I've spent the last couple of days going over our series and your wonderful posts. I am amazed by the tenacity of we gardeners! We've had unprecedented drought, tornadoes, hurricanes, and rains that lasted until August...this season was a hard gardening season. Yet we still grew morning glory houses, popcorn mazes, oodles of veggies, and tons of smiles! In spite of all of our weather woes we spent times with our kids and helped to teach them the importance of fresh from the garden foods grown by their own hands. So due to all of this I just could not... Continue reading

We are simply being over run with tomatoes...and I mean that in the very best way! I had so many hopes of canning hundreds of pints of tomatoes but alas they all decided to ripen just when we are starting homeschool, soccer, and swimming lessons. Not to mention all the harvesting going on elsewhere in the garden, corn, blackberries, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, and more! So I have decided to use to easy go-to methods of preserving tomatoes. Freezing and Drying. Today we're all about drying or dehydrating... This can be done in warm areas outside in the warm sun under... Continue reading

First of all I want to let you all know how much I have enjoyed touring your gardens this year. Although we have survived torrential rains, blistering heat, and even hurricanes we have persevered. I know some of our gardens did not live up to our expectations, but some passed them. Either way our kids got to see the real life results of hard work and mother nature's whims! So thanks to all of you who passed along in a very tangible way the love of gardening to the next generation...the world is a better place because of people like... Continue reading

I have long given up on keeping weeds out of the 'lawn'. This is mostly due to the fact that our lawn is just pasture grass we keep mowed down right around the house. Even if we had a real lawn there is no way to keep the weed seeds from the fields that surround the property from blowing in and sprouting up in it...so we don't try. So instead of worrying about dandelions I enjoy them for the photogenic nature. This was taken at dawn on a morning that had quite a bit of dew. The moisture made the... Continue reading

I used to in my long ago past make Belgium waffles from a box mix. Then I decided to try to give my family only (well mostly) real foods from scratch. We have been without Belgium waffles for a few years now as I figured there could not be a good healthy recipe for those light sweet waffles we all loved so very much. I was wrong! I made these last Sunday and they were delectible! Here is the Recipe (based on a recipe found here) 4 cups white whole wheat flour (I'm sure regular whole wheat would work too)... Continue reading

There have been some odd goings on around our KinderGARDENs...very odd indeed. We have sent out secret agents to investigate... It seems like our secret agent girl has found hidden around the chard and under the cabbage a sneaky late season strawberry! The case was soon closed due to the evidence somehow being misplaced...errrr, eaten! Every last one! In other unsolved cases we have peppers being eaten by slugs...the criminal or criminals have yet to be apprehended. Such an evil thing to do to a pepper! Mr Blue Man Scarecrow needs a little visit from the fashion police...doesn't he know... Continue reading

Hey everyone, I'm a little late getting the post up today and am splitting it into two parts due to the overwhelming amount of pictures I have to share about the end of the season here on the funny farm! Next week I need you to do a wrap up post so I can send them off along with some of my favorite posts that I'll grab from your blogs to the judges! So without further delay I'm going to share what's going on around here... TOMATOES...oh my goodness I have been overrun! My canner and dehydrator will be exhausted... Continue reading

Last year around this exact time we found out my widowed mother had breast cancer, surgeons, oncologists, chemo, and radiation invaded our lives...she is doing great btw! This last week we have found out that our 21 year old needs to have back surgery...BACK SURGERY at 21? Ughhh it makes me crazy thinking this, my poor boy! I have spent the last week starting homeschool, harvesting and all that entails, and... Spending hours and hours on the phone talking, pleading, and threatening various health insurance people letting them know that I will not let just anyone operate on my baby.... Continue reading

Karen Mayes! "What a nice garden box! I would use one to plant tomatoes along with a couple other vegetables. I grew up on a large farm that always had a big garden bursting with fresh produce. Now I live in a city and have little gardens sprinkled throughout my small yard. The garden box would be wonderful!" Karen I hope you, Grant, and Wesley enjoy your new garden box! Email me at theinadvertentfarmer(at)gmail.com with your address and it will be shipped to you straight from the company. And thanks to Greenland Gardener for this great recycled garden box to... Continue reading

