This is good point to let you know that all the rain and snow melt that hits the roof of our house is funneled from the downspouts to the goldfish pond, so the pond gets a fresh water source and when it gets filled it overflows to the orchard to water the trees and feed the trees from the fish waste nutrients. As an organic and a green family it is a easy way of creating some great fruit. One of the great things I did when we bought our house is that each year at Christmas we bought a Balled and Bur lapped Evergreen Tree, brought it in for a week decorated it and then planted on Christmas Day. We did this ever year and landscaped our quarter acre and also created a wind break for winter keep our house warmer, made our yard aesthetically appealing and to save energy. The Last couple of years we harvested Red Cedar trees from our yard that have sprouted in our yard because the neighbor has Red Cedar that floats seeds through out the yard and I let some of them grow in areas with no impact to use as our Christmas trees when they got to Christmas Tree size. Very nice trees and the smell is great.
Last summer, it got warm and the frogs came to visit
I encourage you to feed your local birds and the migrating birds in the spring as they will eat bugs that are coming out in the spring to feed their young as they nest or stop off to their ultimate nesting area. This will help in keeping insect populations to a more manageable level without using pesticides.
We planted a couple of types of Milkweed to help the Monarchs and since the first year each year we get Monarchs stopping off . Please plant Milkweed, you will be richly rewarded.
Ponds attract Firefly's (Lightning Bugs) which need our help which are great for the garden!!!
Jan 10th
Well the winter has been mild so far with little snow. Jan is the month of seed catalogues, already some 10 seed catalogues in the mail to date. Still have allot of tomatoes and fruit in the deep freeze. Plus I still have onions growing in a container in the kitchen. The fig tree I bring in the kitchen ever fall has started to bud out with figs on it. The budding is triggered when the days start getting longer. (Dec 21st) I have a cleaned out the greenhouse ready for spring seed planting.
Feb.. 19th
Well Feb.. has brought us 25 plus inches of snow and cold but is perfect weather for Seed catalogues and ordering. Trying new things and also ordering what work. The rest is my saved seeds from last year. The seeds you save are also ones are genetically better for your soil and environment. Back to the catalogues. Also my Fig tree that bring every year has started to grow again as the days got longer it tripped its growing cycle . Put up two home maid bird houses big enough to house owls or hawks.
Feb.. 28th
Well spring is coming and the 25 plus inches of snow is melting. I planted lettuce and peas in the greenhouse in some planters. It is getting warm enough to grow and stays warm enough at night to germinate. The fun begins, we bought corn that grows in containers this year which we will start in containers in May in the greenhouse. We will plant some other veggies in the greenhouse later as the temperature stays above freezing during the night. We had to cut down an Austrian Pine that died . The good news it will open up the light to the other trees. The fruit trees will benefit most.We left the stump, we are going the use as base to picnic table with umbrella.
March 14th
Rototilled the garden as it dried out enough. Planted some of the tomato seeds in the greenhouse that where saved from last year as the temperature in the greenhouse is going up to 80 on a sunny day. The snow is all gone and we will be getting some more but will only stay a day as it is above 40 on most days and sixties showing up now. Also planted radish, lettuce, spinach and beets in two raised beds. Signs of bulb flowers breaking ground.
March 21st
Planted some more tomato seeds and also pepper seeds saved from last year in the greenhouse. Planted turnip and parsnips in the garden. Raked the front and back yard and put in compost bins. Some plants coming up in the green house, too small to identify yet. So far a mild spring. Put the Pond Filter going and put the Goldfish in the pond.
March 28th
We did our ritual each Spring, Plant Purple Pansies in planters around the yard bought from our local nursery to say Spring is here. We have peas, spinach, and lettuce up in the green house. Daffodils and Tulips are up in the Barrel Butterfly flower garden and next to the house. Globe Flowers are breaking ground. Tomato seedlings are starting to pop up in the Green House. Grass is starting to turn green. Planted some more tomato seeds in the green house.
