August 6, 2010: A Bountiful Basket

We came back from our vacation to a huge harvest.

Ok, it wasn't huge, but it was a start. I pulled out all of the onions. They were a variety of sizes and when I cut into one of them tears ran down my face immediately. I think I will be letting Dave cut these up. Our plan is to chop them, freeze them, and use them in soups and enchiladas.
I have about 1000 strawberries that are coming ripe. These were the ones most ripe so I went ahead and picked them and froze them and put them into a ziploc bag for smoothies. I will probably go and pick them every few days and do the same thing and maybe end up with 5-6 full ziploc bags. Not too shabby since this is our second batch of strawberries this year. We got our first one in June.

We have a ton of green beans coming in as well. These were the longest and most ready to harvest. We had them for dinner, along with others I had picked before we left on our trip. Our tomatoes are starting to come in as well. I planted cherry and grape and Early Girl (that didn't make it other than the one bigger tomato) this year.

Next year I am doing something radical and revamping my whole vegetable garden as I know it. It should be very exciting and a lot of work, but I am up for it. I have mapped it out and will start on some of it this Fall after I pull everything out of the square foot garden. Stay tuned...

July 15, 2010: A View of the Garden

This week from the garden:

I moved the raised bed over so that there would be some shade for the lettuce. It seems to have helped. Not sure what those smaller lettuce heads are doing, but I have been trying to prune to get them to grow. I think this is a mistake of not thinning in the beginning (hey - that rhymes).

My petunias are looking pretty. I actually put the purple plants around the perimeter (alliteration!) of the pot, but they all grew to the center. I love them. I think next year I am going to become a petunia freak and put them everywhere.

Anyone want basil? No, really. Anyone? Because this isn't even my only basil plant! I have never been very successful at growing basil until I put it in this half barrel. Guess I know where it will be every year from now on! See those tiny sprouts on the right? Those are radishes. I grew some in the square foot garden and harvested them last week. Dave was in heaven and wanted more, so I am trying to cram them into spots where they will get some shade. And really - if you want some basil, stop by and get some!

Things have really taken off over the past couple of weeks. My squash and zukes are flowering all over (yay!) with no squash bugs in sight. My onions are getting big. The tomatoes are taking over. Those are cherry tomatoes and there are a ton of small ones all over the plant. A few more weeks and I will be popping them like grapes. I also have harvested some stuff and thrown in new stuff that will be ready for cooler Fall harvesting.

The right side square foot garden isn't doing as well. I think it just doesn't get enough sun. I'm going to pull it out from the wall next year and hopefully that will give it a little bit more. I have lots of ideas for next year. Dave should be afraid.

Don't know what is going on with this little plant. I think maybe it was because I put the pot that disintegrates in there with it instead of unwrapping it. These are my early girls and I have one lonely tomato trying to grow on it. Definitely must need more sun.

This is a lettuce head that I threw in another bed just to see what it would do. It's not even close to other vegetables. Imagine that! I should just put lettuce heads all over the place in my yard. I think it is pretty. It will be almost sad to harvest it. I have to take a salad tonight to book club, so I think I am going to pull leaves from various romaine heads (I have 4-5 in my garden). I feel so....organic.

July 7, 2010: Eight Years of Liking Each Other...and Produce

Eight years ago today, Dave picked me up at the airport late one night. I was flying back to Virginia after spending Independence Day in Utah. On the way home he said, "I like you, and I want to date you, but not exclusively, yet." I'm paraphrasing, but he had someone else in mind that he thought he should probably ask out before devoting himself to me heart and soul for eternity....To Be Continued.

Below is are updated pictures of my garden. It's too close to the house and I think the stucco is making things too hot. I should be growing jalapenos. Next year I am moving them to a better location. I have harvested some of the lettuce heads over the past few weeks, and now they are growing back again.

The onions will be ready soon I think.

Second round of strawberries

Lots o' basil, a big head of romaine, and kale galore. I put a leaf of kale in my smoothie every morning for extra whatever it is that kale has.

Green beans and more basil. I think we'll be having basil in something tonight for dinner.

Tomatoes are starting to grow, green beans, onions, romaine, and a bell pepper. And more kale.

