July 2010
1 post
June 2010
12 posts
Beets
It seems as though birds were the culprits when it came to eating up my gorgeous beet leaves… bummer.
To keep the birds away without using chemicals, since I know they exclusively went for my beets, I could put some loose netting around them as they grow. Then again, there’s always the scarecrow method! The trick, I hear, is to move the scarecrow around because the birds will...
1 tag
Technical Difficulties
I try, I really do. However, sometimes I just cannot conquer the complexities of my beautiful mac. I have been trying to export the movie I made for you about harvesting bok choy for way too long… but I finally had some time and patience to work on it again today so hopefully I will have some success- at last!
Sorry for the delay.
Progress
I looked out the window this morning and the garden looked so gorgeous, I thought I would post these pictures of the progress that has been made since the day we planted.
Soil Hauling
So far today…
Woke up, had a delicious gluten-free pancake breakfast.
Volunteered for my town’s Green Village Initiative, hauling soil for the middle school’s organic garden. Compost was hauled in from a local organic farm and used in the 5 beds middle schoolers built with their science teacher. I was the designated raker. I raked and raked, stone first and then loads of...
Wednesday Tip
Water your garden in the early morning!
If you water in the middle of the day with the sun overhead, the heat from the sun will evaporate most of the water, leaving little behind to nourish your plants. However, watering in the morning will allow growing plants to absorb the water and survive the dry heat midday. Depending on where you live and what you are growing, plants may also need to be...
May 2010
11 posts
Bok Choy
I just harvested the bok choy and will be eating some tonight! I will post the video in a minute. Since this was my first time growing and harvesting bok choy I was unsure how to go about it. I called my friend at Garden of Ideas and she said I could either cut the bok choy at the base or take it out of the ground compeltely. Either way works because the plant is only a one time harvest. I...
All grown up!
Some of my little seedlings have sprouted into mature vegetables *tear*! The cherry tomato plant has one little tomato that is ready to be plucked and a few that are still ripening.
This is the first year I have grown bok choy so I was not sure when it should be harvested. Apparently some if mine are a tad over done! When the weather gets hot they need to come out, they do quite well in cold...
Growing Seedlings
So far I like the beets the best. They’re already magenta and deep green little tiny leaves and SOOOO many are growing, I am getting nervous about the amount of room I have in the garden. You have to re-plant the seedlings after they have grown a bit more so they don’t crowd each other out. Worst case scenario is that I use big planters to plant extra veggies. I also picked up a...
May Freeze!
I went away for a week and left my poor garden to fend for itself during an unseasonably cold week… what a bad Veggie Mommy I am! Thankfully I called my human mommy to help out! Check out the pictures of very creative protective measures that were taken to keep those babies alive! I think the temp reached below freezing.. YIKES. Thankfully I was in sunny Malibu and didn’t have to...
Work Day 3
Yesterday was a little nutty. Thankfully, my entire family helped out and we put up the fence, planted the seeds/plants and marigolds… all just in time for a thunderstorm!
No cuts or bruises to report this time, but definitely another great workout and satisfying day! I love getting a serious workout from being outside and doing something productive. I was such a dork yesterday when I...
“All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the...”
– Abraham Lincoln
April 2010
9 posts
Work Day 2
Before breakfast… and eating breakfast is ALWAYS the very first thing I do in the morning, I went out and worked on digging up some of the grass. Ambitious, perhaps. Stupid, absolutely! I have a seriously bum knee and was pretty darn sore from yesterday, but, as they say: no pain, no gain!
This is what I did today:
Finished pulling up the grass
Re-planted the grass
Raked the dirt...
Work Day 1
Scrapes - 3
Muscles sore - all
calories burned - 8 million
Lesson’s learned… At 61 my dad is WAY stronger than me, garden gloves work better on your hands than on the cart and pilates better watch out if this catches on!
Great day, so much fun. Posting a video soon so you can see it for yourself!
Garden of Ideas
What a great name!
This great little Organic garden was inspiring. It sits on a gorgeous piece of property is surrounded by natural fields and nestled next to an untouched pond. Ilsa, the owner, or I think co-owner was incredibly nice and patient as I tried to figure out the right selection of veggies and timing!
So I was all wrong. Disregard post from yesterday. There ARE still some...
Ok, organic seeds- not happening. A little too late in the season for that. However, I learned that there is a local organic garden that sells fruit and vegetable seedlings- it’s called The Garden of Ideas.
I am going to try for two types of tomatoes, probably heirloom and cherry; spinach, lettuce, kale, onions (maybe), and lots and lots of herbs. Might be a little much for a 12’...
Day 1
Although I have been thinking about this for months now, and debating about going through with it, I decided today to build an organic garden in my back yard. Why is this such a feat? Because, my friend, I live in CT where the trees are plentiful and the rocks are a many. Growing up, we tried every year to have a little garden. We occasionally got some good veggies, but it was very difficult...