April 4th
It has been a warm spring and really dry which the Daffodils are blooming and Apricot trees buds are about to open. In the green house we have the lettuce, spinach and peas are doing real well. The tomato seeds have started to germinate and are breaking ground. The Tulips are about to bloom too. Stardrift is blooming in the patches on the front lawn and back yard. One frog so far is in the pond. The Globe Alliums are starting to grow fast. The Cactus is starting to lift up to the sun. The Barrel Butterfly Garden is starting to wake up. Raspberry plants are staring to grow.
April 11th
We will have lettuce to eat in the Greenhouse by the end of next week. the tomato seedlings are doing well that are up . No sigh of peppers yet. In the raised beds spinach. lettuce and radish are up. Daffodils are blooming. The blooms on the Magnolia are getting larger. The alliums Globe flowers are starting to really grow. The Apricot trees are in full bloom. In the garden radish only thing up part to little rain this spring so far. Butterfly garden and rock/rain garden showing more signs of life. The rhubarb is taking off.
April 18th
The Onions are growing even though we have had no rain. The radish in the garden is doing well. No sign of anything else in the garden with no rain for 2 weeks. The raised beds are doing well with lettuce, radish and spinach are getting bigger. We have allot of tomato plants in the green house inch size already. The lettuce in the green house is almost eating size. The tulips are about to bloom. The Magnolia tree is about one third in bloom. The pear trees are about to start blooming. The peach trees are starting to bloom. The Peony Hostas and Ferns are breaking ground in the Rain/Rock garden. The Golgi Berry and the Goose Berry plants have started to grow. The Raspberry Plants have really taken off now.
April 25th
All the Peach Trees except one are in Bloom. The Magnolia is in full bloom. Also all the Pear trees and Purple Leaf Plums. The Onions are growing more even though we have had no rain. The radish, spinach and turnips in raised beds doing good The radish in the garden doing good. Still no rain so it will be a slow go. We have lettuce to eat in the greenhouse, Red and Reg. Leaf Lettuce. The tomato plants doing in the green house. The Cherry Trees about to Bloom.The Rock/Rain Garden has exploded in growth. Planted an Elder Berry . Red Buds about to Bloom. Butterfly garden doing well even with no rain.
May 2nd
Planted Carrots, Rutabaga and Beans and started to separate and put tomato plants into a single container for best growth. We are eating Lettuce from the Greenhouse. The Front yard has Magnolia, Crabapples, Redbud and Purple Leaf Plum all in Bloom. Milkweed started growing in the container in back yard. Cherry Trees are in Bloom. Rain/Rock garden Hostas are taking off. The Peony in the rock garden is growing. The Ferns are poking up everywhere. The Walnut trees started to grow. The Evergreens are starting to show signs of life.
May 9th
Tomato plants are doing good in the greenhouse. Onions in the garden keep growing without any rain. I planted Asparagus in the raised bed. No blossoms on Apple trees yet. Got some specialty plants from the nursery like Purple Cauliflower, Purple Bok Choy and Peppermint Stripes Peppers. Planted Celery and Strawberries. Some of the Beans are coming up. Butterfly Garden is really doing well. The Rock/Rain garden is doing well . The Evergreens all starting to grow out.
May16th
No rain yet so I will break down to irrigate the garden, and the raised beds. The lettuces are all mature and being eaten. The onions and radish need a couple more weeks with no rain. We have rhubarb and the fruit bushes are doing well. The tomato plants in the greenhouse are now taking off as it gets 90 plus on a sunny day in the greenhouse. The rock /rain garden still doing good, hostas taken off. The peony and rose bush is doing well. Beans coming up in the garden. Planted cucumbers, pumpkin, watermelon, bottle gourds and cantaloupe. The tomato plants I put by house, south side are taking off I always put some in containers as they first to produce ripe tomatoes.
May 23rd
It actually rained that could be measured but before that I broke down and watered the garden so they will continue to do OK. The Milkweed has sprung up all over which is good, the more the better. We have little Apricots and little Peaches. The Rock/Rain Garden just burst into growth as the Evergreens. Green House needs to be vented everyday now because of the heat. I actually put the sprinkler in the green house to water what a jolt of growth with that humidity. It will be a regular thing I do. The lettuce, radish and onions being regularly eaten. The three types of Cauliflower are doing well. The Giant Sequoias are growing, good sign. None of the Apple Trees had Blossoms. We have Little Cherries too. The 2 celery starts are doing well. We have Bean plants coming up too. We have some Gooseberries. The Raspberries look like another bumper crop. There is Mulberries also.
