Harvest
Jack and I were walking around the yard while digging potatoes and Jack found a chestnut that fell from the trees my Grandfather planted about 20 years ago in our yard. It got me thinking that I should take these chestnuts and try to regrow a tree from one of the seeds. So we picked up the handful of nuts that the deer hadn't found yet and I took them home. I put them in some damp potting soil that I will keep in the fridge for the next 4 months. More to come on this experiment....
It was that time of year to go up to my Mom's in Donegal, PA and dig potatoes. Fresh giant potatoes are the highlight of the harvest season and nothing can top fresh cut french fries! I needed a helper and decided to take Jack for the afternoon. I dug em and Jack put em in the wheelbarrow. Quite the tandem! Here are a few pics from the day.
Picked our second batch and took a couple pics. We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year on a limited number of plants. We ate, steamed, juiced, froze, pureed, roasted, etc.
Chili and pizza and pasta sauce!
We decided to keep the first year's garden some what within reason and used the existing small plot in the yard. this is probably a great decision given everything else I am trying to do now. But it was super important to get that first garden in and have my two little helpers right there along with me!
With the new house and a couple acres of space, we wanted to start planting some apple / pear trees in our first year, so we could enjoy them in a few years when they matured. We bought a Honeycrisp and Gala apple and a Bosc and Bartlett pear for our family Easter gifts. The apples are dwarf and pears are semi-dwarf. There is a lot to learn about fruit trees (if you want to really do it right), so I've been researching a lot. For now, the trees are in the ground and we have a fence to keep the deer out.
The twins had a ball helping throw dirt and playing peek-a-boo! It's amazing how much joy can be found in a dirt hole!
Just add water
A few weeks later
Sauerkraut season is on for 2013. The Somerset farmer we typically buy from lost his crop due to the floods this year, but my buddy was able to find us some cabbage for the year. We'll see how this batch turns out for New Year's.