I harvest my wonderful beet crop, the best I've ever grown anyway, and decided to make pickled beets. To close the video off a little look ant the mason bee house for the first time this summer and of course some footage of the little bantam and her flock of Chanteclair chicks./div>

Garden and Harvest End of July

Harvesting some potatoes, beets, broccoli and cucumbers at the end of July. A look at the recent transplants of tomatoes, brassicas and cucumbers in the hoop house and the bean tower and winter squash in the garden. A few clips of the method I used to lacto ferment some of the daikon radish and garlic scapes.

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

Chicks Explore the Big World

Chanteclair Chicks Hatching

The Chanteclair eggs started hatching on July 25th and continued on the 26th. As I upload this video 5 of the original 8 eggs have hatched and the little bantam is still sitting on a couple of eggs. I will remove the remaining eggs on the 27th if they haven't hatched. I'm curious as to why there are two colours of chicks 2 are a definite yellow and three are a very light yellow almost white. It will be interesting to see if this is an indication of gender.

What is it.... ???

Lucky Flew the Coop

Lucky has been living in a small coop for several weeks now because he was bullying his father Prince Leah. Just the nature of the beast if there are two roosters in the same coop they will spar until one is triumphant and becomes the dominate rooster,leader of the pack. The problem here was the difference in size Lucky is a large full size bird and Leah is a bantam. I have advertised Lucky as free to a good home on Kijiji two weeks ago and today he moved to his new home in Rowley New Brunswick. He is now living with a young family with two young boys who were very happy to see lucky. There is already a rooster, Lucky's size, in the flock but I'm confident that they will sort out the pecking order in the first few days if there is an real issues the family does have a second coop with a flock of younger birds and Lucky could be moved in there.

July 19th in the hoop house

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

Walk Around the Outside Garden

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

Gardening in the Heat Wave

2013 Plant List 1. Onion Red Zeppelin 2. Okra Jambalaya 3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax 4. Pepper King Arthur 5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum 6. Pepper Aji Dulce 7. Pepper Shi Shito 8. Tomato Mountain Merit 9. Tomato Roma VF 10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712) 11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712) 12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled 13. Mustard Dragons Tongue 14. Mustard Red Giant 15. Lettuce New Red Fire 16. Broccoli Gypsy 17. Collards Flash 18. Cabbage Bronco 19. Cauliflower Fremont 20. Kohlrabi Kossak 21. Peas Dwarf Sabre 22. Daikon Radish April Cross 23. Sweet Peas Old Spice 24. Summer Savory 25. Cucumber Rocky 26. Parsley Forest Green 27. Sage 28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712) 29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712) 30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712) 31. Beets Merlin 32. Summer Squash -- Elegance 33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama 34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix 35. Garlic Susan Delafield 36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara 37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant 38. Rutabaga -- York 39. Cucumber -- Calypso 40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake 41. Lima Beans- Fordhook 42. Common Comfrey

Ross Farm Museum, New Ross, NS

Just back from a short holiday in Nova Scotia. I visited the Ross Farm Museum in New Ross, Nova Scotia. This has been on my to do list for a few years now and I'm so glad I was able to make the trip this summer. Shortly after I arrived I met Walter, cooper68ns, a youTube friend. Walter works at the farm and as his Channel name indicates he is a cooper at least that is one of the many things he does at the farm. I have been looking for a source for Chantecler hatching eggs, the only Canadian registered chicken breed, they have a small flock of them at the farm and Walter gave me a dozen eggs. I have a broody bantam hen and the last clip on this video is the little bantam settling in to brood the eggs.

A link to Walter's cannel: http://www.youtube.com/user/cooper68ns

A link to the Ross Farm Museum website: http://museum.gov.ns.ca/rfm/en/home/default.aspx

A link to the history of the Chantecler breed; http://www.cfagrf.com/Chantecler_chicken.htm

Canada Day in Memramcook

Garden in Early Summer

A look around at the gardens at the beginning of summer. The artichoke now has two small artichokes on it, the tomatillos are in bloom, I'm harvesting some of the miniature cucumbers and peas and there is a look at the grape vines again which have almost completely covered the end of the hoop house. Like I have done with several on my videos lately this one ends with a look at some of the things in bloom right now in the gardens.

