Finishing touches in my garden

I worked in the garden yesterday from 3-8, planting and planning, and putting up anti-weed devices. I could barely move this morning, but was determined to get everything in today. I had to buy 6 more seedlings (eggplant) but was at the garden by 11, just in time to spend time with my 3 yo niece, Greta. Greta asked me about seeds and told me she doesn't like to eat them. She also told me that she likes parsnips and announced that she did NOT step on my knee pad. She passed me seedlings, showed me how high she can jump, and then announced she wanted to take her shoes off.

What I love about gardening with my nieces and nephews are the conversations we have about seeds, plants, and veggies. She actually asked good questions and sat there patiently while she watched me dig  holes and plant. Under her watchful eye I planted carrots, parsnips, and eggplants. While I watch them grow, I will think of the morning I spent her with her in the garden.

I'm not a big fan of mulch in the open area of my garden, which is why I am using newspaper and garden paper instead. However, in the area where my boxes are, I'm okay with mulch. I'm trying to grow organic veggies, and mulch is covered in chemicals, which is the opposite of organic. Last year I wanted to lay down the black paper and then cover it with mulch, but was told that's not what the paper is for. This year, however, I threw conventional advice out the window and did it my way.

I raked up the remaining mulch from last year and piled it between the strawberry boxes. Then I took my last row of black paper and rolled it out between the boxes. I hauled about 8 wheelbarrow loads of mulch over to the boxed area and slowly spread it around.

My hope is that the mulch will not mix with the dirt because it's covered in paper but also that the weeds will not come up because of the paper. It all hinges on that paper.

Pictured above is my newly mulched box area. I think it looks pretty good.

In the boxes to the far right:
Box 1 & 2: corn, potatoes, and yellow beans
Box 3: tomatoes
In the boxes on the left:
Box 1: pumpkin, eggplant, and red pepper
Box 2: parsnips, carrots, sugar peas, spinach, lettuce mix
Box 3: tomatoes
In the boxes below:
Boxes 1-3: Strawberries!

My garden is divided in two halves. To the right of this picture are the 9 boxes. Then I have a large open area for the big plants to grow with abandon. On this half I am growing sunflowers (against the wall), zucchini, summer squash, cantaloupe, cucumbers, butternut squash, mint, lavender, bachelor buttons, daisies, and parsley.

The Garden 2012:

The garden is in!

It's been super hot here lately, at least for a normal month of May. It seems that every day I go over to the garden, it's mid-day and too hot for me to stay there for very long. Today I planned to get there in the morning, while the garden is still covered in shade in order to get some work done. It is time for the seedlings to go in!

We had a fantastic thunder and lightening and rain storm last night which left a cloudy day today. Yeah! I was looking forward to a long day in the garden, working out of the sun. I stopped by and picked up my Mom. She said she wanted to take me to Countryside Greenhouses out in Allendale. I pictured a normal little greenhouse farm but was shocked to discover this is like the Wal-Mart of greenhouses. I showed up in my mismatched gardening clothes and my lovely polka dot boots. 

Mom made me change my clothes. 

I didn't see the problem.

Upon arrival, I saw the problem. This was a SHOPPING trip for florists and gardeners and women in hats and linens. They actually provide shopping carts, which I quickly filled with goodies. Mom said I was like a kid in a candy shop - I agree. We picked out 33 tomato plants, and filled in the holes from my seedlings which didn't take (cucumbers, cantaloupe & red peppers). I bought 3 tubes of black gardening paper, gardening pins, plants for my patio, and other important tools (which I now cannot remember). Mom bought some flowers for her landscaping as well. 

We loaded up the trunk of my big, new, pretty car.

Although I weeded the garden just a few days ago, when I turned the corner today my eyes landed on yet another sea of weeds. So many weeds. They make me curse. This year I devised a new plan to reduce the weed population in my garden. I heard that layering newspaper (with soy based ink) is a good way to go. But how to keep the paper in place? Last year I used black garden paper, but it's rather transparent and the weeds still flourished underneath, but they were out of sight.

I layered the newspaper over the garden, then spread the garden paper over top. The whole business is kept in place with garden pins and blue twine! BRILLIANT!! In between the rows, I left about 6 inches of open space. In that space, I spread freshly fertilized soil and proceeded to plant my seedlings.

