Thursday, June 5, 2008

Garden Adventures - Phase 2 - 15May08 The Outdoor "box"

Many of the transplants didn't make it. The tomatoes all withered away into nothing about 2 weeks after putting them into the bed. The pictures on this page are from around May 15, 2008.
I also sewed some seeds directly into the ground (based on the package planting instructions).

The three large potted containers hold several different things. The outer two containers hold 2 varieties of regular potatos (started from seed potatos & regular potatos grown from sprouting eyes). To do this, you just take the potato as the eyes start to sprout & cut carefully so that the sprout has a cube of potato below it (for food). A book I read said that potted potatoes produce well in pots - so we'll see! As the leaves started to sprout, we gradually kept adding more organic soil, so that only the tops were exposed, until they were so big we no longer were able to keep up!

The center container hold 2 varieties of sweet potatoe (started from sprouting eyes), as well as spearmint from my neighbor Randy's yard & possibly some Basil (not sure if that made it).

Our garden contains:
Regular potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Spearmint, Basil, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Red Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers, Tomatoes (we attempted 3 varieties 1 cherry, 1 grape, 1 slicing), Green Beans, Sugar Snap Peas, Sweet Peas, Carrots, Cucumbers, Green Onions, Iceberg Lettuce, Red Onions, Yellow Onions, Spinach.

We chose the spot in our yard that sees the most direct sunlight, paying attention to the growing & sun needs of each plant.

In other areas, we attempted several herbs, as well as a grape vine & a blueberry vine, but none of those ever even sprouted. So sad.

More to come....

Green Thumb - 1 - Planting seeds - 12MAR08


This year I'm attempting a garden. Clint made me a great raised bed & I'm attempting to grow a variety of veggies organically. So far, so good. I'll include pictures & keep you updated on my progress & any learning experiences I might have.

I started a few vegetables from seed (Tomatoes, Red Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers, Cliantro, Basil) around March 12, 2008, before the last frost in mid April. I was told that April 15th was a pretty safe date to begin planting in OK, so I decided to wait until the weekend following Jonas' birthday to begin. (Tomatoes, Red Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers, Cliantro, Basil)
I put the seeds in these containers & left the lids on until they started sprouting. After sprouts formed I opened the lids, but I kept the plants inside & moved them to a sunny location. This process took about 2 weeks. These pictures were taken around March 24th, 2008.

A few weeks later, I took the plants outside to our shed. We put a timed light on them. Some of the plants got too spindly and didn't make it. I regularly watered the plants in the shed & checked on them.

About 2 weeks before transplanting the plants to the ground, I took them outside for varying amounts of time to get them accustomed to the weather & sun. The books I checked out from the library recommended doing this to prevent "hardening off" - where plants die when introduced to the outdoors.

Around mid-April I began transplanting these plants to my garden.

Stay tuned for more!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Jonas!!!!













Happy Birthday Little Jonas!

Your 1st Birthday was a success. Daddy & I can't believe how quickly you are growing up. You are our shining star. You have brought such joy to our lives. Every day we thank God for you and the blessing you are to our lives!


We love you so much!!!

-Mommy & Daddy

Thanks to everyone that came & celebrated with us!

Special thanks to Christie who stayed up with me until the wee wee hours of the morning making our cute little bird's nest cupcakes & 1st birthday cake!

Yummy!