Of course, we were planting, planting, planting. I’ve been trying to clean out the greenhouse except for the various habaneros I am trying this year, which need heat and a longer season than we can provide naturally. So, I’ll pot them up and keep them inside all summer/fall and pick out my favorites to grow out next year. But the big kicker this week is that David and Elizabeth had to be moved out of their apartment in her mom’s basement by June 18th as her folks are going to list the house for sale and want to have it all spruced up by then. Of course, their new house isn’t finished so it was a whole lot of sanding sheetrock, painting, fixing, moving junk, sweeping, etc. Luckily, some of their friends and relatives pitched in and got it camping-livable by Saturday when the move was scheduled to happen. Moving day came and David had borrowed Will’s big red Dodge and the stock trailer to do the hauling. A few days earlier, he’d hauled 500 gallons of water from our well to pump into his two storage tanks in the house. (The plumbing is almost done … but the one toilet flushes!) As before, some kind folks came along to help, including Elizabeth’s parents, with a trailer.

Saturday was moving day for David, Elizabeth, and Delilah!

By 4:30, all was unloaded and pretty much set into place. You know the old saying, “Many hands make light work.” Well, it’s pretty much true. Thank you everyone! Today, they’re still trying to find things and unpack the necessary things. But, as their kitchen sink, shipped from China, is still in California, some things will have to wait awhile. Hey, it’s better than camping in a tent! Delilah enjoyed “helping” and riding on the ATV with me to get things from our house. Yes, I put her in front of me and held on to her with my legs and one hand. And I drove just about slow enough to walk next to me.

Many helpers made quick work of the move.

I’ve also been busy establishing some container gardens, just for the convenience of walking out the door and grabbing salad fixings. Our old metal stock tank is now planted into various varieties of lettuce, as is a second, fiberglass, leaking tank that Will brought up and filled with garden dirt and rotted manure, topped by a few inches of ProMix. I also planted a few tomatoes in large pots as well as some sweet peppers. They all look nice and are right out the front door.

This is my first container of this year, lettuces in a rusted out stock tank.

Today, Will’s working at hooking our multi-fuel generator to our 1,000-gallon propane tank. We’ve been running it off small tanks but it’s inconvenient as you run out of fuel when you least expect it and can’t get refills unless you pay through the nose on the weekend. He had already run the main line underground last year but hadn’t had time to get it hooked up.

Aren’t these fat honeyberries gorgeous? Soon they’ll be jam and jars of fruit, ready for baking.

This morning, Will picked a bucket of honeyberries, our first spring fruit, besides rhubarb, harvested. When I finish up here, I’m making a batch of jam and canning the rest to use in muffins, cakes, pancakes, and sweet breads. We love our honeyberries as they flower early and the flowers are not harmed by spring frosts, like nearly all other fruits. If you’re not familiar with honeyberries, they’re like elongated blueberries, a bit tart, with great flavor and hugely productive. We’ve got eight bushes of several different varieties for good pollination. Yum! — Jackie

16 COMMENTS

  1. awesome so many helping hands for the move!! you are truly blessed.
    neat lettuce bed!! i too have starts that need to go in to a allready full garden. will try the bucket and leaking trough idea! thanks,
    mary

  2. Hi, Jackie,
    I’m wondering what variety of honey Berry you have as I see about 6 Varieties available from stark brothers. Thanks, Marena

  3. Yep, we’ve also moved into less-than-habitable homes. It just takes work and more work. Oh, did I mention money???? Yup, that too.
    No. Gardening is never, ever boring! Something always keeps you on your toes!

    • True. You just can’t count on someone else providing food for your table. (Even we have occasional crop failures, though…)

  5. I’m gonna have to look into honey berries!

    We have been planting here too. Going to try to get the last of my main garden put in today. It’s a lot of work but well worth it. I plants just about 80 tomatoes- and it is exciting. My peppers are still a bit smal so they are growing up a bit in the green house yet. Hopefully I can get in everything else this weekend.

    My onions have looked a little off though- I planted about 200 seedlings from seed I started, they looked good at planting, but now I am seeing yellowing in some of the greens. Is that normal? I’m hopeful it is.

