You Grow Girls!

Waiting...

2010-04-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

After waiting for the weather to cooperate, today was the day to plant. The weather has warmed and the temperature at night is staying above 40.

Tomatoes will need warmer weather, but there were several things to be planted today.

In the front yard box: rainbow Swiss chard, marigolds, red beets, golden beets, kohlrabi, rutabaga, carrots, and turnips.

In the back yard box: peas, arugula, marigolds, spinach, and lettuce.

The newest herbs (in the ground): fennel and dill. The cilantro made it through the colder weather as did the chives and parsley.

In the other ground plot: zucchini, yellow squash and crook neck squash.

Dog House Update

2010-04-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

This just in....

The dirt around the dog house has been turned over and seed has been scattered. If you remember from the last blog, I had old seed from last year that I dumped into a ziploc.

I sprinkled the fresh dirt with all the old seed and added a sunflower mixture of new seed. To cover the seeds, I lightly raked the area.

Again...this is an experiment. :)

Dog House

2010-04-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

In the back corner of the yard, sits a dog house. It's cute, but the area is usually overrun by weeds by mid May.

As I started cleaning out my seeds from last year, I thought it was a shame that so many seeds did not get planted.

Hmmm....

Why not try to plant them? Milk is good for several days past the expiration and eggs for several weeks. Could these seeds grow?

Instead of the dog house corner being overrun by weeds, wouldn't it be a sight to see sunflowers, arugula, carrots, peas, radishes, onions, yellow tomatoes and zucchini overrunning the area instead?

Who knows. I may spend hours turning the dirt, loosening it and then adding nutrients only to have the weeds grow even taller this year.

As I sit dumping each expired seed pack into a Ziploc bag, I couldn't help but wonder - what if the seeds grow?

Cold weather = dead greens.

2010-04-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it. The temperature dropped this week and the lettuce and collards are looking mighty sick. Also, the parsley and cilantro are not looking much better.

Guess I will wait and see...or we all will wait and see.

Staggered Greens

2010-03-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Something I did not try last year that I will definitely do this year is stagger the planting of the greens. The Square Foot Gardening book describes a process where planting is done in intervals so the result is being able to harvest a usable amount of greens.

I don't want to plant 12 lettuce plants and 8 spinach plants all at once. I would never be able to use that amount of food at the time of harvest. But, if I plant a couple greens this week and then a couple more next week and then a couple more the next week, I get a constant harvest and will be able to have fresh greens regularly from my garden throughout the summer.

I got a little ambitious with the first planting, but with an early harvest and a late harvest, these greens will be able to be harvest and eaten over 3 weeks.

The next lettuce/spinach/collards will be planted in front of the existing plants and will be done soon.

Herbal leftovers

2010-03-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

They lasted throughout the winter without a problem. The chives, oregano, tarragon, and thyme were all covered with straw and I guess it was enough to keep them alive and healthy.

The tarragon was originally grown in deck pots, but since the peppermint, pineapple mint and Moroccan mint all died, I transplanted the tarragon into the herb box where the mint use to be. Wait...I take that back. Not all the mint died. Notice what is growing out of a crack in the side of the herb box:

In the backyard, cilantro and parsley was planted next to the trimmed rosemary bush.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year."

2010-03-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

I know that lyric is from a Christmas carol, but right now it's all about the dirt. It's time to garden. This morning I built a 1'x4' box that will sit on top of my 2'x5' box in the backyard. I wanted to add a second tier to the existing box to grow strawberries.

The landlord cut back the tall evergreen tree which resulted in more light for that box. I'm not replanting the squash/zucchini in that area this year as it was taken over by legions of mold armies.

Strawberries it is...and the strawberries that have been growing in the front yard flower bed have been transplanted to the box and several brand new strawberry plants have been added.

The Big Surprise

2009-09-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

Everything must come to an end. The tomato plants are turning brown...the tall dill plant is bent over...the flowers have lost their petals...the out of reach apricots are falling...it is time to pull up all that has turned brown and is drooping.

As I started weeding through the dying tomato forest in the front garden box, I noticed a few forgotten plants that had been, until now, swallowed by the tall tomatoes. It was the potatoes. Darn.

