A bit of a drive-by blog today. I won't take the time today to describe the Independence Days concept/challenge and my personal version of it, but will jump in with the first weekly report.
1. Plant something: Planted corn, sunflowers, summer squash. Transplanted tomatoes, marigolds, and lisianthus.
2. Harvest something: Swiss chard. Sunflower seeds. Rainwater.
3. Preserve something: Set aside a few sunflower seeds for next year.
4. Waste not: Eating leftovers. Weekly recycling & composting. Reusable bags for shopping. Recycled bags for trash. Scrap paper. Cleaned out pantry & took inventory.
5. Want not. Purchased more pots for buried clay pot irrigation (three sisters garden). Purchased perennials to attract hummingbirds & beneficial insects. Jeff changed the oil in the Element and performed maintenance on the motorcycle.
6. Build community: Nothing this week.
7. Eat the food: Sauteed the chard in a little olive oil. Remaining sunflower seeds went to the birds.
8. Life-long learner: Reading The Rodale Book of Composting. Small amount of online research about permaculture.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
First Blush
It is so much fun to see things growing and ripening! I took these pictures this evening.
Is it a little bashful?
Perhaps I should have made a taller trellis. The chard seems to be at a standstill. The lima beans seem to be doing well for the most part. I'm not sure there is any pollination going on -- the cumbers are dropping flowers but no fruit is forming.
Getting closer to melon time!
Two eight-inch clay pots for irrigation. From front to back down the center, two each yellow pear, Amish paste, brandywine and beefsteak tomatoes. Along the edge I put in a few petite marigolds. In the next couple of weeks I will put in a trellis down the center of bed.
Is it a little bashful?
Perhaps I should have made a taller trellis. The chard seems to be at a standstill. The lima beans seem to be doing well for the most part. I'm not sure there is any pollination going on -- the cumbers are dropping flowers but no fruit is forming.
Getting closer to melon time!
Two eight-inch clay pots for irrigation. From front to back down the center, two each yellow pear, Amish paste, brandywine and beefsteak tomatoes. Along the edge I put in a few petite marigolds. In the next couple of weeks I will put in a trellis down the center of bed.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Rain
For most of the past week when I look out the window, this is what I see:
We had a short break and it was finally dry enough to mow and do a little digging, but as you can see it is pouring once again. I am certainly not complaining, although it REALLY makes me wish our rainwater catchment system was in place.
Pictures of the play garden from the 28th. Need to fill in a couple of sunflowers and morning glories that didn't germinate. The seedlings are really taking a beating in these downpours.
Even though these pictures are just from Monday, they seem old! The cucumber now reach the next tier on the trellis, and the melon is bigger!
We have a break in the rain, so I need to go put the pool pump back together.
We had a short break and it was finally dry enough to mow and do a little digging, but as you can see it is pouring once again. I am certainly not complaining, although it REALLY makes me wish our rainwater catchment system was in place.
Pictures of the play garden from the 28th. Need to fill in a couple of sunflowers and morning glories that didn't germinate. The seedlings are really taking a beating in these downpours.
Even though these pictures are just from Monday, they seem old! The cucumber now reach the next tier on the trellis, and the melon is bigger!
We have a break in the rain, so I need to go put the pool pump back together.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Vine Is a Four-Letter Word
The pile of what I pulled out over the weekend. More to remove at this location, and at least two other spots in the yard.
Sometime a couple of weeks ago I commented on FaceBook that gardening was great except for the bugs that bite you and eat your plants. I believe I need to add "weeds that bite back when you remove them" to the list of gardening unpleasantries. In creating the play garden (it needs a better name, but for now, that's it), I needed to remove some vines, including poison ivy from the west end of the area. I was wearing gloves, but only a short-sleeved shirt. I thought I was doing okay except for the one branch that smacked me in the face. I came inside frequently and soaped up past my elbows to try to remove any oil that may have made contact. Apparently, I didn't get it all. I watched one disturbing looking spot all day yesterday trying to determine if it was a spider bite or a poison ivy rash. Today, as the spots have emerged on both arms below the elbow, one arm past the armpit, and the place on my stomach my arm touches while I sleep -- there's no question. I applied a topical gel to the one spot yesterday and Ivarest to everything today, but more spots are appearing. So far no itch. So far.