This project took about 3 hours to put together, but my hope is that the plan works and I won't see (or grow) any weeds. At least not as many as years past.

I planted 4 butternut squash plants, 10 summer squash, and 10 zucchini.

This year I will once again practice vertical gardening. Today I planted the cucumber and cantaloupe seedlings at the base of their trellis.

For the first time, I am going to try to grow a few pumpkin plants vertically. I don't have enough space to let them run all over the garden. I might be optimistic here because I think they will get much bigger than the trellis I am using for them. I'm up for the adventure.

This is a box I planted in late April with sugar peas, spinach, and lettuce mix. It's doing well.

Thirty-three tomato plants.  In their cages. That's a lot of salsa.

How does your garden grow?

First Planting

It's time to get serious about planting the garden. I've been watching the weather like an addict. I was waiting to see the nightly temps stay about freezing and then trying to coordinate that with my schedule. Today was the day to get started!

I've already weeded more times that I care to count. I don't know where all of these weeds come from and why they won't just stop growing. Nor have I been able to find a chemical-free weed killer besides my own bare hands. The upside, of course, is a very strong set of legs from all the work it takes. Gotta look for the upside in weeding.

The majority of my seedlings should wait just a few more days before planting and I also have to make a trip to a greenhouse to buy the things I did not start from seed. 

Mom and I spent five hours in the gorgeous weather today. We like to hem and haw and yak about gardening, where things should be planted, and what we're most looking forward to this season. Good talks.

For the first time, I am planting sunflowers. My Aunt Audrey says that she used to grow them all the time until the chipmunks started eating them. I have this spot in my garden (pictured below) that is under the eaves, doesn't get a lot of water, and is rather sandy soil. I've tried growing veggies there for the past 3 years, but not with much success. Why not try something pretty instead of edible?! Sunflowers!

I started 10 plants from seeds and they sprouted like champs. Today they met their summer home. 

I also planted two boxes with corn, potatoes, and yellow beans. I didn't take a picture because it just looks like dirt. Nothing green yet.

Then I set out the rest of my seedlings to "harden off" before I transplant them next week. My garden looks busy these days and I quite like it.

What are you doing in your garden? Anything new?

How do I get my seedlings to grow?

My success with seedlings has been hit or miss. This year looks like a hit, but a few years ago my seedlings all became spindly and moldy.

For my heartier seeds (pumpkin, squashes, melons, cukes, and flowers), I am lucky enough to have a greenhouse. However, all of those seeds can also be directly sown in the garden and do not need to be started as seedlings. I started them early in the greenhouse because I am hungry and would like an earlier harvest. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. I want cucumbers by the end of June. I want them in my salads, or served on the side with some homemade french dressing, or maybe just a big bowl of cukes to enjoy on a particularly hot day. I am nothing if not impatient and I want my veggies as soon as possible.

This year I also purchased a fancy home gardening kit and started tomatoes, eggplants, and red peppers all at home. Today, however, I read that I should've started them 6 weeks earlier than I actually did. Oh well - it looks as though I will harvest tomatoes around Halloween.

Seedlings need 14-16 hours of sunlight a day. This is a difficult task in Michigan or if your home does not have any windows which face the sun for that length of time. Florescent lights can be purchased and then suspended over the seedlings for 14-16 hours a day (this has not worked for me). If the seedlings are overwatered, they will not germinate, but will become moldy instead. The system I am using this year pulls water up from the bottom of a mat which ensures that they never dry out nor are they overwatered.

When the seedlings have produced their 2nd set of leaves (also called their "true leaves") they are ready to be transplanted into the garden. However, they cannot go from the coziness and comfort of your home to the harsh reality of the outdoors. Seedlings need to "harden off" - which basically means that they need to acclimate to the weather. Begin to set your seed trays outside for a few hours a day, each day for an hour longer. After a week, the seedlings will be ready to be planted where they will spend the rest of their days - in your amazing garden.

How does your garden grow?

Purging: Part 2

Yesterday I mentioned that I have been on a purging and cleaning binge lately. My Mom worries that I will eventually give away all of my belongings. I really don't see the problem with that. 

What I don't understand is how I have so much stuff. If you've been following me at all, you know that I've been on a simple living kick since 2006. I stopped shopping for a year and in my spare time, I started to take a closer look at all of my belongings. It appeared that I belonged to my things more than they belonged to me. During that year, I wanted to create a lot of space in my house. I wanted empty cupboards and an emptier closet. Eventually, my closet had enough space in it to house my dresser. 

