Garden Update: 8/9

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Hi again!!

Well, it’s official our watermelon plant is done along with one our pumpkin plants and the cukes are on the way if we don’t do something about it fast… I’m so sad. Our only watermelon died a very slow death. Wah! I hope we can come up with a good bug remedy to defeat them but they’ve definitely taken over. Lots and lot’s of little black bugs. Hrmph! Not COOL.

This is the first year we’ve done raised beds so I’m not sure if it’s the moisture and the fact things are a little too close together… whoopsie. Kicking myself for not planting the marigolds like we normally do.2010’s garden adventures have been tough since my husband has been working much of the weekends and it’s been SUPER hot.

We’ve done pretty good so far… but our nectarines never did make it and our tomatoes are struggling + zucchini which is pretty much toast…but I’m still nurturing it to the nines. We have a very large fruitless mulberry tree in our backyard which grows like a WEED and this year we didn’t cut it back in the fall … so that means our garden is suffering this summer. Lot’s of shade…not enough sun! BOOOOO!!

Right now, there is no time to do anything about it and because of it things are sllowwwlllyyyy but surely coming along. If we get one zucchini this year, I’ll consider ourselves lucky! Our strawberry plant is doing very good and so is the little one I have potted. We get about 2 strawberries every other 3 days or so. Not much…but when the eco tot (Tristan, my three year old) finds them it’s pure sweetness all around.

Fortunately, we have some new life sproutin’ …  radishes both red and white, mescalun lettuce, chard, sunflower sprouts (harvest 2 days fresh), collards, dill & cilantro.

More raspberries are comin’ in too!

Oh! and I hope to get in a regular CSA update for ya this week… the past two weekends have been tough to get in pics and post.

Here’s what was included:

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{Happy Not So WW!} Our Urban Garden Update!

the backyard urban garden… the hub just put up the clothesline (came with home when we bought it 10 yrs. ago!) after being on a hiatus for a few months! (click on photos for a more clear, shot)

tomatos, calendula, beets, 3 types of peppers, zukes, cabbage is in there too …near playhouse on left wall!

and where I’m standing are two beds one of carrots and the other of mangled peppers (thanks to the chicks)!

our second, green bean on it’s way!

harvesting beets

letting ladybugs go …great for the garden and supposed to be good LUCK

original carrot bed

what’s up doc! He’s sitting in Baby C’s car seat  – he sat extended rear facing for quite some time…

just found him a new one!

‘

strawberries…mmmm!

purple kale looking miserable after being hustled by the chicks!

so jealous, Julia!!!

our front yard urban garden… we don’t need no stinkin’ GRASS!

elderberry bush

glorious peaches …we have 2 trees and not featured are the nectarine and apricot tree

+ several other fruit trees the hub bought recently that are still in pots… more on those!

watermelon… I<3 watermelon juice!

Henrietta & Dixie out wreakin’ some havoc….the original gangstas!!!

This is just a peek into our garden.

I completely forget to take a picture of our asparagus box and a few other pots with veggies that didn’t get included.

I plan to update again and hopefully get a little more regular on these garden updates.

How does your garden grow?

the {upcycled & recycled} 365 Ways to Go Green!

Hi everyone!

Hope you all have a great weekend. TGIF!

I’m sure many of you, like myself, have wondered what to do with an item… as in how to reduce, reuse and recycle it!

you know; commit an eco action and feel like a planet saving hero…right? Right!

Today’s,  planet saving hero, is a friend of mine; whom I had pleasure of meeting on twitter.

His name is Mike, otherwise known as Canarsie BK across the web … he’s down to earth… AND

he’s determined to show you just how easy it is to go green… all year long.

His non intimidating sustainable acts prove eco friendly can be simple & fun.

Be sure to follow Mike’s journey and get an eco glimpse of his 365′in ways filled with plenty of fantastic 3R’s (green) ideas.

Today, he uses a tea bag to clean tiles... check it out!

