PLANTED TODAY FOR FALL/ WINTER HARVEST

The garden center just received their first shipment of vegetable starts for fall/winter harvesting. As MrC and I are going to be out of town from Wednesday to Sunday, I decided I had better get the first of these vegetables into the ground, then when we return I can buy some more to plant for a second harvest.

Leeks.
For stir fry, Leek & potato soup, or in many other recipes I enjoy.

A whole heap of Spinach.

There are many ways I enjoy spinach, whether it be in a salad or incorporated in another recipe.

Broccholi
MrC's favorite.....Not!! If I served this to him I would get a look of disgust.

Bunching onions.

I will harvest some of these early, to use in salads, then the rest can mature then harvested to be stored for use during the winter months.

Winter Romaine Lettuce.

Bull's Blood Beets.
When the Golden Beets arrive at the garden center I will plant some on the other half. I enjoy beets, along with other vegetables, sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper then roasted in the oven.

OH MY ACHING BACK !

This was one of two lovely Clematis growing on the trellis in front of my vegetable garden. When we went away for four days last week, I had a sprinkler set up on a timer to water the vegetable garden. Sadly the sprinkler malfunctioned and the water did not reach the two clematis.
I have spent the last two days installing a watering system, using soaker hoses in all the raised beds.







Here is one of the beds with the installed soaker hoses winding in and around the vegetables and flowers. I like to grow flowers along with the vegetables as they attract more bees, therefore giving me more pollinated vegetable blossoms. Also the gardens look pretty.





I planted these beans about two weeks ago, and since the weather has finally warmed up, the beans have sure put on a spurt of growth.










I have bent the leaves over the cauliflower and held them in place with a clothespin. Bending the leaves over this way, helps to keep the cauliflower nice and white. I have just four plants as MrC does not care for cauliflower, and fortunately they are not all growing at the same rate, so I will not have to eat cauliflower for days on end.





According to the saying "corn should be knee high, by the 4th of July" I don't think the corn knew about this, as a few of the plants are only about 18 inches high, the rest are shorter.
I really was hoping to have some lovely sweet corn slathered in butter.
Sighhhhhh!







The first crop of peas have produced abundantly, so I have planted this row hoping to have more of the sweet sugar snap peas to enjoy.










I can't say I have a bumper crop of parsnips, but the few which have grown are doing rather well, as are the carrots which were planted at the same time. I may plant another row of parsnips tomorrow for a fall harvest.






As I said I like flowers in my vegetable garden, so in this container are a couple of sunflowers and two shades of pink gladioli.










Swiss chard, one of my favorite vegetables and has been producing enough to feed us and a little left over to give a few leaves to the rabbits who hang around outside the fence.









There are quite a few tomatoes of a fairly good size and many more blossoms. My wish is for some nice hot days so I will have many, many tomatoes.







At last there are some tiny zucchini forming.

That is about it for now, and I am very tired after installing the watering system. Finally, I can sit back watch the garden grow, pull a few weeds when needed, then harvest the vegetable as they come ready. All the hard work is going to pay off.

I AM PLEASED WITH MY EFFORTS

This first year has been a learning experience in vegetable gardening for me, and I have learned a lot. I see where I will have to make some changes next season, and what plants do better than others, also there are some additional vegetables I would like to try next year.

Bib Lettuce
Won't be long before I am harvesting these.

Kohlrabi
This is the first time I have planted Kohlrabi. In fact I have never even tasted it, but have been told it is very tasty.

Tomatoes
All we need now, are some nice hot days for these to ripen.

Jalapenos
These little guys seem to have survived being chewed on by the little rabbit who found its way through the fence.

Cauliflower
I folded the leaves over the cauliflower to keep it nice and white. The tarragon, on the right is looking very healthy.

Zuchini
There are four plants in this bed, and I suppose I will be giving them away to anyone who would like some.

Tomatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, Swiss Chard, and Strawberries in the tires.

