Yesterday, The Girl went out to collect eggs and she couldn’t help but give our black australorp, a hug. She’s our favorite bird, the boss of the bunch. All the other birds allow her to go after any treats we give them first {these days it’s giant sliced zucchini}.
This is Ethel the Easter Egger. She’s the one that likes to chase Lucy when given the chance. 😉 She’s kind of a trouble maker, but we love her. 😉
And then there’s Hilda our Blue Easter Egger. She’s gone broody and fights us for the eggs each morning. Note to self: buy some fake eggs and stick them under her.
In other news, the spinner gourd vines are about ready to take over the gate in the front. We have another garden gate, and so it’s really tempting to just let the vines take over and have the fence covered in teeny tiny little spinner gourds until late fall when the leaves die away. What do you think, should I just leave them alone?
Isn’t it dreamy? That part of the garden feels very English to me. Like I should be strolling, and sipping tea while checking on the gourd babies each day.
The purplish pink blossoms on the Shrub Althea {a common hibiscus} are starting to bloom. It’s nice to have a pop of color in the herb garden.
In the garden, the peppers are coming in…
And we are picking tomatoes everyday now.
As well as the beans the bunnies didn’t nibble away. 😉
Kentucky pole beans will always be my favorite.
And finally, early yesterday morning, I set up the veggie stand with jams, eggs and a few produce items.
What do you think of those prices? Pretty fair?
How is YOUR garden doing these days? What have you been harvesting? Curious minds want to know.
Have a great Thursday everyone,
~Mavis
HollyG says
You may want a second opinion, but I think fake eggs under your hen will make her more likely to stay broody. It’s how some folks encourage hens to set on a clutch of eggs. To break the broodiness (if that’s what you’d like) I’ve heard you need to cool down their belly, chest and vent – – perhaps with a little dunking in cool water and a screen to encourage air flow under where she’s hanging out.
Mrs. C. says
I agree with Holly. One option is to put her in a large dog crate with NO bedding to keep her chest cool. I have three broodies at the moment.
As for the garden, very mixed. Usually I start getting tomatoes about Mid July, and they keep going through August, well into mid September. This year, they are almost all dead from disease, so instead of nine weeks of tomatoes, we got about 5. Sigh.
pat says
She needs to be taken off the nest and exposed to sunlight as much as possible .I know this can be hard but it will break the cycle. In Texas we only use ” fake” eggs are used to ” fake ” out snakes !
Wendy Clark says
I think your prices are more than fair. I would love to see a picture of the whole set-up when you have it newly stocked.
Kay says
Good Mavis!
Love the photos of your lovely gardens… jams.
We use to grow all of our food,etc We grew 10 acres of food on an acre of land… hydroponics.
I think your prices are a little low. We sold all of our herbs (our basil) for $2.00 a bunch… zucchini and other veggies were $3.00 for 4…. jam was $6.00. And our eggs were $4.00. No one ever complained about our prices in fact when we sold them at the Farmers Market we always sold out of everything within the 3 hours.
Hope this information helps.
I enjoy your blog.
Mrs. c. says
Mavis, what variety of tomatoes and peppers are those?
Mavis Butterfield says
Jimmy Nardello Sweet Pepper. Jelly Bean Red & Yellow Blend Pole Cherry Tomato. Both were from Botanical Interests.
Marti Clark says
Your prices are right on. That’s what I see for pricing in my area.
Cindi says
I think your prices are fair. I suggest you put the rings back on the jam jars to sell — it’s annoying to open a jar to eat out of, then not have a lid to seal it up to keep it in the refrigerator. (Not everyone will have rings at home to use.)
Carolina Cooper says
Your prices are VERY reasonable compared to the Farmers Market in Portsmouth, NH and other local markets. I agree that you need the rings on the jam.
mable says
I second the suggestion to put the rings back on!
Shannon says
If she’s broody, let her do what she’s setting out to do…incubate eggs. My vote is for finding some fertilized eggs and get ready to have a chick or two!
Sheila Abbott says
I think your prices are low for jam and vegetables, at least compared to my area. Eggs are fair. I am in the middle of pepper and tomato season here. I also hung 15 stalks of basil today to dry.
Vivian says
I would love to see a photo of your farm stand. Inquiring minds would love to see the whole thing!
Maxine says
If you lookup farm stand on her site you should see an entry about the building of the shed and completion photos.
Does anyone know what kind of pepper that is?
Mavis Butterfield says
Jimmy Nardello Sweet Pepper.
