Re-potting Future Food

Sometimes, I do believe there is more fun in container gardening...
and this past week I got busy with re-potting some seedlings that outgrew their pots

because we have dense soil here...

I usually add sand to the dirt that will be used for the re-potting

this will give the seedling roots looser soil for growing

and with the good composting the chickens have been doing in their coop...

there is wonderfully rich soil ready to give plenty nutrients to my young plants

I take the shovel and turn over the newer grass cuttings to get the soil underneath...

from older cuttings and chicken manure that turned into food for the last 3 months... 

and has been waiting for just this job of rejuvenating my seedlings

with the composted chicken coop manure, sand and dense volcanic soil...

my re-potted plants should be quite happy to grow into future food for the new farm

this little soursop seedling below (minus the weeds) should start smiling in it's new pot

two seedlings are sharing this pot below and need to be taken out carefully

once I have them out, the two soursop plants are divided and the weeds pulled out

and that is a pretty bushy weed that was taking over the soursop pot

sometimes, the ants like to make their homes in the soil of my potted plants...

and that usually happens if I put the pot directly on the ground

those ants can do some real damage to the plant roots that way

so, I put a few rocks on the ground...

then, put the pot on top of the rocks

I don't know why, but, it has worked quite well for me

the ants don't go live in my pots and that makes me smile

the plant below is a new ginger root growing for the new farm...

and it sure needed some nice loose soil to grow the rhizomes properly

this ginger will go into a much bigger pot once we get it moved to my new herb garden 

and I would say my newly re-potted soursop definitely look better already

of course, because soursop trees grow very large and tall...

these will be replanted into the ground in the next few months

in the back of the cottage...

I have a black barrel that catches rain water from the gutter above it

this is the water I use to wet my container plants with

the vine you see behind the barrel is a black pepper (aka peppercorn) vine

it is about 3 years old and was a lot bigger until I had to cut it back...

because it had gotten to the point where it was more like a jungle anymore

I am still waiting for it to fruit

we will take a few cuttings from it for the new farm

in the past, I would found a frog and a lizard in my water barrel...

and because I don't like for creatures to unnecessarily meet with drowning...

I put the screen on top and used clothespins to hold it down

so far, it does a good job with keeping out the little creatures

after I did my garden duties...

I had to take a peek at Ms. Ruthie Moo Moo

she is such a lovely, gentle cow who gives us milk I so enjoy...

it's a wonder we ever did without her before she came into our lives

the Lord has been gracious to bless us with her

and of course, she does love her treats

she's never passed up on one of her favorites, bananas

she highly deserves them

come on over, Ms. Moo Moo

I've brought bananas just for you

I planted, Apollos watered,

but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything,

but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:6,7

Amen

May your day or night grow in God's grace.

Green, Green, They Say

The color of the rain is green, one could say

after all, green is what follows after, when rains come this way

and when the green comes in abundant vibrancy...

then, the crops do follow, to everyone's sowing fancy

but, alas!

the time has come and passed for cherry jam time...

and the bowl of cherries just for jam...

has gone beyond it's point of chime

which simply means...

I just wasn't able to get to the jam making before the cherries went bad

and bad cherries make bad jam

but, the passionfruit are coming along just fine

the vine climbing the mango tree until the fruits intertwine amongst themselves

and I've got to keep an eye on the passionfruit vine...

to make sure it doesn't mess with my grapevine

to rotate our crops, my husband sowed corn in the kitchen garden...

along with some lettuce

he did try a couple melon seeds and while they came up...

this season they just didn't do so well

we'll try again later

I was pleasantly surprised by my turmeric plant...

when she sprung a lovely set of bracts with pretty yellow flowers

and how wonderfully the Lord detailed this plant that gives it's rhizomes for medicine

it's easy to find the info on it on the web 

we are nuts for breadnuts here and so I thought to sow a couple seeds to grow

one seed came up in no time and the little tree is doing fine

we will transplant this as part of our new project homestead soon

and because soursops are so popular these days and bring in a nice little income...

we have sowed quite a few seeds and almost all have come up

we have them in various growing stages and will be transplanting the older ones soon

they too, will be part of the new project homestead crop

it's been a rainy day, today...

and I have not spent much time outdoors

and with the day coming to a close...

 it is time to finish up the last of the chores before night falls...

and lighting the lamps again for our evening time of relaxation and rest

He maketh me to rest in green pasture,

and leadeth me by the still waters.

