tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10889747736618865742024-03-13T06:26:32.323-07:00The Unseasoned GardenerGrowing a garden . . . one seed at a time!Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-52686464873494881902015-05-29T11:38:00.000-07:002015-05-29T16:51:24.556-07:00Garden Update #1Well it's hard to believe it's almost June! But we are so ready for summer! It's been beautiful here and we've all been loving the sunshine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward enjoying a good roll in the sun!</td></tr>
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They also opened the park splash pads here in Portland and W has been enjoying them every day. With temps in the 80s again today, it's safe to say we'll be back there again this afternoon!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water!</td></tr>
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My garden is enjoying the sunshine as well. It also enjoys when I remember to water it. Note to self: remember to water the garden!<br />
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The strawberries are really growing and the red one on the right is just about ready to eat. W actually picked another ripe one and gave it the thumbs up, but he's anxiously awaiting sinking his teeth into this bad boy!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I will eat all the strawberries!</td></tr>
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The peas are still going strong as well. We picked a few pods that I'm not sure were 100% ready yet but W deemed them very sweet and yummy. Can't wait until the rest of these are ready!<br />
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And I just love how the bean stems are wrapping themselves around the bamboo.<br />
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We picked some lettuce last night for salad (it was fantastic!) so the lettuce is looking a little sparse but it'll grow back soon. We've also picked a few of the French radishes - very peppery! - but they were on the small side so I'm trying to get W to leave the rest and let them get a little bigger. I can't decide whether I want to plant another round of seeds or not. Also, the parsley is still doing it's thing. I think B used a leaf or two for cooking and then ate some leaves plain (for breath control) so at least it's getting some use!<br />
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And the zucchini and tomatoes are still fighting for control of the patio!<br />
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The zucchini leaves are giant and still unfortunately blocking most of the light from the pepper plant, though I've tried to lower the leaves of the zucchini plant but that thing just keeps growing!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor Mr. Pepper Plant :(</td></tr>
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The yellow tomatoes made their move this week and have started to flower!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that strong stalk!</td></tr>
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The red cherry tomatoes are still the tomato champs though, there are about 7 tiny little tomatoes growing!<br />
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And I wouldn't want to forget W's pumpkin plant, which he asks about, looks at, and reminds me to water everyday.</div>
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Plus I discovered that the second rose bush in my front yard is red! Only two blooms so far but it looks like it's getting ready to go crazy with all the buds on it! Can't wait!</div>
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We'll be outside enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful weather while it lasts (it's supposed to rain Monday and Tuesday). Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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- c</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-69498613324584286482015-05-23T11:54:00.000-07:002015-05-23T11:54:00.738-07:00A trip to the farmer's market + the rest of the plants<div dir="ltr">
It's a cloudy, misty day here in Portland. But we Pacific Northwesterners don't mind a little rain and we've already been out and about. W had soccer this morning and then we hit up the Portland Farmer's Market at PSU for coffee, breakfast burritos, and artichokes. <a href="http://denoblefarms.com/" target="_blank">DeNoble Farms </a>is my go-to stand for produce at the farmer's market and today they didn't disappoint with some really lovely globe and Italian varieties of artichokes. I can't wait to have them for dinner tonight!</div>
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When we came home, I noticed that our rose bush out front was blooming beautifully, so I thought I do a quick post on some of the rest of the plants growing around the new house. This rose bush is right outside our front door and adds a real pop of color.</div>
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On the other side of the front walk, under the kitchen window, I have a rhododendron and a hydrangea. The hydrangea I planted myself a couple of weeks ago so it's still fairly small, but you can just see a tinge of blue on the flowers that are starting to bud. I fell in love with hydrangeas back in Seattle but never had a location to plant them in. We actually had another plant in that space but it died over winter, so I pulled it out and popped in the hydrangea. Now I'm happy :-)<br />
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I've also got 4 blueberry plants on the side of the house. Right now, only one has anything resembling a blueberry but I have high hopes (maybe not this year but in the future).<br />
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Back in the patio garden, it looks like we have our first red strawberry! I think it might need one more day, so I'll try my best to keep W away from it. He'll be my official taste tester when we do pick it. </div>
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Also, the zucchini plant is completely taking over this container. The leaves are so big, the poor pepper plant is forced to huddle in the corner. I think I might need to replant it, but I'm afraid I'll kill it if I do. But then again, it might not survive anyway if the zucchini plant keeps stealing all of its sunlight. What to do?</div>
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Well, we are off to a kiddo birthday party (isn't having kids great! :-p), hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend!</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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- c<br />
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-70496795785336780062015-05-20T17:24:00.002-07:002015-05-20T17:24:57.643-07:00I'm back!So after almost 2 years, and a lot of changes, I think it's time to rev this blog up again and document my garden (and probably a bit of my life too). So guess who's back?!<br />
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So first up, the changes. My wonderful husband, B, applied for and received a promotion to a new management position within his company. Great news, right? Of course, but why the fuss? Well this new position was in another region, which means . . . we moved! Not too far away, though. As you might recall (or maybe you don't, it's been like 18 months - sorry!), we lived in Seattle, Washington. Well the new position is in Portland, Oregon!<br />
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So we drove the 3 hours South, got ourselves a nice little house, and settled in about 7 months ago. So far we are missing Seattle like crazy but are starting to really like our new city. Especially the excellent public transportation system and amazing bike lanes. We even got a trail-a-bike and W (who is almost 5!!) loves to ride around the town. Every once in a while, he'll even peddle.<br />
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So the new house. It's brand new, like "we are the first people to ever live in it" brand new. We weren't looking for a new build, but after living in a 95 year old house in Seattle and dealing with the 95-year old clay pipes, the lack of electrical outlets, and the windows that wouldn't open, we decided that <i>new </i>was fine with us. And it was a good decision. I have 13 electrical outlets in the living room/dining room alone! It's incredible! The only thing this awesome house didn't come with was a huge back yard. In fact, the backyard is pretty small. But again, after the yard in the Seattle house which quickly became overgrown with weeds, bamboo, and other unknown species of plants, it's nice to have something that's easy to maintain. And the light!! I didn't realize how little sun we got in Seattle until we moved here. So far this Spring, I've clocked the back patio as getting 8-10 hours of direct sunlight a day. Which will only go up as the days get longer. Woo-hoo! Finally, I can buy those plants that say "full sun."<br />
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So even though we have a very small yard, I decided to try some container gardening for our very first summer here. And we are off to such a great start that I decided to revive the blog! I guess you never know what's around the corner :-)<br />
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So a quick tour of what I've got growing:<br />
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This may look like a jumble of green, but it's actually 2 tomato plants (a cherry tomato and a golden), a zucchini, and a bell pepper. All growing strong and the cherry tomato (in the lower right) already has a small green tomato in its midst. Also, the zucchini leaves are giant. How's that for starting things off on the right foot!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This little tomato is kind of shy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W calls the zucchini leaves "elephant ears"</td></tr>
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I actually think I should have planted the tomato, zucchini, and pepper in their own containers, but live and learn - and make a note for next year.</div>
