Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, 2014

Any portion of the yard that gets full sun all day long is now growing something other than grass.  Grass is a taker, not a giver.

I spent six hours in the backyard gardening yesterday.  Good times!  It feels fantastic having a garden established once again.  We are counting down the days until we can eat a freshly picked tomato like an apple.  

Herb bed in foreground; main raised bed in background;
strawberry bed running along the left of the raised bed; and the garlic bed,
on the right of the herb bed, wrapping around and then running the length of the raised bed on the right.

Strawberry bed and newly planted raised bed.  The blue cups are acting at cloches
to keep velvety lips and beaks from eating the tiny vegetable sprouts.

Newly established tomato bed!
That's 98 square feet of additional growing space.

Thank you for your service.

Growth in the garden

It's official, seedlings were planted in the garden bed this afternoon!  I am exhausted from moving, lifting, dumping, squatting, standing, squatting, standing, raking, pushing, and pulling soil and mulch around the new tomato bed; but exhilarated that the garden is officially planted.

All of the vegetable and herb seedlings have been added to their respective beds.  Later this weekend the flower seedlings, as well as many packets of flower seeds, will be planted around the yard.  John purchased a wonderful selection of flowers from a local nursery that will be planted in pots, too.

Several direct-sow seeds will be sown later this weekend as well.  Carrot, bean, corn, lettuce, radish, and beet, to name a few.  I love this time of year!

The front flower beds are lush and vibrant.  The late spring bloomers (poppies, iris, and peonies) are growing like gangbusters.  In fact, a single iris bloomed today.  By this time next week, the front yard should be a riot of color.  We can hardly wait!

The red and black raspberry bushes are full of leaves and teeny tiny developing flower heads.  The strawberry bed is dotted heavily with cheery white flowers.  We are eager for berry overload!

"Revolution is based on land.  Land is the basis of all independence."

~Malcolm X, November 10, 1963

❂

All of the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.

~Indian Proverb

❀

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."

~Margaret Atwood

Having just finished reading Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-tenth of an Acre and The Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City by Eric Toensmeier with contributions from Jonathan Bates, I'm looking forward to completing the task of cleaning up the yard and removing evidence of the harsh winter beating.  I look forward to this activity every spring but reading Paradise Lot has me more excited than usual.  The book has also inspired me to take our backyard garden to the next level of productivity and efficiency.

A quote from the book that resonated with me:

"I try to remember that water is a borrowed element.  It has been moving through our environment and our bodies for billions of years.  We can either ignore how humans are part of this cycle and flush water away, or we can slow it, spread it, and sink it--using it as it moves through our landscapes and lives."

The addition of at least two more water barrels will be made to our backyard this year.  The longer we have our present duo, the clearer it is how foolish and irresponsible it is not to catch rainwater and use it for watering plants and the garden beds when the season is dry.  Heck, I dream of having a 1000 gallon cistern in our yard.

The boys of Paradise Lot have their own blog!

Meanwhile, the color green is slowly returning to the Midwest and I could not be more delighted. Perennial flower bulbs are growing at a bionic rate and very soon the flower beds will explode with color. It finally looks and feels like spring.

Seeds sown in peat

Seeds planted on March 15, 2014 for Wright Gardens this year:

Tomatoes (Paul Robeson (purple), Black Seaman (purple), Zapotec Pleated (red), Jubilee (yellow))
Leek
Bell peppers (red, orange, green & yellow)
Cucumber
Fennel
Cabbage
Celery
Carrots
Hot Peppers (Georgia Flame, jalapeño, serrano, pasilla, poblano)
Parsley
Marjoram
Tarragon
Cumin
Thyme
Basil
Rosemary
Onions (red flat, white flat, brown, scallions)
Lunaria (Money Plant)
Moss Rose
Nigra Hollyhock
Fire Chief Petunia
Globe Amaranth
White Poppy
Heirloom Poppy
Cherry Glow Poppy
Sunlite Poppy


Seeds to be direct sown:
Winter Squash (Butternut, Blue Hubbard, Pie Pumpkin)
Melon (watermelon, musk)
Corn (Carl's Glass Gems, Seneca Red Stalker)
Beans (Good Mother Stallard, Hidatsa Red Indian, Brockton Horticultural, Cherokee Trail of Tears)
Cosmos
Zinnia
Bachelor Buttons
Heliotrope
Sunflower
Lupine
Lobelia
Columbine
Bishops Flower
Marigold

How to build a seeding rack - video

This video is a companion to the book The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects by Spike Carlsen.  It demonstrates how to build a seedling rack using PVC pipe and plywood.  For those short on space and money, this looks like a great way to build a portable seedling rack.  You'll find the 'How To' video at YouTube:  http://youtu.be/Aq3Cmsq4Iuo

I own a copy of The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! by Carleen Madigan and absolutely love the book.  It is a wealth of information.  The Book of Building Projects will soon be included in my gardening library as well.

If you haven't yet purchased seeds, there are many great resources listed in the Useful Sites & Sources section of this blog.  Check 'em out and get to planting!  Gardening season, thankfully, is just around the corner.

Homegrown Life: Tools and Tips for Homestead Hunting

Hello,

Homegrown.org is one of my favorite web sites.  It's chock full of like-minded individuals who desire to live a self-sufficient lifestyle by growing, preserving, and eating food they grow; raising animals for clean eggs, milk, and meat; and who share information for a myriad of DIY projects.  It's a virtual commune!

This morning, a new post to Homegrown's blog, Homegrown Life, was waiting for me in my email inbox.  It is titled Homegrown Life: Tools and Tips for Homestead Hunting and I enjoyed it so much that I'm sharing it here with you.  It seems like just the information needed to research where me and my beloved should buy land to have a small herd of goats and a small flock of chickens we so desire.

Happy reading and homestead researching!

Seeds to sow

In addition to the book recommendations made in last weeks post, I'd also like to remind you of the Useful Sites & Sources section of the blog.  Included there are a couple dozen seed companies where you can purchase a plethora of seed varieties, including flower and herb seeds, and other gardening related sources.

Go, go, gardeners!