How does the garden grow? - Beautifully!

Our garden is growing so fast! It seems like just yesterday we were plowing and now look at it ! The pop corn is already almost three feet high!

And the flowers! It seems there are flowers everywhere. As soon as one variety fades, another begins to bloom.Who says a working farm need not be beautiful?

 There are flowers in the herb garden, too. The Echanacia really did well this year. Below are some of the small but lovely flowers of St. John's Wort.

Let's head across the creek to the bigger garden, there is a lot going on over there!

Look at all those vegetables! That wheelbarrow will be loaded down with them soon, Lord willing.

Will you be kosher dill ? sweet? bread and butter? The possibilities are delectable!

Pole beans.

Banana peppers.

This kind of trellis for tomatoes is something new we are trying this year. It's very simple, just place the river cane poles well into the ground around the plant , then tie together at the top. You then tie support strings around the plant at intervals ,tying to canes as you go to hold the plant inside. We laid poles along the top for a bit of added stability, but it's not really a must. So far this method is working great.

Yellow squash.

Such a pretty view to a homesteader's eye. We see the rows of plants, but we also see the hours of labor, the blessing of sun and rain,and the hope of a bountiful harvest.  We see food on the table, on the pantry shelves and boxes of goodness to send home with friends and family.

Canning Summer Squash.

First off, so sorry to everyone that its been so long since we posted anything-We have been so busy here on the homestead that there has not been much chance to get to town( no internet service at home) and blog about it! One of the things we have been doing a lot of is canning zucchini and yellow straight neck squash.

Here are some little zucchini on one of our plants. They grow so fast that the tiny squash on this plant will be canning size in another day or two at the most. They have been coming in fast around here!

Clean canning jars ready to fill.

I leave about an inch of head space . Then I add half a tsp. salt and just cover the squash with cool water.

Ready for lids and bands.

Summer squash , like all low acid foods, must be pressure canned. Check with the local extention office or check the Ball "blue book" of canning for the most up to date canning times and pressures.

It is so satisfying to see all those pretty jars lined up in the pantry:-) . We like to use canned squash in soups and to make fried squash patties. Mmmm, mmm!

That's all for now, but more on what else we've been up to coming real soon!

Blackpowder Pistols.

Just a short post to show a couple of muzzleloader pistols that Dustin has refurbished. He also did the beautiful incised carving on both.

A view of the other side.

Close up of the locks.