The Peas have a little lean on them after the strong winds we had last night. I have picked peas for four meals so far, and there are still many blossoms on the plants. I hope to have enough to put some in the freezer to enjoy during the cold days of winter.
There are beans on the right, and a new row of peas and beans along the front of the garden bed.
The corn, in the bed to the rear, is not doing well at all, so I don't hold out any hope for corn on the cob, slathered in butter, this year.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Just needs the lattice each side of the arch, a couple of climbing plants, and it will be done.

The lattice has been installed, and coated with water seal, on both sides of the arch entrance into the vegetable garden. I have purchased two clematis, one for each side. These Clematis only grow 8-10 feet, so should not be too difficult to keep under control.

Now I wait for the two beautiful clematis to cover the lattice.

AT LONG LAST IT IS FINISHED.

Today after a lot of back breaking work by MrC, the vegetable garden was completed. Yahoo, now I can watch the plants grow, and keep any weeds which dare to show their heads, under control.

The very beginning
MrC scraping off all the sod ready to level the area for the garden.

Fence posts and lower rails in place.
We are lucky to have a friend, who just happens to own a landscaping business. So I have scored a load of good compost and a load of topsoil which will go into the raised beds.

The raised beds have been filled with the compost and topsoil and the fence and gate finished.

Here is Keewee's Vegetable Garden. Isn't it grand?

Today we hauled barrow loads of pea gravel to spread between the raised beds. (The pea gravel was spread over many layers of newspapers for weed control) Actually my honey, MrC did most of the heavy work of moving the gravel while I raked it into place.
MrC is at this moment, lying on the heating pad to ease the soreness in his back muscles. I sure do appreciate all the hard work he did to get this garden built for me.

KEEWEE'S TULIP DAYS

Even though our Spring has been rather long and dreary, the sight of all the color in the garden from the flowering Tulips, has done much to relieve the dismal days.

Mrs John Scheepers.

Rosalie.

Negrita.

A group of Elite.

ACHING BACK PAYS OFF

Last Autumn I planted 150 new bulbs, and have felt I have been holding my breath all through the winter into spring to see the blooms. I sure am not disapointed.

Greenland

This one is an odd shape. I am hoping it will improve as it opens up.

Zurel

Magier

Scarlet Pimpernel.

All that kneeling down to get all the bulbs in the ground, did result in an aching back, but as you can see, it was all worth the effort.

HERE you can see the Double Tulips I have blooming

THE SECOND RAISED BED

IS NOW READY FOR PLANTS.

A friend of ours stopped by last night as I was shoveling top soil and compost into our first raised bed. He asked if I could use two raised bed frames he had at his home. I told him I sure would like to have them, and MrC was happy too, as that meant there would be two less beds he has to build. The original plan was to use some of the slab wood we had in a pile which was really for firewood and would have been quite a lot of work for my honey, so I am glad to save his poor old aching back some *grin*
After dinner tonight, with the help of my honey, the second of the beds is in place, full of rich dirt, and ready to receive plants and seeds. The tires in the back ground will probably be home to strawberries and herbs.
We also screwed four of the top rails onto the fence posts to which the fencing wire will be attached, but another run to the hardware store for a few more rails, has to be done before the fence can be finished.

THURSDAY EVENING

This evening I planted a few more tomatoes, four lettuce, and swiss chard in the first raised bed.

In the second bed are tomatoes, swiss chard and two bell peppers, under their mini green houses.

ALMOST A VEGETABLE GARDEN

We have progressed from this....

To this

To this

And finally the first raised bed is in. I had seven 8 inch tomato plants sitting on my kitchen table, waiting for the first raised bed to be constructed. Last night, MrC made this one, and when I arrived home from work earlier this afternoon, I proceeded to get the bed ready for the tomato plants. I plan on laying down several thick layers of newspapers, covered in straw or some such material, between the raised beds. Take notice of the brightly colored tomato cages. There will be nothing boring about my new vegetable garden.

As we do not have the fence surrounding the garden finished, I have used a plastic paint drop sheet to protect the newly planted tomatoes from rabbits or deer. hopefully we will have the garden fenced within the next week.