Spring, Green and Tiny Things
May 20, 2010 at 11:05 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening | 1 CommentTags: basil, beets, cilantro, garden, herbs, leeks, lettuce, medicinal garden, onion, parsley, peas, pods, sage, spring, swiss chard
It’s the time of the season
When the love runs high
In this time give it to me easy
And let me try with pleasured hands
To take you in the sun to promised lands
To show you everyone
It’s the time of the season for loving…
~Zombies, “Time of the Season”
I think I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again…I love dirt. Instead of moving the 12×4 foot raised garden bed that is kind of totally under a humongous ash tree (yes, last year I built the bed under a shady tree and didn’t realize that the canopy would have a negative effect on growing things!!!), I’m going to plant right in the ground in the sunniest part of the yard. I dug about two feet down and removed tons of debris from the dirt—bricks, pieces of cement, rocks, quartz and filled it with organic dirt that I had delivered from a nearby farm. Within the next two weeks I will plant a variety of heirloom tomato plants and a couple of pepper plants that I’ve had growing since March. I also plan to include a bunch of beets and carrots because I believe they grow well with tomatoes (they’re friends).
As far as what is going in the raised bed under the ash tree—I researched edible plants that do not need direct sunlight and found that most herbs will thrive happily. What music to my ears; I have been planning a medicinal herb garden for some time. In the bed, I planted cilantro and sage (above) and beets and chamomile (below). I also planted basil, parsley, dill, echinacea, onions, leeks, rainbow swiss chard and green beans. I guess you could call that area a medicinal herb garden with a vegetable twist!
Get a load of the lettuce and spinach: Above, before I picked it and below before I devoured it! I heard lettuce and spinach are difficult to grow in the DC climate because our springs are typically brief and the leafy greens prefer a slow, cool and wet spring. Since we’ve had a bit of that mixed with a smattering of heat the greens turned out fabulous, healthy and bountiful. Next year I will plant the entire raised bed with spinach and lettuce to have a whole season of greens.
I am perhaps the most excited about the pea pods that have sprouted. I planted the pea seeds on St. Patrick’s Day, and here we are nearly 60 days on the nose with tons of pods ready to be picked. The plants couldn’t have been easier to grow. They loved the cool weather but also soldiered on during the humid days to produce magnificent pods. Hurray for a great start to a hopefully healthy and abundant season of edibles.
Delights of the Garden
August 10, 2009 at 12:29 am | Posted in dirt, gardening | Leave a commentTags: cucumber, green beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, vegetables
Above: Amana Orange tomatoes ready to be picked. On the right: Brandywine tomatoes.
Above: A green bean on the plant and in my hand.
Above: Green peppers. The longer you leave them on the vine, the more red they will become.
Above: A fatty cucumber and a baby pumpkin.
Oh yes, hi, hello…I officially do not suck! My garden is really growing and I am ecstatic!! Just look above at the Amana Orange tomatoes that are stunning. The green beans that took me three or four tries to grow after my cats ate the leaves, then the rain drowned the seeds have beans on the plants…BEANS! The green and red pepper plant has mini cute peppers on it. The viney cucumber plant as one big fat cucumber and a little one coming along. Last but not least, a sweet, tiny, adorable pumpkin has sproated. I will pray to the garden gods that it will grow big and fat for fall. Yay, hurray! You grow little garden, grow!
Special credit to the title “Delights of the Garden” which is from Desmond Williams‘ album from 2002 off of ESL. It’s downbeat, worldly electronica sounds still remain a favorite today. Listen to bits here.
Garden Update: Weeds, tomatoes and white spots
July 19, 2009 at 11:25 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening | 2 CommentsTags: pumpkin plant, tomato, weeds
In addition to the vegetables growing tall, my backyard was totally consumed by weeds. I just can’t seem to keep up with them. Before I know it, I have nasty, tall weeds taking over. I spent a good part of Sunday pulling each one-by-one. I don’t have the heart to put any sort of weed killer on the ground since it’s bad for water run-off and the environment in general—and the poison would be just too close to my future dinner.
The Amana Orange tomatoes bloomed much later than the Brandywines. Here is proof that I will have a medley of tomatoes in the days to come.
The sunflowers continue to bloom so well. Now there are off-shoots of smaller flowers that have grown from the main plant.
My only concern at the moment is about my gloriously long pumpkin plant. Out of nowhere the plant has developed white spots. Google says this is a sign of fungus and offers a variety of advice. I’m hoping to still be able to yield a few pumpkins come Halloween.
Garden Inspiration: My parent’s house
July 6, 2009 at 11:45 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening, life | Leave a commentTags: gaithersburg, garden, maryland, vegetables
Visiting my parents is kind of like staying at a B&B. It’s a place I go to get away from the city, enjoy delicious cuisine and relax at night by the outdoor firepit. My parents live in a charming, turn-of-the-century four-square in Gaitherburg, MD (about 20 miles from Washington, DC). The only downside is that I still have to do my dishes.
