Garden update

I went out this afternoon the rain had stop and it was warm enough to go out with a rain jacket.

I raked and moved leaves to bed number seven.

Then I planted nasturtiums plants around the right bed in front of the greenhouse, and 5 pepper seedlings in the middle of that bed, and in between the peppers I planted spinach seedlings.

After planting I placed rebar, black plastic tubing over the tubing, then placed plastic over the hoops and then the garden clips.

Creating a mini greenhouse.

Then I moved on to the left bed in front of the green house and planted 6 heirloom tomato seedlings.

After planting I placed rebar, black plastic tubing over the tubing, then placed plastic over the hoops and then the garden clips.

Creating a mini greenhouse.

Eric and I were looking at the Asparagus bed I started earlier this year.

The 12 Martha Washington crowns were showing their heads.

I was excited.

The instructions for planting said to cover their heads as they come up and continue to do it until they are buried about a foot in the ground.

I'm looking for Jersey Knight asparagus crowns, but I only want 12 crowns.

To plant on the other half of the asparagus raised bed.

Eric moved some compost into bed number seven.

We will try to finish filling it tomorrow evening.

I watered the solarium and the greenhouse.

The seedlings continue to grow.

I moved 3 wheelbarrow loads of pine needles in between bed number 6 and 7 because it's so muddy.

It's my hope that the pine needles will make it easier to walk between the beds with out getting stuck in the mud.

Tomorrow I'll move more leaves if the weather is nice.

How to use this site

The Obama's are gardeing at the White House

Remember you can look at past gardening posts at any time.

Just click on the Month's black arrow to reveal the articles and posts.

Then click on the post you want to read.

Many of the post if a word is a different color, that means it's probably a link.

Just click on the link and it will give you even more information on that topic.

Another way of finding the articles is at the bottom right hand corner click on older posts.

I hope you find something useful to you in your garden adventures.

Feel free to post your comments or helpful information we can all learn something about gardening.

I'm always interested in what you have to share on the topic of gardening.

I have another blog called http://lifeinlewisburg.blogspot.com with some garden information.

Acer Palmatum dissectum weeping Red Dragon

I just bought an acer palmatum dissectum weeping red dragon for the front yard.

From Costo for $22.

I love plants, and this will look nice in the front yard. It's not a fast grower, and has nice color and texture.

Acer palmatum dissectum atropurpureum 'Red Dragon'
Common Name	Red Lace Leaf Japanese Maple
Category	Specimen
Zone	5 to 8
Height	6 to 8 Feet
Spread	8 to 10 Feet
Culture	Partial Shade
Habit	Cascading mound form.
Foliage Color	Dark purple-maroon, dissected foliage that holds well through summer; Deciduous
Flower Color	Tiny, purple-red flowers in pendent corymbs.
Fruit Color	Red winged fruit in late summer.
Additional Comments	Shade to partial shade. Photo courtesy of Iseli Nsy.

A light Yea!

My sister in law Sharon gave me a light for the greenhouse. 

I needed more light and she had a light she didn't need. 

We are trading plants for a light. 

It has been raining so hard that we haven't installed the light we will have to do it another day but I'm excited about it. 

I have a 2 bulb 4' light in there but it only covers 1/4 the area I need. This 4' four bulb light will cover half the area. 

The plants will do better with light.

Sushi and I are sitting by the fire. 

I'm on the internet checking emails, and blogs and she's napping. 

Eric and I did errands this afternoon giving it was raining so hard. 

We finally found a replacement Tub handle for our back tub.

We found it at Searings the price was reasonable. 

They do carry a matching sink faucet we can purchase at a later day if needed. 

For those of you who didn't know our back tub faucet broke. 

We haven't been able to turn the water on for a long time. 

It wasn't a crisis because we still have two other bathrooms, but it is something we would like to fix for guests who stay back in the guest room.

We have to save up to buy the sink handle replacement so they match. 

I would like to wait to have the plumber come till we purchase the sink handles and then call the plumber to come fix it all at one time. 

I watered the plants in the greenhouse this morning and more seedlings are coming up. Yea!

Eric raked the leaves in piles, and filled bed #7 with leaves. 

We now need to fill the bed with soil and compost and then I will be able to plant in bed #7.

Maybe next week we will finish bed #7.

The forcast is rain of and on. 

Garden videos

Garden Video's to watch on line for free.

Just click on the above word garden video and when you arrive at that site click on the video you want to watch. 

Or simpler yet just click on the video you want to watch below and the video should show up on your screen.

Lots of helps for begining gardeners and old gardeners. 

