Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The garden this week

I had a request from a real life friend to do a garden update.  I love talking about the garden but I’m sure that some find pictures of plants boring.  I think they are beautiful but …to each his own.  ;0)  I do have a pest problem which I will talk about at the end because I’m not sure what it is.  So here is the garden this week:

DSCN2949 Please excuse the weeds!  I’m working on it a little at a time.  I don’t particularly care for weeding and I always let it go on for too long.  We are also hoping to go out to the house of a couple from church to get some pine straw for mulch…soon, I hope!

Everything is growing like weeds in the garden…even the weeds!

  • Row 1 ~ Red potatoes
  • Row 2 ~ Red potatoes
  • Row 3 ~ Yukon Gold potatoes
  • Row 4 ~ Broccoli
  • Row 5 ~ Green cabbage
  • Row 6 ~ Purple Cabbage
  • Row 7 ~ Rainbow chard and yellow squash

DSCN2950In the front half of the bed, I planted strawberries.  I’m not sure if they will make it or not.  The large part in the middle holds raspberries and blackberries.  I’m not sure what I will put on the other half of the bed.  I plan on planting flowers too because I want my girls to be able to pick flowers often.

DSCN2904  I try to garden organically so I use flowers to help protect my vegetables.  We usually have marigolds around the tomatoes.  Here we have nasturtium that is planted close to where I will put the cucumbers.

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I plan on harvesting some lettuce and maybe some baby spinach leaves today for my lunch.  My first harvest of the season!

DSCN2876We planted two blueberry bushes.  Right now, they look like twigs sticking out of the ground.  So I had to make these cages to protect the plants from little feet.  I’ve not seen any green on these yet but we’re hoping for a few blueberries this year.  Fresh blueberries from a bush are YUM-O!

The back half of the garden is just now starting to sprout.  Here are a few of the little baby plants:

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corn and zucchini squash

Not pictured:  crowder peas, purple hull peas, green beans and wildflowers

DSCN2900The grapes are growing and wanting to trellis but the trellis is not built yet!  I guess I’ll have to let them trellis the fence.  I may not have a choice right now!

 DSCN2952 Every spring, we find bird egg shells in our garden.  I found this one yesterday and added it to our nature table.

Now for my problem:

DSCN2954I am finding these holes in the back half of my garden.  The first ones that I found were on top of a row but now they are on the sides of the rows.   My boys said that it may be armadillos.  A friend said maybe moles.  I’m not sure.  Any ideas?  I’ve not seen any plants affected yet and I’m hoping that I don’t.  I have to fight the birds and squirrels every year for my sunflowers.  (The stinkers all ready got into my seed starts!)  I’m really hoping that it’s not something that I’m going to have to battle all summer. 

DSCN2912And before I forget, here is what I’m going to use for my new gardening journal.  I’m hoping to get some colored pencils to make my drawings and I plan on pressing some of my flowers in it too. 

DSCN2913I love gardening!  So how’s your garden this week?

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