Grass Villian

I posted our plans for having a beautiful green lawn. My husband and I are officially over the whole grass thing for this year! Ahem, before I rant, let me focus on the attributes of lawn filled with grass.
(Here's where I leave a blank post.) No, in all seriousness:

• grass is nutritious for cattle (I honestly would feel better if we were growing grass for horses and cows)
• grass prevents erosion of topsoil
• grass provides the nitrogen soil needs 
• grass contains chlorophyll 

Ok, I am really scrambling for any other reason it is beneficial in suburbia, but moving on to our mistakes so that you can avoid repeating them.

Before

Before

After

 As you see above, the month of April started out great. We were able to redo the landscape. We even planted our trees, shrubs, and grass seed hours before a week of gentle rain. We were elated.

Downpour

 After the week of rain, we watered with the sprinkler for at least 30 minutes a night. The temperatures went from up 70s down to the 50s and our dying rye grass sprang to life. That's actually what you see in the after picture posted above. Twenty-one days passed and not a single blade of grass came up.

So we were back to the store grabbing a bag of rye. We figured the rye comes up in 7 days and it would stop the rest of the summer grass seed from washing away. The last week of April, first week of May turned into torrential rains. 10 - 20 minutes bucket and gully washers. All our grass seed washed away because it was too cold to germinate. The rye looks beautiful. For now we will enjoy the last of the rye before summer burns it up.

Rain washing down the side of the hill

washed away dirt

what washed out

used to spread the grass seed

 Moral of our garden mishaps?

Rye is great from Fall to Spring. Wait to plant summer seeds until the temperatures no longer dip and the spring rains aren't around to wash it out! Establishing grass seed requires patience, a lot of water, fertilizer, great soil, and ideal temperatures!

My advice is don't give up, take your time, and "if you don't succeed, try, try again." For us we will attempt it again next year.

rye grass

Pea seedlings

This post was drafted June 15th. From this knowledge, I will say peas are ready to harvest for seeds by the end of the summer. Harvesting pea seeds is pretty simple. Once the pod begins to yellow, you can pull the pod up and hang it upside down to dry. The pod will become brittle like dried out paper. You can pop open the dried pod and discover the above seeds inside all wrinkled because they are ready to be planted once again. This is when you can store them in a dry place for future planting.

June 14, 2014

Yesterday was the last day to plant by the lunar cycle for summer. The dates were roughly, May 30 - June 14. I kept putting it off, but late last evening went ahead and weeded the garden before planting. I replanted most of garden bed 6 as last month's planting turned out to be too cold for the seeds. Note to NC gardeners. Plant your peppers and hot weather seeds in summer or as close to the beginning of summer as possible. The ground and weather here is simply to cold for them to successfully germinate before summer.
I ended up planting some pole beans as well. We will see how successful they are.

Blog posts and Harvesting Lettuce Seeds

A short note on blog posts is in order. I have not forgotten to post. The next few days there will be a ton of posts from spring and summer on here. It's hard to believe it is time to prep for the fall garden almost. For my fourth year of NC planting, I must say I've been more successful. Still a lot of mishaps, disappointments, and triumphs, but I am happy with everything I have learned.

I did want to write what I did today though. I immediately fell in love with harvesting lettuce seeds, when I learned how. To me, the experience was like finding a wonderful surprise, uncovering a puzzle....not sure how to describe it. As below, you see the plant bloom in yellow flowers, much like a dandelion does. These petals will fall off leaving a white fuzz, much like a dandelion once again. It is with this flower fuzz that you find the seeds.

• Pinch off the white, fuzz of flower with it's stem.
• Carefully  pinch off the stem along with the bottom part of the flower.
• As you pinch from the bottom of the flower, you will discover the seeds fall from the white fuzz

Lettuce in bloom

harvesting lettuce seeds

Inside the floral pod

Seed Saving Spinach

I am so excited to reach this part of my vegetable gardening. I have never saved seeds prior to two years ago. The first seed saving endeavor I attempted was peas and it was so successful! I was hooked after that.

