The writing is on the wall...

How easily it all can turn.  I had some stunning seedlings this year, some of the best ever, actually.  I really felt this was going to be the best year ever for tomatoes.  I had more growth than I'd ever seen, strong stems, was religious about trimming them and supporting them, and I'd never seen so much fruit set before.  

Today I actually cried.  At first I just picked up my shears (always disinfected nowadays) and started trimming off the blight exactly where I stopped yesterday, and the day before.  The spray is having no effect, and it's spreading.  As I watched the leaves pile up in the trash I just sat down on the raised bed and cried.  I've never cried over the garden before, I feel like a crazy lady!  

Of course the truth is I could go to the Farmer's Market to buy tomatoes, but my job is to grow food for my family.  I pride myself on my ability to grow, preserve and serve as much of my hard work as possible and even though I know it happens to everyone sooner or later, I feel like a failure!  There's no way I could ever afford to buy farmer's market tomatoes for canning (can you imagine purchasing a few hundred pounds?!) and I really wouldn't even want to, even those sit around for awhile and aren't as fresh as mine, and damnit, it's just not the same!  So what do I do, give up for the year?

Here's the update:

The entire Amish Paste bed looks as if it will be ripped out this weekend.  Definitely 2 of the 3 Red Zebra will have to go.  I found 2 branches on the bottom of a Hillbilly plant, and even found signs on the Brandywines tonight that weren't there at 2 pm today.

Above, 4 total Amish Paste have now been removed.  Below, just hoping some of these will ripen before I yank the rest of the bed.  There are loads of fruit on these, but every hour it seems there are more branches yellow and dead.

The Brandywines look amazing in the below photo taken today about 1 pm, but this evening I pulled 2 lower branches on the back side and sprayed the remaining drops of copper fungicide I had.  I will probably go out and buy some more to try and save these, the Amish Paste were too far gone by the time I sprayed them.  I can't really afford to do this, though, at what point do I call "time"?!

I've been kind of a zombie all afternoon and evening, my poor kids know something is up - I'm short tempered and on the verge of tears every time I look out the back door.  How crazy is that?  To be crying over some tomato plants?  I even tried to look at the bright side, it obviously means that this type of life and eating is the norm here, the food I grow is the only source of vegetables, I haven't been to the produce section of a grocery store for veggies in over 2 years except onions and potatoes.  I think this is why I'm affected so badly, I pride myself on having good things stashed away for winter and it looks like I may have nothing to show for my efforts this year.  I've also noticed 2 leaves on my pepper plants that look the same tonight.  But at what point am I just seeing blight everywhere I look, no matter if it's real or not LOL?

Should I attempt to grow more seedlings from a resistant variety?  Should I buy resistant "big box" varieties of unknown origin (yikes)?  Do I give up on tomatoes this year?  I will definitely have to grow resistant hybrids for the next couple of years probably until it's out of the soil, unless we get some consistent 20 degree weather this winter, that's unlikely.  At least I have time before next year to find resistant varieties that come from a responsible source.  

Since I felt particularly unlucky today, hubby and Finn planted my gourd and zucchini seedlings for me :)

Finn hugged me and told me he was sad for my tomatoes too, and that he named his plant, it's an Ornamental Gourd he called "Mental Gourds" and the zucchini is "Pythorius Redonculus"... which means absolutely nothing but is so cute I had to laugh.

As a sidenote:  Sometimes I feel like the family doesn't notice or appreciate all the hard work that goes into what arrives on their plates and fills the cupboards and freezer.  I often feel like tapping the mike..."hey, is this thing on??"  Then Loch came home with a letter he had written that his teacher had sent home today, this darn near made me a sobbing mess, but it's why I do what I do, and wow... the kid notices!

