Garden Rewards

Today I was rewarded for my work in the garden - a butterfly came to visit and sat long enough for me to take a quick picture of it.

It's been a strange week.  Last Sunday  I was bringing a bag of soil into my plot when  I stepped in a chipmunk hole.  I tried to steady myself with my right foot, but the 50lb bag of soil had me off balance.  The result is a  grade 2  sprain and a boot for the next few weeks.   Fortunately, I  purchased a garden bench the same day and I've been able to continue to work in the garden this weekend.  

I managed to stop at a local farm to pick up some cucumber, zucchini, and eggplant seedlings.  I got them in the ground and realized I needed to build a trellis.  I  had a 5' x 15' trellis net, lots of PVC pipes and connectors and a general set of thoughts in my notebook.  So, with a little help from my husband, I managed to get the trellis set up.   It's three rows of pipes, the trellis stretches across one rectangle, wraps around a short side and across the other rectangle.  The front rectangle has a pipe with holes drilled in it to run twine through and down to the remaining plants. 

I'm excited that my beets are starting to beet.   I planted the seeds two weeks ago and they are happily sticking their heads up out of the soil to say, "Hi!"

I never grew from seeds before, so it's really exciting to see things pop up like this.  My Parisian carrots are starting to poke up some leaves, the banana peppers aren't up yet, but I'm hopeful.

My pumpkin is really starting to pop up too!  He has a new tower, for now.  I really want to think through how I want the tower to look and how to assemble it properly.   It may end up being more of an A-frame in the end - we'll see.  I'll spend some time online over the next couple of days and figure out what I want to do with what I have.

Last year's chives and garlic survived their move well and are thriving.  I added some walking onions to that corner of the patch.  The sage came back and the thyme seems to be happy as well.  It's looking like it will be time to start harvesting bits of them soon.  I added a couple of the eggplant to that corner as well.  

I know things aren't beautifully spaced right now, but I'm thinking it will be OK overall.  If not then I can move some stuff around.

My larger box has a row of tomato plants and some beans, which need some poles.  I planted corn in the middle of the box and will add snap peas and squash as the season goes on. I'll get some normal carrots in there, possibly next weekend.

The wild mint is out of control and I need to get in there and start weeding it out, adding it to my compost bin. I've also noticed some raspberries trying to creep in around the edges as well.  I'll see if one of my sons can come out and give me a hand with that.

I also have some window boxes that I'm about to set up with lettuce and herbs because those will be on the deck outside the kitchen.  The weather is going to be kind of icky the next couple of days before coming back to that late spring/soon to be summer weather. 

Right now, I'm feeling like I have a garden.  I don't know how, but  I do.  While  I didn't see my friend Buzzy the bee today, having a  butterfly flit and fly and gamble about made me realize that I'm doing something right.

Plants!!!

Pumpkin

It is exciting when your plants begin to grow! 

Two weeks ago I planted pumpkin seeds, beets, and Parisian carrots.  I wasn't sure what would pop up or when.  On Sunday, there was nothing but today - just a few days later - There were little plants popping up.

If my foot weren't in an aircast, I would have been jumping up and down in joy.

Beets and Carrots

But it is in a cast because of my garden.

Sunday morning, I wanted to run some errands before the rain returned.  I knew the rain was going to be a small window before the day grew sunny again, so I ran out to grab a couple more bags of soil, a compost turner, and some items for our 3 sister garden my students are building at school.   When I got to the garden, I  had the 50-pound bag of soil on my right shoulder.  I stepped into the garden and my left foot stepped into a  chuck hole.  I tried to balance myself with my right,  but the soil threw me off balance and my ankle turned under me.  I did a barrel roll through the deer fencing (which was pretty flimsy to start) and came up with the soil still on my shoulder.  I will admit to using what my mother used to call her beautiful words.  I suspect I also used some that she didn't use.

Tomatoes

The afternoon ended in the ER where the staff was delightful as they got me ice, took X-rays and eventually placed my foot in a boot and adjusted a  cane to my height.  So for a few more weeks, I will carefully hobble around my garden. I still have planting to do and more plants to add.  One of my cukes doesn't look so good and I need another zucchini and some summer squash plants.  There's lots of PVC to be cut and assembled and perfected. 

Of course, one of the things I picked up, on an impulse, was a gardening seat.  I thought it would be cute and the price was right.   I'm now glad I picked it up as it will make getting things into the ground a lot easier while my leg is bound in plastic.

I  still have beans to get into the ground along with some herbs.   I'm going to be planting my own  3 Sister Garden in my big box.  Having a kneeler/seat will help greatly.  But right now is a time to be joyful.   The seeds are turning into seedlings, soon the seedlings long after the bruises have faded and the cast is in a closet somewhere,  will be big plants that are producing wonderful things to eat.

That's enough to jump for joy.

Time to get planting

I feel like every photo looks the same; however, things are different.  The 4x6x12 bed needs a little more soil but is in place.  I planted my  San Marzano tomatoes in part of that bed today.  My  8x2's are filling up.  Today I put in some cukes, zucchini, a variety of peppers and Egyptian walking onions.  I've been building with  PVC like a maniac, where I'm close but not quite there yet.

Last week's seeds haven't sprouted yet, but anytime now.

When I finish the 4x6,  I'll plant my  3 sister garden from seed. That will most likely be tomorrow.