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

Hoop House in Early Summer

Just a few photos that I took in the Hoop House today.

Pond Life

No narration and no cameo appearance in this video, just the sounds of nature at the pond. This pond isn't on my property but it is adjacent to my land only about a five minute walk away. The pond has been there for many years in a disused gravel pit. It used to be very shallow and would go dry in summer, but in the past year beavers have moved in and built a lodge in the centre of the pond. The beaver is a master at hydraulic engineering, they have damed up the areas where the pond was loosing water and almost doubled the size of the pond and it is much deeper than it used to be. If you notice dead trees around the edge of the pond that is an indication that there are beavers at work, when they raise the water level trees at the edge of the pond suddenly find there roots under water and that kills the tree. Toward the end of the video I show you the very well camouflaged Beaver Lodge but unfortunately I have't been able to video the beavers yet. Since the beavers moved in there is a lot more wildlife than there used to be. Not sure how many turtles there are but as you can see I have seen three at one time and I have seen a number of smaller ones off in the water. not sure of the breed but they might be Painted Turtles if anyone knows for sure please leave a comment  There is a nice close-up of a frog and two different kinds of tadpoles. Frogs, toads and salamanders all lay there eggs in ponds and they hatch into tadpoles. There is also a close-up of one tadpole in it's second year stage starting to grow legs. I know that there are at least two families of Black Ducks but I have't been able to get video of them so far either, so maybe there will be a Pond Life II later on this summer.

Harvesting and Veggie Progress

A look around at how things are progressing in the hoop house. The first Artichoke has started to come up, cucumbers are starting to grow,the peas have lots of pods on them, I thinned the beets and got enough greens for a couple of meals. I'm trying a new way of feeding the grape vines something that I remembered from a visit to Hampton Court Palace many years ago and the video concludes with the time lapse of the peas growing from April 4th to May 7th.

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

Garden, Hoop House and Harvesting

A look around the gardens and hoop house. The summer and winter squash have been transplanted into the garden. It looks like all of the potatoes and most of the beans survived the week of rain. I transplanted the last of my New Brunswick wild river grape cuttings two on the house and the other four at the base of trees. Things in the hoop house have really improved since I started using Epson Salts. Harvesting some of the mustard greens and a couple of the daikon and a quick little clip about making some pickled daikon. To finish off with a look at some blooms around the property and a couple of clips of some of the local wildlife.

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

At last the rain has stopped

Unboxing a small shipment of herbs intended for use are a green manure tea for the garden. A look at how I measured the amount of rain we received over the weekend. Transplanting some seedlings into the garden and a look at a few things that are in bloom right now.

2013 Plant List

1. Onion Red Zeppelin
2. Okra Jambalaya
3. Pepper Hot Hungarian Wax
4. Pepper King Arthur
5. Geranium Bullseye Mix Pelargonium hortorum
6. Pepper Aji Dulce
7. Pepper Shi Shito
8. Tomato Mountain Merit
9. Tomato Roma VF
10. Tomato Yellow Multiflora (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
11. Tomatillo (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
12. Mustard Southern Giant Curled
13. Mustard Dragons Tongue
14. Mustard Red Giant
15. Lettuce New Red Fire
16. Broccoli Gypsy
17. Collards Flash
18. Cabbage Bronco
19. Cauliflower Fremont
20. Kohlrabi Kossak
21. Peas Dwarf Sabre
22. Daikon Radish April Cross
23. Sweet Peas Old Spice
24. Summer Savory
25. Cucumber Rocky
26. Parsley Forest Green
27. Sage
28. White Wonder Cucumber (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
29. Buttercrunch Lettuce (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
30. Heshiko Green Onion (Free seed from Praxxus55712)
31. Beets Merlin
32. Summer Squash -- Elegance
33. Winter Squash -- Sweet Mama
34. Calendula -- Fiesta Gitana Mix
35. Garlic Susan Delafield
36. Potatoes Yukon Gold & Cara
37. Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
38. Rutabaga -- York
39. Cucumber -- Calypso
40. Pole Beans -- Blue Lake
41. Lima Beans- Fordhook
42. Common Comfrey

The Hummers

Put up a humming bird feeder yesterday and within a couple of hours the first humming bird arrived.

Irish Bean Tee-Pee and Hoop House update

Cabin and Garden Work