Diary 5/2/12

Upper greenhouse tomatoes, onions and peas

Lower greenhouse cucumbers and artichoke

Transplanting more tomatoes.  Cherries and heirlooms, both indeterminate climbers. The upper and lower greenhouses are filling in. Will work on the top greenhouse tomorrow and get one row ready for tilling.  Spreading mulch compost mix on the otherwise loose, but maybe nutrient lacking, soil.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow which for once sounds OK in that it didn't rain the other day when it was supposed to and the top of the soil where I have some seeds planted is drying out and may need to be watered and/or put its drip system back in place.

Diary 5/1/12

Happy May Day!  I accomplished quite a bit in the greenhouses today, but took not one picture of any of it, lol.  I am ready for a hot bath and bed.  8 bags going out tomorrow.  Big plans for the afternoon when I return from the last Wildflower group meeting before the big event this weekend.  I will take more pictures, I promise.

Diary 4/30

Tagged plants for plant sale this weekend.  Transplanted summer squash, some more tomatoes, and some of the flower plants I bought in Eugene.  This lady sells starts from her yard on her driveway.  Everything I have bought from her has done great, so hard to miss a trip for some more perennials when in the area!.  Sun came out, and I escaped the greenhouse.  The wind is fierce in between cells of light rain, so taking a break until things calm down. Then off to transplant some more of the flower plants and lettuce among the tomatoes. Much progress!  Morels are coming up.  We have only found 6 in the yard, but my son just brought me a bag of them that he picked whee there had been controlled burns last summer. That is definitely the ticket to successful morel picking, sterile with no competition. 

Potato Planting Photos

Three layers:original soil, mulch/compost, pine needles

Russet seed potatoes in their nests

Roll the soil over to cover

Here are the pictures I promised from yesterday.  You can see the nest of pine needles we put over the mulch/compost mix that we put in the 12 inch deep trench we built. 

Diary 4/29/12

Worked on the first of three potato beds.  Actually finished and planted said bed with Yukon Golds on the shadier end and Russets on the sunny end.  I took lots of pictures, but evidently left the camera out in the greenhouse(I hope) because it isn't here and night fall has come.  Anyway, I will explain more when I have the pictures to accompany.  Weeded. transplanted and foliar fed the babies that go off to be sold in one week and my own starts as well. Ready to get horizontal...

Diary4/28/12

Looking out across the garden and the surrounding forest, it is hard to believe it is almost May.  I am just back from Eugene where everything is in bloom and the yards are colorful and lush.  Here, some leaves are finally showing and the tulips are just now blooming.  The apple trees have their first flowers and the perennials are several inches out of the ground.  In the greenhouse, the peas are blooming and the lettuce is finally making sets of leaves.  It has taken long enough that some of the cabbages are bolting as they are already 60 days old and yet only now getting bigger leaves.  So, onward and upward.  I will start melons, winter squash ,and pumpkins tomorrow as well as transplanting another round of tomatoes and cucumbers.  This afternoon I am attending a FEAST event about food security in the Upper Rogue.  Not really sure what will be accomplished, but I volunteered to be there, so I guess I will be, despite the keen desire to just stay home and play in the dirt!

Diary 4/24/12

This is the sky just before the lightning storm that took out our power for 22 hours.

With the hot days, the asparagus went crazy, canning and pickling some soon...

Potato area gets first tilling, compost and oak leaf mulch coming soon.

Garden Girl is heading out tomorrow for awhile, just in the nick of time for my gardening chores line-up. She is getting better at entertaining herself at the greenhouses as long as it involves water and eventually mud.  Then it is off to the house for dry clothes and start all over again. Lots of progress yesterday in that we were finally able to till some areas.  They are not totally ready, but in a pinch, some of them will do.  Better than nothing, anyway. Planting some tomatoes everyday, but have lots more transplanting to do, so looking forward to cooler weekend and relief from the sudden heat of the last few days.