Garden Update 6/27/13

 

The garden is now growing well! After we planted most of the first round of seeds too deep, I re-planted them, and now they are thriving. The peas are nearly ready for their trellises, the beans are about 5 inches tall and showing their pointy leaves, and the squash and cucumbers are in various stages of happy sprouting. 

It's an explosion of green growing things– including weeds! You can see in the photo above, in the back near the mounds, just how overgrown it got while we have been so busy. 

Many thanks to my parents who dropped by last weekend to help us get a start on laying down newspaper and straw in the walkways, and clearing out the weeds from among the rows.

As you can see, it's not quite finished, but between Erik's 55-hour work weeks and sprained wrist, and me being sick for the last five days, that can wait a little longer.

In other news, my gigantic order of 2600 acorns is on track to be finished within the next couple of days! I will post pictures of them when I have all the colors finished.

Garden Plans

As I mentioned in a post a few days ago, I am very much looking forward to trying my hand at gardening this year. I grew up watching my mom make a successful garden each year, but I've never had one myself from start to finish. Erik's new house has a big yard, so this year is my chance.

I bought my seeds and I'm all ready to go! I chose snow peas (an old favorite, so deliciously springtime-flavored), purple beans (just like green beans only beautiful dark purple), zucchini (we love everything made with zucchini, and each plant makes so many), and asparagus beans (which I have never tried before, but they grow to be like a foot long!).

Somehow, though, I was under the impression that you plant your garden in March... and I was getting a little anxious because the space hadn't even been tilled yet! This idea was quickly squashed by both my mother's advice and the back of the seed packets. So I'll just hold on until it's a little warmer.

I'm also planning to grow a little herb garden this year too, but I'll post about that later.

Are you planning a garden this year? What are you planning to grow? Feel free to post any stories, or helpful hints for a newbie, in the comments below.

What I'm Reading: A Householder's Guide to the Universe

I picked up this book last year at Powell's, and it's been waiting on the shelf since then. I knew that it would be exactly what I needed someday... but it had ended up being more of a premature purchase than I'd like to admit. It's all about "house-holding:" canning, cleaning, and gardening, among other things, and most of it seems to fit better in the lives of those who have actual houses, not so much those of us who live in apartments or single rooms. And though I do understand that you can incorporate those things into your life no matter what your situation, it's so much more fulfilling to have the actual space to use them in.

But, this month Erik moved into an actual house! It's a little rented place in East Vancouver, so far out that its neighbors could better be described as farms than suburban homes. It's small and old and humble and wonderful. And I finally have a context to practice the ideas in the book I've been saving! We plan to make a garden, and to can the apples from the many trees on the property. A real house is so different from an apartment, and I'm really looking forward to learning the ways of house-holders.

One more note: It's written by Harriet Fasenfest, a Portlander – so I can be sure that the seasonal tips are appropriate for our area!