Hickory Ridge Homestead

05/28/2026

Me in my suburban days:
Mow the clover! Spray the weeds!
Then we learn. We buy land and we gladly bear the weight of stewardship for plants and insects. Mowing today and I remembered that we left this patch of clover last year for the bees.
Then marveled at the 3rd year ground cover crops on the lower garden. Wow! So many varieties from vetch to legumes, and bread flour!!! Hoping to slowly turn this soil.

05/28/2026

I’ve got 4 of these going in this week. Good to know I’m not too late!
What are the stragglers you’re putting in the garden now?

⏰ 5 days to June. Here's what's still fair game to get in the ground:
Direct sow now:
🌿 Green beans
🥒 Cucumbers
🎃 Summer & winter squash
🌽 Sweet corn (last call)
🌻 Sunflowers
Transplant out (if you haven't yet):
🍅 Tomatoes
🌶️ Peppers
🍆 Eggplant
Still worth it:
🥕 Carrots & beets (catch the tail end)
🌿 Basil, dill, cilantro
🥬 One more round of lettuce if you've got shade
Skip it for now:
Peas, spinach, broccoli — they'll bolt in the heat. Those are your September seeds.
June 1 in Iowa means the soil's warm and the frost risk is mostly behind us. If it's in the ground this week, you're still in good shape.

05/26/2026

Allll the things to kick this allergy/cold-whatever.
(haven’t had allergies in years but everyone says they are so bad this year so who knows? 🤷🏻‍♀️). Gearing up to hit it hard tomorrow with ALL the things.
Thanks Fit and Fierce 515 for the halo therapy session, and my dear friend Michelle for the killer hot honey tea recipe! 🔥

05/20/2026

Day 1 progress.

05/20/2026

New project loading……..

05/19/2026

Been quiet for a bit. My farmer took off for northern Minnesota last week to do some walleye fishing with “the guys” so I decided to take myself to the beach. Been a minute since this gal traveled alone. But I needed the reset…of mind, body and spirit.
We talked by phone the first night we had both arrived at our destinations- me standing on a sugar sand beach and him overlooking a glass calm lake- both of us watching the same sunset in two spectacularly different places.
And we wondered again at the marvel of God’s creation.

05/10/2026

Worked hard all afternoon but a good finish. 🎣 Know what it means when your pole gets the top spot on the rack???? 🏆

05/09/2026

Ok cucumbers….do your thing! Last pickle!!!

05/09/2026

I love this old door. I wish it could tell me its story. We’re going to give it a new one. Any guesses where??

05/07/2026

Trying the “Three Sisters” method this year for these 3! Anyone ever done it? Tips? Success or no? Corn went in today…followed in a couple of weeks by beans then pumpkins (even tho that’s a squash seed packet 🫣) The idea is the corn grows first, allowing the beans a structure to climb and fix nitrogen and then the squash acts as a mulch and groundcover to keep roots cooler in hot summer/dryer summer temps. Planted in concentric circle. Give me all your tips.