The Dreaded Blight!

The dreaded blight has struck again! Last year it was our tomatoes and this year it got to our potatoes. Within a period of about 2 weeks, we went from potato plants that looked like this:

To potato plants that looked like this:

It is depressing to say the least! Below is a close-up of an infected leaf:

For those who have not yet experienced the potato blight, it is a mold that spreads rapidly in hot conditions. Unfortunately, the spores can travel long distances on the wind and it can over-winter in the soil, so once infected it can be difficult to eradicate. We have instituted measures to prevent the tomatoes from becoming infected, so cross your fingers.

Just Married!

Thanks for all of the well wishes on our recent marriage, and thanks to everyone who joined us for a fun-filled, celebration weekend! We had a great time and we hope you did too!

Below are some of our favorite photos from the weekend.

And for those who made it to the top of Sleeping Giant

after a long, hot hike - you rock!!

Dan & Erin

Testing the soil!

We have been busy working on an expansion to our vegetable garden and are getting ready to plant some seeds. Before we did that, however, we thought we would test our soil to see how the new raised bed compares to the old raised beds. We used the Mosser Lee Soil Test Kit which is an easy-to-use home soil testing kit. The kit tests for soil acidity level and several different nutrients including phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium.

This photo shows the results for the soil in the old garden bed. We determined that the acidity was around a ph of 7.0, the nitrogen levels were low, the phosphorus levels were low, and the potassium levels were in the medium range.

Below is a picture of the test results for the new garden bed. In this case, we determined that the acidity was approximately a ph of 6.0, the nitrogen levels were a low minus, the phosphorus levels were a low plus, and again the potassium levels were in the medium range.

So overall, it seems like we might need to do some extra work on the soil in the vegetable garden, but hopefully things will still grow!

Vermont 2010

We recently enjoyed a ski and snowboarding trip to Vermont.

Here's the video (follow the link below for the large version):

Large version: Vermont 2010

(make sure you watch with the sound turned on)

More Storage

The master bathroom in our house has always had an empty, closet-sized space next to the shower and to the side of the toilet. We suspected that it was meant to be a closet, but that the closet was never completed when the house was sold. Without shelves and a door, it wasn't a very useful area, so Dan decided to finish the project and give us some much needed storage space.

This first photo shows you how the space looked prior to any work:


Here is the frame being installed with some shelves already in place:


All of the shelves in and the frame painted:


And finally, the finished project with a sliding door and a plant on top:


Overall, the project turned out great! The extra storage space has been really helpful to have and I think the bathroom looks more finished.