At school, the kids are excited to build a 4z4 three sisters garden. On Monday, I'm taking one of my graduating kids to pick up the supplies and on Thursday my class will build the garden.  Our hope is that we will have a harvest in the fall about when we are covering Native Americans into Plymouth Plantation.  Then, we cook it all up into a fall stew over an open fire.  Actually, I'll do that after the kids do the prep work and gather the wood we need.  They learn a  number of things they learn:  food isn't instant, it takes time and patience to grow it.  Cooking over an open fire is hard work.  Not only do they appreciate things more, but they understand more. It invites curiosity and inspires.

It feels good that this is how it starts.  Soon that picture will have a lot more green to it as things sprout and grow and stop looking the same.  Sometimes I have to remember it's only mid-May in  Massachusetts, but it feels good.

Reuse, reduce, recycle?

Today was about setting up my new compost bin.  I have a ton of stuff I've been raking up and cleaning up and I figured it was time to start figuring out how to reuse it.  My community offers them at a steep discount and it was actually pretty easy to set up.  Now I  need to head into the local Agway to get some worms to get that going for realsies.

Of course, having no idea of what I'm doing, so I broke up big chunks of things and stuffed them in, watered it down, pulled a ton more of wild mint and tossed it in and watered it down and mixed things and I guess it's a good start.  Along with the bin, they also had kitchen scrap buckets, so time to start tossing in my coffee grounds and filters which, according to the directions, are good. 

Along with the composter, I also finished up my  4x6x12" box and started to fill it.  This will be where I grow root veggies and maybe a 3 sister garden in the 2x4 part of the box. I'll be adding soil tomorrow and getting my corn in.  I'll add my beans and squash as it grows.

I have carrots and parsnips that need to get planted.  Beyond that, I've got my beans ready to go in, my tomatoes are getting their true leaves and then  I've got my herbs.

Along with getting that done today, I also planted some Parisian carrots.  They're little carrot balls that look interesting.   I also got some radishes in and even some sugar pie pumpkins.

The trellis I sort of marked out last week vexed me.  I  need to figure out how to build a stable trellis and kept seeing an obelisk style trellis for vining plants on Pinterest.  I kept thinking, "I could do that," and after today I can say, yes, yes I can.

I'm still going to need a more traditional trellis, but now I have one for tomatoes and one for my beans.  :)  I have some trellis netting and the next step is to finish clearing out around the  12"  boxes and start getting my deck boxes set up with a kitchen herb garden.  Soon I'll be breaking down my deck greenhouse for the season, I won't need as I can now start planting directly in the ground.

While I was working today, I  saw all sorts of things that made me happy.   There were butterflies, big fuzzy bumblebees, dragonflies, and birds all playing and flitting around. It's that reminder that this little corner of the earth is still viable.  I hope that all gardeners feel that way too.

I'm hoping that I can get some cement blocks from the maintenance guys to plant one more corner of the plot.  I'll toss in a bunch of wildflower seeds to attract more bees and things.  Given the number of things that I think are not garden friendly insects, I may pick up some ladybugs when I go to Agway too.

So my garden continues to grow and, hopefully, so will the things I'm planting. :)

  

Progress

Last year I had to 4x4 beds and a 2x4 box. Then I hit the road for 3 weeks and someone watered for me but, when I came back, the garden was pretty much gone because of critters, heat and the ghost of gardeners past shooting weeds through everything and choking stuff off.

This year has been using plywood and pegboard instead of cardboard, weed block and really trying to get things set up.  It's also been about research... lots and lots of research.

After doing research about what to do with the garlic and chives that survived last year, I moved them into the new bed.  I broke up the garlic by swishing them in a bucket of water to keep the roots intact.  The chives moved easily and then  I discovered my sage and thyme came back too!  So they have their own spot in a corner of the new boxes.   I was at Lowes and they had a couple of 6 packs of marigolds that had been horribly overwatered and were rootbound in the clearance section.  I figured that they worth the buck each and let's see if they could come back if they made it into the ground.

Once my tomatoes are in, I'll pick up some locally grown marigolds and place them among the tomatoes.  I did notice some ants in the old garden space, so I'll pick up some boric acid at CVS  and make some bait traps to keep them from attacking my good bugs.

Yesterday was hours of work:

- pick up 4 50lb bags of soil and haul them to the garden
- fill a bucket with 2-3 gallons of water, haul to the garden plot
- dig up garlic, break it apart... slowly but surely... by swishing in groups in  the water
- dig up chives, swirl in the water
- plant garlic, 9 to a square, marvel at how much garlic there really is
- plant chives
-  plant marigolds
- What... wait, is the sage still going?
- dig up sage, trim off dead  branches
- plant  sage
- what? Thyme? Seriously...  OK then, swish and plant.
-  pull out last years dead plants, throw in growing  composter pile
- lift old frames
- rake, shovel, and level the ground
- drill drainage holes in the last piece of plywood, realize I need a 4x4 piece
- call husband and tell him what I need
- field a call from my husband asking if peg board's OK (yep, then I don't need to drill)
- build two frames for my trellises  - remember to order trellis netting, note I need something  to fasten them to beds
- husband shows up, lay pegboard and weed block
- layout frames to make sure everything's covered!
-  exhausted, filthy and no hammer to finish up, call it quits for the day.

Filthy, exhausted and wondering if I have enough space for all I need to get going...

That's right I'm worried if I have enough space.   Last week  I was wondering how I was going to fill it all and now I'm wondering if I should think about a third box! 

I'm loving what I'm doing.  It is wonderful and lovely and happy and everything I need it to be.  Hooray for this little garden that is "I think I  can mode."