New garden space

Yesterday, I shared my perimeter garden. In the spring, as I was starting a gazillion seeds in my dining room, it became apparent that I had more sprouts and seeds than I had space to plant them.  Whereas some people might cull their collection of seedlings and seed packets at that point, I simply decided to carve out some more garden space.

It's what Martha would do.

Here are my two brand-new garden beds on the west side of the backyard:

Each bed is 4'x16'. The first bed contains cauliflower, carrots and peppers.

The second new space contains winter squash (acorn, butternut and two other varieties), blue corn and summer squash (zucchini, patty pan and one other variety).  This bed in particular is flourishing.  I expect to be eating patty pan squashes in the next week or so, with zucchini ready shortly after that.

And because even after creating two new garden beds I still needed more room, here is the flower-bed-turned-corn-field area on the south side of the house. 

I have four planting of corn there, all planted ten days apart. My hope is that even if each section only gives me 10 ears or so, there will be time to eat and enjoy it before the next batch is ready for harvest.

So there you have it...my 2012 Garden Extravaganza!  Math is not my thing, but I put my garden's area at 368 square feet.  I weeded everything over the weekend, and that task took me a full two hours.  All things considered that's not bad, though I'd rather have spent that time reading a book and eating bonbons.

I'll weed again in another month or so. In the meantime, I am ready for some strawberries and summer squash. Happy first day of summer!

Perimeter garden

Last year, I made garden beds around the perimeter of the backyard but severely underutilized the space.  I was new to the gardening game, and I didn't want to get in over my head. Last year I enjoyed a good harvest from nearly everything I planted.  This year, I was determined to get the most use out of my garden space. 

I may have gotten in over my head.

Along the north fence with the pear and peach trees is the Wall of Tomatoes.  I believe there are 25 or so tomato plants along that fence, though I've lost track of the exact number. There's a pepper or two nestled amongst the tomatoes, and two basil patches thrown in for good measure. This area gets a decent amount of sunlight which hopefully lead to bushels and bushels of tomatoes.

Along the west side of the fence, I have two sections of potatoes. This is my first time growing potatoes so I have no idea what to expect. So far, not a lot is happening.

Moving south along the west side of the backyard, you'll find the broccoli. As with the potatoes, this is my first time growing broccoli and I really don't know what's going on here.  The broccoli is green and the leaves get bigger each week, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

I planted four varieties of eggplant: Epic, Fairy Tale, Gretal and Hansel.  In that order. Which is alphabetical, you might have noticed.  Which gives me a great deal of satisfaction.

I have two strawberry patches along the west fence.  All Star is a June-bearing strawberry, and Ozark Beauty is an ever-bearing variety.  Strawberry plants can take a full year to get established, but once they are the plants will last for several years.  While I won't get nearly enough berries for freezing or jam, there have been a few to nibble on. Yum!

Turning the corner to the south side of the yard (same side as the apple trees), you'll find my beet patch.  I first tasted fresh beets at Uncle Rich's house last November. They were delicious, and I was compelled to plant some of my own this year.

To the left of the beets is the kale patch. I've been collecting kale recipes on Pinterest for quite some time...now I just need to pick this stuff and start cooking!

Next are the peas and carrots flanked by two more tomato plants.  The trellis is actually a broken baby gate I found by the side of the road. Peas don't grow very high, so I thought this support would be sufficient.

Pole beans are next.  The seeds I used were from last year, and so far only half of them have sprouted. At this point, I think that's all I'm going to get.  Soon, I'll get some trellis' up for the beans.

Trellis' are already in place for the cucumbers. For some reason, my cucumbers are not getting off to a great start.  Maybe they aren't getting enough sun?  Though last year, I did have one cucumber vine along this fence and it did just fine. Maybe they're just slow to get started.  I planted three varieties this year, and if I have a large enough yield I'll try my hand at making homemade pickles.

Finally, this last section is a mish-mash of the peppers and tomatoes I couldn't fit anywhere else.  I'm not complaining, though...there is no such thing as too many peppers or tomatoes.  Overall, I think I have 20 or so pepper plants (I'll share those pictures tomorrow) and 30 or so tomato plants. I lost count.

