Inspiration

At the kids new school, we have community work days where some of the teachers and parents get together to work on whatever needs doing.  It seems that these days are inspiring us to finish projects at home as well!  Yesterday we worked all morning at both school sites, and got back here with energy to spare.  I cleaned up the tomato beds and finished a little planting that had been abandoned.  The garden is now somewhat ready for the onions, kale, lettuce, and whatever else I can get in before it is REALLY too late to plant.  Honey came back from the workday and completly cleaned up the utility and tool room.  Then, he put Peanut's name on her bed in wooden letters that I painted like two years ago with the intention of putting them on her door.  We felt like we had a super accomplished weekend and it was only Saturday! 

Honey went to the first work day last month, and build a bird feeder garden there that I just loved.  Of course, I wanted to build one here, and so a couple of weeks ago, we all set out to gather the supplies and build our own.  The kids worked along with us, and got so black with dirt and mulch that we had to dip them in the tub and then drain and refill it before actually giving them baths.  The garden turned out great, and we have lots of birds coming to visit.  I think we have mostly thwarted the squirrels as well since we used only seeds they don't like or feeders that shut down wne they pounce!  It's hard to see, but there is a tiny Japanese maple in the garden as well as a few herbs that needed dividing from our herb garden. 

I wonder what next months work day will inspire us to do?

Noah

The rain last week was unreal - flash flooding, nonstop pouring rain for several days, roads closed, cars underwater.  I kept singing songs from camp in my head - "It rained and poured for forty days-y days-y, drove those counselors_ nearly crazy crazy....."  Well, it is drying out now and we have had no ill effects here, so we are very lucky.  I went out today to get on the garden clean up, and decided to pull some of the seed heads off the marigold to save for next year.  I've never seen anything like this - the seed heads got so much rain that the seeds in them started to sprout!  Beware of what may grow in the next few weeks!

Bounty

What happens when zucchini hide...

Our first melon of the season. We've been waiting and hoping to get to it before the squirrels...

It was really good too!

Black eye peas - labor intensive but easy to grow.

My solution to the squirrels that are eating all of our tomatoes before I can pick them.  I'd prefer vine ripened but I will take whatever I can get right now.

Neat and tidy

The weeds had been taking over the yard for a while, and we were trying to keep it under control, but it was a seriously losing battle.  We finally decided to hire landscapers to cut and mulch new and old garden beds to make our yard more cohesive and yes, give us far less grass for Honey to mow. 

The kids got to watch the big machines (Pumpkin really loves these big trucks, big dirt, big mulch, and the big guys) all day.  I loved that Pumpkin wore butterfly wings as her shouted about the big truck and Peanut made mulch with paper scraps that she cut up and strew all over the house. 

So now I am chomping at the bit to expand my perriennial borders and add some more fruit trees :)  Had it not been so freaking hot today, I suspect I would have come home fromt he garden center with a truckful of new plants!  I'm so excited to fill all this new space and so pleased with how neat and professional it looks!  I kind of can't believe it is my yard!

Broccoli continued...

I have to follow up on the broccoli...
So we ate that wonderful broccoli for dinner on Wednesday - it was delish - and as we ate, we talked about how broccoli must be harvested before it blooms.  Peanut was curious about it so we continued the conversation about how we eat the buds before they become flowers.  Suddenly, she jumped up from the table and said she was tired and ran into her room.  Honey followed to help get her ready for bed, and I heard her crying and crying.  He came back and said she only wanted to talk to me, so I went into her room and sat with her.  I asked her why she was so sad all of a sudden, and she said "I don't want to eat that broccoli!" oh so tearfully.  So I said, that she didn't have to, but it looked like she had enjoyed it and I wondered aloud what happened to make her so sad and upset about eating the broccoli.  "I don't want flowers to bloom in my stomach and make holes!"  she wails.  Well.  It was all I could do to keep a straight, concerned face, as I comforted her.  Oh the terrors of being almost four!

We pulled out her "body book" (I got it at a yard sale for free!  It has layers of the different body systems and she loves it!) and looked at the digestive system.  I told her about how her stomach churns and squishes food to get the nutrients out and send them off to the other parts that need them.  I said that once food gets into your stomach, it stops growing and starts feeding you.  She began to giggle about plants growing in her belly and all was right with the world. 

Broccoli!

Here's the first one!  Woohoo! 