A woman once said to my mom “you can never have too many doodads in the garden” and we have never forgotten that.
Every year they have a gigantic vegetable garden from which I draw my inspiration. You can commonly find: heirloom tomatoes, onions, leeks, garlic, chives, radishes, swiss chard, carrots, zucchini, pumpkins, various herbs, peas, greenbeans, and peppers.
Above: Rainbow Swiss Chard, a hardy green—much like spinach except it grows happily for most of the year.
Tomatoes are beginning to grow. Marigolds are used to steer rabbits and deer away who dislike the scent.
Leeks are beginning to go to seed, but aren’t they beautiful. On the right, a gigantic golden zucchini plant.
Onions (I think) and carrots are sprouting up!
A radish plucked from the ground.
Garden hose and spray nozzle
June 29, 2009 at 10:03 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening, homeownership | Leave a commentTags: hose, spray nozzle
Announcing the most boring post ever!
I am here to tell you that I love with all my heart my Signature spray nozzle for the hose. First of all, I picked up a 100-foot hose from Sam’s Club for a mere $25. That made me pretty happy. But then (then…) the icing on the cake was the spray nozzle from Home Depot for $8.99. It has 10 different setting…my favorites: “mist,” “shower,” and “jet.” Everyday after I come home from work, I practically run to the backyard to water the garden. Life is good.
Next week: My new pillows! (kidding!!)
Firefly
June 18, 2009 at 10:04 pm | Posted in dirt, dreams, gardening | Leave a commentTags: backyard, fireflies
I am in love with summer. I know a lot of people complain about the heat—and DC is certainly no exception. As hot as it is, I don’t mind it. I feel more alive. My mind is charged from the sun and from the long days that slowly turn to night.
This evening I had a special moment where I simply sat in my backyard. Since it rained earlier in the day, my garden didn’t need watering. So I sat. I sat and watched the fireflies wake up and flash their little light. It’s funny how long I can go without actually relaxing—there is always something to do. But tonight was different. Maybe the fireflies will be expecting me tomorrow.
Sunflowers
June 15, 2009 at 5:35 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening | 1 CommentTags: plants, seeds, sunflowers
About a month and a half ago I planted two sets of sunflower seeds: tall, pollenless flowers; and the gigantic kind with edible seeds. They have proven to be so hardy. Similar to my pumpkin plant, I planted all the seedlings in a rocky, clay spot next to the fence. I believe they will probably withstand anything this summer. The sunflowers are already two feet tall.
A couple weeks ago I planted the rest of the sunflower seeds. We had flash flooding for two weeks straight in Washington and those little guys kept growing. Unfortunately my onion and green bean seeds didn’t withstand the rain. Next time, I will bring the starter seeds inside to the windowsill or invest in a small greenhouse.
Raised garden bed
June 10, 2009 at 4:06 am | Posted in dirt, gardening | 5 CommentsTags: diy, gardening, raised garden bed
Last summer, I got my first taste of vegetable gardening when I grew two tomato plants in large containers. I wasn’t sure if they would actually grow in a confined space, but they did very well and I had so many tomatoes.
This year I decided to get serious. I’m feeling much more settled with the renovations of my house and felt it was time to do a major project in the yard. Daryle and I built a raised garden bed after I read about an easy way to DIY on Sunset magazine’s website.
We bought 10x2s at Home Depot and stacked two on top of one another to have the height of the raised garden bed nearly two feet tall.
Then used a water-based stain to protect the wood from rotting. We thought the barnyard red was fun. We dug holes in the ground to fit the posts and secure the bed in place.
Next we lined the bottom of the bed with mesh wire to prevent critters from burrowing and laid landscaper fabric down to prevent weeds from growing through.
We had a soil delivery from a local farm.
Time to plant!
A baby pumpkin plant
June 4, 2009 at 8:59 pm | Posted in dirt, gardening, spring, vegetable | 4 CommentsTags: backyard, pumpkin plant
About a month ago, I planted this pumpkin plant in my raised garden bed. Afterwards, I told my trusted friend with a green thumb the news in which he burst into laughs. It turns out, pumpkin plants need a lot of space. It could easily take up my entire garden bed being as it needs roughly six feet of space to grow. Instead it was suggested to replant it on the hill in my yard. I took his advice and did so. I actually couldn’t believe just how difficult it would be to dig a small hole for the pumpkin. We have really rocky soil that has chunks of clay. I managed to get the little guy in the ground and he’s doing very well. A couple of flowers have formed and it’s getting bigger by the day.
Sunshine+Design- Five Months Old Today! May 23, 2012Jack Mack, My little love, you’ve had a busy month growing and exploring. You are changing so fast, whenever we are out and about people comment how big you are, but I always explain to them that you are actually right around the 50th percentile — not too big and not too small. I think [...]Sunshine Design
- Five Months Old Today! May 23, 2012
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