Our Urban Garden Update!

So, it’s Friday, we made it!

Fortunately, for me, anyway.

It’s been a long one…. with teething and getting over the sickies (I think- lol!) what a week. My one year old, Clark, is waking on the hour every hour…wants to be held constantly and needs extra TLC at this time. My hands are tied but I’m still plugging along and still want to share a piece of what’s going on in my “green” life. Not that it’s really all that exciting, but it’s an update! lol!

The garden is flourishing nicely right about now and we couldn’t be more pleased. It’s unbelievable how quickly a sprout can grow! After all the much needed rains; it seems like our garden is finally taking off and doing what it was meant to do- grow!!

Harvest time is just around the corner! I’m really looking forward to organic cherries this year also. Just another month or so. YUM.

{anywho}

for those of you wondering what gardening style we’re all about… it’s mainly been a live and learn experience but we like the books…

Vegetable Gardener’s Bible

A-Z Organic Gardening

both have been helpful in our gardening journey but honestly; it’s all about getting dirty and learning what makes your soil and plants happy!

My bloggy friend, Julia, is also doing companion planting which is what we’ve done in the past few years including this year as well as square foot gardening.

:: GARDEN GOODIES ::

Tomatoes

Celery, Calendula, Beets

Lettuces

2 peach trees, & our asparagus box

cabbage, blueberries,and spinach

razzzzberries! oh my…click to see the white flowers!

elderberry bush!!!!!!!!!!

turnips and carrots (didn’t forget another bed full with radishes included)

also missing a nectarine tree and peach tree!

We still have more planting to do (peppers, more tomatoes, kale, herbs & more)… we’re a bit behind …

hoping to do some digging and get down and dirty this weekend! 

Oh! and sorry to my bloggy peeps for not getting around to comment… I’ll be around soon, I promise!!!

{and}

I heart this quote…

Don’t wear perfume in the garden – unless you want to be pollinated by bees.  ~Anne Raver

How does your garden grow?

Hope you all have a marvelous weekend.

Look for a {GIVEAWAY} next…

tah-tah!!!

Let the Liberating Begin: Plant Freedom Seeds!

Howdy! Happy Saturday Sunday!

Gotta luv the weekends, right? So much to look forward to and so much to accomplish. With Spring just around the corner it’s hard not to think about this year’s summer garden and greenhouse plans. All the daydreaming we do of having a xeriscaped front yard (no lawn, hopefully!) with wild edibles planted and where nourishing foods grow is quickly approaching it’s season. We couldn’t be more excited to make this our reality.

You know, become an urban gardener. A freedom gardener, if you will. Liberating yourself from all the corporate muck and dirty chemicals. Why not get down right dirty in your own backyard and produce the foods you need to live on with untainted seeds. The idea of growing your own food to feed your family and possibly community may sound like a lot of work but it also sounds so enticing. Especially, after learning about the true freedom gardeners; the Little Homestead in the City, the Dervaes family in Pasadena, Ca aka “The Urban Gardener’s”. Their little homestead yields almost 6,000 lbs. of  food yearly. It takes a lot of serious motivation and determination to get to where the Dervaes family is but the possibility of getting an urban garden started is far greater.

The hub and I have always had a passion for gardening it’s something that we naturally felt compelled to do since we bought our home almost 10 yrs. ago. Our house sits on a little less than a quarter of an acre and to us that instantly meant we would have room for a garden. It’s funny, because as we live in an area where a good majority of the people sit on more than acre of land – this town is also known for agriculture and farming, yet, not many people, take advantage of their land by growing their own fruits and vegetables. I know gardening isn’t for everyone but for us it just seems like common sense to have a garden and reap whatever benefits you can on your own property. It was just our observation this morning over breakfast. We all have the opportunity basically. Not to mention, it allows us tobe in control of what’s going into our bodies. With all the chemical use within the food and agriculture industry it’s hard to say whether our food is really safe anymore.