As I grasped the dead potato plant and pulled, there was a little resistance. I pulled harder. Weird. Pulling even harder, the plant finally gave up and came out of the ground. And then, I could hardly believe my eyes. Attached to the end of a very brown stalk was three small red potatoes.

I looked into the hole and found a couple more potatoes. Sensing a little hope, I plunged my hand into the 12"x12" square only to feel a TON of potatoes.

I dug with my fingers in that box and the one next to it. When I was sure there were no more potatoes to be found, I went inside and weighed my harvest. The scale told me I had almost 4 lbs of baby red and small yellow potatoes.

Needless to say...they didn't last long. I roasted them in olive oil and garlic. Mmmmmm.

Seattle Tomato Saga

2009-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Seattle is not known for tomatoes.

Our summers are mild and wet with little or no humidity. When planning the tomato section of the garden, smaller tomato varieties were chosen, but a few bigger varities were thrown in to see how well they would actually grow. To refresh your memory, here are the seedlings:

This is only part of the successful seedlings. Several were given away.

And then came the Wall-O-Water, or Aqua Shields. Their purpose was to insulate the plant against any cooler weather Seattle might experience AND trick the plant into thinking it was getting more sunlight.

In May and June, the Aqua Shields were great.

By mid June, I thought that I would have a few tomatoes to enjoy. But, I also knew that they still would not taste the same as those I had grown up eating in Indiana. Seattle just did not have the hot temperatures or humidity to produce the rich tomatoes.

But...here is where the story takes an almost Twilght Zone Twist...

This is the front yard area in at the end of June.

(Notice the height of all the plants based on the trellis)

After weeks of abnormally high heat and humidity,

(temperatures in the upper 90's and as high as 104),

the front yard area looks like this:

It was an amazing transformation and hopefully not one to be repeated next summer. Seattle has never known heat like that. As the tomatoes are ripening, I'm wondering...

will it taste more like an Indiana tomato?

Got Carrots?

2009-07-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

Checkin' in with the carrots

2009-07-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Whenever visitors come to the house, I give a tour of the garden sections of the yard. At the end of the "tour", I always pick a carrot and give it to the visitors.

It's really a way for me to check on the growth of the carrots, but let's keep that a secret! :D

Here are the carrots today:

I really think these are the small carrots.

But I'll wait a little longer before harvesting.

The Emerald City

2009-07-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Wow. If Seattle wasn't green enough already...

Tomatoes Take Over the World

Romaine & Green Leaf

Tallest Dill Plant EVER

My Favorite: Basil

Sweet, Sweet Peas

Swiss Chard

Snapshots of How It's Growin'

2009-06-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

Overview

Elijah's Carrots

Cabbage

Salad Lettuce (looks like lunch for tomorrow!)

Green Beans

Peas Appease

2009-06-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well friends, I am not going to be harvesting any broccoli.

No raw broccoli for my three year old (he doesn't understand what happened, but neither does anyone).
No fresh cream of broccoli soup.
No broccoli for my freezer.
The plants are large and healthy, but no stalks are growing. Nada. Nothing. Just leaves, leaves, and more new leaves in the center of every single plant!

I do want to show off my whopper broccoli, though (it almost covers a 4 square foot area). Here is one of nine gigantic leafed plants that's going in the composter tomorrow...

However, the peas are a-coming, and so it makes me forget my broccoli woes (momentarily). Very soon I will be popping fresh sugar snaps in my mouth. Maybe my three year old can be appeased with peas.

Got Turnips?

2009-06-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

Looks like Lisa's got ladybugs, but I have turnips! :)

They aren't huge, but they are big enough to do something with.

The Ladybug Neighborhood

2009-06-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

It has only been recently that I learned my great grandfather was an organic gardener. And honestly, when the big beautiful leaves of salad greens and zuchinni plants start to show signs of buggy diners, it is very tempting to try and find a "mild" pesticide.

Instead, I'm using ladybugs to fight my battle. I'm not sure how many lady bugs were in each container, but there were a TON! The store estimates 500 per container and 4 containers were released.

