countrylane's Blog

county fair and farmer's market
Jun 28, 2008 | 11:16 AM PST
Dropped off #1 son's 4-H project today and they judged it as it came in...blue ribbon!!! Yea!!! Also went to the farmer's market on the square. They have it every Sat. morning during the summer, but I'm never in town on Saturdays, so I took the oppurtunity to stop in. Great stuff! Lots of plants! I got 4 thornless blackberry bushes for a bargain price, since it was so close to closing time. Been wanting to get me some of these for a couple of years now. Perfect timing too, since veggie planting time is over. But I also bought a "Pavabactum piriforme" tomato from France. The lady calls them "Pink Torpedo" for short. She was telling me all about a "Spoon" tomato that she had, but couldn't find it. She promised to have some next week, but I don't know if I could get there then. The spoon variety are the world's smallest tomato. It takes 20 to fill a Tbsp. These torpedos are small also, and she said the flavor is exceptional. So I guess I did have to plant a veggie when I got home. Also got some scarlett runner beans for next year and 6 bachelor button flowers. I was very excited! I was thinking of getting watermelon and sweet corn (didn't have any there) but this is just as good if not better!

Giving haircuts
Jun 27, 2008 | 8:42 AM PST
To plants that is, though #1 son looks as though he could use one too. Been trimming  back the lemon balm and the irises. Also cutting back the spent resurrection lilies' leaves and tulips, daffodils, too. Looks much better. Gives breathing room and sunshine to the other plants around them. Also gave the oregano/marjoram a haircut. Wow! what a difference that made. Looks like I'll be busy transplanting some of the irises from the bed around the LP tank. Too many in there and wasn't many blooms there this spring. (I get to make some new beds!) Put down some wet newspaper on the path in my little garden with the herbs/flowers/a few veggies in it. I had put in a path a couple of years ago and meant to put down something to keep the weeds from growing. It keeps little feet from running through the plants to  get to the other side (never mind going around!). Anyway, after I put down wet newspaper, I put the remaining mulch down that I got for my birthday. Hubby said it looked like we need more. :) The county repaved the road/lane in front of our house. Been sneezing all morning. Allergic to the tar??? Looks nice, but it won't for long. I'd rather have gravel, though it does pick up dust. Oh, well. Newly paved roads, regardless of where they end up, seem to attract speeders. Group of boys in a hot rod car went speeding down the road two days ago, blaring the horn. Must have gone all the way back to the creek and had to turn around. (There is a sign telling anyone that the road has no outlet.) Flipped me off on their way back. Makes me so mad and furious, esp. since I have little ones around...

So far so good!
Jun 26, 2008 | 2:52 PM PST

Seems that my sticks are working. I'll let you all know if it doesn't. Wish I had thought of that a few bean plants ago... Hubby is on his way to Georgia. Trucking has been slow the last two weeks. Seems the only way to make good money is to be over the road to some far state. He will likely be home tomorrow night. We will miss him, we always do. But I have gotten used to it, had to, you know. It rained here today. So I won't have to use the hose. God always does a much better job watering the plants than I do anyway. Lots of little toadies in the yard. Keeps the boys busy in putting them in the gardens. Blossoms are on the squash! Little green maters in Early girl! Little hot peppers growing! All this teasing! Been enjoying eating on the patio of an evening. Everything tastes so much better outside...

Outfox the little boogers???
Jun 25, 2008 | 12:37 PM PST

Something keeps eating off the tops of my pole beans (they must taste good). I keep meaning to get me some hot sauce when I go grocery shopping each week, but I always forget (hard to keep my mind on what I am doing, with three boys to keep my eyes on). So I thought about stringing up some string across them or around them or something, but I couldn't find my jute string (I never seem to be able to find that stuff when I need it). So I had a handful of sticks destined for the burn pile when I had a brainstorm. I placed them on top of the beans, esp. the sticks with lots of little twigs sticking out of them. The other ones that were taller and hadn't been munched on yet, I put sticks up around them and wove littler sticks through the bigger ones. I think that the beans will be fine when they are bigger or maybe by then I will find the jute??? Hope this stops whatever critter is munching on them or at lest deters them.

