It's Really Food!

I am so excited about this year: we are really growing food!

Sure, we've had our successes in the past, but this just seems to be a great year where most things are behaving...and now I'm sure I've just jinxed the whole thing, but you what - when you're an accidental gardener, you have to bask in the successes!!

The 'early crops' (peas and lettuce) are finishing up, though still tons of lettuce - need to make more salads! And now the summer stuff is starting to shine!

It started with these precious little cherry tomatoes...

Then I noticed an itty bitty baby serrano pepper!

Soon an itty bitty green bell pepper started...

And then there are the berry bushes! 

 Yup - we are eating delicious raspberries, which, knock on wood, thankfully the birds are leaving alone! And it will not be long before the absolutely exploding blackberries are ripe...

And then the accidental tomato, which has just been marching its way up the tomato cage.

A few weeks ago:                                                      And last week - almost to the top!

 And look what's peeking through the leaves!!!

And then this week...over the top of the cage!

Tomatoes!!!!

In fact the store-bought one I planted maybe 2 weeks after my accidental one is still so sad inspite of my fertilizing both.

Aaaaaaand.......BEEEEEEEEEANS!!!!!



We love beans.


Growing up we had an edible garden for a few years and the green beans never made it to the dinner table: we'd clean them right off the plants. Mmmmm-mm! Nothing like fresh green beans!

So that hasn't changed now that I'm an adult.
Husband seems to get to them first, but thankfully he's a fantastic fellow and so he always {I think...hmmm... :-D} shares with me. We stand there next to the bean plants or stroll around the yard and munch on beans.
Such delightful snacking, I must say.




The peas were done last week - just a few remaining over-ripe ones.

And then it hits me: I should save the peas to plant next year!

So most beginner gardeners would go look up how to do that properly.   Nope - not me!
I just pick the remaining peas and tear down the spent plants to allow more sunlight on the rhododendron and then go look up how to dry peas for planting:

"Leave on the plant until browned - about 4 weeks after normal harvest"

[facepalm]

Welp, guess I'm saving the garden plot ones, not these!


 Overall, the little bed looks absolutely beautiful (a thousand times better after a good weeding!)

The cilantro has gone to seed and I failed to hold back a portion of it (we've been traveling a bit), so I'm sadly without cilantro for a month or two :-(

But otherwise, looking great and crossing our fingers for a fabulous year!

Yay, Cantalouuuu....Oooohhhh Wait...

So there we are, weeding away in the garden plot.

"Oh my - remember how last year we found a rogue cantaloupe plant growing throughout the potato towers? Welp, think I found a little cantaloupe seedling chillin' in the same bed among the beans!"

Partner laughs and agrees we can put it in one of the spots prepared for the melons and see what it becomes!

Awww, look at the little melon go!

Come back two weeks later...

"Sooooooo...you know how we had borage that first year and it went everywhere so we've been pulling it out in all the beds and not letting it go since then....?"

(You see where this is going)

Partner comes over to look...

"hahahaha! Yup! That's borage!"

Well, done. You successfully re-planted what has become a weed. Well, well, done.

We laugh. I take a photo and then pull it out, rip it to shreds so it can't procreate in the compost bin and that's that.

Ok, but here's the thing: I do NOT remember it ever having those kind of starter leaves! Those were such melon-looking starter leaves! I mean all starter leaves look the same, but not melons! They are very distinct! So what if it WAS actually a cantaloupe and I just ripped it out! This has really been bothering me since I did that!

...

Ok, I just Googled "borage seedlings"...

Shut up. Stop laughing.

I give up.

Exciting News in the Wildflower Border!

Well in addition to this year going marvelously better than previous ones, may I present to you the gorgeous arbor my husband built two weekends ago?!

The next weekend we went to the nursery and found some clematis!!
Ended up with an earlier-blooming "Ernest Markham" (bright pinkish-red flowers) and a later, long-blooming "Jackmanii Superba" (deep purple flowers)!

Started them growing at opposite sides, so we'll see how they do!

I'm so excited!!!

And then there's this fellow...

Why am I really confused by this?!
They started little buds earlier than usual because it was so warm, then, inspite of my burying with leaves, I was pretty sure the mid-April frost had taken my sweet blooms away.

And yet, hark - here it cometh!

I've tried looking at previous years' pictures to see if this is normal and I'm struggling to come up with the answer. Is this late for hydrangeas or normal?


