Monday, May 30, 2011

Harvest Monday 5/30

Peas, Pak Choi, Strawberries and Spinach.
This is the last of the spinach, and bush beans were planted in their spaces!
 
The last of the Pak Choi, a few strawberries, and lots of peas! I have enough for a meal now! I'm thinking homemade Chicken Pot Pie! I planted zucchini in place of the Pak Choi. The peas are still going until these 90's kill em!
In the Garden, the corn was planted last week and this week, the cut worms are destroying them! I have been putting plastic cups and yogurt cups over them as they are used to try to save them. I got a bunch covered but several are not yet! So, my kids will be eating lots of yogurt the next few days! Ha ha! ;) I first tried Diatamaceous Earth but it didn't seem to work. I went out to find another row of corn completely severed at the base! Grrr!
Click on over to Daphne's Dandelions to see more garden harvests of the season!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Raccoon Tracks

After tilling a new section to plant all my corn seeds, the next morning I noticed these lovely tracks in the new bed. Pretty sure they are raccoon tracks and now I have a new pest to obsess about how to get rid of!

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The neighbors had asked if I had had any problems with raccoons the past couple of years. But I had not. They did though. The little bugger came in through their doggy door in the middle of the night, and as she wandered to the kitchen in the middle of the night was met with a nasty visitor! I’m not sure which is worse, the bat in our bathroom vent, or a raccoon in the kitchen!

The new corn! Very excited that it did not drown or get washed away! This is my first time planting corn! And, from what I hear, if you plant it they will come…raccoons that is!  Soon I will be planting the beans and squash amongst the corn, following the “Three Sisters” method.

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Out of my impatience, I went in search of tomato plants that were much further along than mine are. A couple of years ago, I read about a greenhouse not too far from here that was suppose to be very worth the visit. Starview Greenhouse. I noticed last year that they had very large tomato plants with tomatoes already growing in the spring. So I thought I would head up there this weekend and see if they had some again. They had been pretty picked over, nothing as large as what I noticed last year, but there were  several varieties of good size  with tomatoes.  I picked out two smaller ones, Arkansas Traveler, and Black Krim.

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And I picked out two larger ones. Celebrity and Big Boy. The Celebrity is the larger of the two pictured in the center of the bed, Celebrity on the right and Big Boy on the left. One of the tomatoes fell off, and is now sitting in my window sill.

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I now have for tomatoes, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Black Cherry, Black, Black Krim, Stupice, Big Boy, Better Boy, Arkansas Traveler, Celebrity, Matt’s Wild Cherry, and possibly a Goldie Cherry Husk if it grows, I’ve had a hard time getting it to germinate.

Red Russian Kale. I am thinking it looks like it may be ready to pick, but since this is my first time growing it, I wonder if anyone else has any opinions. I think it is looking beautiful! The lettuce there is looking closer too!

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The lilies are beginning to bloom! One of my favorites in my garden. I just wish they bloomed longer!

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Monday, May 23, 2011

Harvest Monday 5/23


Pak Choi, ugly Strawberries, and peas.
My first attempt at pak choi wasn't super successful, but these were good, though not very big. They were getting ready to bolt. There are still a couple in the garden, but with this heat I don't expect them to stay out too long!
Peas and snap peas and a single strawberry. I have my strawberries in on of those topsy turvey things, and they don't seem to be doing any better than in a giant pot.

Some are super ugly, some are eaten by birds, going to cover them with some  net. But the plants don't even look to healthy. Maybe they are waterlogged from all the rain.
I got a bunch of corn planted on Saturday, and still have some seed, even though I ran out of garden space so I think I am going to till another section today to finish the planting. I would just store them, but I already soaked them. Almost everything is planted. I still have beans and squash to plant amongst the corn when it gets going a bit. Also cucumbers. I hope to be done with it all by the end of the week, but it is suppose to rain all week AGAIN. Doesn't make it too easy to get the garden chores done!

Don't forget to visit Daphne's Dandelions to check out what others are harvesting this week!
Happy Harvesting!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Harvest Monday and May garden updates

This week I have Peas and Spinach! Don't forget to visit Daphne's Dandelions for more gardener's harvests! 
These snap peas never even made it into the fridge. The kids saw them and wanted one, and one turned into all! It's a wonderful thing! I often have friends and even strangers ask me how I get my kids to eat veggies so well, and I always say that growing a garden is the BEST thing, other than just putting things in front of them over and over again! I actually have gotten a couple of friends interested enough to start their own gardens and it is so fun! 
These were harvested on Saturday. 1 1/8 oz.
3 3/8 oz of spinach, 3/4 of an oz of peas (some may be on the small side), and 3 3/8 oz of super sugar snap peas. 

Bed 1, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, pak choi, kale and a bolting cilantro (I cut off the rest for use!), and lettuce. I put the pop up green house with a shade cloth over this bed to keep the cabbage moth out and the shade cloth to try to keep it cooler since they are a bit behind! But I'm still gonna try!

Bed 3. My peas, spinach, chard, onions and garlic. I picked most of the spinach out today. I didn't have as much as I had hoped for. Plant more in the fall! Peas are doing well though. There are a bunch on there filling out!

Bed 2. Carrots, kale, lettuce, pak choi, chard, onions.

Bed 5. Lots a radishes that probably need to be thinned so they don't crowd out my parsnips!

Potato tub. I have 2 of these to try out! This is my first time growing potatoes so I hope this goes well! They look great so far!

We tilled the section along the fence where I am going to crowd in some corn, beans and squash (three sisters!) It has been raining though and I haven't been able to get it planted yet! I also hope it does not get washed away because this is an area that can pool if it rains too hard. Maybe I'll dig a trench!

Bed 7 and 8, the new beds. I tried to cover as many tomatoes as I could with some milk jugs. It has been a very cool couple of days,  and I just got them planted. Bed 8 is also filled with onions and lettuce, and a few carrots. Bed 7 has onions, carrots, and tomatoes.
 My husband is thinking I am getting in way over my head with the garden! Only time will tell! But I am excited about all the new things in this season's garden!
Happy Harvesting!

Monday, May 9, 2011

First Small Harvest of Season

My small but first harvest of the season! I returned from vacation to find my cilantro almost ready to bolt. This was only one plant, the one that made it through the winter. Now I need to find something to do with it! Maybe a little in some guacamole or something, but that's a lot for just that! I am just happy to get in on the harvest!
Today, I have been out in the garden transplanting many of my seedlings, peppers and tomatoes mostly. This week I hope to get a strip of ground tilled next to my beds to plant corn, beans, and squash! Let the gardening season kick into high gear!

Last week we celebrated my twins 5th birthday at Disney! Here's a family shot, minus the baby, he stayed with friends!
Happy Gardening!
And don't forget to stop by Daphne's Dandelions to see what others are harvesting!