What a Peach!

I can't believe it!  We actually have two tiny little peaches on the tree that Mark planted a couple months ago.  They are so cute.  They're about the size of a gumball.  I can't wait to see if anymore pop out.

The tomatoes are almost ready to go into the ground.

And.....the lettuce seeds that were planted a week ago have germinated.

Isn't it amazing that everything starts from something small, a tiny seed, or a tiny grain of sand, or a tiny egg, or a drop of water.

Permaculture

per-ma-cul-ture - noun

The development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient.

My husband is still aggressively working on turning our 5 acres into a permaculture wonderland.

I think that I mentioned a couple weeks ago that he was waiting for some worms to come in the mail.  Well, they did and he put them in the worm box that he had built, per youtube instructions.  However, after a few days he opened the box and was attacked by millions of fruit flies and a horrible stench.  So he had to re-think the worm situation and now he has them in a re-designed worm box and in the 10 foot deep hole near the back of our property (which he says will be perfect because they need to be kept cool).  You might ask why we have a 10 foot hole available to receive worms.  It was originally dug for an underground shelter, but that's another story.

Worm ledge covered with stuff that worms like.

There are a couple worms in the middle of the photo.  They usually like to stay underground.  It's amazing how much lettuce they can eat.

Hy-dro-pon-ics - noun (used with a sing. verb)

A method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil

He's been thinking about trying a hydroponic garden for some time.  He's using a large, plastic container, with dirt built up on the sides to keep it cool.  It will be filled with nutrient-rich water with a pump and air-stone.  The plants will be started in little cups that sit in holes cut into a piece of styrofoam that sits on the top.  I'm not sure what he is going to grow yet, but, I can't wait to see what happens.

And then, he re-purposed a couple old pallets to create raised beds.  He nailed some wood on the back and sides, drilled drainage holes, filled them with dirt, planted the seeds - voila, raised beds.

He planted several different types of lettuce.  They are covered with plastic until the seeds germinate and pop out of the ground.

 He is using only heirloom seeds and only natural methods of fertilization and pest control.

Time to Sow the Seeds!

My husband loves to hang out in the yard.  He always has a million different things going on in the yard.  We have 5 acres so it keeps him pretty busy.  He keeps everything organic - no herbicides, pesticides, etc.  He ordered some heirloom seeds this year.

They started like this....

  Here are the little tomato seedlings that he just separated into cups.

and now they look like this.

He's getting ready to order a couple thousand worms.  Being the ever-supportive wife, I said "oh, that's great" when he showed me the box that he is preparing for the worms,  While inside, I was envisioning millions of squishy, disgusting worms invading my house.

The Worm Box

He tried some strawberries this year.  They are growing, not quite as fast as he was told they would grow, but they ARE growing.

Also, the first year for potatoes.  I can't wait to see if this works out.

 

The Potato Box

and the nourishment from GOD!