Spring Has Sprung

Edit 5/7:  Kate planted green onion, lettuce, radishes and dill on the bottom of the east garden last night.

More Plants

More plants have been added to the yard and garden.






















Another picture tour after the break.

Full Spring Yard Tour

The fun part of taking pictures each year (and collecting them in one easy spot) is seeing the growth.  The year to year evolution of our whole yard, of course, but here just week to week or month to month and over the whole season, watching all these plants grow and bloom and provide a little color and happiness in our lives.

The strawberry plants have really taken to the compost-enriched soil of the west garden.  I haven't seen the plants look so robust in some time.  The garlic and herbs are coming along as well.




Shortly before these pictures Kate planted a bunch of seed rows in the east garden.  And the raspberry plants are still there.  The east garden never got much of the compost soil because it was hard to add in between the plants.  Moving the strawberry plants gives us a chance to enrich the cheap soil I started with.  I hope the seeds do well, but they may do better next year.  Also, after uploading pictures we remembered to cover the area where seed rows are planted to help keep them from being dug up so I had to go out again to get an updated picture.  Just two chicken wire covers I slapped together a few years ago that we've used off and on in the garden and they seem to work well.

Now, the tour starts after the break.  This time I thought I'd add a little caption commentary, just for kicks!

Late October

Yesterday, Kate planted the garlic for spring.  Covered so it stays planted.

We already mixed in lots of home made compost soil.  There are herbs still near the bottom.















The east garden is the same mess of non-raspberries and strawberries for the squirrels.







The stump flowers show the wear of summer and a frost.  The big one in back was uprooted and it's roots eaten.  The yellow ones died after the frost.  Others have been stunted by always being dug in by animals and being in pots.  Yard tour after the break.

New Plants, Other Thoughts

Kate planted some new plants in the west garden above the garlic, not easily seen from my normal shot so I took a special picture.










I haven't been very inspired to post here this year.  I've been keeping it up because I might get back into it and I feel I shouldn't have a big gap in time between posting, especially during growing season.  And I would hate to just stop after all this time.  I've tried to get my wife involved in it a little, and she started to post last year, but she isn't much interested now, either.
















So what do I do?
I just don't know yet.




Bonus pic of the stump pots below!

What A Difference...

... a week can make.  Kate has spent much time in the yard and garden again this week, trying to keep ahead of the weeds, planting in the garden and keep up with the growing plants we have.  I don't remember all that she planted in the west garden, she'll have to write something to explain what's what when they start sprouting.













Like last week, I took another picture tour of the yard.  It really is amazing how some things have grown in the last week.  Click Read More below!

The (not quite) End-of-Season Update

Last weekend, Mr. Scoakat retired the tomato plants to the compost bin. I would have done it myself, but the BIGGEST SPIDER ON EARTH was living in a web between the two plants. So, naturally, I couldn’t go anywhere near that side of the garden! Mr. Scoakat says he didn’t see the spider. I say the spider saw Mr. Scoakat and decided it was in his best interest to relocate.

Once I was convinced the spider was gone, I was able to get close enough to plant garlic, harvest the carrots and some thyme, and remove the last basil plant (which provided a few final sprigs before meeting its end).

Between the garlic I purchased and the head I saved for planting from this year’s harvest, I had enough to plant two rows of 15 cloves. As you can see in the picture below, the garlic is covered by one of the awesome garlic/strawberry covers Mr. Scoakat made a few years ago, and so far, it has not been disturbed.

The carrots ended up in beef stew. And the beef stew ended up really tasty! The last time I made beef stew (probably at least 15 years ago) it was not great. The thing is, the beef stew is beef stew. The recipe I used 15 years ago cannot be that different than the recipe I used last weekend. Lesson here – I am a much better cook now than I was 15 years ago! 

Did you notice that small green thing behind right side of the garlic cover? Just in case you didn’t, here it is again.

Yes, that small green thing behind the garlic is a tomato plant that started growing from seed… all on its own. Because when I try to grow tomatoes, I get nothing but trouble (and the BIGGEST SPIDER ON EARTH), and when I’m not even trying, they grow on their own.

I am being mocked by a tomato plant.

