Garden Update #3

We got back late Tuesday night after a great trip to visit great friends in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  It was so fun and relaxing to spend some time away from home, but I was worried that my garden would be suffering when I got back, since it had been neglected for almost a week - and a hot week, with little rain!

Well, imagine my surprise when I went out to water yesterday morning and found this:

A good sized zucchini!  I was so excited! I think my neighbor was laughing at me because of how much I was exclaiming over this one zucchini!

The zucchini plants have completely taken over my garden boxes in the back.  I had no idea that the plants would get as big as they are.  The are pretty much shading out the other plants in the box - the peas, carrots and peppers, which makes me sad.  But, if I can get some great zucchinis off of my two plants than it will be worth it and I have learned my lesson for next year to give the zucchini LOTS of room!

Also, I have some beautiful tomatoes and cherry tomatoes growing in my front garden.  Just waiting for them to ripen up! But my pepper plants don't seem to be doing so well.  They are still really small and no signs of any peppers yet.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens with them. 

I am learning so much in this first year of gardening.  I really need to write it all down so I can make sure I remember it all for next year.  So, please humor me - I'm going to take a moment to write all of things that I have learned and want to do differently next year.  Maybe you'll learn something from it too, maybe not. :)

What I've Learned in My First Year of Gardening

-My side garden bed next to my deck is not doing very well.  I don't think it gets nearly enough sun.  Either I won't plant there, or I'll try something else next year.  Maybe my zucchini plants would do well over there by themselves?  They would have more than enough space!

-I need to make sure to put a good fence around my lettuce and spinach plants next year so they don't get eaten by critters.  It's so sad to go out to check the garden and see that someone (really, something) other than your family has been enjoying your garden bounty.

-Don't over plant my garden boxes - and I need MUCH bigger boxes!  I just way over planted my garden box in the back, I was trying to get as much out of it as I could, but I didn't realize how much everything would grow and take over and shade out the other plants.  I need to pay better attention to the amount of room that the seed packets say that the plants need!

-I would like to greatly increase the amount of plants that I grow.  The most sugar snap peas that I ever harvested at once was 9, and usually it was more like 4 or 5.  While the peas were yummy to eat plain straight off the vine, I would love to have enough to actually use for a meal.  I didn't want to plant too many this year, but now I realize that I didn't plant nearly enough.

-Also, I want to greatly increase the overall size of my garden next year.  While this year has been great for a manageable amount of gardening, it really is not producing the amount of food that I would realistically need to feed my family and have leftovers for preserving.  I would love to double the size of my garden next year.  This will probably come in the form of many more garden boxes in the front of our house.  Hopefully hubs will be okay with a large front yard garden!

I think that's all for now.  I'm sure I'll think of more and continue to learn more as the gardening season goes on, and I'll be sure to share with you as I do.  I know, you can't wait!

Now, what should I do with that lovely zucchini?  Muffins?  Cookies? Or just sauteed in butter for dinner?  Yum!

Garden Update #2

Wow! My garden is growing beautifully! It really is so amazing to me.  I was pretty sure I didn't have much of a green thumb.  I have been known to kill potted pants, as well as flowers in my flower beds in the past.  But, the great thing is that garden plants grow without a ton of work on my part.  Granted, I don't have a very big garden, but so far, it has not at all been overwhelming to me.

I try to get out and water if it's been a day or two without rain or if it's been really hot. Luckily we've had a LOT of rain the last few weeks, but now it's hot, so I have to make sure I stay on top of it.  Kaelyn loves to fill up her watering can and help me water the plants though, so it's nice to bring the kids out with me and be able to do it together.

Weeding hasn't been a big issue either.  I try to week a little bit here and there as I see things coming up.  There's one area that I'm avoiding weeding right now because I planted a few zucchini plants, and I'm not sure if they have come up yet or not, and I don't want to weed out my plants! :)

I've also been able to harvest some lettuce, spinach and cilantro, Yum!  It's so fun to go out and grab a bunch of greens and come in and make a salad.  Or use fresh cilantro in recipes for a little extra zip  It makes me excited for the yummy veggies that are still to come.

Since my first garden post, I planted my square foot garden, that my wonderful hubby made for me, with two rows of sugar snap peas, two rows of carrots, two chocolate (brown) pepper plants, and two zucchini seeds.  In my side garden I planted a basil plant, and three zucchini seeds, as well as some marigold seeds and some onions to hopefully help keep the critters away.

I haven't had any more trouble with anything eating my lettuce, except it looks like I have some little bugs eating holes in both the lettuce and spinach.  Any suggestions for how to get rid of bugs?  I'm trying to keep my garden organic, so if you have natural pest remedies please share!  I also planted another tomato plant, four cherry tomato plants, a red peper plant and two more chocolate pepper plants in my front yard garden area.

I'm a little concerned about the front yard garden with my tomatoes and peppers.  They don't seem to be growing very well.  I realized that I just planted them right in the soil that was there, not adding any compost or garden top soil like we did in the back yard gardens.  Also, there is a big ground cover type weed in our front garden bed that keeps showing up and multiplying even thought I keep pulling it and trying to dig it out.  I'm hoping that the weed isn't somehow choking out the garden plants.  I am considering trying to transplant my tomatoes and peppers into either some large containers, or getting my hubby to make me a raised bed for the front that I can plant them it.  I'm a little nervous that I might kill them in the process, but I'm also nervous that they might not do as well as I hoped. Also, Is there such a thing as too much sun for garden veggies?  Our front yard gets full sun all day long, 8 or 9+ hours of direct sunlight.  Is maybe that too much?  I'd love any suggestions that you seasoned gardeners out there might have for me!

