May 20, 2008

Today was a good day off. The weather was crappy all morning, so we cut out early from the planned beach activity and went to the Children's Museum after a big lunch at Red Robin.  After some more phone investigation, we went for our walk.  By the time we got home, it was late and my wife needed to leave so I was alone with the kids.  They were tired and needed to be fed and put to bed, so there was no time to go out and garden.  The only thing I got done off my impromptu to-do list was we separated half-way through our walk with my wife going to pick up salad stuff and I went and got washers to help hold the trellis in place. Boy were they expensive for stainless steel, but they'll last and hold it in place without it falling off when it's full of plants.  Oh, and for grins I picked up a third variety of radish from the local hardware store. They're Ed Hume seeds, but they were only $1.50, hehe. 

The weather was actually perfect for the garden.  It was rainy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon and rainy in the evening. 

The only time I was out there was to harvest my dinner. I went light (after a bacon cheeseburger from Red Robin) with a huge salad.  I say huge salad, but here's a shot of them with store-bought carrot and tomatoes. I can't wait to eat my own, but lettuce, spinach and radishes are not quite enough. 



What I can say about the salad is that all this was harvested as what I would call "the bare minimum" lettuce and spinach I could do to protect the rest of my garden. It was overgrowing and crowding the other squares. It appears this is common with intensive SFG.  But I felt bad for the seedlings in the adjacent spinach squares that were covered by the huge spinach leaves.  Boy were they tasty.

After my first harvests of greens, I rushed out and planted more squares to get more harvest to feed us.  Now I'm thinking I don't need any more greens because they re-grow, but the single-use veggies, like radishes, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower need more space. So I'll plant some additional squares of those. Tonight I planted some more radishes, I tried the variety I got today.  We'll see how they turn out. 

Back to work tomorrow. So the last thing I did was to start up a ton of more corn seeds to germinate.  The nice weather we've had sprouted everything nicely and the first plants are starting to really look like corn stalks. Short but real corn!  So it's time to plant the rest of the bed. Nice succession I think. I just want it all to grow, hehe.

Enjoy your garden!

May 19, 2008

Well, today the garden took a back seat to my desperate need for a new cell phone.  I've been pining over a single device that will replace my well-used and dying palm pilot, my broke but functioning cell phone, my fritzy MP3 player and take decent pics of my garden (or kids) on the fly.  No small task but I've been patiently waiting for 5 (yes five) years.  Back then I KNEW it was only a matter of time before I could drop 5 pounds by ridding myself of four devices.  Needless to say I'm at a critical point and need to make a decision, but nothing is meeting all my needs. GRRR. How difficult is it? Ok, it's difficult, but not impossible, one would think.

Ok, enough rambling about non-gardening junk.  When I got home my trellis netting was here. Unfortunately it isn't nylon cloth netting but more like plastic. Apparently I didn't read it well enough before I bought it.  I hope it works because I need it now and can't afford to wait for a replacement.  So I got the two top corner screws and washers in place, but didn't install the netting because it started raining.

I did get to add dirt to my Yukon Gold bin and boy did it need it.  I didn't add to the Butte bed since I needed to install more boards and couldn't find the right screws quickly.  Tomorrow I'm off work so I'll do it then.

I also am having problems with my compost bin.  My eldest asked me politely to move my compost bin because it stunk and he wanted to swing on his swingset.  It smells just like when I open my yard waste container after dumping my grass clippings and closing the lid for a few days.  Thankfully it's not that strong since it's open to the air.  I don't think it's an amonia smell, but I added shredded paper to the mix and tried to aerate it anyway.  I sure hope the smell goes away because my wife is not happy.

Oh, I'm running drastically low on radishes.  Without radishes, I'll have to buy garnish for my lettuce and spinach.  I've got tons of that to eat, but 5 more mature radishes.  I've planted tons but it takes a while to grow.  Go figure.

Finally, the weather's officially turned back to rain.  Today was a high of 70 but late rain showers.  Tomorrow is a high of 60 and rain.  And tomrrow's the beach day, rain or shine.  Drat!

