Hogg Homestead

What am I making today?

For me, homesteading is all about making at home what we can instead of buying it.

My favorite meals. Give me about a month and I’ll be harvesting all of these exact ingredients from my backyard!

It’s that time of year when texts go unanswered because the work is fast and busy. I transplanted 8 more tomato plants into my beds yesterday so I’m up to 20 plants. Weeded out the vines from my cool weather spring crops. Added in some more cages and supports. Scanned for pests and disease. Planted more seeds. It’s the second busiest time of year, with harvesting and canning being #1.

To stake or not to stake? I change my opinion every year. Some plants require support no matter what: cucumbers, peas, etc
But a lot more live in that gray area. I never stake my peppers. I use cages for half of my tomatoes. Everything else, I let go free. I know some people who stake up absolutely everything. I get it, I just tend to let things be what they’re going to be. If something huge is falling over, we can always stake it later.

A little before/middle for you. We all want to see the end of a project, but the progress in the middle is more exciting for me.

It’s so fun to walk out and see plants thriving. Spinach is all I’ve harvested so far but it looks like the peas are close.

I cleared 50+ goldenrods from a garden this morning per the request of the owner.

I’ve been spending most of my time landscaping because my own garden is so frustrating. The animals in my yard are vicious this year, the cold snap in May stunted everything, and all plants are behind. It’s highly annoying. I’ll show you around my gardens later this week when I don’t feel like ripping everything out.

I love how much this view changes every week. We’re in the very beginning stages of growth here, but the vining and greenery creeping out more and more every day makes me so excited.

What is succession planting? In short, it’s replacing what you harvest. Anytime something pops up, I plant more seeds in a bare space,no matter how small it is. That ensures a constant harvest and triples my produce.

I harvested spinach today, and planted more beans. My peas got eaten by rabbits so I added more cucumbers. It all evens out.

I feel so much better now. Took me about 2 hours to do this bed, and it’s so pretty. The ant infestation and rodent activity were a challenge but it’s all cleared out now.

What projects are you working on lately?