Two kinds of ivy, both need to go. The picture on the right shows the largest tree in our yard. You can just barely see the root flare on the right side. This is not good. We need to remove the ivy, which has caused damage to the tree during the periods the property was abandoned, and dig away some of the soil to expose more of the root flare. Hopefully by doing that, removing a few of the large branches, and adding some soil amendments, we can avoid losing the tree.
The side of the tree (same one as above) facing the pool showing the ivy damage. I don't know for certain if the ivy caused the first split, removing about one third of the tree, but it certainly looks like it is trying to split what is left.
The unknown vine on the left is a weed and STINKS! Eeeewwwwww! On the right is Virginia Creeper. Not too bad, but it is in many places we don't want it and from what I understand is very difficult to kill.
But there are many more wonderful things happening here:
My gorgeous Apricot Brandy Hibiscus and a little cicada with a bent wing.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
It's Thursday
No better excuse for blogging. We've harvested over 2.75 pounds of food since May 7th. That includes 13 ounces of blackberries, with many more to come! Our first watermelon radish weighed in at 2.2 ounces! I have not been good about taking pictures, so I went out this afternoon to catch things as they stand now.
The amazing 2.2 ounce Watermelon Radish! I have a couple more in the garden now -- I'll try to remember to take pictures of the inside (which explains the name) before devouring them. I sauteed this and some other radishes with homegrown spinach and a little chard.
I found my thrill... we will only have a handful this year (provided the birds don't find them!). We planted four additional bushes for a total of six.
The citrus trees and stacking pots full of marigolds with the vegetable garden beds in the background. Looking forward to relocating the blackberries (where? don't know yet) and putting the citrus in bigger pots on the south side of the house. This is a location where we can erect a temporary greenhouse over them each winter, and not have to move the pots! Two Mexican limes (no fruit right now), two Satsumo Mandarin oranges, and one each Meyer Lemon, Lemon Drop, and The Valley Lemon.
This box has served as an orphanage of sorts. The fig was rescued from a backyard where the resident dog thought it was a tug-of-war toy. The wandering Jew came from the blackberry bed. It was in the yard before our in-laws rented the house six years ago. The beans in the pots are from the thinning of the bean/pea bed. The side of the box you can't see is also full of beans from that thinning. And the chard is in the box next to it. I'll take out the remaining chard soon to make room for the next planting.
TOM-TOM! And some (blurry) beanie-babies.
Baby zucchini (finally!) and a wee-baby watermelon!
This month we are "supposed to" plant melons, pumpkins, gourds, okra, and southern peas. I have a couple of special projects planned for the pumpkins and gourds, as well as some sunflowers, morning glories, and yard-long beans. Of course it requires more work of the digging and raking variety. I've spent the last two days clearing the weeds from the patio around the pool. I was too embarrassed to take before pictures, but really wish I had! Now my shoulders have had it, and my blisters got blisters, so I'm not sure how I can keep using a shovel unless I learn how to walk on my hands and hold the tools with my feet!
I'm also starting to do some long-term planning with the yard and finding a place for everything. We cleaned out the tool shed and the garage last week during Jeff's staycation, and he got the pool in swimming condition. We are hoping to have a good grasp on our vegetable gardens as we go through our fall planting so we can get our ducks next spring. I did well as far as not planting more than I could handle, but need to plant a little more for the bugs. Our organic methods are serving us well, but we could use at least a little buffer. For the fall garden we need a better watering system in place. I have made some clay pots for irrigation, and we may try to set up a drip or soaker system. We've been shopping for rain barrels...and the list goes on!
