The Productive Backyard 2017

[Harriet]

Here’s a space to discuss the chores and pleasant efforts that bring something from the land into your kitchen and home.

Planning and designing,
Enjoying views,
Vegetable garden harvests,
Egg gathering,
Beautiful blooms,
4-H projects,
Canning/freezing/putting up,
Orchard fruits,
Composting and building soil,
Livestock appreciation!

[Nancy]

Got 9 eggs today. 4 doz. Went with h to take to sell to the crew at work. It is too cold for chicks here yet.

We are taking out a bush as big as a room in the front yard. I will be moving onions & herbs out of the back to the front after we do this. I think I will put in more roses, iris, & bulbs in the fall. Carrots as well. Or more grass if h. Gets his way.

[Twins' Mom]

Will post here that I went with dfriend M yesterday to H ome D epot for pansies...need to get them out, both front and back porches/patios.

[Nancy]

I potted up two roses with put them out after it warms up I put sun flower seeds in the soil with them.

I put the last of the dry leaves in the chickens run today. I can put shavings in that container for when we have new chicks and need them. I need to clean the coop.

We got the bush cut off and hauled branches off.

[Harriet]

Wanted to report on my flowers this year. Still trying to find the true blues and doing okay this year.

Worth recommending is the evolvulus Blue My Mind (sometimes called the Dwarf Morning Glory), which is a low-growing, spreading flower that SAYS it likes full sun. My experience is that it does better with partial sun here. It went out of bloom but came back into bloom and right now is attractive. The important thing about it is that the bloom though small, is true blue blue - not purple, not lavender. Very rare in flowers.

Had made one hanging basket that I wasn't too sure would be pretty, but like it very much now. Blue Artist ageratum (also very close to true blue) is thriving with 3 orange flowers : a mini-petunia (calibrachoa Sunrise), a marigold and lantana (Fireworks) of all things. I keep waiting for the lantana to ruin the basket because I know it can get tall, and we saw it growing 4 feet tall at the historic site, but it is happy in the basket, blooming away and staying the same height as the others. That's good to know because the bloom is surprising in the basket and makes me smile since I didn't know it could do that. If it's stealing anything from the other little plants I can't tell it.

Also the Phantom petunia I would never have believed would have been such a favorite for me. It's got so much black that I guess the yellow just grabs your attention. Anyway, getting compliments, blooming well.

The vegetable gardens on the property beside us are so extensive. We are blessed to get many remains of the "market" days. I'm suspicious when we're given anything pretty - I ask for the ones that aren't attractive enough to get the customers attention at market. I don't want to be taking anything away from the attempt to be successful.

[blessedw2]

thought this was neat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31hB5d__UT4 about victory gardens

[Dove]

Blessed, thanks for sharing that video -- very interesting! Wow, what a lot of work, & that doesn't include all the work involved in canning everything.

[Nancy]

My Aug. flowers are doing great this year rose of Sharon 2 varieties, and sun flowers looking great the deep watering has paid off.

Plums are days away from being ready to pick!
Hens love the windfall apples I glean for them.

H is selling 4 doz eggs a week to the crew at work so hens are oaying for thier own feed plus I did not have to mow a wonderful blessing when my leg was hurt.