Hope this helps

Top 10 Most Popular Gardening Videos  1 :: How To Plant Carrots  2 :: How To Harvest Carrots  3 :: How to dead head roses  4 :: How To Make A Winter Hanging Basket  5 :: How To Apply Weed And Feed To Your Lawn  6 :: How To Plant A Rose Bush  7 :: How To Plant Tulip Bulbs  8 :: How To Plant An Evergreen Hedge  9 :: How To Mow A Lawn Using A Petrol Lawn Mower  10 :: How To Care For Your Lawn In Spring  All our gardening advice videos in alpabetic order  An Introduction to mulches  How To Apply Weed And Feed To Your Lawn  How to care for your lawn in Autumn  How To Care For Your Lawn In Spring  How to dead head roses  How To Deal With Black Spot Leaf Disease  How To Deal With Mildew Leaf Disease  How To Fertilise Roses  How To Harvest Beetroot  How To Harvest Blackberries  How To Harvest Carrots  How To Harvest Chives  How To Harvest Courgettes  How To Harvest Josterberries  How To Harvest Khol Rabi  How To Harvest Lettuce  How To Harvest New Potatoes  How To Harvest Raspberries  How To Harvest Red Currants And White  How To Harvest Swiss Chard  How To Hot Compost  How To Lift And Divide Herbaceous Perennials  How To Make A Summer Hanging Basket  How To Make A Winter Hanging Basket  How To Make Leaf Mould  How To Mow A Lawn Using A Petrol Lawn Mower  How To Plant A Fruit-Bearing Shrub  How To Plant A Rose Bush  How To Plant A Shrub In A Container  How To Plant A Tree From A Container  How To Plant A Window Box  How To Plant An Evergreen Hedge  How To Plant Beetroot  How To Plant Broad Beans  How To Plant Cabbages  How To Plant Carrots  How To Plant Daffodil Bulbs  How To Plant Garlic  How To Plant In Containers; An Introduction  How To Plant Kohl Rabi  How To Plant Lettuce  How To Plant Lettuce  How To Plant Onions  How To Plant Onions  How To Plant Parsnips  How To Plant Peas  How To Plant Potatoes  How To Plant Radishes  How To Plant Seeds In A Basic Seed Tray  How To Plant Seeds In A Modular Tray  How To Plant Snowdrops in The Green  How To Plant Spring Onions  How To Plant Swiss Chard  How To Plant Tulip Bulbs  How To Plant Winter Bedding Plants  How To Prick Out Seedlings  How To Propagate Semi Ripe Stem Cuttings  How To Propagate Vegetables From Seeds In Pots  How To Protect Plants From Frost  How To Prune Bush Roses In Autumn  How To Prune Bush Roses In Winter  How To Prune Herbaceous Plants In Autumn  How To Prune Raspberries And Blackberries  How To Prune Trained Fruit Trees During Summer  How To Prune Wisteria In Winter  How To Safely Remove Large Branches  How To Sow Sweet Peas  How To Stop Weeds Using Sheet Mulch  How To Test Soil PH  How To Transplant Seedlings InTo The Ground  How To Use Leaf Mould

Saturday gardening

A pile of Ivy

Hops planted along the fence, raspberries pruned, cleaned up dead leaves,

Weeded around the raspberries.

building raised bed number 7

Eric digs a trench and tries to level every side because it's on a hill.

So the trench could be deeper on some portions than others.

Then he adds gravel and levels it again, placing the first layer of brick.

When the first layer of brick is on the gravel he does a lot of fussing until he can get it all level.

When it's all level he starts stacking the brick on top of each other alternating where the seams are as you see in this picture.

He goes 3 rows high so the bed is at seating level.

After the bricks are stacked he put in re bar and concrete in the holes of the brick to add stability in corners and a few places in the middle for added support.

After it is done we ad a finished flat topper stone for comfortable seating.

When the bed is finished we place 1/2 " galvanized mesh on the bottom of the bed.

Then we put old branches and leaves to fill the first and second layers of brick.

The we put compost and top soil on the last layer of brick.

There are lots of ways of doing raised garden beds for more ideas go to the garden supply website.

Eric hard at work rain or shine

Eric and I are doing our usual gardening on Saturday.

Eric is working on a raised bed and I was working taking out Ivy, weeding around the raspberries and planting the hops.

I pulled up two wheelbarrows full of Ivy and piled it in a heap.

It was fun working on the yard because we were listening to the George Fox National Championship game.

It made our work go by quickly and George Fox won the game. Yea!

Then I worked up the ground by hand along the fence, getting any roots left behind weeds and large stones, and sticks.

Then using my pointed hoe I trenched along the fence in preparing for the hops rhizomes.

Using the black sharpie pen and some plastic labels I wrote down the varieties of hops Willamette, Golden Nugget, Kent, and Mount Hood.

I then planted the hops 3 feet apart from one another alternating the varieties.

The hops are planted The hops 3 feet apart from one another alternating the varieties. 3 feet apart from one another alternating the varieties.