May 30th
Still no rain, I have to water, there are some cucumbers and pumpkins up. No sign of the Asparagus I planted yet. Beans seem to be the best to adapt to the heat and drought. I planted 10 tomato plants and will plant many more in the coming week. The heat is making all the salad veggies to start to bolt. We need some rain just to start the garden to grow, watering just keeps it alive. The Cactus is doing great in this weather. The Tomato and Peppers in the greenhouse are doing great. The Milkweed has grown very fast and so has the Lilies in the Butterfly Garden. So far this spring we have had Robin, Cardinal and Sparrow Nests in our quarter acre.
June 6th
Had to water again as we are in a severe drought in our area. Planted 60 tomato plants in the garden, picking the the largest plants as they grow not which ones they are. Still need to plant about 40 more around the yard and will plant more as we consume the salad (lettuce, radish and onion) crop as they are about to bolt with this drought and high temps. The Butterfly garden is doing well in this drought. The Rock/Rain garden is too doing well. We have Apricots, Peaches, Cherries, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Mulberries and Pears so far growing on the trees and bushes. The Strawberries are not doing great in this heat. The Pepper plants are doing great in this heat. The Fig tree in the ground has come alive in this heat.
June 13th
Plated some more tomato plants in the garden and raised beds. Lettuce is good for this late and hot. Radish and Turnips being picked but too hot to grow they are bolting. This is where you choose to spend the time and water to save the crop, seeds cost and output do not make sense in this case to save them from bolting as summer gets hotter. The Cauliflower and Cabbage does make sense with time and water and for the Tomatoes they love this weather and will thrive as does the Peppers. Beans also love the hot. The Raspberries are about to start ripening in big amounts. The Grapes love this sweater too. The Cherries are turning Red.
June 20th
We had our first significant rain in 2 months. It has saved allot of the fruit that was being stressed. Planted more tomato plants in the garden after rototilling the radish under as they bolted. Picked cherries going to make cherry berry pie. The raspberries are ripening already. Going to pick Mulberries to put in the pie. Onions are still growing despite the lack of rain .We have beans being produced and also Peppers. The radish in the raised beds also bolted. We do have the Celery growing good seems to like the heat as long as I water it. Picked some more little Yellow Cherry Tomatoes. The tomato plants in the garden a love this hot weather as long as I water them. Cauliflower and Cabbage doing good with watering.
June 27th
We got some more rain and it is hot. The tomato plants are growing fast. We have 2 so far purple Cauliflower. We have Peppers already almost full size. We made a Cherry, Raspberry and Mulberry Pie. Lettuce is still doing well but the Radish bolted. Onions still growing. The Cabbage is doing well . Picked 2 Zip Lock baggies of Raspberries. Had a couple more Yellow Cherry Tomatoes.We have a bumper crop of Cherries. Eating the Mulberries right off the tree. The Rose bush is almost done blooming. The Tiger Lilies and Milkweed are starting to bloom. The Celery is doing well .We have Green Beans doing well, about time to pick first bunch. We have allot of Pears on the 3 trees.We have Grapes and there is flowers on the Black Berries. We do have some Walnuts and Apricots.
July4th
It is a hot weekend, but normal for 4th of July. The first Purple Cauliflower was eaten no real taste difference. We had a few Apricots that had fallen from the tree, they are of the smaller type. The tart cherries eaten right off the tree as is the Mulberries. The bigger Cherries have not started to fall from the tree yet and the tree is way to tall to pick from, but there is allot. The Lettuce is still going but hard to keep it from bolting now. Had picked the first Pepper, put it in the burritos. All the Pepper plants are staying in the Greenhouse , they seem to do well there. Picked a bunch more Raspberries, and froze them. We have Beans and enough to pick this week.We have about 100 tomato plants in the garden now after rototilling under the turnips and radish as they had bolted. The cabbage is starting to form heads. Pears seem to be doing real well this year too. The Butterfly Gardens seem to be doing OK even with heat and little rain. The Celery is doing well because it is right by the outside faucet so it gets watered when ever I water the Greenhouse. The Rose is done blooming but is was a good come back from our 26 below winter a couple of years ago.
