transplanted tomatoes and peppers into bigger pots

Transplanted tomatoes and pepperss.

seedlings in March

Gardening is not a rational act - things that did not go well in 2012

Wild weather

• Drought: there was not much rain and certainly high temperatures. The water bill was high even with a drip system.
• Drip system installed. Had pressure issues and plugged hoses. Drip system saved the containers, though, while we were away for 3 weeks in June.
• Broccoli did not head. Cauliflower headed in late October. 
• Strawberries flowered and fruited three times! They were confused.
• Raspberries also confused.

Rodents of unusual cuteness

• Chipmunks ate young brassicas and undercut one of the tomato beds leading to premature demise. Too bad, our resident Cooper's hawk (picture) wasn't hunting them.  In further insult, our friends who were gifted with extra tomato plants had bumper harvests. Rats!

Japanese beetles: I won the war this time by going out morning and night and capturing and killing all that I could find on my cherry trees. Last year, they defoliated them. This year, I claim victory!

Beauty acquired: I scored white tulips at a clearance bin!

Peppers galore! Freezer full of hot and not-so-hot peppers.

Potatoes: Two years of unsuccessful harvest. The container method is not working. Where are the 100's of pounds of potatoes from a bin? We barely get seeds back out.

Sunflowers rocked!

time and tide waits for no....

frost killed yellow squash

tiny cauliflower - started heading in late October

big beefy yellow tomatoes (heirloom)

cauliflower harvest

Some late harvest goodies from the garden.

The cold frame is doing well even with outside temperatures going sub-freezing overnight. Lettuce, arugala, and spinach gets harvested twice a week.

Garlic was planted just before thanksgiving. Twice as much as last year.

heat and more heat

Heirlooms are not doing well in the heat despite plenty of water. 

The strawberries think it is August. 

tiny fruits....

Tomatoes, jalepeno peppers, and cucumbers have all fruited. 

potato harvest...not good so far

red potatoes still growing strong

  The reds look good so far.

The gold potato plants were dead when we got home from vacation. we had a drip system set up to give them water. So we pulled the pile. 


















At least 6 bigger potatoes had started rotting in the wet earth. I dug through 100 pounds of composted soil and straw to the bottom to find a few potatoes.

We did get bigger potatoes but not very many and they were only at the bottom of the barrel. I don't see how people gets "hundreds" of pounds of potatoes from a vertical system.

I followed directions. Oh well. We'll have to maybe throw the potatoes into one of the boxes and try rows next year. 

Homegrown new potatoes taste wonderful!

Drip system worked...sort of

The drip system and timer worked very well while we were gone for 10 days. Some plants didn't get as much water as others; one can tell from the size of the plants.

The basil had a great growth spurt despite being dug by a chipmunk!  To each side, are the flowers that just loved getting watered every day.



Yes, the chipmunks managed to dig out there tunnel which I had blocked. They, however, did not eat my brassicas to the ground like last year. So, win. There is now a pound of camphor inside and a large brick over their hole.


In other news, the poor cucumbers are battling. They did not get as much water as the centered yellow squash and melons. This one has only 2 true leaves, and has blossomed. Weird!

vacation hiatus and meditation

Headed off to vacation and a disconnect from the digital world. I leave you with leafy carrot tops!


also:

gate
gate
paragate
parasamgate
bodhii svaha

potted plants

herbs

planter

Herbs in pots: clockwise...stevia, dill, thyme, and baby basils

Bonus planter: calladium and double tap petunias.

peas are flowering

These peas are in one of the "new" beds from last year and are almost chest high. In an old bed, they barely got to waist high. I assume the abundant nutrition from compost has helped their growth. 

These are snow peas so the pods are picked young. 

Underneath are the cucumbers and yellow squash plants which will be trellised up as well.

the color, yellow, pops out from the shade

The first of  the daylilies have popped. I put them in about 2 years ago. They were a gift from a co-worker. These are located under the Tulip Tree. I really like yellow because it "pops" out of the shade. My garden and landscape design is designed to give the eye something to look at. You reye wanders and you say, Hey! What's that? That's interesting!" beforeroaming again. Contemplation. Meditation.

share the garden

We've made converts out of our friends, Dave and Fred. We helped them install two raised beds and planted some of our heirloom tomatoes. We are using 2L soda bottle as mini greenhouses for the very small plants and also to protect them from critters. Dave and Fred live on the edge of a subdivision where they get rabbits, the occasional deer and other critters. They will also install chicken wire to help with denying the critters.

. 

This brings up an interesting note. I have been thinking about starting a side business for designing and installing raised bed gardens. Small scale for urban dwellers. I've read several books about small business practices. I'm not sure I have the time or energy and we certainly don't need the money. But I toy with the idea nonetheless.

tomatoes are prolific!

Tomatoes: 18 yellow pear, 13 sweet 100's, 3 john baur, 10 green zebra, 11 romas, 5 orange, and 6 black krim. There are a dozen or so other tomato seedlings but the marker is gone...so mystery tomatoes!!


Update: We believe the tomatoes are the SeedSavers Evergreen tomatoes.

freeze warnings

It's been a week of frost and freeze warnings. The beds have been covered and the fruit trees are wrapped. The warm March meant that many plants are ahead of schedule. I'll try to get a picture post up sometime.

Sowing seeds in early March

About the time, the daffodils were blooming (early March), we began sowing seeds in our "clearance sale" $20 green houses. It may have been 40F outside, but it was a toasty 75F inside. 

strawberries

In a flurry of activity this weekend, Alexa and I have planted our strawberries. There are ten plants of 3 different hybrids. The continuous watering system consists of 2liter soda bottles with a small hole in the bottom that is filled with water. This also has the added benefit of provided a local microclimate to warm the area and prevent frost damage. This is one of the new "lasagna" beds with cardboard laid over the lawn, mulched leaves/grass, compost, peat moss, sand, and some garden soil. The PVC pipe allows us to cover the box with plastic for a greenhouse effect or with netting to discourage birds from harvesting our berries.