Tuesday, March 3

And we're back.
Planted so far in Bed 1: lettuce, beets, romaine seedlings, onions and brocolli transplants.
Actually, planted most of that five weeks ago at the end of January and covered the 4x4 section with a plastic drop cloth over bent 1/2" PVC, per Mel's SFG plan. This worked very well, even in out unseasonable snow.

Compost heaps are building. One is the working heap, one is the kitchen waste heap. Took out the bin composter: didn't work well enough for the space it took up. Will probably store bags of soil, peat, etc. in it in the garage. Leaf mold container is up and being filled.

NO hanging plants this year. They are too labor/water intensive for Texas.
Will try containers again on the step-holder. This year will provide better drainage.
Inspected the Garden Box planter at Calloway's but at $70.00 per box, that is too pricey.
As an experiment, I'm drilling some extra-large holes for run-off in the bottom of one of my long plastic planters. Then, I'm drilling holes in some plastic take-out containers, cutting down the sides and placing them upside down in the bottom of the planter, to provide some air space for the roots. This seems to be a key element of the Garden Box. I will see how it works in a mini-me version.

Also experimenting with take-out containers as tiny greenhouses for seedlings, as well as a commercial one from Lowe's. Planted: lettuce, leaf lettuce, squash, cosmos and zinnias.

One goal is to plant pollinator attractors on all three sides of the vegetable beds in the two fence beds and the stair steps.

To do: make new grids.
Make new pipe trellis.

Transplanted: Oregano, rosemary, dill, lemon thyme, German thyme along back fence.
Planted: peas (3), strawberries (2)

Journal May 18

Still WWW- though some things are beginning to produce. Beans, squash and nasturtiums, for example.
Took down the teepees- on second reading, I see that I planted all bush beans.

V. helped me move and turn the compost heap. We had to wait for a wind-less day. There's not much noticeable progress going on- too much brown, not enough green. I can remedy that with the addition of all the neighborhood's grass clippings. I'll probably set up another bin, halve the leaf/dried grass contents and mix well with fresh grass bags.

One problem is that I can't claim to be organic, since I don't know what people are putting on the lawns whose clippings I collect for mulch and compost. And I can't see myself knocking on doors at six in the morning: "Excuse me, but could you provide me with a list of the chemicals you or your yard guys use on your lawn? Oh, and if you could put the clippings in something other than those clear plastic bags, that would be swell. Thanks!"
But I'm not selling anything, so I guess it really doesn't matter.
I've mulched the paths to the point that it's like walking on sponge. But I plan to incorporate all the trodden on material in the beds later.

We've discovered where the bunnies are coming from. Not from down at the corner, where a family lives under the storage shed by the driveway, but from next door, where a family lives under the storage shed in the back yard.

I put up a toad house made of an old cachepot and a discarded pasta bowl, but no sign of an occupant yet. Both V. and Ro have seen one on the porch, so we'll keep waiting.

Everytime I look over my little homestead, it is a spirit-lifter.

Progress So Far...

Baby vegetables-

I haz dem.

Various garden views

The Garden Shrine
yes, that's a recycled squirrel feeder.

Inspired by the urban gardeners in the last post, I decided to make an experimental container garden area, using deck stair stringers from the Bob Store (Lowe's) and left-over and/or scavenged lumber. The shortest shelf is 24", the longer ones are 30". They're cut to fit the length of the planters, also recycled/scavenged.

The stringers with 2x2" braces in placed. I did not want to attach this to the fence, so we added some 2x4" uprights. A better view of the shelves in place. The three narrow shelves are placed in the middle of the steps to give the planters more room on the back. The shelves were attached with a single screw on each side. I'd like to put in a plug for the ratchet screwdriver, my new best friend. The kids got to help put the screws in. We drilled the holes before they arrived, b/c while I do allow them to mess around in Sedona Sunset deck stain, I do not allow them to actually use power tools.One of the purposes of this project is to play around with different types of DIY underground watering systems. I have ollas in one of the garden beds and am trying to find a less expensive substitute. This is an unglazed terra-cotta rose pot. Notice that it has no drainage hole in the base. I'm using one of these in both the pumpkin tub and the tomato container, sinking them so that their tops are a little above the soil level. They'll be covered with a terra-cotta saucer of the proper size.