May 18, 2008

Well, I did get to mow this morning.  I started at 9 am and it was already 65 degrees and hot.  All I got done was the front yard before the garage sale got into full swing, and I filled up one 65 gallon yard waste container, which I promptly dumpe over top of a week's worth of tissues, paper towels, banana peals etc.  I wanted to do the back yard but it was cluttered with toys big and small.  That and my wife needed help with the sale and the kids.  So I jumped back and forth helping set up and taking care of the kids. 

The three boys had a fun morning going shopping to store after store to find a new wide-brim hat for my eldest.  He had been wearing an 18-24 month hat and we didn't realize it was that small.  Thankfully it fits my youngest perfectly because he grew out of the infant one he was wearing.  Gotta keep the kids from burning. Anyhow, remember how I said yesterday that my father-in-law found all this hardware to help build my deck, trellis and compost pile?  Well this afternoon we threw together my trellis posts. 



Well, only 4 2x4s worth since that's all I had. Thankfully he had amazing gold-plated lag screws because apparently it's not sturdy to attach 1 foot to a bed and leave the next 7 feet unsupported.  Note in the pic above we had to install the 2x4 such that the netting will hook on the back side of the board because the roofline over the door kept us from moving the board where we wanted it.  Anyway, here's what it looks like all done...



I'd like a few more 2x4s to provide more support, but we'll see if I get any more.  Oh, and I had to move the SWC a bit to get the 2x4 in there after removing the 2x2 trellis I had built.  I sure hope the netting shows up tomorrow because the peas want something to grab hold of.

I've got to say, working in the hot sun in my garden area, it was HOT today.  I hated it but the plants sure loved it! The tomatoes, beans corn and peas all showed noticable growth in the last three days!  Sure all the plants loved it, but it's no coincidence that all my warm-weather crops faired incredibly well in the heat. Go figure.

What I noticed working in the garden on such a hot day was that the garage reflected so much sun into the garden area that it dries out really quickly.  I need to mulch.  But I don't really want beauty bark which is so prevalent here because I want to be able to either brush it aside or remove it to plant.  I really like what Judy uses (Cyprus mulch I think she calls it). We don't have it here so I'm still on the lookout for he perfect mulch. 

But I think I have some time before it's truely needed because after three days in the mid 80s next week it's dropping to highs of 58 and rain.  Again.  Haven't we had enough of this for a season?  Well at least I won't have to water as much. hehe.  I just hope Mother Nature doesn't shock the plants to much.

After the garage sale was done and everything put away, I finally got a chance to mow my back yard.  I had been talking to my mother and aunt about my compost and pulling stuff out of the recycle bin to compost, mostly cardboard. I want to use it to line the bottom of my bin because the newspaper's not stopping the weeds from growing up into my bin.  Maybe a layer of cardboard will do the trick. Eventually it will break down.  Anyway, when talking to my folks, they thought I was wierd to be composting everything I have been.  They didn't think cardboard could be composted.  I should send them the link to 163 things you can compost.  What they don't understand from their years of cold composting is that green without brown is cold composting and takes years longer than hot composting.  I'll take months over years any day if I can swing it, and if the last few weeks is any indication, we go through enough brown household waste to make it work!  So here's a pic of my compost bin after mowing both the front and back yards today.



Another thing that happened at the end of the sale is that my mother took all but the last 5 of our mature radishes, and would have taken all of them had I not stopped her.  Hehe I've got about 4 SF worth of radishs planted around the garden to get us more, but who knows how much longer it will be until they're ready.  Let's hope they mature much faster than the one's we've been eating. hehe  I just wonder if I can replant radishes in the same squares I had radishes previously. I know you're not supposed to do it with other plants but radishes take so little time.  Hmm?

Oh yeah, another crop that really liked the heat were the potatoes.  Last week I finally needed to add dirt and bury some leaves.  Now look at them!





Looks like not only do I need to add more dirt but at least the Butte bin needs another layer of boards.  So the last thing I did for the evening was to cut more boards for the Build-As-You-Grow bins.  Unfortunately I got quite a surprise when I went to cut the 2x6s.  They were leaning up against the house in the fenced garden area waiting to be cut.  When I got everything ready and went to grab one of the dozen left I found only one there. 

