The Waiting...ugh...

So we discovered in a past weekend that although I am capable of laying down pavers...I will never have a side job doing this job. Thankfully, mine are holding up quite nicely so far and I have not had to fill in with more sand...I think I did O-K (even if they are HORRIBLY uneven).

This past weekend we had the most amazing Oregon weekend yet this year with 75-80+ degrees both days. The Farmer's Almanac stated that Saturday was not a good day to plant...so I waited, like a good little girl and did my planting on Sunday which was supposedly an ideal day to plant. I am not sure what they know that the rest of us don't but I have heard great things about their ability to predict these things...so I listened. As soon as I was able on Sunday though...I planted corn, green beans, snow peas, radishes, and carrots straight into the garden. I figure, being this is attempt #2 at truly gardening, I will continue to test my abilities to start from seeds.  My starts are still looking quite nice in my window, inside.  I am encouraged by their growth...they all seem very happy so far.  I am hoping this continues for a bit longer so I can get them into the garden soon.

My son's view garden is doing very well also. The pictures of the roots aren't great due to glare from the plastic but you can see what has grown above ground and they are doing very well.

I also threw a ton of steer manure (already composted and ready for garden) into the garden to supplement the soil. It seems there is some dark underground source that sucks the soil from your garden each year......I always wondered what the need for compost was. (Okay, not really...I know it all compacts and continues to compost and yadda yadda.)  I am considering building a composting bin later in the year to try my hand at composting. It seems like a LOT of work...and I am concerned I don't have enough time in the day for all of these projects that I need to keep up with. I will continue to ponder that idea though. I rather like the idea of food scraps being in the compost bin and not in my trash can.

Since I wasn't allowed to plant on Saturday I made some hummingbird food and filled my bird feeders. I also set up my vertical "walls" in the garden for when the starts come out so they have something to grow on. I have decided, after reading some more on vertical gardening, that I will need to create about 4 more vertical walls for all of my vine type plants. According to readings it is easier to garden this way, the plant yields more crop, and you deal with less pests. I would be happy with 2 out of 3 of those! Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of those...I will do so once I get the next 3 or 4 in and you can then see the whole set up.

So, I also started some strawberry seeds because Lowe's had the cutest little strawberry garden set thingy for super cheap and it matched my herb garden thingy in my kitchen window and I just couldn't resist. *sigh*  So I have now added strawberries to the list of fruit and veggies.

And to round it ALLLLLLL out, because I am pretty certain I have some sort of addiction issue now, we bought a peach plum tree (it was a fundraiser for the kid's baseball team...how could I not) that we will be planting out front. I am super excited about it actually. We have a spot in the front that I had yet to figure out how to landscape it properly and the tree was the perfect starting point. As soon as I realized I wanted it there, the rest all seemed to suddenly make sense.

So here is the list of our eatable plants around the house this year:
Peach Plum tree
Apple trees (2)
Cherry tree (although it doesn't produce fruit we can get to...it is about 40 tall)
Corn
Green beans
Snow peas
Radishes
Carrots
Strawberries
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Lemon Basil
Mint
Parsley
Chives
Saffron
Sweet Squash (holding for a later planting)

and some volunteer blackberry...because I live in Oregon and the stuff is EVERYWHERE whether you want it or not.

I will likely grab some starts from the garden center later this spring of peppers since they didn't work out last year. I still really want to see if I can get them to work this year though. I may even grab some spicy peppers so I can make salsa with just my garden stuff.

I am still quite in shock that my garden can handle it all...but it seems I built it just the right size to handle my insanity! :)  So until next time....

YAY for Spring!!

So last weekend was a beautiful gardening weekend here in "sunny" Oregon. We had perfect weather for being out and about and playing in the dirt. I finally had some time to put work on some projects. I decided this year to really try my hand at some flowers since I had bought flower boxes at an end of the summer garage sale. I painted hem to match the trim of the house and filled them with clematis and other things...honestly, I have no idea what is in them...they are pretty, that is all I care about. I also cleaned up all my other planters and put in some new perennials so that hopefully, if I can keep them somewhat alive this year...they will come back all on their own next spring. *fingers crossed*  All I can hope is that as the growing season continues, they will grow and flower and fill the front area beautifully.  Again *fingers crossed*

While at dinner on Saturday evening I got to talking with a local bartender who is also a gardener and I told him I was attempting my second year of growing. We started talking about pests and I told him my greatest issue last year were the slugs. OH those disgusting slimy things. Sadly...although you can kill them with salt...you will also kill any plants that may be close by. This wonderful bartender informed me that you can use copper as a type of barrier. Much like salt, the copper reacts to their slim and they refuse to go near it. SO, DUH...I purchased a TON of copper tape!! Do I look crazy!? I lined the tops of the planters in the front and I lined my garden beds out back. This year...I will have control!!! I also laid pavers in the garden to help ease the growth of weeds and my tracking of mud through the house.

So there it is, my full gardening weekend. When the rain subsides again for another weekend day, I hope to plant a few select seeds, corn, radishes, carrots in hopes of getting them started. I may even see if I can get the beans started a little early so I can do 2 crops. I will also be putting up the wire mesh walls that the beans and tomatoes will grow up this year. Stay tuned!! :)

Spring...Glorious Spring!

So as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have much to tell you. Sadly, the rain is still falling and falling in buckets, so I have not been allowed to play in the dirt much. As I showed yesterday though, I did get my starts started so they would be ready for when the sun finally comes out. My son and I have been having some fun as well with a product I found here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/3-7-years/e9d4/?pfm=Search&t=root%20vue  We love us some ThinkGeek.com and I couldn't resist when my favorite geek website introduced a gardening "toy" for my kiddo. The Root Vue Farm is a bit pricey considering what you get but it is a PHENOMENAL way to get your kids into gardening and all the wonderful things that happen when you plant a seed. I have to admit...I am equally as excited each morning as we pull the viewing shield away to reveal how much our little roots have grown.  Excitingly, the radishes sprouted almost immediately and began to grown loooooong roots. The carrots and onions took a bit longer to sprout but have successfully started to grow and show roots in the root viewer.

