The '09 Garden Party! (Glitter Gardens...)

[PurpleDoor]

My tomatoes and peppers are finally starting to show some serious signs of growth. YAY! I'm thinking I'm going to get some more seeds this week--lettuce and maybe basil or another herb.

Also, while it's not strictly gardening, I have also started growing my own alfalfa sprouts indoors. Super easy and you can do it year round!

[sobriquet]

Alfalfa sprouts, really? How does one accomplish this?
_________________
"all that beige minimalism makes my penis soft!" - madgeylou

[PurpleDoor]

It's so easy! And it takes less than a week from start to finish. I did a little writeup with a photo on my blog yesterday (I'm trying to do a weekly garden post), but basically you get some seeds (I found mine at the food co-op in the bulk section), soak them overnight, and then leave them for a few days (rinsing at regular intervals). And then, ta-da! sprouts!

[killr]

[arabella]

Ok I *finally* ordered seeds! X has been very busy digging out the beds, next up is putting down the gopher wire, then adding in some decent soil. Um, we might be spending more to grow these vegetables then they are worth! just kidding. We won't have to buy gopher wire or decent soil every year, and hopefully won't even need to buy seeds! (I need to learn how to do seed saving!)

anyway, I ordered a lot of veggies:
pumpkin, butternut squash, like 6 different tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, jalapeno, yellow & red bell peppers, 2 eggplants, another squash I already forgot, spinach, romaine lettuce, watermelon, sage, cilantro, basil, marigold and yarrow. (yarrow will not go in the edible garden beds). I ordered it all from territorial seeds .com. At first I had a bunch of stuff in my cart at seed savers I think, but their shipping was SO high! So I'm just ordering from Territorial, and will add a few plants - lavender, at least - later. We already have peas, kale, beets, spinach, oregano, and onion growing. Also cabbage and brussel sprouts, but they don't seem to be doing much. They aren't dying, but aren't growing either. I think they haven't been getting enough sun (we overwintered them) so I'm hoping they'll start getting more active as the weather improves.

I am SO excited to eat more yummy goodness from my garden! We are doing so much more than last year and I am super excited.

[lookleft]

I'm super excited to garden this year...and the anticipation is killing me. We close on a house on May 1 -- so I can't get into the dirt until then (and hopefully then!). But we started a ton of seeds, and I've done a lot more planning on the garden than I have on, say, moving.

[okac]

Glitter! look what I did! lol

+ View larger


+ View larger


I'm going to see how well I can keep a tiny indoor 'garden' for the bunnies... I have arugula (the 2 that sprouted), chives and marjoram (not sure if the buns will like that though)

I'm getting an already started mint plant soon also... if I can manage to get these to NOM stage I'll plant more!
_________________
Blog: http://okac.blogspot.com/
Peekshures: http://flickr.com/photos/okac/

[IrmaVep]

For those of you thinking tomatoes, I recommend getting some Black Krim if you can get your hands on them. I found them at the local supermarket (which I don't normally go to 'cos it's very small and in a dodgy area), and they taste A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. And they look really cool too. We also enjoyed the yellow pear tomatoes, which are a type of cherry tomatoes, only pear-shaped and bright (glitter!) yellow when ripe.

I should take photos to show you if I can find any decent ones left (autumn is hitting with a vengence and my tomatoes have nearly died off).

[Aliceinwonderland]

I had a very productive day in the garden today!

I went ahead and hand "tilled" the plot that I'm going to be using while the ground was still wet and easy to manipulate. This involved using a random hand tiller that I found in the shed to dig up a 5x11 plot of ground - I plan on doing a long skinny bed with a narrow path down the middle, maybe of some 2x4s. I flipped over all the grass so it's face down and I am a little worried that I picked a location too close to a tree. I figured I was far enough away, but when I was digging I hit a tree root! It was about a half an inch thick. I debated cutting it but I figure that the raised beds will allow me a little advantage.

I also scattered my (hardly composted) compost into the bed under the flipped over grass. I have a lot of half rotting things but nothing super compost-ey but I figured it would be fine.

I then pulled some cardboard off the bonfire pile and put it on top so it would double kill the grass and act as a weed barrier when I plant things.

Tomorrow I am going to fill out my seed list at the hardware store as well as buy 2x12s and brackets to form the raised beds.

Poking around the sheds on the property revealed some useful things, though! I found a ton of tomato cages that I will use for the bush beans and tomatoes, as well as two rolls of chicken wire - hopefully that will be enough so that I won't have to buy any! I know that nibbley bunny rabits and deer will be a problem here. I found some scrap lumber that I could use for the path but I'm unsure if it's treated or not so I'm not going to chance it. I also found a cordless drill (and the charger!) so I will be screwing together those beds tomorrow! I also found a bag of a wildflower/soil mix so I may hand till and flip the grass and throw that on it to see if anything comes of it tomorrow as well. Lastly, I found a stack of terracotta pots I scrubbed and have bleaching right now, as well as three large pots that will become herb pots. They are bleaching as well.

