Learning to Sow...

Harvest 9.10.09

2009-09-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

While we were watering the gardening we noticed a few things needed to be picked. We finally picked our first Lilac bell pepper and the first of the grape tomatoes. YUMM!! This is the last of our Spaghetti Squash. This weekend we are going to pull it up and plant some artichokes for next year! YUMM!!

Farm Update #16

2009-09-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

This morning I decided to snap a few photos of the garden. While we are doing some cleaning of old plants and weeds here are some of the good things growing!

The giant pumpkin vine...

Eggplant finally blossoming...

Bell peppers finally turning colors...

Salad bar... YUMMM!!!

Stuffed Zuchinni Recipe

2009-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I had this HUGE zucchini Farmer Bob gave us a little while back. I figured it was a great chance to make some stuffed zucchini!

1/2 lb of ground lean turkey (can use meatless meat or ground beef if preferred)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of water
1 cup of diced zucchini
1 big zucchini
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese
Cooking spray
1/4 cup of low fat stredded cheese

1. Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 400.
2. Slice big zucchini lengthwise into two halves. Then half that. (You'll have 4 pieces)
3. Scrape out the seeds and lights spray them with cooking spray.
4. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile the zucchini is baking....
5. Cook the turkey in a pan until fully cooked.
6. Place turkey in a mixing bowl and set aside.
7. Place the diced zucchini into the pan and saute up for about 5 minutes.
8. Toss all the seasonings, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, water, diced zucchini up with the turkey until mixed well.
9. When zucchini buzzer goes off, take out and spoon mixture into the zucchini.
11. Top with shredded cheese.
10. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Outcome:
2 servings (one serving shown)

Nutrition:

What's zone 9?

2009-09-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

Photo Source

One of the things I never paid much attention to was our our first/last frost dates are. I figured, hey we live in SoCal so I can plant what I want, when I want. Right? WRONG! After all the denial, I finally looked it up.

Zone 9 = Average dates Last Frost = 30 Jan / 28 Feb
Average dates First Frost = 30 Nov / 30 Dec

--USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Maps

Basically, this is saying I can probably garden well into November and even push it. We have some BIG BIG plans for the garden next year so it seems like we'll be doing all the renovations in Jan 2010 so we can start the garden in March. What renovations? We are finally going to finish off the retaining walls and put in a new sitting wall on the hill. We are also going to hook up a better irrigation system and build a new trellis for the grapevines and raspberries.

Back the the idea of planting and harvesting. I think I'm pretty much done planting for the rest of the year. What is out there is out there.

Freezing Spaghetti Squash

2009-09-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

We harvested quite a bit of spaghetti squash the other day.

Now, we love spaghetti squash but we will not eat all this in one week. I figured why not freeze it and be able to to enjoy the fruits of our labor in the "dead" of our winter. I know, our dead of winter is like 60 degrees. :)

Wash and cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise and toss into the oven at 400 for 20 minutes (i do it till it's lightly golden). Once it's cool, take out the spaghetti strands using either a spoon, fork or a ice cream scoop. Pack in freezer bags and store.

To reheat, take it out a few hours before from the freezer and let it thaw out a bit. Now, cook it any way you'd like, stir fry, steam, bake into a dish! Enjoy!

Pests in the Garden

2009-09-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

In the early spring I found lettuce caterpillars and aphids. I researched and found the the answer to it all was planting Marigolds. Now it's late August and one of my cherry tomato plants is slowing dying. While cleaning out all the dead branches I noticed this little guy chilling.

I wondered if there were more and found another one dead and withered up. Not knowing what type of pest this was,I looked him up and I think it is a tomato hornworm.

After much research, it seems that the only two ways to get rid of them is to pick them off and drop them in soapy water, or dust them with a chemical. I will go with the soapy water for now.

Chili Peppers

2009-09-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

While I was watering the garden, I noticed some chili peppers ready to be harvested.

We don't eat these so we quickly washed them and then stuck them in the freezer for my mom.

I haven't taken many photos of the garden because it's in a bit of a transition. Hopefully we'll get things straightened out and will post this weekend!

