I have just returned from a week long class to find that the weeds did not wait for me.  They were intent on creating an instant jungle the moment I stepped away.  Likewise, the plants found no reason for waiting, both to produce and to slip into a coma.  The cucumbers are nearly all dead at this point.  A few of them are holding on to their last shred of life, but for the most part, I can’t even find where their lifeless bodies once grew. Unfortunately, the tomatoes are succumbing to the same dreadful death.  Now that I’m back on the homestead, however, I hope to stop this with a little baking soda and water mixture to kill of disease.

Many other things are going on though!  I do have more tomatoes than I know how to eat, especially Moonglow, which are truly my favorite tomato breed of all time so far.  I’ve gotten two Cantaloupes so far and a third is nearly ready to fall off the vine.  The corn is supple and delicious and ready to be eaten.  There are peppers everywhere and the beans are finally here.  I’ve planted more French Fingerling Potatoes and they are now almost a foot tall.  The second bean planting is taking off.  There are more peas in the ground.  Scallions and another batch of broccoli are seeded and growing.

Thanks to the end of the 90+ degree days, the hens are back to laying eggs.  It’s not much fun to end the day with a single egg when you have a total of 14 layers.  Little Jane is now BIG Jane and stands a good deal above her mother Pin (who is only her adopted mother).  The six Easter Egger chicks are certainly no longer chicks.  They are flighty adolescents with more energy than lightning itself.  I was surprised just last week to hear that one of them was not who I thought she was.  Turns out, the prettiest ones ARE always boys.  Peter, the big guy who thuds to the ground like a rock, is a wide-shouldered, thick-headed  boy with glaring eyes and beautiful plumage.  He’s already started some crowing; although he sounds quite silly at the moment.  Thankfully he’s kept his crowing to the morning hours only, like roosters are supposed to (none of my other roos every got that memo).

Lastly, we are about mid way through the season.  This means that I have to start looking ahead to the winter and making preparations.  You’d think that wouldn’t be necessary for a few more months, but plants need the time to grow since the days are getting shorter.  I have quite the list of things that need to start getting planted.  I’ve already made my order of some more seeds and I’m preparing beds for them all both in the greenhouse and in the garden.  There is no down time for a homesteader.

Look for pictures of the Easter Eggers coming soon!