The next thing I have to do is get dirt into the raised bed - I have a LONG time to do this, since our last frost date isn't until...the middle of MAY! I was thinking I would put about 50% compost and 50% peat moss or something of that variety? Does anyone know what a good soil mix is?

I am also going to start some of the herb pots that will sit on my porch. We have a warm, bright sunroom in the back of my house that has been found perfect for houseplants, so I'm just going to go ahead and start them and take them outside on warm days with the other plants.

Also, Okac, those pots are BEAUTIFUL! I hope the bunnies love it! You are such a great bunny mommy!
_________________
Well, duh, but that's no reason to abandon ship. Work and fix it

Blog: http://elizalives.blogspot.com

[persimmon]

I have a book by Eliot Coleman, and he talks about starting plants in a mix of peat moss, soil, sand, compost, greensand, and bloodmeal. He talks about using it for soil blocks, but maybe it'd make a good bed mix, too. Would you like the recipe? (I made a potting mix close to his recipe, and mine has had some trouble absorbing water at first. But I think that's gotten better over the last week, and could have something to do with the ingredients I used.)

I have seedlings now, and onion sets. It's exciting!

(However, squirrels and doves have scratched up my lettuce seeds and the onions I tried to start directly. That's not so great. Does anyone know any good squirrel deterrents?)

[pony j]

I just finished planting a bunch of my seeds (indoors, that is -- I'll move them out after the last frost in about 6 weeks).

I planted two varieties of heirloom tomatoes, two varieties of basil, dill, and lupine. The lupine is wild from the dunes in Humboldt County, and I collected the seeds before we scattered my gramma's ashes last summer. Only problem is that I probably shouldn't have planted it next to anything edible -- I planted in little sprouting cups, so it probably won't be a big deal right away but I am going to need to move it fairly quickly.

I am so excited! The tomato and herb seeds were from my CSA, because they have a seed bank of locally-adapted seeds. :) Yay!
_________________
<3 free range glitter pony <3

dirtywestgeekwveveggierap

[IrmaVep]

[killr]

[persimmon]

Thanks, killr! I might try something like that.
_________________
Can chimeras, buzzing loudly in the void, devour second intentions?

[Figwit]

How is everyone doing? I think we should start a garden-a-long where we post our to-do lists on here, like the happy home fix-up-along. It might get me motivated enough to go do some more digging out in the garden!

Here's my to-do list:

-weed sideyard
-finish making 5th bed, break ground on it
-pot up remaining pepper plants
-buy more manure/compost
-buy mulch
-find more plastic pots, wire milk crates
-get some ornamental plants for sideyard
-plant the apple tree
-plant the cherry tree
-plant the stone fruit tree
-plant raspberry bush
-plant blueberry bushes
-plant the grapes
-finish mulching/planting the border against the fence
-weed along the sidewalk, plant wildflowers
-finish the graffiti removal on the tree on the sidewalk
-get a bell installed on front gate
-propagate the succulents
-buy some fruit books
-buy houseplants to clear the air
-clean the gutters
-start main compost pile
-dig up rose bushes, offer on CL
-weed the "bunny run"
-buy shade cloth
-get M to double-dig the 3rd bed
-water, clean, and de-root the 4th bed

here are some pictures of my grow table:


+ View larger


the glowy yellow thing is a flourescent hood that i found, with grow lights already installed, for $10. i have 2 kinds of corn, 3 kinds of beans, squash, watermelon, and a melon mix germinating in there right now. the seedling heat mat is awesome, and produces a ton of humidity (and keeps the soil REALLY moist). i got mine for $25 at OSH.


+ View larger


clockwise starting in the left back: chinese maple, buttercrunch lettuce, assorted tomato seedlings in the big pots, marigolds, chives, bell peppers, more tomatoes, tomatillos, spinach, peppers, sunflowers.


+ View larger


mesclun salad mixes, a sesame blend, bell peppers and tomatoes, some carrots and kale that i killed... i have some eye droppers for watering delicate seedlings


+ View larger


sugar snap peas that i just potted up. some of them have little baby pea pods already hanging off of them!


+ View larger


pumpkins that i just potted up from milk carton pots. they're getting hardened off on my porch.

the garden itself is coming along pretty well; M has been double-digging (a process where you turn compost into the topsoil, then dig up about 1.5 feet of the topsoil mix, break up the soil below, turn some compost into THAT soil, then replace the soil on top) the beds i prepared. he's done 2 of them now, which leaves 5 more plus the perimeter of the garden (where fruit trees, flowers and native plants are going). i've been busily mulching and planting new seedlings in the border of the garden, plus working on finishing the 5th planting bed.

i've started a routine of washing my feet and arms off after a day in the garden, and i just got some burt's bees after-sun lotion which feels great. i also ordered some oats and honey soap from etsy so that my hands won't get ravaged - my gardening calluses are coming in and were pretty brutal a few days ago. they've since hardened and i've been wearing my gloves much more. i love the physical aspect of gardening!
_________________
good, clean, fair.

small is possible.