My first thought was that we were robbed.  This is a good neighborhood and the wood was behind a fence.  Of course the ten foot boards stuck up over the height, but why would someone leave just one board.  It's not the money, I got a screaming deal on the boards and could get more, but it was the point of the matter. So I cut the one remaining board (over a tarp so I could catch the untreated saw dust and shake it out over the compost bin, hehe I'm getting into this!). When I went in to tell my wife, I started with "bad news, looks like we've been robbed..."  She had the same reaction I did.  But when I explained the details, she informed me that her father had used the 2x6s to set on his saw horses to make tables for the garage sale.  Hehe. I had no idea.  Whew.

So despite having to do a garage sale this weekend, I got my to-do list completed. I didn't get the door put on the compost bin though. I have the hardware for it. Mostly I ran out of time, but also I'm thinking about moving it over so that the legs of the swing set don't stop the door of the compost bin from opening.  If I did that though, I wouldn't have the room to build the second bin.  I don't really need two bins because it seems I really don't make that much compostable waste, but as Joe said, it helps to mix it up.

Well, I hope everyone got out in their gardens this fine weekend, and if it was as sunny where you are as it was here, I hope you wore a hat and used tons of sunblock in between drinking water to remain hydrated.  Enjoy your garden!

May 17, 2008

I don't mean to sound bitter. I'm not really I'm not.  My wife puts up with a ton surrounding my garden and gardening.  So this weekend she wanted to have a garage sale.  And thank goodness I got some work done on my to-do list yesterday because today was a no-go. 

The biggie on my list is the mowing. Of course my neighbor mowed late last week so it's a night and day difference despite the fact that my yard's not that bad. I mowed two weeks ago.  That and my compost pile's down to 100 degrees and there's not much to turn under.  I'm not saying it's done, but I don't know how to get it started again without more greens and browns.  Browns I'm pretty good on from the house, but without my grass clippings, I'm down to the odd banana peel and some veggie stems, which isn't enough. 

Back to this morning. Yesterday was supposed to be the hot day and today was supposed to be better.  Yesterday wasn't 90, it was 80ish.  So I figured today would be in the 70s.  We hit 85, and I was outside in the sun all day working the garage sale. Oh, and since the weather was what it was, barely anyone showed up.  All I kept thinking about was how much my garden was loving the sun and heat, and how I would have rather been putting up my trellis boards, or putting the door on my compost bin.  Thankfully I got my planting done yesterday. 

More good news, my father-in-law that is doing the garage sale with us (he sold tons of tools he doesn't need anymore).  He was very helpful on digging stuff out of what he didn't need anymore to use on my garden stuff.  He found lag bolts for my trellis to provide strength to the 1' of 2x4 that's connected to my bed before 7 feet towers above it.  He also found heavy duty hinges for my compost bin.  Most of what he told me I didn't understand. I just nodded and took what he handed me.  He'll show me what it's for later.  Hehe

After we wrapped up, we decided on take-out teriyaki from a local restaurant we like. Normally we get a side salad with it, which consists of iceburg lettuce and maybe a julian carrot if you're lucky.  Today, we just got the teriyaki because we had salad at home.  I just grabbed a reed basket I saved just for harvesting my garden, a pair of kitchen sheers and snipped off the biggest leaves and grabbed a few radishes. Here's what I harvested right today...



You can't see the spinach at the bottom but it's huge!  But I can pick out the salad bowl, italiansheir and red sails lettuce no problem.  Fresh crisp greens and spicy radishes makes an awesome salad!  And just to show you what four salads does to the look of my garden...



I've harvested almost entirely from this picture... can you tell?  I can't either.  I won't be able to have a salad every day, but we're not THAT healthy... yet. hehe

While I was taking these, I wanted to share a few more parts of my garden.  I must admit that I've always taken pictures of the best of my garden, and kinda ignored the parts that were not doing quite so well.  Well, that was before we had two days of sun and 80 degree temps... hehe.  I had been really worried about the lethargic looking tomatoes.  I now believe that shock was part of the problem (thanks Joe), but the crappy weather had something to do with it also.  The bottom leaves on one of my plants are still yellow, but look what two day's growth can look like...