A friend jokingly told me the perferred method of releasing the bug: "On a windy day, walk three to four houses down and release them." I guess when enlisting lady bugs to combat the pest problem, the whole neighborhood can benefit. Lady bugs like to fly during the day. To keep my lady bugs in MY garden, I needed a few helpful hints:

1. Lightly water your garden area just before dusk.

2. At dusk, release the ladybugs.

The lady bugs wil not fly at night and are more likely to find food and decide that your plants are the perfect neighborhood to move in to and have children. :)

I went and checked the next day...sure enough. The ladybugs have found a new home in my garden!!!

Beautiful Bouquet of Spinach

2009-05-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

My first harvest!

I think it's good enough to eat...

Wall O What?

2009-05-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Wall O Water.

It was almost as if I was speaking another language. I had just mustered up enough courage to approach the West Seattle Nursery Employee but when I asked my question, "Where are your Wall O Waters?", she just blankly stared before wrinkling her nose and asking, "Wall O What?"

"W-a-l-l Ooooo W-a-t-e-r. " I repeated.

"Never heard of them." She replied.

Great. My next door neighbor, who is also my landlord, brought over three b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l tomato plants that made my starts look like Jack next to the Giant. She started these plants from seed. She strongly encouraged buying a product called Wall O Water from the West Seattle Nursery.

Great. I have no idea where to get these. The garden expert thought I was speaking another language when I asked for them. And my land lord will evict me if I don't find Wall O Waters and the Giants die. Not really.

The internet search began. Oh great Google, tell me where and how fast they can get here. Found 'em and for a great price.

I guess they are also known as Aqua Shields. The shields trick the plant into thinking it's getting more sun than it is and it also keeps the air surrounding the tomato plant warmer.

Potage St Germain

2009-05-20T06:36:00.001-07:00

I was looking forward to coming home yesterday because I had a recipe in mind to make. It was Potage St Germain, a French peasant soup:

2 T. butter
3 leeks, chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 head of butter lettuce, chopped
30 oz. frozen peas
1/2 cup mint, minced

Sautee the leeks in butter over low heat until the leeks are wilted. Raise to medium heat and add the broth and water. Bring to a gentle boil. Add lettuce and peas. Cook until peas are tender. Add mint.

Either with a hand immersion blender or a food processer, blend the soup. If you find the soup is too thick, add water. Garnish with fromage blanc (soft white cheese) or sour cream. Serve hot or chilled.

My garden is only yielding radish at the present time. I had to buy all the ingredients except the mint. But as I started preparing this recipe, I realized that in a few months, I would be able to use peas, lettuce, mint and leeks from my own garden. I could make vegetable broth with leftover scraps of vegetables. The only thing I would have to buy is the butter...unless...I got a cow. Right.

The soup was ready to be served. I had even made bread the night before to go with the Potage, but then I heard a sound. I could NOT believe what I was hearing. Standing at the window, I finally had to face reality.

It was hailing.

Hail. It's May. It's Seattle. Thunder roared and lightening illuminated the yard just enough for me to see my vegetables covered in white.

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain

2009-05-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Okay. So my trellis are not mountains, but surprisingly enough my idea worked. The Square Foot Gardening book suggested I use electrical conduit, rebar and trellis netting to construct the trellis I need for peas and beans.

Instead, I bought a package of 5' bamboo. There were 10 - 5' pieces in the package and it cost all of $6.00. Each trellis netting cost $4.00 and the twine? I already had it. I simply overlap the bamboo poles and secured with black electrical tape. I then tied the trellis netting to the poles. (I want to cover the black electrical tape with twine, but haven't done it yet. I think the electrical tape looks a little trashy. But at least I didn't use duct tape!)

After pushing the poles into the ground, I wrapped the pea vines around the bottom row of the treelis netting.

So, I guess I should change the lyrics of my song to: Grow, Grow Up Trellis Netting!

Herbal Addiction

2009-05-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

I love to cook. And if I could only do one thing for the rest of my life, I would cook. I love to explore different foods from different cultures and sometimes that requires fresh herbs for recipes. In Seattle, I'm lucky that I can find an insane variety of fresh herbs. The problem lies in the cost of these fresh herbs. So, begins my herb garden.