On the energy conservation front, Jeff has been installing soffit vents and a radiant barrier in the attic. The whole house fan will be next. With these changes we should be able to shorten our use of air conditioning by two weeks on each end of the season. I'm going to try to position the grapevines so that they shade our AC unit and the south side of the house. I still have to make the insulating shades. I keep thinking a rain day will come so I can do some housework and sewing projects, but the rain keeps missing us! Please come this way!
The amazing 2.2 ounce Watermelon Radish! I have a couple more in the garden now -- I'll try to remember to take pictures of the inside (which explains the name) before devouring them. I sauteed this and some other radishes with homegrown spinach and a little chard.
I found my thrill... we will only have a handful this year (provided the birds don't find them!). We planted four additional bushes for a total of six.
The citrus trees and stacking pots full of marigolds with the vegetable garden beds in the background. Looking forward to relocating the blackberries (where? don't know yet) and putting the citrus in bigger pots on the south side of the house. This is a location where we can erect a temporary greenhouse over them each winter, and not have to move the pots! Two Mexican limes (no fruit right now), two Satsumo Mandarin oranges, and one each Meyer Lemon, Lemon Drop, and The Valley Lemon.
This box has served as an orphanage of sorts. The fig was rescued from a backyard where the resident dog thought it was a tug-of-war toy. The wandering Jew came from the blackberry bed. It was in the yard before our in-laws rented the house six years ago. The beans in the pots are from the thinning of the bean/pea bed. The side of the box you can't see is also full of beans from that thinning. And the chard is in the box next to it. I'll take out the remaining chard soon to make room for the next planting.
TOM-TOM! And some (blurry) beanie-babies.
Baby zucchini (finally!) and a wee-baby watermelon!
This month we are "supposed to" plant melons, pumpkins, gourds, okra, and southern peas. I have a couple of special projects planned for the pumpkins and gourds, as well as some sunflowers, morning glories, and yard-long beans. Of course it requires more work of the digging and raking variety. I've spent the last two days clearing the weeds from the patio around the pool. I was too embarrassed to take before pictures, but really wish I had! Now my shoulders have had it, and my blisters got blisters, so I'm not sure how I can keep using a shovel unless I learn how to walk on my hands and hold the tools with my feet!
I'm also starting to do some long-term planning with the yard and finding a place for everything. We cleaned out the tool shed and the garage last week during Jeff's staycation, and he got the pool in swimming condition. We are hoping to have a good grasp on our vegetable gardens as we go through our fall planting so we can get our ducks next spring. I did well as far as not planting more than I could handle, but need to plant a little more for the bugs. Our organic methods are serving us well, but we could use at least a little buffer. For the fall garden we need a better watering system in place. I have made some clay pots for irrigation, and we may try to set up a drip or soaker system. We've been shopping for rain barrels...and the list goes on!
On the energy conservation front, Jeff has been installing soffit vents and a radiant barrier in the attic. The whole house fan will be next. With these changes we should be able to shorten our use of air conditioning by two weeks on each end of the season. I'm going to try to position the grapevines so that they shade our AC unit and the south side of the house. I still have to make the insulating shades. I keep thinking a rain day will come so I can do some housework and sewing projects, but the rain keeps missing us! Please come this way!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Hunting and Gathering
First hunting...
...then gathering.
The red-shouldered hawk was in our backyard for a while before flying up to the neighbor's telephone pole for a look around the field. The radishes are our first harvest for 2010! Two White Icicle, two Early Scarlet Globe, and the fifth is either a Cherry Belle or a French Breakfast. The White Icicle on the right isn't icicle shaped because it was right up against another, which I have left to flower so I could see what it looked like. More pix soon!
...then gathering.
The red-shouldered hawk was in our backyard for a while before flying up to the neighbor's telephone pole for a look around the field. The radishes are our first harvest for 2010! Two White Icicle, two Early Scarlet Globe, and the fifth is either a Cherry Belle or a French Breakfast. The White Icicle on the right isn't icicle shaped because it was right up against another, which I have left to flower so I could see what it looked like. More pix soon!
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