Holy Blueberries Piggos
We have the pigs in an area by the back garden that has a small patch of high bush blueberry bushes. They were overgrown with weeds, something blueberries do not take too kindly too. We knew the pigs would chomp down the weeds and possibly root a little around the bushes. That wasn’t a huge issue though, I figured I could simply take cuttings to start new bushes. I didn’t think much of the bushes until yesterday when I noticed they were heavy laden with GIANT berries.
The pigs had decided to use the area around the bushes as their latrine after chomping down the weeds. They have only rooted a little bit around one bush. I plan on moving them shortly and filling back in with soil and the bush should do just fine. The size of these berries is incredible. I’ve been growing/picking blueberries my entire life and I’ve never seen berries this large. They’re flavorful too, not watered down as sometimes oversized fruit is.
Funny thing is that I read in a very old (circa 1880’s) livestock book that pigs fed with wheat middling have very high quality manure, some of the best pig manure you can get. I didn’t think much of that until now. The pigs have been getting wheat mids in their feed every day. In return I get giant fruit, I think next I’ll be putting them in the orchard under the fruit trees to improve fertility in that part of the garden.
What kind of manure or fertilizer have you found to work best in your garden?
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One More Chicken
I’ve been collecting little statues to hide around the garden for quite a while. I have a few cats, a face and now I just got this sweet little chicken.
I simply love it and am actually thinking it might be perfect atop a large trellis. The best part about this chicken is that it requires no feed. There’s definite value in having art in your garden, whether it be a small statue, or something else. There’s a winery nearby that has wonderful wind powered art and I’d love to add one to my garden someday. I’ll have to try to get photos of it next time I’m in town. I’d also love to find a few pieces made by local potters, there’s always room to tuck in a special piece somewhere.
Do you have any statues in your garden? What kind of garden art do you like most?
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Racing the Rain
I always wait until there’s a rainy day in the forecast to plant anything that needs to get planted. The result is usually that I’m racing the rain to get things planted so I don’t have to water them in. Yesterday rain was supposed to come around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. That gave me the entire morning to plant all the perennials and flowering shrubs that have been sitting in their holding area for a month or so.
I ended up finishing up planting leeks just as the rain started. It was a very successful day, I managed to plant: 4 flowering bushes, 2 peonies, 2 roses, 15 perennials, 100 leeks, 15 celeriac plants, and 40 onions. There are still a few things left in pots that I didn’t manage to get to, but we will have more rainy days next weekend.
Are you ever racing the rain to get garden chores finished up?
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Watering the Pigs
I’ve been wanting to buy a button pig waterer for a while now and just got around to ordering it. I was hoping to rig it up to a barrel attached to the pig house with a big of spouting collecting water from their roof. We seem to get just enough rain that I could water the pigs without using electric to pump it of our well and without having to lug it up there in 3 gallon watering cans.
My waterer came yesterday and it screws right into one of the bungs on the barrel I was going to use for the project. This certainly makes my life easier and should hopefully make the project go much more quickly. We shall see, we’re hoping to having this up & running sometime this week.
Do you have any time/money saving devices in the works for your gardens/animals?
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Weekly Harvest
This week I’m harvesting so many tasty things from the garden. I’ve been plucking a few new ‘Purple Majesty’ potatoes from under each plant to pair with large purple beets. My shallots and garlic have sized up nicely and I have a flush of ‘Jade’ beans from my first planting.
We’ve been enjoying meatless meals comprised of a wide variety of freshly harvested vegetables topped with butter and fresh herbs. The bounty of the July garden is always overwhelming, I often forget just how many wonderful things are ready to harvest during the summer. There are endless possibilities for quick, healthy meals comprised of things plucked fresh from the garden.
What’s in your harvest basket this week?
