Saturday, April 12, 2008

Out with the old, in with the new

It's time to say goodbye to our winter garden. Our little patch did pretty well this year, but here you see it all going to seed. The vegetable garden is not large because we have a smallish backyard and lots of tall, mature trees. This area in the back corner of our yard is the only area that receives enough direct sun to support growing vegetables. But, despite the limited sunshine, the cilantro, mesclun (mixed greens), dill and carrots did well. The spinach didn't grow so well. I think our soil might be deficient in something that spinach needs. I'll need to research that and amend the soil before we plant again next fall.
We had one thing left to harvest: the carrots. I think they are actually kind of pretty.
Here's our little haul. Not very impressive, but the kids liked pulling and eating them.
And, here's our new summer vegetable garden. You can see that by the time we were done, the shade was already encroaching on it. We tried to squeeze a lot into our little space. You can't really see them, but on the left are 4 or 5 tomato plants, a red bell pepper plant, onions, and some marigolds. The scent of the marigolds is supposed to help deter harmful bugs. On the right hand side is basil, more onions, and radishes. We also planted a few pots that can be moved to capture the most sun with yellow squash, zucchini and some cherry tomatoes. I hope our garden does well this year. My mouth is already watering for the things I can make with this great fresh produce!
Here's our littlest helper who turns eleven months old today. Yes, I know, he's playing on the bags of compost and manure. But, hey, at least it's organic! :)

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