My chickens go bonkers for organic chard. It’s the only thing we’re harvesting with any regularity right now, and while I’ve tossed it in salads, I find I’m not a huge fan of the flavor. I hadn’t originally planted it for the birds, but I think I will sow another row or two this weekend just for them. It’s saving us on feed, I’m sure, and it’s definitely providing entertainment. The six little ones who were here this past week were just enamored with our little flock, and spent a lot of time feeding leaves through the fence and giggling when they got pecked.
Everything else is growing, and the garden is thick and lush. The tomatoes are beginning to form on the vines, and I’m really excited for them to ripen. I chose to plant only cherries this year, Sungold, and a red variety whose name is escaping me. My full-sized fruits never ripened last year, and I’m wondering if it just didn’t get hot enough. We were gifted a couple of tomato seedlings of indeterminate variety, two of which got planted before they withered, so we may have some big ones after all. It will be a surprise.
The strawberries are ripening slowly, and eager little hands checked them constantly last week. I read that I should have pinched off the flowers this first year to allow for more plant growth, but since we’ll be transplanting them in the spring anyway, I figured I’d just let them do as they pleased for now. The apple tree is laden with hard green fruit, and my lavender is finally blooming. Sweebee’s wildflower garden grew like crazy while I was gone, and she was so excited to see flowers opening this past week.
Thanks to the girls’ disdain for organized rows in the garden, I have lost track of which vines are pumpkins and which are cukes. They’re flowering now, and spilling out of the confines of the bed, so I think it will quickly become apparent which is which.
Today, Handsome Fixer Man is building a surprise for the girls in the yard, my parents are coming over to cook out, and then we’re all heading to the town beach for fireworks.
Wishing you all a safe and happy Independence Day weekend!
Chickadee Hollow Homestead 
Happy 4th of July!! Because we have a short growing season, we pick all our tomatoes if there is frost in the forecast. I put mine on cardboard in the basement. Many people wrap them or cover them with newspaper. At any rate they do ripen, and there are also many recipes that use green tomatoes (for those who get tired of having tomatoes on the basement floor). I am feeding all my radishes that went to seed to my pigs and they are loving it–it’s so nice to put the garden to good use even when you’re not actually eating it yourself 🙂
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Your garden looks and sounds wonderful. No space for a veggie garden where I live, but lots of farms for fresh produce. I may try a patio pot of tomatoes next year. Love an old fashioned tomato sandwich with mayo.
Happy 4th of July to you and yours!
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