Container Gardening...

2009-08-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

When I moved all our herbs, I didn't really have a good place to put them so I threw them in a container. I've never done much container gardening before so this was new to me.

Basil, chives, sage, oregano, and something else

I also wanted to grow some more cucumbers and peas. I had these two long containers that had annuals in them. We chucked all of them and planted more seeds. I've shown photos in the past but here are they today! Cucumbers are already blossoming!!!

So far, so good! Can't wait to see how high they will grow! At the moment we are using twist ties we got from the produce section at the market. seems to be working like a charm! The vines are already 3 times longer than when I had them laying on the ground.

Farm Update #16

2009-08-26T13:16:00.001-07:00

Lots of things are still growing in the garden.

Pumpkins

Bell Peppers

Salad Bar

YUM!!!

Zucchini Bread

2009-08-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ventured over to Farmer Bob's house and got a TON of veggies. While the majority of them are going to be chopped up and put in the freezer, I decided to make some nice and yummy bread.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup flaxseed
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg substitute
2 tablespoons of Agave Syrup
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini

Directions

1. Mix dry stuff and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix egg, sugars, applesauce, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. Stir in vegetables.
4. Add dry ingredients.
5. Pour into greased bread pan. Bake 45-55 minutes at 330 degrees until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Outcome:
1 loaf yields nine servings

Nutrition:

Recipe Section

2009-08-13T09:22:00.001-07:00

With all the food we've grown, I wanted to start an area about what to do with it. All the food highlighted here is from either our garden, a friend's garden or the farmer's market down the street from us. We'll be showcasing all sorts of meals from appetizers to desserts.

Thanks again for baring with us during this time of transition!

Learning to grow a new life...

2009-08-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

When we first started out, we didn't have any idea of what we were were doing. To be honest, we didn't even know if what we planted would even grow. We set out and built a wall on our hill to use up some of the wasted space and made a garden. It started out pretty simple and then grew to take over most of the hill we had. So far we've harvested more the 54 lbs of food and realized we had a bit of a knack for it. Not to shabby for our first year in production.

Now, I'm not saying we know what we're doing now, if fact we don't. Every day I'm wondering if I should do this, or do that. I'm constantly looking up plant diseases and tend to fall asleep with my organic gardening book on my lap. But with all the said and done, I'm amazed at what a garden can do.

The garden not only taught us alot about micro farming but also about our lifestyle. We became more eco-friendly and conscious of what we ate. We exchanged the rice for squash and left the canned tomatoes at the grocery since we had a bush spitting out tomatoes left and right. Snack time meant going to the snow peas and pulling off a few to nibble on before dinner. It's been quite a journey these last few months and can't wait to see what errors we made and what surprises we stumble upon.

Website Changes

2009-08-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I'm making a few website changes over the next few weeks. I've realized the more I want to talk about something I'm usually wanting to talk about all things dirt related. So, I'm going to spruce up this blog a bit. First off, I finally bought a real web address:
www.learningtosow.com. If you're already using an RSS Feed, you're fine.

Now, don't hate me for the fact I'm adding paid advertisers too. Right now we are just showcasing Google Ads but I'm in the process of setting up a real ad network of sorts. If you'd like to advertise please email me at linda@learningtosow.com.

Also, if there is anything you'd like to see more about, please feel free to drop off ideas of what you'd like to see. I'm also looking for any newbies who'd like to contribute to this blog. :) The more the merrier I think!

So, bare with me in the next two weeks getting all the changes completed. Thanks again for following my little journey!

Our Favorite harvest

2009-08-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

We've grown, so many different things if I had to pick something I was the most excited about, it is this: GARLIC!!!!

What's been your favorite thing to grow?

Things you learn along the way...

2009-08-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so like I said before, we're learning as we go! Before last spring, I had no clue that we needed to "feed" the plants. I never knew that marigolds are nature's way to keep pests away. I never knew egg shells are the answer. I just figured you dig, throw seeds in and just water. For some, it is that easy, for other things it's a little more difficult.

