Blueberry Bush

Blueberry Bush

So far birds have not eaten from the blueberry bush and made a mess on our car. I bought this bush on a whim one hot, summer day. The blueberries looked so sweet.

I did plant the bush with garden soil. Other than the garden soil, I added nothing. The picture shows this bush from yesterday. It's been two years since I bought it and I'm not sure how old it was then. It seems to grow about a half inch a year. I do have it in sunny spot with lots of water run off.

Saturday, March 15

Before I forget, this is my latest round of planting. I planted in garden bed 2. I have forgotten what layers are included in this garden bed. I did notice that the water does not soak into the bed as much as the other garden beds.

I'm pretty positive these are weeds

I planted the following seeds:

Broccoli
Spinach
Lettuce

In bed 3 I added:
Cabbage

and more:
celery
Lettuce
Spinach

Spring

Bradford Pear

In this region of NC, there is this beautiful tree. If I heard right, it is called a Bradford Pear tree. Strictly ornamental.

All I know is they are one of the many reasons I fell in love with this region. This town planted them in nearly every subdivision you see, along highways, main streets, they outline people's properties, ect. They are the first trees to bloom before changing into leaves.

I would have posted a picture of our plum tree....except when I pruned it last year, well let's just say I'm not a professional, lol.

The scraggly looking bush you see here is a crepe myrtle.

The waiting game

I'm not very patient, but the new camera is supposed to come in today. Once I have some pictures to post with my posts, I will be back to publishing the posts everyday.

Almond Trees

A few years back, (maybe last year?) my in-laws had bought me some Almond trees. Two of my children have varying allergies. When compiled together, their allergies create a long list. One allergy they do share is nuts. They are specifically allergic to peanuts.....so, what does almond trees have to do with this allergy?

Almond tree waiting to be planted

They used to eat almond butter. Thankfully, their reaction to peanuts is mild. Because one of them itches after eating almond butter, we switched to sunflower seed butter. There is only one little problem. My husband and I discovered we love Almonds. In comes the Almond trees. We initially were going through so much almond butter, we thought it would be cheaper to start growing our own almond trees and processing them into Almond butter.

I can't remember when we received the first batch of almond trees. My husband maintains that it was not the right time of year to plant them. All I know is we planted it in  a pot to wait until we could plant them in the ground. Next thing we know the pot was standing there with no Almond tree! It had been a windy day and the wind had snatched the tree right up since the roots were shallow.

Lesson learned: don't plant almond trees in pots.

New post

I have not forgotten to post....I have a ton to post actually. Just haven't had the time to snap phone pictures or write it all down. "Regular programming will continue shortly" stay tuned.

Budding

Spring is beautiful with its blossoms. One reason for an edible yard is so that I can enjoy the beautiful blossoms and buds of all the edible plants.
The plum tree is beginning to blossom. It makes me hope every year I may get some plums like we did the first year. I'm not sure if the branch to right, in the picture, is sporting the silver leave fungus or not.
Since I did not follow the advice of the local gardener, none of my plants have come up from February 28th or thereafter. I will now follow her advice with what seeds I have left and wait to plant outdoors until the middle of April, sigh.

Plum Tree Blossom

On Schedule

Plants or Weeds?

I am severely doubting my research. I looked at the chart my mother gave me a few years back. So far so good. Everything is planted on track. As for plants, since I have not grown half of these vegetables before. I am unsure what to look for.

I will say not much has come up with this weather. I would have been better off listening to the advice of the lady who grew up around here. So for now I watch the greenery of weeds or plants, not sure, sprout in my garden beds.