My goal is to save seeds from everything heirloom I plant. I will not only save money but also I will ensure  my garden will have the healthiest plants.

bolted spinach

My first attempt at saving spinach seeds turned out to be a disaster. This is the plant I harvested. More about my harvesting disaster in my next post. So far, I have discovered that seeds not inside the plant are hard to determine!

Harvesting Peas

I am harvesting the last of the peas. This is about the only plant I am truly successful with. You can plant them in the middle of February and harvest them by the end of May.

I am successful planting peas and saving seeds from peas, harvesting peas is another story. Peas aren't fussy. They love water, but can stand lack of water. They enjoy 8 hours of sun.

When you want to open a shell. You can pop it open by squeezing the end of the pod. You can pull up the entire plant at the end of the season with on pod left and let it turn light brown. This ensures the peas are dried out. You can store your dried peas in a dry area for next planting season.

I will say it takes a lot of plants to harvest enough for more than one person. I will plant these again for the fall garden.

May 5, 2014

With the gorgeous morning weather, it is time to start planting in the early morning! Love it.

I'm nervous for the results since the garden bed consists of the following matter:
Chicken Manure
Last year's left-over garden soil
Potting Soil

Garden Bed 6 is planted this morning with the following:

• Pepper, Yolo Wonder
• Pepper, Cayenne
• Pepper, Jalepeno
• Pepper, Sweet Pimento
• Tomato, Small Red Cherry
• Dill, Bouquet
• Basil, Italian Large Leaf

Summer Garden

Vegetable gardening is my least favorite past time. It is overwhelming to consider the planting season and a harvest season. The fact that you must consider two types of harvest season, is enough to put me in despair. I am taking one bite at a time. 

During the winter, there was little to do except plan. (Hint: plan out your garden in winter). None of my gardening has been successful the past three years. This year I spend much time researching, praying, stepping out on faith, and plodding along.

My posts have become irregular as the garden responsibilities have increased. As summer approaches, the gardening chores increase: mulching, weeding, watering, planning, observing....it's all there. I believe I have finally come to a conclusion as far as this summer's prep is concerned.

I am in the middle of planting the summer garden and harvesting the spring garden here and there. I did not even plant half the seeds I have, due to lack of preparation. Here is the summary of the what is in all the garden beds at this time.

Garden bed 1

Carrots

Onions

Marjoram

Cucumbers, Marketer

Garden bed 2

Peas – Progressive 9

Broccoli

Spinach

Lettuce

Cucumber, Marketer

Garden bed 3

Peas – Progressive 9

Lettuce

Celery

Spinach

Cucumber, Homemade Pickles

Garden bed 4

Peas – Progressive 9

Cucumber, Homemade Pickles

Garden bed 5

Peas – Progressive 9

Tomato, Homestead

Cucumber, Homemade Pickles

Basil, Italian Large Leaf

Garden bed 6

Peppers – Bell Pepper, Jalepeno, Red

Basil

Dill

Oregano

Parsley?

Chamomile

Marigolds

Tree stump garden bed

Mint

Catnip

Irises garden bed

Rosemary, French heirloom
Lavender, true heirloom
Sage, Broadleaf heirloom
Thyme, winter heirloom
Marigold (planted as border)


With that, I'm off to garden.

May 4, 2014

Irises Garden Bed

I'm calling this garden bed the Iris Garden bed since it is next to the Iris plants.

This is the herb garden bed....except I seem to have plant ornamental herbs more than herbs you would use on your food as much. I tried to plant them in a circular fashion according to their plant height. We'll see!

Rosemary, French heirloom
Lavender, true heirloom
Sage, Broadleaf heirloom
Thyme, winter heirloom
Marigold (planted as border)

Garden Beds 2

Before

After

After

This area receives sunlight all day long, during the summer. I have high plans for this area, as the years progress. At the moment, this will be my herb experiment.

The tree stump has become infested with ants, unfortunately. Because it is infested, this year I planted mint and catnip around the "Tree Stump Garden Bed", in hopes that this will encourage the ants to move their colony elsewhere.

