Garden Time

Aaaaand, turning to a happier topic…

We will be doing the same CSA as we did last summer so we are getting very excited for lots of wonderful veggies to come.  The things I selected to plant around the yard were things for canning and/or to fill in CSA gaps.  I thought I would photograph, label, and blog so there is at least a remote possibility I’ll remember what is where when things start sprouting.  First, the little garden plot:

Herbs in front…we got the onions as transplants from a friend, the cilantro was just seeded today and the oregano and sage are back from last year

Tomatoes around the edge…three varieties.  We ran way short on canned tomatoes last year, partly due to the late blight, so my motto is “Never too many tomatoes.”

The three sisters in the middle…corn, beans, and squash.  Since we get a ton of regular squash from our CSA, we did half in sugar pumpkins and half in birdhouse gourds.  We will experiment with dried corn and cornmeal with the corn, dried beans to be canned for chili, pumpkins for canning, and birdhouse gourds to dry and make into projects.

Next along the side yard:

Watermelon for eating and rinds for watermelon pickles and a little bit of soybeans for edamame snacks.

In the front:

Lavendar for drying and making lavender syrup.  I have gotten fatally hooked on lavendar white chocolate iced mochas at the ‘Bou and rose white chocolate iced mochas at the Ear.  Wild flowers are for the pretty.  I will try again with bulbs in the fall.  I planted bulbs in the fall shortly after we moved here, but they keep getting nibbled by critters.  Not enough to completely kill them off, but enough to keep them from budding or thriving.  The little SOBs were tunneling under the steps and up into the bed.  So this spring I dug all the dirt (down to clay) out of the planter, made a five sided wire cage out of wire mesh left over from the compost bin project, and put the dirt back.  We’ll let the rodents give it the old college try over the summer and plant bulbs this fall if it is a success.

And finally, herbs on the porch:

The only planting I have left is three topsy-turvey planters that I will plant with seedlings that I’ll get when our CSA has its open house, a rhubarb plant I got at farmers’ market last week and some Lily of the Valley that will be put along the back of the house.  I’m thinking a cherry tomato, a jalapeno, and maybe a green pepper for the topsy-turveys.