soaker time

Heavy rain moves in tonight until Tuesday. Temperature today 50, chilly and overcast. The night before last temps dipped into the upper 20's. Looking forward to the end of this week- highs predicted in the mid to upper 70's with sun and we can get back out in the garden!

Off track alittle

My husband had to have an emergency appendectomy late Wednesday night. Poor guy! He needs a couple of weeks of tlc to be back up on his feet. My plan is to turn over the soil in the beds while our youngest is taking a nap this weekend. This will be a good opportunity for Orion and I to get our hands dirty together.

Making progress

Last night I did some more reading and this morning I reformulated a list of the veggies/fruits we are growing, what conditions they favor and when I am going to plant what. I also figured out what I am going to plant from seed and what I am going to plant from seedling to make it a little easier on myself this first year. Obviously the list is subject to change. The biggest concern I have is full sunlight. A few of the plants can tolerate part shade but I am anxious they won't grow well under a canopy of tree cover back there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that pulling out the crab apple tree last year will help open it up. I wonder if Mike will think I am crazy if I want to bring the trees guys back to "do a little trimming" on the great big maple we have that I think will pose the greatest sunlight blocking issue.
Here's my list:
Growing from seed:
lettuces
radishes
carrots
peas
swiss chard
spinach
beans
Growing from seedling or plant:
all herbs
peppers
tomatoes
melons
cucumbers
onions
squash
zucchini
Next step is drawing out exactly what will be planted where. The picture is just a sample I pulled off the internet. There are some great examples in the Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Also, our neighbor Ron is hopefully going to roto-till the plots and the mushroom soil will be ordered tomorrow.

lots of showers today

The past few days of warm weather have allowed the firsts of Spring to bloom. Crocuses, daffodils and forsythia trees are scattered around in splashes of purple and yellow. I blame the squirrels for some of the splashes of color I see in odd places. Many times they will dig up the bulbs and bury them somewhere else.
The maple trees in our yard have big buds on them as well as the Dogwood trees.
Today it has been raining and raining hard. Almost everything has gotten a soaking. Mike is waiting until tomorrow to put down the organic fertilizer. I am thinking I may pay a visit to the huge gardens across the road in Bellevue State Park to get some ideas on composting.

Making small headway

The weather has been gorgeous the past three days. Sunny, slight breeze and highs in the low to mid 70's. Mike was able to get to home depot to buy the wood and supplies needed to build the beds. We also found what we hope is the perfect spot in the yard. Sunny for most of the day with just slight shade from the canopy of trees overhead in spots. Instead of having 3 raised beds we decided to scale back and have 2 10 foot by 4 foot beds. This will allow us to have a great small workable garden for this first year and then we can add beds as we continue to experiment next year. The third bed will be turned into a sandbox for Orion and Maeve. This week we have other projects around the house such as painting and cleaning but I hope to get the seeds and seedlings this week and we are ordering mushroom soil. We also are looking into ideas for our compost pile this week.

Spring is in the air

I have had my nose in the gardening books while Mike has been reading up on how to build raised beds. The goal in mind right now is to have 2 12 feet by 4 foot raised beds flanked by some container gardens. We are going to grow tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, peppers, beans, peas, shallots, onions, carrots, swiss chard, lettuces and spinach.
The herbs will be basil, rosemary, chives, cilantro, horseradish, mint, flat parsley, tarragon, and thyme.

I have been outside exploring the backyard looking for the perfect plot. The plot needs to be in a sunny area that drains well. I have been closely watching the sun at every angle each hour of the day. The trees do not have leaves yet, we looked at some pictures last year and expect leaves mid to late April. This will also be important because we don't want to put down the beds in a spot only to find it's shaded by leaves in the Summer.

I am excited for this project for many different reasons. First, after participating in a local CSA program the Fall before last, I became inspired to eat healthier and seasonally. Secondly, a garden is a challenge that requires love and attention. I can't wait to challenge myself to take care of my plot everyday and watch my hard work grow. Third, I recently watched the movie Food Inc. and it spoke to the feelings of mistrust that I have for big chain grocery stores. As a consumer I put so much trust in our local grocery stores to give my family the best, most wholesome, fresh products. It's time for me to take back some control from the local grocery stores and grow my own food. Finally, I am sharing this project with my family especially my 4 year old who is a very picky eater. That is to say he hates vegetables. I am hoping that with some careful focus on the planting process from seed to table he will come to understand the growing process and ultimately want to eat the veggies that he has had a hand in growing.