Sunday, May 20, 2012

New Plants and Strawberries

Strawberry's are coming!  We've had 2 or three strawberries out of the garden so far, most are still a ways off, though.  We'll be keeping an eye on them so we can get the net over them before they get raided by the birds and squirrels.

In the east garden, Kate's pre-ordered plants arrived and she planted them yesterday. Starting on the top left of this pic is Parsley, Salsa Tomato and a Jalapeno plant.  Middle row is Cilantro, Plum Tomato and a Sweet Cherry Pepper plant.  And the two in the bottom of the pic are Oregano and Basil.  Also, we put in a small chickenwire fence that I used last year in front of the peas to help keep them contained and encourage them to grow up instead of out.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Trellis Makeover and Wild Chives

The small pea plants were grabbing for, but not really attaching to, the trellis.  So I had to rethink the design.  I wound up getting some cheap 1x2's to frame it out and some chicken wire to attach to the front.  If they can't climb it now then they can't climb!

We used to have chives at the top of the garden, and this year some just sprang up at the top of the path (which you can see if you look closely at earlier posted pics).  Kate replanted them in the lower right of the west garden, above the thyme plant.  She also planted a few more garlic bulbs in a row above the existing garlic, not pictured here.  There wasn't much as some of the garlic bulbs we had for planting had gone bad.  We should receive the preordered plants this week to start filling out the garden.

Friday, May 11, 2012

I Hate Ants

Only 8 days later than the last post (9, actually, but I took these pics last night) and you can see how the recent daily rainshowers have helped the peas grow.  I'm still concerned about them attaching to the trellis.  I may have to add some chicken wire to the front so they have something easier to grab.
The garlic that we thought was ready is not, so it will be left in for the time being.  I think the very mild winter and oddly warm March may have messed up their growth pattern a bit.  Oh well, we'll leave them be for the time being and maybe check them again in a few weeks or so.

The strawberry plants are looking well with many flowers and teeny, tiny, going-to-be berries.  Last year we had an anthill in the upper left of this garden and they have been back even stronger this year.  I try and try but getting rid of them has not been easy.  I did get some to move, but only over to the other garden, it seems.  I will need to get something stronger that won't hurt the soil or plants, if possible.  I'm open to any suggestions in the comments!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

May Day-After Pics

The west garden has not changed yet, except for a little growth.  The peas are growing at the top, reaching for and almost getting the trellis.  The garlic, along the bottom, is almost ready for harvest,  Kate says the dirt just has to be able to dry out some.  And in the lower right, by the garlic, the thyme plant is coming back nicely.











In the east garden, the strawberry plants have plenty of flowers, even a few very small berries-in-the-making.  There is still the bare area at top right.  We're hoping it fills out more with a regular summer and not the baking we got last year.  With the trees and bushes in the area and the angles of the summer sun that corner gets the most sunlight of the whole garden.