Early Growth

Ok, so we did get a little bit of growth this week despite the awful weather. The mesclun surprised us yesterday by popping up in such a perfect row! A couple of sunflowers and a few of the onions have also sprouted. I was hoping to see some beans - but again, they prefer some warmer weather! Today was supposed to be sunny and nice, but so far we've had bouts of rain all morning. We are going to head to some greenhouses today to get a few more herbs and seeds and then hopefully plant the second half of the garden. I want to get mint, rosemary, cilantro, basil, and maybe dill and parsley. The mint of course will be in a planter so it doesn't overtake the garden. My one question however, is what kind of mint should I get for mint mojitos? There are so many kinds - apple mint, chocolate mint, spearmint? I think Spearmint is the way to go. In any case, I would like the herb garden to be a little crazy and full, instead of neat little rows. I hope to get that accomplished today.

Here Comes the Sun...Please?!

If the sun would EVER come out for longer than five minutes, I might be able to take some pictures of something other than broccoli and peas! They are doing quite well and seem to enjoy the overcast COLD spell we have been having this week.

BIRD EGGS?

Kevin almost stepped on a bird yesterday while walking home from the garden. A bird had built its nest right on the lawn! The bird flew away before he could try to see what kind it was. What bird does build its nest on the ground?

Potatoes!

One of our test veggies this year is potatoes. We have never grown them and do not really know how. We have been collecting a whole pile of various types over the last month or so, just the ones we can buy in the grocery store. Will they work? Do you have to buy the tubers from the garden center? Either way, we are going to try them. We cut up a few red, white, all-purpose, and russett. We planted them probably too close together in three mounded rows. We shall see what comes of them. I need to do a bit more research and then I think we will plant a couple more rows in the new plot. You cannot have too many potatoes.

Hard Work But So Rewarding!

Despite not getting started until afternoon, Kevin and I were able to accomplish a great deal in the garden yesterday. First of all, the new garden path is phenomenal. It is so important to show ourselves and visitors where it is okay to walk. Plus it looks great. We also created the herb garden, which is outlined by stones and has its own path. Having some sort of design rather than just boring rows is something I really wanted for this year. I spend so much time at the garden anyway, it is nice to look at something so appealing!

Aside from the landscaping, we also did well with the planting. We were able to sow seed for:
Beans (Yellow Wax, Roma II) - 3 rows
Pole Beans - 1 row
Onions - 1 row and 1 onion "patch"
Beets - 2 rows
Carrots - 3 rows

We also planted one row each of our greens:
Swiss Chard
Mesclun
Romaine
Buttercruch
Spinach

We left a large space in the middle of the plot for the peppers and eggplant which are still hardening off at the house. We cannot WAIT to get those in the ground. The garden it so beautiful this year!

A Few Thoughts

Even just the few things in the garden right now are so fun to watch grow. The chives are full of flowers. I wonder if I should remove the flowers. Most herbs lose their flavor after the plant flowers. It seems like since the chives flowered so early in the season, this may not be the case. The peas are growing nicely. I think we may have planted them too far from the fence to use it as a trellis. The broccoli is getting eaten - even though it is still miniature. What eats the broccoli at this early stage? I suggested to Kevin that we might want to cover it with cheesecloth or something, but he didn't think it was necessary. Hmmmm... I think we might have to buy broccoli plants from the local nursery. The direct seedlings probably won't make it, and the seedlings we planted at home are way too leggy.

Update 05-24-09

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional time to plant gardens in our area. We are a little behind the eight ball, but luckily, Memorial Day fell a week earlier than normal. Kevin tilled and raked the plot yesterday and built a rough brick path with some old bricks he found. The garden looks great already! We are going to create a raised bed lined with stones to house the herbs. We are trying to dress it up a bit and make it easier to access. Last year, we did not leave enough room to actually walk around the rows.

Oregano

There are many things I never knew about Oregano: 1. It is a perennial; 2. There are many different varieties, all with distinct flavors and uses; and 3. There is such a thing as imposter Oregano, which is not Oregano at all. Kevin's Mom gave me a potted Oregano plant last year, which I planted, and has since grown into a beautiful Oregano bush. Problem is, I do not have a clue as to what variety it is! Either way, I am looking forward to harvesting some of its leaves and giving it a try. Worst case scenario, it doesn't taste good, right?

GERT - OUR GARDEN DOG!

Just had to post these really funny pictures of Gert and her new friend. She chased him around the driveway for an hour! When she is not chasing toads, Gert loves the garden. She hangs out with me for hours there during the summer and keeps the woodchucks away!

PICTURES!

Finally, I had some time to review and update the photo portion of this project. Yea Spring! Our peas are coming up nicely, direct seeded broccoli, not so nicely. I think something is eating its tiny little leaves. We can always replant so no big deal. Inside, our herbs are craving more sunlight - which we have run out of room to give them! Peppers and Eggplant are just awesome and the marigolds are starting to flower. Can't wait until I have something other than these things to chat about. Two more weeks until planting!
On another note, my friend Debi sent me a whole bunch of lemons from her lemon tree in San Diego! We made some fabulous lemonade with them! Tasty and refreshing!

MUST ADD PHOTOS!

As soon as next week is over (It's finals week at school), I will post more glorious pictures of the happennings in the garden. The peas were peeking out of the surface in the garden by last Sunday, 5/3/09, and we had a bit of broccoli there too. I haven't been back since. Inside, where we are being overtaken by all of our peppers and marigolds, we are also seeing some broccoli seedlings (getting too leggy from lack of good sunlight), oregano, basil, parsley, and cilantro. The eggplant are doing tremendous as well. They are our favorite right now because they are growing the fastest. One of the marigolds is about to bloom. Can we speed up the weeks here so we get these babies into the soil and natural sunlight? Only about 3.5 weeks to go. By then we might be living in a jungle. I really want to plant some more things early - like carrots, onions, lettuce and potatoes. But will they survive a potential frost?