size should not be an issue

So I have struggle with this myself.  Since we moved here we had always talked about adding a veggie garden but we kept thinking that we did not have the room.  Which is actually quite silly since we are blessed with a double lot, which is quite uncommon in our neighborhood.  So it wasn't until I saw a magazine article, or was it a show on "This Old House,"  I am really not sure anymore.  Anyways I got the idea to add some raised beds in our back yard.  Deanna and I were super excited about this new adventure.  We would not have to worry about the soil, cause we would be adding "new" soil and we really did not use the back yard all that much.  So in looking into this more via Google I was able to come across a number of ideas for conserving space. 

Containers are also a good option for apartments, houses or even if you have the room, to add extra room.  You can make your own or you can buy some.  I started making some enclosures for 5 gallon buckets out of some old wood I took from a fence we replaced.  I actually grew some cucumbers  on a trellis in one of the containers.  Unfortunately the soil I used did not retain water long and they ended up drying up over one of our many vacations we took last year.  Anyways enough about that.

I am sure that many of you have seen the upside down tomato planters that they sell for like $20.  You can actually make your own for like $3.  All you need is a bucket, 5 gallon or even less.  All you need to do is drill a hole in the bottom, add the soil, plant a tomato in it and hang it up (oh and make sure to water it)! 

A good friend of mine actually built planter boxes and hung them from his fence so that he could grow strawberries.  These were so successful that he added a second row the next year!  It is a super idea!  We have been waiting to do the same thing, but first we have to replace the fence so that it would actually be able to hold the planter boxes.  If you do  a Google search for "vegetable gardening in small spaces"  you will find a ton of information.  Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!  Next post I will tell you all about super easy irrigation system we use!

(The pics in this post have all been pulled from the Internet, nothing form our yard this time.)

fertilizer, compost, manure, etc, etc

So the other day I stopped off at Fruit basket Flowerland (FBFL) on my way home from work and dropped a bunch of money, which is easy to do if you like plants, gardens, birds etc.    I had been contemplating the whole fertilizer issue for the garden and I wanted to make sure the everything was all organic.  I was worried that I was not going to be able to find much, but to my surprise there was a lot to choose from and come to find out I already had a bunch at home from past years that I could use. 

Most avid gardeners would tell you that the best thing for your garden is compost.  I have yet to experience the successful making of our own compost.  About a year ago Deanna really pushed for a compost bin and we started composting.  It has not being going that great, but I am hopeful now that we purchased a product called Thrive.  You add it to your compost pile bi-weekly and it aids in the break down of your organic materials.  I really hope that I will be adding this to our garden later this summer or fall.

So when I talked to the person at FBFL about my situation she recommended that I buy the product pictured here in the green bag.  It contains Kelp meal and worm castings, which i had read about, both providing great benefits to your garden.  She also suggested to add gold old fashioned cow manure!  Which no surprise to me, is awesome for any garden.  I remember on the farm we would pile wheelbarrows full of manure on the garden each year and my dad would use the rototiller to get it mix into the soil.  She also recommended gypsum (20# per 100 sq ft, epsom salts (1 cup per 100 sq ft) and a premixed fertilizer by Espome called Plant-tone on a regular basis. 

So sometime between tomorrow and Sunday I hope to get all this stuff spread out on the two existing raised beds, a new area worked up for planting carrots and I would like to get spinach, carrots, Chinese cabbage and peas all planted.  It will be April 1st on Friday and really I should have had a bunch of this stuff planted already.  Oh well only some much time in a day, right?

what to grow

So this year we are expanding the amount and what we are going to grow.  So on the veggies side we are growing:

1. Spinach
2. Beets
3. Peas
4. Cauliflower
5. Beans
6. Eggplant
7. Tomatoes
8. Peppers
9. Corn
10. Cucumbers
11. Zucchini
12. Tomatillos
13. Carrots

All the veggies in the list are quite easy to grow.  The first year we grew eggplant we had WAY TOO MUCH!  Last year the peas did really well, Malia ate almost all of them before we could get them in the house.  Same with the tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers.  For some reason I have not had success with growing tomato plants.  I think the reason was that I left the top of the Bio Dome on too long and the plants rotted.  This year I hope to be more successful. 