Ever Bearing, Summer Bearing

I finally got around to harvesting the arugula, and planting the strawberries and spring (or maybe winter?) onions.

Most of the arugula was too large and woody to keep, but there were enough small leaves to use for salads or sandwiches. I also took out one of the basil plants; it never really came back from its cold start and after the heat we had last weekend (temps in the 90s) it took a bad turn. It wasn’t a complete loss; I got a handful of leaves from it.

In my last post I mentioned my plan to plant spring onions; a friend gave us some ready to plant from their garden. However, a few nights ago Mr. Scoakat told me he thought they were winter onions. I’m pretty sure the friend said spring onions; he’s pretty sure the friend said winter onions. I guess we’ll find out in the spring. Or we could just call the friend and ask… The spring/winter onions are planted in three rows at the back of the west garden.

The new strawberries are an ever bearing variety. They went in between the established strawberries and the raspberries. Speaking of raspberries, I finally found the email from my order and now I know they’re summer bearing. That means they’re not going to produce fruit this year. Oh well, there’s always next year.

I covered the newly planted strawberries with the awesome strawberry cover Mr. Scoakat built. Here’s hoping it keeps the squirrels out; there’s almost nothing I hate more than re-planting strawberries. And speaking of squirrels, they’ve been stealing my tomatoes ad soon as they’re ripe! Again! The marigolds are useless! Okay not completely useless, but also not the squirrel repellent I was hoping for.

Green onions are done for the year. I harvested the last of them yesterday. I’m still waiting on the carrots. The thyme and parsley are looking good. I’ll be using some of both and some basil to make meatballs soon!

Radishes, Lettuce, & Carrots

I planted three rows of seeds today in the space between the garlic and the green onions. Closest to the garlic, is a row of radishes; then a row of lettuce; and in the front, a row of carrots. The seeds are left-overs from last year, so we’ll see what grows.

All of the tomato plants have a few small, green tomatoes starting, but the plants in the garden are making me nervous. One day they look fine, the next they’re wilted, and then they look fine again. I’m almost certain the problem is in the soil. But is it bacterial wilt or lack of nutrients???





Over on the berry side, we removed the raspberry trellis from the middle of the garden. The purple raspberry plants show no sign of improvement; they’ll be coming out before long to make room for more strawberries. The red raspberries in the back continue to thrive. To accommodate the growth, I moved the back support wire of the top arm of the trellis to its widest position.

Ms. Scoakat Blogs

The garlic, planted last fall, is looking good. It’s the same type I’ve planted the last couple years and I really like it. Great flavor, nice size heads, and easy to peel cloves.

I planted cilantro seed disks again this year and they are doing well; not quite as well as last year’s but I wasn’t able to get them from the same, local company this year. Funny story about the cilantro seed disks this year… Mr. Scoakat accidentally threw away the first pack of seed disks I bought this year. They were sitting on top of the TV stand with the shipping invoice (I had to buy them online this year) next to some junk mail… it was an honest mistake.

The peas are doing well too. Last year, several weeks (and a lot of damage) passed before I realized the pea sprouts were being eaten by birds! This year I covered the east bed with bird netting after planting the first seeds in April.

As previously noted, I harvested the radishes on Thursday. I’ve had a few as snacks and they are delish! I will have more in salads soon. I might even be able to convince Mr. Scoakat to try a few slices in his salads (yes, he eats salads… don’t tell him I told you).

The lettuce seeds I planted in April are MIA, or AWOL… or maybe they were abducted by aliens??? The point is, no lettuce.

Basil is a cat (an emotionally needy, rather large, scaredy-cat; see Scoakat’s Blog for more information) but basil is also a Mediterranean herb that is lovely in Italian dishes but does not like cold temperatures. We had two or three nights under 40 degrees this week, so the basil’s not looking too hot (ba-dum-ch).

The parsley looks fine. Especially when you consider it had to travel to hell and back seven times before it ever even sprouted!

I planted marigolds around the tomatoes on Saturday; they’re supposed to keep squirrels away. We’ll see how that works.

The thyme is adjusting well to its move. Apparently thyme is on my side…

On to the other side of the garden!