Seedling Advice

The last burnt Spinach plant on the right

Most of my seeds have come up indoors. My main problem is getting seeds to survive my family. Here is my advice....or maybe pet peeves for handling seedlings:

1. Please!!!! refrain from from touching these tender plants! The oil from our skin does not do well with many edible plant leaves. This is why you see gardeners wearing gloves. They not only want to keep there hands clean but also protect their plants.
2. Refrain from over-watering seeds. Seeds can drown in soil conditions.
3. Be kind to seedlings when it comes to the process of hardening them off. In other words, wait until their true leaves appear. The first two leaves of a plant are not their true leaves, these fall off once the plant is old enough and have enough leaves to capture more sun.
4. Do not set seedlings outside, with the clear lid on your portable greenhouse, when it is over 45 degrees! I know this and did it anyway.....just burnt up all my beautiful seedlings.
5. Make sure the seeds are planted deep enough so that the plant doesn't shoot up very tall, but have a shallow root system. This causes the plant to die very quickly.

Composting

I figured it was high time I showed in detail what goes into composting around here. Yes, you can have one huge compost bin. Around here, I keep my various composting materials separate.

First, there is the chicken manure compost. I keep this separate deliberately. I make sure these compost bins age for a good 1.5 years before adding this to the bottom layer of my garden beds in the fall. By spring, these manure compost have aged 2 years.

Second, there is the green composting pile. Green compost basically consists of "living" plants. Scraps of vegetables, fruits, grass clippings, leaves, all go into this compost.

Last, there is the brown composting pile. This consists of all the compost of wood ashes, wood shavings, pine needles, cardboard, ect.

I lay a thick a layer of cardboard as my base because I'm too cheap to buy a true compost bin. I allow the yearly rains to soak my composts. If I am not too lazy, I'll turn these composts after a good rain. Because they get a lot of air to them, these composts decompose within 6-8 months.

Location: location is important to me. I prefer the manure composts to be a few feet away from the coops where I clean out the manure. I prefer the vegetable scraps to be by the back door, but this is not possible. I have a dream compost bin when it comes to vegetable scraps, but that will have to wait.

Summer Plans

I just planted my spring garden. Spring is less than two weeks away, and it's time to plan for the summer garden! I am dreading the Summer garden.

One reason I am dreading the Summer garden, is because I have yet to successfully harvest any summer produce. My summer plants are beautiful. The vegetables look so juicy. Somehow they never make it to picking time.

I feel as though I've added a whole different level of detail (not the word I'm looking for) this year. So far the concepts: companion planting, lunar phase planting, garden bed layering, and heirloom have been thrown around. I am going to add the concept succession planting to the mix.

Succession planting explained at its simplest. The idea is vegetable roots leave behind certain chemical compositions. This chemical factor effects what vegetables are planted in the garden bed next.

I feel as though, I not only have to consider what companions can grow together but also what plants can follow the previous inhabitants of that garden bed. Without further ado, my Summer Garden List:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Peppers
• Beans
• Squash
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Fennel
• 
  

One Can Dream

Lemon Blossoms 2012

Oh I dream of my own conservatory. Yes, there are greenhouses. I like sunrooms. Lanais are quite luxurious themselves.

I want my own conservatory though. A room attached to my house, preferably in the center. A room with flagstone floors, a fountain in the middle, and glass for walls and ceiling. Will I ever get one? Considering the cost, no. :) I'll have to make due with the greenhouse.

Growing up in the deep South of Texas, my favorite summer smell was the orange groves. My favorite memories were those of picking oranges at my grandparents' house. For this reason alone, I grow miniature orange trees, lemon trees, banana trees, and . The problem is these miniature trees have grown into a size that my windows cannot cover with enough sunlight.

Lastest Book in my Collection

Seed to Seed

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a tad disappointed. I read the reviews which kept me from complete disappointment. People warned that the book was lacking pictures.

This is a not a step by step book for novice. A beginner gardener, yes. I have only saved seeds from peas successfully. My advice is to take the time to research how to save your particular vegetable by searching online.

Now if you are looking for a technical book that will name the families your veggies come from, the regions they grow in, and general outline of what to expect from seed to seed - this is your book.

I am happy with the information and disappointed with the lack of illustrations. Maybe one day I will write a book with over 400+ illustrations of seeds from seedlings to harvesting to seedling. It is a fascinating experience. I will say working with seeds takes every ounce of faith you have.

