July 4th, 2026 // CHICKEN UPDATE
I was really worried about the chickens through this heat but the addition of a fan in their coop seems to be helping! The girls are getting bigger again, but we have to keep them separated from the other two because well.. Whitey is an aggressive bitch to them. :( Her sister Blackey has no issue with the lil ones, but we're keeping them safe in their own areas without the older flock losing too much of their home.

July 4th, 2026 // Rain, Heatwave, Rain, Heatwave..
Well, that heatwave they were talking about on the news has hit. It sucks, I'm not meant for hot weather - I'm a Northern polar bear! There's also been a huge increase in tornadoes -- We've seen 39 so far this year. At least the plants are thriving with the warmth, sun, and extra nitrogen in the air! We've kept our watering to sunset so the storms don't overwater and the leaves don't burn if we water in the daytime. The chickpeas were struggling a bit because the rain kept waterlogging them, but they're actually flowering and growing beans! Pods? I don't know what they'd be called but they're trying their best despite the circumstances.



Also, blackberries are starting!!

June 28th, 2026 // Harveseting & Blanching
Work was slow and I was sent home early, so I spent the afternoon tending, harvesting, and then blanching some greens from the garden. I wanted to get it done before the projected heatwave that's set to hit the Midwest within the next few days. I haven't really blanched my greens before so I watched a quick tutorial first, but it's honestly very straightforward: Boil for 2 mins, ice bath for 20 seconds, dry. That's about it! Different greens might need different boil times but all of mine were about 2-3 mins.
Many of the herbs are ready to be preened and harvested as well though I'm not sure what to do with all of them yet.

June 19th, 2026 // The Chicks & The Hens
The ten chicks are growing more of their adult feathers! They're jumping around, trying to fly, eating constantly, and shitting in their water no matter how many times we clean it. Jesus.
The two hens, the last of their flock, like to gaze at themselves in the mirror we added to the run. So vain.

June 13th, 2026 // The First Scape Harvest
There they were, making double loops above the garlic patch! I counted 25 scapes that were ready for harvest, and several more that were starting their first loop. We cut up one of them as a garnish for some salmon we're having later tonight, and the rest I loaded into the food processor to make a recipe I saw online for Scape Salt. My eyes have never watered when cutting onions, so I was pretty surprised when the scape oils were SO strong I was sobbing. It stunk up the entire house in just a half hour of drying time in the oven, and it had to be moved outside to bake in the sun instead. I wonder if the smell of scapes keeps bugs away? I'll need to research that.

June 12th, 2026 // Building the Trellis
I've never built a trellis before; After looking at a couple diagrams and examples, it didn't look too hard, so I just gave it a shot. It turned out pretty good I think! I need it for my pole beans (Chickpeas) to grab onto so they can vine up it. We have storms & tornado warnings coming in a few days, so here's to hoping it's still standing after that.

June 7th, 2026 // They sprout, and they fall..
My starters were flourshing SO quickly here when I took this picture, and then as soon as I took off the domes for the night.. the mice of the shed attacked the second tray. That's what I get for catching them in the garage and releasing them under the shed where I THOUGHT my kindness would be remembered. My Korean red peppers and my broccoli are slain. They are survived by the extra soy beans and chickpeas that were too grown to be of interest to the vermin.

June 7th, 2026 // Patience is a Virtue
It's possible that I was too hasty in believing the Trench had been threatened by the wildlife -- Much of the garden is actually sprouting now. It does seem like we lost a few varieties to the attacks: Dill, Parsnips, some wildflower bulbs, and peppers.

June 5th, 2026 // Hot (under the heat lamp) Chicks In Our Area (the coop)
The new chicks have been safe indoors for a week or two but now it's time for them to move into the coop! They are adorable. They don't have names yet though, so we should probably figure that out, as well as raising them to be held by us. :)

May 31st, 2026 // Starters
I haven't seen anything come up in the past two weeks, so I'm getting paranoid. Maybe I am still bad with plants. I think the squirrels and bunnies have pilfered a good chunk of my in-ground seeds so I'm getting some starters going as a backup. I at least want to see my beans survive the planting season, it's the group I'm most excited about!