  

Thanks in advance for your kind words, I know they are headed my way and that's the reason I had to vent this evening!  I never feel in competition with any of my blogger family and feel utterly comfortable in sharing my failures, I know we all have them sooner than later, but it sure does seem many of us are having more than our share in 2011.  Honestly, when I was trimming blight I thought of how fun it would be for everyone to bring their blight, bugs, downed trees and drowned seedlings to a group bonfire, we could all pass a bottle while throwing our stuff to the fire and having a little chit chat with Mother Nature!

p.s.  don't worry, I'm sure the big girl panties will show up soon and I will put them on and brush myself off and come up with a plan!  :)

Here's another kicker:  I'm hosting a garden party Saturday night for a local group of gardeners, looks like they'll be able to get a better visual of disease symptoms than they can get from textbook photos!

working through the pain

Haven't posted in a few days, to say I'm sick would be an understatement!  Apparently I injured my back last Thursday lifting 50 lb bales of soil conditioner because I woke up Friday barely able to get up or turn to either side.  This is a tough one for me since I'm one of those cynics that doesn't "believe" in unexplained back pain, allergies (we'll get to that in a minute), or any of the other mystery pains many people complain about LOL.  Serves me right I guess, huh?  Funny thing is that I lift heavy stuff all the time, always lift properly, and don't recall any sudden injury or pain that day but it showed up 12 hours later just the same.  Saturday was so-so and yesterday I managed to get a teeny-tiny bit of work done, mostly supervising hubby :) but by the time I finished making dinner I was completely done and could barely stand up.  Then last night the allergies hit me, complete with fever and chills, and when that broke I was left with the classic symptoms of a foggy head, eyes, etc, and a good 5 days or so before my allergy meds kick in and start working.  I don't believe in those either, but every year since I have lived in one of the top states for pollen allergies it has been getting progressively worse.  I have never been bothered by them until I was about 35, guess I was lucky.  It was 75ºin the house last night but I was on the couch under 2 down blankets and a heating pad on my back, pretty pathetic.  Hubby said heat waves were emanating from me but I would have sworn it was 32 in the house!

Today, back was a little better this morning, but after sewing this afternoon, I'm back to wanting the heating pad on it tonight.  This is the first time I have ever had any lower back pain and I don't like it, matter of fact I don't even believe in it!  I guess I'm getting old :)

Even though I was hobbling around pretty badly, I managed to carry a camera and get some shots of spring chores being done and did a little bit myself:

Here's hubby mixing in some super secret stuff into my beds, Finn and his neighbor friend are  working mixing it in, too!

Call it carnage or whatever, but these pretty brussels sprouts are going to get ripped out right before they "sprout brussels" LOL - I don't even like them but like the way the plants look when nothing else is growing - they are taking up very valuable real estate since I need this bed for tomatoes by the end of the week.

For the first time, we are planting tomatoes straight into the ground this year.  We need more to have a proper amount canned for winter, and the space is here, it just needed to be amended with some of our compost and other secret stuff, you know, army men and other things you find when digging :)

Poor hubby with all this digging and turning, I couldn't have picked a worse weekend for a back injury... or maybe a better one?  :)

Below, the 2011 Sacrificial Tomato... this year the honor goes to a Pink Brandywine!  She was planted Sunday afternoon, did well last night which was no spectacular event since it only got down to 60, but did very well with a high in the 80's today with full sun.  Tonight and tomorrow night will be lows in the upper 40's possibly, so depending on how she does, all the tomatoes will be planted by late this week.  Not soon enough for me, as they are all about 12 inches high!  This one was planted with 1/2 the plant in the soil.  No eggshells or magic stuff here, since she's the sacrificial plant :)

Apple Blossoms!

Harvest this weekend:  on the left are scallions and on the right, leeks.  Yes, poor small leeks... but they HAD to come out of the bed... I needed it!

I used them right up... still using up our stash from freezer garden veggies but it was nice to have the addition of fresh green onions and sliced leeks in the stir fry.

After this dinner, I pretty much collapsed into a worthless heap with nothing worth writing about except how many times hubby ran around for drinks, snacks, blankets, etc for me!

