Bought More Seeds

I keep telling myself I don't need that many more seeds. All I needed are Juliet tomatoes and acorn squash. I was at Lowes yesterday and they had the Juliet seeds, but no acorn squash. Did I just buy Juliet tomatoes? HAH! Of course not, lol.

Here's the complete list:

• Juliet tomatoes
• Rutgers tomatoes
• Marigolds - petite mixed colors
• Butterfly flower
• Larkspur
• Cleome
• Bachelor Buttons
• Zinnia

And so I only "need" a few more seeds. Larger marigolds and acorn squash are about it. And Calendula, delphinium, toadflax, poppies, pincushion flower. . .

Fruits and I'm a Little Bit Nuts

I've been debating what fruits to plant. I had thought about planting a couple of Asian pears, but I'm afraid they would add more to the high maintenance I already have. I have 4 apple and 3 cherry trees - and in this part of the world they have to be kept bug free. So, I don't think I need to add more bug worries to my list. I thought about a nectarine and finally came to the conclusion we have enough fruit trees. The list:

Apple:

• Akane
• Liberty
• Honeycrisp
• Fiesta

I bought them from Raintree Nursery last year. They are dwarf trees that are only supposed to get six feet tall. It should be easier to keep bug free that a 25 foot tree. They are planted next to the west fence where my veggie garden is. I plan to espalier them, but in a natural form not formal. I plan to use some sort of method to bag the apples so I can minimize spraying.

Cherries:

• Rainier (Sweet)
• Black Tartarian (Sweet)
• Meteor (sour/pie)

These I bought at Lowes last year on a whim. I try to plan things, but sometimes (okay a lot of the time) things just go astray. I plan to prune them heavily so I can keep them maintained. I think I will probably have no choice and will have to spray them. Hopefully, something not to horribly toxic.

The remainder:

• Plum - Santa Rosa
• Peach - Red Haven
• Apricot - Wenatchee-Moorpark

The peach came from a local nursery, Mac's Garden Center. The plum and apricot came from Lowes. I might plant another plum (Satsuma) and apricot (Tilton) - sort of in the same hole kind of thing. It's explained here: Dave Wilson Backyard Orchard Only thing is, I should have planted them all at once.

I planted 2 types of strawberries last year - Tri Star(Everbearing) and Shuksan (June bearing). These came free with my order from Raintree. :) The Shuksan are running rampant and I need to take care of when the ground thaws out. I might try adding Alpine strawberries as well.

I also want to plant blueberries and blackberries. Some serious challenge there. I think 3 blueberries, against the east fence. I had thought about putting them in half barrels, but the dang things are $30.00 a pop at Lowes. For 3 that would be $100.00 not including potting soil and plant. So I have some hydrangeas to move and the blueberries should work nicely in this spot. Will have to add some more acidifying amendments.

And then there are blackberries. The biggest requirement is that they be thornless. ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, NO BLACKBERRIES THAT ARE THORNY. I'm thinking of one of the thornless upright varieties from the University of Arkansas, probably Ouachita. Theortically, you can plant them without have a support structure.

I would think that would be enough fruit for 3 people. We will see what happens.

New Mistakes

John Hammond: Don't worry, I'm not making the same mistakes again.
Dr. Ian Malcolm:No, you're making all new ones.

That was from the movie, Jurassic Park II. Not a great movie, but I love the quote. And I'm quite sure it will apply to this years veggie garden. . .

And with that in mind, I'm working on planning this years veggie garden. Here is the list of what I'm currently thinking of planting:

Spring

• beets
• carrots
• scallions
• onions
• celery
• lettuce
• spinach
• radishes
• kohlrabi
• peas
• turnips
• potatoes
  

Summer

• beans
• cucumbers
• watermelon
• cantaloupe
• summer squash
• winter squash
• tomatoes
• sweet peppers
• hot peppers
• sweet potatoes
• tomatillos

Fall

• beets
• carrots
• scallions
• onions
• lettuce
• spinach
• radishes
• kohlrabi
• peas
• turnips
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• Brussels sprouts
• garlic

Herbs (annual)

• parsley
  
• cilantro
• dill
• basil
  

Yikes, that's a big list! There is no way it will all fit in the square foot garden beds. The summer squash has to go somewhere else. The sweet potatoes may have to as well. And the annual herbs may have to go in the bed with the perennial herbs.

