Homesteading on a Blackberry Hilltop
July 9, 2026 On July 1, I did my normal garden rounds, and noticed the soybeans were ready for harvest. I harvested one side of the garden bed. The soybeans are planted on the long edges of one the raised beds while the caged tomatoes are in the middle of the bed. This worked great […]
Read More Harvesting Soybeans for Edamame and More OrganizationJuly 7, 2026 On June 25, the ordered tomato hornworm hunting equipment arrived. On and off, we’ve had many hungry, hungry caterpillars munching away on the tomato leaves and green fruit. Those of you who have experienced the joys of trying to find the hidden tomato hornworms want a better way to find them. Bruce […]
Read More Tomato Hornworm Hunting Equipment ArrivesJuly 7, 2026 On June 21, I did the new normal. Walking around the garden, collecting Japanese beetles, eating strawberries, picking tomatoes, looking for hornworm damage, looking for hornworms, picking beans, and squash. Bruce and I also go look at the orchard and pick blueberries. In walking in the orchard area, I noticed this dragonfly. […]
Read More Digging Up More PotatoesJuly 6, 2026 On June 20, we picked blueberries. I am so glad we selected early, mid, and late-season berries. This has given us a steady crop of blueberries. The mid-season has produced the most berries. I picked some ripe tomatoes. The Clint Eastwood Rowdy Red is a delicious variety. The cherry tomatoes are very […]
Read More Japanese Beetles Doing Japanese Beetle ThingsJuly 2, 2026 On June 19, I harvested more tomatoes. I found two of the San Marzano tomatoes ready to be harvested, along with more cherry tomatoes. One of the San Marzano tomatoes was attacked by fruit borers or some other type of pest. The yellow patty pan squashes are prolific. Walking around in the […]
Read More More Tomatoes Ready for HarvestingJuly 2, 2026 On June 18, with our friends, Larry and Jeanne, from the blog ajeanneinthekitchen.com, driving towards the sunset, oh wait, they headed away from the sunrise. It was way to early to even think about sunset. I digress. Bruce and I felt the need to check the gardens and orchard and get to […]
Read More And Now, Back to Our Regular WorkJune 21, 2026 While I was out in the garden twisting the tomatoes around strings hanging down from the trellis frame, Bruce was playing working with his chainsaw and tractor. After I finished up with the tomatoes, I went over to see what Bruce was up to. He had chainsawed most of the way through […]
Read More More Clean Up on Pine Tree Three with Chainsaw and TractorOn June 6, Bruce and I picked blueberries. Butterflies flittered through the back field. A variegated fritillary landed next to us while we picked blueberries. The pink blueberries are from the pink lemonade blueberry plant. One of the flat aka Saturn peaches was ripe. The cherry tomatoes have large numbers of green tomatoes on the […]
Read More Blueberry, Peach, and Tomato Harvest and Next Day FloodingJune 21, 2026 On June 2, Bruce decided to do more playing work with the tractor. He moved dirt from the pile of dirt at the bottom of the driveway to the holes around the grassy knoll. He also used the tractor’s backhoe to work at breaking apart the root ball of Pine Tree Three. […]
Read More More Fun with the TractorJune 5, 2026 On May 25, 2026, we had a break in the rain. It didn’t start raining until the late evening. This allowed Bruce to get back on the tractor. He had placed large branches in several piles around Pine Tree Two. These piles needed to be dealt with. Bruce sorted the piles into […]
Read More Back on the Tractor Again
Blackberry Homestead 