No News, Is Good News

Not necessarily in this case.  I have had several previous commitments which have kept me from the garden.  I am so far behind.  I have Friday off and I hope to get to most, if not all, of my seeds started and in the greenhouse.  Next will be getting the vegetable beds prepared. Last, but not least, is the weeding of the flower beds.  That is my least favorite task.  But when all is done, it is quite rewarding to see the beautiful weed free beds.  But don't blink because before you know it those little devils are popping up all over again.

Spring chores

Peaceful Gardeners!!
hope you are having a great spring, getting those veggies and flowers planted or just admiring the spring flowers that are already blooming. Spent some time getting the greenhouse cleaned up and organized. Added more gravel over the whole floor - looks great! Hope it keeps the grass and blackberries down better!
I've gotten quite a bit planted in small pots in the greenhouse - peas, lettuce, corn, cabbages. Yesterday I planted tomato seeds in the greenhouse and New Zealand spinach seeds outside in one of the beds. I will post some pics soon. Thanks, Anna, for jump-starting us again!

Spring Is In The Air

The days are getting longer and slightly warmer.  It looks to be a decent spring.  I have not posted here in 2 years.  So I thought it was time to get BUSY.   I am going to change up my garden a bit this year.  Things I need to do in April are:

1.  Get lettuce started and in the greenhouse.  I have a warming mat and plan on buying a grow light within the next week.
2.  Turn the soil and get the snow peas in. (its alittle late but what the heck)
3.  Find a permanent spot for the raspberries and get them situated.
4.  Prep the soil for the pumpkin patch.

That's a good start.   My Tulips are up and about to bloom.  I will post pictures as soon as they have bloomed. I will also include some pictures of the garden area, when I get it turned and the soil prepped. 

Something new this year is I am looking into canning some veggies this year.  I am thinking of doing tomatos, jalepenos, garlic and pears.  I may take a trip to Eastern WA to get some of these items, since the growing season here is always a crap shoot.

Let me know what you are up to in the garden!

Anna

Spring is Here! 

It has been along time since I have posted.  I am a little behind in my garden prep.  Verdelle brought me 3 raspberry plants last week.  Now I need to get out to the garden and clean up the new spot for the raspberries.  I am making a few changes to the garden area this year.  I, with the help of Marty, have made the pumpkin patch larger.  I am planting corn this year - but it will not be for eating, it will be for the corn stocks.  I am giving up on corn.  I can stop by Carpinitos during corn season and get fresh picked good sweet corn every day.  I'm trying to concentrate on things that work well in my garden.  Also this year,  I would like to do some canning.  I make about 12 to 18 jars of raspberry jam every year and have decided that I would like to try canning pears, tomatoes, jalapenos and maybe garlic.  It sounds pretty ambitious, we''ll see how much I can get done.  My tulips are just about to bloom.  I took pictures today,  I'll try and get those posted and also  more when they bloom.  This week I hope to get some lettuce seeds started and out in the green house.   It is Easter this weekend.  God Bless all of you. 
He Is Risen . . .  He is Risen Indeed!

Garden update

So here are some photos of our garden in August - lots more vegetation than what I posted in May!!

We are eating corn, so GOOD! Most everything is going crazy (except tomatoes, darn it!). See for yourself. Top pic is corn, green beans in the back box, kohlrabi, dill, parsley, basil, broccoli and cabbage totally being taken over by 3 plants of Cinderella pumpkin. The bottom pic shows lettuce, spinach and leeks being totally overtaken by golden hubbard squash plants.

here are the "aliens" in the garden - multi-rooted carrots (still delicious!) and creepy looking close-up of purple kohlrabi that Roger planted. Hope it tastes good, will be trying it in a week or so. And soon I will have to be digging up my compost pile again to rescue potatoes that insist on growing there. Thought I got them all out of there last year, but guess not, the plants were bigger than ever this year.

If You Go to the Puyallup Fair...

Look for my sister's entry in the Christmas Tree decorating competition. Her theme is "My Garden" and she has made, by hand, carrots, pea pods, tomatos, pears, roses, peonies, strawberries, cherries, and I don't know what all. A big bunch of grapes may be the topper. We helped her with it during our "sisters retreat" at Ocean Shores. Not everything on it is hand-made, but I think at least half will be. This is the mock-up we made at our "sister's week" at Ocean Shores.

My veggies are going ok except for the green beans. (they are in the box in the background on the left, barely visible so far.) They obviously need a lot more sun and warmth to get going well. Potatoes, beets and spinach are all doing very well, especially the potatoes. I think they grew 6 inches since Sunday!! I've planted quite a few tomatoes and peppers in my greenhouse - they are doing well too. Remember me whining about my shallots failing last year? Well . . . this year, after being covered by leaves (brought over by the youth group) the whole winter, and uncovered earlier this spring, they seem to be growing like they should. I'll get a picture of them here soon.
Praying for more sun!