January 2015

Good news, bad news month. The bad news first.......major wind storm. While no trees fell into the garden itself, we did have one giant tree smash into the lunch area, destroying both the lunch tent and the potting/work area tent. Both tents were a total loss. On top of that, one lunch table got broken. Bummer. Trees also fell onto the chicken and rabbit pens, severely damaging both. Only one hen died. Poor girl. But happily all the others, including the rabbits, survived unharmed. They all got loose and ran amuck for several days, but in the end everything was fine. 

Good news....

Two new pipinola beds got created. We are using dead standing trees as trellises for the vines. We built a low rockwall around the tree, filled in the bed with horse manure, compost, and soil. Then planted several pipinolas around each tree. They should be producing in about 6-9 months, were aiming for 6. 

We get excess from the garden that does not get eaten, sold or given away. Mostly it's damaged and misshapen stuff, or the rest of the plant parts that don't get harvested. If it's edible, then it goes to feed livestock, otherwise is heads to the compost boxes. Below are two new baby pigs that are the newest recipients of the garden waste. These cute little guys already have told us that they don't like green beans, but the love sweet potatoes, both roots and vines. 

Bad news.....

Grasshoppers. We started seeing holes in the Chinese cabbage leaves. We were thinking it was slugs but we caught grasshoppers in the act of munching. So we went looking for them by using a stick to brush the leaves, causing the hoppers to jump. Gotcha! 

Another insect we are seeing around the perimeter of the garden is the walking stick. So far we haven't spotted any in the garden itself. We don't know if they would damage our garden or not. 

Another pest we see from time to time is the sphinx moth caterpillar. It eats the sweet potato leaves. We don't see many and frankly we don't mind having a few use the garden for the supermarket. We have plenty of sweet potatoes and are willing to share with a few moths. 

Harvest still include a nice variety of veggies.