One thing I realized is how important bees are. I first read how they are needed for corn. With no bees, there's no corn. Now, I realized how extremely important they are to pumpkins. Well, I just found this fantastic article on how to do the pollination yourself if you find yourself deficient in bees. I usually see a few bees chilling out in our pumpkin blossoms. Now I understand what they are doing when they go from one blossom to another. I had no clue there was a male blossom and a female blossom! So tonight I am going to go inspect our "little" pumpkin vine and see how many females we have on there. I know we have lots of males and those males are good for making tempura with! Yum!!!

Off to see what else is worth finding in the garden!

Farm Update #15

2009-08-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

I usually do this weekly but wanted to give a little glimpse of what the garden looks like every morning.

Pumpkin blossoms

Tomato Blossoms

Cucumbers learning to climb

Our mini giant pumpkin

Baby Star Melon

New Pea Seedlings

Radishes from the Salad Bar area

Farm Update #14

2009-08-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

If I could pick one color describe the garden, I'd pick yellow. We have lots of blossoms and flowers coming out right now. Too many to photograph, so here are a few highlights!

Giant Pumpkin Vine

Bees doing their thing in one of the many pumpkin blossoms

Pretty Giant Sunflowers

Star Melon Blossoms

Our friend Farmer Bob has a big garden at his ranch. His puts ours to shame to be quite honest. In fact, we went over there on Saturday to "steal" some veggies and fruits. Below are just a FEW of the squash he's growing on top of some corn. We also grabbed 15 lbs of oranges. Oh so juicy! I could feel bad but I did give him a spaghetti squash... ya, just one, but it really was a big one! :) Thanks Farmer Bob!

Making a salad bar

2009-08-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

Finally a not so hot Saturday. We ended up spending the day in the garden. Planting more seeds and moving around some herbs and flowers. Remember our Herb garden? Since we harvested a lot of the herbs already (while the rest we moved to a container plant) we decided to create a salad bar. We planted spinach, carrots, beets, radishes, and lettuce. I know I know, it's August 1st, and why would I do this. Well, I don't know what I should plant or not because of the seasons since where we live we don't get more then two seasons here (Yay Southern California!). So we'll see how this goes.

We did something different too, since we wanted to make sure some these crops get enough moisture, we took a few six packs (no not the beer kind), cut them up and placed them in the ground. This way it can catch water and take the water to the roots too! This could be an ingenius idea for doing this but I will wait to see how everything grows before I mark this as a victory for thinking outta the box. :)

In our salad bar garden, we have carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, and spinach. Can't wait till next weekend and hope we'll start seeing some sprouts!

Farm Update #13

2009-07-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Our little stick is now a grapevine

The hill has been taken over by spaghetti squash! YUMM!

The newest addition to the family... 3 new tomato plants

The original cherry tomato plant has given us well over 14 lbs and lots more to come

Notice anything different? We harvested the corn and cleaned out the area to plant more small tomato plants. We're going to sell them a our local farmers market. Here's hoping they grow like our first one!

Our multi cultural pepper plants in the back, the front row is eggplant

The Giant Pumpkin vine is growing!

Our Super Sunflowers... They are now 7 ft tall.

Our little cucumber seedlings

Farm Update #12

2009-07-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Peppers and eggplants newly planted!

Spaghetti Squash blossom and our first big squash!

our little Cherry Tomatoes are just producing like crazy!

We've picked over 9lbs of tomatoes in the last week. We ended up making spaghetti sauce with it... Oh SOOO good!

Hooray for Sun!!!

2009-06-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-15T15:54:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-05T10:12:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-06-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T10:08:00.001-07:00

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!

Farm Update #9

2009-05-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today really isn't so much as an update but more like what I did and noticed while doing our morning watering.

That day at Home depot where we bought the dirt, I mentioned we bought two new herbs, Oregano and Pink Rosemary.

Well, I decided to extend the herb garden and add them in:

I found this branch on the hill, looks like it would be a perfect branch to use as a trellis for the new peas we planted with the kids.

These are the huge trees on the hill where the branch came from. I loathe these trees!

