Getting Off The Grid - Springtime In Alabama

I know that spring is just a date on the calendar but in Alabama that means that it is also warm outside and that plants and trees have awaken from their winter sleep.

Not only is it warm but its time for seeds to sprout and to begin their journey making plants and eventually food.

 51 peat cups filled with Jalapeno seeds and eggplant seeds were put outside on a shelf, right now they are getting all day sun. Since the nights are mild in the fifties I am leaving them outside and uncovered. I actually want these to learn to survive at these temperatures. 

I did get a head start and I have tomatoes and sweet green bell peppers ready to go into the ground but that will still be a few weeks away but first I have to take them out and allow them to get used to the outside because they have had one steady temperature living in the house, yes they are used to the sun from the window but that is all.

Yesterday I got out of the house and cleaned the areas I will make new food beds, no where is better than around the smaller fruit trees. Why? As I water and feed the plants the tree also benefits, making it grow stronger and I will be able to control weeds better.

I have always loved the plots to raise food in but others on the homestead are stuck in the past, thinking that the only way to have a garden is in very long rows that WILL grow up with grass by the time its harvest. So I tend to make a few plots around the deck or porch and grow food plants instead of flowers or I mix in marigolds. 

The peach tree and the plum trees are blooming and the pear already has its leaves. The apple trees have yet to show anything.

The main problem I see is ants, I am seeing them every where in the yard, mounds here and there. I must exterminate them as soon as possible and I must find something safe to use because of the dogs and cat.

Warm temperatures also means mowing grass. Its not just grass but weeds and wild onions. Hopefully this week, if its Gods will, I will mow and clean the garden area off, all except the greens, those will stay till around May when it gets to hot for them and they blister from the sun.

I will also order the new bushes for the homestead, blueberries. And a few walnut trees, maybe another pecan. Since I am fond of nuts I really want to focus on growing them. 

That is what is going on around my homestead this March 20, 2017. What is happening on your homestead?

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By Andria Perry 

Photos By Andria Perry