Aug. 18, 2008 Garden Update Jul. 31, 2008 Garden Update
The Morning Glory is finally blooming, one bloom at a time! I love its rich color. Of course, I long for more blooms, too.
Here is a side-dish in the making, perhaps tomorrow evening?
Cool slices on my next salad perhaps? Now I am starting to feel like a predatory gardener.
The big picture.
The lilies are still going. Last blooms are getting ready for their swan song.
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Jul. 23, 2008 Garden Update
I feel like the garden has been on auto pilot for quite some time. There are few if any weeds that ever need pulled in a Square Foot Garden. There has been abundant rain and sunshine, too. If only I had more space in that sunshine for more boxes. Oh well, the lovely trees keep our house somewhat cooler, so it is a give an take I suppose. Here are some update photos.
The wild "main" box. We are getting a dozen or so cherry tomatoes daily. Yum!
The "Green Bean, Basil, and Strawberry" box. I need to make some pesto soon. 
Ryan's box with lots of Zennia's about to bloom in the back.
Here's an up close of the Zennia.
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Jul. 15, 2008 Garden Update
Here are some photos of our plants from mid-July.
 These lilies are going strong. I could not water them enough last year to get the same results as all the rain we've had this year. It's amazing.
Here is Ryan's (ds, 10) box. Things are growing well here too with minimal attention.
Another lily.
The Hosta I got at Walmart last year. So lovely!
Here is a view of both garden boxes.
I have decided not to replant anything in the spaces left from the lettuce. The cucumbers are going crazy and need the room to roam. See that one hanging down in front? It started in the back corner.
Does anyone know how long it take for Morning Glories to bloom? I planted them in early May. My dad says they might not be getting enough sun. That could be. Sun is hard to find in my backyard!
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Jul. 5, 2008 My Hummer Friend
Finally I have a picture of my hummingbird friend.  It was at the suggestion of my smart husband that I set up the tripod to try to capture a photo of our illusive hummingbirds. Unfortunately, I could not use flash because of the window and had to use digital zoom, so the pictures were not the greatest, but I finally have them nonetheless.
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Jul. 5, 2008 Garden Update
It's been great fun, having these garden boxes. So far we have eaten some strawberries, green beans, lettuce and a couple cherry tomatoes, not to mention the herbs we use frequently. The carrots are almost ready. We each sampled one yesterday. They had great flavor. They just need to mature a bit longer. My husband is convinced that these raised boxes are the way to go and is planning to build another one on the other side of the stairs next spring. Yippee! I will have great fun this winter planning the two boxes. Here is an updated picture.
The Mornging Glories...  
Be sure to check out the entry below this one. I took some pictures today on our nature walk. |
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Jun. 17, 2008 Good Quote & Some Garden Updates Jun. 12, 2008 Garden Update: The Longest One Yet!
OK, if anyone is wondering, it is not normal for a garden to look like mine does in June in Indiana. This is what a normal garden looks like this time of the year. (It's my neighbor's.)
I have to say with all the natural water and the superior soil mix (sand, peat moss,organic top soil) my garden is incredible. Even 2 neighbors have remarked about how healthy every thing looks compared to their sparse plots of improved clay soil, which in my humble opinion is an oxymoron because you cannot improve clay! The Square Foot Garden is the only way to go for me from now on. But enough of this, let's get to the proof.
Grace harvested some lettuce for lunch yesterday. She was very excited. She reminds me of a bunny when she eats whole leaves of plain lettuce.
 Look at these tomatoes!
 See this little guy peeking through? There are lots of little green cherry tomatoes now.
 Look at the cilantro. I think the flowers are so pretty. Makes me want a box dedicated to herbs next year.
 The greenbeans and strawberries are doing well, too. Oh, I almost forgot the lone basil in the bottom left corner. It is recovering from some frequent trimmings to make pasta sauce.
Here is one last look at the cucumbers. I found some scrap lattice hiding in the garage. I hope to get these cucumbers to vine on the lattice.
I found some for my Morning Glories as well. (Don't you just love free stuff!)
 My precious lilies are going to bloom soon, too. What color do you think they are? I am thinking a dark orange red.
 Here's another look at the Pictim. I think it is in heaven with all the rain. I've not seen it this lush before.
 We started some Zennia seeds a couple weeks ago. Look at them grow!
One sad note, we had to have the apple tree cut down. It was leaning across the backyard and as it turns out it was hollow down the middle. Here is a view of the backyard without the tree.
So there you have it. I would encourage anyone to give the Square Foot Garden a try. It doesn't have to be big at all. I can be as small as one square foot like my friend Lynn has. I have very little previous gardening knowledge. I just got some books from the library and gave it a go. The most important thing to remember is to enjoy this process with your kids and let nature take its course! |
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The year's first bloom.
I think I have figured out why my Clematis is not as robust as I would like. I have come to the conclusion that the soil where it is planted is probably very impoverished. So my new plan is to spread some of my compost there and see if that helps. Looking back, I probably should have thought of that before I fist planted there. Hindsight is always 20/20. I'll be posting a garden update tomorrow. You won't believe the changes.
UPDATE: Thanks to Michelle's insightful comment, I now know that my Clematis is doing just fine for it's second season. Here is the saying she included in her comment.