A little Garlic popped up overnight!

Looks like the corn is in bloom!

Forgot to mention, I harvested the last pound of lettuce. Must plant some more STAT!

Feeding the addiction

2009-05-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Three ways I did so...

1. Our toilet is not being nice, it's slowing running and wasting water. Once we figured out what was the issue, I talked the hubby to venturing out to Home Depot. Once there, I quickly grabbed the basket and made a bee-line to the garden center for more dirt. Three big bags to be exact. I don't what happened but two more herbs (oregano and rosemary) and a jalapeno pepper plant found it's way into my basket too. When the hubby found me, all crazed and a little high off the smell of dirt, he just rolled his eyes and took the basket away and paid.

2. I found the most amazing books on gardening. As much as I'd like to tote my laptop out to the garden, I don't think the hubby would allow it because of my klutzy nature. So in my search for knowledge, I acquired these bad boys on overstock!

3. My garden/cycling/all-around friend Bob is going to come over and is bringing me a HUGE gift.. a truck load of mulch. I know I know you are all jealous of my well connected friends who can get me tons of mulch and railroad ties for free. We'll finally cover the hill with it to keep the weeds at bay and it'll look a lot prettier than how it looks now too! I'm also going to use him as cheap labor and help move some dirt so we can start building the last tier. If he works fast, I might buy him dinner! :)

How do you feed your addictions?

Farm Update #8.1

2009-05-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Because of the amount of photos I took and the ugly timeouts I'm getting from Nikon Picture Town, I'll have to do this in two posts. Bare with me... lots of photos to follow!!!
I love spring time!

This is the mystery garden section. I am slowly figuring out what is what!

The first portion of the garden we did is sooo big now!

The Herb Garden

Peppers, tomatoes and squash!

The left row is Garlic and the right row is Asparagus

Even the flowers are blooming around the garden

You know how I mentioned we built a second bench? Well, we also stained it and here it is! We are going to make a top for the fire pit to act like a ottoman when not in use. That will be June DIY craft project. I love sitting out here in the evening with the tiki torches lit. It's very calm and serene!

Farm Update #8.2

2009-05-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

Getting bigger by the day!

Artichokes on the left, Spaghetti Squash on the right

Asparagus

Grapes

Raspberries

Corn (tallest one is around 4ft)

Corn

In the back Snow Peas, left front is the last of the lettuce (harvested 4lbs so far) and onions are on the verge of being ready

I think these are radishes

Swiss Chard

Things are blooming!!!!

Tons of Cherry Tomatoes

Cucumber blossoms

Strawberries

Squash

Peas! YUM!

Farm Update #7

2009-05-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

I think the hubby thinks I've completely lost it. I race home now to water the plants and make sure the puppies didn't do their own gardening. A few days ago I planted the garlic and can't wait for it to pop out. I finally got to the top tier and planted strawberries. On the new section we built a few weeks ago, the seedlings are barely coming up. We ended up just tilling it and planting again with more organic soil.

This past weekend's mini-farm to-do list went as follows:

Plant asparagus

Finish weeding... for the most part

Plant another LONG row of garlic

Plant new hydrangea plants and raspberry plant

Create irrigation system for asparagus, garlic, hydrangeas, raspberries and grapes (it's further away from the rest of the garden

Fertilize! Fertilize! Fertilize!

Start drawing up plans on irragation system for the entire area

This is the new area. We still have some maintenance to do (i.e. build a new gate to hide the spa equipment, buy metal sheets and paint black where the sheets of wood are, do more weeding and clearing) but for the most part, I'm really ecstatic we figured out how to use this area. You see, it's been sectioned off because there is a big dog in our neighbor's yard up there. Our dogs would barked like mad and we figured we'd just section off this side so they couldn't get up there anymore. Because of that, we never cared about this area and it always looked so ratty. Now, nice clean lines and hopefully it will produce garlic and asparagus, raspberries and grapes! (grapes coming soon)

Our final and major project will extend the wall we made. We are waiting on more recycled railroad tiers. Once they comes in, we'll build it and plant like mad!