And there are several more heads growing - my first successful broccoli!

Victorious!

My strategy has worked. I have tried growing broccoli several times now, and never been successful. The plants I have now are the most advanced version of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower I have ever managed, and by golly I'd like to keep them going! We picked several cabbage worms off the broccoli and cabbages this week, so I began a daily inspection. I started putting the worms in a little bowl on the side of the garden bed to entice the birds to do their part. I just caught a cardinal and his mate having a fabulous mother's day buffet in the brassicas!

Found It!

We have an owl we have seen a few times sitting on our back fence. We spied him a while ago - you can see and read about him here. I've been hoping he lives close by so he can take care of any would-be garden predators. The other day, the kids and I went looking for his lair. We went tree by tree around the yard, all of us craning our necks to see to the top. Really, I did not expect to find anything, but there it was! Or at least I think it was! So cool!

Owl!

We have a new friend in our yard, and I hope he (or she) does her job well! An owl came to see us one morning last week and was swooping down from our fence to eat some small critter that would otherwise ravage my garden I'm sure. we were all spellbound watching her until she moved on to another yard. I sure hope she stays close!

Big Dirt

When you build raised garden beds, you have to fill them with something. Dirt, actually. And while we have plenty of dirt, digging it up from other spots in the yard to fill the beds would create some serious valleys. We decided a full truckload would be plenty to fill up those beds...and it probably is, but boy is it a lot of dirt. I arrived home after running an errand on Saturday morning just having missed the dirt truck. The kids and Honey were still in the living room staring at the humongous pile on our driveway. When I walked in, Pumpkin said "Big Dirt! Truck! Outside!" and was super enthusiastic about the whole thing. Honey said the kids were enraptured by the dump truck - it had become *the* activity for the morning.

Well, we knew there was rain in the forecast, so we got right to it. I finished screwing the sides of the raised beds together while Honey started shoveling and hauling dirt to the garden. Four hours later, he had made a good dent, but we still had 2/3 of the pile left on the driveway.

The kids "planted" their own garden in one of the beds, using everything they could find. They are growing paintbrushes, boxes, and ADT sign, and garden tools.

Peanut had a grand time climbing the "mountain" while daddy shoveled, and Pumpkin loved using the socket wrench (and trying to say "ocket ench").

We went out to dinner, and when we arrived back home a kind neighbor had put a tarp over the pile for us so it wouldn't become a mud slide when the rain began. Have I mentioned that I really like my neighbors? it was early, and I had apple pie for dessert, so I went out there for another hour or so in the dark and hauled some dirt, again making some progress.

This morning, Honey was at it again - a few more hours of shoveling and another big dent in the pile.

Pumpkin watched from the window, saying "Dada work hard!". Yup, he sure is.

All of the garden beds are full, and the blocks to build the rest won't be here until Tuesday, so all this dirt is just getting piled up behind the garden now. I think we will have enough to fill all of the beds and start adding dirt around the fence line so we can plant all kinds of smelly herbs to help deter the deer.

There is still a big pile of dirt in the driveway - there's only enough room for one car right now. We had hoped to get it all in the backyard this weekend, but once it started raining in earnest, the pile had to be covered back up. This week we should see some sunshine and hopefully that pile will dry out a little so we can finish up this project and I can get to planting!

The seedling massacre

Part of gardening that just pains me is thinning seedlings. I know it must be done, but I really have a hard time with it. Last year, I ended up with about a trillion tomato plants because I just couldn't get rid of all the extra seedlings that came up both in my seed starting flats and volunteered in the garden. I re potted them all and tried to give away as many as I could. This year, I decided that less is more, and a sacrifice of a few small seedlings really does benefit the garden in the end. Man oh man, is it hard to actually tear those little guys out though! My seedlings are thriving, and in each pot I had two or three really good looking plants. There is only room for one, and so the others had to go. The pile of rejects was just so sad to look at, but I know it was the right thing to do. I'm growing as a gardener. Sigh.

Garden of my dreams!

It is that time of year - the time to plant seeds indoors and get all fired up about the tremendous farm I will plant outside in a few short weeks/months. I got myself a serious set up this year with a grow light and heating mat, and I have already had one inquiry from the neighbors :) about the odd glow. Last year, I had seedlings all over the place, but I didn't have any excellent light or warm spaces to keep them healthy, so they got kind of leggy and droopy. Peanut helped me plant our seeds over the weekend, and we already have sprouts only a few days later. Our brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbages, lettuces, tomatoes, basil, thyme are all coming up fast! Of course that means I need to get on it and build at least one raised bed for the early veggies to go outdoors in a few weeks. I've got work to do!

