc&feature=related

In a nutshell, you basically have to find a male cucumber flower and rub the middle parts all across the middle of a female flower. The above video will show you how to distinguish the genders.   Farmer Brent assures me that my odds of success are much better if I make kissing noises while painting the pollen on the female flower.  Bizarre homestead humor!

For tomatoes you gently shake the stalk or flick above the blossoms to release the pollen it has within. They are self pollinating, which means you don't need two separate flowers to make a fruit.

Could I do this?  Well, I did and I am, and (most importantly!) it seems to be working!! I have little "Bob and Larry's" growing in my sunroom! (All you VeggieTales fans know what I mean!)

Baby Cukes!  I can just taste the little pickles now!

Baby tomato!  Here in Alaska, this little baby is precious!

We have about another month of good growing up here before putting the garden to rest for the winter. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good harvest of fresh veggies before we all begin to hibernate.  And here's hoping that your garden is green, abundant, and overflowing with yummy goodness. :)

Blessings,
Hillary At Home