I had to move some things because of the arbor and also found a spiffy new plant at the nursery... "Look at this; it's pretty cool and it's local."    "Let's get it!"    "Do you have room for it?"    Psssshhhhhhhh....room, one can always MAKE room! (Might lose some more grass...um...I mean....no honey, totally not expanding my gardens into the yard any more! :-D)

So I chopped off half of the way over-huged clump of chives, pushed back a plant that I think is a flower into an empty spot (which is why it's super wilty in the picture on the right...it's ok, it's since recovered) and put my new little guy in front (he didn't come with a tag, so I'll have to ask husband if he remembers what it was called).



It seemed like overnight, one day it was not and the next day we walk out and the Gardenia is in bloom!

And then I thought I would justify myself here a bit...

Remember how I talk about having trouble identifying some plants and if they're flowers or weeds...?

Well, I was looking at pictures from last year and saw these gorgeous tall deep red flowers. So pretty! 'Aww, I haven't seen any of those leaves, so I must have pulled them all out' :-(

Goes out to garden 10 minutes later:  "Ooooh! There they are!!"

No wonder I didn't notice them:

So, my friends...here is cilantro after it's started thinning before it flowers...see those whispy little leaves? Then compare on the right, the Nigella leaves that look AWFULLY similar!

And THEN compare with whatever the beautiful deep
red flowers are...



Can you see why I have a hard time knowing what on earth is in my garden?!!

Yikes, they all look alike!

But each year I notice more and more subtle differences and this is why I take photos...because come next spring when everything's popping I will have forgotten all over again!

So overall I am amazed and very pleased with how it's coming this year!

One of the biggest differences is now that things I know I like have seeded themselves, I'm not afraid to rip out seelings to make sure they're not overcrowding other plants, too close to the sidewalk or too far in the front if they're taller, etc.     Normally I hate pulling things out because "what if it's a flower?!!"...and really? if it is...when is it ever just ONE flower!

So, some bravery and a LOT of learning from mistakes ... and being willing to take the chance to lose something by moving it when it's totally too late to do so... (shhh, I'm not a bad plant mother! :-/ )

Hey, so far so good, so keeping my fingers crossed!

Beautiful! 
(even prettier since then now that the gardenia, hydrangea and more lilies are in bloom!)

It's a Great Year!

I am so behind on writing about it, but the garden plot is doing so fantastic!

Yet again, I had a few busy weeks and then a minor surgery (and I asked my doctor/surgeon specifically about gardening...yes, he considers it "strenuous" and a no-no after surgery. Fiiiiiiine!)
So this left my garden plot partner doing - well, basically all of the work. Not just all of the work on any given week, but almost all of the initial work that comes with getting a garden going in the spring - turning over beds, clean-up, mulching, netting, in addition to the normal weeding and planting.

I went there one day and was so amazed at how great it looks! So excited for this year!!

The garden, about 3 weeks ago:

Strawberries and blueberries!!

Raspberries (the moldy, "dead" ones) and the grape vine climbing lovely...

The beans in our little "cage" which is actually a no longer needed construction plan rack we rescued from the trash pile at work!

Lettuce doing SO well

Love our new little stepping stones into the garden!
(100% NOT my idea...nor my doing!)

And then there's the "ghetto potato towers", as garden plot partner refers to them...

 

 We had a heck of a time keeping them watered, so this will hold the water in (the benefit of towers is having multiple layers of potatoes upwards instead of taking up a whole bed).
She just pulled up a few that hadn't sprouted and re-planted some sprouting ones, so here's hoping!

Bok choi coming up and peanuts planted!


Starting to sprout, but forgot to shed it's cap - haha!!





And then there was that unfortunate business with the weather where we got down to 34 or something. Everything did fine except the squash...they were NOT so much a fan...

Poor little blackened leaves the next day!
Thankfully, though, within a few days they'd bounced back beautifully:

My little tomatoes are coming slowly, but surely.

The seedlings my friend grew are already twice the size of mine, but shhhh, who's keeping track (I am!)

 The garden 2 weeks ago:

The garden last week:

Itty bitty carrots starting and garlic looking great.
Lettuce is still abundant!

Tomatoes!
I actually veeeeery carefully switched the cages so the taller
ones were on the plants my friend grew that are twice
the size of mine. Min are coming along slowly, though!

Blueberries changing color!

And wow did the bok choi take off!
I pulled a bunch out and still there's more...
hoping it's not bitter since it already bloomed :-/

Usin' what we got! Partner came up with this ingenious
trellising system for the vining stuff.
(The peas seen on the right are reaching for the sky)

Squash are blooming!

Beans also taking off beautifully; no blossoms yet, though.

Well, things are looking great, so I just think we're going to have a fabulous year! (Be positive - no accidents - be positive!)