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I've got some salad bowl lettuce (to the left) that I've already picked off of twice and it just keeps coming back! Love having fresh lettuce in the garden! In the middle are french radishes that we planted from seed and have already picked a few of as well. Very peppery and tasty. I think I'll plant some more to keep these things coming all season! On the far right is flat leaf parsley. I don't want it to seem like I don't respect the flat leaf parsley, but this plant was purchased as part of a buy one, get one free deal and while parsley in the garden seems like a great idea (and we certainly use it in cooking), we never seem to actually pick it and it ends up going to seed or being pulled up at the end of the season unused. My goal this year is to actually. use. the. parsley. We'll see. Any tips on what to use large amounts of parsley for would be greatly appreciated. Maybe I'll be inspired.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left, beans, peas, and strawberries, oh my!</td></tr>
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These are my favorites simply because they will not be stopped. They are growing like crazy and the pea plant already has pods on it!</div>
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The pods are empty though. I assume they fill in with peas? I wish there were some way to look up this information, quickly and easily. Oh hello <a href="https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=growing+pea+plants" target="_blank">Google</a>! ;-)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't wait till this thing goes red!</td></tr>
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I gave in and bought one of those prefab strawberry planter thingies filled with plants and it's doing great! The only problem is getting W to wait until the berries turn red before he picks them - unfortunately, several green strawberries will never make it to maturity due to the overzealous nature of a 4 year old! A moment of silence, please.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arise ye pumpkins!</td></tr>
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W is also getting into the act and this very day brought home a pumpkin plant he grew from seed in school. It came home in a biodegradable mini pot so we just dug a hole, popped it in, covered it with soil, and watered gently. He has high hopes of growing several large pumpkins that will be ready to carve for Halloween. That kid is always thinking ahead!</div>
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So that's the backyard for now. As I said, it's small, but full of sun (and love and joy and all that other schmoopy stuff) and hopefully we'll be getting some good eats very soon.</div>
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I have plans to post garden updates and maybe some other stuff at least twice a week, so stay tuned and welcome back!</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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- c</div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-4123268229959886922012-10-25T14:45:00.000-07:002012-10-25T14:45:04.650-07:00The End is Nigh . . . saying goodbye to the garden.Am I growing mutant dwarf carrots?!?!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's my pinky nail!</td></tr>
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So after procrastinating quite a bit, then putting it off a bit more, then getting caught up in other things . . . I decided it was finally time to start taking down the summer garden and preparing the planter boxes for winter. I have hopes of growing garlic and shallots over the winter and have to get them in the ground before the first frost (which may or may not have already happened in Seattle, I guess depending on your definition of cold). So that meant getting rid of the massive entanglement of vines, leaves, and other plant matter that had taken over the back yard.<br />
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Pretty scary, huh? Yeah, I should have done this along time ago. It was a mess! Vines wrapped in vines, wrapped in leaves, wrapped in dirt, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a riddle . . . where am I going with this? Oh yeah, it was bad. Most of the tomatoes that were left had started to rot on the vine, including this beautiful heirloom tomato, one of the few to actually turn red:<br />
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It looked great from the top but as soon as I picked it up, the whole bottom half was eaten out and mushy. Kind of like the tomato version of Jaws . . . dah dum dah dum dah dum dah dum dah DUM!<br />
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I was sad to miss out on a good heirloom, but not so much about all of the cherry tomatoes that were still hanging around.<br />
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<i><b>Lesson Learned #1</b></i> - don't buy more than 2 tomato plants. Five plants is definitely too many.<br />
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At this point, we are tomatoed out. We currently have 2 gallon sized bags full of marinara sauce in the freezer that my wonderful husband made, as well as half a jar in the fridge, all ready for a quick pasta meal. We seriously have no more room for tomatoes. Maybe in the future, if I start canning or something, then the five tomato plants will be awesome, but for now they just became a chore. Every time we looked into the backyard, there they were, the newest batch of ripe tomatoes, taunting us with a "we're ripe, pick us, we're ready." It became so annoying that we started avoiding even going into the backyard. Well today I am reclaiming our yard . . . just in time to shut it down for the winter anyway, but hey, it's the principle of the matter.<br />
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So pretty much all of the cherry and heirloom tomatoes were rotted on the vine or on the ground (it was seriously like a bad Shakespeare play, rotten tomatoes everywhere!), but not the Romas! Roma tomatoes must be the hardiest tomatoes around because you can seriously forget about them and let them sit in wet, rainy muck for weeks and they still come out looking perfect, beautiful, and red. I know because this is exactly what I did, but look what I was able to pick out:<br />
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Of course I have no desire to keep these in my house, so they were immediately washed up and spirited away to the neighbors' house up the street. She still thinks tomatoes are cool.<br />
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So I struggled with the tomato plants for about 45 minutes and let me tell you, they did not want to go! I guess I didn't realize that tomatoes had such thick roots, and long . . . I feel that I probably left a bunch of roots still in the soil but I'll take care of that when I till everything again and add new soil. Once I got the tomato plants out of my planter box and into the yard waste bin, I found some interesting things going on underneath.<br />
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Like this pepper:<br />
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This was the only thing my pepper plant produced this season. Sure the plant looks great (well it did until I pulled it up and threw it away) but it was essentially a non-producer.<br />
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<i><b>Lesson Learned #2 </b></i>- don't buy pepper plants, they don't grow! I can only surmise that even after the longest summer in recent history here in Seattle, the weather is just not warm enough for grow peppers reliably. So I'm saying no to peppers next year.<br />
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I also found my carrots growing full force. I had originally planted the carrot seeds around the tomatoes because I had read about companion gardening and learned that tomatoes and carrots go really well together. Basically it's not only a good use of a small gardening space but the nutrients in each helps to enrich the other. I definitely think that the tomatoes got the better end of that deal. They grew rampant while the carrots, well . . . see for yourself:<br />
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And after a bath and a haircut:<br />
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As you can see, they are not very big. In fact I would say some are even miniscule!<br />
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To be fair, I did plant a type of carrot that was supposed to be smaller than normal so that they would grow well in a container garden, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be THAT small. Also, since the tomatoes grew with such abandon, the carrots definitely didn't get enough light. So while I think companion gardening is cool, light is at a premium in my garden and I don't want to make it harder for a plant to grow, so . . .<br />
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<i><b>Lesson Learned #3</b></i> - Plant carrots on their own and in a container. Since they are made for containers, I think I will plant them in one next year. That way I can make sure they get enough sunlight and really grow to their full (smallish) potential. We will be eating these though, because they are good! I tasted one raw and it was delicious! This is going to sound silly, but they really tasted "carrot-y" more so that anything I've tasted in a long time. I guess it's true that things really do lose a lot of their flavor on the trip from the farm to the store. I will definitely be growing these again next year.<br />
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So all of the tomato plants and any other thing growing in the planter boxes have been removed either to my kitchen or the compost bin. The next job is to turn the soil over and add some organic fertilizer to get it ready for the garlic and shallots that I shall plant . . . oh, one of these days.<br />
