It's Not The Farm BUt We're Trying

6/23/2025

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Last week we officially entered the summer season. That means, if we were on the farm, we would be well on our way with the garden, our layers, and the ducks. But we are not on the farm. No, since the move, we are still in search of our future farm-stead. But while we search, we decided, we're still going to grow something. It's not the farm, but we're trying.

The housing market, at present, is a tough market. In our current area, housing are posted and under contract within hours. No kidding. So, it's a bit difficult finding a house, much less a house with space to actually have a garden and in an area where chickens, ducks, and other farm animals are allowed. There is not much land available. And while we could look in slightly more rural communities , we do have jobs and want to stay relatively close to where we work.

No worries, we have decided to do a couple of things. First, we're going to be patient and trust that God will show us the right house with the right space in the right location at the right time. Second, we're going to be flexible. While we dream of the 10 to 20 acre farm/homestead with space for the kids to visit and stay, a barn, pond, and grazing pastures, we might end up with 1 acre and shed where we have to create our own water feature. In the meantime, however, it is growing season and we're going to give it a shot.

Welcome to Just Ducky Farm Summer 2025 Edition

We've decided to keep it simple this season. Because we are renting, and the yard is very small, we've chosen to plant just a few of our favorite and easy to grow vegetables and herbs. And because we do not own the property that we are renting, we're growing everything in buckets or pots, so to eliminate having to dig and refill holes or fill raised bed only to have move dirt when we move out. And because we are planting in buckets and pots, the variety of plants we growing is limited.

So what are we growing this season? Great question. Let's take a look.

TOMATOES
Tomatoes is an easy choice for us. We have been growing tomatoes for years, both in the ground and in buckets. They are relatively easy to care for, don't take up a lot of space, and Amy enjoys garden fresh tomatoes.

We have chosen to grow BetterBoys, Grape Cherry, Yellow Cherry, and a simple Cherry Tomato.

PEPPERS
Peppers is another favorite and a plant that we grow every year. Like the tomatoes, we have grown peppers in both buckets and in the ground. They too are fairly easy to mange, can grow quite bushy, and still be somewhat space saving when grown in buckets.

These summer we are growing Red and Yellow Bell Peppers, and Sweet Yellow Banana Peppers.

CUCUMBERS
Last year we grew our first Straight Cucumbers. These were great cucumbers. So this year we picked up three Straight Eight plants for this season. But unlike last year, our cucumbers are in a large planter pot instead of being in the ground. In fact, I have never grown cucumbers in pots. I've always planted in the ground. So this year will be a bit of an experiment as we try growing in pots.

PICKLES
We also picked up a couple pickling cucumber plants for this summer. Over the last couple of years, we have really enjoyed pickling and canning our cucumbers. The hope is that we will be able to grow enough pickles to actually can a few this year. Although, because our housing situation is smaller, I'm not really sure how it will all work out. But we'll see.

What Life in the Higham House

Click to watch more Life in the Higham House

HERBS
And of course, we have herbs. We have really enjoyed having fresh herbs for cooking. Each year we grow our staples; basil, parsley, cilantro, and rosemary. This year we've added dill (which we always struggle with), oregano, purple leaf basil, thyme, and a chocolate mint. We have already started clipping and using the basil, parsley and cilantro.

We got Bees

We are really excited to start something new. Bees. We have started our first hive of honey bees! Watch as a local bee keeper and friend helps us start the new colony.

Can't Bee-Lieve this Happened

This growing season will be a drastic change from last years garden. But we're trusting that this season is only temporary and next year we'll be able to get back to building our farm-stead. We will just keep improving upon what we know and learning what we don't know, and of course, sharing it all with you. And, when the time is right, we'll get back to having our laying hens, ducks, bunnies, meat birds, turkeys, and all the other wonderful creatures and plants with dream of growing and caring for. Until then, it might not be the farm, but we're still trying.

- jay & amy