Psalm 23:2

May your day or night find rest in the grace of the Lord.

Leo Lion and the Mango

Life is pretty busy but, in spite of that,

the pretties on the homestead never fail to give delightful moments along the way

the doves have been lounging around as always, 

perpetually stealing shares of the chicken feed and looking ever so nice among the fruit trees

climbing along the kitchen garden fence,

the bean vines have been putting out lots of full pods that never seem to wane...

and really, it seems I must make an appointment once a week to harvest all those legumes

beans of all kinds are a great storage food and these will be shelled,

and put away in tight lidded jars

my husband picked the coffee beans that were too high up for me to reach...

and it looks like each time we harvest the coffee trees,

we get just a little more beans than the last pick

we found a few coconut trees just coming out of their pods...

growing under the tall trees of the forest

we picked up a couple and have them in water till we can get them into the ground

we are hoping they will take to the dirt on our homestead grounds

one cannot have too many coconut trees around, after all

my forever sleeping Leo the Lion is cradling one of our first mangoes of the season

and although the mango looks rather pretty under Leo's nose...

I think perhaps I will eat it instead

my little lizard friend, who I call "Dragon",

is looking on above Leo and his mango 

this lizard is only about 4 inches long and has been with us for about 2 years

he's been doing a great job of keeping the bugs down in the veranda...

and he especially likes any fly that may slip in through the door

I score the mango in sections

pull down the peel

and cut away bite size chunks, eating them as I go along

once down to the seed, I suck on anything that's left

this mango had a subtle coconut undertone to it

not sure if our coconut trees and mango trees being to close to each other...

have something to do with that;

but, I do wonder when they are both flowering at the same time...

and the insects and birds are feeding off the nectar and pollinating around the grounds...

if perhaps something nice happens in the natural realm of things

something maybe to research 

in any case, this is my breakfast after walking the dogs...

a mango, a banana and some raw goat milk

meanwhile, as the lion sleeps tonight with the fragrance of mango in his dreams...

May your day or night find sweet fragrance in the grace of the Lord.

Sweet Pleasures...

When the Lord God created the earth and all it's living creatures...

He did it for His glory and our enjoyment as well as our use

well...I sure did enjoy finding this sweet baby dove...

sitting quietly under the banana trees...

waiting for mama and papa doves to bring food

it is very rare to find a fledgling dove as they hide so well

I didn't linger too long so the parents wouldn't hesitate to come back quickly

we've got pineapples coming along

the pineapple blooms are growing into fruit...

and soon, they will lose their lovely pinks and purples as they mature into yellow-orange

the zinnias are going full force...

and since most of the flowers are in a favorite pink color of mine...

it behooves me to pick a few for my table on the veranda to enjoy

the roses are giving their beauty under the veranda...

I'll keep them on the bushes and once they pass their prime and wane...

and as the younger rose buds come up...

and delight with the promise of full blooms...

I'll pick the petals from the old roses...

and scatter them in the breeze for the chickens

while the chickens like the rose petals...

they ignore the zinnias...

and I always pay attention to what my chickens will and will not eat

they usually know what's good and what's not

so, I take advantage of this and bring my pretty zinnias...

to my veranda table for the pleasure of enjoying God's creative work

The works of the Lord are great,

sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

Psalm 111:2

May your day or night find pleasures in the sweetness of my Lord's grace.