I didn't really mean for every single seed to sprout or for every plant to thrive, but that's what it I have, so I better get to work!
There is really no good way to try to get into the greenhouse. One way you are met with towering corn stalks that were only supposed to be 4-5 feet tall, instead they are over 8 feet tall and constantly drop pollen all over my head and neck. We've only had a few ears of sweet corn on the cob, but it was delicious!
Try to go in the other door and you are greeted by a mass of sunflowers. I like to use sunflowers as support for sprawling tomato plants, and yes, they are helping me do that, but they also make me feel like I need a machete to to hack my way through this hoard of towering sunflowers. They are constantly covered in every kind of pollinator possible: honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, and something that I hadn't seen until this year, a hummingbird moth. One of these days I'll get a shot of one, they're amazing! Even though I have to crawl in the dirt to move through the greenhouse, it's worth it to make the pollinators happy!
The only place you can actually stand straight up in the greenhouse is in the center of it, surrounded by plants loaded with sweet peppers, hot peppers and eggplants. We've been enjoying a few peppers and tomatoes so far, but it's getting very close to full on canning season and the pantry looks so bare I'm ready for it!
Oh, the joys of having a 16 x 45 foot greenhouse! One of the main reasons I wanted to expand the greenhouse was to have more winter squash, now I'm thinking I was just growing the wrong kind! I have a few Delicata squash plants and they are loaded and growing so fast! The squash that was tiny just 3 weeks ago is now almost full size! I'm hungry just thinking about harvesting them!
I do think I know what I was thinking when planing and putting in this seasons gardens, even if it doesn't make any sense. I was thinking that my brother and his family might come out to visit this summer and it would be so fun to harvest and make food together. Apparently I planned not to feed a family of 3 for a few days, but a small army for a few months! At least Keith and I won't starve this winter!
Speaking of not starving, don't the turkeys look great! They only have about a month left before they end up in our freezer.
After a very long and intense lambing and kidding season (February-May with only 1 stillborn but a lot of other complications), all the lambs are fat and happy and mostly sold! We have 14 lambs and 2 goat kids for sale this summer and as of this moment we only have 5 lambs left to sell! They are all so cute and chubby and I think they are the most snuggly group of lambs and kids we've ever had.
Sheep and goats 2017 from Ellen De Young on Vimeo.
While that isn't close to everything going on here, it's as much as I have time to talk about! There is also lots of cheese, goofy dairy goats, trouble with the new dairy sheep, canning, evil goats getting out and eating a years worth of beets, honey bees, and on, and on!
Hopefully it cools of a little soon and the smoke from fires near and far lessens soon so it's actually nice to work outside again!
