Mystery plant(s)

This year was my first attempt at companion planting. Also known as "put plants that play well together next to each other". Now, I'm still learning about gardening in general so I'm figuring all of this out as I go. I read that green onions and carrots are great planted together since the onions have very shallow roots and tend to keep some bugs away and the carrots obviously go much deeper. So I cheerfully sowed a bunch of carrot seed and then a bunch of green onion seed and waited for them to grow.

Here's the rub. Did I mention that I'm a bit new to gardening? I didn't know what green onion sprouts looked like. So when a bunch of thin green sprouts came up, all was well. Or so I thought. But now I'm staring at a thicket of something that is definitely not onion of any sort. Whatever it is, it's growing like a weed, but it can't be a weed since it did come from one of my seed packets. Just not the green onion packet. I did have some flower seeds, but I don't recognize these at all.

Anyone want to venture a guess?

Two ways to tell it's Spring time

Asparagus spear, peeking out of the ground. I just planted 25 crowns and am impatiently watching as all these beautiful green bits make their way out of the ground. Can't wait until next year when I can start harvesting.

Arden and his "Hairy Harry" plant from Kindergarten. He gave it a flat top right before coming home from school. I love it!

Ah, the joys of seed catalogs

I just got a housewarming gift from a friend back in California. Since we have a decently sized yard, she figured a gift certificate for seeds and plants would be perfect. Correct! I just spent an hour poring over the pages of the Nichols catalog, mulling over all the different herbs and plants and trying to figure out what to order. It's too late for strawberries, sadly (would have tried some of the new Seascape variety), but they carry a lot of herbs I haven't seen.

What did I get? I wanted some medicinal herbs, so arnica, calendula and chamomile went onto the list. Dan and I love all kinds of Asian foods, so Thai basil, cilantro, culantro (similar to cilantro, often used with pho), and papaloquelite (also similar to cilantro, but I've heard the flavor is even better) are represented. Almost ordered some Delfino cilantro since it's slow to bolt and the ferny leaves are easier to cut, but I've seen reports that it only tastes mildly of cilantro, so that was out. A variant of marjoram - Zaatar - sounded really interesting so I ordered some as well. Supposedly it has a flavor that's a cross between thyme, oregano and marjoram. I also ordered some clary sage because I love the scent, and sweet violets because they're just plain pretty. Oh, and some Sweeter Yet cucumber seeds for summer salads.

I was like a kid in a candy store, drooling over all the possibilities. Though this stuff is definitely better for me than candy.

Bees!

With all the talk lately of declining and disappearing bee colonies, I've been keeping a watchful eye on my yard to see if I could find any. Despite many flowers, I hadn't seen any bees....until today. We have a huge Spanish lavender plant out in front that evidently is bee heaven when the flowers are in bloom. I counted at least a dozen bees flying busily from purple flower to purple flower. Such a lovely sight. I'll have to plant more Spanish lavender out back. Wonder if I can get cuttings to grow?

Doing thing differently

I've been doing a lot of gardening lately. Took this picture after realizing that perhaps I use slightly different tools for the job. The basket of seeds is pretty self explanatory. The paper to the right is a garden plan drawn on grid paper so I know where everything should go. The L square is handy when measuring out square foot increments. I'm using biointensive gardening methods since I have such a small garden plot (8 x 8 feet, plus the smaller raised beds by the house). Planting involved tracing out each square foot, then filling each with whatever each block was supposed to have in it. I did a good bit of reading on companion planting so there's a stab at having plant "friends" close together (corn and pole beans, lettuce in the shade of cucumbers, etc.). I'm also trying to entice as many bees and beneficial insects as possible, so there are a goodly number of flowers, onions and garlic planted in and around the edges of the plot.

The hippity hop? Well, it makes a really nice seat, much better than a step stool or chair. Comfy, easy to lug around, and the rounded bottom doesn't poke holes in the ground.

I'm sure these aren't standard gardening tools, but I like them!

Weekend gardening

So much clearing, weeding, cultivating, amending, and planting this weekend. Dan is my new hero, the man with the pickaxe and a shovel ever-ready to haul rocks and dirt. Managed to clear out and 8 by 8 foot garden plot out in back and add in compost and peat moss to lighten up the soil a bit. I had already planted some peas there - added sugar snap peas, pole beans, and "Rocky" cucumbers (wee, bite sized seedless wonders) along the back fence as well. No other planting in the big clearing yet, since that got finished towards the end of the day and I was completely beat by then.

I did get tomatoes in: one Pik Red, one Oregon Spring, and two Brandywine. Planted some calendula out in front of them, and some butterfly mix to the side. My square foot garden plots from last year are all filled out now with basil, parsley (which is huge and taking over the right side there), oregano, thyme, cilantro, arugula, corn salad, butterhead lettuce, baby lettuce mix, green onions, radishes (plain and "Easter Egg" mix), teeny baby carrots, and some bush beans. Doesn't look like much yet, but give it a month and there'll be a lot of green.

We also pulled out a ton of stuff out in front of the house. Red lava rocks...oh, how I hate the stuff. It's everywhere, including down into the clay soil. Lovely. We filled bucket after bucket with rocks, then amended the soil a bit. Dan pried out the brick edging strips along the curb (they just made one more spot weeds could hide), then I planted a bunch of sweet alyssum and hostas. Also tossed out some "bee and butterfly" mix in the open area where our bush used to be - we'll plant something else there soon, but for now filler will have to do.

It was so nice to finally be able to plant and really get working on the yards. This is one of the things I have been looking forward to the most since hurting my ankle - getting out and gardening.

