Coming right along...

Everything has sprouted except for the petunias! The butternut squash are going crazy! I have already had to thin them a little I am going to have to give some folks some of these starts because I really didn't think they would all come up. Yay for green in my basement :)

My herb garden...

My father-in-law made these planters a while ago out of semi-truck brake drums. They are awesome, I must say. They are all rusted and awesome-looking, and anyting will grow in those things. I had the tomato plant from the blue lagoon last year (see above)....it was enormous! It was so big, there is actually a cage in there believe it or not. So this year, I am going to place them stragetically around the yard and put my herbs in them: Basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, and cilantro. I am also going to try some in my house, but I'm going to wait until I can buy some good established starts from the nursery so they'll have a better chance of making it. I'm excited :)

They're up!

Sorry, still no camera, but here is what sprouted in the last couple of days:

Spinach

Baby's Breath

Lupine

Butternut Squash

We have been keeping the little plastic 'greenhouse' cover on, but I think I goofed putting different varieties into each of the different pans, because I think you are supposed to take it off once they sprout, and obviously now, some have sprouted and some haven't. Oops.

Also, for fun, I think I am going to grow some wheatgrass with my kids. I have heard it is super easy, and it looks pretty too for decorating, so in a few days here, I may give it a whirl :)

Our Garden/Yard Map

This is kind of hard to see, but here is our yard. On the far right or east side, we have cinderblock planters that line the driveway, and that is where I am putting my peas (they will theoretically grow up the fence), and then in a couple months plant my squashes, gourds and melons. On our far west side, we have our parking strip, and that is where I am going to make some garden boxes and plant roma tomatoes, celebrity tomatoes (my neighbor told me this is one of the best varieties for our climate as far as being drought and bug resisitant, and being good for canning), tomatillos & jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, and our Big Max pumpkins! Also on the west side, we have a little hill which is where the lettuce, spinach, and carrots will go. Behind that in a big square will be the corn.

Tithing blessing of the week!

We have a 2nd abandoned driveway on the west side of our house, which is where the bulk of our yard is. We have been planning on scraping off the gravel and clay and planting sod. As Bryan started this process, the clay was upwards of 12" deep in most areas, so yeah, that's a lot of digging. So we took a sample of our soil from the old driveway (I am going to post pics soon so you'll know what I'm talking about) to J&L (we love that place) to test the pH. Turns out, it has a zero base, but as long as we add some manure (oh how we love our rotting horse manure), we don't have to scrape it at all, they said the sod should grow just fine! This will save us renting a bobcat, and a dumptruck, and probably a back surgery or two! :)

FYI, for those of you who care, horse manure (old, white and black stuff...not the straw-filled new stuff) is the bomb! There are several places locally that you can actually get it for free (email me if you are interested @ tiffany.skelton@comcast.net). It is awesome awesome awesome stuff, it has very little (if any) odor as long as you get the decomposing stuff, and really does a lot for bulking up your plants. I swear by it.

Tidbits I Learned Today From The J&L Nursery Lady

• Today at J&L, I asked if there was a particular brand of seeds that was more aclimated for where we live than another, and she told me that pretty much all of the seeds come from the same place in Mexico, and they hand pick the varieties that do well here, so if they carry it, it will work for here. Makes sense :)
• I am going to try asparagus, which takes a couple of years to be able to get a crop from it, but the time to plant is between March 1-15, which is when the starts come into J&L, so that's my plan. She also said to always start that from a seedling, and not seed (or bulb or whatever it is). I guess it can be pretty temperamental.
• I was going to also try broccoli and cauliflower, but since we have such a huge snail problem, I may wait until next year when we have that more under control. She said if I was going to do plant those, I would plant that also around the first part of March.
• She said any time in the next 3 weeks is the time to plant peas, she's planting hers this weekend!
• Carrots and spinach are also good ones to plant here pretty quickly.
• I talked corn with her. She told me that you have to plant a minimum of 5 rows (18 inches apart) of corn of each species to have them pollinate right (otherwise you end up with that inbred-backwoods looking stuff). If you do more than one variety, they have to be 40 feet apart. They are supposed to be in full sun. In this yard, that could be a problem. We shouldn't plant that until closer to mother's day.
• Also, I am trying to start seeds in my basement under our plant light. She said the two biggest things that make seeds not turn out are having the light more than 12 inches above the plant, and overwatering. She suggested using a spray bottle every day. Any more water than that will rot the seeds. Here is what I planted:

Cucumbers (I usually do these first 3 from plants, so we'll see what happens)

Watermelon

Cantelope

Hubbard Squash - freezes good for pies and baby food

Butternut Squash - awesome for cooking, soups, baby food, etc.

Spinach (this is an experiment...it recommends planting this straight outside...I just want to compare the two)

Birdhouse Gourds (these are sooooo cute! I can't wait)

Gourds (I love to decorate in the fall with these)

Baby's Breath - perennial

Petunias - annual

Impatiens - annual

and...Lupine - perennial

Day One.

I am starting my garden blog so I can keep better track of what works and what doesn't, and maybe get some ideas from others on how to do it right/better. We have a tricky yard, so we are having to be a bit creative to find places to put things, as well as having the forethought of how we can rotate things in future years so we don't burn all the nutrients out of the soil.

So, here's to a bountiful harvest this summer! :)