Thursday, March 31, 2011

April Showers

This morning feels a little like spring might be here...hopefully. Winter seemed SO long, and the rain is interminable, all of which makes me even more excited when I see semi-trucks backing down our alley full of garden goodies. The nursery feels alive. Fountains are running, plants are blooming, and the world is set to right again. :)

Check out our April newsletter HERE!

At home, I have peas, lettuce, and spinach in pots who have decided to show their face and brave the weather. My husband, Aaron, helped me build a custom two-tier raised bed that snugs right in to our patio. In this one planter went: red mustard, raddichio, more peas, more carrots, purple sage, parsley, thyme, cilantro, red romaine, white bunching onions, shallots, and a couple more spring crops that are evading my memory at the moment. Pretty good for a 5' long, 2' deep bed! I also have to have at least one spearmint plant (in a pot... never in the ground) and an oregano plant.

I have also started an early attack on the dandelion presence in my grass and the gophers who insist on eating the roots off of my roses (ggrrrrr...), and I have begun to apply a mix of 16-16-16 and gypsum at the base of all my plants! This evening I plan to spread soil activator and mulch on my beds (what a nice lift a new layer of mulch gives!) I have a few plants to get in the ground, and one more fountain to get up and running and then...I will probably notice something else that needs to be done!

I hope everyone is having a nice spring so far!
~Laura

Monday, March 21, 2011

Sunday, March 20, 2011

POT UPDATE!

The pots are out!!! Take a drive down South Oregon St. to see the 26 new additions to the streetscape!

We started at about 9 am- set out 26- 480 lb. pots, emptied a total of 104- 2 cu ft. bags of soil, planted 26- 7 gallon Green Mountain Boxwoods and 470 pansies!

It has been some time coming, so it feels great to see it completed!
 THANK YOU to you for all of your support, encouragement, and willingness to help!
Also, a HUGE thank you to my parents... without their backing and support this project would have never made it this far! They have been involved every step of the way! :)
~Laura

Monday, March 7, 2011

It's plantin' time!

Believe it or not, it's time to plant spring crops (said incredulously as I look out at the pouring rain)! I spent some time yesterday looking through my seed packets to see what I have from last year, what I have bought and forgot about, and what I still need to get. So far, I have planted Oregon Sugar Pod Peas, Little Finger Carrots, Giant Nobel Spinach, Red Romaine Lettuce, and Buttercrunch Lettuce. Other things that could go in the ground now are Swiss Chard, Onions, Broccoli, Cabbage, Radishes, Beets, Asparagus, Cauliflower, and Kohlrabi...to name a few! Now that the ground has thawed, it is a good time to plant berries, grapes, rhubarb, and horseradish as well. All my veggie growing is going down in pots this year due to the clearing of my larger 'in ground' veggie garden to make way for a fountain and knot garden...priorities. :) I still crave those tender spring crops though, and won't let having no available space stop me! All it takes is a couple of  free pots, some soil, and seed, and you have it made!

We love spring. It is a time of promise and big plans. A time when our eyes are possibly bigger than our space in which to grow (spoken, admittedly, from experience). In all, it's a fun time in the garden world! We have spent the winter researching seeds and deciding on a few new varieties to throw in with the tried-and-true, we have reworked our garden design to assure proper crop rotation, and have gathered up needed soil amendments to work in before planting (we HIGHLY recommend Natural Guard Soil Activator). Now, it's finally time to don the wellies and raincoat and dig in!

A few varieties that we LOVE are:

Purple Queen Bush Beans

Sweet Olive Tomato

Suyo Nishiki Cucumber

Freckles Lettuce

Oregon Sugar Pod Pea

There are scores of other veggies we love, but these are a few that we plant EVERY SINGLE YEAR.



AND...as a quick side note...Speaking of growing your own food, you should check out this book (though it really deserves a post all of it's own). It's about a family who journeys through an entire year while eating nothing but locally grown or homegrown foods. The author delves into the many merits of organically, locally grown food, and the into the demerits of the big conglomerate seed companies who are beginning to produce mutant GMO seeds, and who are trying to buy up and monopolize the seed market. There is nothing natural or healthy about what these companies are doing. Read this book for some good info about it!
It has inspired me to be more conscious of what I am buying and putting into my body, as well as to who I am supporting in the process!

~Laura

Thursday, March 3, 2011