There's Always Next Year

Anyone who gardens knows that we planters can't control the urge to plan for next year. We'll be planting seeds in the early spring and already thinking about what we will do differently next year - We'll start earlier, have more varieties, only plant that one kind of bean, build a trellis over the winter, move the beds in a better configuration...it's a constant thing.

I've been planning all kinds of neatly organized, weed free garden plantings for next year, while I stare at the sad overgrown patch that I continue to dive into every few days for more produce. I had planned on a few fall crops, and have actually planted some kale and snow peas already, but my fall garden plans are coming to a close. We currently have a huge infestation of squash bugs and these other red/orange bugs that I have yet to identify. I've been beating them back a bit with some vinegar and soapy sprays, but they have a hold on these plants like nobodies business and my yields are getting smaller and smaller.

So today, I took the first step towards next year - I began fall clean up a bit early, and started pulling all the "too far gone" infested plants. It was quite sad, but it had to be done. It looks like our cherry tomatoes are continuing to do fine - the Roma's are a mess. We have a few late peppers, and I pulled up our first parsnips today! So although the cucumbers and melons have bit the dust, we are still getting some vittles. We did have a lot of cantaloupe plants which did really well at the beginning of the summer until the squash bugs got them. Not one melon came out of the garden, but we did get one that self sowed under our composter. We opened it today and it was pretty good - not as sweet as I like, but decent for a volunteer!

We also have a few pumpkins - one came off the vine today, and there are two or three more in the garden. I pulled the last of the beets and turnips, and a few carrots, and I think our string beans are on their last legs too.

So what does next year hold? Well, raised beds will be the answer to my inability to weed large pathways. I'm planning four or five beds with a streamlined veggie selection. There was too much planted this year and it was hard to keep it all maintained and separated as the garden grew. In my ideal vision, the garden beds are around a little patio area with a bistro table or bench, and they are neat and tidy with trellises and stakes that are functional but look reasonable as well. We'll do lettuce and spinach again as we really ate well in the spring this year. I'll plant more string beans since the kids and I love them, and Honey has grown to enjoy them (I think - he eats them, so I'm making an assumption here). I'd like to do cucumbers and tomatoes, and maybe set aside an area of the yard for vining plants like pumpkins, squash, and melons. We had way too many patty pan squash this year - although they have been really mild and surprisingly sweet, and a bit too much in the greens department. As I plan, my small plans become bigger and bigger....I can already see it happening. A terraced area for an English herb garden with a boxwood hedge....

Maybe the following year.

Farm Fresh

Our garden has been pretty productive, considering that I let it get really weedy for a while there. It's hard to get out into the garden every day when a) it is super hot and muggy, b)your kids won't nap, or not at the same time, or if they do you have like 10 minutes of overlap, and c) if you garden with the kids out in the yard, the 3 year old begs for you to push her in the baby swing, while the 1 year old climbs to the top of the playground. So unless another adult is handy or I slip something into their smoothies, gardening is an early am or late pm proposition.

All that being said, we are eating something from the garden every day, and almost at every meal. We've got tomatoes, cucumbers, turnips, patty pan squash, zucchini, string beans, dill, parsley, chard, carrots, beets, and some radicchio.

Our pumpkin and cantaloupe vines are really taking over and we have lots of fruit on both of them. Here's a shot of a pumpkin vine that has escaped the garden. It's turning the corner and I'm sure it will become a border soon enough! I'm hoping the critters don't eat too much of the fruit, but maybe this one gift will dissuade them from working hard to get the stuff inside the fence.

I just planted the second batch of lettuces, so we should have a nice fall crop as well. One of the things I really love about gardening is that I am always thinking about the next season. I already have plans for how I want the new garden beds to lay out and how I want to rotate the crops. I have ideas about better ways to support and trellis plants, amend the soil, and keep critters at bay. I learned that carrots need much more friable soil than I have given them this year, so next year they will go in a raised bed with really nice loose dirt so they will grow down instead of split. I think these look just like a nice pair of pants!

Oh deer...

