Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Early morning in the garden

The tomato cages are only parked their temporarily.  :)

I'm pleased with the progress of my garden, so far... even if it is not perfect.


For instance... the row on the left side is what happens when one accidentally drops their packet of lettuce seeds while planting the row.

I just took my fingers and "planted" them along that row.  I will do a lot of thinning but nobody is perfect, right?

Below is my herb garden, although I do plant herbs in other parts of the raised bed.  Especially things like basil which need more sun than this areas receives.


That's why I used this section of the garden for my herbs, it is the shadiest and most of them seem to do just fine there.  The warm winter gave them a head start this year.

You can also see this is the only part of the garden which had not received their fresh mulch on the landscape fabric, yet.  Speaking of which... when you build a raised bed you will be very happy if you place landscape fabric at the bottom of the bed before adding soil.

We forgot to add new landscape fabric (the original fabric which had gone over the entire garden had already decomposed) when hubby filled the new raised bed last year.  You wouldn't believe how many more weeds there were!


I planted parsley in another raised bed last year and it didn't come up.  Imagine my surprise this year when I went out to the garden beds for the first time and found... this.

It is on a shady side of one of the long raised beds so it should last for awhile, even when it gets hot.




When I talk about the forest taking back our property... the above is what happens when one does not mulch for two years.

The sad part is, I've already been working on some of these sections.  This year we spent the mulch money (hmmm... is that like milk money?) for the garden aisles where the weeds became very bad last year.

Next year these sections will get fresh mulch... or maybe concrete.  I'll continue weeding but hubby has to cut out those itty bitty tree limbs.

Like I said... the forest wants its' land back.  Kinda' creepy when you think of it.


Now, I leave you with Her Queenliness as she saw me outside.  This is her favorite spot these days, an open screened-in window in Christopher's room.

She has requested the removal of the screen but her humble servant has declined.

5 comments:

becka said...

Your garden looks lovely. Here in South Carolina we have herbs planted in two places--in a sunny garden for early spring and late fall and under the deck for the hot part of the summer. The ones under the deck get morning sun and then shade the rest of the day. It's the only way I can keep parsley during the really hot months.

Vee said...

It is an ongoing endeavor. It gets ugly when it becomes a battle. I was so excited about my neighbor's offer of compost that I took him up on it immediately and strewed it all over the place. Now I have the biggest mess imaginable. Weeds and grass growing like crazy. Live and learn! Thanks for your great tips. All my herbs came back when the first warming happened back in March. When the weather snapped cold again, they were all killed. I see no hope for their return.

Front Porch Grace said...

Oh, I just love your garden, weeds and all. I love plants, all of them. But it can be creepy to think about how the forest wants its land back. And I live in town (all be it, a country town-a small, country town-a dot on the map, country town. LOL)

My dear 16 yo daughter and I attended a class hosted by a local (that's relative) health food store, on the medicinal purposes of garden and yard weeds. So informational and eye-opening. Such as, one stalk of chickweed having more vitamin A than a normal sized carrot and it is excellent for treating poison oak (my 12 yo son just happened to contact it this week and low and behold, chick weed really works well!), or plantain's blood clotting and healing properties.

I feel as you do, being almost overwhelmed at how much there was to be done this year due to the unseasonably mild winter-we live in NC. (Then all of our life tragedies, too. Phew.)

I got tickled at your "echo" post. Life can be overwhelming sometimes, but I thank God that this is living and living full.

I so enjoy your remarks on Victoria's queenliness. LOL

May your gardening go well this week.

In His Grace,
Michelle

Angela said...

I am really impressed! You are so much further north than me, but your garden already looks better than mine. I think about what would happen if all the people were gone. Even my street gets narrower each year as the grass just grows right over the edges of the asphalt. Sometimes I think it's creepy, but sometimes I think it's comforting, too.

TeaGrandma said...

I was reviewing your garden post when I noticed again the recipe link. I have just retired and am going to try the recipes for the home made humus, Jerusalem salad and lentil soup. I am looking for ways to decrease expenses while still eating well. Any additional recipes you have that are tried and true would be greatly appreciated. Now that I have more time I intend to enjoy making more items from scratch. I really enjoy your blog.