July 11th
We ate Cherries and Mulberries. Saturn Peaches are starting to drop because they are ripening. Few ripe tomatoes here and there. Onions starting to wither in this heat. Last of the Raspberries, good harvest froze them all. Regular Peaches getting bigger. Pears are getting bigger, many Pears. Cabbage and Cauliflower doing well. The Milkweed is attracting Monarchs and the pond is attracting at least 2 Frogs. The Cactus is doing great in this heat. The Rose and the Peony have run their course. We have a boat load of Crabapples. The Hostas are in bloom as well as is Purple Cone Flower and Black Eyed Susan's. We had some Pea Pods but too hot too fast. Picked some Green Beans. It is hot enough for gourds, we have vines. Staking and tying up tomato plants.
July 25th
Eating Saturn peaches daily. The Onions have withered down and I dug them to dry out to use. Planted some More Tomato plants in their place. Picked and canned Hot Peppers. The peaches are almost ready to can. Have some Cauliflower to pick. A few ripe Tomatoes here and there. Soon we will have allot to can. Had a pot of Beans picked, they lasted a week. The cherries were good. Had a few Strawberries.
Aug. 1st
We have Picked half the Peaches off one tree and sliced them and froze them. We are starting to get more ripe tomatoes. We picked a couple of Cauliflower. Picked some more Green Beans. Dug up the last of the Onions. Pears are getting bigger .Almost ready to pick some more Peppers. Cabbage is doing well. The celery is getting big. The heat has given the gourd vines to grow well. We have gotten very little rain so all the flowers have just stopped waiting for rain. Have not had to cut the grass in 3 weeks. We have Figs on the Fig Tree. The Cactus is doing great
Aug 7th
Picked off the rest of Peaches and Froze most of them and saved enough to eat for a week. Eating some of the Bartlett Pears that are ripening and falling down off the tree because they are smaller. Got some rain finally. Two peach trees yet to Ripen. Lots of Tomatoes ripening now. Cabbage and Cauliflower doing good. We have great Gourd Vines so far. The celery is doing great. The Key to Celery is plant it close to your water source, so every time you water something you water the Celery. Had few Strawberries again.
Aug 15th
Picked some Cauliflower and Beans. The tomatoes are ripening regularly so we have tomatoes at each dinner. We have BlackBerries. The neighbors cut down a tree and let the sun in and the Blackberries are getting much more sun. We have a least one Apple on our Granny Smith tree. The Fire Cracker Crabapple tree is full and almost ready for preserves. The Peppers in the Green House are almost ready to pick again for canning. We got only 2 small Ears of Corn grown in greenhouse, seed source was not good. The rock/rain garden is still in stand still with very little rain.
Aug 29th
The other Peach tree with allot, we picked and we will have fresh fruit for 2 weeks. The Bartlett trees are dropping ripe Pears and we will have fruit for these 2 trees for about 3 weeks. We are freezing allot of tomatoes. Picked more Beans and Cauliflower. We have tomatoes with lunch and dinner .The Peppers are doing great , going to can some more this coming week. No real rain so I am watering just sustain the Tomatoes, Cabbage and Califlower.The Crabapples are ready and I found 3 Granny Smith Apples on the Granny Smith tree. The Gourd Vines are growing up the Pine tree but will we have Gourds . Picked a few more Black Berries. Everything in the Rock / Rain Garden is just at a stand still with no rain for along time, This is a year with the least amount of Mowing Grass ever.