We are also growing a bunch of herbs:

1. Basil
2. Thyme
3. Parsley
4. Chamomile
5. Lavender
6. Cilantro
7. Stevia
8. Penny Royal
9. Dill
10. Marjoram
11. Echinacea
12. White Cone Flower

A number of the herbs we are growing are for the blooms.  Bees and butterflies really like the flowering herbs.  Penny Royal I choose to grow because it acts as a natural repellent for mosquitos.  Of course we are growing basil so we can make a bunch of pesto, or freeze it so we can make pesto later.  I have not been able to harvest any cilantro in the past due to it bolting.  This year I am going to try and plant it in the shade. 

As far as flowers go the list is:

1. Impatiens
2. Bachelors Button
3. Petunias
4. Coleus
5. Rudbeckia
6. Alyssum
7. Viola Jump Up
8. Poppy
9. White Cone Flower
10. Snap Dragon
11. Lobelia
12. Moon Vine
13. Morning Glory
14. Marigold
15. Cosmos
16. Sunflowers

Most of these seeds are quite easy to grow, but not all.  This will be the last year I try to grow Bachelors Button.  For some reason I have not been successful in the past.  The Impatiens, Marigolds, Alyssum, Lobelia, Snapdragon, Coleus and Petunias are super easy to grow.

the set up

So once I purchased the Parks Bio Domes and a heating pad(s) (from Amazon) I started to set up the lights.  With the right materials growing seeds is really quite easy.  The first year I started with three Bio Domes.  Since it was so easy and I was successful at growing and not killing most all the plants I purchased two more last year.  This year I added a couple more lights and a wood frame.  Right now I have 5 Bio Domes.  Once the seedlings reach a certain size I will be transplanting them and starting more seeds in the Bio Domes.  

 We also added 2 raised beds in our back yard.  We are a little concerned of the soil back there since in the 70's and 80's there tenants of the house used the area as a dump.  This year we plan to add a few more raised beds around our yard.  I actually am cutting up a old cistern that was in our attic.  I should be able to get three, 3 foot round beds from reusing this old cistern.  We will also be adding another wood raised bed beside our garage in a more sunny part of our yard.  This should prove to be a great place to grow peppers. 

working out doors

Ever since I was a young boy I always had an love for the outdoors and working out doors.  It probably helped that I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Ontario.  On both the farms we lived on my mom had a huge garden!  I guess huge is a relative term, but I remember for most of my childhood that we grew, processed, canned and froze most of the food we ate.  I still remember a time (in my teen years) my mom coming home with Ragu sauce to try it for making spaghetti.  Before that she, I imagine, had always used her own canned tomatoes.

So one of the down sides of growing up on a farm where we grew virtually all our own food was come harvest time, of any or all the types of veggies, you would eat that veggie for almost every meal, or at least lunch and dinner.  I remember coming in for lunch from working in the field during haying time, exhausted, and once the table was cleared a huge bushel of green beans was dumped on the table and we were not allowed to leave until all the beans were de-ended and snapped in half!  I also remember having whole meals consisting of corn on the cob.  We would have a 5 gallon bucket on the floor at the corner of the table where we would toss out finished cob into and the thing would be full at the end of dinner time.  Now mind you I did grow up with 2 brothers and three sisters, and usually there was a farm hired hand around too.  But still that was A LOT OF CORN!  Still to this day every time I eat corn on the cob I think about that.

Well enough about the past.  This spring is the start of the third season that I have started growing my own plants from seeds.  It was recommended to my by a close friend to use the Parks Bio Dome  to start my seeds.  This product is hands down the best option to start seeds.  It is MUCH better than those flimsy, plastic, throw away seed starter kits that you buy at your local nursery.  They are more money to start with, but the only thing you have to purchase the next year is seed starting soil.  I also purchase most of me seeds from Park Seed.  Their selection is fantastic for both flowers and veggies and you can purchase almost every veggie and herd in an organic seed as well.  I have about a 95% germination rate on all my seeds.  If I do not have at least an 80% germination rate I will contact them and typically if you are not satisfied they will replace your seeds!  Their customer service is fantastic!  Another good source for organic veggies is Seeds of Change. 

The pics above are current seedlings growing in my basement.  Top one is cilantro and next one is impatiens.