My Videos

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Ducks and the Blooming Garden....


Thought I'd share this ducky video with you!  
My Muscovy Ducks having breakfast.  They are 8 weeks old.

The Peppers have been really enjoying the heat... look at these banana peppers!

My beautiful Kale is being eaten...

Radishes... my husband's favorite!


Saturday, July 16, 2011

An Underground Greenhouse?

I was doing some research on Food Storage and Gardening... when I came across a link with details on building your own underground greenhouse!

I thought that it was so cool that I wanted to share it with you!  I never really thought of having a below ground greenhouse... but I'll tell you what... it would solve our wind issue... and it would be like our geothermal system in that you have the warmth of the ground temperature during the winter... and the coolness during the summer!

Here's the link: Underground Greenhouse

No, I'm not jumping right on this and getting it done... but I will be thinking about it!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Our first garden salad...

Our 1st garden salad!
We enjoyed a nice salad from the garden tonight... baby romaine, broccoli, danvers half long carrots and radishes.

Radishes are my husband's very favorite vegetable from the garden... so tonight I planted a bunch more for him!

I'm beginning to let some of my muscovy ducks into my garden... not the whole herd of them (all 9)... just a few females and a male.  I have to really watch them as they pass their favorite greens... cucumbers... beets... corn...  overall, they're doing a pretty good job gobbling up the hoppers.... but sometimes the greens are just too tempting!


You'd laugh if you heard me out there with them (I am mama duck!)... I'm always telling them... "Eat the hoppers.... Eat the hoppers!"

Thursday, July 14, 2011

I see a difference already!

The other day I weaved soaker hoses all throughout my square foot garden.

And... I see a difference already!  My bed of peppers is LOVING having the extra moisture!!!  They've already grown a few more inches... in just a couple days!


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Oh ya, black spaghetti!

It's been so windy and hot here that my garden has been dry as a bone even with watering almost every night!

So today... I took drastic measures....  I employed the "black spaghetti!"

A very kind neighbor (I have lots of these!) gave me a bunch of soaker hoses that her aunt no longer wanted...

So today I strung them all thru my garden beds!!!!



I know!  It's not pretty....  But, I'm going to give it a try anyway!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I am a front yard gardener!

I am a front yard gardener!

I decided when we moved into our new house that I would take Mel's advice (author of Square Foot Gardening) and put my garden in a place where I would walk past it frequently and where it would capture my attention... namely... the Front Yard, actually.... right next to the driveway!

I am outraged by what is happening to Julie Bass in Oak Park Michigan! She is being criminally charged for having a raised bed vegetable garden in her FRONT yard!

Read this article.... and if you feel moved to act... please do voice your opinion to city officials in Oak Park Michigan!

Green Bean Chronicles: If You've Got It, Flaunt It!

Friday, July 8, 2011

The Toad...

This morning first thing, the ducks headed over to their kiddie pool.  Choco was the first one to the pool and right away... he captured a toad.

You should have seen him trying to eat that toad!  He ran away from the "herd" so that he could eat it all himself!

I didn't think he could do it... but he did!




The garden is looking good!  The tomato plants are blossoming and setting fruit, the giant pumpkin vines are growing... and the cucumber plants are getting more leaves.

I've been able to harvest broccoli, strawberries, and lettuce so far...

Monday, July 4, 2011

Harvested another head of broccoli

I definitely need more broccoli plants next year!!!  Is it too late to start some from seed for fall planting???

My broccoli is just beautiful this year!!!

In case anyone wants to know... you CAN eat more than your broccoli heads!  Did you know that the leaves are edible too?

And... you can even add them to your green smoothie!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Harvesting Broccoli...

Garden Fresh Broccoli... YUM!
I started harvesting my broccoli this week.  It tastes SO good!  It's so much better than grocery store broccoli!

Woohoo... I finally get to participate in Daphne's Monday Harvest Reports!


Our "free range" Muscovy Ducklings are almost 6 weeks old!  Here's a photo that I just snapped... they're hiding under my truck in the shade. 

Thursday, June 30, 2011

It's Raining...

Wow did we just get one heck of a rain storm!  Oh and now... the sun is out!  Well, the garden really needed a good watering after the intense heat of the past couple days!

A view of the garden during the rain storm.

The Ducklings are not sure what to make of all this rain!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Growing Kale for the very first time!

Garden update...

