Summer 2012 Garden

During summer 2012 we continued to improve our garden area. This years focus for me was the pathways. I really wanted to decrease the amount of weeding to be done.  I tried recycling ideas for the paths, newspaper, then cardboard, but wasn't happy with the way it ended up looking. I ended up putting black plastic down, then covered with wood chips. I am very pleased with the results.

Here's the row with beans and carrots. See how much cleaner the rows look? Much better. Was easier to focus on the weeds just in the planted areas - believe me, there were plenty there!

This is the berry section. We have strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries, raspberries. Look closely...see the chicken? We have five hens and they like to make dust baths there in the strawberry patch. We have bird feeders just to the left and they like to hang around there cleaning up what the finches spill.

Here is the rhubarb I replanted from another area in the yard. We thought it was dead, but after daily TLC it came back to life. It is very happy in the new spot. I love rhubarb pie!!

The herbs. The sage, to the right, came back full-force. What a hearty herb that is!! I have thoughts to expand my herb garden in the summer 2013. We'll see what comes of it. 

Notice the bridge? I LOVE that bridge. 

Yes, I yelled.... LOVE it. 

Holly's Hub E. made that bridge for me. He is so talented in everything he does. Thanks E!

  My lavender. I love my lavender. 

Here are the tomatoes and corn. We got some corn, but most of the stalks didn't produce early enough and the weather turned before we could harvest. 

 Again, I had lots of green tomatoes! I did manage to get some red tomatoes this year. Need to figure out how to get them to all turn red.

Watermelon!!

I planted flowers this year at the end of the vegetable rows. 

They were so pretty.

Un

2011 Garden Recap

I am combining two blogs into one. This is the last post on my Sapphire Gardening blog from 2011.

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The garden is doing great. I'm so excited. There are zucchini coming, beans, broccoli just about ready to be picked. The tomatoes are starting to get blossoms. The peppers, I'm not sure about, they are still pretty small. Only time will tell what will happen with them.

I love watering the garden every day. I hand water so I can see how much water the plants are getting and I don't waste the water on the pathways and other areas. Weeds are here and there. Weeding is not my favorite part, but I'm keeping up with it okay. 

One challenge for me has been the pathways. I would like to put down landscape fabric, then mulch. I've run out of steam at this point to tackle this though. I remind myself that this is year one and we've come a LONG way. :)

Lars' cantaloupe is growing big, but I don't see evidence of fruit or anything that will be fruit. It is a mystery...hope something edible happens.

 

Broccoli...

Beans...

Spinach, onion, lettuce...

Tomatoes (and peppers in front)...

Corn...

Next will be harvesting and canning or freezing.