New Additions To The Garden

Now that fall is here, the garden has been pretty much put to bed. I did plant two new things for the garden, but they won't start to produce until spring time.

The first new item is three blueberry bushes that we purchased back during the summer and they got delivered a week ago. We put them in the ground thee day after they arrived, but didn't get pictures until today.

They don't look like much right now, but with hope, they will give us blueberries starting next summer. I picked out three different varieties that need each other to produce a better harvest. One blooms in June, another in July, and the last in August. This way we will have some berries all summer long. These are second year bushes, so we don't have to wait a year or so for any blueberries.

I bought them at Stark Bro. The varieties that I picked out are: Earliblue, Bluecrop, and Jersey Blueberry. I can't wait to taste them. I am hoping that some blueberries grow next year, but if not then the year after will produce for sure. Because I ordered them very early, I got a 15% discount. I love discounts andso does my bank account.

I also added garlic to the garden. This is another new thing for me to try out. I planted 5 or 6 rows that are about 5 feet long. If these grow good, I will have more garlic that I will know what to do with. Good thing my sister and her family love garlic. I plan on sharing them with her.

They had started to grow. I planted them a month ago when we started to get 30's at night. Now of course it has been in the 60's during the day and low 40's at night this past week. I put more straw over them to protect them from our cold snowy winters. I may need to put more on, but for now, I have enough to cover all the garlic, so you can't tell it has started to grow.

The blueberries also have a nice layer or straw around them to protect them this winter.

I cleaned up most of the garden. I just have to dig out the stalks from the sunflowers. Matt mowed the lawn one last time the other day and mulched and bagged up the leaves. He then added them to the garden and I mixed them in with the new compost.

Speaking of new compost, we have expanded the garden. This past summer, the garden looked like this:

There was spaces in between all the beds that were wide enough for the lawn mower to get through. Once we put the fencing up, Matt stopped mowing inside. Last month we had 5 yards of compost delivered and dumped into what was the corn bed. We need more compost, but will get it in the spring. From there, Matt and a friend of his worked for a few days moving the dirt all over and filling in all the empty spaces. Now the garden looks like this:

Now it is one big bed. I can plant more next year. I don't mind walking in the dirt, I love dirt. I hate wearing gloves or shoes in the garden. I want to feel the dirt. Of course walking around with no shoes on with bees around is not a good thing. I learned the hard way and now have to carry an epi pen around with me. I still love bees, my body just doesn't. 

The bed that had our tomatoes in it this year and last year, we got rid of. We need to get a new oil tank and lay it on its side. Seeing how that bed is right in front of our tank, it had to go. No worries, I planned to move the tomatoes somewhere else next year. I just need to relocate my garlic chives.

Seeing my garden like this, makes me excited about the spring and starting my garden all over again. I just love to see what God can do with some seeds, water, and sun.