Normally, we have a struggle with one or two things. But this year, it seems like we’re having lots of issues we normally don’t have. First, was the torrential rain, then the constant rain. Okay, then it dried up for a week. That would be fine but the soaked clay in two of our gardens turned to cracked concrete! We planted our sweet corn for eating (not seed saving) three times and still, very little germination. Those tiny seedlings just can’t break through that packed clay. It did rain yesterday and it’s sprinkling today so maybe the last planting will poke through?

This is one of the BETTER spots we replanted sweet corn in for the third time. The rest are cracked, clumps of clay.

The tomatoes and beans look great, as do our onions and squash. They all got an early start and have been mulched and fertilized. So, I’m not complaining. Will got the baler fixed and got a small hayfield below the house cut — just before it rained! Oh well, such is farming. Just a warning note; much of the country has experienced either drought or heavy rain so crops will be light. We’re buying our grain for the livestock ahead as prices will surely go up as the supply diminishes. Same for food for us, too. I know I’ll sure be canning up a storm very soon. And with the political situation being so dramatic, I’m also continuing to stock up on things I can’t grow, including medications, dry goods, etc.

Luckily, our tomatoes and many other crops look great.

Granddaughter, Ava, is still taking lessons and is coming along very well. Her instructor is getting her ready to begin jumping by having her trot her horse over poles on the ground. It gives her a big smile. We’re so proud of her. And grandson, Mason, just returned from joining in a group with his trumpet, playing the National Anthem at the Minnesota Twins ballgame in Minneapolis. Good job, Mason! You’re so talented!

Ava is starting to learn to jump. All this helps her learn to control her horse, not just ride around in circles.

Oh well, gotta go survey the potato bugs in the Wolf Garden. Will says they’re back, snorting bug dust like cocaine. I’ve got some bT spray they might not like as much! If it will just stop raining now. — Jackie

28 COMMENTS

  1. wow the eating corn! sad. I usually plant my 2nd crop of corn here(pacific northwest) on the 4th of July, Lord willing, always some good tender roastin ears after the ‘regular’ corn planting. seems everyone is experiencing garden woes of unusual growth/lack of!. locally, we are all experiencing very slow pepper start; flowers? ha! maybe next week. good reminder of the pantry book! as I’ve already seen feed prices going up here. hopefully everyone has good storage so can stockpile. take care. oh mowing hayfield always seems to bring in a rain :( doesn’t it. thanks for sharing how even great experienced Gardner’s like you are having fits and starts. from the Columbia gorge country

  2. Farming and gardening can certainly be a struggle. I hope the weather levels out for you and you can get a good harvest. My garden had been producing pretty well. We got good rains for a change this spring, but now it is drying up. I have watered some, but the cost of rural water prohibits much of that. I have quite a lot of canned goods left from previous years so I will be just fine. I do want to get more flour and sugar and other dry goods stocked up. I also need to get corn bought to put in the freezer as I cannot grow it where I live due to the many critters that think it belongs to them. I am confident you and Will will win the war on the potato beetles, lol. Sending prayers for a blessed week.

  3. We have had very little rain here in SE Ohio. There has only been 1 cutting of hay. Looks like farmers might get another slim cutting. You know what that means…not enough hay to feed livestock. I pray people are reading between your lines and taking what is going on in our country seriously. The squirrels and raccoons thought we planted the corn just for them. At least they left the bird feeders alone. Other than that our gardens are doing very well. Even though we’ve had to water several times. Happy gardening, Jackie. Praying things smooth out at your homestead.

    • Thanks Robin. I’m hoping folks will give serious thought to the possibility of an upheaval following this year’s election, no matter who wins. I know we are, and we aren’t “end of the world” folks.
      Yep, those darned raccoons. Cute as a bug’s ear but oh how destructive they can be.

  4. There is such comfort in putting things up..here in Arizona we have nothing but heat ..this week again 110 or more every day and no rain..my garden is toast but I am still trying to get veggies to can..it is going to get interesting that is for sure..

    • It seems like there’s crazy weather all over the country. I’m sorry your garden bit the dust. Maybe this fall you can get away with planting some crops like short season green beans. I have a hard time giving up and it sounds like you do too.

  5. Every year brings new “challenges’. This keeps it interesting-Hah! My green beans have produced the most ever (strike variety). The pepper plants are heavy with peppers. I have never had so many raspberries that we froze. We’ve had the third-highest rain totals since 1939 (and a week to go). If you cut hay your are guaranteed to have rain. I feel your experience. All we can do is keep “trucking”.

    • That’s for sure Everett! Will is cutting hay like mad as we’re supposed to have a week of dry weather. We’ll see…. I’m so glad your green beans, peppers and raspberries are doing so well. It seems like some years a few crops excel, some do just average and some…. Well, not so hot.

  6. My husband usually has a nice garden each year. Not this year. First frost got most everything then it is hot as Hades drying everything out. Plus, his health does not let him do a lot and this will most likely be our last garden that he will plant.
    I will be buying as much from the local farmers market to put up this year. Will make pickles and pickle radish this weekend. I did get a few peppers from garden to use in them. Corn is going for $1.00 an ear in my region. Froze corn was on sale last week at store so I stocked up on that. Sometimes i wonder if mother nature is against us when we need her the most this year.
    Ava is sure a cute girl on her horse and growing up so fast.

    • Wow.. if you want to buy individual ears at the local grower where I buy my corn, $.50 an ear. A “dozen” (usually at least 13 ears, some times 16 if some ears are on the smaller side) is $6.00.