The first year they 'sleep,'
The second year they 'creep',
and the next year they "Leap!"
Thanks again, Michelle! |
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Jun. 5, 2008 Garden Update May. 27, 2008 Garden Update
 Sunday afternoon we planted 2 yellow bell pepper plants and 3 yellow squash. There is still one empty square. I am going to attempt broccoli from a seed since I have them on hand. That will complete this box of 24 squares!
I also planted my shade container.
I could not pass up these two half price trumpet lilies to go with the one I got for half price last year. I still do not know the colors of any of them! I don't really care. They were cheap!
My oldest son, 10 years old, planted his flower box, which is in partial shade, so it was a challenge to find just the right plants.
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May. 21, 2008 Garden Update May. 9, 2008 Garden Update
After several wet days, the garden is exploding with green. It amazes me. There are a few wholes, but those can be taken care of with some plant starts when I get some extra cash. So far our garden is progressing better than hoped for. Next thing to do is install a fence of some sort to keep the chipmonk from eating all the berries AGAIN.
The Morning Glories have sprouted! They are hard to see in this picture. They are the lighter specks.
Look at all the green!
Here are the poor strawberry-less plants. At least the green beans are doing well.
Up-close green beans
The weather has been cooler than average lately. Now if we could just get some sunshine again, the garden will take off even more. As it is, I am excited to see that everything is still alive. (I am not by nature a green-thumb.)
If you'd like to see more show & tell entires, go to Mary's blog. |
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May. 4, 2008 Garden Update
It's been a couple of weeks since we made our planters and planted the seeds. Only two nights have we had to cover the tender tomatoes. When my 88 year old grandfather heard that I had committed the sin of planting before Mother's Day, he was skeptical of my gardening abilities for sure.
Here is my future shade barrel.
 I planted the hosta last year when I accidentally pulled it while weeding. I stuck the then leaf in the dirt and watered it. I figured it would die over the winter. Not so...free hosta! I plan to get a start of a fern from my dear mother soon. Then I will buy something else with color that grows well in the shade. Perhaps I will find a deal on something.
Here is Ryan's Clematis. It too has a survival story.
 We bought it a new trellis when I notice it was growing way bigger than the old one. But it was so entwined in the old one that we dared not move it.
Here is the spot where I planted Morning Glory seeds. Oh, I just can't wait until they bloom!
 The pipes will make a great place for them to climb.
Here is Ryan's flower garden. A few seedlings are starting to appear. Next to it is some basil I bought.
Here is the big 4x6 box full of little seedlings.
These are the cucumbers, the biggest seedlings so far.
Here are the strawberries and green beans. A few green beans have sprouted.
Our next big project is to work on this neglected bed. It needs definition and a few more Hosta.
 And finally the famous Bleeding Heart is doing its thing. |
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To be true to the Square Foot Gardening method, we marked off our beds into square feet. If we were purest, we would have made permanent grids out of wood. But since we are trying to be practical as well as thrifty, it seemed to us that using garden twine would get the job done.
The soil mixture is one part sand, one part organic top soil and one part peat moss in layers. When the compost is ready, we will use that for fertilizer.
This is box number one, 3'x3', belonging to my oldest son. It's purpose is to attract butterflies. He planted Aster, Zennia, and Marigold seeds.
Box number 2 is a community box measuring 4'x6'. It contains cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, lettuce, carrots, cilantro, broccoli and cucumbers.
This last box, 2'x8', belongs to my daughter. It contains 8 everbearing strawberry plants and green beans.
And lastly, here is a close up of the Bradford Pear Tree's bloom. There are three in my neighbor's yard right up against my yard, so we get to enjoy their beauty.
 The trees are nothing but these blooms. Marvelous! |
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Apr. 20, 2008 I never get tired of spring
 My Bleeding Heart came back! It's so exciting to see a bloom. I planted it last year after it had bloomed and so I was not certain what would happen this year.
 The Magnolia Tree is in its splendor.
 The lily I bought at Wal Mart last year for one dollar has come up and is spreading. I can't wait to find more good deals this summer when all the lilies are on sale.
 These lilies were here last year and are marvelous. I gave them a little boost with some organic fertilizer aka manure. I planted the Hosta, and Delphinium last year after we moved in. I am happy to see that they made the winter. My goal for this area is to have an edge dug to separate the bed from the sparse grass. I'd like to plant grass, but this is a walk way for the kids to "their" tree, so it is not worth the effort right now. You can see my son's butterfly garden way back in the background.
 See our new raised bed? The Tomatoes are of the cherry variety, my husband's favorite.
 New, future strawberry bed, everbearing, of course.
 And finally, the composting bin my dear husband made us. I can't believe it is already full. I am going to have to make a bigger bin somewhere else soon. Composting is addicting. |
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Apr. 11, 2008 What a difference a week makes Mar. 13, 2008 New Photo Editing Available
This is the picture I took of my Red-bellied Woodpecker friend before I used the new editing features on Photobucket. 
Here it is after I used the editing tools.
 They are easy to use and a lot of fun! (Although it may be a little slow.)
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Here we pulled out an old dead bush, transplanted hosta from the front yard and spread some mulch. This area was almost done for free! 
My new pitch-fork!