Spring has sprung

Pink Bleeding Hearts, out in our front yard:

White Bleeding Hearts:

Wild fringed Bleeding Hearts, which have taken over a large patch out in front:

Blooming tree:

I love this time of year :-)

Random Tuesday

First, some more dyeing. I wanted something special to gift to Anna when she got here, so I looked through her gallery to find the most likely colors. Orange, green, and pink it was! This turned out a wee bit brighter than I'd intended, so I offered to overdye in a smidge of brown to dull the colors a little, but Anna swore she loved it as is, so I left it like that. Also notice another project in this picture - home grown tomatoes that I picked before frost hits. They are ripening on the table, making a really nice edible centerpiece. The riper ones went into a marinara last week, which was delicious.

Next, another something from the garden: my first carrot! There's something mysterious about pulling a root vegetable from the ground - will it be long, thin, thick, colorful? No way of knowing until it's out of the ground. Each time I pick one, it's an adventure. So far, the carrots are crunchy and sweet and Ryan has taken to picking them when he feels like a snack. Score one for mom!

Next, a cat bed for Tabby. Since the surgery, I've really wanted to do something that would help her feel better physically. It's been getting colder here lately, and she doesn't really have any insulation to speak of (unlike her owner), so I figured a cat bed would be perfect. I used some Patons Classic wool, doubled, and some Cascade 128 that I bought at half price last week. My own pattern, not felted yet. As soon as I laid it on the floor, she came over to sniff, so I'm thinking it will probably go over well.

Last, a calender picture for Deb. Also a bit for me, as well. You can't see it, but there are red letters on the 28th. Won't say what they are for, but I will mention that I was born on Thanksgiving day a few decades ago. The real fun of that comes every 4th or 7th year, when my birthday actually falls on Thanksgiving. I love when that happens - cooking, people I love all around, and a big meal that I can plan for and cook? My idea of heaven.

Want to see my garden?

Here's my wee Square Foot Garden in all it's glory. This spot was covered in red lava rock when we moved in, with two twisted and not at all happy looking roses poking out mournfully in the middle. We took all the rocks out and set up raised beds around the a/c - one is 3 by 7 feet, the other small one is 2 by 4 feet. The small boxes that sit up above contain things that need more growing space: two kinds of carrots and some daikon radishes.


Here's a close up of some of the greens coming up. In the back, there's red leaf lettuce and a lone broccoli plant spreading leaves open. In back of the broccoli you can just make out bok choi as well. In front on the left are wildflowers from a mix, with a lettuce mix on the right. Ryan already loves grabbing some lettuce in the garden whenever he wants a salad or some on a sandwich, and I'm loving the mix which has such a nice blend of flavors.


Here's the thing I'm most proud of. What are those shoots over to the left? Garlic! I threw caution to the wind and ignored everything I read on growing garlic. "Don't plant cloves from garlic from the supermarket, as they are treated with chemicals to prevent sprouting." HA! I had some really pungent, delicious red hardnecked organic garlic. Really loved the flavor, had no idea what kind it is. Planted those cloves and what do you know, they all sprouted. This is especially appealing since I paid less than 50 cents for that bulb, as opposed to paying $15 a pound plus shipping to buy the kind you're supposed to plant.


This is what makes me really beam. A whole salad plucked right from the garden, from lettuces to herbs to radishes. All right outside my door, all planted by me and growing and feeding my family well. This gardening stuff is pretty cool, isn't it?

Gardening for squares

Dan just made two raised beds last week, ala Sqaure Foot Gardening. One is 3 by 7 feet, the other is 2 by 4 feet. He's also going to make each of the boys a wee 2x2 foot garden so they can plant things (Ryan wants strawberries and lots of flowers, Arden wants flowers and some "cool" purple sage in his).

I stuck with things that would do well in the Fall or overwinter well, along with lettuce that will get replanted many times. The containers are tucked next to our patio, up against the house, and are shielded from wind from the side of the house but still get good amounts of sun. I'll probably add cold frames once things get colder, but I think being so close to the house will help everything stay warmer as well.

I was amazed at how much stuff I was able to plant! All of this went in:

• strawberries - two kinds of alpine strawberries and one regular sized everbearing kind
• red leaf lettuce
• baby bok choi
• broccoli (3)
• purple sage
• cauliflower (3)
• spinach
• cilantro (we'll see if I can get at these before they bolt)
• oregano
• garlic (red hardneck)
• some hummingbird flower mix
• mesclun mix
• radishes
• flatleaf parsley
• two of kinds thyme - silver and lemon thyme (mmmm!)
• leeks
• brussels srouts
• carrots (Atomic Red and Nantes)
• Daikon radishes

I've been watering a little each day, since it's been very hot here lately and I wanted the seeds to get a good start. Almost everything has sprouted, aside from the parsley (notorious poor germinators, I hear), carrots, flowers, oregano, and garlic. Every time I look out and see all the wee bits of green peeking out over the top of the soil I get this lovely warm feeling, like I've done something good. Can't wait until everything starts getting bigger and the sprouts start looking more like actual plants. Bit like watching babies grow, though much more quickly and without the sleep deprivation.

I also filled up my new Earth Machine composter today. Got it for free on Craigslist a couple of weeks back. Craigslist rocks. I've bought, sold, given away, and gotten for free more things than I can count. We found our kitten online, too. Great, great resource. Anyway, I filled up my composter, carefully layering green plants, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds as an activator, and brown leaves. Wet everything a bit, then stirred it round. I'll be giving it a stir once a week and making sure everything stays moist for the next few months, then if all goes well shoveling out rich, deep brown soil.

The foot is doing a lot better, though it's awfully weak. I'm wearing the boot half a day now and icing it twice a day to help keep the swelling down. Seems to be healing well, though I can't wait until I can ditch the fancy footwear.