Sept.19th
We still have not had any rain and is drought conditions. I only water to keep alive the Tomatoes, Peppers, Cabbage and Cauliflower. We finished off the fresh Peaches we picked and the Bartlett Pears. Freezing allot of Tomatoes. Canned 3 more pints of Peppers. Had some more Cauliflower. Everything else do to the drought has stopped growing. We do have Gourds growing but they like this heat. The Crabapples are good. We have left the Kieffer Pear loaded with Pears but they don't ripen until a couple of Frosts.
Oct. 17th
We are now getting cooler weather and the cauliflower is growing again after rain in a good quantity. The tomatoes are growing but very slow. The greenhouse tomatoes and peppers are still doing well. Picked a bunch more peppers and canned them. We still have tomatoes at each meal and have froze allot in the last month. We have canned our first Kiefer Pears 7 quarts. Picked a couple of small gourds , two still hanging from the pine tree , they look like Christmas ornaments.The celery will be ready for Thanksgiving. The Fig trees produced Figs, very good. We have 5 small cabbages but will be enough for the Holidays. Because the very little rain for months the Rock/Rain garden is pretty much spent even though we just got some rain. I have been saving seeds from tomatoes, peppers, beans and flowers. Been doing some tree trimming too. One positive to the drought this summer I didn't have to mow grass much at all this summer and fall.
Oct 31
No Trick or Treaters this year. This is definitely fall day a high of 50 but we have canned another 12 quarts of Pears. More pears on the tree but we have to wait for them to fall down because the fruit picker reaches only 2/3 rd's up the tree. Canned some more Peppers as the Greenhouse gets hot enough during the day for the Peppers to keep growing. We picked 2 more Cauliflower as we have three left growing yet. We have 6 small cabbages but nothing like cole slaw made from out of the garden Cabbage. We got of a total of 6 Birds Nest gourds most small so but Sparrows could use them. A few onions that I missed have started growing and I will harvest just before a snow. No frost yet but the tomato plants in the garden have stopped growing and I am pulling up the ones shriveling up and saving any tomatoes to ripen in the house. The Celery is beautiful, 2 big stalks and I will harvest them just before a frost. I will pick the rest of the tomatoes just before a frost too and let them ripen in the house. We have had fresh tomatoes every day since July and all the ones we froze we should have tomatoes for all winter. The fig tree in container is still producing figs, very good. The fig in the ground produced a few, just a slight difference in taste. The Strawberry plants have come back from the hot summer and the plants look good going into the fall.The Golgi Berry plants produced flowers late. I don't if fruit will form. Fall is here the leaves are starting to fall in numbers now. The Fire bushes have lived up to their names. Did some pruning of the trees.
Dec 6th
Well the season is officially over, it hit 14 as a temp. Well over this time we brought in the cabbage heads, small but good. Already made cabbage rolls. The tomatoes we brought in just before the first freeze are still ripening and use as they do, but not many left but we have 6 bags of frozen ones which will last the winter and spring. The canned Pears turned out well as we had them first on Thanksgiving. The Peppers turned out good too as we made Dip with some of them. We have enough Fruit to last all winter and Spring. We picked the other Celery and I must admit 2 Celery is enough to grow for us. Pruning trees is the only major work to do for winter but that's about it. I did Rotortill the garden as the leaves were raked in and then I Rotortilled them under. I cleaned up the raised gardens and put it all in compost bins. Seed Catalogues are already starting to appear in our mailbox. The Fig tree came into the house and is dormant for now. There was about 20 Figs on it when I brought it in and I mix them with the Pears when I have canned Pears. The Golgi Berry Plants produced flowers late and then some fruit but way too late as they froze small and green. The Christmas tree will again come from our yard as we let some Red Cedars grow compliments of the neighbors Red Cedar tree seeds drifting over to us. The freshness and smell is great. Time to put up the Christmas Decorations. Time sit down with Hot chocolate and Seed Catalogues.
My Name and Address
Arthur Hillson
Zion Illinois
For more info call 847- 731- 7301
OR
E-Mail me at ahillson000@ameritech.net
Trees of Great Environmental Value and Beauty
Web site Designer& Garden Photographer
For more info call 847- 731- 7301
E-Mail me at ahillson000@ameritech.net
Have Compost Will Garden