Friday, June 25, 2010

Garden update ~by Kandi

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This is just a little garden update.  We've had a lot better garden this year than last!  I'm totally patting myself on the back for researching and reading about them before planting this season.  In reality, a little prep work went a LONG way for the garden.  I prepped the soil and then marked off the places I wanted to plant things.  Not quite a square foot garden, but the same basic concept. 

The picture of the entire garden (with my fantabulous shadow in the pic ;-) ) is what it looks like after a small amount of work yesterday.  Along the front I had planted 2 types of lettuce and spinach.  The spinach and lettuce were starting to wilt though and we had eaten almost everything produced, so I pulled them up.  I will plant more when it starts to cool down around here a bit, but for now I'm back to the organic section at the grocery or the farmer's market.

There is a picture of a bloom on the squash plant (the big yellow flower), and then the grape vine is producing really well this year!  It was here when we purchased the house a couple of years ago, so it was a gift!  I hope I get enough off of it to maybe make 1 jar of jam.  I would be really happy with that!  It's the small accomplishments you know!  The carrots are really sprouting too!  I can't wait for them!  They are a small variety, so I'm hoping the are going to be good!

The tomatoes are getting HUGE!  After reading about the difference in heirlooms and hybrids, I decided to try planting all heirlooms.  I'm hungry just thinking about the sauces and salads to be made with these!  My pepper plants are slow-growing this season.  They aren't quite as big as they should be, but they are blooming and growing none the less, so I'm not complaining. 

One bean bush survived the chipmunk attack!  I planted seeds 2 different times and both times the chipmunks dug them up right as they were sprouting.  I thought about blocking the garden, but for the location ours is in that is nearly impossible.  In the end I just decided to be happy that one plant survived and let the chipmunks enjoy their feast. 

Finally, there is a picture of one tiny, little round potato.  Something I didn't even plant!  Last year we did plant some seed potatoes, but they didn't produce.  I thought, well, they just can't grow well around here.  No problem.  Then yesterday I noticed an odd-looking plant that was growing in the garden.  It didn't look like a weed, but I wasn't sure what it was.  I began digging and hit something white.  I thought "no way!".  Sure enough, it's a potato plant.  I left the plant, but I had broken the little potato from its root system, so I took it in and washed it.  I don't think I'm going to do anything with it.  It's too small to really cook.  I'm so excited that it was there that I don't want to just compost it either.  Oh the decisions...haha.

Anyway, that's what's up with my garden.  I hope yours is growing well!

10 comments:

  1. That is a new potato, cook it!!
    Your garden looks fabulous!!

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  2. Thank you! I had no idea what type it was. I may cook it up for my lunch tomorrow.

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  3. That is a new potato, cook it!!
    Your garden looks fabulous!!

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  4. Wow, looks and sounds great! Uh, I don't have a garden. Maybe one day. :-)

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  5. Thank you! I had no idea what type it was. I may cook it up for my lunch tomorrow.

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  6. Wow, looks and sounds great! Uh, I don't have a garden. Maybe one day. :-)

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  7. Your garden looks great! I just harvested 3 big potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes. I made a potato mashed recipe and fresh garden salad. I realized that fresh veggies are really the best! Great post by the way.

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  8. Your garden looks great! I just harvested 3 big potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes. I made a potato mashed recipe and fresh garden salad. I realized that fresh veggies are really the best! Great post by the way.

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  9. Chipmunks are my problem too. I don't know how to avoid them to eat my plants so I just fenced the garden from 2 feet under the soil to 4 feet above. Hope that it will work. Your tomatoes are really huge and I'm a bit jealous of it. Lol.

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  10. Chipmunks are my problem too. I don't know how to avoid them to eat my plants so I just fenced the garden from 2 feet under the soil to 4 feet above. Hope that it will work. Your tomatoes are really huge and I'm a bit jealous of it. Lol.

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