The Weekly Digs #162

In the Garden

The big project for our week was getting our children’s gardens planted. It’s been two years since they had their own spaces and I am so glad we were able to get them set up again. 

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It was fun to see each child’s personality come out in how they planted, what they planted, and how long they spent getting it just right. For example, one child spent thirty minutes planting, while another spent four hours planting. Not that one is right or wrong but it was interesting to note the differences. 

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The best part is the kid’s gardens are almost hands off for me. I helped them set up and answered questions but I love that they want to weed, water, and tend to their space. I don’t need to remind them because they enjoy it.

They sowed watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, flowers, popcorn, dent corn, arugula, and luffas. 

Our family garden has moved into more of the production space with lots of practical varieties that produce really well. I’m excited that the kids are bringing back a lot of the fun with strawberry popcorn, watermelon of many colors, and more of the unusual varieties. 

Kid’s finished gardens

In soil blocks in the family garden we planted:

  • Basil
  • Lettuce, tropicana and coastal star
  • Lemon squash
  • Peredovik Sunflowers

I direct sowed:

  • Provider green beans
  • Goldilocks beans
  • Jacob’s cattle beans

It was 90ºF almost every day this week. We went from a slow spring to instant hot and humid summer. It was brutal not only for us but I also noticed the extra stress in the plants. Hopefully we get some relief soon.

Compost Haul

Another big project this week for Cameron at least was picking up compost. I haven’t figured out how to make enough of my own compost yet so we buy it. The best place is an hour and a half away. 

We ran out of compost earlier this week and it is so hard to garden without it because it keeps the weeds down and keeps the plants healthy. 

We get it from a mushroom farm and it is awesome stuff. Last time we got some, we hired a friend of ours with a large dump trailer to pick it up for us. But our friend works in construction and summer is too busy for him to go get compost.

So Cam and I brainstormed what to do, and the plan we came up with was for him to pick it up. But we had to rent a trailer and it couldn’t be huge because we didn’t want to overload the truck. 

He took the day off of work in order to make the trip. When Cam got there, he waited for almost an hour because they were filling a semi truck full of compost! Cam brought one batch of compost home and said he wanted to make the most of the trailer rental so he went and got a second load.

The second time he went, they were setting out crates of mushrooms that the workers said they wouldn’t be able to sell. Some of them flared out when growing and unfortunately, the stores won’t take them and they were going to throw them away.

I don’t blame the store for not taking them. It’s the majority of the customers that will not buy it because it’s not perfect. I hope someday the public mindset will shift to more acceptance of imperfections in produce. What they don’t realize is imperfections in produce are more natural than perfect produce.

Cam asked if he could have some and they said fill up as much as you want! He only had a couple bags in the car but he was able to get around 10lbs of mushrooms! We ate some for dinner and we are planning on freeze drying the rest. 

Pigs

We are getting our pigs soon, our guy who we buy them from said the litter was born this week and he sent Cam a picture. We are getting six this year and will be selling the pork cuts on our farm website around Christmas. 

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6 Comments

  1. I love that your kids are helping and taking ownership in their own gardens. My younger kids LOVE to help, but aren’t quite ready for their own garden. The pigs are SO ADORABLE! I hope to be able to raise pigs one day. I can’t believe that you all were able to take advantage of all of that FREE FOOD! WHAT A BLESSING! I am still on the lookout for a good compost source in my area. Wishing your farm all the best!

  2. Very cool about the mushrooms! Piglets are a lot of fun to watch when they are under 3 months old. After that, they start getting “personality” or perhaps “attitude” and are a bit harder to like.

    I love that your kids are doing their own gardens and that they selected things that will be fun to harvest and eat. I don’t envy you guys in that 90F temps…

    1. Good job, kids!! Great work, Cam! Yay for free mushrooms! I canned mushrooms and they’re good, but the broth is even better. Its soooooo good!

  3. I love reading your posts. It gives me the motivation to keep going on our little 1.5 acre homestead. Wish we were neighbors. You are all adorable. Sending hugs from UTAH. ☀️ One day I hope to be as amazing as you.