Mobile Strawberry Plants

We planted bare-root plants on April 9th... and by May 23rd, they were growing and beautiful...


Over the summer, they continued to grow and send out runners. We put some plastic planters around the edges of the box to catch runners... and they just kept growing! It soon became evident that our cute little tower couldn't hold them all... They were going to have to be moved!


We had nice spot at the end of the garden where the sweet corn grew this year... but how were we going to move them?!

Step 1... Slide a piece of plywood under it all. (Sounds easy enough, right? Too bad you didn't get the video version!)


Step 2... Lift the plywood and plants onto rolling cart. (Ron had to fix a wheel before we could use it.) Step 3... Roll to the garden...


Step 4+... Get it through the gate. Separate plants... Plant, plant, plant....

... and water...

... and hope for lots of juicy, red berries next spring!!

After 4 Inches of Rain!

Well... 3.75" at least...

It had been dry... sweet potatoes were wilting.... We'd been watering, but it's just not the same as a good rain... so we were ready for some. All day yesterday it looked rainy... and a sprinkle fell now and then, but never enough to move the rain gauge. As we slept, nearly 4 inches fell... so after more than a month, I remembered to take my camera with me to the garden. Here are the latest shots....

September 6, 2009 Garden Views

Old garden with drying popcorn... well... it was drying until last night! :)
From a driveway... with peach tree and weeping willows...

Another peach trees & weeping willows view with the new garden in the background. See the water flowing through the ditch?

Nicely soaked garden....

Driveway view with sweet potatoes through the marigolds and fence.

The sunflowers are looking pretty rough-- but they seem to be a favorite spot of the neighborhood birds.... September... the beginning of the end for summer gardening....

Squash bugs attacked... but the squash are living through it this year. We've eaten and shared zucchini and yellow squash and have butternut and spaghetti stored for winter as well.

July 18, 2009 - More Garden Views

Yes, yes... more pictures of the garden... It's just so much fun to see how it changes-- for me, anyway. And the best part of the change is the ripening produce-- and it is delicious!!

Snapdragons between corn and squash on the fence.

The sunflowers were small, but they survived the big water puddle.

Sweet corn... yummy!

We had a clay shelf here last year... or at least that's what we called it. Some hard-packed clay that would barely grow even a weed.... so during the garden-prep time, I asked Ron to till that spot... I sprinkled some wildflower seeds. They're much prettier live-- and a great pop of color behind the garden. I also transplanted some of the volunteer marigolds in this area.

Asparagus, tomatoes...

Squash, tomato....

Tomatoes... and plenty to share...

Peppers, watermelon....

June 14, 2009 Yard Views

Some volunteer sunflowers popped up near the bird feeders... and they look better than the ones I planted! Snapdragons are everywhere!! But it's ok. We like them-- and shared hundreds... and all because we bought eight flowers from a greenhouse a few years ago. How cool is that?!


Another patch of snapdragons behind the potted white geranium. This geranium pot is one of two that we over-wintered... and now is one of 4.

Three new blueberry bushes! We ordered two from Michigan Bulb. Then Dad said we needed two different varieties for them to pollinate, so they ordered an extra when they ordered some for themselves from Miller Nurseries-- which is also where they go the asparagus they shared.

June 13, 2009 Garden Views

June 13, 2009.... The garden is growing....
My parents ordered some aparagus and shared with us. The two trenches flanking the tomatoes are where they will be planted. There really shouldn't be anything between them like that, but we're hoping it'll be ok this year... since we hadn't actually planned on planting any-- even though I've wanted to plant some for years! Thanks, Mom & Dad! :) It's been a wet spring so far. We've had this puddle near the sunflowers alot... Not long after it dries, it fills up again.

Sweet corn and white corn are growing... The corner plant is a spaghetti squash. Snapdragons are along the right side near the fence. They were all growing in the gravel near our back door-- and are enjoying the extra space of their relocation.

