Hooray for Sun!!!

The sun has finally come out and that means that everything is growing so fast! Today we pulled up the rest of the carrots, two little squash (not shown) the first few cherry tomatoes and a cucumber.


We sauteed it all up and it was soo good! Hopefully tomorrow we can finish off building and plant the rest of the goods!

Sea Mar Do Garden Update #2

Well, the little snow peas were big enough to be transplanted so we found a little area on the hill for them. We made a little hanging rop trellis for them. It should be fun to watch how fast they grow up!



Hopefully we'll plant the rest of the seedlings the kids sowed this weekend! Fingers Crossed!!!

Farm Update #11

Only one word to describe the weather now... UCKY! First it is cloudy and cold, then humid, then sunny and hot, now lukewarm and humid. I'm starting to get annoyed by this. How can anything grow with the sun playing hide and seek.

So what is the update on the garden? Well, Here is Mr. Cucumber #1. We found about 5 others growing but this is our first. I give it another week and then he's going straight to the grill! YUM!



We also planted marigolds throughout the hills. Not really picture worthy. Other than that, not much to report (oh we did harvest another lb of salad greens!).

This weekend we are going to finally finish the tier... Hopefully.

Things I learned today

Why do I plant marigolds in my vegetable garden?

Marigolds are easy to grow and they help keep the away aphids. “The relationship between plants and insects is known as ‘companion planting.’ it’s by far the safest, natural way to garden organically.”

SHERIDAN NURSERIES GARDEN TIP gives you tips on Plants That Naturally Repel Insects:There are many beneficial herbs that keep insects away.

Ø Peppermint repels ants, white cabbage moths, aphids, and flea beetles.

Ø Garlic discourages aphids, fleas, Japanese beetles, and spider mites.

Ø Perennial Chives repel aphids and spider mites.

o Chives are often planted among roses to keep aphids away and to resist the disease, Blackspot.

Ø Basil drives away flies and mosquitoes.

Ø Borage deters that monster of vegetable garden insects, the tomato hornworm.

Ø Rosemary and Sage repel cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies.

Ø Annual Marigolds can be used anywhere to deter Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whiteflies. They are also known to repel harmful root knot nematodes (soil dwelling microscopic white worms) that attack tomatoes, potatoes, roses, and strawberries. The root of the Marigold produces a chemical that kills nematodes as they enter the soil. If a whole area is infested, at the end of the season, turn the Marigolds under so the roots will decay in the soil. You can safely plant there again the following spring.

Ø Nasturtium is another annual, in this case a trailing vine, that keeps away Colorado potato bugs, squash bugs, and whiteflies.

Ø The perennial, Artemisia or Wormwood, deters slugs that are so devastating to foliage.

Ø Radishes can be planted to discourage cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and stink bugs.

Attracting Good Insects To Your Garden:

Plant certain vegetables, herbs, or flowers in your garden to attract predatory insects that will feed on the harmful, undesirable ones.

to read more, click here!

Fruits of our Labor

Tomorrow we're going up to the Ventura to spend the day with my brother's family and my parents. With all the little radishes getting big I decided to harvest some and make a little veggie basket for him:



In the basket are baby carrots, onions, radishes, thyme, rosemary, basil, mint and lemon balm.

Cool Find...

My Sister in Law started a new website about gardening! I can't wait to see what all they will write about! :)

Go check it out!

Sea Mar Do Garden Update #1

We bought a few bell pepper plants to grow along side of all the stuff we planted!


Look at all the little seedlings popping up! The kids planted a bunch!!!


The little snow peas seedlings popping out of the dirt to say hello!


Here is the pumpkin vine that will go on the edge of the garden. We know this little guy is going to be BIG!

Farm Update #10

The Grapes are waking up!!!


Corn is going through another growth spurt, it's going to be taller than me soon!

The garlic looking very chipper




Blooming chili peppers


one of our little cucumbers


Just a few carrots

Radishes are ready to come out!


Then I have to deal with this:



I need to do some research to figure out what is happening. If you know please help!!!

EDIT: I heard this could be leaf miners... I guess it's time to research!

What is Sea Mar Do?

Two weeks ago, my brother and his family stayed with us over Memorial Day Weekend. Our adorable niece is 6 and our super-cute nephew is almost 3. One of the fun little projects I did with them is plant some seeds for us. I told them that I'll start sending them photos on how their garden is looking since they live a few states away. Well, things started popping up the last two days (despite this nasty June Gloom weather we're having).

Since I don't want to intrude, I can't very well use their names. So, we this new section of the garden will now be called:



So on top of the regular posts, this will get their own special posts so the little ones can see their garden grow.

Predators on the loose

Some little predator is attacking my little green plants. I won't get into the massacre of the last lb of lettuce and since i got rid of that I hoped I'd stop the madness. I was wrong. I found little bites and holes all over.

I've used a few little non toxic techniques (bits of hair... i know sounds weird but people swear by this) but think that maybe now is the time to pull out the big guns, if there is such a thing like an organic pesticide.

So I looked online and tonight I will be making my own:

Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray

This works on many different kinds of bugs- too many to list!

1/2 cup of red peppers (hot) (must buy this tonight)

water (read below)

1/2 cup of fresh spearmint (i wonder if regular mint could work... i got tons!)

1/2 cup horseradish (root and leaves) (where do i get this? the grocery store?)

2 tablespoons of liquid detergent (got it)

1/2 cup green onion tops (i got this too!)

Mix all of the spearmint leaves, horseradish, onion tops and peppers together with enough water to cover everything. Strain the solution. After mixing all of these, add a half-gallon of water and add the detergent also. To use this solution, mix 1/2 gallon of this solution with 1/2 gallon of water. You can use this to spray almost any plant safely. Store this mixture for a few days in a cool environment.

By using household items, we can keep our garden free from pests. Toxins and harmful chemicals do not have to be part of your landscape. Hopefully, this organic cookbook of sorts will help you do just that!

Oh, I'm also going to grab some sticky boards tonight too. I'll try anything right now!

If anyone has any suggestions, please send them my way. I'd love to hear them!