May Flowers…

Winter Pansies and Violets are still looking amazing

Can you see the Calla Lilies, to the left of the black pergola post, behind the small orange poppies…. they are almost as high as the fence …that’s 6ft tall.. wow ..this is their 3rd year in that spot..

Year 2 for the Iris’s ..I love these and will add some puple ..next year …

They are in a mixed shrub border with Hardy Fuchsia, Geranium-Johnson Blue, and a smaller White variety …the name has left me.. the purple flower in the back is Blue Potato Vine( Solanum)

..a closer look..

Succulents in bloom….

Its time to put in a few more annuals…hate pulling up the pansies when they look so good

Nematodes

Live Predatory Nematodes

This time last year there were so many cutworms in our garden,  I didn’t know what to do, every single lettuce plant was lost to them, not to mention many other plants..I used Diatomaceous Earth, walked through the garden every night with my flashlight and Felcos… so decided to order these from West Coast Seeds. I didn’t notice a change last year, but now this year, I have only found one in the soil, before it had a chance to attack new seedlings.. ..it worked!!! I used the whole package in 2 applications! If you are having problems I recommend giving this a try, they are only available for a short time as they are living!

http://www.westcoastseeds.com/productdetail/Gardening-Supplies/Insect-and-Pest-Controls/Nematodes-Terranem-/

No.. I’m not on commission or anything..ha, ha, ha…just happy to find something that worked , its all natural so no harm to the soil, plants or us 

Battles & Bounty!

Slugs!!!!

Look at the mess…

 

Beer traps are set up and many have met there match….. more to come I’m sure..

I’m hoping the Beans from Sue will recover..

They even managed to find their way into the Canna Lily pots in the greenhouse…

they’ve been moved out..

Two – 8ft rows of carrots that were up about an inch last week are now gone!

Artichokes, they aren’t really a battle,  they are nice and healthy…but what was I thinking??? They are going to be huge plants…I don’t have room in the veggie beds….lol…maybe I can find someone willing to take some home  ;)

…a few will go into pots…

These little Corn Salad plants,  were planted March 18th..Wow, talk about slow growing ! Is this normal?

Here’s some  good news…a little bounty..

Swiss Chard & Kale ..Green Smoothies here we go…

The Green house is filling up

Tomatoes are flowering

Radishes are growing well

We have Strawberries

I wont be filling the freezer any time soon but there are more to come

Lettuce Greens

Burnet Lettuce-tastes a little like aniseed..

and looks like a weed..

Rhubarb is already going in the freezer

Lima Beans , Purple Sprouting Broccolli and Cabbage

a close up of the Lima Bean Flower…I had never seen one before

Amber is enjoying  the Greenhouse..

….off to get some carrot seeds in and hands dirty

Potatoes in Pots : May update

Amazing how these are growing , in just a weeks time all of the potatoes are well over the edge of the pots, and need to topped with straw & soil…again.  They have almost been filled to the top of the pots…

I hope they will produce potatoes as well as they are growing new  stems & leaves…

Fingers crossed …

May, A Quick Visual Garden Update

Rhubarb is ready to harvest and the Kale is coming along

Onions, Leeks and Shallots have really grown, Carrots are sprouting..

Cherry Tomatoes and Artichokes are hardened off and need to be transplanted.  Neeka is checking it all out…

Broad Beans need some support, Cabbage and Broccoli are growing well, so are the potato pots..

Cauliflower and newly transplanted Zucchini

The Garlic hasn’t produced any scapes yet, they should be coming up soon..

Pac Choi has bolted, I’ve planted another row. Radishes are doing great , Beets and Swiss chard are starting to sprout!

Swiss chard from last year, amazing how it keeps growing even when its cut down to the ground. Peas are doing well,  I’ve planted a few more to make up for the few that the slugs destroyed..

Lettuce pots , all bolting, time to plant some more…

Strawberry leaves are huge , with several fruits . but not that many flowers, I wonder if its because its the first year , or do they need a different fertilizer?

Tomatoes look happy , I cant believe how they have grown!

Basil,  Peppers and Eggplant all need to be transplanted

Sage and Mint

Chives, Celery and a new Lettuce Variety , Burnet..

Lilac is in full bloom…more of the Flower Garden later

After being away for almost 3 weeks I was delighted to come home and see how quickly the garden has grown. That is thanks to some unseasonably warm temperatures and a fabulous husband who not only kept up on all the watering but installed a new automated system for the veggies… Thank-you my dear !!!

Growing Strawberries in Gutters

Yes we are using gutters to grow Strawberries!

I was so intrigued when I saw Mavis from http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/ growing her Strawberries in gutters in a Greenhouse!

Check it out!  http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/2013/03/how-to-grow-strawberries-start-to-finish/

We installed a few brackets,  placed the galvanized gutters on top of them at a bit of an angle for drainage..we put two gutters in, one on each side of the greenhouse, both are 10 feet long, 5 in deep…we decided to experiment with both of them, so one is a straight soil mix…the other has pebbles at the bottom topped with landscape fabric then soil..

They were filled with the same mixture of potting soil used for my pots, equal parts of garden soil, organic seasoil (compost), vermiculite or pearlite, and peat moss. I also added an organic granular fertilizer ( recipe to follow) and lime…

We put in our plants , a combination of Everbearing and June bearing Strawberries

and placed them on the brackets..

Berries are forming already….

Here are the varieties that we have planted…

Everbearing/day-neutral: Seascape & Quinault

June Bearing: Rainier & Shuksan

Spring Cleaning

I was starting to fill up the greenhouse with all of the new seedlings and over wintering plants…I didnt take a picture of the mess… but here are some of the items that were pulled out

Fushia Baskets & Pots

Seedlings & Potting Supplies : You can see the moss growing on the paving stone, its shady there and this as after just one year..

March is coming to an end and the greenhouse isn’t clean!  We are anxious to install the gutters  for growing strawberries (in the first picture you can see one already hung up on the right side of the greenhouse) so we had to get on with it! Jeff’s big back pack blower was filled with a bleach solution and the whole place was sprayed  down…let it sit for a while and rinsed…ahh…nice and clean..brackets for gutters are hung up and everything moved back in…

More about the seedlings and strawberry gutters soon..