Gardening By the Week

I was just going through my book "Week by Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook" by Ron Kujawksi & Jennifer Kujawski.  I thought perhaps I'd share since I know a lot of people wonder how I manage my gardens on top of everything else.  This is pretty much how I do it.  Granted, I do have to deal with certain things like when My Honey will do some tasks but overall, this gets me through.

Now I'm in Zone 7 (whether A or B is up to the map I consult).  Technically the "last frost" for this area is slated for April 15th.  But I'll continue in the tradition of my Papa which is nothing goes in the ground before May 1st.  He has been the only one whose garden lived because he adhered to this despite his brothers-in-law planting April 16th, when a late frost swooped in and killed everything.  This year, May 1st will be tough with it being not only finals week but also Holy Week.... but I'll get it done one way or another!!

Anyway, this puts me at about 9 weeks before the average last frost.

This week I'll be attempting to get some eggplant, peppers, anise, and parsley seed sown indoors.  I don't grow summer savory, fennel, or chervil - though I should.  If you do, then get those seed started as well.

I'll be back later with the things I have already completed and still have yet to complete to be caught up.  I'm a little behind this year but I should be all caught up by the time the end of *my* spring break rolls around in a few weeks!!

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge - Day 7

Challenge Day 7
WOD:
For time:
20 Front squats, 40 lbs
30 Box jump, 18 inch box
40 Kettlebell swings, 15 lbs
50 Wall ball shots, 10 pound ball

What I did: 6:45
20 Front squats, 20 lbs
30 Box jump, 8 inch box
40 Kettlebell swings, 15 lbs
50 Wall ball shots, 5 dumbbell

Ouch!  I'm sore from the past couple of days and this just kept right on working those areas by default though not targetted.  Which is good in a way - I get nice and stretched out in those sore areas and the pain does subside faster.  Of course, if I get too wimped out I could rub on some Arnica Gel and really do away with the pain!  ;-)  But I like to feel my workouts until they interfer with my normal daily activities.

Got a long day of cooking and paperwork to do so I need to get at it!

Typical Class Day...

or not.

I was so tired today so I've hardly gotten anything done.  Thankfully, only one child, Bean5, has something today besides school.
I did *not* do my morning routine other than to awaken the children, say morning prayers with them, and get myself ready for school.

After I finished with classes, I was a *little* more awake and managed to eek out a little bit of usefulness today.  I'm keeping my expectations low for tonight!

I made it outside finally after figuring I was so cold inside the house that it couldn't be too much worse outside.  I love the view from my back deck!  If you know what you're looking at, you can see three of the garden plots in this photo, the coops, the new fire pit, and the deer target.  The pond is in the middle of all that brush and trees :)

 

 

 So I finally got to the coops to feed and water the chickens and doves and let the chickens out to the grass pen to chow down a little bit on a smorgasborg of different bugs.  Here are a few of the girls.

I gathered eggs and managed to drop one :-/  only 5 made it to the fridge ....

Then I harvested some stevia seeds ....

 

 

I still need to "de-fluff" them and let the seeds dry (or vise versa) before storing them in a small mason jar with a paper lid versus a metal lid (for breathability).  I personally have to store them this way in our second refridgerator otherwise, my darling family somehow finds a way to lose or spill the paper packets *sigh*

So now, I need to post this so I can get on supper.... baked potato soup *yum* - gluten-free/dairy-free!  Oh and I need to finish getting the peppers from the garden chopped and in the dehydrator!  Next thing I know it'll be time for baths, prayers, and bed for the kids.  I'm supposed to have book club tonight but that'll simply depend on how I feel - I might not be able to handle staying awake for it!