This garden isn't doing as well, but has zukes and stuff in it. I think it actually has too much shade because it doesn't really get much sun until 10am and by 4pm it is in the shade again. Next year...

My early girl has one lonely tomato. This is compost, peat moss and vermiculite. It should be growing like crazy! I also have used miracle grow on it. Not sure what the deal is.

This tree has finally really taken off. It is supposed to ultimately be a shade tree for our patio and I think it might actually get there by next summer.

June 16, 2010: Garden Week Two

It's Week Two out here on the farm and things are growing in abundance. Sort of. At least the lettuce below is! I would say it is about time to harvest some of those so that we can get our greens. The romaine is growing in the back as well as the boxwood basil. I haven't used any of that yet, but, the summer is still young.

I've been harvesting 6-7 strawberries daily and they are yummy!

The other day at lunch I had a big bunch of sauteed kale in coconut oil with lemon juice and kosher salt. Seriously - very good!

My left square foot garden is getting bigger. Even with our rainy and cool weather over the weekend. With our warm weather this week, hopefully I will have a lot to show next.

This is my right square foot garden. My zukes and squashes are doing well.

My tomato plant seems a bit bigger than last week, but these are early girls and I have no blossoms yet! I am hoping that they will show up soon.

June 11, 2010: Outdoor Movies

Last night we made popcorn and brought our tv/dvd combo outside to watch a movie. It had been a lovely day, breezy, and we thought it would be a perfect evening. Wrong! Windy, cold, neighbor kid blasting his radio....

So, after about an hour of that, we brought the whole mess inside and finished up snuggled in our bed with two stinky kids. Oh, how I love those stinky kids.

Yesterday I got to spend the day with Josh. On our way to run errands he said, "Mom, I am so lucky." He proceeded to list off all of his blessings for that day so far. We then discussed who he likes to play with the most. He said that he really likes his cousin, Maile. I asked him what he likes about her and he said, "We just have a lot of fun." Then I said, "Weren't you telling me the last time you played that she was picking on you?" He considered that for a moment and then said, "Yeah, but I still like her. Even if you and Dad have a fight, you still love each other." I love that he knows that.

"Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and learn"
- Into the Woods

We went to the store for some groceries, then we went over to my aunt's house to get some vegetables in her garden. Lots of tomatoes. Josh played with his cousins for a little while and I sat under the trees in the backyard talking to my aunt and cousins about whatever topic came up. Have I mentioned that I come from a family of talkers? We have been known to have an entire conversation in one location, and then without agreement, wander to a new location where we shift positions and resume the discussion. It's weird, but, whatever.

While I was driving to my aunt's house, I heard a song with the phrase, "This is your life....are you who you want to be?"

My answer, at least for today, is yes.

June 9, 2010: G-A-Z-E-B-O and Week One

Welcome to Week One of my Summer Garden Series. Last Summer was a bust in the veggie arena due to cold and rainy weather in June. This year is gonna be a good one. I can feel it! So come along with me on my journey to have a Bountiful Harvest.

This is my raised garden that sits on my deck. Four squares currently growing red lettuce, onions, romaine, and boxwood basil. Boxwood basil? What is that? A basil plant that looks like a mini-boxwood and has small leaves - perfect to throw in eggs, on bruschetta, in pasta - you get the picture!

Last night we had the Webelos put up the gazebo that Dave's parents gave us about three years ago. It has been sitting in our shed, and we have been whining about the direct sun on the deck for years. Voila! The perfect solution! We already love it. In the small pots - Mexican Heather.

This is my second season of strawberries and they have come back with a vengeance thanks to the warm humid effect that the greenhouse creates. I have been eating 6-7 strawberries a day from my little patch, and that is perfect for throwing in a smoothie.

This is the other side of the greenhouse. I have already harvested the buttercrunch lettuce in front, and it is growing back. In the middle front is cilantro, and spinach is slowly growing on the right. Middle row = basil, a bell pepper from seed, and kale. In the back is romaine and a bell pepper.

I have added a few things to my raised beds. Mostly ground cover stuff in the front, but also the Japanese evergreen that will grow nice and tall and columnar in the back. I put snow in summer in front of the bed as well. I am just adding things here and there to see what they will do. If they stick and come back looking like the columbine to the right, they are allowed to stay.

