Monday, April 26, 2010

Garden Me

It's spring time here at Boilermaker Kitchen, which can only mean one thing. A garden! Yep, it's my first spring in an actual house since I left the desert air of Arizona behind. I had some summer gardens in Connecticut while I was there, but this will be my first all season plot. I'm a little excited, and a lot freaked out. I joined the Lafayette gardening online community to get some tips and hints with this part of the country. My main goal is to not over water my plants (this is because in Arizona you water your garden twice a day thanks to the blistering heat).



So what am I growing? Well, I plan on having two gardens going at the same time, each with a different purpose. My little patch near the house I am growing most of herbs such as thyme, basil, oregano, chives, parsley, cilantro, and I may even put in a rosemary bush if I feel plucky. Fresh herbs are, I believe, essential to a kitchen, they add a lot of flair to dishes, and it's much easier (and cheaper) to have them on hand at all times. Plus a good amount of them are perennials, so they just keep coming back for more. I also planted some squash and cucumbers up here.

My lower garden at the moment is my ambitious part. I started radishes a few weeks ago, which will be replaced by green beans once they are harvested. I also have lettuce, spinach, and peas growing as well. Tomatoes are hopefully going in this weekend followed by a fence to keep the rabbits out.
Hopefully I will keep my progress updated as the growing season continues. I'm also trying to get hold of a potato pot to try and grow some of those.

Things I have learned so far-

Raised beds are awesome and make the clay-like dirt around here manageable

Start your peas like you would sprouts (that's a future post for sure). Add seeds to a jar and cover with water. Let sit for about 8 hours, then drain, rinse, and drain the water, letting the peas stay slightly moist (water level can vary). Continue rinsing and draining twice a day until peas have sprouted and are starting to grow roots. Plant these in the ground; it will increase your germination rate

Spinach and lettuce CAN be transplanted if done with care (then again, check in a couple weeks and see if I stick to that statement)

Sheepdogs are good squirrel deterrent.

Any other ideas you have from gardening experience?

2 comments:

Big Mike,  April 27, 2010 at 3:54 PM  

Your garden is off to a great start! Hopefully you get some rain to keep it fresh.

Carol Egbert April 29, 2010 at 4:58 PM  

Planting some radishes each week is a way to be certain that you can harvest something everytime you weed. Have fun.

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