If I stopped buying stuff and gave away so much stuff, where did all of this other stuff come from? Why is it possible that I can consistently make 3 or 4 drops a year at Salvation Army? I'll tell you why - because I have an emotional attachment to my things and it takes me years to say good-bye.

Last month I gave my huge collection of Children's Books to my sister and her daughters. Initially, I grew the collection for my own offspring but am now trying to come to terms with the fact that I am 39 and my chances for childbearing are very small. What used to give me hope, now fills me with sadness, so it was time to part with the books.

Other things are not so emotionally heavy. I had a huge collection of VHS tapes and an old VCR. Considering that I don't plan on buying a TV in the foreseeable future, it was time to part with this era.

When I've made up my mind to get rid of things, the next phase is much easier. Once the decision is cemented, I want the stuff out of my house and I want it out now! Be gone! Go to another home! Get out of mine!

Imagine my fascination when I realized that just four weeks ago I thought I had committed a thorough purging, only to realize that in the span of 3 hours, I was able to produce another pile of things! Why was I unable to say good-bye a month ago? What happened in the last four weeks?

Here's what happened, I became serious about writing a book on simple living. In my efforts to write well on this subject, I've been reading up on this subject. I read a book on minimalism and as much as it made me roll my eyes (she doesn't have a couch - how does one take a nap?!) it also compelled me to purge. More.

Saturday afternoon found me opening every single cupboard and drawer in my home. I recycled an excessive amount of glass jars. I threw out a bunch of junk. Finally, oh finally, I emptied out my binders from teaching high school Spanish. There really was a bag of cords hanging in my closet. I reasoned that because I had not used those cords for the past two years, I no longer need them. If I didn't use something, I found a place to give it away.

Pictured here is the result of Saturday's purge (just four weeks after my last purge)-

These are the empty boxes which are left behind along with my childhood Raggedy Ann because I don't know where to keep her.

Purging: Part 1

I've been on a purging binge lately.

In early April, I collected enough stuff in my home to fill a 4x4 foot space about 1 ft high. I gave it all away. There were dress shirts, knick-knacks, hangars, picture frames, books, and I don't remember what else. Just last week I cleaned my garage and gave away 3 storage containers, my dorm fridge, and other random bits. I also found a place with takes old cans of paint and recycles it!

I thought I was done! But no! I purged again over the weekend - where does this stuff come from, anyway? Does it procreate while I sleep? Over the last two hours, I drove around town dropping off things found on my recent purge. The papers all went to the Paper Gator at Zeeland Christian Schools. The stuff worth selling went to a multi-family garage sale to be held this weekend. I hope to make enough to take myself out for coffee. And the random bags of cords were taken in by Tree Huggers in Downtown Holland. Can you believe it?! There's a place that actually recycles old cords, any cords!

My house feels so light and clean and I'm about to give it a good old-fashioned deep cleaning. And while I was prepping for this cleaning, I realized that I need a few things - isn't that funny?!

I don't buy or use regular garbage bags. I use grocery store plastic bags to gather my trash. Do you have a pile of plastic bags you'd like to donate to me? Don't know what to do with all of your plastic bags? Or, do you have brown paper bags? I'd love those too!

Also, it seems that my dusting rags are slowly disappearing. Do you have old towels or cloths that need to find a good home? I'll take 'em!

There is a glitch, of course, if you have pets in your home, then I can't use your stuff. Sorry! I'm terribly allergic to animals and therefore can't take things from pet-owners. :(

In home greenhouse

About two weeks ago I mentioned that I am trying to start tomatoes, eggplants, and red peppers.
From seed.
Again.

I will not let tiny seeds get the best of me, but for the last several years that is exactly what happened.

This year, however, I invested $16.00 in a fancy schmancy home greenhouse set. It's not high-tech because I am not high tech but it's clearly getting the job done!

It has been 13 days since I planted the itty bitty seeds and look! They are sprouting! Pictured here is the eggplant/red pepper tray. As of today, 9 out of the 16 squares have sprouts and if I look very closely, I see two more sprouts on their way.

I may or may not check them every 7 minutes.

And, glory be! All 16 tomato seeds have started! Considering that I want to grow 32 plants this year, I'm pretty excited.