December 29, 2014
This week was quite mild so I was able to get a lot done in the garden. I weeded, mulched, and added some manure to the garden (cleaned out the coop). I moved some raspberry canes. They spread a lot this summer and needed to be reigned in.
First, I pulled them from the pathway where they spread.
The roots spread really far. On the roots, I found more nodes. Yay 🙂 Now, I’m already thinking of where else I can plant raspberries because I assume they will continue to spread each year. 
It’s difficult to see because all of the chlorophyll is leaving the leaves but here is the row of newly transplanted raspberry shoots. I still need to put up a trellis. 
I harvested more kale and wild onions.
I made some marinara sauce with these.
One exciting thing that happened this week — I received my seed order!!!
Root veggies: beets, carrots, and onions (I still have some onions seeds from last year and PLENTY of wild onions)
Leafy Greens: two types of lettuce, spinach, and cliantro (free packet) 
New plant: ground cherries (anyone have success/experience with these?) 
Squash: summer & winter 
Melons: watermelons and cantaloupe 
Tomatoes: I hope I didn’t go overboard 😉 
Peppers 
Brassicas: Kale, broccoli, and two types of purple cabbage 
Cucumbers 
Peas 
Corn and flowers 
Snap beans 
I am (always) trying to grow more food for my family and community. I am adding seven more beds this year. In all, I spent about $130 on this order of seeds. It may seem like a lot of money but considering the fact that we eat mainly vegetables, fruit, and grain (no meat or dairy on a regular basis), $130 for a year’s supply of food for my family of 8 is pretty good 🙂
The bad thing about buying seeds is that as soon as they come in, you want to plant them!
Are you harvesting at all? Check out what other gardeners are harvesting at Daphne’s Dandelions today.
Gardening Without... 
It looks like you got a lot done. I love seed ordering time, and went way overboard ordering tomato seeds this year, but I figure they’ll last several years, so I could always scale back next year. And, hey, it’s a cheap form of “shopping therapy,” even if I never end up using them. 🙂
My family tried the ground cherries, and we loved the way they looked like little lanterns as they grew, but none of my crew (or me) liked the taste. I hope your family likes them. 🙂
All of those lovely packets are getting me excited about getting my seed order in….but I still have to finish my garden plan so I must be patient!
I’m hoping to get some berry bushes in next year – along with a hundred other things, so we will see if they make it to the “done” list or not. But in the meantime, I’ve been reading up on how to grow them. The one thing I came away with is that they are very aggressive. Several of the articles I read indicated that it was best to plant them somewhere where you can mow on either side of the bushes as that was the easiest way to keep those runners in check.
for right now, I’m okay with the runners. I just see it as more free fruit! I just need to find more room to plant them each year — I think that will be the challenge. Whenever I run out of room, it will be nice to give them away too 🙂
Oh no! I never thought that we may not like the taste! I got two packets so I hope we like them!
I wish my raspberries were running like yours are. Some of mine died a while back and I want the bed to fill in. They just don’t get a lot of water in their sheltered spot.
so glad I found your blog 🙂 I look forward to catching up with your blog posts. Best Wishes for 2015
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Have you tried Baker Creek’s “Suyo Long” cucumbers? They are AMAZING! Even though they are huge, they are mild, burpless, and do not get bitter skins. I live in zone 7b, also, and they grew like crazy for me. The first year I grew them (I think I had about five or six plants), I had so many cucumbers I was taking 25 pounds at a time to give away at church! I definitely want to work harder on succession planting. 🙂