New Growth!

I am so excited...we have had quite a bit of rain...and there is nothing that compares to God's rain. Our chemical treated water is no comparison when it comes to stimulating the garden vegetables. As much as I can, I use the rain from the rain barrel to water my garden.  Look what is coming up:

Seedlings in Greenhouse, almost ready to transplant

Carrots

Green & Wax Beans

Red Beans

Cucumbers

Red Onions

Tomatoes

Beets

White Bunching Onions

Expanding My Garden

Larger Greenhouse & Potting Bench Ordered ~ Should be here next week 
(both ordered from Amazon )

CASTLECREEK Compact Walk - in Greenhouse, a gardener's best friend. Get a head-start on bigger, better plants with this easy, portable, durable Greenhouse! It even has shelves for plants and storage... and it's Sale-priced to save you some lettuce! You can start seedlings in it and even keep garden supplies sheltered. A glorious growing season is coming: Frame is sturdy tubular steel; Reinforced polyethylene cover is water, rot and tear resistant. Fits snug and has ties to attach to frame; 2 shelving frames, each with 2 wire shelves; Roll-up zippered front door; Stakes and guy ropes for stable setup. Measures 57 x 29 x 77"h. Weighs 22 lbs. A terrific CASTLECREEK value deal! Order Today! CASTLECREEK Compact Walk-in Greenhouse 

Guide Gear Potting Bench gives you ample space to put that "green thumb" to use! SAVE BIG! Transplant garden greens, re-pot plants and much more in this Guide Gear Potting Bench. The fantastic 23 x 15" tabletop surface is set up at a comfy working height, and a smooth finish is easy to clean, too! A lip around the edges keeps extra pots and tools from rolling on to the floor, as well. Made to last, with durable China fir wood construction all over, and a cross-braced support on either side. All the rest: Metal top is durable and wipes clean with a rag; Bottom shelf for organizing your planting materials. Full Bench measures 23 3/5 x 16 x 37 1/5" h., weighs 14 lbs., 5 ozs. Get Yours Now! Guide Gear Potting Bench

Keeping Cats off Vegetable & Fruit Beds

Naughty Kitty using garden for litter box

 I surfed the internet for suggestions for keeping the neighborhood cats out of my Strawberry Pyramid, digging up my plants and using it for a litter box. I will let you know what I do and if it works.

One tip was to scatter Citrus peels around on top of the soil.
 Another tip was to scatter Coffee Grounds around on top of the soil

 

Links I found with helpful suggestions:

Keeping Cats Away

Tips for Keeping Cats out of Yards & Garden

Oh LOOK ~ What's Coming Up?

What's Coming Up?

See the Lima Beans & Cucumbers?

Look at the Strawberry plants!  They have more than doubled since I planted them.  Now if I can figure out a way to keep the neighbor's cats from using it as a litter box, and digging up the plants in the back, I will be good to go! 

Strawberry Plants

Dwarf Blueberry Bush March 15

Dwarf Blueberry Bush March 23

Is it Spring yet?

 Enjoying what comes naturally.

Busy planting seeds in my greenhouse!

 

Tomato Seeds

4 Varieties of Tomatoes:
Superba Hybrid, Container Hybrid, Cherry & Lemon

2 Varieties of Sweet Corn:
Silver/Gold & Hybrid Container Yellow

4 Varieties of Cucumbers:
Green, Lemon Cucumbers, Bush & Pickling

3 Varieties of Beans:
Green, Royal Burgandy & Yellow Wax

Seeds started in greenhouse

Petite Carrots for Containers
Lima Beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower 
Beets 
Chives

4 Varieties of Squash:
Yellow Summer, Zucchini, Acorn, Butternut

3 Varieties of Sweet Peppers:
Green, Yellow & Red

2 Varieties of Onions:
Red sets & White Bunching

 

Dwarf Sunshine Blueberry

Fruit plants started:

25 Strawberry plants
3 Raspberry bushes
2 Blueberry bushes
1 Container Banana Tree
1 Sunshine Container Blueberry bush
1 Tickled Pink Red Seedless Grapes






This year I will have a mixture of gardens, direct soil, raised beds, patio containers, poles, trellis and hanging baskets. 

Bean Tower & Garden Bed

Bean Tower & Strawberry Pyramid

I am looking forward to maintaining the areas. 

February Update

We have been working on the weekends to prepare for Spring planting. Saturdays are the only real time we have to get chores done inside and out. Last week we were able to get a lot accomplished. My husband worked on his motorcycle most of the day while I worked in the back yard preparing pots, and moving soil.

Most of my plants have survived winter in the greenhouse. I did lose 2 tomato plants, but have lettuce and spinach ready to harvest. As soon as I can take the larger pots with the flowers and non vegetable plants out of the greenhouse.  

I will prepare my seeds to get a jump start on the planting. I have several multi-plant seed trays along with peat pots and pellets to get my seeds started. I am anxious to get working on all this.

 More soil is needed for the Strawberry beds and the raised beds, as well as all my pots, so we were able to make a run to Lowe's to pick up 6 more bags.

I am eager to try out my Wall of Water for starting plants earlier.

What We Accomplished on Chore Day

We worked outside all morning and got quite a bit accomplished.  It was a lot of work for both of us, but of course my husband did all the heavy work.  The Strawberry Pyramid which is 6 feet across, took quite a while since all that dirt had to be filled in. It took over 8 bags of soil, and we still need more.  Before we could build it, he had to remove one of the Crepe Myrtles. He had already planned to give the 3 of them a good trim, but the first one we decided to remove to make room for the strawberries.

I have been composting, rotating compost that I had saved from "garbage" indoors, mixing with soil from last year's pots. We used all of the composted soil and mixed it in with the new soil we bought. The strawberry beds should be well fertilized. 


The area by the fence needs to be prepared for Spring planting.  We relocated the edging and made it "mower-friendly".  

I am thinking about using the area between the strawberry bed and the Crepe Myrtles for corn.  

The hose is connected to the strawberry pyramid and can easily be connected to the water source to maintain the moist soil that is required for the berries.

  

Next we kill any grass and weeds in the bed, then bring in more soil to complete the strawberry pyramid and new bed.  The strawberries are on order and should arrive in mid February. 
  

The raised bed on the side of the house has settled from last year, and needs to be filled with a few inches of soil. This worked well for the zucchini and summer squash last year. Not sure if I will rotate my crops or use it again for the same vegetables this year. More thought needs to be given to my planting plans.  Also, the back side of the house between windows I have been planning to build a trellis for cucumbers and beans. Some additional planning will be done there, as well.

I will be posting more soon on "Pot Preparation".