Clockwise starting from about 10/11 o'clock: peppers, butternut squash, bush beans, greens, chard, calendulas (flowering plant for the yard), more peppers, tatume squash, pumpkins and more butternut squash
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Seedlings!
Clearly the atrium works well as a greenhouse since we have happy and fast-growing seedlings!
Clockwise starting from about 10/11 o'clock: peppers, butternut squash, bush beans, greens, chard, calendulas (flowering plant for the yard), more peppers, tatume squash, pumpkins and more butternut squash
Clockwise starting from about 10/11 o'clock: peppers, butternut squash, bush beans, greens, chard, calendulas (flowering plant for the yard), more peppers, tatume squash, pumpkins and more butternut squash
Friday, April 16, 2010
Annual Birthday Gardening
Last year I decided help would be nice to tackle a larger garden project so for my birthday I enlisted my parents and a friend who was visiting from out of town to help us create a nice raised bed for vegetable planting and rest a path. That worked out so nicely for us that I decide it would be a great birthday present again this year. There was one area of the path in the garden that always had problems draining and became a swamp every time it rained or I watered plants in the plots above the path. At the other end of the main path was section of path that was poorly paved, so we decided to fix both areas. Lastly there was a brick edging that had sunk into the bed and was no longer acting as much of an edge anymore so that had to be replaced as well. Here are the before photos:
With help from dad and DIY Network we put together a plan for solving our issues. Pea-sized gravel is key to helping with drainage issues by allowing space for water to flow and be slowly absorbed into the surrounding soil. Sand on top of the gravel then creates an even and sturdy base of the pavers and also facilitates drainage. I pulled up all the old pavers and cleaned them up since they had been sitting in the swamp for a while. Because the yard is on a hill the areas above us drain directly into our yard. This particular part of the yard could almost be a working well so after I pulled up the pavers I had to find a resourceful way to drain off some of the extra water before we started digging up the soil.
I got to work on the sinking brick edging while my wonderful brother did most of the digging so we could create about a 1-foot deep trench and fill it with gravel to help the water drain. Sand on top of the gravel and then with some careful placement we had a new path! While we were working we learned from the landlord that they were planning on adding some supports to the deck so one edge of the path isn't finished, but we moved some of the cinder blocks we use as path edgers and planters to line the edge of the path and then some pieces of broken pavers and gravel to fill in the edges where we couldn't fit whole pavers. Once the deck supports are in we'll finish the other edge of the path with some more pavers and stones to edge the path and planter bed to protect the plants from the hose as we drag it around the yard.
For the other end of the path we used a random combination of pieces of broken pavers I found throughout the yard to create a more complete path and then used gravel to fill in the spaces between the pavers.
Another garden infrastructure project done, thanks to my family who will apparently move lots of heavy things and help with very muddy projects for my birthday! Wonder what I'll rope them into doing next year...
With help from dad and DIY Network we put together a plan for solving our issues. Pea-sized gravel is key to helping with drainage issues by allowing space for water to flow and be slowly absorbed into the surrounding soil. Sand on top of the gravel then creates an even and sturdy base of the pavers and also facilitates drainage. I pulled up all the old pavers and cleaned them up since they had been sitting in the swamp for a while. Because the yard is on a hill the areas above us drain directly into our yard. This particular part of the yard could almost be a working well so after I pulled up the pavers I had to find a resourceful way to drain off some of the extra water before we started digging up the soil.
I got to work on the sinking brick edging while my wonderful brother did most of the digging so we could create about a 1-foot deep trench and fill it with gravel to help the water drain. Sand on top of the gravel and then with some careful placement we had a new path! While we were working we learned from the landlord that they were planning on adding some supports to the deck so one edge of the path isn't finished, but we moved some of the cinder blocks we use as path edgers and planters to line the edge of the path and then some pieces of broken pavers and gravel to fill in the edges where we couldn't fit whole pavers. Once the deck supports are in we'll finish the other edge of the path with some more pavers and stones to edge the path and planter bed to protect the plants from the hose as we drag it around the yard.
For the other end of the path we used a random combination of pieces of broken pavers I found throughout the yard to create a more complete path and then used gravel to fill in the spaces between the pavers.
Another garden infrastructure project done, thanks to my family who will apparently move lots of heavy things and help with very muddy projects for my birthday! Wonder what I'll rope them into doing next year...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
2010 Tomatoes!!
One of the many perks of working from home full-time is that I have the luxury to go play in the yard on the days when I also have the luxury to take a lunch break. Earlier this week we purchased four tomato seedlings form BHN and I received another seedling as an early birthday present from my parents. After checking the weather forecast to make sure we were clear of freezing night I decided today would be a great day to plant them all. The four varieties we’ve chosen for this year are:
Sweet Million F1: exceptionally sweet taste, prolific yielder sets clusters of 20-30 deep red 1" fruit, easy to grow, large indeterminate vines need support, maturity: 70 days
Amish Gold: cross between Amish Paste and Sungold, thumb-sized golden fruit, very sweet and productive, indeterminate vines, maturity: 80 days
Kiwi: medium-sized, delicious green-when-ripe tomato, maturity: 75 days, my parents purchased this rare variety at the SF Flower and Garden Show last month
Sungold Cherry: heavy yielding English hybrid, clusters of golden cherry tomatoes, large vines, maturity: 50 days. We were so happy with this variety last year we decided to plant two plants!
