Homestead mailing list

["Lisa K.V. Perry" <lisakvperry AT gmail.com>]

On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 5:35 PM, Akka Homestead 
<akkabhomestead AT yahoo.com>wrote:

> Just to offset all the political posts I've made lately....
>
> Saw my very special little grandbaby on Friday and Saturday...what a joy
> she is.


I'm so glad you're enjoying her.

 The moon is right and my garden bed is ready, so today I'll be planting

> my garlic for next year. I know I am a bit early, but while the ground
> is soft...I'm planting about 150 cloves, intensively spaced 4" apart, in
> my monster raised bed.


I'll also be planting garlic soon, but not 150 cloves in the garden. ;)  I
plan to put some (and onions) around my trellises off the kitchen deck as
the deer have eaten the heck out of the bottom of the morning glories and
they've stolen a few buds off my new climbing rose (also on a trellis off
same deck). They've trampled my new concord grape vine, but somehow it's
still alive. I hope the onions/garlic will deter them next year.

I suppose, too, that I'll be trying once again to clear all the
> blueberries off the bushes(we picked another gallon yesterday), and
> since the pears are ready, I need to do something with that, too. I
> picked about 50 pounds of Keiffers<sp> this morning, so tomorrow I'll be
> wrapping some and maybe making pear butter or something.


We're long done with blueberries, and sadly, the deer got most of our pears.
We would have had a bumper crop of Seckel and Bartletts, as it is I came in
the house with just several. There are a few more Seckels on the tree out of
reach of the deer, so I'm watching them. This variety needs to ripen on the
tree.

Yesterday, I picked the Red Delicious Apples
> and got another Spokane Beauty that had fallen onto the ground(those
> things are huge!) There are two SB's left on the tree.


We have Stayman Winesaps falling hourly. The tree is 100+ years old, too
tall to pick unless with a *very* long handled picker and then it becomes an
exercise in frustration. They are very tasty, the deer think so as well. I
will can a bunch as sliced apples (for pie/cobblers, bread/muffins, a side
dish, etc.) and dry some. Might do apple sauce, though we don't often eat a
quart at once and it sometimes gets forgotten in the fridge before it's too
late. Perhaps pint jars? maybe that's the answer. We also have a Liberty,
Mother, Crab and Jonagold (not certain of name) apple trees that are loaded.
We have some Asian pears in the garden, the deer have not touched those but
they nearly wiped out the dwarf and espaliered apples trees (defoliated
limbs).

It's a fruit rich year and this is Processing Time.

Lisa