Pumpkins Finally!!!

Last fall I planted a pumpkin vine in the hope that I would have a beautiful fall display on my front porch. The vine did well and did in fact produce pumpkins, however I planted it too late in the season and the frost killed the vine and the pumpkins before they had a chance to mature.

Fast forward to this summer. I planted my vine in late June. I have had a gorgeous, healthy, blossom-laden vine for months, but no pumpkins. I'd all but given up on it when I spotted this beauty:

It's the only one I've noticed but I'm hoping under all that foliage are a few more. Hopefully they will have another eight weeks to mature and I can start decorating away!

May

It's been a good month for gardening. We've had healthy amounts of rain and its not prohibitively hot which means I've been able to weed everything.

My veggie garden is coming along nicely. To my pleasant surprise, I have a peach tree, two Idaho potato plants and several watermelon vines (the latter will be transplanted or given away) growing in my compost. Other than Blinky uprooting and subsequently killing one of my marigold plants; my main preventative measure in my tomato and pepper bed; I could not be more pleased with this section.

Occasionally I have to run the sprinkler for the veggie garden and found it amusing that the water created a line of demarcation in the grass. Can you see it?

While letting the dog out at lunch, I noticed my hydrangeas are starting to bloom. Aren't they beautiful? They are a pink hybrid, but one is starting to adopt a purple tinge. While also beautiful, I prefer pink. Will have to get a soil test and amend according.

 

Finally, a butterfly bush bloom to kick start your weekend:

 



How does your garden grow?

Amaryllis and Veggie Garden Pics

Sunday was pretty sunny, so I was able to snap a few shots for you.

Flanking my maple tree:

 

By the HVAC unit:

 

 



By the mailbox:

 

In the backyard near the vegetable garden:

 

 

Still waiting to bloom in the backyard:

 



 

And finally the vegetable garden:

 

Blueberry bushes are in the back left bed. Spinach is in one half of the front left bed. I am going to add some peas or beans in the other half, which will help shade the spinach when the weather gets really hot. If you look really closely, the white poles against the house are my bean trellises. The DH made them for me out of PVC and they work really well.

 

My new compost pile is in the back right bed, and tomatoes and peppers are in the front right bed.

 

The flat in the walkway is filled with sunflower and zinnia seedlings for the kids. Not sure where I am going to transplant them yet.

 

Over in the corner there is a blueberry bush, two young Crape Myrtles, two century plants and a garlic bulb all of which need transplanting or new homes.

 

So much to do and so little time (especially spending most nights at the ball fields), but I'm getting there.



April Showers

So I know this area around my bird bath is not very manicured but I wanted to show you how well the plants are filling in. In my defense, it has rained everyday for nearly two weeks so I have not had the opportunity to weed. Further, the DH was able to mow late yesterday evening but ran out of daylight before he could edge. But just like our lives, this area is perfectly imperfect.

Here's another shot of my veggie garden. The rain has been good to these plants. They are growing, blooming and setting fruit. As soon as I have a dry 48-hour period, I can start spraying for bugs, particularly aphids which have been hanging out in our yard.

Veggie Garden Finally

Two weekends ago, I finally got my summer veggie garden installed. This year, I planted in one of the beds closest to the fence that was used for compost. There are four tomato plants and two bell pepper plants. Believe me, this will be more than enough for my family, the neighbors and co-workers!

In the other bed next to the fence, you will notice my blueberry bushes. They are loaded this year. I can't wait to enjoy them with the kids. That reminds me, time to get the rubber snakes out to deter the birds!

 

Planting season is my most wonderful time of the year. The weather is beautiful, spending time outside relaxes me and I truly enjoy seeing / tasting / smelling/ touching God's handiwork through my labor.

 

Happy Gardening!

 



Raised Beds Photos

I've been so busy the last few weeks, I haven't had a chance to update you on my progress. Well, two beds have been lined with plastic (to prevent chemicals from the pressure-treated wood leaching into the soil) and filled with soil. In one, I planted broccoli, asparagus and garlic chives, and in the other, there's garlic, onions, rosemary and parsley. And for the finishing touch, the pathways have been mulched. So far everything is doing well and this freaky yo-yo weather hasn't hurt them a bit.

One bed is waiting to be filled and the other is being used as a temporary compost pile for kitchen scraps.

Raised Beds Tour

I really enjoy touring with the Master Gardeners of Pike County. On Wednesday, we braved the low 40's temperatures and visited Ellis Bush Jr.'s raised bed farm in Brundidge.

Bush has approximately 200 acres. Near his house, he has about eight large raised beds made from cedar, which he hired a portable sawmill to cut from his property. (For $300, he yields $3,000-$4,000 worth of lumber.) Some were just a few inches tall, while others exceeded two feet tall. Like mine, they are lined with plastic. But, I lined to stop chemicals from the pressure-treated wood leaching into the soil, Bush lined to prevent moisute rotting the wood. Using organic practices, he rotates his crops, and for the winter, we saw broccoli, radishes, turnips and collards, just to name a few.

Also on the property was a very impressive barn, also made from wood from his property, a recycled window green house where Bush gets his seeds started, and several beautiful hand made cedar swings which he gives away. (Hey Ellis, next time you're looking for someone to give a swing to...)

We wrapped up after an hour, with handfuls of freshly picked radishes which were delicious. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go back in the spring and see the crop plants (e.g. corn, peas, etc.) in action.

I'm leaving you with a few pictures from our adventure:

Raised Beds In!

This was a busy weekend for us. The raised beds are in and looking fantastic! The DH did a great job and even included attachements to convert them to mini greenhouses when necessary.

The plan was adapted from the following site:

http://www.sunset.com/garden/perfect-raised-bed-00400000039550/

My Husband the Contractor

I've been busy the last few days. Nearly everything has been dug up out of the garden and temporarily potted. I will finish the rest this evening and tomorrow should be able to start amending the bed.

Also found a plan for the raised beds I want to implement. I've "hired" the DH to work on these.

http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/print-index.html

Should be fun!?!

Honey-Do List

Fall is here which means it's time to work on that pesky garden honey-do list. These include:

1. Lowering the pH of my garden from a whopping 8 to a more reasonable 5.5 to accommodate my blueberries (See http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/lowerpH.html)
2. Building a raised bed for my summer garden items e.g. bell peppers, tomatoes
3. Transplant asparagus away from the blueberries, although the alkaline soil has them growing like weeds
4. Transplanting forsythia and one butterfly bush as they are planted too close to the house
5. Expanding garden bed under crape myrtle trees
6. Consider planting a winter garden (yeah right!)

Tonight, the DH, kids and I got started transplanting the asparagus. Not going so well. We're doing a bang-up job on the roots so it will be a long shot if they survive.

Tomorrow it's off to Lowe's to purchase the necessary soil ammendments to achieve #1. Oy!

Ana-White.com

Every so often I come across pretty useful and interesting websites. One such website is http://ana-white.com/ . A homemaker in Alaska, Ana blogs about do-it-yourself wood projects and provides free plans. Awesome.

One plan that caught my eye is for raised beds:

http://ana-white.com/2010/05/hack-natural-rustic-cedar-raised-beds.html

Just off my rain garden is an area that holds water, rendering it useless for most things. I figured I'd try a raised garden bed and see if I can get some use from it. Ana found clearance cedar and was able to build hers for less than $10 each. If we could all be so lucky... :)