For the very first time... I am growing Kale!  Russian Red Kale is the seed type.  I've come to really enjoy Kale in my green smoothies... and in soups too.

I had to reseed some of my Kale squares as the duckies go to them before I put up my garden fence.
Muscovy Ducklings 5 weeks old

Russian Red Kale sprout

My tomato plants survived the mighty winds of late May and early June and are flowering.  They look really healthy!  Bring on the tomatoes... I want lots of canned sauce!


I have a whole 4x8 bed of various types of pepper plants... from hot to sweet.  They're about 5" tall so far.

And my strawberry plants are producing nicely!  I have 3 boxes of strawberry plants this year.  My bigger box contains plants that are about 3 years old.  My two smaller boxes were planted this year with plants generously provided to me by a neighbor.


And here's my bench that I purchased way back in 2004.  It was looking a little shabby, so I painted it.  Some of the wood will need to be replaced... maybe next year.  I painted it Pacific Pine... the same color as my front door.

Now to get my boys to help me put it in the fenced in garden!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

My garden has a fence!

Well, it took most of the day and 150 feet of garden fencing... but we got 'er done!


FENCE!
Garden all fenced in!  Safe from duckies!
My cute ducklings were eating up my tender shoots of corn, broccoli, cucumbers, peas, and lettuce.  And my cats and possibly Missy the duck sitter... were digging in my beds!  So my 13 year old son, Aaron, and I installed this fence today!  YAY!

Question for those of you who have experience with poultry...
Is there such a bird that I could let loose "in" my garden and have it eat bugs but not my plants?

Ducklings... now 4 weeks old
My ducklings put themselves to bed tonight!  It was the funniest thing!  They just marched themselves right into their ducky house... all on their own!  But... they hadn't done their nightly "grasshopper buffet" walk with me yet!

Every night we walk around the property.  I stir up the hoppers... and they gobble them up!

Missy the Duck Sitter and Aaron (13 years old)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Broccoli... Ducklings... and Deer... oh ya..

The Garden....
The garden is starting to take off!  Warmer temperatures have set in... yup... it's finally summer here in northern Wyoming!  Yay!

My tomato plants are getting blossoms... even some little tomatoes!  The broccoli is forming heads... the green beans are coming up...


The Ducklings...
I've been so enjoying my ducklings!  Yes, we have a routine now.  In the morning I lead them (yup, just like mother duck!) over to the little pasture on the north side of our property where they gobble up baby grasshoppers by the dozens.

Then in the evening after supper, I take them on another grasshopper adventure to the south side of the property.


This one was gobbling up a long dandelion stem!  I couldn't believe it!

Ducklings 4 weeks old

They follow me around like mother duck!  It's so fun!

Tonight they even helped me do some weeding in the iris bed against the house.  I pulled weeds and they gobbled up bugs all around me!

The Deer...
Oh ya... and deer!  The other morning there were 2 deer that came out of our woods right out back!  Luckily I had my camera handy and snapped these photos.


Luckily they were at the back of the house far away from the garden!    I was surprised that the dog didn't go crazy... but she was at the front of the house... maybe busy watching the ducklings.
Our duck watching dog...

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Grasshoppers, weeds... WAIT... not my broccoli and...

My 4 week old duckies are growing so fast!  They are about a foot long now and getting their feathers.  They are beautiful creatures!




But then they got into my garden!  And started nibbling on my tender shoots of corn, and budding broccoli heads, and chinese cabbage, and  all my lettuce... !WAIT!... where are my pea greens?
Duck nibbled Chinese Cabbage

Duck nibbled Chinese Cabbage

And this is what my broccoli SHOULD look like...
And so...
I went to Lowes and bought 2 big rolls of green Garden Fencing, 50 feet each and strung it along the long sides of my garden beds.  I need one more roll to finish it.

Now my tender plants can grow!  Oh... and I forgot to mention that the dog and cats are also digging in my garden beds!  My poor tender cucumber shoots!!!!

Now, all critters can stay OUT OF MY GARDEN!  Well... at least they will after I get that last roll of fencing.....

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Ducky things... a new house

Hi Gardening Friends!

standing up tall!

Muscovy Ducklings 3 weeks old.

Muscovy Ducklings playing in the mud puddle!  They love puddles!
The Ducklings spent their first night outside in their duck house.  As I peered in this morning, they seemed very comfortable.

My older son designed and built it for me out of scrap lumber and repurposed plywood.

Duck House.  Needs to be painted!