Almost planted

While I had to work the weekend at the library, I was able to get outdoors at our farm plot to (almost) finish planting our summer garden. We planted kidney and cannellini beans, cowpeas, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet and hot peppers, spaghetti squash, and replaced a few tomato plants that didn't make it. Not to mention all of our companion planting of herbs, flowers, garlic, and onion. Whew! Sounds tiring just writing about it, but it is going to be so worth the harvest!

All this succession and companion planting, crop rotation, yield, and so on has me wondering how our ancestors managed to feed themselves and stay sane. I'm already feeling the urge to make spreadsheets to keep track of our seeds, planting, and more. Did they have all this knowledge just in their heads? Did they keep garden journals? Maybe they kept it simple by planting the same staple crops and varieties year in and year out? As we continue on this homesteading journey it has me considering organizational options to streamline the process in the future and maybe stumble across the old rhythms of the generations before. 

But back to the present day garden, the crops we planted a few weeks ago are looking great already. Corn and black beans thriving. First harvest of strawberries. The blueberry plants are loaded. Baby tomatoes already forming. We're going to be having so much food coming in before we know it. Time to get our new freezer up and running out in the garage to help us preserve the bounty.

Around Kilby Cottage, the transplants to our herb garden are happy as clams in their new home, and I believe the lemon balm is plotting to take over the world.  We sowed our first planting of green beans and put some extra tomato, tomatillo, and pepper plants in some pots to see if they will produce a little for us in a more shady environment. Our kale and spinach are bolting fast, so we'll be slowly transitioning to other crops in those beds. 

Our fall and early spring plantings of onion and garlic are happy at least above ground. We're hoping they are setting bulbs for us to harvest in a month or so. Speaking of onions, the Egyptian Walking Onion my friend gifted me is entertaining us by popping out fronds upon fronds in such an unruly fashion. We're curious to watch it plant its own offspring before sampling our first bulb.

Now that the frenzy of planting is over, it's time to sit back and watch the garden grow. The green of new life is everywhere and it reminds me of why it's one of my favorite colors. "Lord, let our labors in this garden be fruitful." Will keep you posted on farming developments as the season moves along.