It's a bad angle but there is a few inches of new growth in two days.  You don't believe me?  Well I didn't take a picture but the potato plants also had at least an inch of new growth since I covered them a few days ago.  Hehe maybe I can get my father-in-law to whip out the skill saw and cut several layers of boards for my bins.  I definetly need to put another on soon. 

Just to share what a little sun can do, here's a pic of my pole beans, that are sprouting up a storm (so are my bush beans) no wonder they're summer crops...



Eww, sorry to share my splintering garage door.  As I mentioned early on, the garden was a dog run in a former life with former owners.  Well you can see the doggie door in the side door to the garage. I don't believe we've opened it once in a decade since we bought the house.  On the to-do list this summer is to remove the door and wall up the hole.  But back to the garden, aren't those pole bean sprouts something?  I can't wait to see them climbing the trellis like Judy's are.  She did dozens of SF of pole beans, while I'm doing 3.  She "hopes" to freeze some. I fully expect to have extra to freeze, ROFL.  We like beans, but not THAT much. Plus we have 6-8 SF of bush beans to harvest.

And the last picture I took today is of my corn.  In the last 48 hours, I got 2 inch sprouts popping up all over.  Amazing!  Take a look...



Hehe, I like the side view shot. It gives some perspective to just how LONG that bed is. it's 11x4!  What you can also tell is that I can't plant in a straight line to save my soul.  hehe That's ok, it will work out or it won't.  I know I'm taking a risk with corn in the PNW (I know it can be done, but not sure if I can make it work) and I know I'm pushing the production at nearly 200 stalks in 44 SF.  Hehe, well it's not called intensive gardening for nothing.

Finally today, after letting dinner settle a bit, I raced out to mow my front yard at least.  I had checked and sunset was at 8:45.  I figured I could race and get the front done in 45 minutes.  Alas, I had forgotten that I was completely out of gas.  So all I got done was weed whacking.  I HOPE to get the front yard mowed before the garage sale starts.  I really shouldn't mow before 9 am, but that's the only time I've got tomorrow, so I'll give it a try.

Lastly, I wanted to share that Judy has successfully recreated her SWC instruction page.  YAY!  It's better than ever, so if you're interested in a great way to grow tomatoes in limited space without using up any of your garden area, check it out!  I may make another one for the other isle for growing more cukes.  The reason I say this is that I started 5 seeds in peat pucks this morning.  Of course that's before I noticed that both the middle cukes have sprouted.  So one of the pickling cukes sprouted great.  Unfortunately I don't know which.  I've got to label better.

Enjoy your garden! I know I hope to tomorrow!

May 16, 2008

Short post cause it's late. Another great walk due to amazing weather.  And if you're wondering the garden loved it!  Corn sprouted all over the place, so did the pole beans and the bush beans and the radishes and lettuce  and even a cuke!  I also took the opportunity before our walk to succession plant two more SF of carrots and spinach, two more rings of radishes around my broccoli seedlings, two more SF of salad bowl lettuce because it appears I have less of the basic lettuce ingredient in salads than my fru fru lettuce.  Finally, before I got to bed I've got to start more pole beans to complete a third square. I don't think I need to succession plant pole beans since they just grow and grow.  So one thing off my list and the weekend's not even started yet, hehe.

So anyhow, the big news for today. After our walk I went out and cut myself a salad, came in, washed it and ate it!  It was sooooo much better than any store bought produce.  I had spinach, three different lettuces, one for taste, and two for color, and radishes.  The italiansheir wasn't as peppery as I remember it, and neither are the radishes despite sitting in the ground an extra week, but it was still tasty!

Enjoy your garden!

