Corn thinning in the big garden

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I have never showed y'all the big family garden. Here is my husband thinning the corn.

Behind the cow panels is 32 tomato plants. The cow panels are green beans after that is butter beans, then corn, onions, cucumbers, squash, watermelon, a variety of peppers and the "old" onions going to seed and a collard plant going to seed.

You can see my mobile home in the distance and my aunts house behind the garden. My grandmothers house is behind me (I'm taking the pictures) and my sister lives to my right.

 

[lesa]

I love the idea of a big family garden! That is so cool. There is nothing like sweetcorn out of the garden.... Enjoy!

 

[Collector]

The corn is looking great Hangin, does the whole family take part in the gardening?

 

[thistlebloom]

You have a nice place there Hangin'. I think it's wonderful that you're so close to your family. Mine is scattered all over the country.
You corn looks great!

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I'm particularly proud of the corn, its mine. I freeze 200 ears every year. The rest is mostly my granny's. We do share, my granny is 87 years young and can't work it anymore, but we do it for her. We can over 150 quarts of green beans and more than 200 quarts of tomatoes ever year. That's the way we've always lived. We freeze and can lots of stuff and mostly we do it together. It's easier that way. I love living next to my family. I lived in CA for a year all by myself and it gave me a deep appreciation of my home and family.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Wow!! That's really nice!! Someday I want a garden about that big! Of course... I don't know that I will NEED it that big.. unless we decide that we're going to start selling some, or donating it... Since there is just 4 of us, we wouldn't need AS much.

 

[vfem]

Wow hangin'! I wish my family lived close enough to help. They share in the harvest a bit anyways, but it sure would be nice if everyone had the ability to pitch in.

Reminds me of the story of the 'little red hen' around here.

Good to see your husband doing the thinning though. I am TERRIBLE about thinning. I just can't rip out perfectly good plants without feeling a little sad. Like, I know its supposed to be done, and I'm helping the other plants thrive... but those poor things didn't do anything wrong!!! hahaha

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

All the thinnings were feed to our horses. Other thinnings I do I feed equally to the horses and goats. I try not be be wasteful, because it just kills me to rip out a perfectly good plant (I buy corn seed every year) and then throw it away? Not me.

When the corn matures, we cut the stalk and corn sections at a time. We feed the stalks and shucks to the horses over a period of a few weeks. The goats get a few shucks, they won't eat too much of it, but they love the left over cobs after we cook them to eat.

Horses, goats and chickens get fed green bean "strings" and ends. I collect everything I can to feed them with.

I have wanted to raise a pig every year and don't do it. When I was little my dads family (they live one county over) raised pigs off garden waste. We would feed them the left overs from supper, left over whey from cheese, extra eggs from the chickens, tomato peels from canning, green beans strings and all the thinnings and hulls and shells and spent plants and in the fall we slaughter them. We would put meat in the freezer, BBQ some, salt cure ham, and cook the skin for lard and cracklings. No part was wasted. I, of course, could not slaughter a pig I raised. I would have to take it to the local deer guy. I just can't wrap my brain around the process of keeping a pig "penned". If it got out and ate the garden, it would be devastating to my whole family, not just us.

 

[ninnymary]

hangingwitthepeeps, that is a beautiful garden you have there. I love all the space and the way you all live together. I wish that was more common. I just love that nostalgic feeling, and when you sometimes get mad at each other, you can all go to your individual homes.

Mary

 

[adrrenaley]

Hi hangin.., The idea of big family garden is cool. I just loved it. You have a nice place for garden. The corn is also looking good.

garden rubbish removal
green waste bags