Fall Cleanup

Because we are leaving on a cruise on October 17, I decided we need to start fall cleanup early.  We ordered an extra green waste bin for a couple of weeks and have been filling them both to capacity.  By now, though, things are pretty much done.  All that is left of the vegetable garden is carrots, leeks, and chard. 

We have new neighbors next door.  The house has been empty for two and a half years, and I had forgotten how open the view into their back yard was.  So we put up more reed fencing and added two more Black Tower elderberries.  They have a bit of catching up to do to next to the older ones.  But they do seem to grow fairly fast. 

A New Bed!

We've been thinking about the future of our back yard and have come to the conclusion that at some point we will want to either remove or scale back the raised vegetable beds.  We would probably replace them with a lawn (gasp!).  So with that in mind, we took a look at the back fence and decided it needed some spiffying up.

We removed the three compost bins and donated them to the local school garden program.  Then we dug up the remaining cotoneaster stump plus some miscellaneous plants and lots of bulbs.  We added some compost and fertilizer and then planted new plants.  There are two trees (Styrax obassia and Franklinia), a crape myrtle, another Black Tower elderberry, a climbing hydrangea, and a jasmine.  We also dug up and moved a physocarpus that was languishing in the shade.

It all looks pretty puny right now, but it should be filling in before too long.  I plan to add a few more lower shrubs and maybe another hops next spring.

The next project was to plant three new roses in the bed where melons and squash had been.  I'll plant more lilies in the spring.

And finally I planted a manzanita and a grevillea along the south-facing wall of the house, where it gets blistering heat in the summer. 

All this was accomplished over three days.  We've had almost no rain this summer, so things are bone dry.  But rain was on the way, so we got it all done.

Midsummer

The garden is nearing its peak.  We haven't had any beans yet, but just about everything else is producing.  We've had some small tomatoes and peppers. The garlic is ready to come out, and the onions are close.

The side has never looked better, thanks to lots of volunteers.

 The front is really looking good. 

 

Even the new bed is taking off.  The skimmia has been moved to the back yard for more shade.  It was getting fried in the front.  

 

And not a stinkbug in sight!!

Dinner al Fresco

Tonight we had our first dinner of the year outside. We've had a few lunches, but not dinner.  It was 79 degrees today.  Tomorrow will be warm as well and then back to more normal temperatures. Brief but nice.

Planting in Earnest

Now that we are back from our two-week trip to Tucson, I can really start to plant things.  We had a blowout in the bed that I had planted some carrots in.  I'm giving up on the watering system in that bed, so I'll just plant a couple of squash that I can hand water.  I'll find another spot for the carrots.

My onion seeds did not do well, so I bought some starts, as well as leeks. 

The lettuce that I started a couple of weeks ago is coming along nicely. 

The strawberries are really starting to take off.

I bought four tomato plants and six pepper plants.  I've transferred them to gallon pots and will bring them in at night for now.

Spring, Really

There are lots of things blooming in the garden, mostly little woodland natives. 

Planting and Replanting

Yesterday I sowed kale, chard, and carrot seeds.  Last night something dug up a large section of the carrots.  It was large, with big feet, probably a raccoon. 

So today I planted them again. 

Spring!

Well for one day at least.  Tomorrow we have 100% chance of rain  But today it was in the upper 50s and sunny.  I planted my new Seascape strawberries. 

I also sowed some 'Cascadia' snap peas and lettuce.  And I started 'Talon' onions in a 6" pot.

As I was pulling weeds in the pea bed, I discovered a row of carrots that I had forgotten about.  These were planted late last summer and overwintered.  The tops were completely gone, but the carrots are fine.

Oh, and we had lunch on the deck.  We had to get a sandwich at Roth's because the electrician was working in the kitchen. David was actually happier than he looks.

Good Grief!

It just seems like it will never end.  We've had another 4" of snow overnight. 

Aftermath

After a good rain yesterday, the snow is finally gone.  Things are alive, but not everything looks good.

The carrots look great.

But the kale, chard and lettuce look a little beat up.

Snow Part 6 (!)

Here we are again.  This is the sixth snow storm this winter.  And frankly, it's getting old.

A couple of weeks ago we had night time temperatures in the low 20s, so we moved the citrus into the garage.  It was too late for the lemon, although it may come back.  But the mandarin looks OK.  I picked all of the remaining fruit.  They were mostly very small, about golf ball size.  But they tasted really good.


This is three of them in a small bowl.