Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Surprises Come In Threes Around Here

Had no idea that Mark was going to take me out to breakfast at our favorite bagel place. Surprise #1
 
Surprise #2 Tomatoes growing in the marigolds all around the yard.  I picked the most healthy one out...

...and planted then directly is the raised bed.  Did you know that you could do that?  It works!  This is my second year doing it.

Number 3 was a huge sucker that I pulled off the Blue Ridge Mountian tomato.  It looked like an actual small tomato plant.
It went directly into the bed.  I forgot to water them in so the next time I looked at them they all looked really down and out.  I watered and talked to them really sweet and they began to perk up.  Little did Mark know any of this so he pulled out the Blue Ridge and tossed it into the bushes.  Long story short...I scrounged around and found it and put some magic dust on the stem and put it back in the ground.  I will give the prognosis in a few days.  

Monday, June 19, 2023

After A Hard Rain

 


The Corn Crib Garden


The Goat Pen Garden


Squash Alley

The Goat Pen Garden


The Potting Bench Garden


Overview of The Corn Crib Garden and The Goat Pen Garden.

The Potting Bench Garden


The Mystery Plants Garden

Strawberry Fields

Bird's eye view of the Goat Pen Garden and the Potting Bench Garden.

Friday, June 9, 2023

Raised Beds

 I think we have everything the way we want it.  Well, maybe we do.

The potting table and my new hose nozzle for the raised beds because there is no irrigation to this bed (yet).

I can hardly wait for this bed to wake up and grow.

Every plant looks great in these beds, even the strawberries that I didn't think were going to make it.  The squirrels have managed to eat at least half of the sunflower seeds every time I replant.

The flowers in the whiskey barrel got a crew cut because they were just getting way out of hand.  Maybe growing like bad weeds.

We think the mystery plants in the foreground might be big white pumpkins.  We have no blooms but the Bruce boys do.

I came up with the pool noodle covering the soaker hoses because we were losing so much water.  Also helps you notice when you need to step over one and not trip and fall and break something.  You know like some people are prone to do.


We have a mole or two or even a groundhog that loves making tunnels in the beds at night.  Every morning we go out and stomp them down hoping they will go somewhere else but no they are back again the next night.

How about those fancy plant nameplates?  Murph has wanted to get those since we started gardening.  They do look nice and you don't have to bend over to check out what plant is what.

Most everything in this bed is finished.  Everything has been planted but I need to finish making the berry bed look good.  You know how I like to zhuzh...to make something more lively and interesting, stylish or appealing, as a small change or addition.  

The Goat Pen Garden is starting to take off!

I have come to realize that gardening is a lot of hard work.  Planning and executing the plan is always a challenge.  But when everything starts to come up I am in awe of what we have been able to do.  Without our main gardener and builder, Murph, it would never look as great as it does.  He has had a vision from day one three years ago.  Sometimes he gets a little carried away and we have to reel him back in but what a hard worker and good friend.  Mark might be the brains behind it all.  He watches gardening videos all the time.  Reads books, and talks to people about what they are doing and how they are doing it.  We have muscle from the men and boys of Wammyville.  Friends and neighbors are always willing to share plants which is wonderful. I like to get in there and get dirty, catch the creatures, and marvel at it all.   So it really is a Community Garden. Seriously it keeps me sane!  Once all the vegetable beds are in and growing I turn my attention to the flower beds.  That's where I am now.  I have managed to weed three and make a new hosta bed between the firepit and the grass.  But there is still tons to do but I don't care. And then there is the front yard. Give me my headphones and a good book and I can weed for hours, sometimes forgetting to eat.  Most days I come in after a long day and I say that I am WI tired...right Ms. Yvonne!

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Naming The Beds

 We have a hard time remembering what the beds are called so today I made name plaques for each vegetable/fruit bed.

Thinking I might rename this bed.  The Berry Patch seems like a better fit.

The Goat Pen Garden...the Goat Pen for short.

I like this one.

All kinds of zucchini and yellow squash are in here.

There is not a corn seed planted in here but we all will remember the year that we grew corn here.


I Can Smell The Barn

 

This is the only bed that is a work in progress at the moment.  Blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

I am getting ready to focus on the flower beds.  One bed at a time.  And I have learned to garden in the shade.

Lettuce for the Tower Garden should be here today or tomorrow.

Everything is growing like crazy in the 'back 40'.

Pretty as a picture.

I think this area is amazing!


Emmy's Herbs

Can hardly wait to share with everyone.

Ladybugs

 We are having problems with aphids eating on the burning bushes.  So I checked out Amazon for some ladybugs.  And yes they have them!




They chowed down the minute they crawled out of the bag.


A Look At What Has Been Growing

 I keep track of what the veggies and flowers look like monthly.  Here is a little preview of May.

I have to clip off the first strawberry blossom to make this first-year plant stronger for the next few years.  It is probably the hardest gardening thing I have to do.

The first scape from the garlic.

Something else is in the potatoes!

Oops, I must have missed one.

chives

Another mystery bunch of plants.

We harvested these peppers from an actual pepper and then put them in the egg crate greenhouse.

I'm now thinking big white pumpkins?

An onion that has gone to seed.  You can harvest this and dry it out for seeds for next year.  I'm not so sure about that.

tomato bloom

Garlic.  Can you find the scape?

more peppers

mystery plant for the boys to take home

Blooms even before they get into the garden.


We have lost a lot of potatoes to the dogs and critters.

peas


I'm hoping this is a mystery flower.

beans

Whatever is in the bed just likes to dig.  It hasn't bothered the potatoes at all.

The mystery plant is ready to bloom.  Maybe then we can figure out what it is.