May 15, 2008

Well, today was the median weather between 40s and icky and 80s and sunny.  The morning was grey and damp. By mid morning it was grey and warm, maybe 55-60.  By 1 it was downright warm around 65.  Then around 2 the sun came out for good and it got up into the upper 70s.  Tomorrow's high is expected to be 87!  EEK!  I hope to get out and water my plants in the morning.  Maybe my tomatoes will perk up. They sure didn't today.  The reason... Their spot gets full sun from sunrise until about 2.  It was complete overcast until 2 when the sun came out and was blocked by trees and then the house.  I still think it's the best spot for them, but if the sun doesn't come out early I'll be angry.  Full of dirt and water, that container isn't mobile... hehe.

When I got home, we'd already decided to make use of the sun to go for a walk. I hadn't gone for our 3.5 mile walk in a week.  We like to do it at least 3 or 4 times a week, weather permitting.  We don't mind rain, but it sucks for the kids.  By the time we got back it was 7:30.  All four of us toured the garden and I took lots of pics (see below for the row-by-row tour).  Then we folded up the plastic tarp and stored it in the shed.  Boy do I need to clean it out and organize better.  That's a project and a half. hehe.  Then, while my wife got the kids fed, I decided that my potatoes were way too tall not to be covered. Don't you agree?



So I burried them alive! MUAHAHAHAHA!



Oh yeah, and good news! The tiny seed potato in the upper left corner started sprouting from an eye! Again I have no idea if sprouts are roots or stems?  Any idea?  I pointed it up and barely covered it with dirt after I added.  That way it will catch up hopefully. I'll just get fewer potatoes from it. No biggie.

To back up, during my tour of the garden, it seemed pretty clear to my ignorant mind that at least the biggest spinach and lettuce was ready to harvest.  NOBODY will tell me that but it's got to be. The lettuce leaves are as big as my hand for goodness sake!  So I broke down and called my brother to ask.  He's never done spinach, but he said the worst thing that can happen is that you get baby lettuce or spinach if you harvest too early.  He also said to bend and cut lettuce from the center, but only two or three of the biggest leaves per plant. So that's what I'll do for dinner tomorrow.  A lettuce, spinach and radish salad!  Maybe grill up some chicken and yummy!

Ok, now for my garden tour.  First off, an overhead shot of my spinach with my furry leg in the shot to show perspective... I wear a size 9.5 shoe, hehe.



I know, my choice of squares is a bit odd. I planted the first square and then for good measure I planted two plants in that little triangle on the right.  Then I planted the next square over and the other triangle in the upper right.  Then I planted the third square over.  I think I'll wait a bit to plant the final two squares at the bottom.  I'm not sure how long spinach will continue to produce, nor how fast they'll re-grow leaves after harvesting, so I don't know if I need more space for spinach.  I've got room.  Something to ponder for later.

Next is my lettuce.  I took two shots because the Italiansheir is too tall and blocks the Red Sails from this angle...



Notice the succession planting on the right?  It's coming along nicely, so I planted three more squares in the next bed over, and they're sprouting nicely too! Here's my Red Sails. Don't you love the color, won't it contrast nicely with the greens?  hehe.



ROFL you can't tell where one plant ends and the next begins. Four plants have overrun the square! If I don't pick some of the big leaves soon they'll smother the seedlings in the next squares over.

Now it's time to share my cauliflower...



You can see my best plant in the middle there. It's over a foot tall, but it hasn't started growing a cauliflower stalk yet. /shrug  Also, on the left are my succession planted cauliflower. But I decided not to plant 8 plants this year. Instead, I decided to plant 6 cauliflower and 6 broccoli to free up more squares for other plants that take up less space.  Besides, I don't know that it'll work and that I'll like these varieties.  So in the upper two squares on the left where you can't see anything are two direct sowed broccoli seedlings. My only two direct sowed. All the others were salvaged from my initial indoor growing failure or started inside in peat pots until they sprouted and started growing.  I'm quite proud of them even if they're TINY.  On my to-do list soon, though not tonight, it's dark... plant a ring of radishes around those seedlings.  I've got them around all my other broccoli. hehe

Now for the carrots...