I found this really cute table cover at Walmart today. It's both "Summer-y" and 4th of July-ish so I was pretty happy. This is where we will spend most of our time after the sun starts to set - rocking in the chairs and enjoying the summer breezes.

This is my official square foot garden #1. There are two. I have a lot of different things growing in here, including zucchini and yellow squash, basil, kale, lettuce, onions, green beans, and tomatoes.

This is the second square foot garden, with many of the same things as the other one. I am growing three tomato plants this year - two big ones and one cherry for my salads.

In my half barrel I am growing an Early Girl tomato plant. It is supposed to give me happy tomatoes in 50 days. I am counting down!

And, sticking to tradition, we have that one weird spot in the yard. A couple of years ago we put up a big above ground pool. It was great, but a little overwhelming, and with a four year old we aren't taking chances. She is an escape artist. Our current plan is to put up the pavers around the square, put down weed barrier and either gravel or bark, and buy a trampoline.

June 2, 2010 - Tomatoes are In

I'm crossing my fingers and saying a few Hail Marys because I have put my tomatoes in my square foot garden. I even put in the Early Girls, which are supposed to have fruit in 50 days. That is only if it is warm enough. If it's not warm enough and we have another freak snow, then I won't get tomatoes or zucchini and my summer o' gardening will be an unqualified disaster. If you can't grow zucchini in Utah, then you may as well give up and move to Alaska. No, Kelly - we aren't moving to Alaska.

This morning is a bright and lovely day. It's the last week of school so there is some wacky scheduling going on. I will be glad when we can keep our kids out riding bikes until 10pm and they will sleep until 8am (yeah, right) and then after we wake up and spend enough time in our pajamas, we will go to Kacy's. She doesn't know that I am planning this. It's going to be a surprise. Shhhhhh. She'll love it as long as I bring diet coke. The thing is, that for me, summer without Kacy is like....life without diet coke. I associate summer with her, and I bought badminton rackets so that we can see how well we do 20 years later.

But, back to tomatoes. I am growing big tomatoes and little tomatoes and basil and squash and zucchini and onions and cilantro and kale and strawberries and lettuce and radishes (for Dave) and green beans. And bell peppers. I try every year unsuccessfully to grow bell peppers, but fortunately that isn't a black mark on my homemaker status.

It's In. It's All In.

Well, come on. You've been through a few years of gardening with me now. You know I tweak and tug and plant excessively. However, it is getting hot and I'm tired of my cuticles being thrashed. So this year I might be done. Almost. Anyway.

Friday on the Farm will start this Friday. Won't that be fun? Only this year I have FOUR boxes to take pictures of, plus I might take pictures of various beds for my own entertainment in order to see before/after. Today I planted a bunch of red, white and yellow annuals. I'm starting to get on board with the annual thing. I am creating places for them each year in my beds where I don't put mulch.

So far in my SFG I have planted:
bell peppers - and lots of them
tomatoes
basil - lots of it
lettuce
beets
cilantro
jalapenos
squash
zucchini
cucumber
green beans
strawberries

And I have raspberries growing in half barrels.

Mother's Day

Basically since we moved into this house the only thing I ever want for Mother's Day are plants for the yard. This year is no exception. What I also wanted was slave labor. Dave was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend the day out in 67 degree sunshine. Thrilled. He weeding and yardwork more than anything on the planet.

We got started at 7:30am. I went out back and started pulling weeds in the back flower beds. He went out front and started pulling what was basically sod out of the front tree bed. We have given up on trying to plant in those beds because the grass just keeps on coming. So instead it's all about the weed barrier and mulch. This year we are going with rubber mulch because the color lasts for 12 years instead of one year. Plus it is much easier to move around if you need to and repels bugs. Ka-chow!

As the day progressed we mowed, edged, bought plants, planted, assembled sprinkler drip system thingies, spread dirt around, watered, prayed, begged, and sprayed weeds. A huge thanks to the Suds and the Pecks for "babysitting" our kids all day. Certainly not by choice - more like by default since our kids just migrated to their houses. They claim they got stuff done, too. I love our neighborhood kids and their way of hearding from location to location. I hope that they remember these summers as happy and carefree.