I may find there are some things that just won't fit. (Can I dig up the front lawn?)

Cherokee Purple Tomato Seeds!

Finally made it to Fred Meyer today. They have their seeds in and they are 40% off. I am so thrilled that they have Cherokee Purple tomato seeds. YUM, YUM, YUM! I can taste them already!

The complete list of seeds I bought:

• Tomato - Cherokee Purple
• Onion - Walla Walla Sweet
• Onion - White Bunching
• Lima Beans - Burpee Bush (2 packages)
• Corn Salad/Mache/Winter Lettuce - Dark Green Full Heart
• Peas - Tall Telephone
• Cucumber - Armenian
• Squash - Waltham Butternut

I don't plan on buying many more seeds, I have a lot left from last year. I want seeds for Juliet tomatoes. And I may or may not get seeds for parsnips and acorn squash. That depends if I can find a spot to plant them. I've been working on planning my beds and there are some things that just won't fit.

Any winter squash will have to be somewhere else. I think I can come up with 3-4 spots for hills, but beyond that I don't think so.

The onions I bought for fall. I'm going to experiment with planting them and see what happens. The peas and mache/corn salad are also for fall planting.

And boy am I ready for spring. It's been 30ish, cloudy and attempting to snow for 3 days now. I would just settle for a little sunshine if I can't have warm weather.

What the yard looked like yesterday

Here is the last set of pictures for now. Some of the trees and things are a little hard to see since they are so small still and have no leaves right now.

This is to the left side of the back patio (east). The grass in the path is going to get replaced with pavers. This was a quick temporary fix. In the far left about center is a Red Haven Peach tree. Back against the fence, where the little obelisk is, I'm thinking of planting two Asian pears. I'll plant them in two holes and keep them pruned under 6 feet. The method is explained at this web site: http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_explained.html

The pergola is in the southeast corner. There are two grape vines planted by the back pillars (to itty-bitty to be seen in this picture). There are two climbing Joesph's Coat roses on the front of the pergola. In the planter to the left there is a Santa Rosa plum tree. I'm thinking of adding a Satsuma plum there as well. Also note, Garden Dog's jolly ball prominently displayed as a lawn ornament.


Back fence (south). The large tree is an Amur maple, it's actually dead center off the patio. It's only supposed to get to be 15-20 feet or so. In the far left are two sweet cherry trees - Black Tartarian and Rainier. Note bird feed strategically located next to cherry trees. . .


Looking along the right of the back fence and a little into the veggie garden (southwest). The little section in the middle outlined with small rocks is the asparagus patch. To the left of it is a Meteor pie/sour cherry. Also against the West fence, on the other side of the veggie garden are 4 apple trees - Akane, Liberty, Honeycrsip and Fiesta.


The right side of the patio (west). In the center planter, the little tree is a Wenatchee-Moorpark Apricot. I think I'm going to plant a second one, probably Tilton. The Planter against the house has some of my perennial herbs. There is a row of boxwood to hide the foundation. I don't care much for things that need to be pruned into boxes or circles, but it was the best way I could think of to hide the ugly foundation. And they are actually begining to grow and do their job.

Pictures from spring/summer '08

I'm still doing a little blog catch-up with all these pictures. I have quite a few things to post, and then it will settle down. And probably stop when I can actually go outside, lol.

Spring flowers.


Close-up of a lilac.

Here's Rosie the Garden Dog checking out the flowers. "Hey Mom, there's a couple of weeds over here ya need to pick."


And here is the Garden Dog making sure the pergola area is safe for her humans.


Here's a picture of the veggie garden. It doesn't look too bad in this picture, but it got so I couldn't walk the paths between the beds.

Pictures of the yard "before" :)

This is the vacant lot. There is actually a house being built on the left that isn't in the picture. But no other houses when this picture was take during the summer of 2006.

This picture was take on move-in day, Jan 17, 2007. We had been living in our motorhome and it was darn cold. We took our sleeping bags and dog and slept on the floor before the movers brought our stuff. And because the roads were icy, that was delayed several days. . .

Here is the back yard sometime during spring/summer 2007. Note to self: I don't ever want to trench for sprinklers or lay down sod ever again.

Here is Rosie, our official "garden dog".