Aren't they cute?  All in neat little rows!  For some reason the ones on the left didn't grow. /shrug.  I started from bottom to top with my succession planting. Next I need to do the next two or four squares on the left that have nothing.  That's where my tomatoes WERE going to go until I planted them in my SWC (you can see it in the top left corner).  I know I want more carrots, but again, I'm not sure if I want 8 SF.  My kids love them and we do too, but do we really need 128 carrots? ROFL

Lastly for my recently unveiled bed #1, my pole beans.  These were soaked and then germinated inside in damp coffee filters until they sprouted, then went straight into the ground.  Unlike their bush bean cousins, they seemed to sprout much faster, and with much greater success (though my bush beans are actually sprouting FINALLY!)...



I know it's hard to see, but there are three in the left and two on the right in this photo. THey're small but definitely sprouting.  Not sure if the others will sprout. I planted 8/SF in four inch rows to account for the trellis.  Though if they don't all sprout I'll just keep planting until they do, just like my peas, which are doing quite nicely now (again FINALLY).  Let it be known that I planted too early I think.  I still may do it again next year but I'll do it with hoop covers over all my beds.



For grins I decided to share a shot of my peas.  Note the tiny plants intermixed with the big boys?  Those are the ones that were black holes in the dirt for peas.  I think one spot took 3 peas before it actually sprouted.  Oh and notice the bush beans in the middle?  Yes they're small but there is definite sprouting.  Indoor germination in coffee filters worked... to a point. I had to go through multiple coffee filters worth of seeds to germinate enough to fill 9/SF for 4 SF. This after I tried direct sowing failed when Mel said to. It will be interesting to see what hoop covers do for broccoli, peas and beans... Next year.

Lastly, I didn't take a picture because it wouldn't come out right, but this one day of hot weather sprouted dozens of corn seeds that I planted over the last week.  It's amazing!

Oh wait, I can't stop my post without my to-do list for the weekend... My wife wants to have a garage sale, but I need to mow, plant more seeds, build my trellis (if I get the netting) and cut more boards for my potato bins.  Not much, but I may think of something more when I'm out there in the hot sun...

Enjoy your garden!

May 14, 2008

Wow, yesterday was my 100th post!  I've crossed the century mark.  It doesn't seem like I've been gardening for 100 days, let alone talking about it for 100 posts. I'm still just as excited about my garden now as I was when I started. I just know a ton more. That said, there's still a TON for me to learn.

Today seems to be the turning point in the weather. The first part of the week was horrible. So much so that I doubted the accuracy of the forecast for sun and heat come Friday.  However, today started out rainy and then it stopped raining and got warm. It's still grey with complete overcast clouds, but it's in the low 60s at 7:45 pm.  Not bad!

So when I got home today, I finally took down my hoop cover.  It'd just be too hot in there come Friday in the 80s if they're right with the forecast.  Though in the hopes of sun I draped the tarp over the neighbor's fence in my garden to dry out before I put it away for the season.  The PVC's already leaning up against my shed on the side nobody sees.  I must say it did it's job alright. I'm a believer in hoop covers for sure!  First, here's a shot right after I covered Bed #1 for the snow. The day after it snowed, this was a shot of my bed...



Now here's the first pic of my garden without the hoop on it in almost a month...



Yep, for perspective, the plastic knife in on the far right middle is the same one in the top picture. Wow what a month in a hot house will do for veggies.

Well, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I was planning on sharing a row-by-row picture of each veggie in my bed, but unfortunately the pictures were blurry and now it's too dark to get a good shot. Maybe tomorrow I'll reshoot them. Instead here's a good shot of half my garden...



Someone tell me how to harvest my spinach and maybe some of the original lettuce for a salad, hehe. I don't want to kill the plants but the spinach is smothering the seedlings. ROFL

Now for some good news / bad news. First off, the good news. My compost was 144 today in the center of my mound, and still over 100 on the outside of the mound area.  The bad news is that my poor tomatoes are acting really lethargic...



Notice the one on the right the bottom leaves are turning yellowish.  Also, I read that tomatoes should double in size in a few weeks.  They're the same size as when I planted them two weeks or so ago.  I sure hope I don't lose these. However, I was driving home a different way today and saw a sign on the side of the road of someone selling tomato seedlings from their home.  Hehe I could always pick up new ones if these don't make it.  And since I didn't sow these myself it wouldn't be cheating.