{"id":949,"date":"2016-07-05T08:47:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T12:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/?p=949"},"modified":"2016-07-05T08:47:42","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T12:47:42","slug":"homestead-update-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelittlehalfacre.com\/staging\/homestead-update-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Homestead Update – Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

I need to go get a job so I can get some rest!\u00a0 Actually, I have<\/em> been taking it easy lately because my back finally said “enough!”\u00a0 I’m trying to rest it (which means I’m not doing much) and just take care of the most pressing issues – like chasing little Miss Doe out of the tomato plants, chasing little Miss Doe out of the carrot bed, chasing little Miss Doe away from the blueberry plants . . . \u00a0 \u00a0 you get the idea.\u00a0 The doe is a short term problem though.\u00a0 As unafraid as she is I figure she’ll be in someone’s freezer before long.\u00a0 I think the problem is our neighbor next door.\u00a0 She feeds the local deer population and baby talks them.\u00a0 Sheesh.\u00a0 Netting around the straw bale gardens has helped so the blasted “big red dog” doesn’t get that much.<\/p>\n

Despite the doe, we’re starting to reap the benefits of all the back-breaking work that went before and oh boy!!!\u00a0 I had forgotten how absolutely fabulous fresh picked, healthily prepared food can taste!\u00a0 We went through our salad phase when all the lettuces and kales were tiny and yummy.\u00a0 Now we’re eating fresh zucchini, cabbage, squash, green beans, potatoes and carrots as well as some of the peas, kale and mustard I froze earlier.\u00a0 The weekly menu goes something like this:\u00a0 veggie soup, veggie quiche, veggie pot pie . . .<\/p>\n

In a couple more weeks, we’ll sink our teeth into our very first tomato and bite into a crisp cucumber.\u00a0 Sigh, life is good (long moment of quiet happiness).<\/p>\n

Okay, back to the update.\u00a0 The straw bales have been, all in all, a great success.\u00a0 Since there was no dirt to plant in, the bales have been a good temporary growing medium.\u00a0 The daily watering is a pain but, other than that, it was a good decision and the plants are growing well.\u00a0 Here’s a pictorial update on that:<\/p>\n