June in the Garden
Summer is in full swing here on our little urban homestead! And increasingly I see people taking their acre or even less in the city and making urban homesteads! That excites me! But right now, especially here in Texas, we are starting to bring in some of our harvest! And I am so excited!
The Fruit Trees
The gauze bags did not work for the pears or the tomatoes. I am sad to report every single little pear is gone. How very sad.
The fig tree, though, is doing very well. It is about ten years old and produces a bunch of figs!
These are from just this morning! I have to figure out what to do with them all. They get thrown in a gallon bag in the freezer until I have enough to make something. I am at that point now! Fig jam? Roasted fig with honey? Fig newton-type cookies? Let me know what you all suggest!
The Veggies
As you can see in the above picture, we have lots of cucumbers! I have been making hubby lots of pickles!
We are starting to bring in the peppers too. We’ve had quite a few jalapeños and the sweet peppers are just getting big enough to eat!
That is garlic in the picture as well. We planted that last October. Next year I will do a lot different with that. Still good, but I want big heads of garlic!
We have lots of green tomatoes. It’s a race between us and the squirrels, though. We now have a plastic owl standing guard over the unripened tomatoes so I hope that helps!
This year has been a wild learning experience. While we got beans and sweet peas, we only did one plant of each. Next year I need a whole bed of sweet peas! Yes, I am already planning next year; maybe I am planning the fall planting. Sometimes here in Texas, we can pull that off!
Microgreens and Hydroponics
I set up my hydroponics! This was fun. I didn’t have any seedlings to put in it, so I sent a daughter out to Walmart to retrieve some plants. All but one was successfully transferred into the system.
They don’t look so good in this picture, but they are doing OK?
Except for that zucchini on the bottom row. It’s already blossomed once! Now no females in site, so it just died off, but that was an accomplishment!
In the bottom row, I started some seeds. Those long skinny things you see are pole beans! They are doing what I think to be Great! The row in the front is Eggplant. They have itty bitty sprouts. The back is cherry tomatoes, which haven’t done a thing.
Before the haters come after me, I realize these plants may be too big for my little system. Well aware of it, trust me. This is my learning time. I already want a more extensive system!
And excuse the mess on the floor. The pepper, the one plant that didn’t make it, dropped all its leaves before I gave up on it.
The microgreens are doing so well!
Right now, our three trays are salad mix, radish and broccoli. I try to incorporate these into our diets daily. The microgreens do taste different than the plants themselves. The only one I didn’t like so far was Nasturtiums. So I took the whole tray out and used them as companion plants to my tomatoes. They are blooming now and so pretty! I really haven’t had a bug issue with the tomatoes. The squirrels get them first!
The Huskies
Where do I even begin?
Aurora had her final puppy visit and shots. She did really well and got a clean bill of health. We were concerned about her toe and nail where she had hurt it, but the vet said she is good!
Walter… He now has a FI collar. It is GPS, so I can find him when he gets out. The first year I raised the fence by 18 inches. Now he has taken to digging under the fence. I will try to do a video on his new collar. It is supposed to alert me when he leaves our perimeter. He has snuck away more times than I want to talk about. Walter does stay close to home, thank goodness. He is also chipped and wears an Apple AirTag, but the FI gives me peace of mind: that and more fencing and pegs at the bottom.
And Disney? Grumpy ole girl is just tired of both of them. She is a good girl, but Aurora loves to harass her when she is trying to nap, and of course, Disney shows her the teeth. I am on Disney’s side with this one!
The Angora Bunnies
Here in Texas, it has been stupid hot. They have the coolest room in the house, so they stay there. They are doing good. Hermonie has a sweet tooth. She knows with dinner, she gets strawberries and bounces around when I come into the room with her dinner dish! Harry likes them too, but he is more sedate about it.
The Harvest Right Freeze Dryer
For Mother’s Day, my hubby bought me a Freeze Dryer. Yes, that is an affiliate link. Let me tell you, I love it! I’ve had it for almost 3 weeks, and it has run non-stop almost! We got the large. Our electrician did come in and check the plug for us. It needed a special one. If you need details, let me know.
So I told you earlier I am making pickles for the hubby? One batch of 5 pints I sliced way too thin and they didn’t have that crunch, you know? So I put them in the freeze dryer and made pickle chips! He loves them!
Hermonie’s beloved strawberries? They are also freeze-dried!
I also did raspberries and blueberries and ground them into powder to flavor things like my lemonade!
So far, we have done
- chicken
- spaghetti sauce
- taco meat
- skittles
- caramel mms
- Rolos
- mangos
- melons
- lots of strawberries
- lots of pickles
- raspberries
- blueberries
It is so much fun! Oh, and we have done nerds and ice cream sandwiches! Hubby and daughter have taken them to work, and people loved them. Thinking of a side venture to help pay for the stuff!
If you are a prepper, a gardener, or just raised by a Dad and Grandmother who lived through the Depression, I highly recommend one of these Harvest Right Freeze Dryers.
Should I do a video on this? I have been toying with the idea of doing YouTube videos again. Just wondering, would you watch it?
In Closing
So while it has been a very busy June, we have been having lots of fun working around the homestead. And it is a lot of work!
Knowing we are not only making and growing our own food, I am learning how to preserve it for the future!
Everyone has a part to play in this household; even Walter does!
So until next time!
Happy Urban Homesteading!
