Pictures of Garden

This was taken a few days ago. Can you believe how big my tomato plants are?!?!

Zucchini, yellow squash, and kohlrabi (just popping out of the ground)

the seeds I just planted today.

tomato plants, eggplant, green peppers and strawberries

purple carrots and beets that are just popping out of ground)

radishes just popping out of the ground and tomato plants

Garden Update

I am praying we will have a late fall this year. Two reasons: 1. we had a late summer and I need more warm weather. 2. I just finished my fall planting... Broccoli, Peas, Cucumbers, Spicy Salad Mix, and Red Winter Kale. I am excited to see what I end up eating this fall. Like I said before this is my first fall garden so I'm sure I've made many mistakes.

This is what I harvested today. :)

Tasty Dinner

Zucchini Italiano:

1 zucchini - sliced (from the garden)

1 large tomato - peeled and cubed (from the garden)

2 garlic cloves - diced (from the garden)

1-1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tbs olive oil

heat for about 20 minutes on stove.

i added chicken to JD's. he actually said he would eat it again... success!

I LOVE MY GARDEN!

Success!

I had a very successful gardening day...

-I started looking online about fall planting which lead me to two nurseries.. J&L Garden Center in Bountiful and Millcreek Gardens in SLC. I was able to find all the organic seeds I wanted between both places.

-I pulled all my carrots from the garden.

-I pulled most of the corn.

-I planted purple and white kohlrabi, cosmic purple carrots, beets, white icicle radishes and french breakfast radishes.

For dinner I made Insalata Capreses using my first tomatoes of the season and fresh basil from my garden. Now if I could only grow cheese. ;)

Carrot

I ate my first carrot from the garden yesterday. It was delicious!

Tomato Cages

I asked Carolyn (Kenyon Organics owner) how she supports her million and one tomato plants. I thought there is no way she would buy cages for all of them with how much they cost. She told me what she does and I did it.

Meditation in the Garden

Yesterday I finished my last final for the quarter around 1:00. I called my husband to tell him I passed and he said, "go do something fun for yourself". I drove straight from school to Kenyon Organics. I picked up green pepper starters, eggplant starters and a few spreadable flowering plants. I was able to talk to Carolyn (owner) for a little bit about my garden and how it was doing. I was so excited to get home and plant my new starters and spend some time in my garden. I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun and the dirt between my fingers and toes. (i like to garden barefoot)

I guess my point here is that I LOVE TO GARDEN. I love everything about it. From pulling the pesky weeds to watching one tiny seed grow into my dinner for the season. It's become an escape for me from the rest of the world.... like meditation.

Kohlrabi

Not many people have heard about the cabbage called Kohlrabi... my husband tried it for the first time last summer and loved it. I planted 6 starter plants this year and have to say it's my favorite vegetable EVER! It's like a hidden treasure know one knows about. Mike "my neighbor" and I are so excited about it. We are going to plant at least 10 plants next year.

Broccoli Delight

I have to say that I am very impressed with my garden. Everything is flourishing. I have harvested my spinach 4 times as of yesterday and am harvesting my broccoli tonight. I had a taste of it earlier to make sure it was ready and it was DELICIOUS!! There would be no reason to butter it up... it was that good.

On another note, I have to make another snail trap. I have only seen one snail in my garden (next to the trap) and realized it was to big to fit in the hole.

Last week I bought wall-o-water's for 4 of my tomato plants. I was out of town and was afraid to leave them unprotected. They love their little plastic homes. They have grown so much. I'm so happy for them.

I visited Kenyon Organics last week (were I bought 4 out of 6 tomato plants) and picked up fertilizer called Worm Tea. So far it has been amazing. If you are interested check out their website. http://kenyonorganics.com. I also will be working there throughout the summer in trade for plants. I'm more excited for the knowledge then the plants!

It's a'Raining

It is pouring outside which makes me smile because I know that my garden is happy for the rain.

First Update: Dr. Earth Insect Spray has been working great. Happy I made the purchase.

Second Update: I made my snail trap. (will post pictures when the weather clears)

Third Update: ALL my tomato plants died. I don't know what happened. Last Wednesday I went downstairs to turn the lights on and give them a drink and 6 out of 8 plants were drooping and a little brown. I could not believe it. I have been doing exactly what they told me to do in my gardening class. So I said a little prayer and hoped they would come back to life. The next few days they starting looking worse and worse. On Saturday I spoke to the owner of Kenyon Organics (http://kenyonorganics.blogspot.com), I used his seeds for 4 of the plants, and he told me to get them outside in the sun. I followed his advice... and by Saturday night they were all dead. WHAT?!? I swear I treated these plants like they were little human beings. I am a bit sad and a bit mad. I know there is always next year to try again. So I will be calling Kenyon Organics today to go get some starters.

