Garden upkeep

Well, we're officially in the Summer season now. Which means our garden-work changes. We are done planting for now and will spend time weeding and doing other types of upkeep before the harvesting can begin. 

I weeded most of the garden last week and threw all the weeds into the cow lane. We were also able to harvest all the snap peas. Once the peas were harvested we pulled up the plants and threw those into the cow lane too. Some of the cattle came along and ate it all up. Instant compost!

   

We are working on a "Three-Sisters" garden. It will include corn, beans, and pumpkins. The corn and pumpkins have come up and look good so far. To keep them looking good, we need to keep out the critters.This garden is the furthest from the house, and tends to act as a salad bar for deer, rabbits, and groundhogs. So we set up four strands of electric fence around the garden. We're hoping for lots of sweet corn throughout the summer and pumpkins in the fall. 

Last year we bought some bales of straw for mulching the garden. This year, the price of straw has gone up by $2.00 a bale. According to the guys at the feed store this is because of all the pipeline work. They seed and mulch once they are done, they are also willing to pay a lot of money for straw. Due to the price increase, we initially planned on skipping the mulch this year. 

But, as you can see from the photos, we didn't stick with our plan. We weeded the whole garden by hand a couple times and said - "Ugh, let's just get some mulch!" In the end, I know it's worth the added expense because of the time saved. Time that can be used for other big projects we have planned.