Then I hand weeded around the raspberries, pruned the raspberries, and clipped of the dead leaves.

I then raked the path getting most of the weeds out, on both sides of the raspberries.

Around 2:00 p.m. I grew tired from working out side, so I came in and cleaned up while Eric stayed working on the raised bed.

I'll will do laundry and start dinner.

A good Saturday to be working on the yard.

White House Garden Plan

Gardener Supply garden planner

Gardener Supply Garden planner

Click on the above link and on this site you can play around and design your garden.

Have fun.

planting more seedlings

cilantro

Basil

spinach

Fennel

Watermelon

yellow crooked necked squash

epazote

red okra

Today after organizing and cleaning the solarium and greenhouse I planted the following seeds.

Just click on the word of the plant and you will learn more about it.

basil

spinach

cilantro

watermelon

yellow crooked neck squash

epazote

fennel

chili peppers

red okra

Transplanting seedlings

Anderson Die Pots I use the AB45 the third pot in this picture

I moved the seedlings from the greenhouse to the solarium. So I can start new seedlings in the greenhouse.

I need to transplant new seedlings grown in the jiffy pods because it's another month before they can go outside.

We also need to build new raised beds to accommodate them.

So I purchased some Anderson Die pots from Stuewe and Sons Inc. today to transplant them into.

So much to do so little time.

I just keep plugging away.

Bay Laurus Nobilis (RC-Select)

This is our new bay leaf tree

Hops

Hops

I bought hops to plant along our back fence. They grow fast and upright. They are great dried for a window dressing and people use the hops in making beer. We are not beer drinkers, but we do like beer bread. 

I bought them to give privacy in our backyard and to discourage deer from seeing my garden. I'm hoping garden out of view they are less likely to break down our fence. 

We will see if this idea works or not. We are hopeful!

First I have to dig out the Ivy I planted that I had hope would grow up the fence. This idea failed it's growing into the paths, not up the fence. 

So I'm moving the Ivy to the window boxes. 

The rest of the Ivy I might save some in pots and make topiaries, just one idea. 

In the mean time I must wait for good weather and for my body to recoup from over doing. Before I take on this project. 

You have to mound the compost and plant the rhizomes with the buds up about 3' apart from one another. Until then you keep the rhizomes in the refrigerator keeping them moist. I could leave them outside it's cold enough. 

Willamette, Mount Hood, Golden Nugget, and Kent (all Washington and Oregon names)

Saturday chores

Apple stumps placed where we want to put a fire pit someday

Window boxes with ivy, and thyme

Green supports for peppers and eggplant

Red tomatoes supports and red mulch to increase tomato productions

Saturdays chores:

cut logs out of cut down trees and stacked

8 wheel barrow loads of leaves to the garden

finished hoop project over raised beds

started to dig a new raised bed

finish planting two window boxes

planted grass in bare spots in front lawn and covered with compost

planted oregano in large pot

filled in hole by flowering cherry tree

watered plants

put red plastic mulch down on one raised bed for future tomatoes

cleaned up flower bed by deck

cleaned hot tub out and refilled

blew part of the driveway of debris

put water moisture tub in boat

took apart the nativity in garage ready to put in box when we find it

moved 3 large apple stumps to play house area from garden

Recycled container catches bugs

If you have a leftover jug of Prestone Anti-freeze and an empty can of the motor oil additive STP, you have the materials to create a La Brea Tar Pit equivalent for bad bugs.  Wipe out the the residue of STP left in the bottle--and there's always some left because STP is very thick and sticky--and smear it over the outside of the empty jug of Prestone.  With the cap off the Prestone jug, place it upside down on a stake in your vegetable garden or other insect-prone areas.

When white fly, aphids, thrips, and other unwelcome insects fly by, they'll land on the yellow surface -- they're attracted to the color -- but they won't be able to fly away.  The STP traps them in place.  Your jug will be covered in dead bugs in no time.

One bed done

You can get garden clips from Nicole's Nursery in Albany, Oregon.

garden Clips Bend plastic pipe to fit over your garden beds: use garden clips to securely hold green- 

house film, seed blankets, shade cloth or bird netting. Made of durable, springy plastic to clamp over round pipe. Flexible edge protects your cover material. Each clip is 4" long. Beds less than 3 ft. wide, 1/2 inch flexible pipe and medium Garden Clips work best. For garden beds over 3 ft. we recommend large Garden Clips. Use 20 large clips on a bed 4'  x 8' bed, more in windy locations. Nice little pamphlet illustrates how to make  your own hoop greenhouse. 

MHg228 MediuM garden Clips (use on 1/2" piple)  10 for $10.95  30 for $29.95 

Using a rubber mallet I pounded 24 pieces of re bar into 4 different raised beds. 

