It's beginning to look a lot like...a GARDEN!

ONIONS!

SPINACH!

PEPPERS! (still inside)

PEAS!



BROCCOLI! (okay, I admit it. I cheated on the broccoli...it's from Lowe's.)


I planted Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce as well as Salad Bowl Lettuce today. I'm gearing up for May 1st and May 15th. Both will be big planting days!

My Little Garden Helper

Simon was busy digging up worms today to add to my composter.

Isn't he sweet with his cup of worms?

Funny Moment

I ran some scraps out to my compost bin today (egg shells, banana peels, tea bags, and melon rinds). While out there, I peeked at my garden. I saw peas peeking back at me!

I also saw an unidentified object in one of the unmarked squares. A WEED?!? I grabbed that tiny thing with all my might, and wasn't I surprised when I pulled up an onion. I forgot that I forgot to label the onion squares after I planted them. I hope that little onion forgives me. I quickly put it back to bed.

Cat Fight

This morning I have horrible scratches on my arms as if I have been in a losing battle with a crazy, angry cat. The culprit? Chicken wire!!! But I did make the cages that I mentioned in a previous blog - they will protect my plants.

I bought my supplies for two cages: 1-4'x25' roll of 1" chicken wire, 100-4" plastic zip ties, 8-1 1/2" wood screws, 8-4' pieces of 1"x2" lumber.

The first cage took me almost 2 hours to make. The directions said to wear gloves. If I had it to do over again, I would have not only worn gloves, but long sleeves. Chicken wire may seem domesticated, but it's actually quite ferrell. Here's the cage in the backyard:

After making the first cage, I resolved that I would not do a second, but all I needed was a good night's sleep. The next morning, I got up early & finished the second cage in 30 minutes. Here's the cage in the front yard:

I'm not going to lie. It was not easy making the cages, but they were necessary if I was going to kept little invaders out of my square foot boxes. I'm not talking about mice, or squirrels, or rabbits.

No.

The culprits that motivated me to wrestle with chicken wire for hours look innocent enough.

Judge for yourself...

Since filling the boxes with the "Mel's Mix" dirt mixture, I've encountered several holes in several different squares, only to find the evidence on the dirty snouts of the dogs! But what are you going to do? Jack Russell Terriers are known for their burrowing skills & I imagine that soft, rich dirt is too much of a temptation!



The cages can also double as a shield from the beating rains. I bought a package of 6-8x10 plastic tarps. These are the ones used for paint dropclothes, car covers, furniture storage, etc. When I need to protect the boxes from the rain, I will simply cover the box with the plastic and stake with tent stakes.

It's suppose to rain in the next 24 hours...

Spinach. Smart.

I planted 4 squares of spinach on 3-31. Nine plants in each square equals 36 plants total. We will eat some fresh; I will freeze the rest for winter.

I will plant another square of spinach on 4-6. More fresh spinach. Let's add organic in there. More fresh ORGANIC spinach. Makes me feel rich!

I will plant 1 more square of spinach on 4-13. More yummy organic goodness.

Final planting (yep, 1 more square) on 4-20. My entire family should turn green by this date, but we will continue to eat gobs green greatness.

Staggering spinach.

No, I did not think of this brilliant idea. It came from the magical book, of course. What a simple and wonderful concept. Different planting times = different harvesting times = longer period of fresh spinach.

Even if you aren't square foot gardening, you can do this. Just plant part of your row. Mark it off. Come back to it a week later and plant a few more. Only rabbits need 12 heads of lettuce all at once!

Please, please, peas, please!

Last weekend I decided to plant my snap peas. I love fresh peas!

One square can hold 8 pea plants. I decided to plant one or two peas in each hole. I figure my chances of having them grow would be better.

Two days ago, we had a torrential down pour & the first thing I thought was,"Oh no! My peas have washed away!" Yesterday morning I went to check on the peas. They were still there, but the dirt had washed away. I recovered them with the soil & hoped for the best. There is a section in the book that gives instructions on how to build a cage/cover for the 4'x4' boxes. Seattle is well known for it's rain. This morning, I'm headed out to buy my list of supplies and build the cages/covers. Wish me luck!

Changing the Nursery Rhyme

Cold, cold go away...
This last winter has been the weirdest weather in Seattle. It started with 11 inches of snow just before Christmas. A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was safe to start seeds indoors. I bought these little greenhouses from Home Depot and they were incredibly easy to use. There are 72 compacted soil pellets in each greenhouse.

After adding warm water to each, the compacted soil pellet "grew". In the picture above, you can see the change. The pellets on the left have had water added. The next step before adding the seeds was to loosen the soil in each pellet.

As I planted the seeds, I filled in the type of seed on a chart that would later help me identify which plants were which. I used colored toothpicks as landmarks. After I was done, I placed the clear lid back on top to create a greenhouse and found the warmest spot in the house w/o direct sunlight. The list of indoor starts includes:

Romaine Lettuce

Green Leaf lettuce

Swiss Chard

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Basil

Chives

Cucumbers

Cabbage

Garlic Chives

Leeks

Brussell Spouts

Yellow Pear Tomatoes

Red Roma Tomatoes

Bok Choy

Sunflowers

Wild Flowers

Seven days later:

13 days later:

My plan was to start planting outdoors this weekend, but due to the snowfall (???) last week and frigid night temperatures, I'm not sure what to do. Maybe indoor Sunflowers? :)