Ludi's projects 2017

Here are some naturalized Perennial Leeks:

Here's a Poke plant, the only one we've ever seen here, growing right beside the house.  We'll never eat this, but it's cool to have one.

Here's the Kitchen garden, mostly full of wildflowers and bolting lettuce.  

The Food Forest, again with the wildflowers!

I plan to cut back on projects this season because of some large life challenges.  My husband was recently diagnosed with Leukemia and we don't know yet what is in store for us on that front.  My 86 year old dad is experiencing increasing symptoms of Alzheimer's and I am his caregiver so my responsibilities there will be greater.  And always I have to deal with my own stupid brain problem (bipolar).  So I won't be raising any baby chicks this year but instead I'll be thinning down my flock to just a few layers and no roosters, and I may not be planting more fruit trees in the food forest.  I'll just have to see how things go, if I will have $ and energy to enlarge the Food Forest project.  If I do anything in there I think I might try a shaded version of 30 Vegetables.

Tyler I'm so sorry. We have never met, but you have been and continue to be a key source of inspiration and information to my efforts getting a central Texas farm off the ground.
Please update as you feel comfortable, here's to wishing you strength and success with a very difficult position to be in. And please let us know if we can help in any way (we being all of us who visit your contributions here on Permies).

Thank you, Josh.

Hugs to you.  Life happens, and sometimes all you can do is just take it one day at a time. Wishing peace and healing to you and your family.

Tyler,
I am so sorry to hear this news. I'm also sorry I missed reading the posts to this thread for awhile.
I certainly wish you and your husband a good outcome. I don't know what to say, but I'm here to listen if you need to talk. Praying for health and brighter days for you both.

Thank you, Maureen and Karen.  My husband is symptom free at the moment so we're doing pretty well, having gotten over our initial panic.  Now we're making plans for how to wrangle these health messes in the future.  Things could change dramatically in the next few years; I'll probably have to live in the city at least part time to care for my dad.  I'll get to see how permanent my permaculture projects will be without me maintaining them much!

Follow up on the Zai Holes experiment.  A few squash plants are hanging on by a thread.  Everything is drying up.

The 30 Vegetables experiment.  Planted on March 2.  3 1/4 inches of rain since then.  The only harvest is one bunch of small Daikon Radishes.

I am sorry to hear that, I have not been on here. I also am greatly encouraged by your input and work, this is not an easy place to grow anything, except rocks, I can grow some rock. I will praying for your husband. I am fairly near by, in a Texas kinda of way, if you need help, please holler.

Thank you so much.  We're doing pretty ok right now.  It's just difficult not knowing what might happen in the near future.  We're definitely learning to live in the moment, which is the only time we have, really.

We've been getting some nice rain lately and some of the perennials in the garden are doing better than expected.  I thought the Turmeric had all died over the winter, but it is coming up again!  Also some new Hardy Yams are sprouting.  All the onion things are doing well.  Mexican Sour Gherkins have sprouted from last year's fallen fruits.  They may become a "perennial" in the garden.  Overwintered Sweet Potatoes are growing but look very pale - possibly iron deficiency.

A young raccoon squeezed through a small hole in the coop and killed 6 chickens, eating the heads and not much else.  5 chickens survived, on the other side of the duplex coop.  They are rather traumatized, but ok.

I hate that for you. I hope you have a way to freeze or can the meat you can salvage.
Tonight I had a turkey breast I had frozen. The package I had marked as TBBU, which stands for turkey breast biten up. The dog had her way with the turkey first. Still good meat.

Thank you, Karen.  Unfortunately by the time I found them in the morning they were already beginning to decay (it is very warm here) and covered with ants, so a complete loss.