New Project for 2011 (or Making an Impact)

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Dave @ HappyAcres

I’m really excited to be involved with a new gardening project for 2011. And it’s pretty interesting how it all came about.

Back early this year, my wife and I visited a local craft show to do some research on soapers. We wanted to see what others were making, and buy some homemade soaps to test them out. We found quite a few that were selling soap, and came home with several bars. It wasn’t long before we were making our own soaps, and having a lot of fun in the process.

Fast forward a couple of months, and my wife is looking for subjects for her newspaper column called Telling Your Story. She decided to write about two of the local soapers we met at the craft show. While doing the interview, they wound up talking about gardening. One of the women had an idea for a project that she and her husband had been kicking around for some time. He is the director of Impact Ministries, an inner-city ministry launched back in 1989 that strives to empower and educate youth and adults.

Lynda and I met with Greg and Mary last month for a brainstorming session. The idea we came up with was a vegetable garden where 6-8 families would share gardening chores in return for a share of the garden output. Sort of like a CSA model of sharing whatever veggies are grown, except instead of paying money upfront the familes would agree to put in about an hour a week of garden work throughout the growing and harvesting season.

I think this program has a lot to be excited about. Not only will the families get to share in the fresh vegetables, but everyone involved will have a chance to learn about gardening and how vegetables grow. And of course it’s another way for Impact to build relationships with its people. They’ve already found seven families interested in participating in the project.

I’ve volunteered to share some of my gardening knowledge, as well as supply some plants and the use of my tiller. I figure I can spare a few hours a week on this project. I’ve already begun the task of site preparation. They have an area approximately 30 by 60 feet, which should make for a nice sized garden. After I get the ground broken up, we will do a soil test and see what amendments are necessary. I’m guessing lime and lots of organic material will be needed.

 

site of future garden spot

I’m sure I will be writing more about this project in the months ahead. There will be lots of planning, and lots of fun things to talk about!

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

September Butterflies

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Dave @ HappyAcres

We still have a lot of butterflies hanging around here. I’ve finally identified the “mystery” species, which are quite plentiful these days. They are Silver Spotted Skippers, and they really love the Tithonia.

Silver Spotted Skipper on Tithonia

So do some of the other skipper butterflies. I believe the one in the photo below is a Cloudywing skipper.

skipper butterfly

And the one below appears to be a Fiery Skipper. I have had a lot of fun trying to put names to these butterflies!

Fiery Skipper on Tithonia

The Buckeyes are now hanging out on this Golden Jubilee Agastache. The bees like it too, but I guess there’s plenty to share.

Buckeye on agastache

The Buckeyes have a new love too. The Autumn Joy Sedum is just starting to open its blossoms, and they are going nuts over it. I counted 24 of them there one day.

buckeyes on Sedum

We also have some Gray Hairstreak butterflies that are hanging out here in early September. They seem to be Sedum fans as well. These Sedums are so easy to grow, providing fall color as well as nectar for many butterflies.

Gray Hairstreak butterfly on Sedum

I also saw a hairstreak hanging upside down on a mint blossom. I know that bees love mint, but this is the first time I caught a butterfly there.

hairstreak on mint

This has been a banner year for swallowtails in our area. The heat and dry weather may have actually helped them out. Their numbers are waning now, but there are still a few offspring crawling about. This caterpillar has eluded the birds – for now.

swallowtail caterpillar on bronze fennel plant

That’s all for now. I hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into the butterflies that are visiting HA these days.

Posted in Gardening, Nature | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: Side By Side

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Dave @ HappyAcres

wordlesswednesdaybutton

Posted in Photography | Tagged | Leave a comment

Early September

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Dave @ HappyAcres

The summer vegetables continue to slow down, as the drought continues. We’ve had a little cooler temps here of late, but still no rain. It’s very difficult to keep a garden producing on watering alone.

Still, we are managing to get harvests from the garden. I harvested about 1.5 pounds of chard this week. We have two varieties growing, Virgo with white stems and green leaves plus the multi colored Bright Lights.

The chard was used sauteed as a side dish, and it went into a frittata for lunch one day. We had a baked Delicata squash along with the frittata.

Chard Frittata and Delicata squash

I also harvested hot peppers last week, which I roasted on the grill, then peeled and chopped and froze for later use. There’s nothing like the smell of roasted peppers! I used a mix of Anaheim types, plus some green and red Anchos, and a few Jalapenos.

peppers on the grill

After grilling for about 8-10 minutes on a hot grill, the skins were all charred and blackened.

roasted peppers cooling

After the peppers cooled off, I put on rubber gloves and peeled and seeded them. Then I chopped them up a bit and divided into portions. My wife sealed the portions up with her FoodSaver and we put them in the freezer for later use. These taste so much better than canned chiles!

I also harvested enough tomatoes to roast a batch of them in the oven, make salsa, etc. Harvest total for the week was 9.3 pounds. For more garden harvests visit Daphne’s Dandelions, or better yet, add a link and show us your harvests!

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Falling

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Dave @ HappyAcres

There has been a subtle shift in the weather the last few days. It has become less ‘summery’, and more like fall. The high temperature today is forecast to be only 80F, with a low tonight of 51. The change is welcome, but we still need some rain. The latest front has gone through with not a single drop. We haven’t been able to buy a good rain all summer.

Still, hope springs eternal, and I have been busy planting for the fall and winter. I’ve got broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale and turnips planted outside.

turnip seedlings

Inside the greenhouse beds, I’ve got cucumbers, parsley, cilantro, chard and lettuce. At least rain isn’t an issue in there!

lettuce seedlings in greenhouse

Another thing falling this week was some trees. We called in Randy’s Tree Service to take down our elm that had succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. They also removed a weeping cherry that borers had gotten, and a small clump of non-bearing American Persimmons that were in the way of other trees and kept sending up suckers all over the place, especially in the main vegetable garden where they competed with the veggies.

spot where elm used to be

And even though Joyce Kilmer wrote that only God can make a tree, Randy and his crew took down the giant elm in less than two hours. Now all that’s left is a pile of sawdust where they ground out the stump. I could barely stand to watch the whole operation. It will take some time to get used to the new look of the back yard.

elm dust

And that is all I have to say about all that.

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , | 8 Comments