Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Progress.....

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get 4 fruit tree's from my best friends dad. Two pear, one fig and one almond tree.  It was pouring out and the ground was super muddy so it was a perfect time to move them.  And you know I don't think the tree's even noticed that we moved them. Look what I found on them today. Woot woot!!!
My potato cage idea is turning out to be a winner. These beautiful little green's popped out over the weekend.  Can't wait till this summer when I get to pull the cages off and hopefully the potatoes just tumble out.
I finally finished putting the copper around the second garden bed.  Partly because I wanted to wait for my back to feel better. Plus I was just lazy to be honest.  But I did finally finish it and boy does it make the garden so much prettier. Love it!
I might add another coat of linseed oil one of these days. I think it will make the wood much prettier.

I decided to lay the copper on the top edge instead of just adding it to the side.  My husband came up with this idea and I have to admit it looks way better.  Plus no sharp edges for my kids to hurt themselves on. This stuff is pretty sharp and had I put the gloves on when I installed it I probably would of saved my hands from cuts. Oops.
Look at this cuties I snagged at Goodwill for $5.00. I'm pretty sure its a tea light holder but I will be using it for a bird feeder instead.  Someone made this from clay so its pretty heavy and should last a long long time outside.  I am a lover of mushrooms and you will find them sprinkled through out my garden.  This reminds me of something right out of Alice In Wonderland. Love!
  I planted about 3 dozen quinoa along my garden wall by the fence.  I was going to add them to my garden bed but read that they get from 4-6 ft tall.  I will also have some sunflowers planted along with them as soon as they get bigger.  My garden fence should look amazing this year. Excited!!

I am doing an experiment this year with my squash, cucumbers and pumpkins.  Instead of planting them directly in the ground I will put them into pots and lay them where I want them to grow.  I will be planting them in our retaining wall that my hubby built last year and honestly the soil is pretty crappy.  The front 4 smaller pots have 2 plants in each one which should be enough room for the roots.  The back pots are very large pots with a few varieties of tomatoes and will be kept in my greenhouse all growing season. The heat in there should give me lots of yummy plump tomatoes.  I have many more plants and will grow them in other places outside. Just wanna test out which one will grow better.  Last year sucked and I didn't get any tomatoes at all due to all the rain and cold weather. uurr!!
I planted over 3 dozen different flowers this week. This is a first for me.  I have a hard time  planting things that don't give me anything in return.  I know its stupid but that's what I do. Last year my neighbor sprinkled flowers all over her garden and it was so beautiful.  I started many varieties of zinnia, marigolds, snapdragons, and many more that I cannot remember the names.  Some are perennial but most are annuals.  Perennials will be planted in my front yard and backyard wall . The annuals will be sprinkled in my garden along with all my veggies. 
When I did my shopping on Friday I saw these funny little things on the baseboard at Whole Foods. I asked my friend Beth (who works there) if I could have them and she said yep. These come in Tom shoe's and help keep the shoe toe form from caving in.  They are biodegradable paper and I thought of using them as little pots to start some plants. As you can see my girls had other plans for them.   They are now pretty owls and one has turned into a mask for Emma's stuffed animal. Too cute. Best part was they were FREE!

I have a very important question for you all.  Have any of you planted and grown quinoa?? I'm trying to figure out how to harvest them later on.  Quinoa is about $3.99 per pound when you buy it and this year I decided to try to grow my own and see if its cheaper than just buying it.  Any tips would be helpful!! Have a great day!!!

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