What’s shakin’ at the Walbacz homestead this month? Let’s do a lightning-fast update!

But before that, an even faster shameless plug, because as I tell everyone at markets, it’s my favorite part of the business (besides the copious gardening): if you’re still looking for cool things for your teen or tween to do for a few days during the summer, signups for our Summer Baking Camps are still open, and going fast. Come bake all kinds of fun, and even decorate cakes!

Okay, onto some cool stuff from our homestead gardens.

We love our pollinators! Our milkweed patch doubles in size every year, without much maintenance, and now lines nearly the whole path up to our mailbox through the front. We get a chorus of buzzing bees to greet us every time we set foot in the front yard.

The blackberries are finally beginning to ripen! We’ve had a hot April, followed by a fairly chilly end of May, so the berries are ripening a bit later and more slowly than last year. But they’ve exploded with berries, so I look forward to seeing what we get this year.

Speaking of our warm and chilly weather fluctuations, our veggie garden has been seeing mixed results. Pictured are some of the best specimens: our tomato patch is doing excellently (thanks to some added nitrogen and calcium from the chicken run), and some of our cucumbers are finally basking in the June sunlight.

Thanks to the cooler May, we’re still enjoying a fair amount of snow peas, and I’ve been able to replant a few items (i.e. winter squash, beans, and cucumbers) without much fuss.

Other plants are coming in more slowly. Okra, despite being in a new bed, is only now getting true leaves (this was also thanks to an overgrown crepe myrtle blocking most of the afternoon sun, which we have now removed), and winter squash is having mixed results.

Meanwhile, plants that either a) reseeded themselves or b) were diligently planted by Past Me (every once in a while, this gal manages to surprise Current Me) are also doing excellently. Our dill has made its own crazy patch in the back veggie garden, while potatoes and garlic are happily enjoying time in the front perennial beds. I even got to use my own garlic scapes this year for scones, yay!

Our hens are enjoying the sunshine, laying eggs, escaping, digging up freshly mulched beds, and just having their time of their chicken lives. Pictured is Husband’s hand holding three eggs we’ve almost certainly either eaten or baked since yesterday. Oh, and the front of the chicken tractor, which happens to be an old birdcage door.

Overall, we’re busy (as usual) and enjoying the early summer vibes around here. We hope you are, as well. Get outside and enjoy some plants if you haven’t already.

Until next time, Happy Homesteading, y’all!