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I would have done the soil today but I accidentally walked into a huge spider web and had somewhat of a gigantic freak-out. There was much jumping around and slapping at my hair and upper body. I'm assuming it looked crazy dorky because the UPS man who had come around to the back of the house to drop off a package just as it happened gave me the strangest look. I tried to explain but he just shook his head and handed me a box. Oh well, I'm sure he's seen worse . . .<br />
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And the box? A very nice surprise! A couple of weeks ago I entered a contest online at <a href="http://toughcookiemommy.com/" target="_blank">Tough Cookie Mommy</a> and won a Divine Chocolate Gift Pack from <a href="http://shop.divinechocolateusa.com/?gclid=CMPb_puOnbMCFSmCQgodnxgAWw" target="_blank">Divine Chocolates USA</a>! It was filled with 4 yummy chocolate bars, 2 bars of baking chocolate, and a container of Cocoa, all Fair Trade and owned by the Kuapa Kokoo farmers. Check out their website for more info because it's a really great company!<br />
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<br /><i><b>Lesson Learned #4</b></i> - always entered contests with chocolate as a prize because it's really awesome when you win! <br />
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So a long put off task was accomplished and my reward was chocolate! If I'd have known there was going to be chocolate, I would have done it a lot sooner.<br />
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Next time - turning the soil, planting the garlic, and picking the pumpkins.<br />
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Until then,<br />
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Cheers!<br />
<br />
- Christine<br />
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-67175367513989048752012-10-02T16:50:00.000-07:002012-10-02T16:50:00.944-07:00The Unseasoned Baker: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!So I do a lot more than garden (obviously since I really don't do all that much gardening), but today I did something really fun with my little guy, Weston. We made another batch of Weston's Famous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!<br />
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Fall weather (yes, it is starting to get a little chilly here in the Pacific NW) really makes me think of pumpkins and I thought baking would be a fun project on a slightly sleepy morning for both of us.<br />
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I found the original recipe <a href="http://moneysavingmom.com/2009/06/baking-day-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html" target="_blank">here </a>and modified it a little:<br />
<br />
<h3>
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins</h3>
<ul>
<li>4 eggs</li>
<li>2 cups sugar <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>(I only added 1 cup and it's definitely sweet enough!)</i></span></li>
<li>1 (16 oz.) can pureed pumpkin <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">(Since I could only find a 15 oz. can, I mashed up an overripe banana and added it to the mix - no complaints. I've also used 2 tablespoons of applesauce as well)</span></i></li>
<li>1 1/2 cups oil <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>(I used 1 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil- seems really oily when you first mix it in but trust me, it's necessary)</i></span></li>
<li>3 cups flour</li>
<li>2 teaspoons baking soda</li>
<li>2 teaspoons baking powder</li>
<li>1 teaspoon ground cinnamon <span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>(I've left this out on several occasions and it still tastes great!)</i></span></li>
<li>1 teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 package chocolate chips</li>
</ul>
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until
smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at
400 degrees.<br />
<em>Makes 24-30 muffins.</em><br />
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Weston helped by cracking eggs into the bowl (and yes, I fished out all of the shells), pouring the sugar, pumpkin, and flour, and mixing it all up with the mixer. Mixing is definitely his favorite part, if you ask him about making muffins, he'll automatically say "I mix it!" So cute :)<br />
<em> </em><br />
They turned out great! And they sure smelled like pumpkins and fall :)<br />
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Weston enjoyed them!<br />
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(this picture is actually from the last time we made these muffins - about a week ago - but he looked pretty much the same eating them this time!)<br />
<br />
Even though I can't eat them right now (I'm on a gluten-free diet for another week), I've been assured by several people that they are the best!<br />
<br />
So there's no time like the present, make these muffins now!<br />
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Cheers :)<br />
<br />
- Christine<br />
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<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-2636804206357972452012-09-30T14:48:00.001-07:002012-09-30T14:48:40.461-07:00Potato Farming in Seattle!Hey, remember me? I know it's been a long time (a whole summer in fact) but I'm back from . . . well back from life, I guess. That's the funny thing about life, it totally gets in the way of what you plan to / mean to / want to do. And since I'm definitely the type that takes on way too much all at once, well, that means this blog has sat dormant for the past couple of months. But it's my goal to get back into it and keep blogging on a more regular schedule. Wish me luck!<br />
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So where was I? Oh yeah . . . I had these two adorable planter boxes and was attempting to grow things in them. Well guess what? It worked! Things grew . . . some grew really big and some grew really little and some grew not at all. And some went nuts and took over the whole garden (I'm looking at you, tomatoes!)!<br />
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To compare:<br />
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My planter boxes at the end of May:<br />
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Nice and orderly, yes?<br />
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And my planter boxes now:<br />
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Basically the tomatoes took over. They would not stop growing! For a long time, we had nothing but little green tomatoes everywhere and I was afraid that Seattle would remember its usual weather pattern (of rain and cold) and we'd end the season with relatively useless green tomatoes (yes, I know you can make fried green tomatoes or tomato salsa or tomato chutney, but really?). Well obviously that wasn't the case. Seattle has had a very warm summer that has been extended to a warm and sunny fall. Nice for people and for plants and my tomatoes have been thriving. In fact, I've stopped watering them completely because we just don't have any more room for tomatoes. Bart has made a batch of delicious marinara sauce that we've eaten and frozen for later, and he's about to make another batch today to use up these:<br />
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And you can see from the picture that we have still more tomatoes that are turning redder every day. I'd say we have enough for another batch of sauce and then I'm done. We just don't have that big of a freezer and I'm not ready for canning anything yet.<br />
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So I guess it's nice to know that I do have the ability to grow tomatoes, but the lesson learned for next season is NOT to buy 5 tomato plants. That's way too many. Next year, I'll try to remember to buy less.<br />
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As for the zucchini, they did well too . . . for a while, and we got some very large zukes:<br />
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But then they succumb to some kind of white mold on the leaves and pretty much stopped producing. I pulled the plants and then the tomatoes basically took over that space as well. The peppers were duds; no hot peppers at all and we got two tiny green peppers that we didn't eat because they basically shriveled up and looked really weird after we picked them. I think it's too cold for peppers here, even if we have what's considered a "good" Seattle summer. Another lesson, no peppers next year.<br />
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Another lesson learned: grow potatoes! A lot of them! After reading <a href="http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/2012/03/how-to-grow-your-own-food-how-to-plant-potatoes/" target="_blank">this article</a>, I decided to throw 3 potatoes (2 reds and a russet) that I had on the counter and forgot to use into the ground to see if anything would come of it. Well something definitely came of it! I pulled up the potatoes today because I wanted to have roasted potatoes for dinner tonight and this is my haul:<br />
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Can you believe it! That's a lot of potatoes! And yes, some of them were quite small, but there were a lot of good sized ones too. I'm excited to see how "fresh" potatoes taste!<br />
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Seriously growing potatoes is the easiest things, I'm definitely doing it again next year. You just put the potato in the ground and cover it with dirt. Ideally, you're supposed to continue to cover any plant growth until you have a mound about a foot high (this will allow your plant to grow more and more potatoes) but I forgot to do that and basically forgot about the potatoes as well. Forgot about them so much that often I didn't even water them (oops!). But look what happened anyway! I wonder how many potatoes I would have harvested if I had actually taken any sort of care with them? I guess I'll have to find out next year :)<br />
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The pumpkin patch is doing OK as well (see lack of water excuse above) and we have 4 small pumpkins including this one, which is the biggest:<br />