Allergies and back injuries are for the weak... 

(stay tuned for a recipe involving me eating those words!)

I'll leave you with a clip of Finn and his friend doing what boys are supposed to do... digging in the dirt!

I think I may have to actually take a day off tomorrow and work on the stack of magazines!

kinderGARDENS Week 13: "I Believe!"

Kim at The Inadvertent Farmer, who's hosting the kinderGARDENS Contest, asked what we "believe" right now in our gardens. In spite of the weather, disease, insects, etc... we always believe in something more, don't we? It's what keeps us going! In honor of the random manic-depressive type of gardening going on here lately, I present random photos!

Thanks to the bee-u-tiful triple digit temps we have been having...

I believe the "green roof" is dead!

I want to believe that eventually the Japanese Beetles will become extinct!

I believe I will never acclimate to the sheer horror that is the Tomato Hornworm!

I believe that my mockingbirds will be evicted very soon from their luxurious digs in the arbor. They are behaving badly and are not at all appreciative of my hospitality thus far.

I believe every child should know where their Thanksgiving Dinner comes from, and run from it if necessary!

I believe that there aren't enough potato sack races anymore...

On to the good...

I believe my garden trellising system will look like this someday, and that my kids will help build it!

I believe that we don't go crabbing nearly enough!

Finally, I believe that in spite of the heat, humidity, bugs and frustration, we will be rewarded with this!

Happy Gardening! Now get those kids in the garden, get them dirty and make them do chores, I believe they'll thank you one day!

Mommy goes back to school!

Yesterday was my first day as a Master Gardener in the "Ready, Set, Grow!" program. We go to local schools and teach some basic horticulture by potting seeds for kids to grow in their classes and plant on their school grounds, as well as teaching through the use of actual plants they can see, touch and smell. We are given a lot of leeway in our creativity and are encouraged to bring interesting things from our own yards or anything we think may be of interest to kids. I brought basil, rosemary, a branch cutting of an azalea in bloom, stevia, a radish in a pot so they can see that we also eat roots, and a branch off of my bleeding heart that was fully covered in blossoms. In lieu of having any cool looking vegetables in my yard this time of year, I decided to make a poster board that was all about kids in the garden. I posted different pictures of the kid gardens we have grown here at the house over the years and hoped for some interest. They loved it! I did it the night before so it is a little rough looking with the plain old Sharpie markers, but hey, it was 2nd graders! Here's some pics, they are a bit rough looking due to my flash not working and it was overcast outside and dim inside! Hopefully they will enlarge with a click.

Here is the board

Close up of the "Kids Only - No Grownups Allowed" Gardens

Why toys belong in the garden!

A Spooky Garden

Kids Berry Patch

Mr. Potato Head comes to the rescue if you don't like a vegetable

Pizza Garden and kids cooking

I have to admit I had a lot of fun making this! My kids were so excited their geeky mom was coming to school, Loch even helped me drag it all in and wanted to stay with us, but I had to shoo him off to class. It was very busy since we had to do 6 classes of 2nd graders, but it was the most rewarding thing I have done in a long time. I tend to get complacent since for my kids gardening is becoming a way of life, and doesn't generate the ooohs and ahhhs that we got from the kids yesterday. Some kids had never made the connection between "pizza" and "garden", and to watch their faces light up with the possibilities was so fun. Big bonus was the last class of the day and a little girl said she wanted to be a gardener like me when she grew up - wow, I almost cried, LOL! Since being a stay at home mom for so long, I had forgotten how good it feels to be recognized and admired, and it was all the better coming from someone so young. I am doing another school next week and cannot wait. I really feel that this particular program is definitely my calling in the Master Gardener program, it is a great bunch of people to work with and I really feel we are adding something very valuable to the kids' curriculum. Woo Hoo for 2nd Graders! I learned something valuable as well, to make sure I take the time to step back and really look at my garden occasionally without seeing weeds, forgotten planting times, forgotten harvests, etc and instead see the fun and miracle of it all...