Basil. Lavendar. Chives.

Thai Basil. Peppermint. Dill.

Morrocan Mint. Thyme.

Pineapple Mint. Oregano.

Tarragon. Garlic Chives. Parsley.

Chamomile. Savory. Cilantro. Rosemary.

Pea Update

2009-05-15T11:25:00.001-07:00

They are growing! After blogging about the rain washing the seeds right out of the dirt (Please, Please, Peas Please), the peas are growing. I need to make a trellis for them to climb on, and I need to do it very soon.

I'm a little intimidated about using the material in the square foot gardening book (electrical conduit and rebar). This weekend I'll attempt to make trellis out of bamboo poles and trellis netting. Wish me luck! Of course, pictures will follow.

First Harvest

2009-05-15T11:23:00.001-07:00

A radish.

Life is good.

And Don't Forget the Squash!

2009-05-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to eat right out of the garden is summer squash and zucchini! Since most of the squares in both boxes were already taken, I built another box. This one is 2'x 5' and there is plenty of room around the box for the plants to grow in any direction.

The seeds were started indoor and I could hardly wait to take them outside and into the dirt! Half the box is for summer squash and the other half for zucchini.

Oddly enough the dogs have not bothered this box. No digging. No snacking. I can hardly wait to pull the first squash off the vine!

All My Children..uh...Tomatoes

2009-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Drama. Drama. Drama. What was I thinking? Trying to grow tomatoes outside Indiana. Seattle does not have the heat or humidity for a tomato to develop into that rich, almost sweet tasting fruit I grew up with. But none the less, I am attempting to grow tomatoes. Here is my story:

Knowing that I probably wouldn't have much success at a big red variety of tomato, I chose smaller plants that yield smaller fruit: yellow pear and red roma. I started the seeds indoor in the Jiffy soil pods and slowly watched the seeds sprout into tiny starts.

Thinking the middle of April would be the start of warmer weather, I planted them in the frontyard square foot box that gets more sunlight. And, to my surprise, my neighbor decided to cut down their very tall pine tree. This was great! Now my little starts would have the potential of getting even more sun. Maybe, I would have decent tomatoes after all.

(play villianous music - ha ha ha)

The temperature dropped and my healthy little starts soon started looking not so healthy. They are still alive, but I don't think they have grown in height in the past few weeks. I'm still waiting to see if they survive, let alone bear fruit. Just in case, more seeds have been started indoors.

Bad Bird!

2009-05-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a bird with a twisted sense of humor.

Every morning when I go out to my garden, I find one more turnip that has been uprooted and dropped in some random square. I wasn't too terribly upset about it until this morning when I found the casualties-- a turnip and two of my cantaloupe plants.

Someone told me that the bird is just looking for something to make a nest with and once it pulls the veggie, it decides that it doesn't want it.

Well, I like birds, but not enough to let this carry on. I have a plan.

I am going to hang pie-pan noise makers all around, and I am going to make some homemade pest spray (I was told that birds DO not like this...and neither do beetles...or slugs).

Pest Spray

Ingredients:
one small onion, chopped
one garlic bulb, chopped
one teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
one quart water
one tablespoon liquid dish soap

Blend onion and garlic together, add cayenne pepper and water. Stir gently and let stand for one hour. Strain the mixture, add liquid dish soap, and mix. Use the spray on both sides of the plant leaves. Leftover spray can be refrigerated.

Terrible Tale of Trimming the Tomato Plants

2009-05-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

They now look like trees. Terrible trees.

Mel made me do it.

Seriously, this is what the book says to do to your vine climbing tomato plants. I really hope it's for the best because it sure does make for ugly tomato plants.

Planting- Round 2

2009-05-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Once my spinach, turnips, and other early crops are ready for eating, I am going to be planting again for a fall harvest! I sat down today to make up a planting plan (#2). I don’t know exactly what will go where, but I did jot down the days I need to be doing something.