    • That’s for sure! Wow, a dollar an ear. I remember when we had a market garden, I was getting $2 a dozen, and some people thought it was highway robbery until they tasted it. I’m sorry your husband’s health is troubling both of you. But I hope you find some great local produce to put up.

  7. What a beautiful horse Ava has. She is blessed. I am so sorry to hear about the difficulties you are having with clay!!! You are right it’s all over the country. Could you write something to give us an idea as to what to stock up on? I know I am concerned too. You can’t even listen to the radio anymore.

    thank you for sharing!

    • The horse Ava is riding is her instructor’s horse but she loves him and her weekly rides on him.
      I’d stock up on dry goods like (of course!!) toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent & basic first aid supplies. I try to get ahead with my over-the-counter meds like cold meds, anti-diarrheal, vitamins, pain meds etc. If there’s a baby around, there’s powdered formula, infant otc meds like teething meds, baby Tylenol, extra bottles and binkies (if they use one). I try to fill my daily prescriptions ahead of time so I can slowly build up a supply to last awhile, if necessary.
      Of course, you know what your family likes to eat so stock up on those types of foods as well as dry foods like beans, rice, noodles, powdered milk, powdered cheese, yeast, baking powder, etc. (For pantry ideas, check out my book, Jackie Clay’s Pantry Cookbook. It has what to stock up on, food wise, as well as lots and lots of simple, tasty recipes, using ingredients right from the pantry.)

  8. Yes Weather has been erratic
    Raised beds are my answer for
    The Cute bunnies at the Bird
    Seed mess by the trees.
    Also 2 Big Beautiful Skunks. And
    That has become my latest
    Unexpected Blessing. Mice are
    No longer evident at the horse
    Feed or bird area. The “old timers”
    Say they’re Better Mousers than
    Any cat. So they’re sure welcome
    On this old farm. Live and learn

    • Yep, “pests” like skunks and weasels are very good rodent protection. One winter, we had a weasel living in our house. I opened my cupboard doors at night, and he went hunting. I didn’t have one mouse all winter!!

  9. I totally agree with you in stocking up. I am trying to think ahead. The chaos in the world is prophetic, to a big extent. I am trying to discern God’s leading. We have much to be thankful for. Especially these grandchildren and their parents. The best to you and yours. 🙏

    • Thanks Sheryl. We try not to fixate on the world’s problems as they are beyond us to help. We just say, “Plant more beans…”, as we can plant, harvest and put up our food. We can’t fix Ukraine, Korea, China or Gaza. We can only vote at the Presidential election. We do the best we can and let God figure out the rest.

    • Yes, we have. I couldn’t get it anywhere this year so dusted with pyrethrin then sprayed with Bt, another biological, safe spray. They are much better today!! We only found a handful of larvae on three rows. Hooray!!

  11. Rain has been crazy here in Northern England, even by the wet and soggy standards of a typical English summer!

    I don’t think we’ve had more than maybe 21 days without rain since Midwinter.

    Hope things improve

    • Me too! For us, it had finally dried up some so Will can cut hay. I hope this means we’ll return to kind of normal weather!!

  12. WEIRD weather here in Northern New Mexico, yet to harvest zuccini, beans, tomatoes, corn, etc. and soooo much rain!

    Sandy

    • So, you’ve got rain too? Wow. When we lived between Springer and Clayton, NM, we usually fought drought, rather than rain. I hope you dry us soon.

    • Me too! Mom thought it was just a phase I was going through. Not so. I’m 78 and still have horses. Can’t live without them.

  14. We all should have been in stock up mode since Mar/Apr this year. Recent “events” just kicked it up a notch. Climate change ignorance abounds but I can live without orange juice. FL “sweet corn” has always tasted like silage.
    IMHO, (human) food preps aren’t quite as challenging as animal and non-edibles. I’m starting to build up pet food/meds, human OTC/Rx (which thankfully I pay out of pocket so no levels of corp greed), and non-edibles. We’re rural but not end-of-the-supply-chain rural (but far enough out to deter cretins except those who dump animals.. sigh, neighbor and I will keep them fed).
    Sounds like mo’ poo for those clay gardens – you’ll get there.
    And how cool Mason got to play at the Twins game! I remember when our kiddos played at a bowl game/big city T-day parade. I have no doubt Ava and her equine will master jumping. Always glad to read/hear about events the kids actually enjoy – not events parents “pushed” them into.
    Zuke and summer squash *may* have turned the corner. Harvested from both today, another zuke here soon.
    Have a doe with twins *again* this year (looks like two does, last year looked like buck and doe). And a couple of mama hens with a dozen chicks between them. Don’t know if mamas are siblings or just figured two mamas are better than one. But the chicks are so cute. Pepe La Pew, who I saw the other night, not quite a welcome site. The property next door is a bit of a dump so likely where Pepe lives.

    • Selena, I have a flock of Royal Palm Turkeys. The hens also tend to double up on incubation duty. Even then at times it looks like they’re trying to care for too many eggs.

    • We never stop prepping but have kicked it up a notch. Just in case…. Ava’s been a horse lover since she was a tiny toddler. All the pictures I get of her on a horse have her smiling that big smile!!
      We ate our first Costata Romanesco summer squash a couple of days ago, fried with bacon and onions. OMG was it good! We ate a big frying pan full, just Will and I. We’ve got ripe tomatoes and a few cucumbers coming on. Tiny beans on the bean plants and the potatoes are nearly waist high. Lookin’ good!!

Comments are closed.