Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Most of the planting is finished!

YAY! It has taken a little over 2 weeks of toil and back pain, but the cleanup & planting is finally done. I am planning on taking some pictures in the am. It was a beautiful day today, but is now pretty windy!
One of the new varieties of long beans that I decided to try (for the first time, I might add) was definately a keeper. that is saying something, for sure, because my husband is extremely picky about his vegetables. So, if he says it's good, and eats it without me begging him too, it is! I will post more on that tomorrow, with pictures.
Boy, the summer was brutal on the garden. Around the end of August & into September, with temperatures soaring into the 110's & hotter, I just cannot go outside. So, the garden suffers. And if something can make it in that kind of heat, it truly deserves praise. However, to be honest, the garden was truly a mess. And it has taken most of the last 2 weeks to get it into shape.
The asparagus needed cutting back to the ground and mulching. That took a while.
I used up a lot of my compost in preparing the beds for planting so had to add some manure to the compost bin yesterday. That was a smelly job.
My hands have been so dry and felt chalky so I have been smearing "Burt's Bees hand salve" all over them every night. It helps.
These are some of the things that are growing:
carrots-3 varieties
shallots
onions
garlic
several varieties of lettuce
strawberries
tomatoes
various herbs
asian peas
long beans
snap beans
bell peppers
jalepeno pepper
anaheim pepper
and more eggplant - that plant will not die!
sweet peas
marigold
celery (I don't know if this will grow...we will see)
cabbage
broccoli

I came home from disneyland all energized to garden, as their gardens there are truly inspiring. It was wonderful, because I decided to put in a little hedge in front of my roses and it looks good, but of course isn't grown in. I can hardly wait.
Talk to you tomorrow!