How Does Your Garden Grow?

We have a very small backyard, and therefore a very small garden. I have two raised beds that are a foot and a half wide by 8 feet long. (I'm hoping to get one more) I also have 2 pots for herbs and I may get one or two more pots before the summer is over. In this small space I have crammed A LOT!



Starting in the far left hand corner are Carrots (seeds in the ground), Spinach (seeds in the ground), Butter-Crunch Lettuce, Parsley, Cilantro, 2 Red Leaf Lettuces, 2 Green Leaf Lettuces, 4 Cauliflowers, 4 Onions, 4 Broccoli plants, Basil, Sage, Brussel's Sprouts and 2 Zucchinis.

On the Patio we have Mint and Oregano in one pot and Rosemary and Thyme in the other.

If I can get a 3rd raised bed built this year I'll put Tomatoes, Peppers and Cucumbers in there. I'm also hoping to get a Potato Box built.

I'm excited to growing our own food this year.

What a difference a year+ and lots of hard work makes

I'm calling the backyard complete! Next year we will do some more planting, but all the hard stuff (except for the fence I'm not sure will ever come) is finished!

Michael with the help of his dad did a great job on the pergola. I can't believe how great it looks. Well done guys.

This isn't even true before shot because at this point we had already graded the yard and poured the patio. You need to imagine a messy, muddy, uneven hole of a yard.


Now look at it! I don't even want to think about how much money we spent on it, but it's worth it. This yard is now a place to hang out and I think that baby Perry and I will be spending lots of time playing back here.

Not a Good Day for the Garden

It appears that my zucchini plant is rotten. So rotten that even though there are leaves and blossoms and a wee zucchini the stem has separated about 8 inches from the ground. We are talking decapitation. And now ants are having a hey day eating it. So no zucchini this year. The yellow squash on the other hand has over grown into the yard. Also, my tomatoes never seem to ripen. I've had lovely unripe fruit on the vine for weeks but not a blush of color. Even the green ones haven't reached their correct shade and firmness. An to top that off all my pepper are still green too and they are supposed to be orange and red.

Where have all the colors gone?!
When will I be able to eat the things I've been growing?
Aside from creating some lovely foliage is this garden a complete failure?

And I saw a slug. Sigh.

First Harvest

This week I finally harvested some veggies from the garden. I haven't fertilized at all so things are a little on the small and slow side, but I rally don't mind. The thrill really comes from walking outside and finding that I have yet to kill every plant in my garden.
Today's harvest consists of:

• 1 small zucchini (I could have left it for another day or two, but I wanted to eat it with my lunch)
• 2 roma tomatoes (the whole roma plant is about 1/3 the size of the others. I think it is because I planted it late)
• 1 green zebra tomato (it too is small, but I like it that way)
• 1 medium sized yellow, crookneck squash (that plant is over-running the garden)

Aren't they cute!

I immediately cut up and sautéed the zucchini and served it over pasta. It was delish! The pasta is Hodgson Mill's Organic Whole Wheat with Milled Flax Seed and it is very, very good. Slightly nutty but not gritty like some whole wheat pastas - plus it is the only omega 3 rich pasta I can find that doesn't use legume flour (aka - allergic reaction in a box).

This is all that remains of a cherry pie I made nearly two weeks ago. When I removed the plastic wrap it actually stank. Here is a note for all of you - if there is pie in your fridge EAT IT! Don't try to be nice and leave the last piece for someone else. It will just go bad in your fridge and make a sticky, stinky mess. Although the photo still looks fairly appetizing.

Right now I am savoring my first peach of the season. Just the smell is delightful. I love the way it melts in my mouth and tastes like sunshine and rainy, cool evenings at the same time.

Photo Day

The garden is growing.

The patio finally has furniture!
We've had the table for over a year, but just last week we got the chairs.

Seriously, yesterday this squash blossom was tiny and green. It just grows so fast!

One day, this will be a carrot!

Finally, as part of my bridesmaid duties I have been making the favor cards. 200 cards scored, folded and stamped. We still have to print out the inside message and glue stick them in - the wedding is Saturday - I'm only a little worried.

The Roma Has It!

Thanks to everyone who voted on the replacement tomato. I'll search out a good Roma plant today. My mystery heirloom plant is growing like gangbusters. We put up the tomato cages last week and I think it likes it. The Green Zebra is still looking puney, but I think if I wasn't comparing it to heirloom it would be fine.
Rabbits have been invading and eating my swiss chard. It is strange to go out there one day and see lots of leaves and the next its been nibbled down to the stalks. I'm not too worried though, they seem to be leaving everything else alone and the chances of getting Michael to eat Chard was slim at best. The lettuce is getting huge, so we will be eating lots of salad. The crookneck squash and zucchini have put out little blossom nodes, so in a few weeks we will have squash. Oh, and there are tiny carrot sprouts! I just tossed some carrot seeds in the empty spaces in the garden and they have taken off. Now I regret not planting them in rows - oh well, live and learn.

Grow Your Own - 2008

I can NOT wait for my garden to grow.

So far everything is looking good and I'm very hopeful that by the 28th of the month I will be able to make a meal that involves something I've grown. Even if it is just using the herbs. I bet we can also get some lettuce. YUM!

planted

The garden bed has been planted! Tomatoes (Green Zebra and Mystery), Peppers (Orange Bell and Little Sweet Reds), Rainbow Chard, Lettuce (Buttercrunch and Red Leaf), Zucchini, Yellow Cookneck Squash, Cucumbers, Basil, and Carrots. I plan on planting some Green Beans and Sugar Pumpkins once we build the little wall for the back raised bed. Hopefully next weekend.
We also planted flowers in the 3 front pots and the 2 small back pots. I've got one more to plant that currently has last years lavender - which to my surprise came back. The rosemary that shared the pot unfortunately did not.