Hurray for leaves!

We decided this year that we wanted to heavily mulch our garden area with leaves over the winter. Our trees are all too small to give us any substantial amount of leaves, so we are left to get them from other sources. Brady mentioned this plan to his mom, and she has wonderfully brought us many loads of bagged leaves. Not just a few either. When we came home from the library yesterday there was a huge pile of leaves sitting in front of our garage. I was amazed. It honestly was more leaves than I thought we would be able to get. But that is not all... Today she brought us not one, but two, truck loads full of leaves. I lost count, but there are over 30 large bags full of leaves currently in our garden. Many of the leaves are from Brady's grandmother's house, but others are rescued from the curb of homes that have set them out for trash day. We have joked that we will have to start calling Grandma Brenda the Leaf Bandit, and perhaps give her a costume to match. What could be better than getting leaves that were headed to the trash and bringing them to us so that they can help us grow more wonderful veggies next summer? Not much, I think. Thank you, Grandma Brenda! While all of the leaves were in the backyard we moved them all into the garden this evening. The kids must have sensed that me and Brady were up to something, because shortly after we started, they all were out helping. Now they are anxious to get to empty all the bags so that they can play in the leaf piles. I am sure there will be plenty!

These are all from just 1 one of the loads she brought.

Here is the crew moving all of the leaves to the garden. Our oldest kiddo had just tripped, but had a soft landing.Our dog, Pepper, supervised the whole operation.

Growing Hazelnuts

About three years ago I saw an ad from the Arbor Day Foundation that had hazelnut bushes for sale. As one often prone to making impetuous decisions, I fervently insisted that we get some! I logged countless hours of research on the internet, devouring anything I could find on the topic of growing hazelnuts. I encountered information ranging from growing hazels from seeds and clippings to emerging markets in hazelnut production.

My dreams of someday selling candied hazelnuts at the farmer's market were dashed, however, when all three of my plants died. The next year I received a survey from the Arbor Day Foundation asking me how my plants were fairing. I indicated that they were dead and they offered to send replacement plants during the next planting season. Of those three replacement plants, only one remains. I planted two in my yard and entrusted the third to my mother.

Without significant growth, I did not have high hopes for my two. Imagine my surprise when I parted the spring wall of grass to discover this one survivor, after losing all hope that I would one day have healthy hazelnut bushes in my backyard. When we visited my mom for Mother's Day, I slipped back to check on the one I had hoped would have better luck in her yard. I was saddened when I could not find it in the monstrous pack of weeds that had overtaken the area where we had planted it.

My hope now is that I can help this last little guy along until he is healthy and hardy enough to offer a clipping so I can plant another bush. I'll keep you posted!

Planting a Garden

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Each year we have strived to make better use of our bountiful garden area. Last year marked the best efforts, with about two thirds of the space planted and maintained throughout the growing season. We've learned some tough lessons along the way that have helped us better understand weed control and how to better control watering with a heavy, clay based, soil. What we were unable to plan in time, we covered with a tarp, black side up, in order to nuke any weed seeds that might be waiting underneath with the heat of the hot summer sun.

This year, however, we have finally hit the mark and all of our garden has been planted, or has seedlings waiting to be hardened before moving to their allocated positions. Not only that, but we have moved outside of our large garden area and have put a few raised beds together. These beds are the new homes of salad greens and radishes, potatoes, and raspberries. I've also got an order of sweet potato starts on the way!

I am in the process of standing up a bean trellis along a portion of our white vinyl fence to contrast with a plentiful wall of green foliage and succulent beans for use in stews, soups, salads, and all other sorts of delectable dishes. Garden fresh green bean casserole, anyone? We are growing five types of beans this year: the standard green bean, a purple bean (which will turn green when cooked), a yellow bean, an Italian flat bean, and the prize of the lot, Dragon Tongue (link to Burpee, the producer of our original seeds)- an heirloom bean we hope to propagate through the years to come.

The project has gone so well that we will likely duplicate the effort along another section of fence for a cucumber jungle gym of sorts. Anyone who has ever grown cucumbers before can attest to their natural ability to climb and elbow their way through a garden. Giving them their own space to climb seems like a sensible notion. Besides, we can always rotate them with the beans in the years to come.

With most of the mulch down and the the majority of our seeds in the ground, I can rest my hands on my hips, take a deep breath, and allow my chest to swell with a bit of pride. We've learned so much in these past years and we've worked so hard this season. Sure, it isn't over yet and there are still obstacles to overcome, but we can be proud of everything we've managed to accomplish as a family.

If you would like to read an article I recently published about starting a garden, click here. Also, we'd be honored if you would bookmark this blog and return to join us on our green adventure. I am currently putting together a video detailing some of our specific gardening efforts and a few of the lessons we have learned. There are several more posts a-brewin', including a glimpse into my recent homebrewing efforts - so stay tuned!

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