Weary of Winter

Its that time of year again.  The days are getting longer, the sun feels warmer, the weather starts to warm up... then you wake up the next morning and its -10F and you are knocked right back into reality.  This is February, in Alaska.  Spring is NOT just around the corner, although it is only about 2.5 months away now.

My mind is already on my garden.  I'm thinking about what I will be growing, where everything is going to be planted, how will the greenhouse be set up this year etc.  I have several things that I am sure will be in the garden, but I always try to plant one or two things I have never grown before.  Its not always a success, but its fun!  And that's a big part of having a garden, the fun of it!

What will I be growing for sure this year?

Tomato
Cucumber
Broccoli
Beans
Snap Pea
Summer Squash
Cabbage
Turnip
Lettuce
Radish
Kale
Carrot

Any suggestions from my readers for the "Something New" column?  What's your favorite "fun" plant to grow in the garden?

1st Cabbage Harvest!

Today we harvested our first cabbage!  Once Robert got over the fact that I harvested the first broccoli ("don't cut it, I want to see how big it will get!  Hunny, we have to cut it or it will just go to seed and then we won't be able to EAT it!") he decided that we needed to have corned beef and cabbage tonight!

Its bigger than his head!  And the first thing he asked is, "can I eat a leaf now?"  (Proud Mom Bragging)

Its like a jungle in the hothouse now!

And finally I can show off a few more of my flowers!  The rose bush is blooming...

And remember the old raised beds that I turned into wildflower gardens?  Take a look!...

What are you harvesting right now?

Goodbye to 2009

Hard to believe it is the last day of 2009 already. My baby boy turned 6 years old yesterday and my newborn is going to start crawling any minute. Its always a little startling to me when I reflect on how fast the year passes by.

I'm not one to really set "New Years Resolutions", but I figure I could outline where I see myself at the end of 2010...

1. Out of debt
- this means all the credit cards and the doctor bills, not the house or vehicles

2. Chickens
- those who read this blog regularly know that this is one of my biggest goals this summer

3. SUCCESSFUL garden
- I see my gardening endeavors as somewhat of a failure up to this point, with a few exceptions... I want to grow an edible cabbage dammit!


These 3 things are top of my list... wonder what I'll be saying this time next year!

Time flys...

Hard to believe that Lily is almost a month old already! I've severely neglected my blog! Here is a quick garden update...

The broccoli and spinach bolted, due to the 85F+ temperatures. The cabbage hasn't grown at all in the last month. The peas are blooming and the beans are doing well, as are the carrots. The radishes have met a similar fate as the cabbages. Cucumbers and zucchini are looking good, and I have 1 tomato. The peppers are covered in aphids and the eggplant seems to be a wasted effort. The onions, beets and strawberries are looking good, and the rhubarb is ready to harvest again! This crazy weather has just messed with the garden too much this year, but next year will hopefully be more productive! I'll post some more pictures next time!

Garden Happenings...

Here's some photos of the progression of the garden so far...

Mixed Radishes

Wild Raspberries

Sitka Roses (behind them is where my Rock Garden will eventually live)

Lots of Cabbages!!!

Snap Peas

Broccoli

Zucchini

Rhubarb

Spinach

Kale

This is not everything in the garden, obviously, but gives a pretty good representation of how things are doing.... And remember, its only June 4th, and this is Alaska... I have no complaints so far!

One more and I'll be done!

Everything except the radishes got planted today! I planted 4 red cabbage, zucchini, pole beans and carrots... and the snap peas are already starting to poke above the ground!!! The spinach and kale are making an appearance in the greenhouse as well. All in all, a very productive Saturday! Tomorrow I'll plant the radishes, and the garden will officially be in!

Plants in the garden!!!

I planted the cabbage and the broccoli today! I'm so proud of myself! It is definitely time to plant the remainder of the vegetables, so that is my goal for the weekend... to get everything in the ground. (With the exception of the spinach and the kale which will stay in their little flats until they are the right size to be transplanted.) It feels good to be accomplishing so much, being as uncomfortably pregnant as I am at the moment. I just went out to check on my little garden, and I have to say I feel a certain tenderness towards those little plants. I raised them from the tiniest seeds and they are going to give back so much more than I put into them. Its truly a humbling thing, when you think about it!

Here's a few pictures of today's progress...

Happy little herb garden


Cabbages... think I'll supplement with a few Red Cabbage as well


Lots of Broccoli


Zucchini going into the ground tomorrow!!!

The cabbage and broccoli, obviously, have weed fabric covering their beds. This is primarily for 2 reasons... 1) These two beds were positively overrun with weeds last year, so hopefully this will kill the problem, and 2) I am hoping that the weed fabric will hold in some moisture and heat, enabling the plants to do their very best. I will be covering the fabric with mulch, once I am sure that the plants are thriving, and once I am sure there will be no more plants going into those beds. I think I will be adding 4 Red Cabbage plants to the cabbage bed, but I don't know that for sure at this time. The bed the zucchini is going into has weed fabric as well, but this is just for the warming factor, as weeds weren't really a problem in that one last year. Its sure going to be a busy weekend!!!