(swiss chard)

Today was a sad day, there was something wrong with one of the chickens and it appeared to be sufferring, so I put it out of it’s missery by snapping it’s neck The kids didn’t understand but I tried to explain to them that it is part of life on the farm. I had eggs and potatoes for breakfast, and I got beef from my parents in exchange for some veggies so I had some beef along with my greens for lunch. The beef hit the spot. I harvested potatoes, kohlrabi, bok choi, broccoli, beets, snap peas, strawberries, onions and summer squash. It was a great harvest in the garden, even though we are down a faithful soldier. My son also seemed to enjoy the harvest today more than most. It was the first time that he helped me harvest potatoes, which he loved since all he had to do was stick his hands in some compost and pull out the tubers!

Salad

I had a salad yesterday with veggies from the garden and a few eggs.  There was also a caterpillar in the salad.  I ate half of it before I realized it was in there.  I didn't feel like finishing the salad after that.  I also picked some bok choi out of the garden for the first time that I plan on eating for dinner tonight.

weight

I weighed myself this morning; I was 224 pounds at 19% body fat, which is 10 pounds below where I started 5 days ago.  I was also 21% body fat when is started the diet 5 days ago.  224 pounds is closer to normal for me, which makes sense since over the week or two before the diet I was eating more and unhealthier than usual.

As soon as I woke up I went up to the garden, which is quickly becoming my routine.  I harvested a kohlrabi for the first time and a head of butter lettuce.  I had the kohlrabi leaves with some eggs for breakfast along with some orange juice that I made from some oranges a friend gave me from their back yard.  The kohlrabi wasn’t bad, it brought a different taste to my pallet that I can choose from which I appreciate.  The orange juice really hit the spot.  I think more than anything I have been craving mountain dew, so the sweet orange juice really hit the mark. Later today I plan on spending some more time weeding, since the weeds are starting to take over.

Kohlrabi

My Kohlrabi are starting to get ready to harvest.  Some of the bulb like stems are a couple of inches wide which is when they should be harvested.  With this warmer weather I would guess that they start to bolt if I don't get them out of the ground soon. 

Today is the 4th day of my diet.  I have realized that my garden is going to be more than large enough to provide me with food for the month.  My main staples have been potatoes and kale.  I also planted a lot of radishes, which my grandmother really likes.  I don't.  They can be good when mixed with other things, but I don't like them straight up.

It has begun.

I started my diet yesterday.  I must admit I am pretty hungry.  I have a lot that I can eat, but Ican probably eat veggies all day and still be hungry.  I also have a lot of plants that are growing well but haven't started producing yet, like the artichoke above.  Hopefully with this warmer weather they will start to produce more.

Getting close.

A lot of the plants are ready to be harvested, these include the Broccoli, kale, lettuce, radishes and arugula just to name a few.

Aphids

Some of my plants have aphids.  My tea plant, brussle sprouts, and bok choi are the ones that I noticed with aphids. I tried spraying them with insect killing soap.  The active ingredient is potassium salts of fatty acids.  It seems to have worked as long as the plants got good coverage.  I will check them again in a couple of days, and spray again as necessary.  The label says that it should be used every 5-7 days.  The soap also says that crops that are sprayed can be consumed at any point after spraying as long as they are washed off.

Bolting vegetables

This is a pic of a bok choy plant that is bolting.  There are a lot of my vegetables that are starting to bolt, which is to bad for me.

This is my Camellia sinensis (tea plant).  It is doing well and has some new growth emerging.  It is in a spot that gets a few hours of early morning sun and shade for the rest of the day.  With the hot Sacramento summers it probably can't take any more sun than that until it is well established.  It is also in a spot in my yard that will receive plenty of water.

This is a picture of my pluot tree.  It is hard to see but it has a couple of spots that are covered with aphids.  If you look closely though you can see several lady beetles.  I will keep an eye on the aphids, I am hopeful that the lady beetles will be able to keep them in check and I won't need to spray.

Transplants

With the warmer weather the seeds that I started in transplant trays are finally growing.  I planted my first set of transplants into the ground yesterday. 

Here are a couple of pics of my potatoe plants.  I built a ring out of chicken wire around the plant and I will fillit with compost ever week or two as the plant grows so that it will produce it's potatoes above the ground which will make it easier to harvest them.  This is one of the larger potatoe plants, some of the others still haven't sprouted.

Compost

I got two yards of compost today and started to put it around the vegetables in the garden.  The compost consists of leaves, branches and other yard waste that has been composted for over 8 months.   

The sun is finally out.

The plants have been growing really slowly, hopefully with the warmer weather and sun this week the plants will start to take off.  However, even with the cold and wet weather a few of the veggies have started to bolt.  I am also facing some problems with rodents, as voles have been eating some of the squash plants and something (i think rats) has gnawed a hole into the chicken coop and started eating the eggs and chicken feed.  Dr. Roger Baldwin has given me some suggestions on how to erradicate the vermin so I will let everyone know how that goes.

The last row.

I put in the last row yesterday(In the rain).  As soon as my transplants that I started from seed are ready I will plant them in that row.  There is still some space above the last row for possibly one more row, however it is fairly steep.  Instead of a row I am going to plant some plants that will take up a lot of space and not need to be in a row such as watermellon and squash, that way I won't have to worry about erosion as much either.

The potatoes have sprouted!

The potatoes have finally sprouted.  It has been almost 3 weeks since I have planted them.  I guess the cooler than usual weather has slowed them down a bit.  I planted Yukon gold and Adirondak Blue, both are early season varieties that should be ready starting in May.  As soon as these plants get a little bit bigger I am going to put chicken wire rings around them and cover the lower half of the plant with a light compost.  I am hoping that this will encourage the potatoes to put tubers above the soil making it possible to harvest the seedlings by hand, and hopefully without having to pull each plant when I harvest them.