We had rain!

My garden is sooooo happy because we've had rain the last three days. Spent about 2 hours weeding and freshening up the soil. I need to buy some compost and add that around my peppers and tomato plants. Plus, I probably need to get some fertilizer for my tomato plants too. They're growing great. I have a few blooms already :) The image is a little out of focus, but you get the idea.

And just check out my pepper plants...they all have little blooms on them! Just can't wait to see what they look like after another week. Below, the broccoli is just starting to show it's little head.

The pole beans are doing fantastic! Here are two shots of them: one from a distance, and one up close and personal so you can see the blooms developing.

Then the bush beans have really started to sprout as well this week. I need to buy some more marigolds to plant amongst the beans to help keep the bugs away.

Next in line, the squash family. The spaghetti squash have started to poke their heads through the soil, and the acorn squash appears happy.

Looks like we'll have 3 cucumber plants...which I'm sure will be quite enough. The birds or some other seed predator helped themselves to the rest of the seeds. I think cucumber seeds are the prettiest seeds I planted!

Well, that's all for today's installment. I need to go get some work done on the front yard and then we have to go mow and stuff at the house in Fisher's that still hasn't sold. Sigh.... If you know of anyone looking for a house in Fisher's here's the link to ours :) -

http://fctucker.katabat.com/content/PropertyBrochure.asp?listingNumber=2661980&agentNumber=7862

Look What's Peekin' ....

What a nice surprise this morning! I spent yesterday evening adding a bunch of stuff to the garden and weeding, but the only seeds that were blooming were the leaf lettuce...then this morning, VOILA! - there are 3 little pole bean sprouts poking their little heads out of the ground! This should be an exciting week for sure. Here are his siblings:

Interestingly, something else is helping his or herself to my seeds. I found some of my pretty blue cucumber seeds out on top of their hills this morning, and I found a few sunflower seeds out of there hill as well. I was so worried about the rabbits, but it looks like I might have some birds conspiring against me. I see a scarecrow in our future...

The garden shed has a new look now too! Mom got me this awesome little "Garden Shed" sign and I added a window box with flowers. I want to plant some daylilies or peonies around the base of the shed and by the propane tank to mask some of the natural beauty of this old shed and tank :) Here's a closer look at the window box:

So, working in the garden has become great therapy. I look forward to coming home from work every night, going out and plucking some weeds, watering, and strolling through the rows to see what has sprung to life over the last 24 hours. There's something very soothing about being out there with the plants! I found some beautiful Gerber Daisies the other day and planted them at the entrance to my garden.

I was also reading that planting marigolds near the tomatoes and basil would help keep bugs away...so of course I had to try it. I like seeing the mixture of flowers in with the vegetables!

Yesterday I added a few more things to the garden: Acorn squash, Watermelon, a blueberry bush, some bush beans, spaghetti squash, and broccoli. Jim just keeps shaking his head :) Here are just a few more pictures because I can't resist....

Garden Update - 5/13/07

Well, as usual, life has been a little crazy. Last Sunday I got all of the plants that I bought from Altrums planted (2 heirloom tomatoes, 1 roma tomato, 2 lavender eggplants, 2 banana pepper plants, rosemary, oregano, 2 types of basil, and 2 little leaf lettuce plants). Monday I got all the straw put down in between the rows (it was WAY too windy on Sunday). Then on Friday all of my seeds that I had ordered from Henry Fields came in, so that is what I spent this morning doing. I planted cucumbers, pole beans, 2 different types of leaf lettuce, catnip, oregano, radishes, and sunflowers. Now all I'm waiting for are the tomato plans I ordered from Henry Field's before I knew you could just go to the local gardening store or Lowes to buy them....duh! I also think I over bought (by a landslide) on the tomatoes. When I ordered the ones out of the catalog, each "offer" was 6 plants. I wanted to try a few different varieties in my first garden, so I got some Celebrity tomatoes, some early girls, and some cherry tomatoes....yes, 6 X 3 = 18 tomato plants!!!! PLUS the 3 that I bought from Altrums (the heirlooms). Guess I'll be giving lots away and making some salsa or sauce :)

I also bought a sprinkler for the garden because it seemed like my watering wand was too rough for the plants and kind of pushed them around. So now I water half the garden in the morning before work, and half when I come home. I learned the hard way that right now I can't go a day without watering because I came home and everything was wilted. All recovered well except my oregano plant that is gone forever... I planted some more from seed though.

I also learned that peppers (green peppers) need to be started about 6 weeks before you plant them like the tomato plants. I had ordered some seeds and then read that on the packet. So NEXT year, I'm going to start my own tomato and peppers from seed.

So, here are a few pics from last Sunday. I need to go take some more so you can see what it looks like with hay on it. Plus, my mom got me this great "Garden Shed" sign for the outside of the shed and I also bought a window basket for flowers to hang below the window. More to come...

Rotatilling 101

Wow! Ok, today was my introduction to rotatilling 101.

So, supposedly you just rock this thing back and forth and it "walks" forward. Let's just say, it took me awhile to get the hang of it. I think that thing would tunnel all the way down. Pud had to bail me out several times that first row...but I slowly got better.

I'm not sure who they thought might be more likely to get hurt...the rotatiller or me :P

It was truly a blast though! I had so much fun. I sure hope this garden grows....

So here's the list of what I'm planting this year:

Pole Beans

Tomatoes (regular and cherry)

Mixed Bell Peppers

Basil

Oregano

Catnip (of course...for Julie's cats and mine!)

Sunflowers

Radishes

Cucumbers

2 kinds of lettuce (Simpson Elite and a Leaf Lettuce blend) - Jim says the rabbits will surely enjoy my lettuce.

That's where I'm starting...I may add some things once I get that planted and see how I'm doing. My tomato ladders and my bean fence arrived yesterday. As soon as Jim and I get the fence around the garden, I'm going to get those up.

Next on the agenda...start raking out the extra grass and start moving the dirt into my rows. Then I'm going to get some straw to lay down in between the rows for walking on so I don't pack my dirt down.

Stay tuned...