Its September...whoa...how did that happen? Enthusiasm for the garden can sometimes wane in the last few weeks of summer. As KinderGARDENers we have had to deal with hungry bugs, large weeds, unusually hot temperatures, unseasonabley cold weather, drought, ...and even hurricanes named Irene! No wonder we are all exhausted! But as gardeners we must persevere...for we know that there is fall planting to be done, clean up to commence, and spring to dream about! I love that about gardening, it is a dream that begins anew each and every year! Speaking of perseverance...we finally just may get some corn this... Continue reading

You can eat fresh from the garden tomatoes out of hand, cook with them, dry them, freeze them, can them. You can put them in salads, on pizza, you can make sauce, salsa, and ketchup from them... But if you are really, really creative you can.... Learn to... Balance a tomato... On your face! I love it when kids get creative in the garden! So what is your favorite way to us garden fresh tomatoes? Continue reading

Thanks for the patience...I am almost done with the apples. I went and picked 4 boxes of the very best sauce apples in the world! I am hoping for 20 quarts or so, but if the kids don't keep eating it so fast I might have much less! Today I'm going to do something I have never done before. I am going to review a product that was sent to me this spring. I waited this long to make sure how well it would hold up to a real garden under real use of more than real kids! At the... Continue reading

I got an unexpected call early this morning from a friend who has a large tree of yellow transparent apples that were more than ready to pick...if you know anything about old apples you know that this type makes about the best applesauce ever! I could not pass up the opportunity for free amazingly delicious apples. So after a morning of picking I am now chained to the stove and canner making applesauce because in this heat they will never last! Meet this year's applesauce! I will post KinderGARDENS on Monday with a great giveaway and review of a new... Continue reading

Up onto a fence post closer to the brilliant blue sky that is! Speaking of daisies... This just arrived as a large canvas, my first ever photo into canvas...more on that later. For now I'm just going to smell the daisies! Wait...daisies stink! But they sure make me happy! Go out and do somthing that makes you happy...walk among the daisies! I dare you not to smile... Continue reading

First let me update you on what's been going on around here: New Donkeys, tomatoes ripening, new greenhouse, new bunny yard for the garden, zucchini taking over the world...you know the usual insanity! But first before we get into this week's assignment let me show you the maze... The sunflowers are way, way over the kids' heads now, which make for a jungle like path through the maze! This is at sunset when all is quiet in the garden. The scarecrow did a bang up job keeping the birds out of the raspberries...great job Blue Man! The morning glory tunnel... Continue reading

Let's see here, what have I learned about donkeys in the short time I have been their friend... First of all donkeys are very social. Everywhere I go on the farm I can turn around and see this trio following close behind. Donkeys are silly! They stand at the fence making all kinds of faces and silly noises trying to get my attention... and get me to give them a treat! Reminds me of someone else... Miss you big guy...sniff. Speaking of treats...a donkey will follow you to the end of the earth for a hotdog bun! Whole wheat of... Continue reading

We're home again and frankly I'm jumping for joy! So please excuse me while I go play in the garden and pet the donkeys! What about you? Are you anxious to get home at the end of vacation or could you stay gone...long gone? If I were totally honest I pretty much would never leave home...but being a team player and all, I travel once in a while. But for me there is no place like home! Continue reading

I found a little bit of wi-fi floating around in the air here at the motel. So while we are doing this... Water Park Moses Lake Washington And eating this... Beginnings of blueberry cherry ice cream And hanging out here... Top of Chinook Pass next to Mt. Rainier Yours will be the only garden updates this week...rock on KinderGARDENERS! Continue reading

Published last year but just as delicious! How to make Homemade Popsicles your Kids will LOVE! Welcome to our little Tuesday get together here at the farm. Its called Summer's Simple Things. This is the day we share the simple things we have been doing for fun this summer. Those things that require no batteries, remote controls, or electrical outlets. Just good old fashioned summer fun! Today is one of my kids' favorite simple things of summer... Yummy homemade popsicles...or fruit pops as we call them. I made 40 of them at a time for the breast cancer fundraiser last... Continue reading

This was published last year, but I must say things have not changed. He still runs around in his underwear and muck boots! This is the scene I found when I walked around the corner of our house onto the side patio. Baby boy along with his trusty motorcycle were hanging out by the pool. Hey baby, watcha' doing? Playing. What's with the boots? Me don't want my feet to get dirty. So you're wearing your boots while playing in the swimming pool? They not boots...they my muck boots. OK...you're wearing your muck boots while playing in the pool? Yep.... Continue reading