Complete

Completed garden 2014

Working by myself this year, the garden was completed in 3 days of maybe 4 hours a day??? Grant it I had three little helpers who would dig up my beds while I was making them, trample what laid, ect. This garden is roughly 20 feet by 10 feet. My point.....lasagna gardening, aka, sheet composting works. This is something a feeble person could do on a smaller scale.

I finished cleaning out my compost bins and transferred compost from one bin back to this main bin. One thing I learned.....air keeps compost from smelling! My children had stuffed some compost in a trashcan we had by the garden. It rained and year later, I have dumped it out. It reeked so bad. In case you don't know. I don't like barnyard smell. When we first had our chickens and only one child. I cleaned out their wood shavings twice a day.

Completed compost pile

Indoor Growth

I am so excited to see sprouts after 4 days. I have no trouble growing my seeds indoors. It is transferring my plants that gives me trouble. My other problem seems to be how tall these indoor plants shoot up. I don't know if they shoot up high because I did not plant them deep enough or what? Either way, it's time to start planning for indoor planting for summer plans!!!

So far my garden seeds have not emerged yet, but I am not surprised as this week the weather has been cold once again. I am thankful for all the rain to save me from having to water them.

I believe this is spinach seedlings, but not 100% sure. I planted broccoli as well.

Spinach?

Roses

Rose Bed Before

 Last season, the kids were still toddling around throwing everything over the side of the railing. This season, I am excited to finally take down the deck gate, we had added, and hoping the kids are over the stage of throwing things over the railing.

Roses......I actually don't care for them. :) Shocker, right???? When we moved to the house, it was the  middle of spring. The previous owner had planted these climbing roses. They must be hybrid because there has only been one rose hip.

Looking at these branches you would think the roses were dead. Look closer. The red tint you see to them mean they are alive. The grey, brown tint you see at the garbage bin is dead.

What climbing roses like:

• A trellis
• To be weaved horizontally (this is very important)
• Banana peels!!!!
• sun 
• air circulation to prevent mold spots.

What climbing roses do not like:

• being tied (they will die)
• being "trained" to "climb" vertically
• poor drainage

 There are a few ways to address drainage. The previous owners planted them with some pebbles and ground covering plant. Yes, you read that right. This plant (which I'm wondering if it is a type of wild rose) creeps up in the middle of June. Its roots retain water. Its leaves keep the ground covered so that the ground stays moist. It blooms tiny white flowers. It loves the shade that the roses provide. It loves moisture.
I weeded out the ground plant, but hopefully not too much. I was so excited to discover a new climbing rose shoot. Eventually roses will die out if a new transplant is not encouraged.

What I have learned to like about climbing roses:

• Their fragrance
• Their benefits to chicken nests
• Their brambles make a great home defense. :)

Rose Bed After

Step Two

Seed depth

Step two involves a lot of watering. Until time to add mulch, there will be a lot of watering. There is no right or wrong method when it comes to watering per se. I have found that if I water in the early mornings and late evenings it helps - I am getting ahead of myself.

Step two:

• Plant seeds
• Keep ground moist

 Step two seems so simple, yet it is meticulous. You want to plant your seeds with the final product in mind. Envision the size of the plant and space apart appropriately. The back of seed packets give a good estimate.

Seed depth is basically dependent upon the size of the seed. The smaller the seed the closer to the top of the soil it needs to planted. The larger the seed, the deeper it needs to be planted. In general, seeds are planted no deeper than 1" at the extreme end of the spectrum.You are just ensuring the seed is surrounded by moist soil to soften the seeds and help it germinate.

Seeds do not like to drown. Moist soil is critical. Well-drained soil is crucial. My personal opinion, I believe my bed have down so well because I place the topsoil over leaves, grass clippings, and manure. Since these are not entirely decomposed, it allows the water to drain.