The "Irises Garden Bed" I planned for a kitchen garden, but ended up planting more of ornamental herbs. Next year I will try for my kitchen garden bed as this bed is the closest to the house.

May 2, 2014

Tree Stump Garden Bed

I'm just going to call this garden bed the Tree Stump garden bed. I had big dreams....ok, I still have big dreams for this tree stump!

When we moved here, there were morning glories all in this area. I can't remember, if I planted them, or they were here. They did not come back.

The tree stump has two hollow portions. I was going to fill them with dirt and plant plants that cascade down. Unfortunately, the ants claimed its home first.

I have rethought my plan. I read on a companion plant guide that mint deters ants. So yes, that is what I planted in this garden bed: mint and catnip. I'm hoping it is successful. Next year, I can have some summer cascading plants here!

Today's list of seed planted include:

Tree Stump Garden Bed:
Mint, garden heirloom
Catnip, wild heirloom

Garden Bed 3:
Cucumber, Homemade Pickles

 Garden Bed 5:
Cucumber, Homemade Pickles
Tomato, Homestead
Basil, Italian Large Leaf

Let It Be

Peas

I complained in a previous post - March 20th to be exact - how my garden was ruined because I planted too early. I told my native NC friend my disastrous attempt to not follow her advice. My favorite thing about "elderly" people? They are very forgiving in my experiences.

She didn't roll her eyes, or say, "didn't I tell you when to plant?", ect. She just encouraged me by saying, "don't worry, the seeds will still germinate when the temperature is right."

I didn't believe her....again. Yet, sure enough, this week all my lovely peas popped through. There are other greens that have poked through the soil, but I have no idea what they are....I think the curly leafy one is celery, but I'm not positive.

Blurry image of celery?

One lesson for sure, gardening exercises your faith! Your faith to believe in something you can not see. Your faith to believe in an occurrence you cannot observe.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

Planting from seed

Over and over again farmers in NC tell me they create their vegetable gardens from store-bought plants instead of seeds. If anyone truly knew my method of gardening, they would know I am die-hard: lunar, organic, heirloom, non-gmo, permaculture kind of method.

There are many wonderful sites for heirloom seeds. The website I order from, in my experience, has a high success rate of its seeds sprouting. My favorite option to order is their 99 cent samplers because I don't plant enough seeds to need more than what they provide in the sampler packs.

Spring Seeds

So here we are in the last week of February. I am behind as usual, 'cause I have so many ideas and no experience to execute them!
Here are the seeds I am planting now.  Those below the ground:

• Carrots
• Onions
• Turnips
• Potatoes

are planted directly into the soil here in NC. Those above ground:

• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Celery
• Lettuce
• Peas

are planted indoors here in NC.

Step One

"Time to get serious!" I stumbled across an article this morning about stating this is your year to garden. It was a wake-up call to say the least. For that reason, I am going to return to the original intent of this blog. Informing you through pictures, how to grow a garden. From what I understand NC lives in zone 7b. If you live in zone 7b, never started a garden, and are interested. Follow along. I am not promising success. I am encouraging effort and through our efforts we will come away with personal experience and knowledge about our zone climate.
Today is supposed to be beautiful. NC is notorious for their late frost, in my opinion. I have not remember a single Easter Sunday as long as I've been up here, (10 years, give or take) that was not cold and cloudy. From that day forward, it warms up quickly. What happens while we wait to plant outdoors? We prepare the soil and plant indoors!

Step 1: soil prep and plant preparations.
A sweet lady who is in her 70s, has taken me under her wing. I am so thankful and excited that she is sharing her gardening tips for NC. This state's weather puzzles me to no end! Her advice, "Don't plant anything outdoors before the last frost. The first plants usually planted during this time of year are peas, onions, lettuce, and potatoes." So let's take her advice to heart. 

•  Let's look at the seed packets. 
• Determine what seeds in your climate can be planted earliest.
• Find a gardener in the area to glean experienced wisdom.

This year I am going to be trying my hand at potted gardening, outdoor gardening, and indoor gardening.