It’s been hot. I’ve been spending most of my time gardening just trying to keep everything irrigated. Previously, I’ve been hand watering with watering cans during the twice-weekly irrigation turn. I’m discovering this isn’t enough for the plants right now, so I’ve taken advantage of the soaker hoses already in place.

I’m glad my garden isn’t that big right now, that I’m only focusing on a few beds. If I was trying to worry about everything on my overgrown lot, I would get burned out pretty quickly. I’ve been working on an overall landscape plan lately, and it is getting me excited to extend the garden…but I’m not in a hurry to do so.

July marked the start of summer harvest. I haven’t been getting anything out of the garden for a few weeks (unless you count parsley), and just this last week I’ve got my first zucchini, tomato, and pepper. I’m excited to start cooking with more vegetables–our vegetable intake always goes up in the summer and fall.

The chickens also started laying eggs. I ate the first small egg for breakfast this morning. We have been experimenting with their run lately. We want the run to be movable and also roomy. Their current run is a length of chicken fencing with a double strand electric fence on top to prevent them from flying over. It’s not perfect, but works pretty well.

We tried just using an electric fence to give them some more room, but the chickens were not deterred. Then they free ranged for a while. I like having the chickens around the yard. My boys liked to chase them around and just watch them. Only problem is every time they free range I find something in my garden chewed on. A while ago it was the eggplant, and this time it was my fennel. I also want to focus their efforts on a section of the weed patch in the backyard, so eventually I don’t actually have a weed patch back there. (Chickens are excellent cultivators and weeders.) We’ll stick with the current run for now, but I think in the future when the teenage chickens are ready to join them and they need more room, I’ll go with electric net fencing.

Enjoy some pictures from around the garden…more project info on some of the things pictured will be coming.