From My Home to Yours
7/10/26
~ It's Fall Garden Planting Time! ~
It's been so very hot outside this week (8 consecutive days of temps hovering around 100 degrees with a heat index of above 105), but hot doesn't mean that I can let this window for garden planting come and go. So, several mornings this week after I finished my walk, I planted something. Since we garden in raised beds and containers there was no need for big equipment such as a tractor or tiller. All I needed to do was amend the soil, water the soil, plant the seeds and water the soil again.
Acorn squash ... this is a bush variety that is supposed to do well in a container. If all goes well, we should be harvesting toward the end of September. Acorn squash can be stored all winter with no need to preserve other than keeping an eye on them in a somewhat cool and dry storage place. Now, that's my kind of 'pantry stocking!'
Butternut squash ... if past experience is any indication, this bed will be covered in vines and butternut squash ... we hope! Butternut squash is the same as acorn squash when it comes to preserving it through the winter. If all goes well this bed will give us enough butternut squash to last well into next year.
Sage ... the sage I planted in the early spring didn't survive, thankfully since we have a long growing season, we have the option of trying again.
On the left side of this 'half-barrel' I planted collard seeds from seeds we saved from collards we grew. On the right side, I planted cabbage seeds, also saved from cabbage we grew. That little trench is the dividing line! After taking the picture, I covered the 'bed' in netting to keep the squirrels from digging up the seeds and the birds from helping themselves as well! If all goes well, these seeds should have grown into plants that will be ready to go in the ground in early to mid August.
Psst! I started this post on Monday of this week and as of today, Friday, the collards seeds are up, the cabbage seeds are up, and the sage seeds are up. I guess all the heat and the fact that I have kept them well watered created the perfect environment for germination. I'll take it!!!!
In addition to having planted collards, cabbage, sage, acorn squash and butternut squash on Monday, today I planted broccoli seeds, more cucumber seeds and purple hull peas. I still have several things to plant yet. We're hoping for a successful fall and winter garden. (Yes, we can grow a few things even in winter here, and with some frost covering we can do even more.)
Back inside, I've been working on preserving peaches off and on all week ... peel, slice, flash freeze, bag, freeze, repeat.
The response to our new $5 weekly pantry challenge has been so encouraging. Thank you to those who have taken the time to respond, and yes, because of prices it will be more of a challenge ... but as we're already seeing, it can be done. Where there's a will, there's a way! If you haven't decided to join us, I hope you'll consider it ... I think it will be encouraging, inspiring and yes, even fun! Look for the next '$5 Pantry Challenge' entry on Monday. I hit the $5 limit on the head ... that probably won't happen again! (Please post each entry for the $5 Pantry Challenge under the weekly $5 Pantry Challenge posts. The introduction post is found HERE.)
I did some shopping in the 'back to school' section of our local big box store. I purchased 5 boxes of name brand coloring pencils (12 count @ $.99 each); 5 boxes of name brand crayons (24 count @ $.50 each); and 5 packages of name brand glue sticks (2 in each pack @ $.50 per pack). The coloring pencils and crayons went in my gift trunk and the glue sticks went in my sewing and craft area. The total cost was $8.95 before taxes. I'll probably go back and repeat this one more time and then that will give me enough for my needs as well as gift giving needs throughout the year.
Let's talk for a minute about 'enough.' In an effort to watch our monies and be the best steward of them as we can, we are focusing on 'enough' ...
Planting 'enough' garden to meet our needs ...
Purchasing 'enough' supplies to meet our needs for a specified amount of time ...
Preserving 'enough' food for our needs for a specified amount of time ...
When we are content with 'enough' we have more time for rest, more time for recreation and more time to just be still.
We changed the way we garden and while our current garden is not as big as before, it is still enough.
We decided on the size of pantry we wanted and while it's not as big as it used to be, it is still enough.
'Enough' is freeing!
I'm still in book 7 in the Bregdan Chronicles, Glimmers of Change, by Ginny Dye. I have much more listening time than reading time right now. I can listen to audio books while I work, but alas, I haven't found a way to read from a book while working. I started listening to The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen. (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)
That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.
~ quietly holding the home front ~
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
From This Heart of Mine
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