Photo updates of early summer.

The fall cleanup is progressing very nicely with the warm days we have had over the last month.  Today we dug the carrots and parsnips, and the leeks and beets were harvested a few days ago, so now everything is out of the gardens. All the plant material has been shredded and incorporated back into the soil.  We wanted to save some of the dahlias tubers this year, so we dug out about 50 tubers and they are packed in peat moss in boxes and will be stored in our cold room for the winter. Will check the tubers monthly for signs of decay and dryness and will remove any rotting tubers and add moisture to the peat moss if the tubers start shriveling and drying out.  

Blue Wild Indigo

Baptisia australis

This Fall we added more plants to our inventory.  Great greenery cuts all summer and wonderful cut flowers in late Spring, early Summer.

 

Angelica, tall stately biennial.

This plant attracts beneficial insects, which balances out the not so beneficial insects.

Saskatoon Farmers Market display in late Spring.

Bouquet includes Rudbeckia, Sage, Asiatic lily, Sea Holly, Ribbon Grass, Buplerum and Heliopsis.

Bouquet includes Flax, Ranunculus, Dahlia, Veronica, Black Ammi, Foxglove and Orlaya.

Bouquet includes Black Out Asiatic Lily, Rudbeckia, Delphinium, Sage, and Echinops.

Bouquet includes Dahlias, Ranunculus, Poppy pods, Yarrow, Calendula and Asiatic Lily.

Memories of Spring.

Wanted to share a few photos we took of our adventures in the Springtime with our favourite people, which did not include working in the gardens.

Splashing in the puddles.

Looking for water bugs in the sloughs in the pasture.

Each one of the children filled their boots with water throughout 

the day.  Part of the adventure!

All that hunting works up an appetite, so we had a picnic in 

the pasture.  It was a beautiful day.  There was still snow around but it was very warm.

Climbing on the straw bales.

Kristan absolutely loved the baby chicks.

She spent as much time with them as she possibly could.

Having a swing.

Fall already????

October already....we have been really behind in posts this summer.  It was an incredibly busy summer for us, but I did take photos throughout the summer of the blooms and wedding flowers etc., so will do a recap for next few months of what went on at the farm.
But as of now we are cleaning up the gardens.  Everything froze, or most everything, so we can start the cleanup, seed saving and bulb and tuber saving.  We are also processing the tomato crop into salsa, sauce, tomato jam and canned tomatoes.  The horseradish digging has also started and as I write Pat is at the sink peeling the horseradish root so he can grind it to pack in jars.

Ranunculus

Had a great crop this year.  Will try again next year

and hope the weather will cooperate again.

                                      

Assorted bouquets for the market

More flowers for the market

Elk near the yard.  This is a rare sighting as we hardly ever see

them up close.

Love this photo!  The Delphinium harvest.

Along with Max the resident dog.

The birds have pretty much all left the farm now.  We have Northern Flickers, Robins, Doves, Hawks, and the birds that stay around all winter.  We have been taking daily bike rides to the slough about a mile from here with Max.  There is a pair of beavers that have taken up residence and we take a daily run to checkout what they are doing.  

We are at the Saskatoon Farmers Market this weekend and the tables will be overflowing once again.  There will be Horseradish, Salsa, made with ingredients grown on our soil, dried herbs, pumpkins, squash, hot peppers, dried flowers, a few succulents and thirteen different colours of Asiatic Lily bulbs that are ready for planting.  Fall is the best time of year for bulb planting. 

Dried flower bouquet

Cardoon bloom.  First year they have ever produced a bud and they have not succumbed to the frost.