[end of May]
Harvest turnips and plant BEANS! I am going to plant fun beans this time around: Calypso, Jacob’s Cattle, and Tiger’s Eye. These will have to be shelled, but that’s why I have children. I have 9 turnip squares, so I’m going to plant three squares/24 bushes of each kind of bean.

[June 1st]
Broccoli- start indoors (8 plants)
Cabbage- start indoors (6 plants)

[mid-June]
Harvest sugar snap peas and plant the following trellis climbers:
~Purple Pod Pole Beans (24 plants in 3 squares)
~More Cucumbers! (2 plants in 1 square)
~Zucchini (2 plants in 2 squares/this will take the entire trellis)

[mid-July]
Harvest carrots (which are coming up!) and replant with CARROTS!

[August 1st]
~Plant Broccoli and Cabbage transplants.
~Plant Kohlrabi (6 in 1 square)
~Plant Spinach (9 in 1 square)
~Plant Turnips (9 in 1 square)
I don’t know how many squares of each, but I need LOTS more spinach. My spinach has been plucked by children, eaten by animals, and some seeds just didn’t come up.

[August 8th]
Plant more spinach!

[August 15th]
Plant lettuce.

[August 22nd]
Plant more lettuce.

[August 29th]
Plant last batch of lettuce. I realize these plants may not get full-sized in time (before the first Indiana snow of the year). That’s okay. I will still eat them!

Growing Green!

2009-05-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some updated pictures of my garden. Please comment on this post if you think Lisa needs to add some updated pictures of her garden.

Onions

Cabbage

Spinach

Peas

Lemon Verbena

Turnips

Cucumbers (transplants that I started inside about 2 weeks before taking outside)

Indiana Zone Charts

2009-05-04T09:49:00.001-07:00

If you live in Indiana, you may want to print some of this information. The spring and fall planting charts were so helpful!

If you live close to me, we are Area C for spring and Area F for fall. Look at all the wondeful things that can be replanted in June-July for an August-October harvest!

Heirloom Seeds

2009-05-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last night Lisa showed me an online store with a wonderful selection of heirloom seeds-- Seed Savers Exchange.

Heirloom seeds are the best kind to buy because you can harvest the seed at the end of the season and use it again the next year; most of the seeds have fantastic little bit and piece stories to go along with them, too.

I ordered some seeds for a fall planting including Copenhagen Cabbage, Calabrese Broccoli, and Forellensch Lettuce. I also ordered some Purple Pod Pole Beans; I am not sure if I will get to plant these or not...it depends on how much free trellis space I have by mid-July.

I also ordered these treasures for next year: Long Island Cheese Squash (a bright orange yummy kind of pumpkin I use for pies/bars/bread/cookies!), Boule d'Or Melon (says it's an absolute delight, hard to find, and will keep for several weeks!), Calypso Beans (beautiful!) as well as Tiger's Eye beans (wonderfully rich flavor and smooth texture- I'm sold!).

I have no clue how to harvest the seeds, but you can bet I am adding it to my learn-to list!

Orange Things

2009-05-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

We planted all things orange (carrots and pumpkins) on May 1st.

Our square foot style pumpkin patch works like this:

There are four squares next to the trellis. Pumpkins need one plant per 2 square feet. Simon planted three small sugar pumpkin seeds on one end; Elijah planted three on the other. The two middle squares are housing cabbage (they won't take up any trellis room). Once the seeds sprout, we will only allow the best looking plant on each side to live on (and up the trellis they will go!).

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

2009-04-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

Isn't he sweet with his cup of worms?

Funny Moment

2009-04-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-04-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-04T09:42:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

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? :)

A Turnip Tale

2009-03-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

I pretend to be organized.

I have all my boxes (6 are mine and 2 for my boys) graphed out ever so nicely on grids. I don't think I could have 8 boxes without a plan. But my skills only take me so far. I have my plan; I lost my turnip seeds! They could've been planted last weekend with the peas, but I didn't know where they were hiding. Insert operation clean kitchen...lost seeds found!

It rained last night making the soil nice and moist on this not-so-chilly-day, so it was perfect for planting. I headed outside with a pencil, my popsicle sticks, my gardening book. I checked my chart and got to work. I planted six squares of turnips (four holes per square).

