Monday, June 20, 2011

Garden chores

It was an exhausting weekend in the garden but I don't mind. I sleep well after working hard and I really enjoy good sleep.

Gidget catching a nap on Saturday in between supervising us in her garden
We had more tags to make and still have to go through and make sure all the plants are labeled. I was hoping to make some of my labels cute and artistic but that hope quickly faded. I found myself wishing that Son-Man of Sonny San Diego was here to "show" me repeatedly how to make them look fabulous. He is the man that made the stunning Gidget's Garden sign on top of the page and I have a feeling he would have needed to intervene if he had seen me attempting to be artistic.

Once I reached the pinnacle of my creativity, I decided it was time just to get them done and move on
I filled this swimming pool with seed pots and labeled them.
We hope to have some vegetable starts to sell at the market and will have plants ready for our second warm season. The swimming pool allows for the pots to be watered from below. The weather is currently warm enough that placing this (it's completely full of pots now), on a level surface in a sunny spot should do the trick.

Normally I would use FoxFarm soil for starting seeds but in the interest of saving some cash, I decided to try Grandma's soil and Worm castings to start these seeds.

Grandma Mary's potting mix
Organic worm castings

Then we had to feed everyone and add some fresh compost. As you add more plants to your garden, this becomes a bigger project. If you don't have time for this on a regular basis then an EarthBox garden may be a great idea for you because you only have to feed it once for the whole growing season. 

Adding compost after feeding sugar baby watermelons
I even had time to devise a sling for our mystery squash, thanks to my helpful neighbor, who gave up her knee high pantyhose. We have no choice but to pull this squash up and run it along the frame on one of our beds. It is becoming a monster that is overtaking the garden. I would not have planted it where it is on purpose, it was a volunteer that just showed up. In hindsight, I probably should have pulled it like a weed. Now I am completely invested in it, so I am going to try to get something off of it. The fruit needs to be supported so it does not get too heavy for the plant.

Mystery squash in sling
Overall it was a very productive weekend. With the beautiful weather in San Diego, even hard work in the garden seems like a treat.

2 comments:

  1. Looks like so much work! I'm not sure I'm ready for this but ready or not...my seeds are beginning to sprout so I guess I better get Sonny in gear building my boxes!! I see onions, beans, cucumber, squash and tomatoes making an appearance!

    Love the new Fleck's Photos section. Just adorable!

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  2. I love every single square inch of your garden, Crystal! Love, love, LOVE it!

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