![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Photos: Savanna
Mar. 6th, 2026 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithI took some pictures around the yard today. These are from the savanna. (See the house yard.)
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
ysabetwordsmith
Photos: House Yard
Feb. 20th, 2026 09:10 pmysabetwordsmithToday's project was creating an enclosure behind the log garden. I dragged some more logs back there so I can dump dead leaves inside. That way, they'll stay put, create habitat, hold moisture, and remain available in case I want some leaf litter during the warm season. This is a good use for old logs if you have any lying around.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Flowerbeds
Feb. 18th, 2026 07:58 pmysabetwordsmithThe first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Charleston Food Forest
Nov. 8th, 2025 10:53 pmysabetwordsmithToday we visited the Charleston Food Forest, Coles County Community Garden, and Lake Charleston. These are the food forest pictures. What started out as a beautiful fall day, sunny and cool, clouded over by the time we got out of the house. So the lighting isn't great, but at least the pictures look okay. (Continue with the community garden and the lake.)
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Oct. 10th, 2025 11:37 pmysabetwordsmithThese photos of the Coles County Community Garden came from October 9, 2025. Begin the trip with Charleston Food Forest Part 1 Right Side and Charleston Food Forest Part 2 Left Side. Continue with Seeds.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Summer’s end
Sep. 27th, 2025 07:41 ammoonhareThe garden is all but done, now. We have harvested as many tomatoes as we can, and only a few green peppers remain. The pumpkins were brought in early because of bacterial wilt and rodent damage. Cucumbers were pulled up in late August due to wilt. All in all, though, it was a good season.
We put up ten pint jars and three quart jars of tomato sauce. Salsa was made from the remaining green tomatoes which wouldn’t ripen: two pints canned and a quart-and-a-half refrigerated.
Onto planning 2026!
We put up ten pint jars and three quart jars of tomato sauce. Salsa was made from the remaining green tomatoes which wouldn’t ripen: two pints canned and a quart-and-a-half refrigerated.
Onto planning 2026!
Tribulations
Aug. 16th, 2025 07:15 ammoonhareBefore leaving for a scheduled surgery last Thursday, I gave the garden a good watering and made sure the fences were clear, secure, and operating. Hours after my procedure my wife told me that something had gotten into our plum tomatoes and at least five were chewed and/or pulled off the plants. This was the first time this season that our garden was ‘attacked.’
Upon my return we set up the trail cam between rows to try to see who was enjoying our veggies.
Chippee! (Yes, chipmunk ;o) Not seen are the mice that come by, too.
Obviously, the fencing can’t keep these out. I’ve tried Repel sprays and even dosed the plants lightly with fungicide to dissuade the rodents, but it has had minimal affect on them. Offering them water in little dishes helped a bit. *sigh* Even a pumpkin was fair game :o(
Partial solution: we are picking the tomatoes at first blush. From there we are ripening them in the house in paper bags (adding a banana helps the process). It works.
First batch of sauce!
About eight pounds of tomatoes yielded five pints. One jar did not seal and will be used in a day or two.
Upon my return we set up the trail cam between rows to try to see who was enjoying our veggies.
Chippee! (Yes, chipmunk ;o) Not seen are the mice that come by, too.
Obviously, the fencing can’t keep these out. I’ve tried Repel sprays and even dosed the plants lightly with fungicide to dissuade the rodents, but it has had minimal affect on them. Offering them water in little dishes helped a bit. *sigh* Even a pumpkin was fair game :o(
Partial solution: we are picking the tomatoes at first blush. From there we are ripening them in the house in paper bags (adding a banana helps the process). It works.
First batch of sauce!
About eight pounds of tomatoes yielded five pints. One jar did not seal and will be used in a day or two.
ysabetwordsmithThese are pictures from the Charleston Food Forest. (Continue with Part 2: Left Side, Coles County Food Forest.)
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Charleston Food Forest
Jun. 21st, 2025 02:04 amysabetwordsmithThese pictures are from Thursday. I went foraging at the Charleston Food Forest. It's across the parking lot from the Coles County Community Garden.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Jun. 21st, 2025 12:17 amysabetwordsmithThe Coles County Community Garden is across the parking lot from the Charleston Food Forest. It's not the kind where you rent a bed and grow what you want. It's tended by the community and anyone can come pick things to try.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: Dark Gardening
Jun. 12th, 2025 12:01 amysabetwordsmithI enjoy growing dark-colored plants. I have black flowers, bronze leaves, black fruits, all kinds of interesting things.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
How to Secure Trough Pots to a Bench
May. 14th, 2025 12:37 amysabetwordsmithToday's project was filling a set of trough pots and securing them to the benches of the new picnic table. (This is from Tuesday, but it's after midnight so the date reads Wednesday. See some "before" pictures.) There are 6 troughs total, although one already had wild strawberries in it from earlier. Each bench holds 3 troughs. I got these and a bunch of other pots when Big Lots went out of business.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Tiller time!
May. 8th, 2025 02:22 pmmoonhareI did a quick checkup on my little 1986 Pony tiller today:
- inflated soft tires
- cleaned out residual mouse nest from blower housing
- oiled recoil ratchet
- cleaned/oiled foam air cleaner cover
- replaced the spark plug
- added Sea Foam to last Autumn’s gasoline
- topped off the oil
Started on the second pull!
From there I tilled under the living room window in anticipation of a batch of gladiolus bulbs coming next week. I then gave the garden a rough tilling.
I love this time of the year!
- inflated soft tires
- cleaned out residual mouse nest from blower housing
- oiled recoil ratchet
- cleaned/oiled foam air cleaner cover
- replaced the spark plug
- added Sea Foam to last Autumn’s gasoline
- topped off the oil
Started on the second pull!
From there I tilled under the living room window in anticipation of a batch of gladiolus bulbs coming next week. I then gave the garden a rough tilling.
I love this time of the year!
Springtime
Apr. 17th, 2025 08:56 ammoonhareSpring is advancing, slowly, here. Nighttime temps are still in the 30°s F, but there is plenty of plant activity in the yard!
( Pics! All expand. )
( Pics! All expand. )
Photos: South Lot
Apr. 10th, 2025 11:57 pmysabetwordsmithThese pictures mostly show the south lot. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna and Prairie Garden, and Back Toward the House.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Photos: House Yard
Apr. 3rd, 2025 11:22 pmysabetwordsmithToday I took pictures around the yard. It's cloudy, so the lighting is bad, but so much is happening that I wanted to capture it. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna, and Prairie Garden.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
ysabetwordsmithThese pictures are from the left side of the Charleston Food Forest. See Part 1 Right Side.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
