Trials and tribulations of food forest farming

Much of the plants are bolting for the sun pulling them forward to bloom. The radish, cilantro and arugula like the cool weather, so with the hot sun beaming on them, they know it's time to seed for sowing in the fall.

Radish blooming

Arugula blooming

Cilantro blooming

The cool weather crops aren't the only blooming plants beaming in the sun. The blackberry and dewberry plants are blooming, and the wild roses too.

Blackberry

Wild roses in a tin can

I am fighting the birds to no end. Usually I fight the birds with the blueberries too...I cover the blueberries to prevent birds from eating them, but I have another issue: chemical sprays. The county sprayed the roads with weed killer and it wreaked havoc on EVERYTHING. My flowers, my fruit trees and fruit bushes are suffering from the chemical sprays. They have burnt leaves and spots. They are not flowering so they are not fruiting. There's nothing I can do for them, besides in the future to make signs that read: "no spraying, wildlife refuge".

Still, I cover the blueberries--in case there are some blueberries that fruit that the birds want.

Like I have previously mentioned, the birds or other critters are digging up and eating all of the seeds I have sowed for weeks. I have planted zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, cantaloupe, and peas in my garden and pots. But do you think the birds or critters care that I need to eat too? No. They have ate hundreds of seeds. A few seeds were left behind and germinated, so there are some plants growing luckily. We shall see what happens. At this point, I need to germinate seeds and then plant so this discourages critters from eating anything. 

pots full (and not full) of a variety of seeds

Zucchini or yellow squash..it's a mystery now that I have continously resown because of the critters 

Trying to keep them covered as pest prevention...
The white triangle has shittake
mushroom spawn which critters ALSO dug up,
but some may grow in the cedar mulch 

Some of the Blueberry bushes covered

Figs sprouting

Fig trees

The rain continues to down pour, so the weeds grow but my tilling and sowing becomes delayed. It is not a good situation right now. It is almost June, and still I do not have beans planted! The lettuce and radishes have done spectacular this year, and maybe that's all that will produce.

Every year, there is one or two veggies or fruits that out perform and harvest plenty; and then some that don't at all. Every year is different. One year, tomatoes and peppers will be harvested in mass, and then the next year, it may be the beans that have a tremendous bounty. Then the following years, the tomatoes, peppers and beans may not produce at all, whereas the pears or peaches or figs explode in abundance.

We'll find out this year what those great harvests will be...I think we already have.

Still picking lots of greens for months!

Everyday I'm picking and delivering greens from the garden. Of course, I'm eating greens everyday, making pita pockets, garden wraps, salads, sandwiches, and anything I can squeeze a leaf into!

Little Flowers popping up

Asparagus picked

Sowing corn, melons, squash in pots & garden

This week, I have tried to beat the rain to sow seeds and till the garden. I am struggling planting anything because of the rainfall and the birds! The birds are eating the seed right from out of the ground within the hour that I sow it. And it's constant! I'll keep sowing the seed, and then the bird will eat them immediately--like the birds are watching me.

I have 50 garden pots that I'm sowing veggie seed. I sowed cantaloupe, yellow squash, and zucchini in the pots. I have done this 3 times and every time, a bird is eating the seeds...so, I'm at a loss except to sow the seeds again and cover them with plastic sheeting and garden canvas.

Even when I covered the pots with plastic sheeting, something got into them...maybe not a bird, but a mole!

The rain is just as limiting because I cannot till the garden to plant beans and corn. But, I tilled some of the garden wet...finally! I was able to till a patch of my big garden. Then I hoed rows of soil to plant seed. I planted 3 and a half rows of cushaw, 1 row of cucumbers, 1 row of watermelon, 1 and half rows of corn, and a row of transplanted tomatoes.

Then today I transplanted more tomato plants in my grandparents porch garden bed.

Not only have I been focusing on the veggie garden, I am making flower beds. I have started one flower bed at my grandparent's around a tree, which I am decorating with turtles and frogs. The other flower garden is where I planted gladiolus bulbs and decorated with my grandmothers angel figurines, which you can see below.

Despite the mess, there is some beauty in all of this...the blackberry patch...the thyme...the strawberries...are all very lush, green and vibrant...

Blackberry patch

Lettuce...with some weeds

Thyme

Arugula flowering

Strawberries

HUGE & EPIC radish harvest!

I have not stopped picking leaves for soups, salads, and sandwiches. I have noticed while the greens grow slowly, the radishes grow quickly!

Now I have 4 rows of radishes growing intermittently with greens and onion, and some strawberries. So  I have a large quantity of big radishes.


Today, I pulled up a patch of radishes and below you'll see that epic harvest.

After I pulled up the radishes, I worked the soil and sowed some peas, and covered with additional soil mix.

From here, I bagged and dated the radishes to give away or sell. Of course, I have been doing more giving than selling. Here are some additional pickings from the garden...

Asparagus 

There are many side projects behind the scenes...laying sand for ceramic tile in between the garden beds, tilling and hoeing the other gardens, filling pots and grow bags with soil mixes for planting. I have 45 garden pots and probably 20 grow bags filled with mulch and compost. In those, I'm going to plant melons, squashes, peppers, and tomatoes. I have potatoes already poking throigh the soil in the grow bags.

At my other gardens, I have potatoes growing in bags, buckets and in the ground. I am helping my grandparents in their landscaping endeavours as well, so I have made several flower beds and started additional flower bed spaces.

Like I said, there's so much going on, it's hard to detail all in one post. But, I'll keep y'all updated! See you soon.

Garden greens, radish harvest & other garden prepping

Lately I have been cleaning up the gardens to prep for tilling, hoeing and sowing seeds.

At my grandparent's, I cleaned the garden of weeds, raked, hoed and made a burn pile of the weeds. I haven't been able to till and sow seeds because the garden has been sopping wet.

At my garden, I have been laying ceramic tile to make pathways. My garden is also sopping wet, which is why I want to have tile pathways for me and anyone to be able to walk casually throughout the garden with ease. And the tile helps suppress weeds.

I have continually been harvesting greens and radishes everyday. I have arugula, kale, spinach, green and red leaf lettuce, and radishes. Also, in between these plants and the strawberry plants, I have sown carrot, spinach, and basil seed.

With the garden food, I have been delivering to some people. But of course I have been making many meals for myself, green salad, vegan potato salad, pasta salad, sandwiches, green wraps, and much more.

Ramen with fresh garden radish & last years
 pickled radish, lettuce, seasoned with garlic salt,
Black pepper, & nutritional yeast

Potato salad with garden arugula, onion , & radish
With vegan mayo, mustard, salt pepper

Arugula in pasta 

The tulips have all faded away, but it's May, and the Alluims and Irises are blooming. I have strawberry plants too, that are growing beautiful dark red blooms, which I had never seen before. Although I may not update often, I'll keep y'all posted on the happenings in the garden. It's May, so there are many more veggies to plant, the tomatoes, peppers, squash, corn and beans.