Here's to the 2nd Grade and may you all look at your gardens with the same wonder today!

Motivational Monday!

Why is it that we always think that if we could just get this current list of chores done, there will be time to relax? It never ends for me, but for the kids, summer is good! Here's a pic from last summer, kids enjoying. I am sure I was covered in sweat and dirt from working when I took this, and the kids were probably laughing at all my self-imposed busyness.

Summer's coming!

Time Management Issues...

Do you ever feel that you are doing everything yet getting nothing done? This is how I have been feeling lately. I know that I am at least maintaining my household at a somewhat even keel, but it has been so chaotic here that I feel like I am just running around placing buckets under leaks, and if I don't get it together, the roof is going to cave in! Oh, yes folks, it's going to be one of those posts!

I am going to use this post as a way to list what's going on at the military "homestead" (nice oxymoron) to see if I can then go back this evening and read it and maybe give myself a break, or at least find a project that I can finish!

In the past week:

1. We said goodbye to sister & brother-in-law after a wonderful visit in which I actually had her harvesting my peppers for me - another chore that I sloughed off!

2. My husband was supposed to leave last Thursday for another few weeks, and they left him here at the last minute. While in theory this sounds good, major chaos ensued. After telling my brother and sister in law (different set of siblings visiting this time!) that my husband would not be able to make it down to their rented beach house, now I am telling them that "yes, he can"! Not exactly. On their couple of hour layover here in town, he had to go to work 3 hours before they got here and remained there until they were long gone on their way to the beach house. Another dinner party hosted alone: check!

3. Since being "able to stay home" this trip, he has been working 15-17 hour days, no kidding! My kids haven't seen him in days, yet he is HERE!

4. Bought child new bicycle for daddy to put together, followed by said child wailing "when is Daddy coming hoooommmmee and fix my biiiikkkkkeeee???!

5. Now we are tenatively back on for the beach house for Thursday - Sat morning, yet my husband says "don't pack the car yet"?!

6. Early onset menopausal symptoms are once again raging. Sleepless nights combined with hot flashes and mood swings... it's a nonstop party. Maybe this is why sailor/husband is working round the clock? Note to self: confront hubby in mood-swing style on this one.

7. The fall garden has not been planted yet....

8. On a high note, I had my first class leading to certification as a Master Gardener this morning. Let me tell you about being in school again and conversing with adults: HOORAY!!! I didn't want to go home!

Here are some random photos from this weekend:

I will allow myself a pat on the back for this one: dinner party for 7 Friday night without my husband's help of keeping the kids out of my hair, lol! We had Greek/Middle Eastern night. I made Stifado w/freshly made tzatziki, Tabouleh, Baba Ganoush with our own eggplant, crusty bread, and this Caprese salad pictured above. I love cooking the Middle Eastern region's recipes since so much of it comes straight out of the garden, herbs and all! I credit my husband for bringing home a wonderful recollection of the Stifado he had in Corfu so I could attempt to replicate it.

This was the night after my dinner party... the one evening I was to spend quietly with my husband after the kids went to bed. What happened???!!! Apparently I am becoming the neighborhood hang-out, lol. Two bags of marshmallows later I gave up on my romantic fire!

Finn's face says it all: Daddy's home again! He gets all the glory around here!

A miscellaneous picture of a disgusting fungus popping up in my front beds. Gross, gross, gross! They smell as bad as they look, and get covered with flies, the good news is that they are usually gone within about 12 hours. We just had about 4 inches of rain in one day, so I think it's appearance was due to that.

Now I need to figure out how to do my homework, help with kiddie homework, get dinner ready, baths, and bike riding time all in tonight by myself. Yeah, the hubby is sitting in the squadron only 2 miles away....grrrrr! At least when he is truly gone I don't count on any relief and he gets a little extra pay as well... that probably sounds harsh but any military gals will know what I'm talking about, lol!