Note: the Nicotania is not growing. I guess it doesn't do well here in Indiana. Crazy spring probably didn't help. Thought the pot I had them in with the old horse manure would encourage them to grow...:(

 

Asiatic Lilies are HUGE!
Jun 25, 2008 | 8:48 AM PST
The asiatic lilies are huge this year. Last year was the first year I planted them. Wow! I cannot believe they are so big and beautiful. Even hubby commented on them! A displaced farmer, yet each year he is beginning to see and enjoy the beauty of flowers and what he used to call "weeds"! :) Funny guy! I haven't done anything special to the lilies, they just must like the place I put them. The daylilies are doing well, too. They are from two years ago when we had a church clean-up day, and they seperated the daylilies up there and had huge clumps of them that nobody wanted. Not wanting to see them go to waste, I brought them home. There are dark red ones, yellow ones, peach ones, lighter red ones just to name a few of the colors. And the butterflies love them. I planted most along the patio and the others on the south side of the house. I found a volunteer sunflower coming up and doing very well. Also a volunteer pumpkin from last year (the giant variety) is also doing well. #1 son found a couple of tomatoes growing on one of the early girl plants. Yum! Can't wait to pick and enjoy! The onions that are growing, some were picked and used in some green beans I cooked. Hubby and mom were clearly impressed with the taste of the onions. Real sweet! Kids were asking for more. :)

The Lord is blessing
Jun 24, 2008 | 6:38 AM PST
The garden is doing so well that we feel truly blessed. The rain that has wrecked havoc across the midwest and the hot weather has coupled together for great growing conditions in the garden. I feel horrible though when I see the farmers' fields and other people's gardens. It is humbling to see my garden doing so well. May the Lord continue to bless it! Have been seeing little toads in the yard. So the boys and I are putting them in the gardens. I planted some cucumbers where I had planted some cannas. THe cannas weren't growing so I planted cucumbers there instead. They are coming up fine. Cut some of my chicken fence mater cages in half. They were too tall to reach down into and pull weeds. So I got 4 cages out of 2, and put the new 2 around some maters that were cageless. Hubby talked about building two new raised beds for me this summer, so they will be ready to plant in next spring. He's going to make them bigger than the other two. They are 8'x4'. The new ones will be 8'x8' or something like that. I am going to put my strawberry plants in one. It will keep out the bunnies. Looking forward to it! Bless my dear hubby! :)

Fish fry, 4-H, and fun!
Jun 19, 2008 | 7:35 AM PST
The fish fry was a good day, if not a little tiring. The sun shone and no rain, but lots and lots of mud puddles. One huge one where the parade usually drove but had to go around. People walking had to go through someone's yard to get to the next road. (Nice of the people to let us tramp through their yard. Nice of them too to put their big dog up.) #1 son was a bit embarrased about being the king,  but did splendidly with he kingly duties. So cute! Sometimes, I forget that he is afterall only 9. Especially since he's 5 feet tall! He loved being in the parade. He did a good job wiping down tables for an hour during the fish fry. Had a good time overall. The twins had a good time too and loved the huge slide ride. We were all really tired that evening. Saw many people there that we all talked to. I love that kind of atmosphere. You catch up with all that's going on with everyone else. It was a good day!

Raining again and 4-H
Jun 13, 2008 | 12:38 PM PST
Yup, it's raining again. This morning the kids and I were outside enjoying the morning. I was spreading more mulch and the kids were building a "base", for their soldiers, in the dirt. It sprinkled on us for awhile. Then we headed in when I heard thunder. It cut loose then and has been raining ever since. I sure hope that it lets up for Saturday. #1 son is in 4-H for the first time this year and will be in the parade at the local fish fry festival. Later, he has a job of wiping down tables after people eat the fish and then he's the 4-H king. Not much there, just helping the leader hand the queen her flowers. At the festival, they have all sorts of things going on, including little kiddy rides and a few that aren't for the little. Hoping it's not raining so we can spend the afternoon there.

At last! My birthday present!
Jun 12, 2008 | 8:37 PM PST
My brother always gets me some kind of gift card or certificate to some gardening place. Same this year. But it's hard to wait until it's warm when I can finally go get some flowers, etc. (Birthday is in Feb.) So yesterday we went to the local Feed and Seed and bought a truck load of mulch and some annuals for the front porch! Yeah! The mulch looks so nice under the big maples and around the littler trees and in the bed in front of the front porch. Have more mulch to spread still. #1 son thought it stunk but after awhile, he got used to it. He filled buckets and I dumped and spread the mulch about. Somebunny (hee-hee) has been eating the leaves and tops off my beans (grrrrr!). Need to plant more and then dowse the area with hot sauce, which I need to get more from town. Hubby said the place looked real nice. Dad-in-law thought I had dumped lots of dirt under the trees and around some beds (he was talking about the mulch). Hmmm! Time for new glasses? If his daughter had been there she would have called him "Helen" (as in Helen Keller)! hee-hee! Need to call little brother and tell him thanks for the mulch and flowers...