It's really lovely and interesting to have wildlife all around us. We have our own little ecosystem with birds, bugs, bats, snakes, foxes, groundhogs, squirrels, chipmunks... in addition to the stray cats, and, oh yeah, the deer.

This year, we have started some work on the yard and landscaping since the inside of the house is basically done. We rigged up a deer fence for our veggie garden which seems to be holding so far, but i think the deer have realized that the rest of our yard is completely open for their all you can eat buffet. Thank goodness I've gotten almost all of our plants off freecycle, since within days of planting, the deer have eaten them down to the ground. I'm not sure if it's a word or we made it up, but we call it "nubbed" as in bit it down to the nub, as in "the deer nubbed that hosta last night honey."

So far, our friendly evening and early morning snacker has eaten black eyed Susan's, echinachea, hosta, almost all of my bulbs, sedum, morning glories, tomato plants, impatiens, daylilies, bleeding hearts, apple tree saplings, and several shrubs. Of course, we do see that some weeds are nubbed as well and for that we say thank you.

A few nights ago, as we were getting ready for bed, Honey and I heard a scratching on the outside of our house. We theorized about what it could be. The next morning we found that about a foot of a large shrub had been eaten. The shrub is at the corner of the house by our bedroom and we think the branches scratched the electrical box as it was being mauled.

So what to do. Well, we are currently investigating fence options which would clearly be the best way to deal with this guy. It's pretty expensive though to install a wood fence, and really good deer fencing is expensive as well. Plus it will take a while, and I'd like to stop waking up every day to find another landscape design decision made for me. I don't think scaring him away will work, since we see the deer in broad daylight while the golf course landscapers are using loud machinery. Doesn't seem to phase him. I did half jokingly (well - maybe not half) ask Honey if I could get a shotgun. I'm not a fan of hunting for sport but we do have a big chest freezer and I am a pretty good cook.

Once the back yard is fenced of course there is the decision about the front yard. It seems like the deer leave all herbs well enough alone, so the herb garden might be moved to the front yard next year. We'll see. This year, I'm just glad to see my vegetable garden intact each morning, even though the rest of the yard is becoming one big patch of dirt and mulch.

Backyard Carnival

So sad to see that it is the end of May and I've only posted twice this month! Seriously? Ah well. Such is the life of a mom to toddlers and preschoolers. Here's where I would usually admonish myself for not getting to blogging, but I won't do that. It's on the list, but not at the top and that's OK. I'm getting back on the top of that list, thank you very much.

Nana is here this week, and we are catching up on projects around the house while she gets to enjoy the kiddos. Who would have thought I'd been excited about cleaning? We have been able to finally install our baby gate at the top of the stairs, which should make meal preparation a bit calmer. I can now leave Pumpkin to roam while I cook instead of locking him in his booster seat and hearing him complain and throw food to the dog. Ahhh, the little things. I've also been able to get a haircut and start interviewing for a new mother's helper. We've got some sweet girls coming this week to meet the kids, so hopefully we will find someone fun and trustworthy to play with Peanut and Pumpkin while I get a few hours to myself. We might even be able to go out on some dates! I just can't even really imagine that!

The seeds and plants are all in the garden at last. We have had a few run ins with a bunny who chewed into the fence to get the beets and cucumbers, but so far it looks like it will be a productive summer. We are really enjoying our lettuces and very spice arugula and radishes! Next is the herb garden, some flowers, mulching, and weeding. If Nana was here for the month we might get it all done. One thing at a time.

We did decide to go for the playground, in a huge way. Come the end of June, a carnival will ensue in our yard. Peanut can't wait even though I'm still not sure she understands that it will be here for good. She told me she wanted to have this one, then send it back and get another until she had all the ones in the book. It sounds like a playground library - now that would be fabulous!

Huge Freecycle Score!

Last week, the whole family went to hear a speaker on composting that was hosted our Holistic Moms Network chapter. He was just what I needed to inspire me to get moving again on my composting. We have a "pile" in the yard - just yard debris that we let sit out there and decompose. It will become "black gold" someday, but not for a long time. We used to compost our kitchen scraps when we had a tumbler like this, but we left that at our old neighbor's house when we moved and have yet to pick it up. Actually, I just sent Honey over there now to go get it. From what Mitch, our speaker, said we should fill the tumbler up and then let it do it's thing rather than continue to add stuff to it. To me, this meant we had to start another compost pile or bin. We always have scraps in the kitchen to toss and really half the point of composting is to save the usable scraps from ending up in the trash or the disposal. Also, it is hard enough to train everyone to toss the veggie and fruit leavings in the compost bin under the sink instead of in the trash or disposal - imagine I we are constantly changing that. Oy.

