still waiting

it's been too wet and then too dry. The plants are just not doing well. The beans have so few beans. Everything seems to be growing very slowly. I am worried that we don't have enough pollinators too. I'm trying to hand-pollinate when I can. I'll have to be vigilant with watering this week. 90 degree temps and no rain in sight. But watering has been lots of fun. We got a fan sprinkler, so I water the garden on the one side, and watch the kid have fun on the other!
Next spring (or maybe some this fall) we MUST work on getting the beds in better shape. I really think it's be better to tear out the landscape/railroad ties and make the beds with timber and then we can also extend them at the same time. Then we can amend the soil with a topsoil/compost mix that we can get at a nearby nursery.
That's the plan anyway. We'll see.

spring again

It was garden planting time this weekend. We didn't get the bed enlarged like I had wanted (who knew landscape ties were so hard to find around here!) so I'm making do. But that's ok, since we also decided to support our local CSA co-op by ordering a half share for our family. I am very much looking forward to that and maybe even being forced out of my vegetable comfort zone a time or two.
We also bought an upright freezer, so any extras won't go to waste. That, along with our Sam's membership should keep us eating pretty well for some time to come.
L.O. loved helping me in the garden this year again. I am pretty sure that in at least a couple of spots there will be about 10 green bean plants vying for root space at once, but she had fun and did it by herself.
We also got in the tomato seedlings, and some carrot, radish, and beet seeds. We'll see what survives and comes up. I've only eaten beets a few times, but I wanted to try something new. These are the golden variety, so I don't know how they will be different. I will have to start searching for recipes.
Because of pregnancy and the arrival of the baby, I didn't get in the early crops like spinach, lettuce, turnips, and most sadly, the peas. Oh well, next year perhaps.

Keep trying to get DH to reset the landscape ties that got washed out of place when our yard flooded last fall. Not happened thus far. Can't really plant much yet anyway--maybe some spinach. Anyway, the seeds that I started a few weeks ago look great. Little One loves to watch them and keep track of how big they've gotten.
I've got lots of plans for the yard, both veggies and flowers/shrubs. Actually, I need to order a few things so they can be in in time for planting after last frost. Guess I'd better get on that.
We're going to put some azaleas under the front window and a shrub rose in another bed along the front of the house. Pictures to come.

On the way!

I'm so excited! I ordered my seed 'sponges' (the little blocks of dirt to start seeds in) and the seeds today for our veggie garden. Most can be direct sown at the right time after frost, but a few, notably tomatoes and eggplant, need to be started indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost. I can't believe I'm actually someone who now knows the last frost date for my area. Didn't think I'd ever be one of 'those' people. But I love it! P is going to get a couple more landscape ties to double the size of our garden this year. We think we might even be able to grown most of our own veggies for the summer. That'd be so cool (if it works)!
What am I trying this year?

• bush beans
• brussels sprouts (I'm ambivalent about these)
• carrots
• eggplant
• spinach
• radishes
• lettuces
• cucumbers
• melon
• tomatoes
• turnips (I hear these get a bad rap--anyone have some good recipes?)
• snap peas
• English (gotta shell 'em) peas
• and even one potato variety

I should be able to rotate a few of these, like putting the tomatoes in where the spinach is done for the season. That sort of thing. I'm completely curious to see how the potato experiment works out. I'm going to try planting them in one of these. Also, if you're curious where I got my seeds, I got them here.
Can't wait to get them started!

thinking ahead

Just as they do each January, my seed catalogs have begun to arrive. I make well-intentioned plans and do get most of them underway. P keeps saying he's going to enlarge my garden, but I'm not sure I'm holding my breath. We need two more railroad/landscape ties to do it and neither of us are sure where to find them. Then we'll need to amend the soil. It was really not good due to lack of care by the previous home owners. No wonder they were growing things in pots on the patio! But with a good truckload of compost, I think she'll be ready to go!
I'd love to say I grew the majority of my own veggies this year. We loved having the fresh green beans and tomatoes last season. This year I'm feeling ambitious, even with the baby on the way. I want carrots, beans and tomatoes again, lettuce and spinach, maybe some radishes, definitely peas! Well, you see how it is. I get garden fever this time of year!