I’ve done a lot of weeding on this side lately, and there’s a lot more to do. The red raspberries (in the back) are spreading in a way that makes me happy and nervous at the same time! I’m glad they’re doing so well, but I know raspberries can get out of hand, so…

The ‘purple’ raspberries (in the middle) aren’t doing quite as well; for now, I’m okay with that.

I planted six new ever-bearing strawberry plants on Saturday. A few of them already have healthy runners and due to the new strawberry cover, I’m not too worried about the squirrels tearing them out; so I’m hopeful we’ll have strawberries to eat this summer. Of course, the first ripe berry goes to Mr. Scoakat; a reward for crafting the new (Improved!) strawberry cover.

Catching Up*

Just to catch up, last Saturday Kate planted stuff in the east garden.  From the bottom row, tomato, thyme (replanted), tomato.  Next row up is basil, parsley, basil. Also, on Thursday she picked the radishes.















On a side note, my wife Kate will be taking over posting on this site.  Well, I hope so.  We'll see how much I end up doing still...






*Edit: These pictures were taken Friday evening, yesterday. Kate has put much more work into the gardens today and will be posting her first post here hopefully tomorrow, with pics taken this evening.

I'm really looking forward to her perspective and personality here!

Strawberry Cover and Plant Day

Yesterday I made a taller cover for the strawberries so they have room to grow and still have protection from birds and squirrels.  I threw it together out of scrap wood that I had, thankfully I have a table saw.  We did have to buy some more chicken wire but at least it's pretty cheap.  Now we're hoping to actually get some strawberries to eat this year.

We also went out and got plants yesterday, a Spring ritual.  We bought two hanging plants, one for front and one for back, and several smaller plants to put in the pot out front and Kate pulled several old pots out of the garage to fill with plants to put on the stump in back.

Plant Day pictures after the break!

Planting Today*

Kate got some planting done in the garden today.  Now in the west garden, below the garlic that was planted last fall, are 4 rows of newly planted seeds.  From the top, peas are planted zigzag along the pea trellis, then rows of radishes, green onions and lettuce.  There is still room along the bottom for future plantings of two tomato plants, two basil plants, and a parsley plant.  She covered the whole thing in netting to minimize the inevitable bird and squirrel mischief.








In the east garden there are no new plantings, but the top row of raspberry plants are spreading out and the middle row, a different kind of raspberry, is coming back as well.  They make me nervous, these raspberry plants.  I do hear how they like to spread so I hope we did not create a monster.  Most of the strawberry plants in the bottom third of this side have come back.  My wife has charged me with building a better, taller squirrel- and bird-proof cover.  I'll need more chicken wire, but I should have the wood for this small project.


*Edit 4/21:  I was reminded by my wife that I forgot the row of cilantro, just above the peas.

Fall Chores, Day 2

Again we took advantage of the nice weather to get the yard and gardens ready for winter, you can read more at the regular site.


Kate planted the garlic in the west garden, in rows above the monster lemon pepper plant (I'm thinking of a pictorial side story on that).  She also spread leaf mulch throughout the flower beds and hay to the garden. 

The first pictures here are of the garden and I will dump a few more pics from today after the break.

Another Stab At Strawberries

Right after the strawberry destruction two weeks ago Kate ordered more plants.  These were the crowns and roots kind from mail order and not the leafy plants we picked up last time.  She planted them Friday evening and was sure to cover them with one of the protective 'lids' I made a few weeks back.  We even put mothballs about to keep the squirrel bastards away - and it all seems to be working, for the last few days anyway.

The west garden is growing very well, but the pea plants seem stunted from being nibbled on early before we got the netting over them.

And now for a view from places around the yard!  I don't expect you to take the time, but it's kinda neat for me to look back and see how things have changed and filled out.

The old gnome's home, above, became a bit too obscured, so he is back along the fence and among the hostas, below.

Strawberries Are In

More Spring Planting

Refer to the chart in the last post to know what is what and where!  One note, the strawberries are still hypothetical at this point.

Garden Graphs

Scroll for the East Garden.

A Good Start

Kate has the garden growing well so far.  Instead of describing what is where all the time, Kate has a little graph made out for each garden.  Now I just have to figure out how to post it.

She also planted ground cover plants around the tree in the back (below).  Hard to see now, but hopefully they grow well.