How did 2017 go by so fast? The year saw a whirlwind of activity on the property: maple syruping in late winter, to grafting more fruit trees in spring, then gardening through the warm months. We put by firewood from the woodlot for winter, and renovated 3 more rooms in the house (the half bath, bedroom and “warm” room, where we have our woodstove).
Several new apple varieties were added to the nursery bed, and this year we had a lovely peach harvest! Enough to eat fresh, make jam and make a cobbler or two. Certainly a treat this far north.
The lack of heat in summer made a tough start for tomatoes and peppers, but they caught up eventually. Too well, in fact! We certainly had more tomatoes than we knew what to do with by the end of the season. The garden supplied all our vegetable needs for the year, and then some. The crops that struggled the most were peppers and eggplant, mostly due to the cooler temperatures, although the soil needs some attention where the peppers lived. About halfway into the garden, the soil changes to a noticeably lighter color, and will be getting a healthy dose of compost this spring.
The crop that surprised me the most? Carrots! With so much gravel and rock in our soil, I never thought we could get such long, healthy looking carrots. The longest, in the gallery below, was over a foot long. Weeding consistently this year made all the difference. And again, we have more than enough garlic and onions for winter, while the freezer is well-stocked with beans, peppers, berries and more. The broccoli and shell peas disappeared quickly, though – I’ve got lots more on the horizon for this coming season.
Here’s to a successful 2018 garden!
Beane Hill Farm 