A few hours later I was booming about square foot gardening to a friend, and I read something from the book to her. I realized that I could've planted more turnips per square. Many more per square. After a serious serach for my seeds (yes, I lost them again!) back outside I went. This time in the rain. I planted nine per square. I'm going to have a lot of turnip trimming to do. And if you do the math, I'm going to have more than a few turnips. I thought I was going to plant 24. I planted 54. Anyone want some turnips?

Some of you are wondering about what book (the magical book) we are using. It's All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Happy Gardening!

Sugar Snap Peas, Please!

2009-03-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

After finishing our boxes today, I got my peas in the ground.

You just jab a pencil in your ever-so-easy-to-work-with-dirt to make the spaces for planting.

I planted nine per square foot. The book said eight, so I will keep the eight strongest plants (assuming that all nine come up). I did not follow directions exactly. I'm bad about that. I planted eight squares of peas. I'm hoping for 64 pea plants. We are going to add the trellis' to the boxes next week.

Each pea tumbled right down a hole just like Alice after that rabbit. Speaking of rabbits, I'm a wee bit nervous about how I'm going to keep them out of my garden (we have more than a few living around here). I guess I need to wait and see if I actually grow anything before I get excited about rabbits.

I really want to grow my own organic sugar snap peas. I keep having that Miracle Max conversation with myself in my head...

I say - do you think it'll work?
And I answer- it would take a miracle!

My Turn!

2009-03-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

This story has two different settings. Lisa gets the Seattle Squares. I'm in the Hoosier Heartland. I already know who has the better setting. No need to rub it in.

This story also has two different characters.

You've already met Lisa.

I'm Ami. I'm the younger sister. Not quite as smart. Not quite as organized. And I had quite a hard time finding what I needed to get started.

Well, I guess that's only a half-truth. The peat moss was no problem.

However, I called over THIRTY places here in Central Indiana to find the Vermiculite. If you need some, try G & M Pet & Garden Center in Muncie. Call ahead to make sure they have it.

I called just as many places to locate different kinds of compost. Here is what I ended up getting from Lowes and Wal-mart (only four kinds...please don't tell Mel...he's very strict about this):

We started mixing our mix last Thursday night. Our tarp was too small (buy a VERY large tarp if you plan to mix it on a tarp), and it took us hours to get two batches done.

Before

After

So, we waited until a very-windy-today to mix up the other four batches. Let's just say that I fought the tarp (a new, improved, very large tarp that turned into a kite), and the tarp won. Good thing I have Jason.

Here are some of our beautiful boxes (with weed cloth flapping in the breeze).

Seattle Squares

2009-03-28T10:20:00.001-07:00

After opening the book with the same doubt we always have had, hope sprung to life instead of being sad. Maybe this time we would be able to grow veggies everyone could eat. With one of us in Indiana and the other in Seattle, conventional row gardening has always ended in defeat.
Running to Home Depot, I bought 2x6' s, deck screws and strips of 1" wood lath. Making 4'x4' planting boxes was so easy, I didn't mind the math. After a couple of hours and just a little sweat, I emerged from my basement with two boxes compete. I searced my yard for an empty 32 square feet.

Front Yard Box:
I found a small spot in the front yard that gets up to 8 hours of direct sun. The plan is to plant green beans, cranberry beans, brussell sprouts, roma tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, swiss chard, potatoes, beets, carrots and radishes. All of those plants require more sun than what is being planted in the other box in the back yard. Also, tomatoes do not grow very well in Seattle. We do not have the hot, humid weather. That's why I settled for smaller tomatoes instead of the bigger varieties.

Back Yard Box:
The back yard has several raised beds already, but I wanted to stick with the square foot gardening method for veggies. I found a spot that gets sun, but some of it is indirect due to an apricot tree. I plan to plant peas, cucumbers, cabbage, leeks, spinach, romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, bok choy and carrots in this box. If you notice, just to the right of the box is a rosemary bush that has grown tall. When I first moved in, it was bent over and laying on the ground, I propped it it and tied it to a stake. It smells sooooooooooo good! And I love cooking with rosemary.