Monday, December 14, 2009

Winter Greens

We have a few things growing in the garden right now. I am amazed at how little sun gets to the back yard during this season. Either I forgot, or just never noticed, that the winter sun is so low in the sky that we hardly get any sun. We have also had tons of rain this season and everything is soaked, always. Most things we planted in the late summer are doing well though.

Here are the collards, some cabbage and brussels sprouts.


Chard, onions, and garlic.

Dino Kale--my favorite.



We are proud of the broccoli this year. It is the best we've ever grown with nice thick, tight heads. The broccoli fresh from the garden has an unbeatable flavor. It is another one of my favorites.
 

 

The cabbage is still growing. We haven't harvested any yet. We are waiting to see how big it will get. This is another crop that is growing better this year.
 
 

This is a new bed down in the bottom of the yard with some chinese cabbage that we bought as starts from a local nursery.
 

We love our broccoli:)


You can see from some of the pictures that we've put up our row covers again. It has only dropped below freezing one night but we are covering the plants some nights even when it is not freezing just to keep them warm.

Daniel is still making and applying gallons of compost tea every week. Ellen and Arianna are usually out there helping him mix and pour. If anyone wants a more detailed list of ingredients or directions for compost tea let us know.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

I'm back with a new camera

I got my Christmas present a few weeks early this year. Instead of replacing the old point and shoot digital camera I decided to upgrade to a digital SLR. I'm so excited and can't wait to explore all the options on the new camera.

The girls  asked to take the first pictures so here's a sample. You'll have to pardon me for the next few months. I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pictures as I figure it all out!


Here's the Christmas village we inherited from my grandmother and the girls love setting up every year.


Here's our Norfolk Island Pine that we use for our Christmas tree every year. I asked Daniel and the girls if they wanted a bigger tree this year, but they shot the idea down and looked at me like I was crazy! They love this tree. I do too.