Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Reality

It's either too hot or too wet, and this is our reality.  This is a small side of the front porch flower bed.  I have trees growing in it, ha ha ha ha!
  


The mailbox flower bed.  Trees are growing there too, ha ha!


If you look close enough, you'll see my roses in that weed field next to the house, and in front of that, across the sidewalk my weed packed herb garden.  I wasn't kidding when I said the weeds were so tall, I could see them out my windows.


Another view of the herb garden.  Even the grass can't be caught up with, nor the trimming.  You should see my vegetable garden.  It looks like we are growing hay out here.

On a good note.  I tried something new this year.  I took 5 geraniums inside over winter, and 3 survived.  Check out this one. . .


The plants I kept out in the living room, near the wood stove over winter, did the best.  Sure saved money on buying annuals.


This my friends is a row of beets.  A very long row, and that is a row of carrots to the left and the horribly looking peas to the right.


Two and a half hours later, I found the beets.  Some are looking really good, while others are a bit small.  I didn't finish the row in that photo either.  


The tomatoes have been resurrected, but are pretty small.  The cut grass has fried up in the sun and sort of made a mulch for them though.



My carrot row.  It's about 40-some feet long.  



After a few feet of weeding, I had to stop and water it.  There was no way the weed were coming out in that dried up dirt.
So yeah, the reality of gardening this year hit our homestead hard.  So hard, there is no way to keep up with it all.  The garlic needs pulled, and everything needs weeded out.  Well, the garlic isn't coming up until we get rain next.



Somewhere in there are 4 rows of green beans that go all the way to the left.  Yeah, I'm about to mow it all down and just buy it this year.  


Just like all the rest of the garden - half didn't make it, some are nice and big with blossoms, and some are dinky.  Some simply fell over after I pulled the weeds.





Here is all that wood from my younger brother.  It was not all unloaded when I took those photos either.  It's stacked 6 feet tall in the first photo too, and I'm starting a second row.  


6 comments:

Donna OShaughnessy said...

Go easy on yourself. We've been gardening for 25 yrs and this year is the first time we can say we have a handle on the weeds. We mulched heavily with rotted straw and hay. It took tons of time in the beginning of the season but has saved us tons of time in weeding. Great job on that beet row!!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Donna, this is the worst weed year ever for us.

Mama Pea said...

I know you hate to give up as much as I do, but I think your weeds have won this year. And Mother Nature has given them the upper hand. I think I would mow everything down and till it up . . . green manure is good for the soil. Then start planning next year's garden and concentrate on some of the many other tasks you can more easily accomplish on the homestead. Don't feel you failed because the weather was definitely against you this year.

Bovey Belle said...

Isn't gardening frustrating? Because of the pollen and my asthma, I stay indoors in June. In a normal year that's IT with the garden - it usually rains regularly here in Wales and by the time I am able to get back to my garden, it has gotten away from me and everything has reverted to grass - my plot has never forgotten it used to be a FIELD! You have my sympathies, but as long as you pick your battles, I am sure you will yield something edible this summer.

At least you have a great "crop" of logs for the winter!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Bovey Belle, thank you for you vote of confidence.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, I think we decided to mow down the last two rows of green beans and try a shot at fall planting.