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Since I can't remember what kind of pumpkin it is, I'm not sure if it's supposed to turn orange or not, but I'm going to wait until about the week before Halloween and then pick it and put it on the front steps for decoration. Apparently, growing pumpkins is as low-maintenance as potato growing. Next year, I'll try to stay on top of the whole watering thing and see if I can get some bigger pumpkins.<br />
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My goal for this week is to pick the rest of the (blasted) tomatoes, plus see how the onions and carrots are doing. Then I'll trim back the tomatoes a little and plant some arugula starts that I received from a friend. With the way lettuce has previously grown in our yard, I have no doubt we'll enjoy some nice salads before the first frost hits.<br />
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I'm also starting to think about planting my winter garden, including garlic and some flower bulbs that will grow next spring.<br />
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Thanks for rejoining the planting party and have a great week!<br />
<br />
- Christine<br />
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<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-41769556427345859332012-05-29T21:27:00.001-07:002012-05-29T21:27:11.270-07:00The Bountiful Harvest, or Why We're Having Salad for Dinner Every Night This Week + an UpdateSalad, salad, everywhere . . . as far as the eye can see.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ljWFYdNMFuqmczhbQQwijBTTq-Evkj_nV0GrYNCcQIcQ7g1vTyLTDVgx9P_eZXhG9G0fIU-rkL6hS-C3k4NoM0lTDeP7YAbG2lqdvZKljnzlyEcIIGdNCd3Msf2EuxLZcVcrOpxZouY/s1600/05-29-12+Lettuce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ljWFYdNMFuqmczhbQQwijBTTq-Evkj_nV0GrYNCcQIcQ7g1vTyLTDVgx9P_eZXhG9G0fIU-rkL6hS-C3k4NoM0lTDeP7YAbG2lqdvZKljnzlyEcIIGdNCd3Msf2EuxLZcVcrOpxZouY/s320/05-29-12+Lettuce.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is there such a thing as too much lettuce?</td></tr>
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I've picked 4 of the 6 lettuce starts and we've had salad with dinner for the past 6 nights . . . and there is still lettuce that needs to be picked! Plus, the lettuce starts that I did already pick are starting to regrow at a very rapid pace. So it looks like salad will be on the menu for a while longer. Good thing we all love salad . . . and that we have enough ranch dressing in the pantry!<br />
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The rest of the garden is growing, along with the lettuce:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOteLBFR-9FIuFZ8ygUXxdVeBj2jQZlUVU73ohODlObAtP0wGKpCQsrmZKpD3w0Ut7yXOo58MQ868bhRppFuppn4y9KHH9O1DBVR0thLg0k3KOsKkGwn3dtGyg77ny1slELFq3rulTTjQ/s1600/05-29-12+Planter+Box+%25231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOteLBFR-9FIuFZ8ygUXxdVeBj2jQZlUVU73ohODlObAtP0wGKpCQsrmZKpD3w0Ut7yXOo58MQ868bhRppFuppn4y9KHH9O1DBVR0thLg0k3KOsKkGwn3dtGyg77ny1slELFq3rulTTjQ/s320/05-29-12+Planter+Box+%25231.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #1</td></tr>
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Everything is growing! The herbs are going crazy and I think we are going to have to make something with the cilantro (in the bottom, right corner) . . . maybe my wonderful husband's famous guacamole?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSE0WeLMxFx0McyPbBlzdsc2Iu37vLDey6rcRTacwgojoAPEYVzsRiRxxNeiSRQsjonH_tkmnzxCkY1Vr1ckslYDGy8a4Vsu-HFyTi_6kl2MXDhiTAcRaLnshGDWL32Fk-W3cOBfqR-Y/s1600/05-29-12+Green+Bean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSE0WeLMxFx0McyPbBlzdsc2Iu37vLDey6rcRTacwgojoAPEYVzsRiRxxNeiSRQsjonH_tkmnzxCkY1Vr1ckslYDGy8a4Vsu-HFyTi_6kl2MXDhiTAcRaLnshGDWL32Fk-W3cOBfqR-Y/s320/05-29-12+Green+Bean.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's that I see? A sprout!?</td></tr>
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The green beans have sprouted! The green beans have sprouted! Well, only 2 of the green beans have sprouted but I have high hopes for the rest of them.<br />
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Planter Box #2 is also doing pretty well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzE7TljrSKBLIQIdBG5KHFqq1EA5_UZz6os3UXQL2wj-SRG_VOVDSQaZ1nJBlWpRqFWyIlaNUX_Shm19MXb_IY4hiIWNC6Wy8TGWuxIywzWZ_Pr_7mjhT6nbanoK33VvXpS67EJDehVg/s1600/05-29-12+Planter+Box+%25232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzE7TljrSKBLIQIdBG5KHFqq1EA5_UZz6os3UXQL2wj-SRG_VOVDSQaZ1nJBlWpRqFWyIlaNUX_Shm19MXb_IY4hiIWNC6Wy8TGWuxIywzWZ_Pr_7mjhT6nbanoK33VvXpS67EJDehVg/s320/05-29-12+Planter+Box+%25232.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The zucchinis have really grown quite a bit and even though the peppers are doing OK - though I can tell that they are suffering in the cold. Some of the leaves are a bit brown and they all seem rather wilted. But good news was hiding under one of the leaves:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITxH14OiUYOCdOnkyHhfS7FgYPNc80ddw6NhOvLwNgHtULeJl_Uo8amrK2ZaBCHjhdAXrqTOyoC75Cs7XDZ4F87r9g2_F5Ay-uIuqMO0-bDhbcO7RyO00wuT2t3plAQno2LhYKpF8brk/s1600/05-29-12+Italian+Sweet+Pepper+flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITxH14OiUYOCdOnkyHhfS7FgYPNc80ddw6NhOvLwNgHtULeJl_Uo8amrK2ZaBCHjhdAXrqTOyoC75Cs7XDZ4F87r9g2_F5Ay-uIuqMO0-bDhbcO7RyO00wuT2t3plAQno2LhYKpF8brk/s320/05-29-12+Italian+Sweet+Pepper+flower.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't stay hidden for long!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A small flower on the Italian Sweet Pepper plant! Maybe they are going to make it!<br />
<br />
Speaking of making it . . . the strawberries don't mind the cold. All of them have flowers, but this one has 2!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4hag6ocLO2KB6B9RspR-0l1T7sxUWt_1KU5k1mESgVxUDPrvAQMTG8a2UuFP0xYMiQLv6rwlPR8rK8b5Iokr_9pUIf6tJoT4sVYPbzLR_0Ekv-VxnOXhrs5S3YST5gLtJESgTzH62ag/s1600/05-29-12+Strawberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4hag6ocLO2KB6B9RspR-0l1T7sxUWt_1KU5k1mESgVxUDPrvAQMTG8a2UuFP0xYMiQLv6rwlPR8rK8b5Iokr_9pUIf6tJoT4sVYPbzLR_0Ekv-VxnOXhrs5S3YST5gLtJESgTzH62ag/s320/05-29-12+Strawberry.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 for the money!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In other news . . . I finally planted the pumpkin/potato/leek patch!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDLKCyKLjTfaw9GkcR1mmMTQe6bQ-fUnq76NSUX3pk2tMPh35nIwreRZwoHQ05bgT2cBtNOjWgMIZViMlCjoLJ4yN771VrxKZ86jqAO28SS1t-rQTu_OrvufbGdTYI5aRizQ10JDKlQM/s1600/05-29-12+Pumpkin+Patch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDLKCyKLjTfaw9GkcR1mmMTQe6bQ-fUnq76NSUX3pk2tMPh35nIwreRZwoHQ05bgT2cBtNOjWgMIZViMlCjoLJ4yN771VrxKZ86jqAO28SS1t-rQTu_OrvufbGdTYI5aRizQ10JDKlQM/s320/05-29-12+Pumpkin+Patch.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No there aren't any bodies buried here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The potatoes are planted in the 2 grave-like locations at the bottom of the picture, the pumpkin seeds are in the small piles in the middle, and a little beyond the pumpkin piles, are a row of leek seeds. It looks pretty crappy now, but hopefully soon it will be lush and green and filled with mini-pumpkins!<br />
<br />
Keeping my fingers crossed!<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-83747796503814698232012-05-24T21:06:00.000-07:002012-05-24T21:06:27.032-07:00The First Harvest and an UpdateThe weather has been yucky lately and, though some of my plants are having trouble adjusting to the colder temperatures, many are thriving in the rain!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Rbz0mnP8Mzcuzt-aEOurSurOwsV-NpLdUkpfEiztqi5dUopQ6AvS3vvmIiGGNdv94Ba9wYrxVdqxmtnpVkp6NSlQcbbK4a__tTf7r33Hxoo5Q5p9fS7TSK5qPQP_0Eq5cDPat-cOxKI/s1600/05-24-12+Planter+box+%25231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Rbz0mnP8Mzcuzt-aEOurSurOwsV-NpLdUkpfEiztqi5dUopQ6AvS3vvmIiGGNdv94Ba9wYrxVdqxmtnpVkp6NSlQcbbK4a__tTf7r33Hxoo5Q5p9fS7TSK5qPQP_0Eq5cDPat-cOxKI/s320/05-24-12+Planter+box+%25231.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Planter Box #1 seems to be doing very well . . . even with the coating of white petals that have basically taken over our whole backyard. The neighbor's tree (which actually leans mostly into our backyard) decided it was time to grace us with the large clusters of tiny flowers it had been growing. Now our yard looks like the victim of a May snow storm. I asked my husband, B, how we were supposed to get rid of all these tiny, white petals . . . his response? "Snow Blower?" Ummm . . . ok?<br />
<br />
Anyway . . . the lettuce starts are growing like, well, weeds! In fact, they've become so huge that I knew it was the right time to actually pick a few of them and have them for dinner. I know I've been saying for about a week that we were going to have actual "garden" salad for dinner, but tonight it actually happened.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAxoUbKDTrm96FPiv1Gfl1DG5C11nBSpJ8pMbxNDhHlU0omea3DmBB3uORE3xyo3J9GC0wmrJxZCxIjjuq5vWc8lkXjQK0W98G-20buIvDgjOZwJigBAtsdNVpWfN0zt14s09DBOPo3A/s1600/05-24-12+Lettuce+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAxoUbKDTrm96FPiv1Gfl1DG5C11nBSpJ8pMbxNDhHlU0omea3DmBB3uORE3xyo3J9GC0wmrJxZCxIjjuq5vWc8lkXjQK0W98G-20buIvDgjOZwJigBAtsdNVpWfN0zt14s09DBOPo3A/s320/05-24-12+Lettuce+before.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnuoakyLyWcgCyAlAyYcxMN6ci5SUBmIHs4hg2zcYu2gGWgVxt_RpkNljfzq9zq0gqFlbP2NKeAot94kLXW6nCO_MQcTszTvj6uZYGWH97FU_0vUp0gmPfK0HQsUgf_l4UELzG4De8Ns/s1600/05-24-12+Lettuce+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnuoakyLyWcgCyAlAyYcxMN6ci5SUBmIHs4hg2zcYu2gGWgVxt_RpkNljfzq9zq0gqFlbP2NKeAot94kLXW6nCO_MQcTszTvj6uZYGWH97FU_0vUp0gmPfK0HQsUgf_l4UELzG4De8Ns/s320/05-24-12+Lettuce+after.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I tried to leave about a half inch stalk on each one, in the hopes that there would be some regrowth, but as you can see . . . even though I only harvested three starts, there was a lot of lettuce there!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0Awpwgo_N8T9MeWPh1AG7EcW7eu4nXCKwQSnvbhfTVvwwLYHa8kusMC5MZ9gUHVen-mFkTdOKvyW6fVMUZvih2oBrddHq5rXZ_D4OQR2cJ4t7UO4HZyf_PrSTuavl5gYqoqwU3hzRUI/s1600/05-24-12+Lettuce+picked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0Awpwgo_N8T9MeWPh1AG7EcW7eu4nXCKwQSnvbhfTVvwwLYHa8kusMC5MZ9gUHVen-mFkTdOKvyW6fVMUZvih2oBrddHq5rXZ_D4OQR2cJ4t7UO4HZyf_PrSTuavl5gYqoqwU3hzRUI/s320/05-24-12+Lettuce+picked.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yum! Where's the dressing?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The perfect amount for a hardy salad to go with dinner! After a wash and a spin in the salad spinner, we ate it and it was pronounced "great!" If you're wondering if it had a different, better taste being homegrown instead of store-bought . . . well, not really. I didn't notice a difference but then again, I'm not a lettuce connoisseur so . . . it was tasty, had a good crunch, and I was proud to say I grew it myself and that's good enough for me :-)<br />