Mavis Butterfield says
Here is a link. https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/the-hh-builds-a-roadside-vegetable-stand-idea-for-the-little-woman/
Brenda says
I’m not sure about the market prices of veggies,but I like how you have stuff priced individually. The few stands I have stopped at this year (to supplement my CSA) have everything priced by the quart basket. ($3-4/basket), but I usually just want 1-2 of each item, not the 5-6 in the basket. I’d rather have the option of paying 50¢ for 1 zucchini than $3 for 6. I have Roma tomatoes growing in my yard, but when I want a BLT, I prefer a big juice sandwich sized tomato, but I only need 1… The stands I have stopped at have been unmanned so i couldn’t ask the price for just 1 item from the basket (or I would have).
Do you have any issues with people taking your stuff without paying? (My cousin and neighbor both did a stand for 1 year and stopped due to theft.)
Susan says
I picked our first few ripe red tomatoes this week….nothing like that first fresh tomato of the years! Ate one plain, and made BLTs for lunch .
Have been picking the small yellow pear tomatoes for a couple weeks. Still lots of kale and I have a row of beets to pick.
Corn should be ready in about a week.
Daily picking of zucchini and crookneck squash. My pie pumpkins are already turning orange. Can’t wait to pick and freeze!
Potatoes need to be dug up…..got a row of carrots that won’t be ready for awhile.
Tore out all the peapod dry mess and string. I saved seeds. I want to try my hand at seed saving gardening.
My dill is dead…saved some of those seeds, too. But seriously……I actually grew dill!!! 🙂
I dry herbs and flowers for my youngest daughter, so I put dry calendula in a jar with olive oil to sit for 2 weeks. I am going to make Calendula Salve. I made Dandelion Salve in the early spring and everyone loves it!!
Your garden is beautiful!! I love seeing all the photos each week.
Shannon says
I think you should charge more for the jam! Store-bought jam is about that price and I’m sure yours is way better. I agree with another commenter about putting the rings on the jars.
Katie says
I think your prices look great for homegrown stuff! I agree with others, I would put the rings back on the jars. While I understand that the lid is what gets sealed, seeing the jars without rings deters me. It kinda “feels” like it’s already opened. But also, like someone else said – what do you do when you’ve opened it, but need to close it up again?
Garden looks great! I’d love to visit your home and take a walk around 🙂
Melinda W says
This year my 1 pound Old English Game Bantam named Hawk decided to go broody, meaning she was stealing large/xl size eggs from my Easter Eggers and trying to pile them up and sit on them. I have no rooster and therefore no fertile eggs, but I do have a group of quail that was laying at the same time. I took Hawk out of the main coop and put her in a rabbit hutch with 5 quail eggs, and she managed to hatch and raise 2. Quail are naturally self sufficient, so she was a little mad that they’d run off and not listen to her, but all went well. After 4 weeks they were bigger than her and she was done with them, wanting back in the main coop to boss around the chickens 7 times her size again.
When she went broody, my 2 bantam Polish decided that looked like fun and tried to go broody too. I had no room to separate everyone and no need for that many potential baby quail, so I researched and found the “cool off” methods others have suggested. A chicken will raise their body temp up to egg hatching temps, and dunking them in cool water will literally cool them back down to normal and break the broodiness. I did it twice a day for 2 days in a row, then mine all gave up and went back to being happy chickens. A broody hen sitting in a box will stay there for up to 30 days, usually without eating/drinking like they should, and may go through depression when there’s no chicks at the end of that time.
Stacie says
What kind of peppers are those? They look really cool!
Mavis Butterfield says
Jimmy Nardello Sweet Pepper.
Jane Hebert says
Great prices!!! Do you mind letting us know where your stand is.?I would love to try some Jam if you are in my area.
Take care, Janie
Conni says
Frugal idea: golf balls can substitute for ‘fake eggs’. If you know someone who golfs, ask for the ‘stray’ balls they pick up! Love your pictures and narrative!
Janice says
I live in southern Maine and would love to help you reach your goal of $1500. If only I could find you…
Diane says
What size are the jam jars? Your prices on veggies seem very fair. I also like the option of buying single items.
Mavis Butterfield says
8 ounce.
Christa H. says
I grew spinner gourds a few years ago and I would move the vine in the direction I wanted it to grow. You can easily unwrap the tendrils to move it so you can still access your gate.
Your prices are good for an easy sell but I do think you can get a bit more for your jam.
The display looks great!
JoAnn Moran says
Between dogs and bunnies my harvest is confined to two types of tomatoes, loads of zucchini, jalapeños, bell peppers, and poblano peppers. My herb garden is doing well too, but I can’t seem to keep basil alive. I wish I was in New England to buy your jam and eggs. Prices are very fair.
JoAnn says
What has happened to the information you used to share on raising chickens? I can’t find any of your older blogs that were about chickens. I enjoyed the subject and miss having that as one of your subjects for readers to share.
Mavis Butterfield says
Here are where you can find the chicken posts: https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/category/chickens/