Other candidates are plastic water bottles and large plastic drink cups from the BBQ.

The shelf unit in place:

And with some planters:

I'm wondering if the space underneath could be used for a small-scale composting bin, if you added ran some boards along the sides of the stringers. I think that with a wood frame and some plastic sheeting, this could also make a little greenhouse for seed starting.

The top shelf is herbs. The middle two will be salad greens, radishes, possibly carrots. The bottom shelf will have a tomato, a pepper and an eggplant in single containers.

Journal May 4

Ow, Ow, Ow. Stepped in a mess of fire ants today. Time to buy bait.
Picked up four bags of clippings on a swing through the neighborhood. It was slim pickins' as the weather pre-empted a lot of mowing, so if it clears up this week, next Monday should be great.
I love my rain gauge- according to it, we've had 5 1/2" inches since last Thursday.
Today- mulched with the grass, weeded. Finished de-sodding the new bed area in the NP,
added grass. Intend to add compost and dirt, once the dirt dries out.
Bagged up the weeds.
Fed the birds. V. pointed out a dead one under the feeder, so I buried it under the Althea bush.
Picked peas.
To do: finish bed in NP. Mulch flower beds. Repair statue niche. Hand new bird bath from NP fence.
Squash is up, and there are blossoms on the TP's.
Trying to come up with a format for these posts, so they're not a hodge-podge.

Reading "Flee to the Fields", papers from the Catholic Land Movement, which was active in England between the late '20's and the beginning of WWII. Interesting.

Journal April 15

After the cold killed so many seedlings, I determined not to re-plant 'til after Easter.
It has gotten warm enough for various flower seeds, the pumpkins and the cowpeas to sprout.
Today is the first day in almost two weeks that there was anything really to do, or nice enough weather to work in.
Weeded beds, re-set pavers in Bird Area, which will be known as the Nature Preserve (NP) from now on, weeded in NP. Harvested lettuce.
V. has almost completed the tool rack- I assured him I could finish it while he was at the coast. I'm thinking of staining it a rust color, to blend in with the house brick.
Leaves are so compacted in the compost bins that it may be a good idea to turn them. A two-person job that might need a captive daughter.
To do:
Buy, TP peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, basil.
Re-plant squash, beans, cukes
Buy 1x2's to brace tool rack. Finish rack. Stain?
Mulch weeded areas in NP
Move dirt, plant sunflowers in NP.
Birdola, suet, seeds.

Journal March 21

Busy days. Babysat on Tuesday and took O to the nursery with me that afternoon, then had all the children overnight on Thursday through Friday afternoon.
Ordered another load of topsoil from Strong's, which they delivered the same day (Thursday).
Constucted and filled two 2x10' beds across back fence. O and I planted one (Bed IV) with coneflowers, zinnias, cosmos and moonflowers. The second (Bed V) has yarrow, summer squash seedlings and morning glories for now.
Drilled holes and filled pumpkin barrel with planting mix.
Ollas arrived from Path to Freedom. They were wrapped in T-shirts and a sweatshirt, which will be re-cycled to the Thrift Store. The kids and I planted them in Bed II, and filled one as an experiment. Checked the soil around it today and it is, indeed, damp.
Mixed planting mix for the hanging baskets and TP herbs to two of them to hang on back fence: one has three thyme varieties, the other has chives, sage and rosemary.
Bed I: TP summer squash, basil plants. Zucchini is up. Harvested romaine and mesclum for dinner. Watered with soaker hose.
Bed II: TP Roma tomato.
Bed III: Corn is up- most of it overnight at the same time! Watered with soaker hose.
Bed IV: Moved in shepherd's crook from Bird Area, hung with lantana in hanging basket.
Bed VI: (formerly Herb Bed): TP zucchini along fence.

Bought a new mom-friendly drill at Lowe's, as well as a new saw. Also bought V. a ratchet screwdriver for his poor old hands. He finished the little shrine for me - I think it will go on the back fence.

To Do: construct cuke trellis
Hang trellies for squashes on fence.
Put up strings for morning glory, moonflower
Hang shrine.
Finish paths: buy mulch, collect cardboard (from MSSC?), put down weed block.
Plant pumpkins, cowpeas, cukes, flower annuals, sunflowers
Dig up old rosemary
Hang baskets on fence
Construct bed in Bird Area.
Work out watering schedule: print