In the Garden

These are the largest pepper and tomato plants.  I bought them from the school's FFA. I noticed a few blooms on the tomato plants so we should have some early tomatoes.

These two squash plants were extras from a purchase my aunt made.  They are growing slowly since we have been having cool nights.

I started a bunch of tomato plants.  I gave some away and then just planted the rest where I could find a spot.  In hindsight I should have labeled them.  They are going to be a surprise instead.  The cooler nights have helped them.  No blooms yet, but they are growing well. 

This tomatillo plant sprouted on its own.  I have yet to ever harvest any tomatillos.  Maybe this is the year.  The plant looks very healthy and is full of blooms aleady.

Banana pepper and Eggplant

This is a pepperocini that I overwintered in the greenhouse.  It looks a bit puny but has already started putting on new growth.

Black jalapeno.  After I moved it out of the greenhouse ants took over.  I have some instant grits to toss in and around the pot which will hopefully get them to move on.

Next week I will share the herb portion of the garden.  

Weekend Book Reviews

The Grumble Free Year by Tricia Goyer is the perfect book to read during the current situation.  It follows a large family over the course of a year in their attempts to stop grumbling.  It made me much more aware of the times I am tempted to complain.  I appreciated the author's real and honest portrayal of her family.  Did it make her family or will it make any family grumble-free?  No.  The point is to try to be better today than the day before.

Beginner's Baking Bible by Heather Perine is not just for beginners.  I am a seasoned baker, but I marked recipe after recipe that I wanted to try.  My first one was the raspberry jam bars which my husband gave one and a half thumbs up.  He said ice cream on the side would have been the other half of a thumb.  My favorite thing is that the majority of the recipes use basic ingredients.  That makes it perfect for quarantine baking and when you need something that can be made with ingredients on hand.  I can see myself turning to this cookbook time and time again!

Food Fix by Dr. Mark Hyman takes a look at the current food system and its many, many problems.  The information included was well laid out and revealing.  Sadly it was also quite depressing as many of the issues were caused by government "help".  I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  I simply have little hope that any of the big fixes can be implemented. 

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

Quarantine Update

I sort of gave up on goals and other normal things during this abnormal time.  Life has been hectic even though we have been staying at home for a little over four weeks now.  W and I continue to both be very busy.  Since our jobs are not tied into big stores or being around a bunch of people, we are blessed to continue to work.  I am working on pre-orders as well as new ones that come in.  Fortunately I have a good stockpile of yarn and have had no problems with ordering what I need.

The garden is nearly done as far as planting.  I need to clean in between the beds and also do weeding.  That is a never ending job.  Thankfully my area has been getting regular rain without the bad weather affecting much of the south.  Rain does the garden more good than water from a sprinkler. 

We also have baby chicks thanks to several batam hens sitting on eggs.  I will share pictures of the chicks as well as the garden later in the week.

Hope everyone is staying safe!