beans, peppers, and new flower bed
Jun 11, 2008 | 6:33 AM PST
All this rain have been a blessing in disguise for us, at least. The plants have loved it and are flourishing. I need to find another place to plant some more pole beans. I'm thinking of planting more under the poles and then put some string for them to go up. Perfect place because no little feet can get to them. Would like to put something in between the rows of onions, just don't know what. Pepper plants? Thinking of planting some lavendar up where we buried Bear two years ago. Would like to have another flower garden there. It's dry up there during the summer, so I think that lavendar would do well. The day lillies are doing well. So does morning glory, but I had to pull it out due to it choking out the other plants. I also need to plant the guara that I bought from Lowes. It was too muddy yesterday to do anything except pull weeds.

Friends' Adventure
Jun 11, 2008 | 6:24 AM PST
Found out on Sunday that one of our families from church had an adventure on Saturday due to the rain and floods. She and her husband went to the hospital in Columbus where she had their 8th child. She arrived safely at 8 lbs. Then the dad got a call from their other children who were at home (the oldest two are 14 and 16) and they were concerned because the flood waters were coming into their garage. So Henry left to get the other children out of the house. But he couldn't get there because of roads shut down. When he tried to go back to the hospital, they had shut the roads behind him, so he couldn't go to either part of his families. After calling friends, some went to rescue the children at the house and a friend took his wife and new baby to their house and Henry was able to get to his wife and baby. The family was able to be reunited that evening. What an adventure! The Lord was truly watching and keeping all safe! At least Annalyse's birthday won't be hard to forget!

The heavens cut loose
Jun 9, 2008 | 9:14 AM PST

Friday night and all day Saturday saw buckets of rain poured on us and the surrounding counties. Many were pushed out of their homes and many fields are destroyed again from rain. The local farmer around us has already replanted once this year a couple of fields. I don't know if he can replant again because of time and money. My plants have loved the rain but not so for everyone. Saturday was a bit unnerving while I took hubby's paperwork to the shop and picked up his check to take it to the bank. High water everywhere and the currants were very swift, even just from field to the next. Once I didn't know if I should go through, since the water was just a few inches from the top of the guardrail. But the guy behind me went through with his truck so I followed. Once I got in town though they shut down roads due to high water. Was stuck in town. Finally found an obscure lane over the tracks and found my way out of town. Just tried to get home. The Lord blessed with keeping the interstate open until I got through, then they had to shut it down due to high water. Watched the news and saw many people had to evacuate their homes. Sent a prayer that none would lose their lives through this.

Hot and stormy
Jun 4, 2008 | 1:55 PM PST

I imagine most of the midwest have seen this kind of weather. Hot during the day and real stormy in the evening/night. People around us have seen some major weather storms. It would be nice to have a nice night's sleep. (I am very afraid of real fast wind, i.e. tornadoes, straight-line wind. I went to sleep last night, praying, "Please protect us, Lord", again and again. He answered prayer!) But the seeds are loving this weather. I saw the pumpkins and watermelons have sprouted. The beans I replanted last week are up and the okra and peas are getting bigger. So are the maters and just about everything else. The Lord can bless, even in bad weather.

Hark! I hear thunder! Surprise, surprise, surprise...

Lowe's? Uh-oh for the hubby!
Jun 3, 2008 | 1:09 PM PST

Yup! He sent me to Lowe's to get 2 five-gallon buckets, which I know were nowhere near the garden dept. but I'm there, so I might as well as go and see what they had. :) I was good, I only came home with 4 plants. Saw some beautiful annuals, but at $4.00 for a little pot each was too much for me. They looked like miniature petunias. Some were red with a darker red stripe on the petals. Others were a light purple (or blue) with a dark blue stripe on the petals. Then there was a white viney mini flowered plant. Would have been real pretty in the planter I bought this year. Very patriotic. Anyway, I did by two potentillas (sp?). Also bought another lavendar plant and another thing that I can't remember the name for.

Noticed the fragrant nicotene plant seeds have started to come up. Such little things. The bunnies have been nibbling on my green peppers. Going to have to get some hot sauce to sprinkle on the plants. I also want to move some peonies that are growing under my mock-orange. They don't get much sun and no room to grow. Also some of that mock-orange is sprouting up and I could move them too. Free plants!