Sunday, March 2

Hard to believe it's already March! Everyone is sick with incessant coughs, runny noses, and grouchy! Besides that, us adults in the house are dragging around with the daily necessities.I was able to get out for 20 minutes and poke a few seeds in Bed Number 3.

Bed Number 3 Layers:
cardboard
chicken manure
grass clippings
last year's garden soil


This garden bed is the width of the garden bed so I will be planting in 2 weeks cycles the following seeds:

Peas - Progressive 9
Lettuce
Celery
Spinach

Friday, February 28

Garden Bed 1

This blog is a journal of observation. I planted directly into the soil on February 28, 2014 for spring harvest. The carrots were planted a fourth inch deep. The Onions a half inch deep. I used a muffin tin to mark the spacing of two inches apart for the carrots. I skipped two slots for the onions to planted six inches apart.

This bed I gave the number 1. This bed has the following layers:
cardboard
aged chicken manure
grass clippings
dead leaves
ashes
last year's garden soil
wood shavings
bone meal

I planted a mixture of onions and carrots. I will start the sage indoors and transplant outside. Once the shoots come up in, roughly, two weeks, I will post it's progress along with any troubles I run into. I did become carried away with the carrot seeds. You are supposed to plant every two weeks, but as you can see in the picture I have very little seeds left over.

Close look of onion and carrot seeds look like.

Companion Planting Visual

My favorite Companion Planting Guide has been my original base for my companion planting. I have found more colorful graphs, but not as comprehensive as this chart. I am a visual person. For this reason, I am going to compile pictures of what to plant during spring.

These pictures are by no means a comprehensive chart of companions, but a functional chart used for everyday purposes of planning seasonal gardens.

Broccoli Companions

Broccoli Companions:
Rosemary
Thyme
Dill
Spinach
Lettuce
Marjoram



I ran across another Companion Planting Guide. Although it is not as comprehensive, I enjoy the color coding for which companions are most beneficial together to ward off insects.

Bug Control

Spring Bug Control:
Spinach
Cilantro (also known as Coriander)

This is by no means a comprehensive Spring Planting List, but here is what it looks like:
Waning Moon

Carrots

Onions

Potatoes

Beets 

Waxing Moon

Celery

Lettuce

Spinach

Kale

Cabbage

Peas
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts

Below Ground Companions

Below Ground Companions:

Carrots

Onions

Beets

Sunflowers vs. Squirrels

Beautiful Sunflowers

Sunflower hedge

Had you known me before 2011, you knew I thought squirrels were adorable. We had one side of our house with no plants to protect it from the afternoon sun. I planted sunflowers straight into the NC soil. Boy did they grow!!! They had huge heads and I had a ton of sunflower seeds. I read you were to harvest the seeds by covering the heads with paper bags......the heads were too big to fit into the lunch size paper bags so I tossed them up on my back deck. Next morning I discovered a squirrel eating sunflower seeds and I thought it was so adorable!!!!

I ended up sweeping the deck of all the sunflower shells the squirrel left behind. I decided the next year to plant the sunflowers in a circle. They grew tall with beautiful heads......one day, I looked out and two sunflower heads were snapped clean off. I did not understand. The next day I glanced out and caught a squirrel jumping from the tree above unto the top of the sunflower head. Being too heavy for the sunflower head, the squirrel snapped the head right off. I still didn't despise Squirrels.

It wasn't until I discovered where all my juicy plums were disappearing to did I detest the squirrels. Originally, we had blamed the deer. One day I discovered a squirrel merrily taking a bite out of each plum.

Lessons I've learned with sunflowers:
Don't plant near tree branches
The heads grow heavy and will eventually droop to one side due to the weight.

circle of sunfowers

My Favorite Resources

I remember purchasing my first homestead book, when I was 12. Country Wisdom & Know How

Made Life simpler

First purchase

  It is still my favorite resource by far. Has addresses after each section to order (before computers were really taking off). You can find most of them have websites.