And so it goes for at least the next 2 weeks...placing buckets and waiting for the roof to cave in! At least I am still keeping a clean house, so I know I am not too far gone to be saved :)

I know there is a new "normal" to be discovered here, I just haven't made peace with it yet. My current schedule is just not jiving with my OCD, lol! There is now a 4 year old behind me asking me what "munti-tissing" is... he overheard me talking about multi-tasking... with that, I must leave you now!

Peace Out...

Planting peas...AT THE RIGHT TIME THIS YEAR!

The spring planting is officially underway!  I had good intentions of getting those peas in earlier this year, like February, and it is now March...but I feel good because last year it wasn't until April and the year before that in May!  Needless to say, the year I planted peas in May was completely ridiculous, since they wilted in the 90 degree heat as soon as they were about 12 inches high!  I blame that season on the fact that I had a 3 year old and 1 year old and still had not regenerated the brain cells lost in childbirth.  My best friend is only into her 2nd season gardening and had her act together, peas and all, before me...the nerve!  Anyway, after a week of sub-freezing temps and snow, we woke up this morning to a beautiful day, with highs in the 60's, and set about soaking our peas.  By afternoon, the kids were placing them gently, or should I say "chucking" them into the bed willy-nilly and getting as dirty as all little boys should be!  They are very proud and made sure I grabbed some shots of them planting the first crops of spring.  Here they are in all their glory-

                

                

We also are finally seeing bulbs!  I had never planted bulbs before, so last fall I ordered a bunch and Loch and I dug them all in, not really knowing what to expect...well, a few are up and I have no idea which ones they are or where the next one will pop up!  I didn't make notes on this particular venture, so all I know is there are a bunch of alliums somewhere...and "some other stuff".  It's fun every morning to "walk the estate" and look for these surprises! More photos to come on that...

We are finishing up readying the rental property this weekend, we have new tenants moving here from WA next week, so I may not post again for a few days.  A busy weekend filled with boring painting and cleaning up, but eagerly awaiting the return of rental income!

Seed Starting Time!

What a weekend!  Our weather was the worst kind for attempting to get excited over gardening outside.  A nor'easter blew in bringing with it rain, cold, extreme winds, and now on Monday morning...SNOW!  This is a rare event here so at least the kids enjoyed it!  

Last week was my first time starting seeds indoors.  I thought this would be a more cost effective way for me to have more heirloom tomatoes this year and would be a fun project for the kids as well.  The first seedlings peeked out from the flats on Sunday-Day 6 and by this morning included 9 Brandywine, 3 True Black Brandywine, 3 Black Krim and 3 Black Pearl.  As exciting as this is, I am worried about the dreaded damping off and check on them more often than a newborn!  I have also started peppers and eggplant but those are expected to germinate later than the tomatoes.  I broke down last week and bought a heat mat and light for the flats.  I originally intended to reuse some rope lights I had under the flats but found the temp of the soil climbing out of control, even after using spacers.  Now I just watch and hope that my kids don't play "musical plant markers" and render me speechless when asked "what kind of tomato plant is that one?"! 

This year I am raising the number of tomato plants from 6 to about 20 so it could get amusing come summer to watch me trying to harvest them all.  I just started preserving by freezing last year and will be adding canning to that this year, and hope to have enough to sell at farmer's market as well.  I will be growing all the standard veggies such as peas, beans, etc. but have noticed a real deficiency in quality heirloom tomatoes available at market.  I harbor no hopes of actually making any money of course, but if I can involve my kids actively in the food growing process and have them see the end result at market, I think it will be well worth it!  

While we're on the subject of kids, don't mistake me for one of those moms who is involved with my kids on every level and constantly teaching and playing...I have found myself deficient in the ability to play Legos and do art projects for hours on end, so I just decided to pursue the hobby most suited to the inclusion of kids!  This is the easiest way to snow your kids into thinking you are having a blast with them...make them join in on your hobby for a change-they see you in a different light when you are doing something you really enjoy!