Fleur de Lis Homeschool Blog: May 15, 2012

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Our Garden 2012

My favorite two pictures from this week--- I'll showcase them here for you all to see

Week 8: Sunflowers

I thought I might try to post some pictures of our garden in the same spot all summer. This way we can see how far it has come along as the summer progresses. I should have taken a picture of how it looked when we first came out--a huge pile of weeds 2 feet high and lettuce, romaine, swiss chard, strawberries and anything else that was left over from last summer that our mild winter didn't kill. Even brocolli tried to come back!

Here is the order of things:
Boxes
Strawberries-first this years; and then last years
Red & Orange Peppers
Cilantro (from seed)
Basil (from a plant)
Blackberry bushes-first last years (2 plants); then 2 years old bushes
Asparagus (2 plants--planted this year)
Tomato Plants -first the right-side of the garden; then the left-side garden
Lettuce & Chard (from last year)
Blueberry Bushes (one section from last year and another section from 2 summers ago).
Kohlrabi--from seeds
Fennel--from seeds
Swiss Chard--this year; from seeds
Side Views of the garden--first right side; then left side
The progress of the Clematis (2) with some new flowers planted in between them and the Butterfly Bush (coral bells & lupine)
Tree pix
Poppy (new this year; 2 plants planted (red))
new section planted -Peas
Cornfield views
Birds, Blooms, and Such

Planting the Veggie Garden:
Sat. May 12, 2012
We worked up parts of the garden and planted a few things to get us started. It still needs a lot of work; but we have started!

This is our herb section-- WEEK ONE I found a very cool bird's NEST inside one of the Sage plants. Which bird makes nests that low to the ground I wonder???

WEEK ONE- Six tomato plants on the right side, and four on the left side of the gate.

WEEK ONE-

WEEK ONE-- We have a lot of swiss chard, parsnips, and lettuce that came back up from last year. We are not sure what all to do with it. I guess we can plant around it! Sophie is even helping with the planting. You can just see the two little ponds beside our neighbors house. I see heron and ducks (and geese) flying by daily; but the heron are my favorite as their wing span is so awesome.

WEEK ONE- This cardboard box must look crazy in a garden; it is certainly nothing we have ever done before. Dh has been reading up a storm about ways to improve our garden. This suggestion is to build this up to place your seeds in. We had success last year with turnips, parsnips, carrots, and beets last year; but they didn't seem to grow DOWN, they were squatty and fat; but SHORT. Dh wonders if raising them up in more peat moss and elevated if they will be able to develop longer range and grow longer as a result. It is worth trying!

WEEK ONE- This is part of our Blackberry Bushes. We I have 2 plants from 2 years ao (these are the ones you see) and beside it are 2 more bushes from last year. I hope we get more to eat this year. The birds really love them..

WEEK ONE-

WEEK ONE- To the right of the boxes you can just see a patch of green. That is actually two clumps of strawberries. We had planted five bunches last summer; but it was so very hot and dry last summer that even though I watered and watered three plants didn't come back. The rhubarb I planted on the side of the house that died out last summer did actually return on its own this spring! Yeah! Eventually I might be able to make a homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie!

This picture is to say how we did things different with the soil this year. Normally we just buy a lot of peat moss/manure/top soil and work with the bad dirt; but this year we took out about 15 wheelbarrow loads of the bad dirt and dumped in in the farm field behind us. We actually got rid of a good amount of the bad dirt ! Progress!!

Second & Third day working on the garden:
5-19/20 2012 Dd is wearing the exact same outfit on both Saturday's--how unlikely!

week 2--after planting the tomatoes and working up some of the dirt we went and bought some more plants.

wK 2: 3 hard workers (Sophie is there in the shadow)

Week 2 - the tomatoes are all in; but haven't been newspapered and covered with grass yet.
Can you see the big mass of light green/yellowish to the left of the sunflower stalks? Those are lettuce; and we are eating and eating salad! Joy!

week 2

week 2 - preparing the soil for new seeds and plants

Week 2

Week 2- planting peppers/cilantro/seeds around boxes (zinnia's inbetween the two boxes)/cilantro plant

Boxes:

Week 2 of 'boxes'--Turnips (I think) are up.

week 2

Week 3-- cardboard seed boxes

Week 3: the Leeks in the box are doing very well.

Week 4

Week 4--Planted new seeds in here beside the turnips b/c the old seeds did NOT grow!

Week 4

Week 5: Box--Right side box- Leeks on left

Week 6-right side box

Week 6-left-side box

week 7 - the boxes have become a big lump of green

Week 8: right side box--we planted Zinnia's in between the two boxes and 5 or 6 have survived and broken through the mass of green. Maybe next week we will have full blooms

week 8:detail of inside of box


week 8: right side box

Strawberries

Week-2 Last years strawberries and the new editions below

Week 3: 2012 Strawberry plants

Week 4 - New Strawberries

Week 5: new stawberry plants

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week 7 - new strawberris

Big-last years strawberries

Week 3: last years strawberries

Week 4 - Strawberries

Week 5: big strawberries (fruit under the leaves)

Week 6

week 7 -big strawberries

week 8- a volunteer gourd has moved in and is crunching up the strawberries.

Red & Orange Peppers

Week 2--Red and Yellow Peppers - I didn't get a picture of the green peppers that were planted later- my battery on the camera died!

week 2

Week 3: orange and red peppers

week 3 the Orange pepper that broke off and has restarted again!

