planning, planning...

Today I planted some chard and carrots and beets. I watered the spots that I planted yesterday  and the already growing spots of onions and lettuce.  I picked a few strawberries, too! I am debating about the expansion of my garden plot. I want another box or two for squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, peas and melons. Squash takes up so much space, 3x3 for summer squash and 1x2 for winter squash. Maybe I'll plant the three sisters pattern with corn beans and squash. It would be something new to do. I wonder if I could do it in a sfg? Maybe I'll make one of those charts and post it here. Hmmmmmm

Finally a dry day in the garden

It has been a month since I have posted anything here. The weather has not allowed me much time in the garden. I harvested most everything last month, so there is much to be done. Today I had a chance to do some weeding around my raised bed. It had gotten a good ground cover again, but the soil was soft from the rain and the weeds came out easily.

My worm bins have been ignored for most of the winter. I throw food in and walk away. The poor little guys needed some attention ,so I spent some time fluffing their bedding and moving them from one bin to another. They should be happy now for a week or two.

I plan to plant some tomorrow after church. I sectioned off my raised bed into square feet with some small rope, Clothesline actually, so I can be more efficient with my planting. I want to plant some peas along my trellis, but I have a sneaky squirrel that keeps coming in the yard. I haven't figured out how to protect the peas from him yet. I will wait a week or two I suppose. Lettuce, carrots, spinach and chard will go in this week.

I will probably work on the drip system tomorrow too.  So much to do, so little time!

Done

2 gallon size bags of lettuce and 1 gallon size bag of spinach later, my harvesting is done for now. I hate to harvest before the plants' prime but I also hate losing my crop. So, I went to the garden and pulled them all up. I figure the onions should be able to survive the freeze. Maybe I am figuring wrongly but they are not big enough to harvest just yet.

The strawberry plants from last year may be lost, but they are sort of sickly looking anyway.  I want to plant them in better soil next season. The dirt in my yard needs a lot of help. Raised beds are the answer.  The one Fred built me for my birthday last year is perfect. The soil is soft and loamy. It holds moisture well and the plants love it. (They whispered it to me one morning). I'll add one every once in a while and build up the garden slowly.

I will be ordering more seeds soon and now I will be able to start fresh in March.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  I can't imagine how the real farmers must feel when the weather is uncooperative. I stress out about my little backyard garden.  Maybe I shouldn't wish for more.

Now, I have to decide... chickens or no chickens. That is the question

Hurry up Harvest

I'm going to have to get out in the garden tomorrow and harvest as much as I can before it FREEZES.  Seems silly at the end of February in Sunny Southern California to have to worry about the lettuce freezing but they say it's going to freeze. So, I'll go and get what I can before that happens.  There is not much there, just some lettuce and spinach.  There are strawberries, too, but they are still green so they will be a loss this time.

I may try to save them with some plastic sheets over my raised bed cages. Then again, I may just cut my losses and start again.

Hopefully we will get some good weather for gardening this year. I may have to move to Oklahoma or something.

In between rain bursts

Today I had a chance to play in the garden for a few minutes between rain showers and moving my daughter to a new apartment.

I harvested more salad greens, picked a few weeds, and planted some swiss chard. The red onions I planted have taken root and sprouted.  Next week I'll add some snow peas to the mix.

I have decided to try a drip system in my garden this year. I am hoping that a consistent watering will give me a better harvest and less mildew than last year. Never having done a drip system before, I am dealing with a pretty big learning curve, but I'll just keep trying  until I get it right. Home Depot has a kit called "Drip Irrigation Kit for Dummies."  I figured that was for me so i bought it.  Haven't tried it yet.  I'll  let you know how it goes.

More clean up and such

This afternoon I took some time in the garden again.  The weeds had taken over!

I started in the strawberry box, raking out leaves and debris blown in last week by the wind. Look what I found!

Strawberries in February

I moved on to the salad box and harvested enough lettuce and spinach for lunch salads all week. 

I planted a few red onion bulbs in this box and watered thoroughly. It was a short but lovely afternoon in the garden.

Problem solved

Sarah is young and smart and creative so now I have a sewing page.  Thank goodness for young ones who are not intimdated by the computer.