<br />
Also happening in Planter Box #1, the Black Cherry Tomato has the first blossom of the season!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFQo93W6AsfrNCzJy8ni57sasAiNMhvSoTdhEr_vqVZNq4H_AlIXvntKxDQ9jm3Q_L1f8cRhZMqgdwC2OmUJR1Jk0yUOlYbg1tsYf8COk_069Ek4VunXk0o-LrtrLxo8Fv6yHteiV7CQ/s1600/05-24-12+Black+Cherry+tomato+flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFQo93W6AsfrNCzJy8ni57sasAiNMhvSoTdhEr_vqVZNq4H_AlIXvntKxDQ9jm3Q_L1f8cRhZMqgdwC2OmUJR1Jk0yUOlYbg1tsYf8COk_069Ek4VunXk0o-LrtrLxo8Fv6yHteiV7CQ/s320/05-24-12+Black+Cherry+tomato+flower.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first blossom!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And the spinach and lettuce seeds are really starting to grow . . . which means I'm going to have to do some thinning soon.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERRZtJPK2YG3H8iGT8SO_IRdEeK2OQMYwhhR38Z03wqwy8o04RiCtqGyxS3Q2h7QRr0ZDGej2PVam7kpF0XejW8Cm33SGX0XlhpeSpS_OeAnMIRGLslvloLL0sys42DcC9K8zRIRaxEI/s1600/05-24-12+Spinach+and+Lettuce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERRZtJPK2YG3H8iGT8SO_IRdEeK2OQMYwhhR38Z03wqwy8o04RiCtqGyxS3Q2h7QRr0ZDGej2PVam7kpF0XejW8Cm33SGX0XlhpeSpS_OeAnMIRGLslvloLL0sys42DcC9K8zRIRaxEI/s320/05-24-12+Spinach+and+Lettuce.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insert spinach and lettuce here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Planter Box #2 is doing pretty well too.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjDi3lb4H0QiVskBiLml-pAXxrd5ZJ959K75LMXyKpfWJMTs2_Mle9INyQlF5mDpO-xLPA_lltphfhTOPhOk5FMkjycK5m4Mci96ymEvEk10Ta1ESuyIROayvzrvFsaV4rsfukiUkvbs/s1600/05-24-12+Planter+box+%25232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjDi3lb4H0QiVskBiLml-pAXxrd5ZJ959K75LMXyKpfWJMTs2_Mle9INyQlF5mDpO-xLPA_lltphfhTOPhOk5FMkjycK5m4Mci96ymEvEk10Ta1ESuyIROayvzrvFsaV4rsfukiUkvbs/s320/05-24-12+Planter+box+%25232.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can really see the "snow" here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The zucchini plants are growing and the Roma and SuperSweet 100 tomatoes seem to be doing ok. The Basil and the Peppers are definitely struggling in the cold. In fact, I think the Basil might be a couple of more rainy days away from fading gently in the night. Be strong, little Basil . . . it's got to get warm sometime, right? The Peppers aren't on death's door quite yet, but they are certainly looking a little "wilty" though there are some buds hiding tightly coiled by the base of one of the leaves. I'm hoping they can also hold out until that warm weathers comes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XQDEAsriA5aW0Szjyllk8_S0l0uP7AKFjgwBlO9bWiVuk8rtdiHCyhZoxggQ3MvGP4c7dHuFRdMDxOVKoJSTeFsZja8MYLqT_3xZUfnvCo7WajPikYDDiKj6XnoB-8USXC-q6xzat2Y/s1600/05-24-12+Strawberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XQDEAsriA5aW0Szjyllk8_S0l0uP7AKFjgwBlO9bWiVuk8rtdiHCyhZoxggQ3MvGP4c7dHuFRdMDxOVKoJSTeFsZja8MYLqT_3xZUfnvCo7WajPikYDDiKj6XnoB-8USXC-q6xzat2Y/s320/05-24-12+Strawberries.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberries!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The strawberries are doing well and seem to be alright with the rain. In fact the one plant at the very top of this picture has a flower on it that I hope will one day bloom into a beautiful strawberry. Ironically enough, this plant with the flower is the very same plant that a certain little man has stepped on countless times in his haste to get to the planter boxes. Who knew that W apparently has magic growing feet? I guess that means that the blueberry twig he stepped on and broke a couple of weeks ago should start growing like crazy any minute now!<br />
<br />
Flower Power! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqiNlT6vdCPIOuddM3w7SIUJQurBpC_Fag8-SrDADcXXRBBWYRxeOf_m2mrPSU0wFV7tNUAJk8vPZfx-3hF7kWLU5nZQGA8ZfRbcXFe5TB9M0MxqBc1RuwNDCtJTi92SACz5zGJbdpwY/s1600/05-24-12+Columbine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBqiNlT6vdCPIOuddM3w7SIUJQurBpC_Fag8-SrDADcXXRBBWYRxeOf_m2mrPSU0wFV7tNUAJk8vPZfx-3hF7kWLU5nZQGA8ZfRbcXFe5TB9M0MxqBc1RuwNDCtJTi92SACz5zGJbdpwY/s320/05-24-12+Columbine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy Columbine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last year's left-for-dead Columbine plants are certainly showing me that they are alive and kicking. I love the color combinations! They are growing so large that they are in danger of blocking out some of the sun from my planter boxes . . . I'm going to have a talk with them about that and hopefully they will tone it down. Or I just might pick some of these beautiful flowers and enjoy some of them indoors.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggs0ExhS1OhdGixiS0Q42R1lGwPcc1TkHYTy-z81d0BZtzYGBCGVSmBEW5R8z4drx6WQrK2lJ78mYgDeuPe0tnhENz6OlyN0L-iQjQqNvkpXP3od9YBBXlYHHnsiUYp7530JnZmWFa1Zk/s1600/05-24-12+Dahlias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggs0ExhS1OhdGixiS0Q42R1lGwPcc1TkHYTy-z81d0BZtzYGBCGVSmBEW5R8z4drx6WQrK2lJ78mYgDeuPe0tnhENz6OlyN0L-iQjQqNvkpXP3od9YBBXlYHHnsiUYp7530JnZmWFa1Zk/s320/05-24-12+Dahlias.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dahlia! Dahlia! Dahlia!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Dahlias are starting to get some giant buds on them as well . . . I'm hoping for some huge flowers from these babies later in the season. I didn't realize it when I planted them here, but this little area gets a ton of light and they are thriving (even though the sunlight has been scarce lately, they will take whatever they can get)!<br />
<br />
Still haven't gotten around to planting my pumpkin and leeks seeds, or the potatoes, but that is still on the agenda. Maybe this long weekend, if the weather turns nice.<br />
<br />
Keep wishing for sunshine!<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
- c<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-34556825970091602402012-05-17T13:16:00.000-07:002012-05-17T13:16:19.844-07:00Tomatoes and Peppers and Zucchini, Oh My!The new additions have arrived!<br />
<br />
Tuesday evening my long awaited tomato, pepper, and zucchini plants arrived from the green house and were ready to be planted. Though I did debate about keeping them inside for a little while longer, since the weather is going to cool down over the next week and nights are still pretty chilly, I ultimately decided to just go ahead and plant them. I know myself better than to think anything good will come of leaving plants indoors in this house. I'm sure I would either forget to water them or they would get knocked over. So into the ground they went!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbs-B0cgyyjFfkcUUorxDRLA-ojjD9jWWKJ5Vtxj4iidcgX4wsM527pPWitiCsgfAyp7rtnPVmqA3lcTLbagxVyw9-PXuzl-tqiZYIeDFyZiS0I9EHcMoFUAUdftwxR3JZIE14vKTM0M/s1600/05-16-12+Planter+Box+%232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbs-B0cgyyjFfkcUUorxDRLA-ojjD9jWWKJ5Vtxj4iidcgX4wsM527pPWitiCsgfAyp7rtnPVmqA3lcTLbagxVyw9-PXuzl-tqiZYIeDFyZiS0I9EHcMoFUAUdftwxR3JZIE14vKTM0M/s320/05-16-12+Planter+Box+%232.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #2 - suddenly filled up!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Planter Box #2, which had been pretty empty for a couple of weeks with just the Basil, onions, and carrot seeds to keep each other company, bore the brunt of my digging. I ended up planting 4 tomato plants (2 Super Sweet 100s, an heirloom tomato plant, and an Early Girl), 2 Zucchini, and 2 peppers (1 Green Bell and 1 Red Italian Sweet). Then I stuck my handy tomato trellises in, watered completely, and they were all set to grow!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQYWKhyphenhypheneh-smLsPTOm1WOK2H0QzH6p3xMlc8MvxikIGm1RbhF2S4Y5W8hcczEe53zB4UJXUFUpKhLDJhgk4EkVd7OeBQX0ynovQCGaOg3J0_V5M0VbncQjM_r3l2F3bdvqjWnPbb9Na4/s1600/05-16-12+Planter+Box+%25231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQYWKhyphenhypheneh-smLsPTOm1WOK2H0QzH6p3xMlc8MvxikIGm1RbhF2S4Y5W8hcczEe53zB4UJXUFUpKhLDJhgk4EkVd7OeBQX0ynovQCGaOg3J0_V5M0VbncQjM_r3l2F3bdvqjWnPbb9Na4/s320/05-16-12+Planter+Box+%25231.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #1 gets a new addition too!</td></tr>
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Somehow I ended up with an additional Golden Pepper plant and, not wanting to overcrowd the pepper plants in the other box, I popped it into Planter Box #1. You can see it there on the right side of the box between the green bean trellis and the lettuce. I have a sneaking suspicion I may have put some more lettuce or spinach seeds in that exact same spot a couple of days ago, but . . . oops, oh well! :-)<br />
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While I was digging and planting, I noticed some other interesting things were started to sprout:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhkvCVpZZfjUDQSSRWCRuuLEcDR5fYoxeZCeEcjphSnqJtGYBbpduw9ybeg-WaMV0S6MbrX3DlEdZbfJf-l-iQd4TSiudwOYC1dOVWAk3dgPOhhjSE3wuyWkia8q2DwDCxBELushbryI/s1600/05-16-12+carrots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhkvCVpZZfjUDQSSRWCRuuLEcDR5fYoxeZCeEcjphSnqJtGYBbpduw9ybeg-WaMV0S6MbrX3DlEdZbfJf-l-iQd4TSiudwOYC1dOVWAk3dgPOhhjSE3wuyWkia8q2DwDCxBELushbryI/s320/05-16-12+carrots.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrots!</td></tr>