Fourth Update: I harvested spinach on Sunday. I made a strawberry spinach salad and am going to make veggy lasagna tonight.

Laziness = Money

So I got lazy and never did make the home remedy bug repellent. I was at Millcreek Gardens today picking up some flowers and soil and saw this....

$12.99 later I sprayed it on my spinach and woozer... it was strong. Not bad strong but like garlicy-spicy strong. I am betting that this stuff works. I'll update in a few days to let you know. Cheers!

Update on garlic water spray....

...it seems to not have worked. i crushed 3 cloves of garlic and added them to hot water and let it sit overnight and then sprayed the spinach leafs in the morning. tomorrow i will be trying this spray:

Cayenne Pepper and Garlic: Mix together six cloves of very finely chopped garlic, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and one quart of warm water. Let it stand for an hour, strain, and spray the solution on aphid areas.

i will post an update in a few days to let you know if this works.

Happy Gardening my friends!

Garlic Water

Tonight I sprayed garlic water on my spinach plants... the bugs seem to be liking them. Lets cross our fingers and hope that it helps. :)

Herbs

This past week I was deciding on where to plant my herbs. I originally thought they would just go in my garden but after discussing the garden layout with my neighbor I realized there would not be room for them. I started doing research on-line and saw that I could plant my herbs in big pots... so that's exactly what I did. I love the big red pots I found and once the herbs grow they will look so pretty and add character to my back yard. (a mixture of herbs from starters and seeds)

Also, look at the cool sprinkle system my hubby made.

Gardening Weekend

This weekend was very successful in my garden world.

My husband built us a compost in our backyard...

My neighbor and I tilled the garden and added fertilizer...

I planted kohlrabi, broccoli, and spinach.

Handouts from J&L Garden Center

Here is the website if any of you are interested in those handouts I received today.

http://www.jlgardencenter.com/handouts.asp

P.S. I forgot to mention that I planted poppies in my front yard today. I had 2 seed packets. When I went to open the second packet there were no seeds in it... should I take it back and get a refund of $2.00?

Afternoon spent at J&L Garden Center

Last night my husband and I went to dinner with some lovely friends. They talked about how excited they were to read my blog. I instantly felt pressure but reassured myself that in the long run this blog is only to help me become a better gardener.. not a writer. :)

Our lovely friends gave me some wonderful advice last night. They told me to go to J&L Garden Center in Bountiful, UT and that they will answer any question I might have and also carry wonderful starters and organic fertilizer for my garden. So my adventure today was exactly that. Oh, and while our friends and I were talking about what I had started from seeds in my basement my husband pulled out a list and told me he wanted me to plant theses certain vegetables too... multi-colored carrots, kohlrabi, peas and something else... can't remember. I told him that we will have to get starters for those. I was hoping to do everything from seed but I guess I will bend a little.

Back to my adventure... I went to J&L Garden Center and they answered every question I had:

Q. -When do I take my carrots outside that I have started inside?

A. -This week will work but make sure you harden them off.

Q. -I'm trying to have the most organic garden possible. What fertilizer should I use in my garden?

A. -Dr. Earth

Q.-What do I do about snails in my garden?

A. -You make a snail trap using a milk jug and snail pellets. (they actually showed be an example and gave me step by step written instructions on how to make one)

I checked out what they had in organic starters and ended up buying spinach, kohlrabi, and broccoli.

While I was checking out with my starters and organic fertilizer they handed me a Dr. Earth Gardening Guide magazine and a vegetable seed planting chart. I would say my adventure today was a success!

Thank you to my lovely friends for your wonderful advice last night!

the story behind the beginning

I have never been a good writer but today I decided to start a blog about my organic garden. Please don't judge me on my writing just my gardening skills. :)

The truth is, I'm not starting this blog because I know everything about organic gardening... I only know bits and pieces because of the internet, blogs and one class I attended. This blog is designed to keep record of my garden, share any information I might have with other people and to get advice from my fellow gardening friends.

This will be my second time attempting a garden. Last year was a success in my eyes for a first time gardener. I grew green and yellow squash, corn, tomatoes and strawberries. I also planted peas, green beans and spinach but they did not survive. This year I have been doing much more research and have actually taken a class. I decided to start everything from seed this year. I know.. sounds crazy but was inspired at the class I took. I went and bought all the supplies and started a little greenhouse in my basement in our storage room. (pics to come soon) I should mention in this blog that my neighbor is helping me with all this. He does not care as much about everything being organic like I do or the fact I'm starting it all from seed. He is willing to help me turn on and off the lights when I'm out of town and will help me weed and water the garden once the plants make it outside. And of course will help me eat all the yummy veggies that we get. I feel very lucky to have someone help me in this fun adventure.

I just got back from Home Depot.. I will be transplanting my tomato plants into bigger pots today.

P.S. If you are wondering... you can transplant spring flowers from your back yard to your front yard after they have already come up. :)