So, to say the least… this year we’re committed to green up our yard in more ways in than one.

We’ve been talking about digging up the front lawn to make it more drought tolerant for quite some time now. We believe, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be taking advantage of the local conservation nursery in our town which sells native and drought tolerant plants. Since we live in the desert having drought tolerant landscape seems more appropriate than lilies and orchids which would require lot’s of watering. Were looking forward to creating a sanctuary with native plants, shrubs and trees etc. that will bring in natural wildlife to enjoy also.

The nursery is having their open house in April and has announced a sale on plants, shrubs, wildflower seeds etc. I’m pretty excited about it. Were pumped to learn more about the native plants and wildlife in our area and start being smart gardener’s. We recently resurrected the wriggley wranch worm bin and replenished it with some mighty fine earthworms (stay tuned for an upcoming post)

Raised Beds

This is our first year attempting  the raised beds, square inch gardening theory. Well, we kinda took a stab at it last year but this is our first “real” attempt.  The hubby built a raised bed about a month ago using reclaimed materials as a tester and so far so good. It appears all of the seeds we planted have sprouted. Yahoo! For the past five years we always turned over the soil and planted directly in ground. It will be neat to see the differences.

I’m happy to say, that we’re ditching the plastic soil bags this year! I did some research and found a quarry in town that carries local ORGANIC humus soil. Score! I was so thrilled to bring home a truckload home the day Ty built the box. Tyler’s parents used the quarry’s soil last year and had such a glorious garden yield. Their garden had a different glow to it then ours that’s for sure. As far as  plastic goes we did use some for wrapping around the box to trap the heat inside which creates a greenhouse effect. I know there’s gotta be an alternative and it’s definitely on the green up the garden list.

After building a bed from wood he built a raised bed from bricks (given to us by a customer who no longer had use for them). He lined the brick bed with cardboard and viola’ it became a new home for some lettuce! My husband REALLY enjoys doing this so I have to admit he does get carried away. It’s his passion so I try not to step in the way. He bought the lettuce from Lowe’s so it could be Monsanto laden… but hopefully living in organic humus it will balance out the negative. Nevertheless, it too is doing well and will hopefully has fresh lettuce in just a couple weeks maybe even sooner.

He also planted some old veggie seeds just for kicks and on a whim one sunny afternoon alongside our driveway (next to a Raspberry bush he bought the same day).  Honestly, I don’t know how great the Raspberry bush will do (let’s hope for the best). As of right now, it’s doing surprisingly well ( all of the rain has been a major benefit). Some of the seeds in the patch alongside the drive away are also beginning to sprout. Yippee!

Speaking of seeds, we planted our first batch of freedom seeds this afternoon! Yes, that’s right, you can get heirloom and organic seeds directly from the Dervaes family…

“Seeds for the people!”

and to save on shipping costs and carbonemissions the hub was able to pick them up. Sweeeet!

Reused seed starter!

What we planted

- Red Russian Kale

- Cayenne Peppers

- Anaheim Peppers

- Red Bell Peppers

- Peace Vine  Red Cherry Tomato

- Valencia Tomato

- Brandywine Tomato

- Cherokee Purple Tomato

-  Aunt Ruby’s German Green (real green tomato’s *squee*)

We still have more tomato seeds to plant and a few other varietys of seeds that don’t need to be started indoors. I’m really, really, excited about 2010’s gardening adventure. Planting pure seeds, free of chemicals; makes me grin from ear to ear.

“The seeds from the Little Homestead in the City are carefully screened for genetic manipulation.…they possess the nutritive properties of old and locally developed strains, based on eatability instead of portability.”

If you have not yet seen the Dervaes family documentary Homegrown Revolution-you can view it here!   Their honest commitment to live sustainably makes me realize how important it is to support their cause and continue to fight the good fight.

I encourage you to “break new ground” and start your own victory garden.

Liberate your yard & get down and dirty doing it. 

Have you started planning your garden?

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