New Plantings in Unit 2

Things are growing nicely. 2 Units are up and running. I have 2 new tomato plants to put in this week. We had some chilly nights, close to frost. I put a homer bucket over it at night and it was fine.

Finally got our back gutter fixed after the ice storms this winter. So our rain barrel is back online.

Unit 2 with a tomato, bush beans, spinach, carrots, beets and some random herbs.

Unit 1 with garlic, red onions, lettuce, peas, broc and carrots. we've cut this lettuce twice already. It's loving the nice cool and wet weather.

Another shot of unit 1.

May Days

Things are blooming nicely. Peas are coming with force. We've already harvested a few bowls of spring mix lettuce. We planted beets, bush beans, some more carrots and one lonely tomato plant I got at Beechwood Farms.

All these pics were taken May 1.

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

Peas, lettuce, carrots, garlic, red onions and the broc.

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

I've never planted peas. I'm fascinated by how they climb the trellis.

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

Lonely tomato. A heirloom Italian.

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

Unit 2 under construction.

Organic Compost Ordered

I just called my favorite supply place, Building Products for a delivery of 6 yards of organic leaf/mushroom compost. It was actually cheaper than regular mushroom compost. Delivery set for Friday.

I intend to spread this over my lawn to add organic matter. Every natural/organic lawn care book I read says 'add compost/organic matter' as a cure for everything. I've never added this much. It should give me about 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer on the whole lawn.

Peas Please

I'm not sure what possessed me on Friday, but I planted 4 squares of sugar snap peas. That's 32 pea plants. I guess it's because I'm gung-ho on planting and my 1.5 year-old daughter ate her weight in fresh peas last summer. I bet this year she spits them out. ;-)

Moonlight

I was so excited to get outside, and I'm too busy chasing my kids, that I did a bunch of yardwork by moonlight tonight. It was actually pretty cool. Planting seeds with a flashlight let me see things a little bit differently. Minerals in the soil reflected the light, little bugs crawling around, coolness of the soil.

Agway

I love Agway. At lunch today, I went to the one near my office.

I got all the compost and peat moss I'll need for the second garden
box I'd like to build this weekend. I got the vermiculite there last
week. They are one of the few places that stock it.

While I was there, I also got 50lb of corn gluten and 120 lb of
pelletized lime for the yard, potting soil for the wife.

Version 2.0

This weekend we finished a new prototype for our fence on a square-foot garden. It has 2 stationary sides and hinged 2 sides that open to allow access to the garden.

We expect that 4 feet high while only 4 feet deep should discourage any deer from getting into the garden.

Garlic we planted last Fall sprouted 3 weeks ago and looks good. Plans are to plant broccoli and peas next weekend.

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

Bed is made from 2 8-foot, 2 by 8's.

Fence is made from 2 by 2's and doors from 1 by 2's with stainless steel l brackets mounted inside. Chicken wire, both metal and heavy-duty plastic, was used. I think I prefer the plastic as it was much easier to build with. We'll see how it holds up this season.

We used stainless steel and brass door hinges and 1.5 inch eye hooks to fasten the doors closed.

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

From Deer-proof garden 2.0

Soil is 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 mix of purchased mushroom compost, purchased composted manure, home-grown vermicompost and home-grown regular compost. Recipe credits to the Square Foot Garden. I highly recommend this approach. It yielded great results last year and required much less maintenance than a regular garden.

1 by 1 foot squares are made with regular pastic twine.

This weekend we'll plant broccoli plants and peas and start building a second one of these garden boxes.