03 June, 2008
June in the little garden
Things are happening around my garden! It’s awesome to see things like these baby tomatoes which were just a little seed poked into the dirt back in March. These little guys are Mexico Midgets (from Seedsavers).
Beautiful nasturtiums. I absolutely love these orange flowers and their big, green lily pad leaves. Did you know you can eat the flowers? I sort of want to but I sort of just want to let them stay because they’re so pretty. Behind them are my chives, which are still blooming like a champ.
A fruit crate I got at the thrift store that turned into a planter. Here we have sweet potato vine, Mexican heather and one more which I can’t remember the name of at the moment!
Lemon balm, which is flourishing. And mint. Both plant swap scores.
Blueberries are ripening! There was also a blueberry casualty this week, when the kids who mow my (barely there) grass ran right over one, along with several other plants. Grrr. Someone owes me a free lawn mow, I think.
Marigolds (started these babies from seed too) and strawberries!
Another plant swap plant which is really happy. This is a primrose.
A little bug helped himself to my gooseneck loosestrife. Darn it.
My compost bin doing its thing. There’s some great lookin’ dirt in there. And about 50 oak trees. Anyone want one?
First Fruits
My first harvest. Out of my first garden. One for me, one for Jimmy and one little green top for Kyla (she loves them). So pleased.
21 April, 2008A beginning
Saturday was so perfect, weather-wise. My brother Noah came over to give me my birthday gift, the use of his truck and assistance in building a square foot garden box to hold my veggies this spring & summer! We made a quick trip to the hardware store and headed back to the house to get to work.
I get an immense amount of satisfaction out of making things myself, especially when it’s something a lot of people would hire help for or buy pre-fab, so I was really excited about this project. I took an interest in organic gardening (and really growing things in general) this year and when I heard about square foot gardening on a messageboard a few months ago, I thought it would be ideal due to our compacted, sandy, acidic soil. I promptly bought the book and read up on the square foot gardening method. I thought it made sense space-wise and decided to go ahead with it.
Building this was super simple. You attach four 4-foot 2x6 boards in the shape of a box, throw down some weed cloth, fill it with soil and apply a 1x1 foot grid. Then plant away!
I started a lot of seedlings around the first of March, I’ve already transferred marigolds, nasturtiums, lettuce and strawberries to the box. The strawberries are doing awesome and we even had one perfectly ripe berry which I had planned to split with Jimmy on Friday. We took Kyla to the beach for a walk, and while we were there, Jimmy asked if I’d eaten the strawberry (we’d both been keeping an eye on it). I said no, that I’d planned to get it when we got home. Apparently someone beat us to it. I suspect a squirrel because someone’s also been digging in my container pots. I need to mulch them.
My chives are blooming too!
I need to put some trellis net on the metal frame we put behind the box so when I move my tomatoes outside they can climb. Other than that it’s ready to go! I can’t wait to see how this progresses, it’s my first try at gardening and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot. What are you guys growing this year?
Seed starting
If spring came yesterday it really wouldn’t be too soon. I’m so ready to be outside, smell the plants blooming, take Kyla to the beach for walks and leave the house without worrying if I should have brought a coat or not.
I’ve spent two years getting my house put together in a way that pleases me and now it’s time to start on my barren patch of dirt otherwise known as a yard. I’m planning a vegetable garden for this summer which will be in a raised bed as well as some containers, but I am also working on getting some landscaping done. First step is to get the soil tested and put some healthy stuff on it, so I’m working on that. We’re also going to build a patio out back.
So last night Amanda and I got a jump on planting. We could have done this a few weeks ago really, since our last frost date is usually around the second week in April, but here we are. We got so many things started: tomatoes, peppers, a few flowers, lots of lettuces and herbs in container pots. I used some toilet paper rolls for planting the stuff that is going outside in a few weeks, bigger plastic pots we saved for tomatoes and peppers and summer stuff. Max even planted a few watermelons.
Amanda has this super cool greenhouse on wheels on her front porch. Such a cool idea!
Here’s my little grow op at home. I screwed two grow lights on the underside of one of my bookshelf shelves, and since it’s adjustable I can move it up as the seedlings grow.
I’m counting on you guys! Sprout! Sprout!
The Lil’ Herb Garden
I got bit. By a new bug. A dirty one. I’m going to make a little garden! I have been wanting to compost for a while, and I want to start a Square Foot Garden in the spring and in the meantime I decided to adopt some little herbs!
I saw these on Craigslist and couldn’t resist. For $20 I got a huge bush-sized rosemary as well as sage, chives and elfin thyme. My car is going to smell like rosemary for a week. Which is okay by me!
Cute little teensy leaves and velvety sage.
Stinky chives and luscious rosemary.
Here’s my compost bin! Obviously a sophisticated design. Only expert gardeners should attempt construction. I have the hardware cloth wire-tied to the posts for quick release so when I want to turn the pile, I can just lift off the cage, move it, and shovel the pile back in. Now if the three straight days of rain will ever dry up, I’ve got a yard full of leaves to stick in there and get it cookin!
