My Garden is almost all planted

I have spent the better part of the last 3 days working in my garden and I almost have it all planted. I almost said I was almost done, but garden work is never really done. Anyway, it is going to have quite a different look this year. I am adding two things I didn't have much of last year: color and height. I have planted many flowers. You can see the yellow Tickseed in the near right corner along with the red geranium and purple violet I got for Mother's Day. My chives and sage are still blooming. And I have planted Cosmos, Nasturtiums, Marigolds, Indian Blankets, Bee Balm and flowering herbs like dill and anise hyssop. Those beneficial insects will be swarming! I also have the pea trellises (you can see the peas are now half-way up the trellises I built). There are several small peas popping out on the plants and they should be ready to pick in the next week or two. I also had my 7yo son help me build the 7 teepees for the pole beans in front.

Besides the flowers and herbs I already mentioned, here's a list of what I've planted this year:

* Tomatoes - Cherokee Purple (3)
* Tomatoes - Brandywines (2)
* Tomatoes - Roma (4)
* Tomatoes - Black Cherry (1)
* Tomatoes - Golden Nugget (1)
* Tomatoes - Green Zebra (1)
* Tomatoes - mystery (1) - I forgot by the time I got it home what it is
* Pepper - bell "Big Bertha" (4)
* Pepper - Sweet Banana peppers (4)
* Pepper - Habeneros (4)
* Pepper - Jalepenos (4)
* Eggplant - Black Beauty (3)
* Peas - approx. 80 plants
* Beans - green bush "Blue Lake" (1 row so far)
* Beans - black bush "Black Turtle" (2 rows)
* Beans - green pole "Kentucky Wonder" (63 plants)
* Corn - sweet yellow "Country Gentleman" (4 rows in a block)
* Cucumber - (forgot the variety) (2)
* Beets - Tall Top Early Wonder (2 rows)
* Radishes - Crimson Giant (1 row inside pea trellis)
* Lettuce - mixture (1 row inside pea trellis)
* Broccoli - (1)
* Cauliflower - (4)
* Cabbage - (2)
* Garlic - (4)

I have to admit, I've bought Beauregard Sweet Potatoes, but they have been on the bottom of my priority list and I'm too exhausted to put them in tonight. But I will do it tomorrow definitely!

Here are some more photos I took today:
Sage in bloom.

Pea trellis with plants growing half-way up to the top. Also the sage is a lot bigger in this photo than the last one I took.

My one surviving broccoli plant. I don't know if it will produce much to eat, but isn't it pretty?

One of my eggplants. This photo shows two things I've done to organically help along my garden. First, I used bathroom dixie cups with their bottoms cut out to make cutworm collars for my eggplants. This should prevent cutworms from severing the stem at the surface of the ground while the plant is young and vulnerable. Also, I am mulching all of my established plants with grass clippings from lawnmowing. It does an amazing job of keeping the soil moist as the sun is already beating down on us. Unmulched soil is caked and cracked like concrete. But when I scraped away the grass clippings just next to the cracked soil, it was cool and moist and loamy. Perfect!

Today's local weather:
High temp: 78 F
Low temp: 58 F
Sunny and warm

Already falling behind schedule

Yesterday, the high temp was 70 F which was perfect to work in the garden. We had added 400 lbs. of composted cow manure to half of the garden a couple of weeks ago. But yesterday I decided to add another 400 lbs. to the other half of the garden. My 7yo son, bless his heart, was eager to help me with his new Spongebob gardening gloves and cultivating tools. I even got my husband to help dig the manure in when I started losing steam. I was surprised by how many weeds were already there. The worst place for weeds was right at the edge of each border where it met the walkway. I used my hoe to get the biggest ones out. As soon as I get the chance (weather and money permitting), I need to buy some hardwood mulch, bring the newspapers out of the recycling bin, and cover my walkways. I can't let the weeds get the upper hand and, in my experience, that's what June is all about. What's that old saying? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?

So anyway, we finished amending the garden soil and made plans for the walkways. Also, yesterday I noticed my peas peeking their heads above the soil. You have to look kind of close to see them, but they are definitely there. The two pea beds are on the outer northeast corner of the garden. The corner where they come together was unplanted until a few days ago. I planted cosmos seeds there. I can't wait for them to bloom!

I grew cosmos in the front yard just in front of our master bedroom window when we first moved here. As my memory serves, they grow to be around 4 feet tall with lacy foliage and delicate flowers. I bought the seeds for the variety that has flowers in different shades of pink. That's what I grew before and I loved them so I bought the same this time. I'm growing the cosmos in the garden for two reasons. First, they are beautiful and will make good cutting flowers for a vase on my summertime table. My second reason for growing them is that I hope to attract beneficial insects and bees and hummingbirds by planting a variety of flowers throughout the garden. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, the cosmos isn't really in a phase of spectacular bloom until around September. That's a long time to wait. But it is definitely worth it.

Meanwhile, it is colder today. It rained overnight (good news for the peas and cosmos). I want and need to get back outside and do more work, but I'm waiting for it to warm up a little more. Here is my garden "to do" list for today:

* water cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and onion seedlings in indoor peat pots
* plant new flat of tomato and pepper seeds
* plant outside seeds of beets, radishes, lettuces (and maybe more cabbage/broccoli)
* plant annual flower seeds in various parts of the garden

On my kitchen table right now, I have lots of seeds to be planted. For peppers, I only have California Wonder (sweet) peppers and an early variety of jalepenos. I would like to get one more kind of hot pepper at least. As for tomatoes, I already have seeds for roma, organic cherry tomatoes, sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, yellow pear, and grape tomatoes. I have ordered seeds for Cherokee Purples and Brandywines, but they haven't arrived yet.

Tomorrow is opening day for an area farmer's market, and we plan to be there. We are gradually adapting a locavore diet (eating locally grown/farmed food as much as possible) so we plan to hit up our farmer's markets to supplement what we grow ourselves.

Today's local weather:
High temp: 53 F
Low temp: 34 F
Partly cloudy and windy with wind gusts up to 40mph.

And So It Begins...

Today I finally started my first seeds for the 2009 garden season. I had planned to start cabbage last weekend. But I got so busy with the "get ready for the coming week" chores that I didn't have time.

So today, I started seeds for 2 kinds of cabbage, 2 kinds of cauliflower, broccoli, and yellow onions. They are in a flat in my laundry room where it is warm until they sprout. Then I will move them under the lights.

I still have about 3 weeks before I can plant anything outside. I have bought lots of pea seeds to plant then. I will also plant lettuce and spinach then. I may even try some radishes this year.

This time of year is so exciting!

Today's local weather:
High temp: 32 F
Low temp: 24 F
Partly cloudy and windy