We planted potatoes in our towers this morning. Tommy built the towers from fence wire. We lined the inside bottom with old straw and a layer of good composted garden soil. Next came the seed potatoes that we cut into chunks and rolled in wood ash. The ash prevents rot.. Next a couple more inches of soil and a nice watering down. Fingers crossed as we wait and watch!
We have a garden. My husband Tommy is getting a load of compost garden soil today for my herb garden box and potato towers. I am so blessed and praying for a bountiful harvest.
Spent a fun night with seeds, paper & pencil, and my trusty companion planting chart. Certain plants are very beneficial when planted together..some not so much. The chart keeps me on track and not making mistakes. Apparently sage and cucumber are a big no no!
We have our first successes! Beans and jalepeno peppers are up and looking good in our first hugel kulture beds. We are busy getting more beds ready for planting. I love spring!
Hugelkultur. A big funny word for a scandanavian gardening technique. We are going to give it a shot! The premise is to put old rotting wood on the bottom with layers of compost and old papers and cardboard and straw. Then soil on top. The boys helped me maneuver big packing crates into position by our greenhouse. (Can you believe we got them for free off Craigslist?) Then we layered all the stuff like a big lasagna. So far we have peas, beans, cucumbers planted. Going with hubby to get lots more crates on Monday. The big advantage is the beds are raised so no crouching! Get out in the earth and plant something..it will do you good.
We watched the Swifty Swine pig races
Next we went to all the exhibition barns and headed to the carnival. 
A great time had by all. Until middle son threw up after riding the same ride three times in a row after drinking a soda....then we were done! See you next year..
Fire cracker plant is showing off! Crepe Myrtle just starting to leaf and a gorgeous butterfly bush for your viewing pleasure!
Here he is cutting wood for the new deck.
And the first board is in.
Did I mention that the whole time he was working on the trailer he was suffering from what is known in these parts as "Ceder Fever"? it is the painful result of a North wind that blew for two straight days here. Cedar pollen is truly one of the most unpleasant things on God's good green earth! Cedar Fever brings a runny nose like Niagara Falls, coughing up yucky junk as a result of the nose and feeling weak and feverish.
What a guy! I made him homemade Chicken Alfredo as a reward.
And then he went to bed.
The view from atop my first bluebonnet! It is feeling like spring is finally here. Nights are still a bit cool, but days are warming up rapidly here on the farm. The bee hives are in a sea of pink phlox...
And these yellow flowers are all a buzzin!
We are so excited to be splitting our hives this year. in the picture you can see we have two types of hives, one is a traditional hive and the other is a top bar bee hive. my hubster built the top bar hive, and hopes to do an even better one this year. That will bring us up to 4 hives with splits..and did I mention the wild hive in the back of our woods? It is in an old gas tank and he is planning on cutting it out and re-homing it in another hive. I think we will film that! Either way it is one step closer to having enough honey to supply ourselves with sweetener and be able to sell some as well.
So get outside and take a few deep breaths of springtime... and if you are somewhere cold just hang in there... Springtime is on its way!