And now, for your viewing pleasure.

The Island - the tree to the left will someday be quite large so we left room for it. Other plants = rosy glow barberry, burning bush, red twig dogwood, yellow barberry, mugo pine, and artemsia.
The front bed - you can see the small juniper off to the left. It will eventually get about 8 feet tall and frame the house well. The red tree is a Japanese Maple. I also have candytuft, basket of gold, carnations, peonies, dianthus, bleeding hearts, and a few other things.
Begonias
Container plants - this will have more when I figure out what I want to put in it. Probably wave petunias.
I moved the greenhouse down to the ground so that it will have more afternoon shade.
Raised beds - I haven't planted these annuals yet. These lower beds will be my primary annuals and I will change them up based on my moods every year. I am going to get the drip system arranged so that it will water these beds.
The Deck - these bushes are the only original bushes that I still have in the yard. Sad, huh? We are going to be putting trellis around the bottom of the deck probably this Fall so we can block the weeds from view better.
Square Foot Garden - I have two 4x4 boxes against the back wall, and two 3x3 boxes in the greenhouse. I've got a few things in right now and will put some seeds in this week sometime.
Square Foot Garden - look familiar? This is last year's box. Alive and kicking! I'm growing some lettuce and started some tomatoes. In the wine barrels are raspberries that my mother in law gave me.
Back garden bed - this is the view from the raised beds. The rocks scattered throughout are to place where there will be bigger rocks soon. Our neighbor is getting rid of his so I figure I will put them in the back for added interest. Most of this stuff was planted last year other than the trees and a couple of the perennials. It should really take off this year.
Zzzzzzz - this is Josh after his mean old mom made him take a shower. He likes to snuggle with the towel over him on the rug after a shower. Normally he doesn't fall fast asleep! It's been a long day outside playing for this little guy.

P.S. I am so sore that I can barely move. Evidently P90X doesn't prepare you for 12 straight hours of gardening.

No Really, You DO Need Sprinklers

About four years ago we got four loads of dirt and sod and put it in the backyard.

"No, I don't need a sprinkler system. I'll just go out and water with the hose."

I could hear the snickers and laughs from everyone I shared THAT idea with, but hey - my mom did it in Phoenix for 100 years, I figured I could do it here for 4 months out of the year.

I was wrong. The grass died (laughing all the way - ho ho ho) and we were faced with a monumental decision about the next step in our journey through yardwork. We were still facing the sideyards - clearing out the massive amounts of weeds, putting down weed barrier, filling with gravel. Still facing the front yard - island all torn up. See where I am going with this?

We hired someone. Someone who will do the side yards, redo the backyard (leaving space for our pool), reconfigure the sprinkler system so that it will still water the yard, but also allow for a drip system through the flower beds both front and back. Bless his heart - he is outside with his crew working like a dog to get it done. I'm astonished every time I walk back there. I have a renewed hope in my yard and what I may be able to accomplish this year.

It's The Other Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This morning I am teaching a Square Foot Gardening class as an enrichment activity for my ward.

Let me know when you stop laughing.

And then I will tell you that last year I was quite successful with my SFG. Considering I didn't plant until mid-June, I was able to grow a few things. This year is a different story. This year I have four boxes instead of one, a designed layout, and a calendar that I have developed with what I need to plant each week to have a staggered harvest. Everyone will be green with envy. Pun Intended.

This year I am going to grow: strawberries, raspberries, leaf lettuce (several varieties), spinach, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers, basil, cilantro, and bush beans. I am going to plant both cherry tomatoes and big tomatoes. I just did cherry last year and while I loved them for my salads, I want the bigger ones, too.

I also may try corn again - we'll see if I have room. If not, I may add another box to my garden next year just for corn. I already know I want to add one just for strawberries.

This year in my little greenhouse I have planted leaf lettuce, strawberries, and a few other things to try out. Basically, this is the year of experimentation - to see what grows and what doesn't grow in our conditions. It's so fun! I'm excited to get the kids involved. Josh wants to build his own box and grow a whole mess of stuff. I'm totally on board with that. I envision him learning all of this and going to a third world country on his mission and teaching them how to do it. Lofty, eh? Maybe I should make sure he can read first.