Garden update

For those of you who haven't heard me rant and rave about Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew, well, just go to his website, get the book at the library and contemplate the possibilities. In a weekend, we got our garden up and running. We planted from seed: beets, radishes, two kinds of lettuce, carrots, onions, beans, sweet peas, cucumbers, squash, and green peppers. Then we transplanted our three tomato plants. We are learning what things we like to grow and where to strategically plant them so they don't take over the sunlight of some poor unsuspecting lettuce plant. Here is what it looked like when things were just starting to sprout in May:

And here is today:

That monster in the middle there is apparently a bush tomato plant of the grape variety. It looked so small and innocent when I bought it at Lowe's. It is taking over and we keep having to support it up and up. Ya, probably not going to get that kind again next year. Or maybe we'll have to make that support system Mel talks about.

Another view. We replanted some more lettuce and sweet peas because we want more of them. And our green peppers are a little slow to grow, that's what the little ones are.

Our carrot box is doing so-so.

Here are just a few pictures of our harvest, though tomatoes, peas, beans, and lettuce are not included because we are constantly harvesting them.

Look closely and you'll see two tiny frogs playing in the lettuce. We love that the frogs like our garden and hopefully they keep the bugs in check.

Favorite Things Friday #7

I had the best tasting, most tender, melt-in-your-mouth nectarine today. I'm pretty sure they are my favorite fruit. Nectarines are said to be a "mutant" peach. They are genetically identical to peaches but nectarines have a recessive gene that makes them fuzz-less.

If I like nectarines so much, then other people must like them too. Why, then, are there not nectarine-flavored things like yogurt or candy or recipes for nectarine pie or crisp? Nectarine-flavored gum, jelly bellies, fruit juice, ice cream, jell-o, or chewy vitamins.

Someday I'd like live in a place where I can grow nectarine trees and pick them perfectly ripe. That would be nice.

Favorite Things Friday #6

So I took a bit of a vacation from FTF. But I'm back and committed to keep postin'. Today's feature: Good friends and bubbles. I'm convinced, it really doesn't get better than this.

Anna, the cutest little girl in golden curls you've ever seen!

Favorite Things Friday #5

Square-Foot Gardening--the simplest way to garden. All I did was follow Mel Bartholomew's book and website and wala! I'm a gardener. I'm convinced the soil mixture is the secret: 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 of a variety of composts.

With a 4 x 4 foot square, we've planted:
onions, 2 varieties of lettuce, 3 varieties of tomatoes, beets, squash, radishes, beans, peas, cucumbers, and peppers! And our carrots have their own box that is a little deeper. We transplanted the tomatoes but everything else we started from seed.

Here are my radishes up close. Check back in a few weeks and I'll have tomatoes.

Favorite Things Friday #4

I have an unhealthy addiction to watching Gilmore Girls. 7 seasons sure takes a long time to watch. I've been checking out DVD's and watching them constantly...I mean constantly for 10 weeks now. These people and their lives have become REAL to me. They are people I know. Call them friends. Only it is pretty one-sided. Not pretty, IS one-sided. I'm gonna need to get my own set of these DVD's because this is going to become a yearly 3 or so month event. Had I an extra $200, I could buy the complete series on ebay. I need, I need...Hummmm, Mother's Day is coming up.

Forgotten...Favorite Things Friday #3

Oops, I'm already behind.


Ode to Tulips

um....Okay, I'm not a poet. But if I were I would write a very nice poem about tulips and why I think they are a wonderful flower. My favorite.

Happy Earth Day

Ever since I learned the word "biodegradable" as a Brownie Girl Scout in the 3rd grade, I have tried to respect this planet Earth. Hug a tree here, pick up litter there. Reuse, reduce, recycle. It seems the trend these days is "Green". Everything and everyone is turning "green". We have a new grade school being built down the street that is "green" with solar panels etc. People roll their eyes, but I say the "greener" the better! Call me naive, but I don't care if it is the trend, as long as people are making an effort I think it is a good thing.