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Yes, the carrots in Planter Box #2 have finally started to sprout! So we may have some yummy carrots at the end of summer after all.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPcl31-F_qBD5SA8G5_4Xx5WAbDdUxQnyzapS7vcyB37ykxfi_S0Zfnq-17U1U85GOdw8XoiG0ossvHahPJdboqhRjfVODdAtagmfMcojeBszwQrfyAU5bjkhICHui9-_lMOXcr5LF8E/s1600/05-16-12+spinach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPcl31-F_qBD5SA8G5_4Xx5WAbDdUxQnyzapS7vcyB37ykxfi_S0Zfnq-17U1U85GOdw8XoiG0ossvHahPJdboqhRjfVODdAtagmfMcojeBszwQrfyAU5bjkhICHui9-_lMOXcr5LF8E/s320/05-16-12+spinach.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spinach marches on . . .</td></tr>
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The spinach seeds are also coming up like crazy . . . I'm supposed to tidy them up when they get two inches high and it looks like they have less than an inch to go. Then I'll cull the plants until they are spaced out about 2 inches apart. My gut tells them to just leave them all because the more plants that grow means the more spinach we'll have to eat, right? Apparently not if I want to have actual edible and abundant spinach . . . keeping them all would just crowd everyone and make them unhappy. And unhappy plants do not grow and produce . . . so I guess that means I'm be culling those spinach plants some time next week.<br />
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Today was pretty overcast but the sun is trying to peep through . . . I hope it does because my new plants need sunshine!<br />
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Cheers!<br />
<br />
- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-44436764134828694892012-05-14T21:09:00.000-07:002012-05-14T21:09:41.144-07:00Some New Additions, Week 3 Update and a MemorialSeattle has been experiencing some beautiful weather - and both people and plants are thriving!<br />
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A belated Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! We spent the day eating the best croissants in Seattle and beautifying the garden.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lYVr3kfDZVZ_qXw-M_KJjpKLlVda_q32BQ3GIhqE7h1qbbcOlOhJ8q8KJq-aW0KSISoiaD3j_qBa6K4zuukmR96mOl0mk-vQ0XheYRjC_upfwljT9qSpYnatkfonhWZmHAe5qqxZ8Jk/s1600/05-14-12+New+chairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4lYVr3kfDZVZ_qXw-M_KJjpKLlVda_q32BQ3GIhqE7h1qbbcOlOhJ8q8KJq-aW0KSISoiaD3j_qBa6K4zuukmR96mOl0mk-vQ0XheYRjC_upfwljT9qSpYnatkfonhWZmHAe5qqxZ8Jk/s320/05-14-12+New+chairs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine and beer . . . included. The wonderful husband is all mine!</td></tr>
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We bought some great Adirondack chairs from Fred Meyer (plus a little W-sized chair as well) and did quite a bit of relaxing in the sun.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOttHXGTo5JJUZ3wQaLoCFjBAdobOOFFXuaxG6IQWpUOX5xCPqeCvMdR4n65HbiD5zG6KAdCHy1xbetyfV_2JrYuLlW0u4blUZoqsl3HJp8wTS3IL7-BQFKP5mJ1AHOnh1F6bcMBqZZY/s1600/05-14-12+tugboat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOttHXGTo5JJUZ3wQaLoCFjBAdobOOFFXuaxG6IQWpUOX5xCPqeCvMdR4n65HbiD5zG6KAdCHy1xbetyfV_2JrYuLlW0u4blUZoqsl3HJp8wTS3IL7-BQFKP5mJ1AHOnh1F6bcMBqZZY/s320/05-14-12+tugboat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The S.S. Weston!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Our backyard neighbors gifted us with a tugboat sandbox, just the right size for W. He spent most of the afternoon yelling "boap" and throwing rocks into the bottom. I believe that's his idea of a perfect afternoon :-)<br />
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We did do some actual work though: <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3HUyv4TdPM_6CS-nCdis8-DfZFbYmT_4yMX1-8hz0RdA34d1VGl9jX5NIZhOsPrme65MFTmmxOZYcRp33gffLxaPEsYPkStJ5pybSSgGg2xuGoK3cdx2R3w-Ck-J-h60ALrE84zKq6c/s1600/05-14-12+Future+Pumpkin+Patch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3HUyv4TdPM_6CS-nCdis8-DfZFbYmT_4yMX1-8hz0RdA34d1VGl9jX5NIZhOsPrme65MFTmmxOZYcRp33gffLxaPEsYPkStJ5pybSSgGg2xuGoK3cdx2R3w-Ck-J-h60ALrE84zKq6c/s320/05-14-12+Future+Pumpkin+Patch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awaiting pumpkins . . .</td></tr>
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My wonderful husband, B, tilled the future pumpkin (and potato and leek) patch and bought some compost so it is all ready for planting. He had quite a time removing the bamboo stalks (those suckers have some DEEP and STRONG roots!) and was only able to saw the tops of the stalks off above the soil . . . so we'll probably be revisited by bamboo next year. But at least he'll know what to do. My goal this week is to dig the trenches for the potatoes and plant the leek and pumpkin seeds. I found information on growing potatoes <a href="http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/2012/03/how-to-grow-your-own-food-how-to-plant-potatoes/" target="_blank">here</a> at one of my favorite gardening blogs, <a href="http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/" target="_blank">One Hundred Dollars A Month</a>.<br />
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We also suffered a loss this week in the garden:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5achBRwO37ZjZN3K_I3VNkIy8CYfTtfZtZJ-bAwbEhyphenhyphenc-v8CFpsHtoH4j5lwBSiHmjTuhwCeHmLEDMZ4qWZwZknGV6GR0AXeYtpalPWH7JjaTye_p6f0DAdoRoBapHHEKYIM2uJ-bObI/s1600/Poor+Blueberry+5-14-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5achBRwO37ZjZN3K_I3VNkIy8CYfTtfZtZJ-bAwbEhyphenhyphenc-v8CFpsHtoH4j5lwBSiHmjTuhwCeHmLEDMZ4qWZwZknGV6GR0AXeYtpalPWH7JjaTye_p6f0DAdoRoBapHHEKYIM2uJ-bObI/s320/Poor+Blueberry+5-14-08.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R.I.P. 5-13-12</td></tr>
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Someone (and I won't name names, but this person has tiny little feet and is known for running wild through the garden, yelling "Was Dat?!?!") stepped on the poor little twig of a blueberry plant and broke it off from its roots. Now it truly IS just a twig. Oh well, guess that means no homegrown blueberries this season . . . unless I can get my hands on another plant (preferably one that looks like something more than a twig!).<br />
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Now for the Week 3 garden tour:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigL59eoub0zI9MhARcAYzdK4j5lQkJ8tssuHO_bRHAnxuKPi5QddaLUTR3bmszn4RtgWuyMNjXCxLwU6qG46lzElueu7mG_7Tp9JUYhr9izIqOY1QL9X6aVHGr76NtFsFVF4S6vmdUmI/s1600/05-14-12+Planter+Box+%25231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigL59eoub0zI9MhARcAYzdK4j5lQkJ8tssuHO_bRHAnxuKPi5QddaLUTR3bmszn4RtgWuyMNjXCxLwU6qG46lzElueu7mG_7Tp9JUYhr9izIqOY1QL9X6aVHGr76NtFsFVF4S6vmdUmI/s320/05-14-12+Planter+Box+%25231.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #1 . . . sprouting and proud!</td></tr>
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Planter Box #1 is doing great! The lettuce is almost ready to be harvested, I think! Several websites I read (and one video) gave me a good idea of when to pick it (when it grows between 4-6 inches) and how to ensure regrowth (leave 1/2 inch of the stem). We are almost there! I'm thinking that maybe Thursday or Friday would be a good day for a garden salad. More good news, both the spinach and leaf lettuce seeds have sprouted and are forming 2 wonderful lines of green stems. I know I'll have to cull them a little when they get bigger, but for now I'm enjoying the abundance of future salad fixins! The beans haven't sprouted yet (I really think the weather hasn't been warm enough) so I went ahead and planted 5 more seeds, but I have to admit that I did see a newly sprouted green bean seed starting to grow underground, so I'm confident I will see something very soon. And before you wonder, how did I see what was going on . . . UNDERGROUND? Well, let's just say that <i>someone </i>(yes, the same someone that stepped on the poor blueberry twig) pulled out one of the trellis twines and when I was digging it back into the soil, I saw the sprouted seed. I quickly covered both the seed and the twine with soil and let it be. I'm hoping the seed didn't see me and doesn't become too shy to find its way to the surface :-)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEXnoVDZPImwNPvZqikPQE7hpDTLUn4E00-vXxjmuH_B3Ygh2POeAkc8v2HEO3u7WA7jCZBzZU2oHo-RJ50khdTNF6m1JDGk1UCzSiuidN9s1WhT2zeNNJ9QhYxd9ovWL46PgcVj3T98/s1600/05-14-12+Planter+Box+%25232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEXnoVDZPImwNPvZqikPQE7hpDTLUn4E00-vXxjmuH_B3Ygh2POeAkc8v2HEO3u7WA7jCZBzZU2oHo-RJ50khdTNF6m1JDGk1UCzSiuidN9s1WhT2zeNNJ9QhYxd9ovWL46PgcVj3T98/s320/05-14-12+Planter+Box+%25232.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Basil has friends . . . finally!</td></tr>
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Planter Box #2 is still awaiting several tomato, pepper, and zucchini plants (which will arrive on Tuesday and hopefully be planted soon after!), but I was able to plant some more Walla Walla onion starts at the far end to join the lonely Basil and yet-to-sprout carrot seeds. The onion starts came from a neighbor and friend who already had too many onions so she offered them to me and I said yes. After planting and looking over both planter boxes, I'm thinking that I probably had too many onions before I took the excess, but . . . oh well, we can always use more onions. The Basil is loving the warm weather and the carrots have yet to make and appearance but I'm keeping my eye out.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCnIXYduf3pSlb_H_unWJapBffDNSDhB074YBUgmdsP_Q3C1BKSuQECM1joZsJfcuAhKB9AFD13jKHbZmc0abxYE70LAfjY5WTn1ke86ijBX-L7wv7cugx77d4nMgVPlf8TODOT2bKuE/s1600/05-14-12+Columbine+flowering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCnIXYduf3pSlb_H_unWJapBffDNSDhB074YBUgmdsP_Q3C1BKSuQECM1joZsJfcuAhKB9AFD13jKHbZmc0abxYE70LAfjY5WTn1ke86ijBX-L7wv7cugx77d4nMgVPlf8TODOT2bKuE/s320/05-14-12+Columbine+flowering.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First bloom!</td></tr>