So that's my perimeter garden, which accounts for almost 3/4 of my total garden space. I'll share the rest of it with you tomorrow. 

Have a great day!

Martha Monday--Garden watching

Martha Stewart has some amazing gardens.  Her gardens, combined with her expansive property and animals, actually resemble more of a farm. In fact, that is how she refers to her property (named "Cantitoe Corners") in Bedford,  New York. 

Martha's amazing vegetable garden is....amazing:

My vegetable garden is not quite there, but I am working on it. Also, I'm working on getting a staff of 40 to do all the work my house and ginourmous garden will require. I'll keep you posted.

Martha does fancy things in her garden like install time-lapse cameras so she can monitor the progress of the peas:

I'm not into monitoring my own peas (at this point I am just crossing my fingers that I'll harvest some), but I have been keeping on eye on my neighbors' gardens.  Next door neighbors Sara and Yogita are doing a great job growing veggies in their backyards.  Both ladies have some great gardens coming up with everything from herbs to eggplants to tomatoes.

This is Sara's garden just next door:

That's Little Miss taking a peek inside.  Sara has cilantro, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant and a few other things in there. Everything is growing at such a rapid pace!  My tomatoes are not this big and lush yet. I can only assume Sara is sneaking into my garden at night and sabotaging my tomatoes' progress.

Yogita also has a wonderful garden growing. This year, she doubled the space so she could grow more tomatoes, herbs, spinach, everything!  Yogi's garden is beautiful and looks like a miniature version of Martha Stewart's.  Behold:

And just like in Sara's garden, Yogita's plants are so much more lush and full than my own at this point.  Maybe they are both sabotaging me!  Of course, a more likely explanation is that they both water their gardens regularly. 

That, and the fact that they are better gardeners than I am is probably the real reason for their success.  No matter, I'll just steal their tomatoes while they are sleeping.

Don't worry Sara and Yogi, I am totally kidding about stealing tomatoes.  Though I will be willing to trade them for Ice Pops.  Let me know!

Happy Monday, everyone!

A sweet harvest

My overachieving garden has already started to produce!  Take a look at what I picked earlier this week:

Four strawberries!  These are Allstar strawberries I ordered from Stark Bros. Allstar is a June-bearer, so hopefully I'll get some more berries from these plants before their season is over. 

I have to say, as far as firsts harvests go, this one could not have been sweeter. The berries were delicious!  Now....time to get all the other fruit and veggie plants on board. 

We Grow Dreams

Last year I heard (can't remember how) about a great greenhouse/nursery in the Western Suburbs whose mission was to give folks with developmental disabilities training and work experience while providing high-quality plants and seedlings to the public.  I was intrigued, but never had the time to go.  Finally, this spring I made it there.

We Grow Dreams is a great source for beautiful flowers and vegetable seedlings.  I took the kids on Mother's Day, and purchased some eggplant, summer squash and winter squash seedlings for the vegetable garden.

We had a great time wandering in and out of the greenhouses admiring all the plants. 

In an unrelated note: thanks for the Thing 2 shirt, Shannon!

The good folks at We Grow Dreams have an extensive aquaponic vegetable garden. 

Of course, while I was marveling at the entire system, Little Guy and Little Miss were fascinated with the fish...

...which the folks at WGD were kind enough to let them feed.  It made their day!

If you are in the western suburbs, be sure to check out We Grow Dreams in West Chicago.  Happy shopping!

***Disclaimer: We Grow Dreams has no idea who I am. But I was VERY impressed with their seedlings, and their mission, and I just had to share this organization with you!

Martha Monday--Asparagus

Spring is the season for asparagus.  I planted two bushes? shrubs? root balls? of it last year and since asparagus takes three years or so to get established, I'm still waiting on the tasty spears. However, asparagus is plentiful at grocery stores, farmers markets and in roadside ditches now.  Get your hands on some to make these awesome Martha recipes:

Asparagus Guyere Tart

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Need more?  You can find all of Martha's asparagus recipes here.

In the meantime, I've found my asparagus.  Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that I needed to weed out the area next to the compost bin, which is where I had planted my asparagus?

I finally got around to it!

And look! It's asparagus!

