Mid June Update

Atop the west garden, the peas are almost done.  They haven't climbed the trellis as well as we had hoped so next time I may have to figure out a way to keep it more upright rather than leaning against the garage as it is now.  The plants below are coming along nicely.  There are two pepper plants below the peas toward the left, the two tomato plants in front of them, with basil on the right.  Then parsley, cilantro and oregano.  Chives are above thyme in the lower right.  And the garlic at the bottom which was planted last fall has started to lay over so Kate will probably harvest it today.

The strawberries were a disappointment this year, after about 7 quarts last year we got less than 1 this year of mostly small berries.  It's not just us, the odd, mild Spring this year made it bad for strawberries throughout the region.  The netting is no longer needed and will be removed when we get around to it.

Garden and Yard Picture Update

I've been a little lazy posting lately.  These pics are actually from yesterday afternoon.

All the new plants are coming along nicely in the west garden.  The peas have flowered and even have pods growing already.  We continue to let the garlic that was planted last fall grow, and the new ones planted a few weeks ago started coming up a while ago.  There is a side view after the break.

The east strawberry bed is confused, I think.  The very warm March, then cool and rainy April has it looking spotty and producing small amount of mostly small berries so far.  We put the net on a couple days after the last post.  There is still time and berries to grow yet, but time is running out.

More pics of the garden and yard after the break.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Trell Isn't, Trell Is!

Over the weekend I picked up a 2' x 8' trellis (they didn't have any 4' x4'), cut it in half, and now we have a trellis for the peas to attach to and climb.  We still may have to put something in front later on.  Last year I cut a conical tomato cage and spread it open to do this and we may have to use it again this year.

The garlic is looking well.  Some of the bases are pretty thick which should mean big bulbs.  I guess that's the difference between planting it in the Spring versus the previous Fall.

In the east garden, the strawberry plants are getting blooms all over the place.  The plants that Kate transplanted into the upper right are surviving, I just hope that corner doesn't get baked again this year or we may have to find a more sun-friendly vegetable or plant to put up there with the strawberries.

Edit:  Last night we did get some frost here, it doesn't seem to have hurt anything, thankfully.

Strawberry Transplant

Kate transplanted some strawberry plants from the edges to the bare area in the upper right, below in the east garden.  It is strange, but that corner seems to get too much sun.  Last summer was a hot one, though.  Hopefully these will help it fill out some.  We had a frost warning for the last 3 nights and we covered the strawberry plants each night, but I don't think we got frost here.  It was patchy at best in the area, thankfully.  The pea plants and garlic in the west garden are doing very well.  Rain is forecast for every day the next five days or so, then sometime soon we will have more planting to do.

Again With The Frost, Kinda

We had a freeze warning for last night, and we have one for tonight.  Like last post, I'm not really convinced we got any frost here, and I get up pretty early.  It was cold, even just below freezing according to the morning news each time, and probably will be again tomorrow morning, before warming up a bit later in the week.  We covered the strawberry plants last night, I removed the sheet after work, and we will cover them again before dark.  Just in case.  No pics, it looks like the last post.

Fretting The Frost

There is a frost warning tonight, so as a first for this blog we will have a nighttime post!  We went out just a bit ago to cover the strawberry plants, the garlic and pea sprouts (visible in the west garden, top in this pic) should be okay, my wife says they are hardier plants.  Same with all the hostas, irises, day lillies (lilys?) and lily of the valley early growth and sprouts.  But the lilac has bunches of buds that are days from opening, I hope they weather the cold night.

On a side note, you may have noticed the look of this site has changed.  It needed updating to a wider format, and though this is one of Blogger's canned templates, it does not mess up the old posts too much and will do nicely for now.  Also, a friend of mine from work has started a site for his garden and pond.  I urged him in this direction and I think he will enjoy it as much or more than I like doing my sites.  He already has some great pics up, give him a visit here, or on the link in the right column.