It's all about tomatoes: tomato plants, tomato fruit, tomato sauce, and tomato tables. Overrun with tomatoes on the counter, in the freezer, I cored and scored and processed them in a hot and cold bath, peeled the skins and made tomato sauce. Dick cut the lumber for four tomato tables for the hoop house, 16"... Continue Reading →
Hoop House It felt awesome getting the front-walk tomatoes into the hoop house. Of course, seconds later, Dick and I thought of several things the hoop house needed immediatly. Ventilation, irrigation, and information about its climate. Time to go shopping. Even with the 40% shade-cloth covering the hoop house, it was warm and the air... Continue Reading →
I didn't hear the storm last night, but it must have poured. The rain washed out the gravel between the garage and the blueberries. It's also caused several tomatoes to split. Garden Tomato plants in the raised beds and two in pots on the back deck had snapped stems, dropped tomatoes, and were beaten down.... Continue Reading →
Finally, working outside is manageable. Gone is the swimming-in-your-clothes feeling because of the high humidity and changing multiple times because you're soaked. Meaning less laundry. Dick and I survived July and half of August by only working an hour or so before retreating to the pool for a quick cool down. That pool is a... Continue Reading →
Is all this rain because of Kyle? It's crazy. The chance of rain today – 15% or less and yet, it rained most of the day. Last I looked at the rain gauge, the total accumulation over the last several days is 3.25 inches. Even the hummingbirds are at their wit's end: sword-fighting and jousting... Continue Reading →
What’s lime green, fat as your finger, and snacks on tomato, pepper, and potato plants? Tell me how many hornworms you found in the picture. A hobby gardener suddenly turned homesteader, I knew about these tomato hornworms and their voracious hunger. Earlier in the growing season, Dick spotted one on a potato plant and then... Continue Reading →
Prepping the Fall Garden I’m up early to check the progress of the garden. Bands of heavy and light rain alternate, making it difficult to check on the pole beans in Zone C. That’s the garden plot next to the sawmill, where the nearly complete hoop house sits. Too curious to care about staying dry,... Continue Reading →
Sawyers suffer from sawdust and sinuses. Dick and Jane milled the long-dead dried-up old Hickory on a blustery day. It wasn’t the worst windy day they’d experienced. What made this day memorable was the direction of the wind. It blew the sawdust straight into their faces. It didn’t take long for the dust masks to... Continue Reading →
The formidable duo, tractor, and digger are at it again, clearing deadwood and weed trees from the forest floor. Dick and Jane tackle a dense area of laurel, holly, and fallen trees that block access to the water. With the power of the John Deere 3032E tractor and the 35G excavator, it’s quick work to... Continue Reading →
or was it? Oh, it started out as a fun idea. Tout the idea of a full day of sawmilling. Let’s call it a marathon milling extravaganza!!! Not that Dick and Jane could compete with the professional sawyers or you young-uns out there. Jane considered it a success if their current record of processing four... Continue Reading →
M.J. Patrick
Author M.J. Patrick 