So I'm thinking we will have to get another tumbler, because we don't want critters getting into the compost and we don't have the time/energy/inclination really to build a lacking bin. This means a few hundred bucks that we don't have in our budget. Oh well. I figure we will scour craigslist and something will turn up. Well, what do you know - I saw a post on our local freecycle for a beat up compost tumbler like this one, and said "woohoo!". I replied that I wanted it, arrangements were made, and sweet Honey made two trips with the tremendous thing and it's stand strapped to the roof of our Santa Fe. Free! Yes free! A $500+ composter! We set it up in the yard yesterday and have already added last nights tomato ends, stray spinach leaves, onion nubs and pear and apple cores. Here it is in it's new home...the drum is a little banged up, but it is fully functional and who cares if your composter is pretty or not?

If you haven't joined your local freecycle group yet, you are a ninny. We have gotten so much great stuff for FREE! When we first joined, it wasn't to get things either. I originally joined when I had bought my townhouse and was renovating it. I was hoping to get rid of some things without bringing them to the dump. I was successful in that, and soon realized I could get rid of pretty much anything. I know you have crap in your attic or garage that you don't need or want. I know, I know - there is no tax deduction! I still donate quite a bit, but you can't donate an open container of ice cream that you just don't like the flavor of. I have given away a pan of BBQ when we ordered too much for a party, shelves, cabinets, a floor (!), fabric, sewing patterns, record albums...you name it. Now, I keep a box for stuff to give away by my computer and when it starts to get full I sit down and post on freecycle. I check the site out every day or two to see what others are parting with and sometimes (like the composter) I hit gold! I've gotten lots of things including clothes, (a maternity swimsuit with the tags still on!) a brand new drying rack, hangers, toys, shrubs and plants and have met some really nice people along the way. So join up, and save those old patio chairs from the landfill. Some guy is happy to take them and paint them up for his yard. There is someone who needs a part from your old broken kitchen aid mixer. Someone will use the rest of the body glitter you only used for clubbing that once, and there is a taker for all those pieces of wood leftover from your deck building. Join freecycle! Save stuff from the landfill and make someone else very happy!

Oh Happy Day

I keep thinking that this will be the week that everything slows down and I have a minute to catch my breath. I look at the calendar and think "oh good, when that is done, I'll have so much free time" and then something else pops up. Oh well, I guess that is what life is all about.

My wish for Mother's Day was to sleep in and not do any cooking and get to play outside all day. I did "sleep in" but really, how do you do that when you are a mom? Peanut fell out of her bed last night (first time she has done this and it's been a while in the new bed) and we sprang out of bed - I don't think I have moved so fast in months. She was fine, but then woke several times complaining and of course I start to think about concussions and whatnot... so I slept until about 7am and then I was awake for good, but I forced myself to lounge in bed and let Honey get up with Peanut. She got into bed with me while breakfast was made for all of us and then she got her shoes on, brought me my shoes and the dog's leash. The girl had a plan!

We walked the dog, then started building the sandbox that great grandma (Goose) got for Peanut. I did get to be outdoors for much of the day and it was really beautiful today. Perfect weather for working and playing in the yard. Peanut loved her new sandbox and sat right in it to dig. She helped with some raking (I wished I had my camera outside when she picked up the big rake and tried to rake the pine needles all in her little pink outfit with her pink baseball cap on backwards) and weeding, and kicked her ball around the yard.

As I looked at the backyard, I had this realization of how huge of a project this yard will be! I've always had a plan for any house I have lived in and been able to tackle it in a year or two at most. This yard is going to take a long time to plan and pull together. I think that will be fun though since it will change with our family and our needs. It is hard though to stick to basics and not go nuts planting and building patios and all - there is so much potential. So we have our garden plot and our sandbox. Next we need to start lining out planting beds and mulching, but i think we will do these one at a time.

Honey grilled up some filet mignon (from the farm - we are truly spoiled!) and made a salad. I have never seen a little tiny person eat so much steak. She had probably 1/3 of my cut! We all ate well, she is gone to bed, and now I have a moment to relax. Ahhh, maybe Mother's Day should be once a month...