All in all, we are pleased with their progress and now my little man can see what is happening to all of my starts right now. No more mystery under the soil....the magic has been REVEALED!! (Muahahahahahahaha!!!)

I will continue to update you on our wee sprout's sprouts as they grow! So stay tuned!!! :)

It is beginning....

Oh man...so much has happened this month in the way of gardening! I wish I could remember to post more often. I am hoping I get better at this. Anyway, gosh where to start...OH RIGHT...my starts...I actually did get them started:

I used those seed starter pots that let you just put them right in the ground instead of unpotting them. And to label the pots I used old plastic knives we had laying around from some party a million years ago and a sharpie. Not terribly sophisticated...but it got the job done. I had considered writing on the outside of the pots with the sharpie but decided not to considering they would be saturated with water a lot of the time. So far...they are doing quite well. Although, I had hoped to see more sprouts by this point but unfortunately, the sunshine has not been terribly cooperative so I am having to rely on cloudshine to get the job done for the moment. I had occasionally stuck a heating pad under them and they are close to a register for additional warmth. I am confident they will do JUST FINE. (That is me trying to convince myself that I won't have to go out and buy starts in a month or two.)

We did have one lovely sunny day that was around 60 and I was able to get out and work in the garden again to get it prepped and ready for this year a bit more. I cleaned out a few more weeds...yay. And moved the boxes around a bit to bring in some new special friends for my garden this year. I am very excited about this year's turnout for the gardening season. I will be laying down pavers to facilitate me not tracking as much mud into the house this year...I hope and bought 2 apple trees. Yes...I said that correctly...apple trees. Not just any ol' apple tree though. These babies grow in pots. They are called columnar apple trees and they grow up about 4-5 feet and produce apples off the main column/trunk. Here, check them out:  http://www.onegreenworld.com//product_info.php?cPath=1_12&products_id=155  These guys are the best for eatable plants!

As you can see...the paver project is still a work in progress. Sadly, I can't quite count in my head well enough to buy the right amount of pavers and sand that is needed for the size of my new garden so it waits for yet another sunny day for me to finish...my fingers are crossed for this weekend. In the meantime, it is all shaping up to be a spectacular growing season here in Oregon...and in my lovely little oasis in my backyard!

I have big plans for the layout of the new garden this year...stay tuned...more to come!

Happy Gardening 2012!!!

Just as a note...

I would like to add to the post from this evening but instead of editing it I will make this a separate thought.

Last year's garden wasn't the giant success I had hoped it to be. It did well for my first year and I was able to see where I needed to improve but all in all the yield was...well...not worth the time, effort, and money put into the whole gardening thing. The experience though...priceless. Plus...I made some awesome Giardiniera with a few of my peppers. I was able to do a ton of canning of berries I bought elsewhere and I pickled my pickles and even pickled my snap peas. I recently got to open one of the Curry Pickles and YUM!!! A must try...really!

So was it a waste...no...the experience and the little bit of yummy food I got out of it was worth all the toil and money I put into it. Plus, this year...I am starting out with what I think is a BEAUTIFUL garden plot to work with.

Happy gardening to everyone this year!!

It's that time of year...

Okay, so clearly...I am not terribly good at keeping up with a blog. Sadly, I am also not terribly good at winter gardening. I can be honest with myself now...winter and me are just not friends...I don't like the cold. This winter, instead of cultivating beautiful fall/winter broccoli and sweet onions and fall spinach...I grew weeds, mushrooms (not any of the good kind) and some slugs. They were all delightful...I found them the other day when I finally uncovered my garden for the first time since the frost hit back in October.

Needless to say, it is finally time to garden again! Which means it is also time to blog again (I promise, I will get better at this).  The first sign that it was time to garden soon...my beautiful orchid baby began to show buds again. I really just don't care what anyone says about orchids mine loves me. I give it plenty of water and it sits in a window with direct sunlight in the afternoon and it grows like a weed! Don't be afraid of your orchids...I give it a good dousing of water about every two weeks, sometimes more often depending on how dry I think the house is feeling or how dry the soil looks. My best compass for my orchid...a bamboo plant sitting in the same window. When the water level drops below the rocks and I need to rewater the bamboo...I water the orchid. They are both happy plants!

As for my garden, I have plans in place...and a new garden decoration that I can't wait to install. Last weekend I cleared all of the mushrooms and weeds. I gave a little love to the one broccoli plant that refuses to give up even though I really tried to kill them all off this winter.  I gave a once over with some sulfur to help reduce the fungus that has OBVIOUSLY (hello...I grew mushrooms) grown in my garden so that when I plant my new foods I am starting with a good strong soil. I also purchased some good organic slug repellent and put some down just to help remind the slugs that this is MY garden...not theirs. I have high hopes for doing my starts some time this week/weekend. Since we are still getting some nasty cold nights I will start them in the house, let them get stronger, and then transplant them in hopes that this year I can plant from seeds instead of more mature plants that I don't know where they have come from.

I made a new friend at the local farm store and I plan to pick his brain now and again. He seems really knowledgeable on organic gardening and based on his potential age has likely been doing this for a while. *fingers crossed*

YAY! For garden season!! Oh...before I forget...I also planted some flowers this year in the front yard area. I have 3 planter boxes and will also have 6 round planters, 2 of which have volunteers from last year already coming back. So, bring on the sunshine and lets see some pretty blossoms and yummy food!!!