So has anything produced? YES! We harvested lots of lettuce! It tastes unbelievable! I never thought lettuce had a flavor! In the words of the hubby: "TASTY!" We also measured to get an idea of how much we area we are using. Since we don't go to the top of the hill, we just measured to the top of the strawberries. Right now we are using 462 square ft of land for our garden. Once we put in the new tier, we will add an additional 136 sq ft making our garden 600 sq feet. This is amusing to me since my last apt was 600 sq ft! Glad we figured out how to use this wasted space. Photos will have to wait till we get some better light to show the new area!

On a non garden front, last weekend we built the second bench, this weekend we sanded and stained it. :) I LOVE how it all turned out!!!

Farm Update #6

2009-05-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

You know how I mentioned before about planting in a new area? Well, this is the area I spoke of:

This tree/schrub/bush overtook the area and I got out my trusty saw and clippers and cleaned up the place. After about a 4 hours worth of cleaning it looked pretty good.

The middle teir has two types of peppers, another tomato bush and two squash vines. The bottom teir is the new home for the herb garden. Yes, I moved it because, it was bothering me having them with the veggies and I like uniform things. :) The top tier, well, not sure what i'll plant there but I'm thinking about that, not to worry, where there is dirt I will plant! :)

The other thing I did was put in a path to walk up without slipping down the dirt. I am terrified of falling so this was a must.

We used recycled brick we bought at Home Depot and rocks from the hill. I think I might have to make them bigger but for now, they work perfectly!

Admission

2009-04-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

I'm Little Miss Planner and I'm addicted to all things dirt. I can officially say that I've truly lost it. On Saturday morning, the hubby took me to the garden center so i could get the rake I've been jabbering on about all week long. Unfortunately we left with a trunk full of plants, dirt and other random things that I apparently "needed." Once I got home I changed and proceeded to spent 4 hours weeding and planting and watering and just plain old getting dirty. After I was all dusty and dirty, I walked into the house and gave the hubby a great big hug and told him what I wanted for my birthday (let me remind you it is over 6 months away). This:

Source

You see, I put all my fun tools on the side of the house but as much as I put stuff in some order, it just doesn't sit well with me. I feel uneasy when things aren't in their "place" and my tools need a home. (read: little miss planner has OCD tendencies) I just need a little outdoor closet/shed to keep things tidy.

So there you have it. Today's admission of insanity. Oh, and yes I tried to skim over the fact I planted more... I found this area that looked very unkept on the hill. So I cleaned it out and planted more... 2 types of peppers, more tomatoes and squash. Funny (or sad) part is I DON'T eat peppers or regular tomatoes. My justification... well, i know a lot of people do so we'll give them away! :)

Farm Update #5

2009-04-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

Beware: image heavy post.

Update...

So you know that hard work I griped about last Monday? This is what the garden looked liked before:

The garden's grown alot:

and now we added onto the wall:

Last night we planted more artichokes on the top as well as spaghetti squash. On the bottom, we have spinach, more lettuce, more carrots, cauliflower, and an area for the pumpkins. The pumpkin vine will be moved outward and up the hill once that grows, much like the cucumber vine.

So updates on everything:

Peas

lettuce

carrots

herbs

cucumbers

cherry tomato bush

corn

Garden Envy...

2009-04-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

I'm SOOOO adding onto our garden next year. If you love gardening, you HAVE to take a look at The Dervaes Family. I first saw this post over at Oh Happy Day! Go here to watch the 1 minute clip on Oprah.

You can Follow their journal here! I just added them to my Google reader!

Oh, here's another clip!

Farm Update #4

2009-04-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday was SUCH A BEAUTIFUL day the hubby and I had no choice to but to spend it out in the yard gardening and taking in the warm rays. I think I might have even accumulated a new freckle! :)

We moved around some plants, planted a bunch more and well, it looks fantastic. As for the garden, we bought oregano, and a melon star bush (no idea what it is but I liked the name so we bought it). But how is everything else doing? The corn is 6 inches tall, the tomato bush is well, bushy! Everything looks soo great!

