i'm a month or so into my first vegetable garden.
i was a little behind in my planting
but spring came very late this year
and preparing a new garden bed is no easy task.
i spent weeks ripping up sod, turning up the soil,
sending soil samples off to the lab,
amending the nutrients and ph based on the test results,
adding manure, coffee grounds, peat alternative
and any other good organic material i could get my dirty hands on.
after hardening them off,
i finally was able to put into the ground
the plants i started indoors way back in march
(yay short northern growing season)
and put the shorter season seeds into the ground.
i'm now the proud owner of:
basil - 2 plants
rosemary - 2
chives - uh, chives probably exist on mars, they are annoyingly hardy
spicy oregano - 1
habanero - 1
jalepeno - 5 i think
heirloom red bell pepper - 6 i think
tomatillo - 4
sundried tomato - 1
black krim tomato - 1
heirloom brandywine tomato - 4
broccoli - 4
corn stalks - 15 or so
peas and beans too numerous to count
my boyfriend has way more in his garden
(eggplant, zucchini, pumpkins, cauliflower, i could go on)
plus i have a bit of a lead problem so we kept
all the leafy greens and root veggies in his garden,
just to be safe.
alas, i'm now at the stage of pests and diseases.
my black krim tomato plant has aphids and my broccoli
has cute but voracious cauliflower caterpillars.
i'm determined to be as organic as i can
with this garden of mine
so i'm off to mother earth gardens tomorrow
to purchase a bag
of lady beetles for the aphids
and garden netting for the caterpillars.
no chemicals here, no way.
this is all new to me so with every issue that arises
i'm researching and learning the best and safest way
to deal with the problem.
this is probably waaay too much garden info for most folks
but it's most of what i've been up to lately
and obviously something i'm really excited about right now.
next time i think i'll post some photos.
don't expect too much, though.
it's still a baby garden.
-nicole
this is so lovely to hear about. are you doing this in your backyard or do you have an allotment? i wish, wish, wish i had a yard to garden. instead i'm trying to grow things inside and in window boxes. it isn't going the best, but i do have marigolds that have grown from seed. it is something i suppose.
ReplyDeleteyou are cool.
congrats on the garden! something has been stealing my tomatoes, and has now chewed clean through two of my thick tomato stalks, killing the plants. i've seen squirrels scampering about my deck, but i didn't think squirrels cared for tomatoes or general mischief. maybe i was wrong about squirrels...
ReplyDeleteThat sounds awesome. I hope everything grows well!
ReplyDeleteabby, yes this is in my yard! well, the house is rented but i get creative free reign for the most part. you need a darling little english garden!
ReplyDeleteali, squirrels CANNOT be trusted. yes they're small and fuzzy but they are mischief makers. i could tell you so many stories but then this would be way too long for a blog comment. the best advice i can give is garlic and/or pepper spray. put pealed cloves just under the soil surface near each plant. you can also get hot pepper sprays at most garden stores but they're almost $20. or for less money you could probably buy some human pepper spray and be really careful when applying it. : )
jamie, you'll get to see it (and eat some fresh veggies!) when you get up here.
ReplyDeleteWoo!
ReplyDeletethat's awesome, nicole!
ReplyDelete