Tip for keeping track of which plant is where: punch a hole in the marker that comes with the seedling and using a twist-tie secure it to the cage next to the plant. You can also put the marker in the ground, but I have a tendency to knock them around during weeding and harvesting.
All five plants went into the cages we put in last year, even though they are still occupied by my voracious Mammoth Melting peas that are now more than 7’ tall and continue to put on flowers and fruit. Since I planted the peas along the outside ring of the cages I can sneak in and plant the tomatoes in the centers of the cages to provide proper support for all their branches. The peas will help shelter the seedlings and once the peas are done for the season I can simply pull them out leaving plenty of room for the tomatoes. Both last year’s tomatoes and the peas have done so well in our yard that they grew 3-4’ taller than the existing cages. Once the peas are done I will also need to add some additional cage to the top of the existing cages to provide better support for all the tall things we’re planting year-round in this part of the yard.
Sweet Million F1: exceptionally sweet taste, prolific yielder sets clusters of 20-30 deep red 1" fruit, easy to grow, large indeterminate vines need support, maturity: 70 days
Amish Gold: cross between Amish Paste and Sungold, thumb-sized golden fruit, very sweet and productive, indeterminate vines, maturity: 80 days
Kiwi: medium-sized, delicious green-when-ripe tomato, maturity: 75 days, my parents purchased this rare variety at the SF Flower and Garden Show last month
Sungold Cherry: heavy yielding English hybrid, clusters of golden cherry tomatoes, large vines, maturity: 50 days. We were so happy with this variety last year we decided to plant two plants!
Tip for keeping track of which plant is where: punch a hole in the marker that comes with the seedling and using a twist-tie secure it to the cage next to the plant. You can also put the marker in the ground, but I have a tendency to knock them around during weeding and harvesting.
All five plants went into the cages we put in last year, even though they are still occupied by my voracious Mammoth Melting peas that are now more than 7’ tall and continue to put on flowers and fruit. Since I planted the peas along the outside ring of the cages I can sneak in and plant the tomatoes in the centers of the cages to provide proper support for all their branches. The peas will help shelter the seedlings and once the peas are done for the season I can simply pull them out leaving plenty of room for the tomatoes. Both last year’s tomatoes and the peas have done so well in our yard that they grew 3-4’ taller than the existing cages. Once the peas are done I will also need to add some additional cage to the top of the existing cages to provide better support for all the tall things we’re planting year-round in this part of the yard.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
More seeds
I was so excited to see my butternut squash and pepper seeds do so well that I decided to start some more seeds for this spring/summer. My dad also had some seeds he purchased and since the atrium is functioning like a greenhouse we decided we start all our seeds at our house. Here is the list of additional seeds I started today:
Gourmet Bush Bean Blend (Heirloom): includes Royalty Purple Pod, Golden Wax and Dragon Tongue, 60 days to maturity, pick before sides bulge, Irish Eyes Garden Seeds
Chocolate Beauty Pepper: dark, shiny green fruits ripen to a rich chocolate brown, sweet flavor, maturity: 70-75 days from transplant; Seed Savers Exchange seed
Italian Marconi Golden Sweet Pepper (Heirloom): traditional Italian sweet pepper, turns green to yellow (both very tasty), maturity: 90days; Botanical Interests seeds
Small Sugar Pumpkin: preferred baking pumpkin, sweet flesh, stores well, 6-8” diameter fruit, maturity: 100 days; Olds Seeds
Rhubarb Chard (organic): abundant producer, dark green leaves with brilliant red venation, easy to grow, maturity: 50-60 days; Seeds of Change seeds
Tatume Summer Squash (Heirloom from Mexico): tough drought tolerant vines bear multiple baseball sized fruit, long vigorous vines can be clipped back, plant will send out shorter shoots and keep bearing, resistant to squash vine borer and mildew; Nichols Garden Nursery seeds
Gourmet Bush Bean Blend (Heirloom): includes Royalty Purple Pod, Golden Wax and Dragon Tongue, 60 days to maturity, pick before sides bulge, Irish Eyes Garden Seeds
Chocolate Beauty Pepper: dark, shiny green fruits ripen to a rich chocolate brown, sweet flavor, maturity: 70-75 days from transplant; Seed Savers Exchange seed
Italian Marconi Golden Sweet Pepper (Heirloom): traditional Italian sweet pepper, turns green to yellow (both very tasty), maturity: 90days; Botanical Interests seeds
Small Sugar Pumpkin: preferred baking pumpkin, sweet flesh, stores well, 6-8” diameter fruit, maturity: 100 days; Olds Seeds
Rhubarb Chard (organic): abundant producer, dark green leaves with brilliant red venation, easy to grow, maturity: 50-60 days; Seeds of Change seeds
Tatume Summer Squash (Heirloom from Mexico): tough drought tolerant vines bear multiple baseball sized fruit, long vigorous vines can be clipped back, plant will send out shorter shoots and keep bearing, resistant to squash vine borer and mildew; Nichols Garden Nursery seeds
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