How am I Doing You Ask...

...and I answer hesitantly, "could be doing better". 


This weekend was supposed to be a weekend of tilling and prepping. But, alas, it was filled with illness and this bedridden gardener was unable to play in the dirt. 


Never fear! I am well and able to make my next move. I am hopeful that I will not only till and prepare my plots this upcoming weekend but plant my flowers as well. If all goes as planned by next week I will have two plots ready for the growing. 


I leave you with a few words of wisdom. Head them well.

"Bulb: potential flower buried in Autumn, never to be seen again."

"Hoeing: A manual method of severing roots from stems of newly planted flowers and vegetables."
- Henry Beard

"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows."
- Doug Larson 

Needle and Thread

The gardener stood in front of the carousel for fifteen maybe thirty minutes, though to him it seemed like hours. He would bend way down to read the packets on the bottom then stand very tall, almost on his toes, to read those on top, and only after carefully examining the selection in front of him would he reach out to turn the carousel. Each time it would squeak as if it were happy to be touched.

The gardener must choose his selection carefully. Once selected there is no turning back. The whole season hinges upon the varieties the gardener finally deems fit for his land.

Arriving home the gardener begins to fill with the joy of anticipation. The gardener quickly sets to work prepping the bed of soil. Small compact peat pots are set up in a beautiful line and the water is slowly poured over them.

The small pots begin to expand, filling with the life-giving water. With a gentle tug, the gardener releases the mesh pots exposing the soil within.

Carefully, the gardener sows the seeds, three tomato and one cucumber per pot, into the peat. With a brush of the fingertip they are covered and ready to sprout. 

  

Finally, with a click of the plastic top, the procedure is finished. Every pot is watered, every seed is planted, and nature is left to run its course. 

I brush off my hands and walk away, eagerly waiting the first sight of green.

Seeds!!!

As promised, week one of my four week venture to plant my garden has come to a fruitful (or should I say vegetable) end. With four varieties chosen and paid for I have finalized my seed selection. 

Been a While Eh?

Ray's Garden has been on an unannounced hiatus for the past month. Those of you reading now, thanks for not abandoning me.

Life for this novice gardener has been a little hectic as of late. Some great changes have been happening in my life which has, unfortunately, kept me from devoting time to this lovely blog of mine. But, never fear for I return with great hope for the future...

The spring is fast approaching. Winter's benumbing weather has begun to break and I now wake to the warming sun. I've begun to see sprouts of grass growing in my yard and my garden is starting to fill with the perennial annoyance of weeds. So, I say to myself, "self, it's time to get back to it".

With that in mind, I've made a weekly goal checklist. My hope is that by the end of the month and beginning of April I will have a fully planted garden ready to start growing.

Baby it's cold outside...

I woke up this morning to 7 degree weather and a ground that crunched at my feet. Stepping outside I look around at the trees that look so dead. The last leaf fell weeks ago and has begun feed the earth. My garden has done the same.

I shiver at the cold and at the idea that there are no plants to tend. The frozen soil is beyond all hope of tilling and even if I could break the ground I know that nothing would grow. So, I turn to my memories of the time I spent planting, growing, tending, and harvesting my garden.

But, I have more than just memories of my garden. As I look back in nostalgic bliss at the garden that kept me warm, I realize that I am fortunate to have recorded the season and enjoy knowing that I can share this warmth with you too. 

DIY Cold Frame

My most recent post got me to thinking about the home gardener and just how 'high tunnels' can be applied to the small garden. It's great that there are options for the gardeners who's livelihood depend on their crops. But, what about those of us who just want to grow some lettuce in the late fall and early winter? To that issue I say, cold frame.

Now, those of you familiar enough with Ray's Garden may notice that this particular plot looks a little alien. That's because this is not Ray's Garden. It is, in fact, The Mountainside Garden. Today's post is going to be a first. I'll be talking about the experiences of another fellow gardener. One who is much more seasoned than I am and has chosen to take on the task of building a cold frame. A task, which I have learned, is not too difficult. Even for a beginner gardener such as myself.

Birds Aren't the Only Thing Tweeting in my Garden

Well. Ray's Garden has gone tech and has a twitter account now. I'll be tweeting about anything from articles I like to blog updates. Follow me on twitter and don't miss out.

Let's talk cold weather gardening

So, winter has started to peep it frosty head out of hiding. The days have begun to shrink as the light begins to fail earlier. Gardeners wake up to a sharp white frost layering the ground and covering their crops. And with that frost comes the end of the season. For some at least...

Some professional gardeners are turning to government subsidized options and building 'high tunnels'. This is revolutionizing the availability of local produce. Click on the picture to take a look...

'high tunnels' extend growing season for local farmers

Time to Plant!

Wait...what? Time to plant? What could possibly need planting this late in the season?

Garlic!

Thinking Ahead

Well, this season is starting to come to a close. Naturally I've begun to think about what I want to grow next year. I ponder the past season's triumphs and losses and think about what I've learned. Next year will be about trying to ameliorate my troubles by honing my gardening skills further. 

I want to see more tomatoes and not make the mistake of caging them late. I will find creative and inspired ways to avoid the pests that destroyed my yellow squash. I plan to keep the rabbits at bay with new fencing and perhaps I can save my beans. There you have it--I've chosen three crops already.
 

