Early Summer Farm

Besides weeding every couple of days and feeding every couple of weeks, the farm is growing on it's own without much intervention from me.  I don't really have a farm, but that's what my New Jersey Hubby calls it.  The only animals are two cats that enjoy fertilizing the garden when I'm not looking.  Nevertheless, I am wondering if the NEW RAISED BED will contain the plants growing in it.

  


The squash, especially is taking off.  The leaves are gigantic.  It's hard to see in this shot because I was focusing on the lovely blossom.

I have my first squash blossoms!
 










The pole beans are climbing and doing great.  No signs of beans yet though.

                   The beans are in the middle of the two squash plants.

The Heirloom tomato plant in the middle has outgrown it's cage.  I think I really needed a trellis to support it.  I have green tomatoes on each plant, Roma, Heirloom, and Yellow.

All in all, the garden looks very different than a few weeks ago.























 
"Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature.  And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve".   - Max Planck

Back From Vacation

There's nothing quite like going on vacation to get a different perspective.  It was good for me to stop looking at my garden and mentally urging everything to grow.  Our family took a camping vacation with 10 other family members.  Enough said.  However, we visited Steamboat Springs, CO, and it is absolutely stunning there. 

  

I was so in the moment and busy with so many other people that I did not take many photos.  Here are a couple that show off the area's beauty.  Indian Paintbrush, Daisies, Columbine, and Lupine were all flowering.

I took a trail ride around Steamboat Lake.  To say it was scenic would be faint praise.






 

It has taken me 3 days to get to look at my garden.  Not too bad!  There were definitely weeds, but the mulch of peat moss and grass is doing it's job.  The grass clippings that I have been curing were ready, and this evening I mixed them with peat moss, and spread my third batch around the garden.  The green/brown coloring of the mulch is not as striking looking as straw that I used last year.  It blends in with everything else in the garden.

The beans are climbing up the trellis that I made for them.  These are my first pole beans, so I am very excited to see them!










Tonight we had some baby lettuce and radishes from our garden.  Delish. 


"The most serious gardening I do would seem very strange to an onlooker, for it involves hours of walking round in circles, apparently doing nothing."  -  Helen Dillo

Puttering Around

Sunday was Father's Day, so the Hubby and daughter went for a hike.  Given this wonderful opportunity, I headed to the garden to do some things that needed doing!

First, I planted a Thyme plant since my seeds failed to sprout.









I weeded of course, and mixed up my mulch.  This batch covered a lot more of the garden, but I didn't let the grass clippings cure as long.  They were actually a bit wet as well, but heck, they're going to get wet in the garden, right?

The plants are all doing much better now that the soaker hoses are turned on and water the garden twice a day, for 15 minutes each.  I do hope I remember to check this next year, so I can tell Hubby how long to set the timer for.  Each year we try and remember what we did last year.  Oy!

And, drum roll please........... the lettuce is finally up after only about 3 different plantings.  And in mid June to boot!  If  I'm as lucky as I have been in other years, my greens keep going throughout the entire summer, despite the heat.  Call it luck, high altitude or Reiki.  I'm just not sure which it is, but I am grateful!

  My last bit of work was moving my Sun, which was in the front of my house, to the Perennial Herb Garden.  It has faded a bit, and needs some paint, but I'm quite pleased with it in it's new location.  I think garden art is just fabulous.  Now I just need to find the perfect place for my flamingos.









 
"Life begins the day you start a Garden.  -  Chinese Proverb

Mulch On!

Finding a good mulch for my garden has been an adventure for me.  Two years ago, some good friends of mine (you know who you are :-)), told me that straw was recommended to them as a great mulch.   I went to the local Feed Store.  They were pretty much out of straw, so they gave me some feed bags, and told me I could take, for free, whatever I could scrap off the ground.  I spent about an hour stuffing bags full of dirty straw, but went home happy, and it worked very well.

Last year, I went to the very same Feed Store and purchased what I was told was straw.  Now, it could very well have been straw, but I picked wheat out of my garden all summer long.  So much for keeping the weeds down!

This year, I spoke with many individuals, from nurseries to backyard gardeners.  Each had their own opinion.  After listening to all, I've decided to go with a mix of grass clippings and peat moss.

I wish that I had worked this out earlier, since I have to "cure" the grass clippings by leaving them out to dry for a while before I mix in the peat.  I have managed to complete one wheelbarrow full.  The above is my second round of grass clippings.  The first round only covered about 1/8 of the garden.  This is going to take a while!



"Gardening is a process, not a product".  -  unknown

The Plants Are Coming Up

The weather has been a bit on the cool side so far.  We've had some nice hot days, but not enough to really get things growing.  The greens are getting a good start here and there, but not necessarily taking off.  Patience, patience, patience!

 You can see from the photo, that the additional soaker hose has been added.

 The most exciting news is that the zucchini is up,

 and the tea rose is loving it's new home in the perennial herb garden!







 I'm getting a grip on why the book, Teaming With Microbes, states that too many cats are not good for the soil food web.  I have one feline in particular that enjoys taking a nice morning pee in the garden.  I have of course strongly discouraged this, but one can only do so much with cats! 

"Be pleased with your garden, don't pursue the perfection of a picture.  What you see in a photo lasted only as long as the shuttle's snap".  - Janet Macunovich

Watering solved!

Another weekend in the garden.  My weeks have been so busy that I have only had time on the weekends.  My ability to tolerate this is because the seeds are just beginning to come up into plants.  It's probably best that I have been busy.  


 

 Now, for the exciting news!  Hubby mounted the hose caddy to the outside wall on the perennial herb garden side.  I used it this morning to water the herbs and potted peppers.  It was so much easier than dragging the hose from the back of the house around to the garden.  Woo hoo!

Hubby also laid the soaker hoses into the NEW RAISED BED yesterday too!  We had to add a second hose since the bed is bigger now.  The watering went off this morning at 7:00am without a hitch.  Engineers are so nice to have around the house!




Much to be thankful for!

"Watching something grow is good for morale.  It helps us believe in life."  -  Myron S. Kaufman

First Offerings

Last night I made leek and chard quesadillas from the leeks and chard in the garden!  How exciting it is for me to go out into the garden and pick fresh ingredients for meals.

                                                          Here they are in all of their glory.

                                                  Other greens are coming up nicely as well.

Lettuce, Kale, Chard, Spinach and Arugula have sprouted.

But the very best gift of all this week was finally putting out the Budha that I purchased this last April.  I see him out my kitchen window, and I am in my kitchen plenty!  It's a reminder of the peace and serenity that I seek in my life.  That with patience and practice, I will see beyond this world to a more expansive existence.  Namaste.

"Learn to be an observer in all seasons.  Every single day, your garden has something new and wonderful to show you".  - unknown