shed a little light

fellow james taylor fans, please note the blog title - it isn't entirely random, given excessive sun exposure over the weekend, and major...MAJOR (yeah, all caps there) progress on the shed.

kudos to brian the builder for getting up just about all of the siding in a couple days - it looks great! next up...chicken coop? hmm.

anyway, sunshine led to a lot of productivity over the long holiday weekend. we worked in just about every part of the yard - from shed building to weeding unpleasant rockery, creating new planting beds, harvesting tons of greens, and more.

with sunshine, things just get way bigger. seeds that i just planted start sprouting almost immediately, including several varieties of beans - purple, yellow, green, and scarlet runners. over the course of just a couple days, i could actually observe the beans evolving. we concocted a trellis of sorts by re-purposing some japanese window screens we recently removed from the living room. on the other side, we planted cucumbers. underneath the trellis, we scattered baby greens seeds.

we also planted some beans and other edibles in the front yard. after day dreaming of how to overtake at least part of the front lawn, i decided to jump in. and with shovel in hand, proceeded to painstakingly remove sod. a pain in the ass project, but well worth it in the end.

let me take you through a pictoral journey (time lapse = two days):

in the new front yard bed, we put in a variety of grasses, coneflowers, lavender, rosemary, black-eyed susans, thyme, blueberries, and we moved the huckleberry from a relatively shady spot in the back yard. at the base of the tepees (that we fashioned out of bamboo from the yard), are snap peas and the beans.

in addition to accomplishing these projects, we've been able to start enjoying the fruits (er, vegetables) of our labor. lettuces, arugula, and a number of herbs are in full swing. end product? delish veg pizza, arugula pesto pasta, and just picked salads.

we're getting there

a sunny weekend brought about real progress in the garden. sunshine meant we were finally able to bring out all the goodies that have been taking refuge in the greenhouse. we planted...

tomatoes (11 varieties)

including "oregon spring"

red brussels sprouts

3 types of squash - black beauty,
yellow crookneck, and baby round

we also planted purple cauliflower (pronounced call-ee-flower - it's more fun that way) - you can see them at the top of the squash photo. here's what to expect come harvest time. and yes, those were brussels sprouts.

this weekend also brought about the emergence of potatoes - the green leaves are finally pushing through the soil. once they get a bit taller, we're supposed to cover the greens a bit and mound up a potato hill.

the strawberries are thriving - full of blossoms and some small green berries. getting excited about the sweet fruit we'll have in a few short weeks.


and lastly, the snap peas are coming along, huddled amongst some baby greens. brian pieced together a climb for them, by crisscrossing twine between the bamboo support structure.

it's supposed to rain tomorrow - a blessing in disguise - to replenish the rain barrels and give us a watering break. but hopefully the sun revisits us soon.

reds and greens

back from a beautiful trip to charleston, and the garden is coming along! we came back to ready-to-eat micro greens and radishes aching to be pulled.

french breakfast and cherry belle radishes
just picked and washed

apparently we got a good amount of rain over the weekend. and, as i sit here (and have sat here for the past few hours), it continues to rain with a moderate breeze. as a result, the garden beds and front yard are littered with cherry blossom petals.

the greens are flourishing, and reminding me to plant more lettuce so we'll have some to harvest in the coming months.

in this bed: broccoli, radicchio,
arugula, lettuce, and snap peas

more greens - almost ready to eat!

kale, broccoli, onions, garlic, shallots, snap peas, and carrots are all breaking solid ground. i would have taken more photos, but it really started to rain! rainbow chard is also coming up.

and strawberry plants are blooming!

earth day

happy earth day, everyone.
play in nature,
plant something,
visualize a clean planet...
then go forth and make it happen!

big sky courtesy of brian schwartz photography

are we there yet?

say hello to little gus! at least someone is enjoying a bit of springtime glee.

i mean really, are we there yet? it's nearly may. but perhaps i shouldn't be so dispirited. we did enjoy a couple glorious days of sunshine last week, and it looks like more may be on the way. i'll try not to be a weather skeptic and just enjoy each day as it comes.

because there are great things to celebrate. lettuce, arugula, carrots, kale, radishes, and rainbow chard are up!

arugula
(yes, it needs to be thinned out a bit)

green leaf lettuce

french breakfast and cherry belle radishes

coming out of last year's garden, we learned to sow successive plantings of certain vegetables. so, once one crop comes up, in goes another. already we have a couple patches of arugula, lettuces, and micro greens for a more continuous harvest once the growing season kicks into full swing.

spicy micro greens
they've got quite a bite

and some red cabbage starts
finally in the ground

aside from a myriad of greens and reds, also making an entrance into the veg foray this season are potatoes, onions, and shallots, all of which are easy to get in the ground. for the potatoes, just dig a hole or trench (we did the latter), set a potato in and cover it up. then, wait for greens to shoot up, and continue to mound soil up over it. apparently the potato becomes many potatoes. stay tuned.


and you may recall from a previous post that we planted snap peas last month. let's just say that i highly suspect a certain neighbor dog, and/or rogue deer, got into the peas. on multiple occasions. we have re-planted peas three times now. the nice thing is, i got some free seeds at the green festival a couple weekends back.


and to end on a sweet, or at least a tart note - the rhubarb is making major strides. witnessing its progress has been exciting - the way each leaf un-rumples (yes, un-rumples) - it's very accordion like. then the brilliant pink stalks shoots up. can't wait for strawberry-rhubarb pie!

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!