Homemade Mayonnaise, I can't believe it turned out

I've been wanting to make mayonnaise for awhile now. It was pretty easy and I really can't believe it turned out.

Whisk an egg yolk with 1/4 teaspoon each salt, paprika, ground mustard & 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. I will up the amount of spices next time. 3/4 cup olive oil will be whisked in too

Gradually add no more than 1/2 teaspoon of oil and whisk until blended.  This took FOREVER  I was proud of myself for not just dumping the oil in. I definitely lack patience when it comes to stuff like that.

It's  only good for a few days  since our eggs are not pasteurized, and there isn't anything artificial in it, and I'm OK with that :)

The graden is growing. Maybe I should say expanding

I added a few more things to the veggie garden. I am officially out of room. I planted carrots and cantaloupe in the flower bed :)  I gave up on flowers because the chickens just tear them up.  I put some plastic chicken wire over the area were I planted the carrots and cantaloupe to keep the chickens (and wild bunnies) out. Once the carrots are harvested I'll plant radishes!

I think I'm going to do some raised beds next year.  I'll have to do some research. Most of the yard is a septic field and I'm not sure if I can put anything on top of it.

I would love to grow watermelon, pumpkins strawberries, and asparagus. And more corn :) 

I think I need a mini greenhouse too!

Hope this keeps the chickens out of the carrots

Not So Green Thumb Gardening

Straw bale gardening worked well for me last year so I figured I'd do it again. I also planted in containers & in the ground.

I use straw bales in the winter to help insulate & block wind around my chicken coops. While the bales are in the runs the chickens sit on them & poop, this helps to fertilize & break down the bales. 

I just make a little hole add I bit of dirt and put the plant in.  I really like using the bales because there are hardly any weeds.  It is also a good hight for me to kneel at without hurting my back.

In the bales I planted tomatoes, brussel sprouts, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, jalapeños, bell peppers & a mystery veggie - I don't know how I ended up with it but it was in my cart & I bought it. 

Everything is growing well even though it snowed last week.   I did have some bugs munching on the brussel sprouts so I made a mixture of garlic, cayenne pepper & water to spray on the plants. That seemed to do the trick. 

I also planted potatoes in a bag.  As the greens grow I'll add more dirt.  I've never tried to grow potatoes. I hope they do well.

This is the 2nd year trying onions. They didn't do so well last year, they just didn't grow very big. I have them in a container again, we'll see what happens. 

I have some "Bush Cucumbers" in a container & in the ground.  The first cucumber plants I got didn't survive the May snow :-/

Last year I bought a hanging container that had beans in it. I reused it this year and put peas in it.

I also planted sweet corn, can't wait for that :)

My raspberries look like the have tripled from last year.  I wonder it I'll get enough to make jam?

My walmart peach tree looks like its growing well, not sure how mature it needs to be before it starts producing peaches though.

Potatoes in a bag

I had to put tomato cages around the corn so the chickens wouldn't stomp on it.