You do not want to see what my hands looked like after this process. Like a swamp Hag.

May 10th, 2026 // Planning & Planting The Trench!
It's probably visibly obvious why I'm calling this the "Trench". This side yard has been a rocky deadzone since my grandparents built their home here. We discussed different options to utilize it somehow, and landed on digging out a long trench and refilling it with useable soil. My dad was able to bring over his friend's tractor and bucket, effectively doing in one afternoon what would've taken us a week at least. We now have a 40 ft x 6 ft full-sun garden! Of course, I will share a portion of my harvest as thanks.

My mom and I made a list of what crops we wanted to grow. She's a much more experienced gardener than me, but neither of us has tried companion gardening yet and this is the year we go for it! I wanted to support a small business or cause with my seed purchase and found The Alliance of Native Seedkeepers. They've got an incredible selection and the shipping was pretty quick~

On planting day I prepared my lists and layout on a clipboard and brought my highlighted copy of 'Carrots Love Tomatoes' to reference as I worked. I felt very confident in how much I had prepared for this. I struggled to keep the dirt off the seed packets because they are illustrated and beautiful. Trying to figure out how to turn them into art or something maybe?

We put up a surrounding fence about a week after this because squirrels or rabbits kept digging for the seeds..

May 3rd, 2026 // Mother's Day at the Coop
The chicken coop is actually my mom's, but we do help care for them when we're at the family's land. For Mother's Day, we built these boxes for her to grow some oats for the chickens to graze on. They turned out really cute! Unfortunately the chickens do keep destroying the oats.

April 24th, 2026 // The garlic is now a foot tall~
Within a month the garlic has grown about a foot! It feels like this year's crop is going even faster than the last. It could be the updated soil, could be the change in location to the yard proper for more light. Either way, I'm so happy to see them again!

Garlic was the first thing I've ever planted that didn't just grow - it thrived. Up until last year, I had notoriously killed nearly everything else I've tried to grow, which is quite unseemly for a Hag's reputation.

In 2024, I went with my mom to visit a local farm & greenhouse; they're well-known in the area and have been family owned for decades, since she was a kid. When I saw the rack full of huge garlic bulbs, at least twice the size of what you see in the chain grocery stores, I had to ask the staff what variety it was. I was lucky that the owner of the farm himself was there, and he took the time to give me some information about the garlic as well as tips to replant on my own.

This hardneck garlic variety is perfect for the Midwest, and I really wish I could remember what the name of it was. I know the farmer told me, but I never wrote it down. I've spent hours looking at different bulbs and reading their descriptions and I believe these may be either Porcelains or Rocamboles: They're cold hardy, their stalks grow tall, and they store for 7-9 months when cured properly. Everyone that we've gifted some to has talked about aromatic and strong the flavor is! We cannot use store-bought garlic anymore because the difference is noticeably stark.

Really I should just go ask the farm. The last I spoke with them was in 2025, after my first harvest, to tell thank them for their amazing advice - When I did, they gave me the sad news that their crop had failed that year. I felt so lucky to have gotten anything out of my little raised beds, let alone 40ish bulbs!

This garlic built up my confidence in growing, so I'd like to share the advice I was given for anyone else wanting to start their own crop at home:
1. Get some good, hearty bulbs and take their largest cloves. These are your starters.
2. Whether you plant directly in the ground or in beds, make sure the soil will be nutrient-rich and not packed too tightly; they need room to grow and aerate.
3. Plant your cloves at the end of Fall. A finger's length deep, two fingers' lenght apart. Cover the entire area with dry leaves and leave alone all winter.
4. Seriously, leave them alone. Let the snow cover and insulate them. At the first thaw it will melt and water them for you.
5. Water fully but sparingly as you see them start to sprout in the Spring. They don't like to sit in water and it can cause rot.
6. Cut off the scapes as they start to curl once or twice, so the bulbs keep the most nutrients.
7. Harvest in the late Summer, early Fall depending on where you are.