Current mood:	excited
Entry tags:	gardening, self-sufficiency

Vegetable Garden
I got up early this morning to take some photographs of our veggie garden in progress. I was greeted by this little reptilian fellow on our deck (did I mention we painted it? =)).





The tomatoes I planted at the beginning of summer. They've provided us with a lot of tomatoes, but all of them have been small. I think potting them has put them at a disadvantage - as they've been very vulnerable to heat.


We planted a mesculin mix for salads in the winter. Here's some of that.


Here's one of the cute little broccoli plants.


Snap peas! Yum!


The chinese cabbage, which wilted completely the first day (didn't plant and forgot to water it) and then came back with a vengeance.


As you can see, we are still removing the materials from the dog run. We have less than half cleared away at this point. I'm getting a wheelbarrow from my awesome boss, so we'll cart that away, and Jerimiah will get bricks so that we can line the vegetable beds properly. Left side from front to back: mesculin mix, broccoli, strawberries. Right side from front to back: snap peas, chinese cabbage, and cauliflower. Those bins are full of sand from the dog run. I figure I can use it for future coop run. This took HOURS.


A view from the other direction. The right side of the fence is broken, we need to re-cement it and put it back in the ground. On the left are the tomato plants. In the middle is the puppy =)


And, gratuitously, because she is cute...here is Devin with the sun in her eyes.




Phase 1...nearing completion!

P.S. Here is a recipe my mom gave us (after we'd done all the work) that is for good soil and will help break up clay - in case any of you run into that problem.

"Recipe for a good garden soil:
for each 100 sq. feet add :

5 bags Master's Gold Rush (10 cubic ft) or Master Bumper Crop
5 lbs Ironite to acidify, break up clay and add iron
10 lbs Master's vegetable Food or Master's Flower Food, Master's Formula 49 can be used for ground covers.
40 lbs. Gypsum. It loosens hard soils as it add sulfur & calcium
Mix well with your soil to a 4" depth and water well.

Really the main ingredients for breaking up the clay is gypsum and ironite. Then add any organic or natural fertilizer that you prefer."