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The Columbine I planted last year (that I had thought had died about 2 weeks after I planted it and I basically forgot to remove what I thought were the dead roots) is thriving this year! It has started to blossom and is producing the most beautiful flowers. They make a nice backdrop for my planter boxes. It just goes to show that something that fails one year can be a huge success the next. I'm hoping that goes for a lot of the things in my garden this year!<br />
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Also, the strawberries, Dahlias, and Raspberries are doing quite well and seem to be growing, growing, growing everyday. I swear the Dahlias have doubled in size since I planted them last Tuesday!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMikvypqyvelUfnMfqm1xEbU-FfQZpOQl6U5l2i6eq948IOEsvHR_6vvWA1R4PGLf-dO1iuJjEVUI6xr6AXgGTy_ISSspKprbNLD0ioWfB7YVWhqdmWU8mjxQ8RZyOpE7vX7SD7IWVZs/s1600/05-14-12+Strawberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMikvypqyvelUfnMfqm1xEbU-FfQZpOQl6U5l2i6eq948IOEsvHR_6vvWA1R4PGLf-dO1iuJjEVUI6xr6AXgGTy_ISSspKprbNLD0ioWfB7YVWhqdmWU8mjxQ8RZyOpE7vX7SD7IWVZs/s320/05-14-12+Strawberries.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberries soaking up the last rays of sunlight . . .</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDipiar_GBf1TAh6jCrkZ4wlUt-nhV5_3gKgHYeoMs7SZ31tnhoVl3M4-DpI9dVux2OAQ_c3-0exoX7B2b-o1kxQEpSA5MR78qmpJfb6k7O4QhBChMf-5DEmXUKPB9LjR1pjqj2ah10gs/s1600/05-14-12+Dahlias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDipiar_GBf1TAh6jCrkZ4wlUt-nhV5_3gKgHYeoMs7SZ31tnhoVl3M4-DpI9dVux2OAQ_c3-0exoX7B2b-o1kxQEpSA5MR78qmpJfb6k7O4QhBChMf-5DEmXUKPB9LjR1pjqj2ah10gs/s320/05-14-12+Dahlias.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grow little Dahlias, grow!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3t0ls6aXoT5Wido3TrM1RZEYRMdSmLiBMJ79tnCFGcB4z6j0-GgpJz-y-v-af3VAM1SgH0iPhP-a3Urp_5w_5lvAECnFMwK3yOnvz-1w4q_L2m_8GUTzKObpAt_XcC6llzjKbMG2x90I/s1600/05-14-12+Raspberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3t0ls6aXoT5Wido3TrM1RZEYRMdSmLiBMJ79tnCFGcB4z6j0-GgpJz-y-v-af3VAM1SgH0iPhP-a3Urp_5w_5lvAECnFMwK3yOnvz-1w4q_L2m_8GUTzKObpAt_XcC6llzjKbMG2x90I/s320/05-14-12+Raspberries.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awaiting the raspberries to come . . .</td></tr>
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Overall, the garden is coming along nicely and it's only been 3 weeks! I really hope this beautiful weather continues. The sun is a garden's best friend.<br />
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Cheers (and enjoy the sunshine!),<br />
<br />
- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-78769414513328976922012-05-08T19:50:00.001-07:002012-05-08T19:52:02.867-07:00The Dahlia Dilemma and Some Sprouts!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmEHaetcc7_DuUuMMZLm_lHDwik4XzTCcgE14gD7m36GhYNEKPPSgxhzBSPXtqOJQZwsRkmH4JdTPDG7rgGKZYAsRVQx92UBpWtRj_7INzQiz33wayxlWqElkKh9wFBbpBGm9xUN2XwQ/s1600/Dahlias+and+Snapdragons+5-8-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmEHaetcc7_DuUuMMZLm_lHDwik4XzTCcgE14gD7m36GhYNEKPPSgxhzBSPXtqOJQZwsRkmH4JdTPDG7rgGKZYAsRVQx92UBpWtRj_7INzQiz33wayxlWqElkKh9wFBbpBGm9xUN2XwQ/s320/Dahlias+and+Snapdragons+5-8-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where will we go?</td></tr>
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This flat of poor Dahlias and Snapdragons have been patiently waiting for me to find a spot for them to live (at least for the season). Since they've been sitting there for about 2 weeks, I finally decided now was as good a time as any to get them in the ground.<br />
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I decided they would go in the bed on the side of our yard. But first, some maintenance was needed:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxONBi6bWX9PmuRWPVaHuEuphnk4Z98bA71XjjaJoseupNzatfq81QlDNQa_Wscth_JrZlXIvYU1bz6H8Jt0q1zp7yMesJ-wwvWGcVkTgIERSAst2ibwCLyIHKnpt6VOC7dRZqaa-m6Rg/s1600/Side+bed+before+5-8-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxONBi6bWX9PmuRWPVaHuEuphnk4Z98bA71XjjaJoseupNzatfq81QlDNQa_Wscth_JrZlXIvYU1bz6H8Jt0q1zp7yMesJ-wwvWGcVkTgIERSAst2ibwCLyIHKnpt6VOC7dRZqaa-m6Rg/s320/Side+bed+before+5-8-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side bed - before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There was plenty of weeds that needed to be removed, as well as some ivy that was making its way over from the neighbor's yard. You never know what you're going to find when you dig in the dirt:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR3eNDY6b8Aa80FPRSVbAS-GPklUHywuXaFHsyZqUj1D050KRh9HhyphenhyphenHeDYeQC4ubmcMTbxAx9Fg9pNZkbZMVnzWRIRN6m3D5Xt7IP55Ji-Rpe_V848IDhi66ME-XzNuI-wXL_b-Npf8E/s1600/Found+in+side+bed+5-8-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR3eNDY6b8Aa80FPRSVbAS-GPklUHywuXaFHsyZqUj1D050KRh9HhyphenhyphenHeDYeQC4ubmcMTbxAx9Fg9pNZkbZMVnzWRIRN6m3D5Xt7IP55Ji-Rpe_V848IDhi66ME-XzNuI-wXL_b-Npf8E/s320/Found+in+side+bed+5-8-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Missing something?</td></tr>
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I was a little leery pulling that thing up. I could only see the tip of the handle peeking out and I had no idea how big it was or even what it was. Turned out to be an innocent (though well-rusted) pair of pliers, but it could have been anything - including a cast iron pan, which we have found in the garden before! I wonder what the people who lived here before were thinking? Did they just bury unnecessary objects in the ground? I'm a little nervous about what else I might find!<br />
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After about an hour of work (and disturbing several earthworms and other various garden residents), the side bed was ready for planting:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFmbKc4vIF9_D1m5m9p6WItw8OYeVDO8fPXJxbjFmhnf-T62yCCIISvPmRiL3jjrMspmFXXycmLzjcAcZbvYAwlMMS7GvnqE4w3h-7DOsM1_vIHep3fmCkf4pvC4G_o8cZ3Xq-ByvYBA/s1600/Side+bed+after+5-8-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFmbKc4vIF9_D1m5m9p6WItw8OYeVDO8fPXJxbjFmhnf-T62yCCIISvPmRiL3jjrMspmFXXycmLzjcAcZbvYAwlMMS7GvnqE4w3h-7DOsM1_vIHep3fmCkf4pvC4G_o8cZ3Xq-ByvYBA/s320/Side+bed+after+5-8-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side bed - after</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I planted the 6 Dahlias on the left side of the rocks and 3 of the Snapdragons to the right. The other 3 Snapdragons have found a new home at the front of the house, near the front door (I'll try to get a picture of the front yard plants later this week). I'm hoping they grow and bloom into some beautiful summer flowers!<br />
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In other garden related news - some seeds have sprouted in Planter Box #1!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9F6AUBq6EprFNMq-lo0NQF9espYx_4RcGGJLg9lSZWqImfqcWXMYQKb6OoK3tqwKwEWr5hj-HTAnLYfgoQdGSysjBAGo0nkkO0sOhHb9Ae1r1oo7YPF1uU9n1OiF6rhtUpppaIMT4luk/s1600/5-8-12+Spinach+sprouts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9F6AUBq6EprFNMq-lo0NQF9espYx_4RcGGJLg9lSZWqImfqcWXMYQKb6OoK3tqwKwEWr5hj-HTAnLYfgoQdGSysjBAGo0nkkO0sOhHb9Ae1r1oo7YPF1uU9n1OiF6rhtUpppaIMT4luk/s320/5-8-12+Spinach+sprouts.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someday we will be spinach!</td></tr>
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In a perfect little row, right where I planted the spinach seeds, some sprouts have appeared! Yay! I'm pretty excited and finally have some proof that those itsy-bitsy seeds are actually doing their thing underground. I'm hoping for lots of big salads later in the summer!<br />
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I continue to be grateful for the milder and warmer weather and hope that the sun keeps shining down on my (soon-to-be) beautiful garden!<br />
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Cheers!<br />
<br />
- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-13797437503299063502012-05-06T12:53:00.000-07:002012-05-06T12:53:20.056-07:00A Trip Around the Garden & Week 2 UpdateFinally, a sunny day in Seattle! We really needed this sunshine and dry weather, especially after what felt like ages of rain (OK actually only about 3 days, but when you're ready for sunshine, even 1 day of rain feels like an eternity!). I was afraid that my poor, little, newbie plants had gotten waterlogged, but I guess Seattle plants have to get used to the rain too and just tough it out (much like their human counterparts). <br />
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Let's take a tour around the garden and check on the Week 2 progress:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GiIztSNQNe4hTfAfI4AWQNW6lWEjc2Wk2kSvlgUExPCBNjmEC5r6RODqDDwim5skbU-okEK3qDz3Hpk1HaX6PYKXMZ8TOpxkbpSq_UkAIlilDmxI0qDkBj5egz2s6H73Dr_b05g06Hc/s1600/Planter+box+1+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GiIztSNQNe4hTfAfI4AWQNW6lWEjc2Wk2kSvlgUExPCBNjmEC5r6RODqDDwim5skbU-okEK3qDz3Hpk1HaX6PYKXMZ8TOpxkbpSq_UkAIlilDmxI0qDkBj5egz2s6H73Dr_b05g06Hc/s320/Planter+box+1+5-6-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planter Box #1 - filling up!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As you can see, there have been some changes to Planter Box #1! The salad lettuce seemed to have loved the rain and I think definitely looks bigger and fuller than last week. I'll have to use the newbie gardener's best friend (Google) and look up information on how and when to harvest the lettuce. I also separated the Walla Walla Onions so they could grow to normal size and, let me tell you, THAT is a dull job. Six little bunches of onion starts quickly became hundreds of separate onions . . . alright, not hundreds, but probably 25-30 and when you're kneeling on the ground, gently pulling those little suckers apart and then digging separate little holes for each one . . . it sure feels like hundreds! But it's done and now they had better grow some good, large onions for me! Also, since the onions took up a lot of room, I decided to move the zucchinis to the other planter box and plant the parsley and sage in here. See them? They're right next to the Black Cherry tomato plant that is now sporting a lovely tomato cage ($1 at Fred Meyer, can't beat that!). Hopefully that little plant will grow into its cage and use the support to grow tons of yummy little tomatoes for W.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdCHfIshp1dgo0gTr95IwhHof2mI24_PiCVtHGPTASxMh0h-FZLPelHOX4f4RAoEcjWbSM__O0o3RtFwrfTQug3zmrxwqQJESLIYymzWJWuajLD-tQMGwIsCmB4eoP786LDI9eGHGAl4/s1600/Planter+box+1+seedlings+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdCHfIshp1dgo0gTr95IwhHof2mI24_PiCVtHGPTASxMh0h-FZLPelHOX4f4RAoEcjWbSM__O0o3RtFwrfTQug3zmrxwqQJESLIYymzWJWuajLD-tQMGwIsCmB4eoP786LDI9eGHGAl4/s320/Planter+box+1+seedlings+5-6-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No sprouts yet!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No sightings of any lettuce, spinach, or green bean sprouts. I'm not surprised because of the rain and lack of sun, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I see something soon. I can't wait to see those green beans winding their way up the twine trellis!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8_bjRd-aZLKvHAIUKj6nQ-sZ1QCMf9emyx-iLFSX_nep9B7JU9JStDXwk7c4jiyeRub2iADDT1Y3Rwj0N3MQ7GWMyFhGVb7rbmidD_5d3ovHiNKdknfYuzbT4WHet02nq_8UIbsKreU/s1600/Planter+box+2+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8_bjRd-aZLKvHAIUKj6nQ-sZ1QCMf9emyx-iLFSX_nep9B7JU9JStDXwk7c4jiyeRub2iADDT1Y3Rwj0N3MQ7GWMyFhGVb7rbmidD_5d3ovHiNKdknfYuzbT4WHet02nq_8UIbsKreU/s320/Planter+box+2+5-6-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The basil stands alone!</td></tr>