The book covered the basics of gardening, livestock, and home maintenance. There are recipes and plans. Just a great general book. I used to read it and dream of my own place.

My second purchase was specifically for gardening. This was another all-around book for gardening. So much info and practical tips I incorporated.

I am now impatiently awaiting my third purchase in 13 years. I cannot wait to see what this book holds. I don't have many resources at my fingertips, but I make sure it is something I can use continually over the years.

Lunar cycle

Cloudy Moon

I admit I don't follow this concept meticulously. For a complete lunar calendar, I visit this site regularly. I ran across the concept a few years ago.

The idea is basically this: root plants are placed in the soil during waning moon and leaf plants are placed in the soil during waxing moon.

Some words to understand:
waxing simply refers to growing
waning simply refers to shrinking
new moon simply refers to when you can't see the moon in the sky
full moon simply refers to when the moon is all there

I have to write these out because I get so easily confused by these four words that it makes me frustrated.

According to this year's lunar cycle the planting dates are:

Mar 1-15 Waxing Moon = Above ground plants
Mar 16-29 Waning Moon = Below ground plants

Rocks Are Expensive - Who knew

Thankfully, the big rocks came with the yard. The previous owner had them in a huge pile in the back yard. The little rocks are another story. We saw it pretty pricey to spend money on rocks. Compared to mulching this area every single year, it looked a bit more frugal.

Well, the local farm that sales rocks mentioned $80 a ton and $40 for delivery.....don't quote me on the exact price, but it's a close estimate. I went online and saw a great "deal" cheaper than $80 for a certain amount of pounds......boy, did I not know what I was getting myself into.

I never considered the fact there were different sizes of rocks. I never considered having to match the color of rocks if you bought from two different places. How deep they should be to keep out weeds, ect. The box of rocks, <ha! actually boxes came in. I excitedly opened them and my jaw dropped.

There in front of me was stones and they only covered maybe 6 square inches of the front garden. We went to Home Depot instead and bought some more tiny pebbles that sorta matched the color we had bought. There in my front yard sits a daily reminder of how not to cut corners.....what was supposed to have saved us money ended up costing close to $200.....yea.... all for rocks.

This wasn't the end of our follies. When we went to lay the black paper down, to prevent weeds....well, we laid dirt on top to hold it down.....it was a windy day. Yes, we basically destroyed the whole purpose of that black paper, ha, ha.

This year when discussing the front garden, we opted to weed out the top weed covering and just leave those pebbles. The next owner can deal with how to keep it low maintenance.

Tulips!!!!

Spring 2011

I spied a whole cauldron of tulips this year. I cannot describe my excitement!!!!

I fell in love with our house because of the yard. The yard was complete mess of weeds. The grass was so bad that the neighbors were begging us to cut it before we even bought the house!

In the yard was this cute wooden cutout of a sunbonnet girl. Her face was hidden by the bonnet and she was in a bent position of smelling the flowers.

My husband insisted on throwing out the garden specimen, but see.....Growing up, I secretly wished for that one garden ornament to be in my home yard. I saw that little wooden figure in the yard, saw my husband's delight over the open floor plan and knew in my heart of hearts this was going to be our home.

That coming spring, I peeped out the kitchen window to discover the first blooms. These beautiful red tulips were bravely flourishing in the 30 degree weather. We had considered throwing out that wretched cauldron when we moved in! Well, as any novice gardener would do....that coming spring I promptly added fertilizer. I accidentally dumped a lot of bone meal in the pot. I was so sad.....for three years I've waited, trying to decide whether to throw out the pot or what.

Then last week I spied a ton of leaves bravely unfurled. I am impatiently waiting for some flowers to appear any day now!

