Garden Pics
Posted on June 4, 2009 by
Thought I’d show you some pictures of this year’s garden.
It’s a little more simple than it was last year. I’m not growing any lettuce and I got most of my plants from the local nursery instead of starting from seed.
The strawberries came back full force this year. The varieties I have are supposed to fruit all season, so we should have a lot of strawberries. I’m going to start freezing right away this year. All but one of my blueberry bushes came back (although, they are still very small). And I have two types of raspberries and a blackberry plant on the side of the tool shed. They didn’t fruit last year, but hopefully, they will this year.
I’m waiting for an order of bird netting, but until it comes, I’ve tried hanging old CD’s from the edging to scare the birds away. It’s not working all that well. By the way, I don’t love that little green wire fence edging in the top picture, but it keeps the dogs out (for the most part).
I’m growing several different kinds of tomatoes. Plum, a few heirloom varieties, and some yellow grape tomatoes. I am growing one plant from the cherry tomatoes I grew last year, but I’m growing it in a whiskey barrel to keep it from getting out of hand.
I’m also growing several different kinds of peppers in the ground and in containers. I love growing peppers. Last year I roasted them on the grill and marinated them in oil and garlic. We kept those in the freezer and at them on pizza and sandwiches. I was so upset when they ran out. I’m going to try to get a few more batches in this year.
And I’ve planted marigolds in with the tomatoes and peppers to try to keep the pests away naturally.
The herb garden was in the shade when I went to take pictures, so I don’t have a picture of the whole thing. The oregano, thyme and sage came back from last year. The sage is flowering for the first time. So pretty!
The rosemary died over the winter. I replaced it with lavender, which will come back every year. Oddly, the parsley from last year lasted through the winter and is doing well. And I had some volunteer cilantro plants I’m taking full advantage of. I also planted some basil and one small rosemary plant in the herb garden. I’m growing catnip, trailing rosemary, and eucalyptis in pots.
If I have time this summer, I hope to plant some lavender in the veggie garden, along the fence, because it’s a pain to mow that little stretch of grass. I’m thinking of trying lasagna gardening in the corner of the yard, possibly with more herbs, because the grass is weird over there. And we really need to work on landscaping the front of the house. But, I also have a lot going on work-wise this summer, so we’ll see.
The best part of gardening? Now that our back yard is fenced in, these guys get to hang out in the grass while I work.
Are you growing anything this year?
Looks great! We’re considering starting an herb garden, but we don’t have much room for anything else. Yet another reason to buy a house!
We planted a container garden this year–so far just plants we’ve bought: 8 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, 4 broccoli, and organic sage, Italian parsley, rosemary, sage, Japanese cucumber, and red bell pepper. I would also like to plant heirloom lettuce, spinach, and mint from seed but I may have waited too late.
I have already been harvesting the herbs. We have 6 tiny tomatoes (ranging from pea size to larger than a marble) on our tomato plants. I want to dry the tomatoes so that we will have them in the winter, but maybe I should try oven roasting them and marinating them too. (We don’t have a grill.)
awesome job! you must be very excited
it all looks fantastic; i’m really glad you get to hang out with the dawgs while you’re in the back yard, that definitely makes everything better.
p.s. love the watering can!
I put sage on there twice–senior moment, I meant to type basil for one of those!
I like how your garden is laid out–very nice.
So, you don’t let the pooches out by themselves? You have them well trained? Invisible fence?
OOPS should have read about the “little green fence”.
PS Nice pooch pics!
Love it! I always enjoy having a garden companion as well!
I am jealous–so much space!
I’d love to have a garden, but alas, we live in a 3rd-story apartment. Nevertheless, we’ve got a zoo full of plants, and despite the lack of space, I’ve managed to keep a little compost heap (though, because it’s so small, I can’t “feed” it nearly as much as I’d like), too, which I use every other week for a “compost tea”. I still have to fertilize with artificial stuff from time to time, though, since the compost isn’t always ready.
Courtney – I hope you’ll put up pics if you do plant one!
Valerie – I’m so impressed that you do so much in containers! What kind of containers do you use?
Rachel – Thank you! I love that watering can too. It was a gift from my friend, Kristin, and it makes me smile every time I use it.
Roger – surprisingly, the little green wire fence does keep the dogs out. They could surely jump it if they wanted to, but they stay out. I never leave them out there completely unattended (I’m at least watching out the window every few minutes).
Chiots – Makes all the difference!
Jules – Do you compost inside?
I had no idea lasagna could be grown in a garden! Now if Monsanto comes out with a pizza plant we’ll be set.
The garden’s looking good!
I use self-watering containers. I learned about them in a book I read about organic container gardening (“Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed’s Amazing POTS System” by Edward C. Smith).
We have them on our deck, which is close to the kitchen for harvesting (smile). I had learned about heirloom plant varieties in Barbara Kingsolver’s “Vegetable, Animal, Miracle”. I can’t wait to try the varieties. One of the tomato plants is Brandywine, which has leaves like a potato, and is supposed to have wonderful tasting tomatoes . . . but I only have blooms so far on that plant (sigh).
My little developing tomatoes are Green Zebra Stripe, Amish Paste, and Jubilee. I’m not sure how I will know the Green Zebra Stripe tomatoes are ready to harvest–any ideas?
I’d love to have a garden, but living in an apartment, it’s not so feasible. I grow herbs on my patio instead though. The basil is looking great, now I can’t wait for tomatoes then bake a loaf of bread and oh the bruschetta will be wonderful.
No, I don’t compost inside (I think my boyfriend would blow a major blood vessel if I even proposed that
); the little plastic box sits outside on our balcony, and about once a week I toss it kitchen scraps.
I’m growing tomatoes and cucumbers, which are doing okay, and also beets and green onions which are not doing anything at all, I think because I tried to start them from seed in the backyard instead of sprouting them in pots first. I also have mint, which appeared out of nowhere last year. I’m a little afraid to use it because I don’t know where it came from, but my neighbor’s cats seem to like rolling in it.
“I also have mint, which appeared out of nowhere last year. I’m a little afraid to use it because I don’t know where it came from, but my neighbor’s cats seem to like rolling in it.”
I think catnip is a type of mint. We used wild mint when we lived in Michigan, and it was great. Mint seems to spread easily and can take over.
Those are some good-looking strawberries. And good-looking dogs, too!
I think I may do a few basic herbs once we move into our new place and I actually have a yard and porch.