Week 4 -- Red Peppers

Week 5: Red/Orange Peppers

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week 7- red/orange peppers

Green Peppers:

week 3 green peppers

Week 4 - Green Peppers

Week 5: green peppers

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week 7 - hard to see; but there is the green pepper row

week 8

Cilantro from seed:

week 2

Week 2 (just planted) Dd planted the Cilantro

Week 3: Cilantro

Week 5 : Cilantro

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week 7- Cilantro

week 8 below

New Swiss Chard seedlings:

week 5 : Chard

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BASIL:

Week 2--Basil for our pesto addiction (just planted)

Week 3: Basil

Week 4 -- Basil

Week 5: Basil

Week 6 : Basil

Week 7-Basil

week 8 below

Small (one year old) Blackberry Bushes:

week 2--One year old Blackberry Bushes

Week 3 small blackberry bushes

Week 4 - small blackberry bushes

week 7 - small blackberry bushes

week 8 below:

Big (2 years old) Blackberry Bushes:

Week 2
2 year old Blackberry bushes

Week 3 big blackberry bush

Week 4--big blackberry bush

Week 4 Blackberry Bush

week 7 - big blackberry bush

First garden sunflowers blooming and transplanted blackberry bushes- some long branches from our 'big blackberry bushes' had rooted themselves on this side of the garden as well. We are hoping to have maybe 3 volunteer blackberry bushes that we can move to the back yard and out of the garden next year. We could always use more blackberries; especially b/c the birds keep eating them!!!

week 7 detail

week 7 - look at all those blackberries!

Asparagus garden:

2 new ASPARAGUS! and some coneflowers, black-eyed susan's, and a new peony Week ONE

Close up of the asparagus--WEEK ONE

week 3 asparagus

Week 4--asparagus garden

Right-side Tomatoes:

WEEK ONE-

Week 2 RT

week 2 -RT

week 2

week 3 right-side tomatoes

Week 3: tomatoes in right side

Week 4 Right-Side Tomatoes

Week 4-- Right-Side Tomatoes

Week 4-- the right side tomatoes

Week 5 Right-Side Tomatoes (6 plants)

Week 6: Right side

week 7 - tomatoes on right side - 6 plants and sunflower in the middle

week 8- tomatoes & sunflowers

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Week 8:right side tomatoes

Left-side Tomatoes:

Week 2 - LT side

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week 2- left-side tomatoes

Week 3

Week 4 - Left-Side Tomatoes

Week 5 - Left-side tomatoes (4)

week 6

week 7 - tomatoes on left side

week 7 - detail of left side tomatoes

week 8: left-side tomatoes

Lettuce & Chard:

Week 3: lettuce (we just picked a bunch)

Garden view: LEFT side

week 3: left side garden

Week 3: left side

week 8

Garden view: Right side

Week 2 RT

week 2 RT

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Wk 6 Left side/herb garden (terragon wound up)

week 7 - right side view

week 8

week 8:

-Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi on left---Fennel at right of the number "4"

week 3-Kohlrabi--a type of German turnip-

Week 4- Kohlrabi growing

Week 5--Kohlrabi

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Fennel

Week 3 - Fennel

Week 5--Fennel

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Leeks

Week 3 Leeks and something else

Week 5: Leeks

Week 6: Leeks

Swiss Chard

Week 3: starting to see a line of Swiss Chard

Week 5: Swiss Chard

week 7 - swiss chard from seed

Week 3-right side

Week 3: right side

Left-Side Views of entire garden:

Clematis garden:

Week One for this little new garden-it is Dd's garden; with a little momma help. 2 Clematis's (on outer sides) 1 Butterfly Bush in the middle- little Hosta to the left; and Black-eyed Susan's to right. In the very front are some pitiful Impatients and behind them are a Lupine and a Coral Bells.

Trees gardens

Poppy Garden:
The Elusive Red Poppy in Sequence:

Red Poppies-WEEK ONE --There is a story behind me calling the poppies 'elusive' b/c I have tried in vain, repeatedly to grow these beautiful flowers and they always die before they take hold...

On the left is my latest attempt at growing the tall, bright red Poppy plants that I love so much. On the right are the two newest Blackberry Bushes from last year. I laid on long branch down inbetween the two plants to see if it will grow roots and make new plants. WEEK ONE

Red poppies-Week Two - and 3 red geraniums

Week 3

Week 4 - Red poppies

Week 4-- red poppies

week 7 - red poppies are hanging in there with this horrid heat

Ground View:

week 3: ground view

Week 3: ground view

Week 4 Coral Bells

New-Peas

Week 4 Left-Side Tomatoes

Week 5 - new section of seeds--Peas!

Week 6

The Cornfield:

Our View: The Backyard Cornfield

Week 5 : Backyard Cornfield

week 7 - the back cornfield- it is tassling already--too early for how short it is.

week 8

Blueberry bushes: We have two separate b.b. gardens-one from 2 years old & the other is 1 year old-maybe 7 bushes total.

The three older blueberry bushes--the weak one in the cage is at the left; you can just see the post on the left hand side of the photo.

Birds, Blooms and Such:

This Redwing Blackbird was having a fit--the birdfeeder was full; the water in the bird bath were clean and we were in his way! It took him about 3 minutes until he decided to get food even though we were there.

The first LADYBUG I've seen this spring

What a pretty onion bloom - week 3

Week 6: Sunflower

No, we are not growing bricks! I had these here last year to form a border. When I was lifting them up I saw movement down below in the dirt. A momma fieldmouse was laying in her cubby under the bricks. She was very nervous, but didn't leave her babies. I could see the tiny babies who were hairless and about the size of the tip of my thumb. I've gone back each day to take a quick peek at the growing babies. Too cute!

Flower Gardens Around the Yard:

Week 2 --The cage is for a weak blueberry bush-- I wonder if the stray cat has sprayed on it? So, I am protecting it while it gets back on it's feet. Isn't the Butterfly Bush looking pretty--a hummingbird was at it tonight!