I placed the 3/4 " black PVC pipe cut in 7'  lengths, one opening over re bar and the other end over re bar creating a hoop. There is 3 hoops per raised bed. 

Yea! One raised bed is done. 

Then I cut 6 mil plastic about 10' long stretching it over the hoops. 

Last I put 5 garden clips over each hoop to hold the plastic to the hoop.

I need to get more garden clips at Nicole's nursery and more 6 mil plastic at Home Depot.

I also need to cut 9 more lengths of PVC pipe. 

We only cut enough for one because we wanted to see how it worked out in case we needed to make adjustments. 

Garden Update

Four raised beds with hoops and covered in plastic held with clips

At Home Depot today I purchased  3/4 " black PVC 160 psi pipe in a 100' roll. 

Tonight Eric and I will cut 3 pieces into 7' lengths. 

I read you can cut this pipe with tree pruners.

At Nicole's nursery I bought 20 large garden clips for the hoops. Enough for one 4' x 8' raised bed. 

We already had rebar in the shed. 

So we will put rebar in each corner of the raised bed and two in the middle of the beds. Then the black PVC pipe goes over the rebar creating a hoop. 

Then the 6 mil plastic will cover the hoops and the clips will hold the plastic in place creating a mini greenhouse.  I bought enough for 2 beds. 

The plan is to create the mini greenhouse effect on the raised beds to extend the season of gardening. 

We will see how one bed works before making more hoops for other raised beds. 

I also purchased row cover cloth enough for two raised beds to prevent bugs off the crops if that's a problem or frost damage.

We will try the red tomato mulch this year and see if it really does help tomatoes increase in production. 

We went to the dump, then Eric cut three birch trees into logs and poles.

Eric also dug out the white plastic ring around the flowering cherry tree in front yard. The plastic ring was restricting the tree. Eric had to dig around the ring, cut it in half in order to get it out, not an easy task.

Garlic

Garlic, is so good for you in many ways. 

I'm planting some more today between roses to deter bugs. 

Half way done I'll try to do more tomorrow.

Known as the stinking rose. The edible bulb is made up of sections called cloves, that are encased in a parchmentlike membrane. Three major varieties are available in the US: the white-skinned strongly flavored American garlic; Mexican and Italian garlic, which have mauve-colored skins and a somewhat milder flavor; and the white-skinned, mild flavored elephant garlic, which is not a true garlic, but a relative of the leek. Green garlic, is young garlic before it begins to form cloves; resembling a baby leek, with a long green top and white bulb. Garlic's essential oils remain in the body long after consumption, affecting breath and even skin odor.

Season: available year-round

How to select: Choose firm, plump bulbs with dry skins. 

Avoid soft or shriveled cloves and garlic stored in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

How to store: Store fresh garlic in an open container in a cool, dark place. Unbroken bulbs can be stored up to 8 weeks. 

Once broken from the bulb, individual cloves will keep 3-10 days.

How to prepare: Crushed, chopped, pressed, pureed, minced or roasted

Matches well with: beans, beef, beets, cabbage, chicken, eggplant, fish, lamb, lentils, mushrooms, pasta, pork, potatoes, rice, shellfish, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini

Substitutions: 1 clove = 1 teaspoon chopped garlic = 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic = 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder = 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes = 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic = 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice

seedlings

Tomatoes

Cucumber

zucchini

Begonia Benitochiba Tropical

Begonia Benitochiba Traopical

I purchased this house plant today at Rite Aid and placed it in the Great Room. I'm slowly putting house plants around the house to clean the air and have some nature inside.

Bay Laurus Nobilis (RC-Select)

I found a Lauris Nobilis (RC -Select) at Rite Aid today. 

I was excited about this because the little start I bought last year from Nicole's Nursery is on the brink of not making it. 

I had left it outdoors all winter and something chewed it's and so it bit the dust. 

I repotted the bay leaf I purchased today in a larger pot to put in the kitchen. 

Fresh Bay for cooking. Yea!

When I was out in the greenhouse transplanting my little bay tree bush, I glanced over and saw little baby seedlings, flats of seedlings. 

There is baby tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. 

How exciting little veggies. 

I also planted some little pea plants along the black iron fence. 

Gardening isn't always in the dirt

Sometimes gardening is our life. How does your life grow?

Eric and I invest in our marriage from time to time. Yesterday we went to Focus on marriage simulcast. It was good very very good.

If you are married or thinking about marriage I hope the notes in the lifeinlewisburg blog will inspire you. If your not married I hope Christ becomes real to you and that he's all you need.

It's all about relationships. God, family, and others.

How does your garden grow? I pray it grows with God's love and is full of many blessings. That the weeds of life will be pulled and the flowers of blessing will be nourished.

The Note from this conference can be found at:

http://lifeinlewisburg.blogspot.com