And on a completely unrelated side note, my sister told me that she was having trouble leaving a comment, she tried four different times and it never showed up.  Has anyone else had this problem?  I want to make sure that my comments are working correctly - I love hearing from my readers! So, if you're trying to leave a comment and it's not working for you, please e-mail me and let me know - emilymcclements(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Thanks!

Alright, I'm off to go tend to my garden, I've got some watering and weeding to do!

How is your garden growing?  Have you been able to harvest anything yet?

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My First Garden

I'm so excited, over the last few weeks I have been working on planting my first very own garden!  It really is pretty amazing to get your hands a little dirty and work in the soil planting seeds and seedlings.  And it is even more amazing when the seeds you have planted actually sprout!  It's like my own little miracle in the corner of my back yard!

About 2 1/2 weeks ago I planted 4 romaine lettuce plants, 2 spinach plants and a cilantro plant.  I also planted two rows of sugar snap pea seeds and a row of carrot seeds.  Last week, my little seedlings came up!  About a week and a half ago I planted a tomato plant and 4 banana pepper plants.  This past weekend at the Farmer's Market we picked up another tomato plant, some cherry tomato plants, chocolate and red pepper plants, a basil plant, and some zucchini seeds that we are going to plant this week. 

I really, really wanted to plant a garden this year, but when we got started, we weren't really sure how it would work out because we don't have full sun in our backyard.  We have a huge maple tree and two pine trees that shade most of our backyard for most of the day.  But, there was a cute little garden bed that was made by the previous owners, so we just decided to plant some things and see how they turned out.  Then, my wonderful hubby also made me a small square foot garden box that we put in another area of our yard, so we're now planning to plant in both the garden bed and the square foot garden box and see how they compare to each other.  Also, I decided to plant my tomatoes and peppers in one of our front yard flower beds because we get full sun in the front and I really want to make sure that those do well.  So, all in all I have 3 different areas of garden this summer, and I'm so excited to see how green my thumb is and to grow food for our family.

I'm already having a little trouble because something ate 2 of my romaine plants! :(  I am pretty sure it was bunnies because we have lots of those around here and bunnies like to eat lettuce.  I was a little afraid of that when I planted the romaine, but figured that lots of people must plant lettuce in their gardens and somehow keep the bunnies away, so if you have any tips or tricks for keeping the critters out of my garden, please share!!

Here is what I have planted or am planning to plant:
-romaine lettuce plants
-spinach plants
-carrot seeds
-sugar snap pea seeds
-tomato plants
-pepper plants
-zucchini plants
-cilantro and basil plants

I wanted to start off small this first year and not overwhelm myself with too much.  I also have a very active almost 1-year old who needs most of my attention when we are outside, so I didn't want to have too much work to do. I wanted to plant things that we love to eat and would use up if we had lots and lots of them (my hope!).  I wanted to try some things from seed, but I wanted to use some plants as well because this is my first time and I'm trying to increase my chances for success, but also because I wasn't on top of it enough to start my seedlings inside - that will have to be a goal for next year.  We'll see how it goes, and I'll post updates along the way.  I really am just so excited about starting the process.  It really is amazing to be able to watch your seeds sprout and your plants grow with nothing more than soil, sunlight and water.  I'm sure it will be just as amazing as we eat our first meal with salad and veggies fresh from our garden!

 What are you planting in your garden this year?
 
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"Container" Gardening - Growing Tomatoes!

I am an aspiring gardener. I really, really wanted to grow a garden this summer, but the timing was just not right. Between selling our old house, moving into our new house a month before I was due and then Brenden being born there just wasn't the time to plan and plant a proper garden. But, my wonderful mother did provide me with 3 tomato plants and even planted them for me as I was 9 months pregnant!

Also, because I have been known to kill plants in the past, I thought it might be wise for me to nurture and grow these tomato plants this year and see how well I could do, before I attempted to actually grow a garden.

I wanted to share how we planted these tomatoes, because it really is such an easy way to grow tomatoes, especially if you don't have a yard, or don't want to (or have time to) designate a spot in your yard for growing tomatoes.

We (and when I say "we", I really just mean my mom) used bags of potting soil and cut a hole in the top of the bag and planted the tomato plant right inside the bag of potting soil. The bags came prefertilized, so technically these aren't "organic" tomatoes, but I haven't sprayed them with any kind of chemicals, and I didn't have to add any other fertilizer, so I'm okay with it. Then all you have to do is put them in a sunny place and water them regularly. The bag really helps to give the tomato plants the kind of growing environment that they thrive in by keeping the soil hot and keeping the soil moist.

My tomato plants are growing well. And last week I harvested my first tomato! My mom and my sister were actually in town visiting, and we sliced the tomato to have on sandwiches for lunch. Oh, there is nothing like a homegrown tomato! It was really good, and I'm excited for my many green tomatoes to ripen up!

I am hoping to plan and prepare this fall for planting a real garden next spring/summer. There is something so exciting to me about planting something, watching it grow and produce food that you can actually eat. And best of all - it's free. Well, besides the cost of the plants or seeds, soil and any other supplies you might need to start your garden. But, the cost of homegrown food is much less than buying it at the store or the farmer's market. I love to think about all the possibilities of growing my own food in my own garden next year!

Have you planted a garden or container garden this year? What kinds of things are you growing? Do you have any tips for preparing in the fall to plant a garden in the spring?