Over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit reader Sara’s garden {and do a little bartering as well}. I wonder if Sara has an extra room at her house… Because I totally want to move in and live on her mini farm.
Sara has horses, chickens, a dog, a huge garden full of vegetables and a cottage flower garden like the ones you see in magazines. It was so lovely there, I didn’t want to leave. Every time I turned around there was something new to see.
Did I mention Sara is a Master Gardener as well?
She planted these kale plants earlier this spring and they are still alive and kicking.
She has laying hens AND baby chicks too! I found out we both purchased our chicks from the same store, but luckily Sara didn’t end up with any roosters.
She also has apple, pear, plum, peach and apricot trees growing throughout her garden as well.
Cheddar the dog discovered a few fallen apples while I was there and ate 3 of them.
And as for the bartering, I brought Sara 2 of our Hubbard squashes and in returned she helped me pick a box of pears from one of her pear trees.
Thank you Sara for the great tour, and for the pears. I had a great time meeting you, your creatures and your daughters! Keep on gardening, because you definitely have a green thumb.
~Mavis
*If you have a garden, a chicken coop or anything else super exciting and would like to be featured here on onehundreddollarsamonth.com, then send in your photos to onehundreddollarsamonth {at} gmail.com, along with a brief description of your pictures and I will try and get them posted.
Sara says
It was great to meet the real Mavis. It was a real pleasure having her here to share garden wisdom with. I wish I could do as good a job of managing my garden as she does and maybe that spring Kale would be made into kale chips and I’d have young up and coming plants in there instead! Thanks for taking these great pictures and the kind words, Mavis! It makes me see my garden with new eyes.
Melissa says
Wow Sara! Your garden is beautiful! It makes me yearn for the days when my husband retires from his army boots and we put down some literal and figurative roots. For now, our gardens are limited to the space available in our rental home yard and we have to essentially start over every 3 years or so. Regardless, gardens like yours and Mavis’s give me hope of what to look forward to! 🙂 Keep up the good work!
Brenda says
So pretty and I want Cheddar the dog, soooo cute!! : )
Ted S. says
Is Cheddar an Irish Wolfhound? Looks a lot like ours did when he was a puppy. Gorgeous.
I have a pear related question: Our pears are hard, hard, hard. Can I do anythign about that? Meaning, will they ripen after I pick them? SHould I use them hard because in a jam I won’t notice the difference? Help, please.
vickie says
Her front flower garden is beautiful!
Sara says
@Ted Cheddar is supposedly half Golden Retriever, half Lab, but everyone thinks he has some sort of terrier in him. Regarding pears: they are ready to harvest when they break easily when you lift them 90 to 180 degrees against their stem (I hope that makes sense) and they should be picked before they turn yellow. Those that ripen in September can be left out to finish ripening or refrigerated and brought out as you desire. Those that ripen in October must be refrigerated for a month before allowing them to ripen or they don’t ripen as nicely (I’ve never tried it, I just did as I was told). I often use the hint of when a few drop on the ground that they must be ready, but they can often be picked before that.
Sara says
@Laura Kemp, the dark tomatoes are Indigo Rose from Territorial. They are a grafted tomato which I think does make a difference.They are also available as seed and conventional plants too.
Talaena says
Your place is totally my dream homestead!!