Check List

I am overwhelmed by gardening alone on 2 acres. I have to keep in mind "an elephant gets eaten one bite at a time" I have been out in the yard daily for about 45 minutes chipping away at each thing.
So far all I have done on my list is:

1. burn fallen limbs and trees
2. weed dead weeds from gardens
3. hoe edges of garden
4. cover edges of garden with baking soda to prevent grass and weeds (this is an experiment)
5. mulch garden beds
6. clean out compost piles
7. prune bushes and trees
8. mulch trees

next garden bed project

.....yea, not much, but I do have a lot on the list partially completed. :) Moral of the story, I guess, take heart. Something done is better than not a thing.

War of Roses

Remember those history chapters about the wars between the two English houses? An ongoing family feud dispersed throughout their kingdom. So I'm being melodramatic when I compare my view point and my husband's viewpoint on ideal yards.

Information books

Actually, my favorite aspect of gardens is the diversity. I personally don't believe in "black thumb" growers. You just haven't found the type of plant to survive your personality, lol. Whether you over water, under water, or just plain lack knowledge: the beauty of gardening is that you grow along with your endeavors.

I have to confess, I am not a great vegetable gardener. Even when I was on my native Texas soil, I had a hard time growing veggies......or maybe it was the weeding. I have been focusing on vegetables. Now for a few blog posts about my favorite topic - Flowers!

I am not a native of NC and I miss my azaleas and bluebonnets, but NC flowers are pretty amazing too. I have found irises, tulips, crepe myrtle, ....pretty much bulb plants love NC soil.

I have found a garden consists not only of planting but also considering harvest. On the other hand, flowers depend mostly on sunlight, water, and soil's ph.

Irises prefer semi-shade or they get too hot. I like to plant Irises as borders for our wooded areas and our shaded part of house. There is no special soil for them here in NC. I have just plopped in the ground and they have flourished. The key to transplanting them or planting them is to do it in the fall when it is 60 degree weather.

Blueberry bushes are a must in NC. Obviously, that is strictly my opinion; but I say plant blueberries!!!!! I planted ours, going on two years ago, directly in the ground. They're not fussy about being watered or anything, and we harvested a pint off a 2 year old bush!

The terminology for flowers is simple: annual, biennials or perennial. In other words, will it live a year or up to two years?

I love flowers. There is no need for obsessing over how consistent the weather will be for a certain period of time.  My advice when starting out working in soil, plant flowers!

Indoor Planting

Jiffy Pellets

I typically start indoor plants in jiffy pellets. These pellets I had in a two gallon water jug, with the side cut away to the handle. Made for a great greenhouse! I was going to post a picture, but can't seem to find the jug.
Starting seeds indoors is simple.

1. Fill the container, the pellets are going to placed in, a 1/2" thick in water.
2. Place pellets in water to soak it up.
3. When pellets puff up from water, plant your seeds in the hole.
4. Set the container of plants in sunlight.

My only complaint with this method is they grow too fast. I believe when plants grow very tall, it is because the seeds were not planted deep enough, but I'm not 100% sure on that fact.

Hardening off plants is another story. This year I finally dished out the $10 for an official indoor greenhouse and planting soil.

To harden off the plants, you set them out during the warmest time of the day in spring. Bring them in after 30 minutes to 2 hours. Keep lengthening the time by 2 hours. When they have made it through a night, plant them in most soil. I always keep their pellets with the plant, for a boost of nutrients.
 

Planting Mix $4.82

greenhouse $4.47

What's the difference?

It can become confusing when it comes to seeds. So many names to describe a seed! This is what I have come to learn about all the different labels.

Organic - simply means a plant that has not been grown with chemical aid
Hybrid - is when you take a plant and mix with another plant to the point that it may be disease resistant, have certain traits, ect. the problem is after planting them, their seeds are not so dependable to produce.
Heirloom - is simply a plant whose seeds have been taken and replanted for hundreds of years. It was not cross-pollinated or messed with.
Annual - dies after the end of a year life-cycle.
Biennial - takes two years to complete its full seed to flower to seed cycle.
Perennial - takes longer than two years to complete its life-cycle.

Hope my rough understanding of the terms helps a little bit.

seed labels