An update on the peas, greens, and the Square Foot Gardens

One of the pea varieties (Alaska, I think) has flowers on it today! They're so pretty when they flower. I took a couple of pictures, although I'm not sure you'll be able to see the flowers very clearly.

As you can see they're doing pretty well and I'm hopeful about getting a good harvest as long as it doesn't snap super-hot.

The greens, on the other hand, aren't doing as well. I think the problem is that I was lazy when I planted them and thinned them out too late, so the plants aren't flourishing.

I don't hold out much hope for getting a harvest from any of these this year, but it was instructive and I'll likely try again in the fall.

The Square Foot Gardens are doing great! We're slowly filling in the empty squares, although the fourth one is still empty at this point. We've added a couple of different varieties of tomatoes and the most up-to-date diagram of each garden is available on my Flickr photostream.

I didn't snap pictures of the zucchini and yellow squash in the front yard, but they're doing really well. Everything is growing like crazy, thanks to all of the rain we got! My irises are blooming and they're so beautiful, I'll try to get some pictures of them for my next post. I hope that everyone is having a wonderful spring!

Everything is sprouting!

I'm so excited! All of the peas that I planted in the first round of planting are coming up, and even some from the second time. It took longer than it did in the fall, but I'm really excited about getting some fresh peas. My greens have all sprouted except for one, which I neglected to add to the list in the previous post. I'm not sure that I actually put seeds in them, so if they don't come up in the next week I'll plant something else in those two pots. See why I need to write everything down? I'll get some more pictures up soon.

Happy Spring!

Planting Peas in the Drizzling Rain

I was going to plant peas yesterday but it was cold and rainy, so I waited hoping for better weather. Today is a little better, but it's still about 45 degrees and drizzling. Oh well, I didn't figure I'd melt so out I went, with my faithful garden helper (my 8 year old son) and his umbrella to keep my seeds nice and dry. I wasn't terribly excited about going out there, to be honest, but that all changed when I stooped down to dig the little trench to bury seeds in and there, on the other side of the fencing panel, were peas peeking out! At first I was worried that the snow and cold had pushed them up, but upon closer examination it wasn't the cold... they're sprouting! I got such a rush of joy. *happy sigh* Needless to say planting the rest of the row no longer seemed like such a chore.

I used up the last of my Oregon Sugar Peas, which I knew was going to happen, so when I was at the feed store buying a dozen kinds of greens seeds Monday (see my previous post about planting some of them) I found some edible pod seeds called Sugar Ann Garden Peas. Actually, looking for edible pod pea seeds to replace the Oregons was what led me to look at their seed selection in the first place, so I have them to thank when I sit down to eat a delicious meal of those greens! Anyway, the lady at the feed store said she liked Sugar Ann so I bought a big bag to give them a try. There's no question their seeds are cheaper, but I cringe at not buying all organic seeds. The high price tag made the decision for me, so we'll see how they turn out.

Also, I don't think I mentioned before that the fence panel that goes down the center of the pea patch has 24 squares, so I divided it up into 5, 5, 4, 5, and 5 squares when I did my planting. I'm trying to be meticulous in keeping track of what we really like and what grows well so that I don't waste time and energy. It also satisfies my slightly OCD personality, if I'm honest. Here's the updated pea garden diagram:

No signs of sprouting from the greens yet, but it hasn't even been a week so I'm still hopeful. I hope you're getting ready for spring. I know that I'm starting to twitch every time I pass the nurseries, Lowe's, the feed store, and just about anywhere else that sells green things! I'm lucky to have a great resource right in the little town where I live, a local hardware store that hasn't sold out.

It's time for peas!

Today I put in the first seeds of the year ... peas! I planted some last fall and they were so incredibly delicious that I've been champing at the bit to get them started this spring. I'll plant again on the weekends for the next few weeks in the hopes of getting a long harvest. I took some pictures but I've managed to lose the download cable for the camera, so they're trapped on the camera until my dear husband buys a card reader. Once he does I'll post pictures of before and after, as well as pictures of my little tire garden before and after. I gave it a spring cleaning and turned the soil so it's all ready for seeds or seedlings, in a month or so.

Also, we're going to try Square Foot Gardening this year, so I'll be posting about how that goes as well. I'm excited about my butterfly garden as well, since I should have three different colors of monarda this year as well as the new pink variegated butterfly bush that I put in at the end of the season last year.

Happy spring, everyone!

Pictures from July 8, 2008

I finally managed to get some pictures of my plants uploaded!



Here's the biggest grouping of plants. From left to right, orange tomatoes, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, and wax beans.



This is the same grouping from the back side. From left to right there are sweet potatoes, wax beans, dianthus, yellow squash, lobelia, banana peppers (which I don't think are going to produce anything), and orange tomatoes. I put the tomatoes and banana peppers in very late after buying them on sale, so I'll be surprised if they produce, but you never know!



These three watermelon plants were almost demolished by bunnies, so I planted three marigold plants and they seemed to do the trick. I don't think we'll get any watermelon because it's so late in the year for it to bounce back, but I like it all the same.




This is one of the blossoms on the watermelon vine.




I planted two zucchini plants in this tire and we've gotten a couple of decent-sized zucchinis from it (one is pictured below).

I also planted some cherry tomatoes in a planter on the deck, as well as some bell peppers that didn't flourish at all. They made tiny oddly-shaped peppers that never developed and fell off.



That's about it for vegetables and the tire gardening... my next post will be pictures of the butterfly garden that I add to a little every year. I put it over the graves of the animals that we've lost: two miniature horses, L'il Bit of Sass and Denny, my 31 year old saddlebred gelding I had for 23 years, Petite Jean's Fantasy, my son's cat Kailey and my husband's Great Pyrenees, Buddy.