Thursday, December 27, 2007

An update...

Ok, so it's been over a month since I've posted anything. The Christmas season really kept me busy this year, along with a little elf named Sydney. Here's a quickie update of what happening in the garden...
Peas are coming up nicely and carrots and corn are looking good too! Broccoli is struggling a bit, but hopefully I can get it back to a good spot. I'm going to be planting some new seeds next week (I hope). That's all for now... Sydney is throwing a tantrum :)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Ready to Grow...

Well, today I finished my boxes (that I made by myself). I used a miter saw for the first time :) Anyways, depending on the festivities this weekend, Sydney & I might get some seeds in the ground. Come, Monday, I'm going to put some stones around the boxes as a pathway and I need to plant some mint & thyme around the edges of the boxes because some ants already found their way to the boxes, even with nothing in them. I despise ants!
On another note... I learned a new lesson about composting this week. **Don't put any seeds in your compost** Yep, I must have missed that when I was reading about composting. I through some pinto beans that didn't make it to the pot in the compost pile and now I have some little beans sprouting up. It kind of worries me because I have thrown a few other seeds in there. Only time will tell how much I threw in. It is kind of funny though seeing beans sprouting up in the middle of the compost.


I thought I might post this picture too... I got really excite about building stuff today and put up a ghetto railing to keep Sydney from jumping :)


Monday, November 12, 2007

My Back Hurts

So... the past few days I've been building boxes for my garden. I lugged Sydney to Home Depot with me. I love that they will cut the wood for you :) Almost had a melt down last Tuesday while trying to build my boxes. Came out with a fresh attitude on Wednesday and busted out 1/2 of my box. Then finished building the boxes on Saturday. I am proud to say that I made my boxes myself.
Well, today I filled my boxes with dirt... or should I say "Mel's Mix." I got the boook Square Foot Gardening and have made my boxes (2 4'x4' boxes, one 6" tall and the other 1' tall) and have been following the directions in the book. According to the book if I fill the boxes with Mel's Mix (1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 blended compost) the soil will always be in ideal condition. The combination will keep from becoming hard and compacted, let water flow to the roots freely, and not need to be amended later on.
Let me tell you though, that getting 24 cubic feet of dirt and mixing it together on a tarp and then shoveling it into the boxes with a 15 month old dirt eater is no easy feat. Hopefully tomorrow I will divide my boxes up and get ready to plant some seeds. I also need to make something for the end of the tall box to support my peas & corn. I think I'm going to plant my seeds I started indoors too. I can't wait to start getting a crop. Come January, I am planning on building 2 more boxes, so I can have a continual crop.
Here are some pictures from our day in the yard.





Thursday, November 8, 2007

And the Winner is...

Broccoli!!! It is my first seed to sprout!
I've started building my boxes and am hoping that by the weekends end, my garden should be set up. But, don't hold your breath... I do have Sydney, the dirt-eater :)

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Trying to Make a Decision

So, when I first decided to start my garden, I originally wanted to make above ground boxes to garden in and make it look all beautiful. Then, Damin suggested that I make rows and dig trenches, so it would be easier for me to water. I figured since I don't have sprinklers in my garden area, that I should probably take his advice. So, that has been my plan for the past few weeks, but every time I would go out to the future garden area, I would feel very overwhelmed because of all of the rocks and weeds presently there.
Then, a few days ago my friend Ryan suggested a book to me when he left a comment for a previous post. The book he recommended is called Square Foot Gardening. I haven't looked at the book yet, except by checking it out on Amazon.com, and it is now taking me back to my original idea. Basically from my understanding you build a box that is 4 feet by 4 feet and create 1 foot by 1 foot areas inside each box to plant an individual plant. It is supposed to save you space and time. So, now I am once again considering building boxes to plant my veggies in. I have read that if you plant in boxes to buy certain types of wood and what type of soil to fill the boxes with.
I am going to go to the library on Monday and check out this book... I think it will be right up my alley. I especially like this idea because not only do I want an organic veggie garden that will produce delicious produce for my family, is easy to maintain in respect to weeds (there should be no weeds since I will be adding new dirt to the boxes), gives me more yield for my space, and helps me have a continual harvest... I am also desiring a garden that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Being the neat-freak I am, I want it to be neat and organized. I can have a stone pathway between my boxes lined with clover!
If anyone has any suggestions or has a preference of method, please let me know. I need to make my decision very soon because I have seeds to plant. I think I made my decision a long time ago and am now back on track.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Worms

I was turning my compost and saw that I have the biggest, juiciest worms I've ever seen!!! They were gorgeous!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Seeds

We started some seeds today in toilet paper rolls... onions, sweet peppers, broccoli, rosemary, basil, and spearmint. The rest of my seeds I'm going to plant directly in the ground. So I better get crackin with getting the garden ready. I am starting two of each of the seeds and then in two weeks I am going to start another two sets and two weeks after that another two sets... so I'll have a continual crop.


Here are some pictures of Sydney helping me put the seeds in the seed starting mix. She was so helpful at first filling her own toilet paper roll, but then caught eye of the seed packets and was on the attack.
Helpful Hands

Seed Starting

Sydney & I are going to start some seeds today. I've been saving toilet paper rolls so we can start them inside and then I will be planting them straight into the ground in a few weeks. The toilet paper rolls breaks down in the dirt and help protect the seedling.
I'm having a heck of time getting the rocks out of my garden area. Hopefully within the next few days it will be rid of rocks so I can get down and dirty (not that clearing out rocks has kept me clean).
I also bought some delicious worms to add to my compost. It's really starting to look good.
On a side note... I really am enjoying having a blog and reading comments.

Monday, October 29, 2007

The Gardening Journey... Part 1

Ok, so I'm not a blogger nor am I a gardener, but I am going to try my hand at both. I have recently decided to start an organic veggie garden in my backyard (if you have been to my house, you know I have the space- but all of that space is quite overwhelming for a beginning gardener)... so I have set aside a small area to begin with. I figured since this is going to be a new adventure for me I would chronicle my journey as a virgin gardener on my quest to grow some delicious veggies for my family with ... you guessed it... a blog.

Anyways... I am just getting started and am going to be posting pictures, thoughts, struggles (which will probably be quite a few), and probably soliciting any help from anyone who can keep me floating. Luckily, I have a friend who is a horticulture buff, who has pledged to help me (she is actually coming over tomorrow to get me started on the right foot). She has a wonderful green thumb, where I have the equivilent of a green pinky toe nail. I have been reading some books though, which have already taught me a bit about the soil and starting seeds.
If this garden works out for me, my next step is to turn our backyard shed into a chicken coop and have my own chickens... fresh eggs anyone??
I hope you enjoy reading about my gardening adventures... and I wounldn't mind any feedback or encouragement.
Your gardening adventurist,
Michele


Here is what I'm starting with...




A lot of rocks & a lot of weeds & grass...
My compost... yummy! I am so surprised at how many kitchen scraps we have. I have a small bucket that I fill daily with veggie peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, ect. I'm actually thinking about starting a vermicomposter (worm composting) too!

The Gardening Greenhorn

Well, I took the advice of my friend who recently took up residence in NYC, Matt Jensen, to create my own blog about my gardening, instead of posting it all in a blog on MySpace. So, if you read my first gardening MySpace blog, you will know I'm new to this whole "blogging" thing...so bear with me as I find my way.