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I also had a chance to work on Planter Box #2 this week. I didn't do much, since my tomatoes, zucchinis, and peppers are still growing big and strong in their warm greenhouse at the nursery, but I did mark out some space for the tomatoes when they do arrive (rocks and plant tags seemed like a good way to reuse materials - recycling!). For now, I planted the basil and some carrot seeds around the perimeter of where 2 of the tomatoes will eventually go . . . so basically they are in a square around the rocks. I read a great article about companion gardening <a href="http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/2012/04/how-to-grow-your-own-food-companion-planting-thinking-ahead/" target="_blank">here </a>and learned that carrots and tomatoes grow great together. I'm excited to see if it works!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswTX-LEj5BBwQY71tzT5xNYVlL6iJzX9vywir7m9eQin3r6XtdyYyVn7ABiAN5J53c6peMG-_v9R1tc889ccRqwBNPnaNkLgn8VZ0WmDuJnpEZgWTCivr8-S_06fb1xFgMI0Cstjldbw/s1600/Strawberries+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswTX-LEj5BBwQY71tzT5xNYVlL6iJzX9vywir7m9eQin3r6XtdyYyVn7ABiAN5J53c6peMG-_v9R1tc889ccRqwBNPnaNkLgn8VZ0WmDuJnpEZgWTCivr8-S_06fb1xFgMI0Cstjldbw/s320/Strawberries+5-6-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberries . . . and a blueberry!</td></tr>
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Along the edge of my planter boxes, I've planted 3 new strawberry plants to go with the strawberry I planted last year (the one from last year is at the top in this photo). We only had 2 strawberries actually grow to pick-able size last year, but man they were good! This year, I hope to harvest at least 4 times as many! LOL! Luckily my older strawberry plant is showing signs of at least 6 buds so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4V-v_2lWm8sUsWnDWu6xNgaxxUNv3XmPldjDXSS2ToP-PFlJL4HioXIIKtg0lvnov1CGHm7j9FKDrUmjSvysHUFqmWAFB2Lgi-1heuhpJqd7szOqTar11PWR_f2iuVmT4jOXC8vswG4/s1600/Blueberry+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4V-v_2lWm8sUsWnDWu6xNgaxxUNv3XmPldjDXSS2ToP-PFlJL4HioXIIKtg0lvnov1CGHm7j9FKDrUmjSvysHUFqmWAFB2Lgi-1heuhpJqd7szOqTar11PWR_f2iuVmT4jOXC8vswG4/s320/Blueberry+5-6-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a blueberry!?</td></tr>
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Barely visible between the oldest strawberry plant and the one below it is a blueberry plant . . . at least it's supposed to be a blueberry. Right now it looks like a stick. Hmmmm . . . how in the world will this twig become a fruit bearing plant? I hope it somehow transforms because W loves blueberries!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnw7ERxLdTAcXpCsorZGV2Y_Krt_US9SkJ0slwAk5FMs4TX-3g9gh9LGfr9k6sILlyta-6Zx0FXCw64_JVEtvLuEDYLEzXiiJ9kfxHLKvxAhRNHxJueGSmbwTLZCJrgWFQMezV6UieXyI/s1600/Raspberries+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnw7ERxLdTAcXpCsorZGV2Y_Krt_US9SkJ0slwAk5FMs4TX-3g9gh9LGfr9k6sILlyta-6Zx0FXCw64_JVEtvLuEDYLEzXiiJ9kfxHLKvxAhRNHxJueGSmbwTLZCJrgWFQMezV6UieXyI/s320/Raspberries+5-6-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raspberries!</td></tr>
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These raspberries were here when we moved in and have consistently borne lots of fruit without any effort on my part. This year, I trimmed them back over the winter and culled all the dead plants, plus I'm in the process of removing a bunch of what my neighbors calls 'bind weed' from the base of the plants. This little weed wraps itself around any plant it can find and basically sucks the life right out of it. The poor raspberries were covered with it! That they actually bloomed and gave fruit every year is a miracle and I'm hoping that my efforts this year will help it do even better. Of course, there's always the chance that I broke something that didn't need fixing but . . . *sigh*<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1D6acETHAk17h8VOnGe7F1XEmJASsPd9CYh5lQV8I8qqwzgxhqj_widUo9RwLRI3xXL2RNo3fKjDszRouaOHfkkKeIG9BokbFX9hHf7JlrVWVl2_yFz_7hkcb7YVvaaiJKYS1AaQt9L8/s1600/Pumpkin+patch+5-6-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1D6acETHAk17h8VOnGe7F1XEmJASsPd9CYh5lQV8I8qqwzgxhqj_widUo9RwLRI3xXL2RNo3fKjDszRouaOHfkkKeIG9BokbFX9hHf7JlrVWVl2_yFz_7hkcb7YVvaaiJKYS1AaQt9L8/s320/Pumpkin+patch+5-6-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weed garden?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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In the next few days, I'm hoping to pull all of the weeds and bamboo out of this sunny spot and turn it into . . . a pumpkin patch! Well not just a pumpkins patch since I'm going to experiment with growing potatoes and leeks too, but pumpkin patch just sounds better than pumpkin, potato, and leek patch.<br />
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Hope everyone out there is enjoying the sunshine, I know my plants are!<br />
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Cheers!<br />
<br />
- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-50313010387861626142012-05-04T14:17:00.000-07:002012-05-04T14:17:23.584-07:00My New Favorite Website!Currently I'm following the adventures of Mavis at <a href="http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/" target="_blank">One Hundred Dollars A Month</a>. She's trying to grow 2000 lbs of food this summer in her backyard, and she lives somewhere in Seattle so I know that her gardening tips are relevant to my own crazy-rainy climate.<br />
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So far, she's given me the idea to plant potatoes and leeks, as well as directed me to some really helpful gardening tutorials. I hope to know half as much about gardening as she does someday.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088974773661886574.post-56592019859737092972012-05-04T13:57:00.000-07:002012-05-04T13:57:10.849-07:00Gardening for DummiesI'm a total gardening newbie. I've dabbled for the past two years with
growing a few tomatoes and herbs, but this is the first year that I've
really planned out a full scale vegetable garden and then gone ahead and
actually implemented it. Thanks to my wonderful husband B, I now have
two beautiful planter boxes that will hold my (*fingers crossed*)
abundance of yummy veggies. <br />
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Here is the picture of my half-completed garden, Planter box #1<br />
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I've got bush bean seeds planted under the string trellis, then between
that and the salad mix starts are a row each of leaf lettuce and
spinach. It's my first time ever growing from seed and I know I probably
should have started them indoors, but if you saw what a mad house I
live in, you'd know that the seeds are much safer starting themselves
outside in the ground.<br />
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Beyond the salad mix starts is one black cherry tomato plant, then 6
little bunches of Walla Walla onions. I was told by a neighbor this
morning that if I want the onions to grow to their normal size, I need
to separate each bunch into individuals plants and put them about 3
inches apart, so the next time a sun break coincides with my toddler, W's nap, I'll
be out there separating. At the very end of the planter (on the top in
this picture) are 2 of my herbs, Cilantro on the left and English Thyme
on the right. And if you notice just below the Cilantro, there are two
sticks. No, I am not planning on growing sticks. Those were just to
remind me that I needed to leave room for my zucchini plants which
haven't arrived from the greenhouse yet. Though I might have to
reconfigure things now that I know that each onion has to be separated. I
might move one zucchini plant to the other box and spread the onions
out a little more. I plan on either letting the zucchini trail over the
side of the planter or staking them up somehow. I also need a stake or
one of those tomato tower thingies (that's the technical term I believe)
for the tomato in this planter and the 5 more I plan to plant in the
other one. Yes, we love tomatoes! Especially W who eats grape and cherry
tomatoes like candy.<br />
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It's a pretty wet day here in Western Washington, so I'm glad I got my
garden started before the rain and wind came . . . otherwise I might
have been tempted to just wait until the next sunny day (which in
Seattle, might NEVER come!). <br />
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Cheers!<br />
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- cChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01245225069479067248noreply@blogger.com0