    I planted my popcorn last weekend- and the glass gem popcorn is amazing. I didn’t remember which it was but I sure was wowed when I opened the seeds! I doubled my corn field this year, and actually got in flour corn. I am hopeful it all grows well. We have a lamb with only three feet I got this spring and he keeps managing to sneak into the garden. He isn’t causing any damage, and has actually kept my garlic neatly weeded. He’s a sweet boy. Anyways- onwards! My kids and I raked some hay yesterday and then we all square baled last night. It was a beautiful night for it- and it sure smelled so sweet.

    I do love this time of year.

    • We do too! I’ll love it more when we get everything planted outside, though. Right now, it’s a push to get stuff in the ground, especially ahead of the supposed-rain that’s coming (maybe) this weekend.
      Sometimes onion seedlings suffer a little setback after being planted, especially when hot weather hits. Usually, they’ll bounce back very nicely with some additional watering.

  6. It will be nice to have David and his family close. Moving is always a chore, but you are right, many hands make light work. Those berries look just luscious. There is a u-pick blueberry farm not far from me and they are planning to open this weekend. I am hoping to get there and get enough to make jam and freeze some of the berries. We did get some rain! 6 tenths, but I am so thankful for that. We are still incredibly dry, but every raindrop helps. It is hot this week, highs near 90. It certainly feels like summer. My garden looks pretty good despite the weather. The tomatoes look very good so far and the cabbage is looking good. I have had to replant a few things. I think the birds were eating the seeds possibly. Who knows. Prayers for a blessed week.

    • Thanks Marilyn. I got 8 half-pints of luscious jam out of those berries. I’m so tickled!! No rain, yet, and it’s really dry. Hopefully this weekend, though….

  7. It will be nice to have David and the girls next door! Everything works out in time ? Take care and God bless!

    • Yes, it is nice to have family so close. I’m going over this afternoon when it cools down, with the Kubota, to till a small garden plot for them. I’ve got some extra tomato plants that will find a new home. :)

  8. The clock has started to get the house ready for northern winter. May they not have to install a temporary sink!
    Does ProMix store well – I saw some the other day (yeah, in June go figure) and thought if it stored well, I’d grab a bag (or two) for next year.
    The dry weather might be helping the strawberry harvest – aka not worrying about water logged berries. First picked June 3rd and picked 3 more quarts since June 17th. Not as many larger berries (not like the large hollow berries you pay through the nose for at the store) but the taste can’t be beat. Might get one more quart, we’ll see. Plants are sending out daughters like no tomorrow despite moisture pretty much coming from better half watering.
    No change of rain until Saturday and the air quality from the Canadian fires is still affecting our air quality. A good rain would go a long way for plants and the air. Might have to resort to watering in order to weed (finally convinced better half grass and garden planted asparagus AREN’T a good idea).
    Won’t quite be 3 months since we planted the taters but we’ll dig a plant for the daughter. I really need to start dropping hints about tilling up the one other area for taters only. Seeing little tomatoes – yay- but not sure how the cuke plant will do. Something is getting to it already. I should mix up the Ivory soap mix and spritz it and the zuke/summer squash plant. Won’t be long before garlic harvest and still no scapes which I find perplexing. Could it be due to the recent dry weather?

    • That sink is SLOWLY making its way eastward. Yes, ProMix stores well. It does dry out but I just mix hot water with it and it rehydrates well. Prices always will be going up, I think. We’re still very dry but the gardens are doing well, despite the heat and drought. Stuff is slow in coming up, but it does look good once it pops through. Watering is tough to impossible in two of those gardens so they haven’t had any water. About four inches down, though, the soil is still damp. Our potatoes are just coming up and today Will found the first Blister Beetle and squashed it. Friend, Jason, called and said they’re heavy at his place. So, we’re really watching.
      Some years, you just don’t get garlic scapes. I’m not sure why, either.

    • Boy, we do, too. David found he’d hooked his on-demand water heater up wrong so had to get a couple of fittings so he could change it. Hot water is nice….. Yes, Friends are truly gifts from God, as is family!

  10. Hi Jackie- those honey berries look so scrumptious! So delighted to see David and his family moving into their home! Perhaps a little earlier than planned but they’ll get there before long. Lots of us have been in that predicament but it’ll all get done eventually! Now they can begin to make plans for their lovely property! It’s sure a busy time for all us gardeners and the weird weather makes it interesting. Nature is in charge that’s for sure! My garden is iffy with some things but other crops are performing well. Gardening is never boring that’s for sure!

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