Another change my garden will see next year is a reduction of plants. I found this year that five was just one species to many. My garden is small and my plants grew well. So, next year I will grow four types. Some quick math will tell you that I have room for one more vegetable, then. 


So... Ray's Garden is having a survey!

I've added a poll to the site asking my readers what they think I should plant next year. So, it's up to you to decide. What will be? Corn? Cucumbers? Okra? Or onions? I look forward to finding out.

The poll will last till January 31st. On February 1st, I will declare the winner. 

Urban Composting

I've talked some about the options for apartment/city dwellers who want to compost. I think this post in the Seventh Generation Blog does a good job of laying out some other options I hadn't thought of. Check it out!

Urban Composting | Seventh Generation

They!

For some time now I've been wearily checking my squash leaves for the dreaded sign of squash bugs. I will go out to my garden and apprehensively lift several of the leaves looking for those feared reddish-brown eggs. You know the ones right? No? Well they look kinda (exactly) like this.

Tomato Haiku

Cage tomatoes young
A new gardener must learn
Or else they grow wild

Sometimes They Don't Make It

I've had to do a little housekeeping with my flower garden. As you can see in the following pictures I've lost a few sunflowers to wind, leaving just a stump behind. 

 Losing these few sunflowers has given me the opportunity rearrange the garden providing more sunlight for those sunflowers which have been dwarfed by the larger ones.

Before:

 After:

I also took the opportunity to trim off the dying and dead leaves at the bottom of the sunflowers. I figure these died off because of a lack of sunlight. As you can see in the pictures, the sunflowers are now less crowded. I'm hoping this will help to ensure the growth of the smaller sunflowers. With any luck they'll catch up and eventually look like this.

Wha..Wha..Cool

So, I've mentioned that I don't know much about flowers and gardening right? So, there should be no shock when I tell you that I was very surprised when this happened.

It seems my hostas have been holding out on me. Who knew they'd flower? Really, did anyone out there know?

Well, I'd have to say this is a happy surprise. 

I'll be sure to keep you updated on the flower progress.

Production, Harvesting, Reaping What You Sow, or Whatever You Feel Like Calling It

Countless hours have been spent, back bent, sun beating down on my neck, sweat pouring from my forehead as I till, hoe, rake, plant, weed, weed, and weed some more. All this time telling myself not to be upset if nothing grew. Yet still, knowing the disappointment that would come from so many lost hours. 

I am excited to say I am not disappointed.

First Harvest

I have fond childhood memories of walking (running) up to my family's garden for fresh veggies. We'd be preparing for dinner, maybe grilling some burgers, prepping a salad, or pan searing trout, and my dad would turn to me and say, "Hey, why don't you go get some tomatoes from the garden?" I'd happily grab a bowl or colander and head on up to the garden ready to find the perfect tomato. Like a pro, I would reach through the tomato cages, gently squeezing every bright red succulent fruit. Finally, I would find the right one, perfectly ripe and ready for harvest. With a gentle tug the tomato would almost fall off the vine as if jumping at the chance to be devoured. In my opinion,there is little in the world that tastes better than a tomato, fresh from the garden, still warm from the summer sun, juicy and ready to be eaten.

Ever since first conception of growing a garden I've been waiting for the opportunity to experience that gratification once again. Not the specific pleasure of eating a fresh tomato (though I do wait patiently for that occasion) but the satisfaction of harvesting fresh food. Today, I was able to fulfill this desire.

From the Soil...

Ok, so I've gotten a "little" behind on the posting.

Last time we saw my garden it looked like this.

Now, it looks like this.

 Yes, that's right, what was just an area of land infested with weeds has become a plot of soil which will (with any luck) produce a beautiful vegetable garden. 


Here's how I did it.

Sprouting Seeds Indoors

With Spring quickly passing and my vegetable garden still waiting for a good till I decided I'd start sprouting a few of my vegetables that I felt needed to get going. 

By doing this I'll ensure that as soon as I can get my garden tilled and ready for planting I'll have some of my early summer plants germinated and growing. This will help to ensure a longer season and better production.

Spring Arrives

Here I am, on the cusp of a new spring. The harsh winter air quickly becomes a distant memory as I step outside into the new world. What better way to celebrate the spring than with gardening. Gardening is the perfect chance to step outside, dig into the earth, and cultivate from the soil something that is not only aesthetically pleasing but sustaining as well.

When I was growing up my family would garden. They had a medium size plot of land to garden on. Not much bigger than your average trailer home. I can remember picking tomatoes from the vine, sitting on the porch snapping the peas, the feel of the fiber in my hand as I peel off the husk from our corn, and watching as the pumpkins bloomed then grew into giant canvases for us to carve on Halloween. Now, I have a plot of my own. It’s much smaller than my family’s plot, but, it’s mine.

I am not a professional gardener. I know very little about the task. My hope this season is to learn and to (if you’ll excuse the pun) grow. My goal is to record my progress in the garden and as a gardener. As I find out new tips through articles I read, people I talk to, or just plain trail and error I will share them. Hopefully you will be inspired, informed, or, at the very least, just plain entertained.

-Ray