Fall Planting

We had a pretty darn good harvest this summer, despite the intense heat and lack of rain. I would only water when it was desperate though. Can't stand the thought of the water bills skyrocketing for produce.
The biggest disappointment was the green beans. They just didn't produce well, nor did I particularly like the variety that I'd chosen. (It looked good on the seed package!) The tomatoes did well--or rather one of them did. The others seemed to be the favorites of the pests. So I had lots of romas and nothing else. Guess I'll be making lots of sauce this winter, which is fine by me

But now I've done a fall planting of carrots, peas, spinach, lettuces, radishes, kale, swiss chard, brussels sprouts and beets. The okra is still producing well and since we just had a great rain last night (the first in ages), I expect that things will improve even more soon.
I think of all the things we got out of our garden this year, the greens were our favorites. Being able to go out and pick the spinach and lettuce and, with a quick rinse, have a fresh salad was amazing.

It's well and truly spring

I knew it was spring for sure when, about a week or so ago, the frogs appeared around the edge of our small pond.

So that was when I when through all my seeds and planted the ones that like slightly cooler weather--the spinach, lettuces, and peas. The peas are sprouting now and look great--the snap peas are a little more vigorous it seems than the shell peas. But still, it's exciting to see their little green heads poking up through the soil of my new raised bed.

The spinach and lettuces I had to replant after I realized that the dog and some neighborhood cats had been digging around (and other things) in that area. I went to Lowe's and got some critter deterrent to sprinkle around the garden. It's supposed to keep away just about any type of animal or bird. I'm glad it keeps out birds too (supposedly--we'll see) since I get large flocks of grackles and starlings in the spring. Ick.

I've seen a few of the spinach and lettuce sprouts, so here's hoping.

garden 2010

After bugging him all winter, P finally got his brother to come down and they ripped out the old railroad ties that were holding up the dirt in a (sort-of) raised bed that came with the house. The dirt in it was terrible, and it was not very deep. Now it's made of composite lumber, (no more creosote!!) and we hauled in a topsoil/compost mix from a local nursery. It looks dark and rich and gorgeous. I have already dropped in the spinach and lettuce seeds.

This year I am trying the square foot gardening system and we'll see how it goes. My bed is 6x12 feet, so that's a LOT of veggies, not to mention, we're not giving up our CSA (we don't grow things like corn or watermelons, not enough space) so I'm also planning on learning how to can and freeze more effectively.

Next week, peas, carrots and radishes!