View from the other corner... now snapdragons are down the left side. Next to them (strawed) are sweet potatoes. Tomato in front-left. Next over are two eggplants and an acorn squash. The two tall black pieces past them will hold the pole beans. You can see squash (yellow & zucchini), peppers, and tomatoes off to the right.

Another side... a closer view of squash, tomatoes and peppers.

Last year's new garden is growing quickly! Pole beans are climbing the fence. Popcorn is a foot or so tall... Some volunteer tomatoes and marigolds are scattered around... and the lettuce patch that provided fresh greens all winter wants to go to seed. There are also some potatoes and onions along the back fence and a couple cucumber plants on the front. The peas didn't do much-- again. But the lavendar is back and blooming this year! And the birdhouse in the background was home to our bluebird family.
The other side. The block in the middle has a sprinkler attached for dry times... This raised bed doesn't hold water like the clay patch near the sunflowers.

Late May Garden Views

Our first garden spot... started the year after we attempted pots in the gravel by the house. The right front is the compost pile that has all kinds of plants coming up. The newly strawed patch is potatoes. We enjoyed a few red ones with our supper tonight-- Ron was a little aggressive with the hoe and found some.



Small raised bed #2, added last year for potatoes... and growing mostly potatoes again. Hopefully we got enough manure on it to replenish nutrients.



Favorite spot last year... which was also our new spot last year... roughly 16' x 16' and fenced, it was also home to our cold frame and grew lettuce, spinach, kale, and herbs all winter. Along the left fence are peas and cucumbers. Far fence has blue lake pole beans. Right side has potatoes, onions, and a few beets. The middle has some more greens. Recent additions are cayenne peppers, eggplant, and roma tomatoes. The left corner has a couple lavendar plants. In front of that is a marigold forrest with a few tomatoes scattered throughout-- all of these have come up voluntarily.

New garden this year, flanked in foreground with the railroad ties from Uncle Jim. (Thanks again!) The bigger straw patch is sweet potatoes; the smaller is eggplant. Far left is sweet corn. The two tall racks have pole beans. The cattle panel through the middle has some mystery squash around it. We had a big patch come up in the compost, so we moved them here. Past that are some peppers, and finally the tomatoes. The far back corner has sunflowers, zinnias, and a few yard-long beans. We also have some white corn and more (spaghetti, butternut, and acorn) squash in the mix. Plus, there are some zucchini and yellow squash in the corner that's cut off.

A view from the other side...

And an update on the strawberry tower...

We also removed all the sod between the driveway and fence on the north side of the house. We planted some phlox and sedum and will wait for it to spread and be beautiful!

On the other side of the driveway, we've added some hostas that my parents thinned from their yard.

1000 square feet of Fresh Dirt!!

We got a phone call this morning that the backhoe was coming....
A guy named Ralph scraped the gravel back and then spread the topsoil we got last year.... Ron spent the next several hours raking and shoveling.... I was working so hard I had time to see a little turtle crawling along in the dirt... After Ron went back to work, he found a couple of this one's siblings.

Henry's tractor and tiller came in very handy... Farmer Ron was a natural on it!

Ah... the beauty of a day's work... and an ice cold glass of water...
Now... what to plant?! I'm so excited!!!

Little Tower of Strawberries

Mom and Dad wanted some strawberry plants this year and ordered a few too many so they could share with me. :) The planting instructions mentioned a pyramid, so I googled "strawberry pyramid" and found some cool ideas. I told Ron I needed plant these strawberries soon-- and I need this (which was a sketch I adapted from someone elses' plan). We found some perfect scraps of wood whipped it out and put a coat of paint on it that afternoon. (That was yesterday.)
Today, we settled on a spot....


....filled it with our "special mix" (a.k.a. mostly horse manure) and counted the strawberry plants-- 13, the perfect number for the box! Two on each side of the bottom, one on each side of the middle, and one on top.
Grow, grow, grow! We're ready for some red, ripe deliciousness!