Here below are some of my pretties:

Lettuce

Onions

Peas

The peas have grown so much, they are so close to the rope that i think another week or two they will start growing up on it! How's everyone else's garden doing?

Farm Update #3

2009-03-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

How's little miss planner's mini farm going?

The peas, artichokes, and carrots finally broke through the dirt and graced us with their presence and the rest are growing nicely. The corn is growing fast!!!

Artichokes

Lettuce

Corn

Cucumbers

Peas

Carrots

If you could plant a garden, what would you plant it it?

Farm Update #2

2009-03-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to take a few photos of some of the seedlings growing in our garden. It's really exciting see them pop out of the ground and know you had a part in it.

Cucumbers

Lettuce

Corn

Did you know Mrs.Obama is planting a gardentoo?

Map

2009-03-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

From Little Miss Planner's Farm

Farm Update #1

2009-03-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Over at the planner household, we've been busy working our green thumbs. For something that I thought would only take 1 hour, ended in more like 10 hours worth of hard labor. The before:

So, we dug into the hill and recycled some old railroad ties someone gave us and planted. The after:

We took this photo after day two. This past week, we've cleaned it up more and moved some of the rocks and sticks around and even added some solar lights. Looks very clean and nice. OH, and yesterday morning, we noticed we had corn, cucumber, and lettuce seedlings. We are still waiting for the peas, carrots, and artichokes to pop out.

What all did we plant: Corn, peas, carrots, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, artichokes, lettuce, and six different types of herbs.

I can't wait till summer when everything well start growing strong!

Did you plant anything this spring?

goals

2009-03-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Goals for 2009

learn what organic really means

create a blog about the whole adventure

create a compost bin

create an irrigation system

produce 100 lbs of food

about

2009-03-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

What's all this about? In 2009 Little Miss Planner decided to start a little garden. It soon morphed into a mini farm utilizing a hill in the backyard. Not knowing what she was doing, just started buy dirt and planting seeds. This is her journey of enlightenment and the riches is produces.

What is Little Miss Planner? Well, she's a gal that started chronicling her life of wedding planning and then married life. Check out her blog here!

Can I contact LMP? Yes, email her at: littlemissplanner@gmail.com

What's LMP's grow zone? Zone 9

How big is LMP's farm? Currently is it 475 ft, but with the final part completed by June 15, 2009, it will be 609 sq ft.

Is LMP's farm organic? Yes. We do not use pesticides, we create our own compost and use organic materials to help our little seedlings grow.

Dates to Remember

2009-03-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Dates to remember:

March 23:

Built Tier 1

Planted: corn, lettuce, carrots, peas, cherry tomatoes, onions

April 23:

Built Tier 2

Planted: lettuce, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, artichokes, spagetti squash

April 26:

cleaned out side tiers

Planted: yellow chili peppers, green chili peppers, heirloom tomatoes, 2 squash plants

April 30:

Moved: sweet basil, regular basil, lemon balm, thyme, mint, cilantro

May 1:

Cleaned out area 4 for asparagus plants

May 2:

created stair well

May 7:

Planted: 4 garlic plants, 6 strawberries plants, rhurbarb, beets

May 9:

Planted: 10 asparagus plants

Prepared soil for grape vine

May 16:

Planted: Pumpkins for Halloween

May 20:

Planted: Thompson grape vine

Planted: more Garlic

May 25:

Planted: swiss chard

Planted: lettuce

Planted: carrots

Planted: beets

Planted: eggplant

Planted: Snow Peas

May 30:

Planted: salad greens

Planted: spinach

Planted: pink rosemary

Planted: oregano

Planted: sage

Bought: bell pepper variety pack

July 15:

Planted: cherry tomato plants

Planted: grape tomato plants

Planted: cucumbers

Planted: basil

Planted: chives

July 26:

Planted: snow peas

August 1

Planted: Carrots

Planted: Radishes

Planted: Cucumbers

Planted: Cantalope

Planted: Lettuce

Planted: Spinach

Planted: Beets

Transplanted: Butternut Squash

August 8

Planted: Corn

Transplanted: Honeydew Melon