Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I'm In The Garden Now

I've never been a gardener but with recalls on veggies, etc., and the doomsday scenarios concerning food, I decided it was time to learn.



Last year I started with this Backyard Garden set. Then later in the summer of 2009, I added a small 4 x 4 garden off to the left side. Today, I think this set is best used for herbs and a couple of tomato plants. The set is too small to produce much but it is a good starter set.

This year I've extended the little side garden to the Backyard Garden set by 8 1/2' x 12.' I'm ready to plant then will add a drip irrigation system. It is fenced with scrap fencing wire and old T-bar posts because Maggie loves to dig and this is too tempting for her to pass up. I even had to fence along side the Backyard set to keep her from jumping into the side garden. I may have to go higher than what is up because I saw a bend in the top of the fence which means she jumped into the Backyard Garden set and then jumped over the fencing into this extended garden and dug a few holes. Not only are deer a concern around here when gardening but it appears Maggie is also a concern. lol She jumps as high as a deer.



These are all the carrots I got from a packet of carrot seeds. I'll try to increase the carrot harvest next fall. Actually, I'm not known for a green thumb; however, I'm trying.

These herbs are in the Backyard Garden set. There is rosemary, lemon balm, lavender, curly and flat leaf parsley, yarrow, and cilantro.



At the moment, we have onions, one or two garlic pods, sage, and strawberries, I hope. Bought a strawberry planter last week with dormant strawberry plants. So far, the plants continue to look dormant, or dead. I have great hopes though that just a little more time is needed before green leaves appear.

Ugh: The Mantis tiller. When you can get the thing started, it works great for small tilling tasks, i.e., like the 8 1/2 x 12 garden extension.


We had to get a serious tiller for this one which is approximately 20' x 40'. The soil has never been tilled so we ordered 6 yards of compost to be delivered this afternoon. In addition we have to fence this thing to keep the cows out. I'll buy the fencing material tomorrow but we'll probably start spreading the compost this evening. We are planting at least 5-7 rows of corn in this garden, but the garden should hold 8 rows. I've negotiated for 1 row and hope to get 2 or 3 for something other than corn, like watermelon and cantaloupe. We also plan to do a drip irrigation system. There is a lot of work ahead but next year will go much easier. We may have so much corn that I'll sell some of it. :D

Until next time, God bless.

BTW, I still have 3 long finger nails; the other 7 have broken and look pretty ugly. Oh well, I keep thinking about the organic veggies we'll have.

7 comments:

DJan said...

I think it's worth a few fingernails to have those veggies! And what a great feeling to look at those mounds of dirt and think about what will come out of there this summer and fall. You are one talented lady, no matter how few carrots come up, Lynn!

Rae said...

good Luck with your garden. It is worth all the work when you have fresh veggies to prepare. I am thinking of having my own little patch this year. I will have to deal with a digging dog too.

Mary-Austin said...

Glad to see your garden this year Lynn and hear about your veggie plans. We're working on ours as well right now.

SquirrelQueen said...

This time of the year the first thing I do is cut my fingernails very short, sigh! You have come a long way with the garden since last year, you should have lots of veggies. I have never had luck growing vegetables but I think I will try again and use a little different approach.

I look forward to seeing your progress and the tasty results.

Donna said...

Looking good! Those little Mantis tillers are a pain in the patooi. We recommend Garden Way tillers highly. They cost more but are sooooo worth it!

Lynn said...

Johnny, I inadvertently clicked on "rejected" instead of "publish." Sorry, I tried to reclaim your comment twice but couldn't do it.

It was a mistake. Hope you will continue to visit and to comment. :D

Annie said...

hew..that does look like you are working hard there Lynn. Good on you!

And thanks for your visit to my sky this morning!