welcoming spring on the south lawn

happy first day of spring. great news in this morning's new york times...the first family will break ground today on an organic garden on the white house's south lawn. yay!! excerpt and images below (thanks nyt!):

"Whether there would be a White House garden has been more than a matter of landscaping. It’s taken on political and environmental symbolism as the Obamas have been lobbied for months by advocates who believe that growing more food locally could lead to healthier eating and lessen reliance on huge industrial farms that use more oil for transportation and chemicals for fertilizer. In the meantime, promoting healthful eating has become an important part of Mrs. Obama’s agenda."

on the ground, staff siting the garden.

first lady michelle obama preparing the area for raised beds.

seedy saturday

earlier today, i snuck a trip to city people's garden store and spent nearly an hour pining over all the seed choices, browsing the fruit trees, and eying their large selection of perennials. i won't mention the damage; let's just say i'm doing my part to stimulate the economy. upon returning home, i planted three types of carrots, two kinds of snap peas, lettuce, spinach, and spicy micro greens.

i'm excited about all of the above, but particularly interested in seeing how the three carrot varieties turn out. there's a parisian market variety that looks like a miniature beet; little fingers echo baby carrots; and purple haze offer a gangly uniqueness. each mature at different times, so we'll have plenty throughout the season.

as mentioned, i also put in two types of snap peas. first, i worked some compost and organic fertilizer into the soil (we use down to earth all purpose 4-6-2 - it's made to work well in nw soils). then, i moved a bamboo tepee that we made last year into the new pea patch area, made a few rows, and set the peas out. the bamboo will provide the peas with a place to climb.



after planting all of the above, i was on a roll and couldn't be stopped...except by dropping temps and ensuing raindrops. i moved indoors to our newly built shed (good work brian!) to start some seeds that need a little more time before they can go outside. with some seed starter mix and old seedling pots from last year, i started two varieties each of cucumber and zucchini, as well as cilantro, basil, italian parsley, thyme, and (cross your fingers) muskmelon. (fyi, apparently what we think of as canteloupe is actually called muskmelon. true canteloupes are a hard-shelled melon from europe. you can learn a lot from a seed packet). anyway, we picked up some short-season seeds out of curiousity a couple weeks back. if successful, we'll be quite pleased.

looking forward to reporting back with photos of seedlings and sprouts!

signs of life

while it's still a bit brisk out, the benefit of gardening in raised beds is warm, workable soil. in the garden this afternoon, i spotted the first signs of life in the form of sprouting lettuce (see if you can spot them below).

crocuses - another indicator that spring is on it's way.

spring time?

ah yes, first post of the year and its...march. besides everyday busy-ness, it has been snowing, sleeting, hailing, and freezing much more than usual here in the pacific northwest. all valid excuses, right?

well with a few hours of sunshine spread out over the past couple weekends, we've managed to establish some new raised beds, smother some grass, and plant/transplant a few things. as the planting season picks up, stayed tuned for more regular posts. for now, a smattering of recent photos:

new beds, new technique.
we're using old NY Times to smother the
grass under and around the raised beds.

spreading wood chips over the paper.

arugula, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, and baby greens.

garlic that we planted in the fall.

in the process of thinning out
an overgrown strawberry patch.

what i found in the strawberry patch.

rhubarb nubbins - should start shooting stalks soon.

sorrel - survived all the snow.

chives too!

new blueberry plants

mobile rosemary

new shed! siding to come on next sunny day.