Category: Organic Gardening (Page 8 of 15)

Garden action this week~

April 20, 2012 / Lindsey / 8 Comments

Stormy sky. (The tall things are garlic.)

Ohh it’s been another full week! I haven’t felt too terribly inspired to spend much extra time at the computer this week; I’ve been pounding out the moneymaking work and then happily slamming the laptop lid when I’m through for the day!

The week slipped by so quickly, I hardly remember the details of it, but I did get a wonderful day of work done in the garden. It was the perfect day; the weather (upper 70s) was even better than summertime because in summer you can’t reasonably work straight through the midday and still be comfortable. And I gardened to the scent of lilacs the entire day — oh my! What a fabulous treat that was. And the yards are getting so green and beautiful, the trees all leafing out, the tulips still blooming, the lilacs, the sound of lawnmowers, the smell of grills barbecuing delicious food! This is truly one of my favorite times of year. Spring and fall, I just love ’em.

So onto some pictures for you. Things are going very nicely in the garden — with this warm weather and some rain, stuff is growing fast. We’re eating chives, arugula, and masses of beautiful fresh oregano, which is such a treat in Greek salads — I pile it on. It’s the more mild variety, by the way, which I like a lot better than that really pungent Oregano which is strong enough to burn a hole through your salad.

Oregano

Baby radish plants, (c) The Herbangardener

Baby radishes

Lettuce

I uncovered one of the lasagna beds and planted it this week.

Potato sprouts

Arugula

The onion sets grow so fast!

Peas

Wheat (planted last fall as an experiment)

'Black Kabouli' garbanzo bean plant

Playing with my rotting leaf compost

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This week in the garden

April 7, 2012 / Lindsey / 1 Comment

It was another million dollar week of weather! The trees are in full bloom, as are all the tulips. The neighborhoods are absolutely gorgeous right now! And the redbuds are spectacular this year. We even got some snow this week, but it doesn’t seem to have bothered the blossoms very much. The moisture was very much appreciated after a month with not so much as a drop. Things are greening up beautifully.

I planted the potatoes, and got my tomatoes into their Walls-o-Water. The chives are at their peak right now; have you ever had cottage cheese with fresh chives and avocado chunks? Add a sprinkle of pepper and maybe some Tabasco too. It’s a staple for F, and it’s so yummy!

Here are some pictures from the past week:

The apple tree is blooming…

And all my tomatoes got to go on a trip! They got packed into a box, then into a bag for carrying on the handlebars of my bike, then they went with me to my Friday morning meeting, and then finally to my parents’ house after the meeting… and into the ground, each in their own Wall-o-Water.

Playing in the compost bin…

Hubby’s beloved scallions have sprouted!

When I leave in the evening, the onion sets are taller than when I’d arrived!

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In the garden this past week…

March 29, 2012 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

Boy it’s been a busy week! There are lots of things I’ve wanted to post for you but other things have been happening like moneymaking work, enjoying the gorgeous weather, lunch out with my Honey, visiting my mom and dad, gardening, and resting my still-healing body.

Anyway, here are some pictures of what’s happening in my garden — and also my parents’ yard, where my garden is located. Lots of stuff is popping up in the garden — turnips, lettuce, spinach, arugula, radishes, bok choi, and probably others by now, too.

Stomping leaves for the compost pile

Radishes in the Wall-o-Water

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Garden Progress

March 14, 2012 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

Wow, it’s been warm here! I’ve been working hard over at my garden, and this sunny, 70-degree weather day after day is fantastic! In Colorado, March brings absolutely anything, weather wise — 3 feet of snow or 75 degrees, though more commonly it’s somewhere in between. But what a luxury to have this warmth to make the outdoor work much more enjoyable!

Yesterday I got almost everything planted; the four main raised beds are seeded and the walls-o-water are up so that they can warm the soil for my tomato seedlings which are growing nicely in my kitchen window at home. I still need to amend the soil in the pots and on the south side raised bed, and get those planted.

So far I’ve planted:

parsley

cilantro

dill

arugula

cabbage, red and green

onions

scallions

beets

turnips

bok choy

lettuce

spinach

radishes

broad beans

leeks

…and still to be planted are cauliflower, romanesco cauliflower, carrots, kale, chard, garbanzo beans, and celery. Might throw in some peas, too.

And I accidentally discovered another side effect of my antibiotics — photosensitivity — which I’d read about and disregarded. Well. Don’t disregard it! It means that you burn more easily when out in the sun, but what they don’t tell you is that it’s not your garden variety sunburn (pun obviously intended), but instead it feels like you’ve rubbed Bengay, or that Icy-Hot cream, all over your body — and you can’t wash it off! Bwaa-haha! It’s the weirdest most unpleasant chemical-burn sensation; like your skin is freezing and burning at the same time. They call it a phototoxic reaction; sounds creepy, and it is. This sunburn actually makes me cold and shivery! It’s very weird!

I do see a sunscreen purchase in my near future; too bad, since I probably could use the vitamin D from all that nice sun time. Ah well!

So anyway, elsewhere in my folks’ yard, there are glorious crocus blooming and the yellow-blossoming cornelian cherry bush is in bloom now! Spring has sprung!! And if we get some moisture pretty soon, things will green up in a flash. I can’t wait! I love winter — I love all the seasons — but I’m always ready for each one as it approaches. So I’m ready for winter to be over now, and for spring to arrive!

Does it feel like spring where you are?

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Busy getting ready for Spring!

March 9, 2012 / Lindsey / 4 Comments

It’s been a busy week!

Lots of garden work and preparing for spring seed planting which I’ll do either tomorrow or Monday; the weather has been so cooperative it’s been wonderful! It really feels like spring now, and it’s around this time that my eyes start craving greenery — though that won’t happen for a little while yet.

Here are pictures of just a few of the many things happening around the garden:

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We’re adding more raised beds to my parents’ backyard so we can grow even more vegetables!! Here’s one of the spots ‘before’:

And ‘after.’ My mom and I had fun doing this raised bed project together!

And tomorrow I’ll fill them up; I’ll be making lasagna beds which, in my experience, is a fantastic way to make some really awesome soil for your raised beds. I’ll have to do a post about that!

At the helm of her ship.

Building a raised bed, (c) The Herbangardener

Building a raised bed for the other site...

That one lives here now.

Raiding neighbors' recycle bins at twilight for cardboard and newspaper for the lasagna beds.

Oh, and this is cool — our local health food store will save their produce scraps for your compost heap if you ask them. So Mom and I picked up a nice bag of them yesterday in preparation for use in the lasagna beds. Yay!