To help the asparagus get established, it must be allowed to grow throughout the summer season.  The larger root base the plants develops, the more it will be able to produce.  And since asparagus plants can last for twenty years or more, it's really in my best interest to let it grow and grow and grow. 

Over the past few weeks, that small purple stalk has turned into an enormous 6-foot-long plant:

I can only hope I'm rewarded for my patience next spring with enough asparagus to make one of Martha's tasty recipes. 

Do you grow/find/buy asparagus?  How do you prepare it?

What's happening?

So I dropped off the radar for a bit, and you better believe I was very busy during that time.  It's spring, and my kids and my garden are my life.  Here's what's happening:

The dwarf peach and pear trees (along the north side of the backyard) are doing quite well.  You can see in the background that Handy Freddy has been really busy making the vegetable garden border.

Along the south side of the yard, I added a Golden Delicious apple tree...

...and a Honeycrisp apple tree. Both are dwarf varieties from Stark Bros.

I planted those a few weeks ago, and they already have leaves. Awesome!

Between the start-of-the-season sale at Spring Bluff Nursery and the Conservation Foundation benefit, I acquired two new flowering shrubs and several native perennial flowers for the two butterfly gardens.  One is located in the NW corner of the yard under a honeylocust tree...

...while some others are in the SW corner of the yard.  I'm hoping the flowers will attract butterflies and bees, which will help with the pollination of my vegetable plants. I certainly don't want a repeat of last year's pumpkin sex incident. 

Next to the SW flower patch I installed two strawberry patches.  The variety on the left is the June-bearer Surecrop.  To the right (on the other side of the white trellis) is the Ever-bearer Ozark Beauty.  Strawberry beds are good for three years or so, and while they can take a year to get established I am really hoping for a few berries this season.

I put the broccoli seedlings in along the west side of the yard.  Hopefully these will do well and be ready for harvest in June or early July.  If so, I can start another round of broccoli seedlings in June, and plant them in mid-July for a fall crop.  Broccoli for everyone! 

Also in the ground are some carrots, beets and peas.  I hope to get the kale, sage and dill in the garden after work today, and I've set aside a large portion of this upcoming weekend to get some more things in the ground. 

What's been happening in your neck of the woods?

My work is cut out for me

Spring is here, and I can finally get started on the garden I've been planning since last summer.  But first, the garden beds need a lot of work before they are ready for seedlings.  Actually, the whole backyard needs a ton of work before anything can happen. My to-do list is long...very, very long!

As you can see, the weeds took advantage of the ridiculously warm summer-like weather we had in March, and are already taking over my vegetable beds:

Obviously, I need to spend a good amount of time weeding the beds before they can be tilled.

And I finally gave in to my OCD tendencies and purchased landscaping timber to border the garden beds.  This will give us a clear border between garden and lawn, making it easier for The Big Guy to mow and trim, and better protecting my precious vegetable plants.  Thanks to Handy Freddy for picking up the lumber!

Once the garden beds are weeded and tilled, I'll install the border. Here, I put three sections of the timber together so you can get an idea of where I'm going with this:

I have a few peony plants coming up on the north side of the house, and I need to get some mulch around them before The Big Guy accidentally mows them down.  In which case, I will accidentally punch him in the throat. It happens, right?

Note to The Big Guy: This is what a peony plant looks like. Do not run it over!

In fact, all of the flower beds need to be mulched, as do all the fruit trees.  Add that to the list!

The compost bins (all three of them) are 2/3 full.  I need to do some rearranging of the piles to make room for all of the stuff that will be coming its way in the next few months.

Gasp! See that bed of weeds in the foreground of the picture?  That's where my asparagus is planted.  Weeding is making several appearances on my garden to-do list.

Item #458 on the to-do list is to hook up this rain barrel.  I am the proud owner of two rain barrels, but this one (that I got for my birthday last fall...thanks, Big Guy!) needs to be connected to the downspout.  I'm searching online for a fancy connector that will let me switch back and forth between directing water to the rain barrel and keeping it moving through the downspout, so if you have any sources, please let me know in the comments.  Thanks!

Add to the list cleaning out the gutters, making the trellises, and on and on and on, and I have a very busy spring ahead of me.   I can't wait!