Welcome back!

Well its been a while since I posted here.

In fact, life got away on me and I kind of avoided the blog.

It was just about the very last thing I had energy for...

But that doesn't mean I wasn't still thinking about posts and content.

Life gets busy, as we all know.

This year has been pretty great so far!

We started off by getting new chicks to add to our flock.
They were a LOT tinier than we were expecting.

We haven't had chicks that small before...
so it was a learning curve at first.

It was so much fun to watch them learn how to chicken.
Seriously...I could watch them for hours.

I volunteer at a few plant sales in my area.
I also grow seedlings inside my home for the sales.

Our living room became a small greenhouse for a while.
This year was excellent for my heirloom tomato seedlings.
Varieties this year include;
Anna Russian (Oxheart) - a robust girl with bright pink flesh!
Black Krim - a beefy stock with a deep purple flesh and green shoulders.
Aussie Heirloom - the one I'm most excited to see...reportedly yields 2-3 lb sized fruit.
(let that just sink in a minute...)
And of course our ever popular Roma...ours grows to be about the size of your fist.
Still full of great flavour but lots of flesh for sauces and salsas.

Then the actual helping at the sales took up a fair chunk of May.

Then we became consumed with our garden.

This year...

We are on top of our garden.
(surprisingly)

Partly due to crucial things I learned while working at the farm last summer.

I was introduced to my trusty girl Lola the Hoe.

This is a shuffle hoe purchased at Lee Valley.

That is not shameless promotion....I just bought it there.

I also mention it because I think everyone should have one of these.

Seriously.

(Hello...Lee Valley?  Looking for a spokesgirl?)

Just look at our walkways!

They are spotless this year...and I love it.

Another thing I learned was about trellising the tomatoes
so we can FINALLY get them off of the ground.
(more on that in a later post)

You can kind of see the steel T bars on the left hand side.

Not to mention the side garden beds not shown in this picture.
(Main garden shown...manly husband also shown)

This year has been rolling along just grand.
(Drought conditions in our area notwithstanding)

Can't wait to see our harvest at the end of it all.

How are your gardens doing this year?
How do you deal with water scarcity?
Sound off below!

End of the Season 2015 part 1

It was one helluva gardening season this year.
Well...not really.
I worked at an organic vegetable farm called The Kitchen Garden from May-August.
Here's where I worked...

A small view of the enormous fields at the farm.

Inside one of the hoop houses I helped build by hand.

The big pond I helped dig by hand.

The smaller pond I helped dig...that waterfalls into the big pond.

Working at the farm was an amazing experience but it was incredibly draining.

Meaning that poor husband of mine spent more than his share working our own garden.

I was grateful.

I was also exhausted.

Some days it was just because I'd spent 5 hours hoeing and just couldn't look at another weed.

Other days I had spent 5 hours picking beans...and couldn't fathom picking any more.

We still managed to put away a crazy amount of food.
(stay tuned for more on that)

But the amount of food that we grew that got wasted broke my heart.

I learned an incredible amount as well.
I learned about working smarter...and harder.
I learned about different varieties of vegetables.
I learned how to trellis them and maintain their health.
I learned how to harvest them...and quickly!

Speed is of the essence at a farm.
The margin is so small on vegetable sales.
You work fast...
even if you feel like the heat is
making your body move in slow motion.

I learned how to use hand tools...
something I've never done before.

(Seriously?!  she's been gardening for over 10 yrs now!
How is that even possible!?!?)

Well...we've been doing it by hand.
Literally by hand all of this time.

Sure, we might use a wheelbarrow or a shovel.
But all of that weeding and harvesting was done by hand.


Let me tell you, I have some amazing discoveries to share in the coming year!
No trademarked secrets that only The Kitchen Garden uses.
Sorry folks, that's privileged information...and you'll have to work there to find out more.

What I'm going to share with you are all of the
things that I will be doing differently in my home garden.
Tools, tips and trellising tricks...
and much, much more!

Its all gonna change this year!
Stay tuned...