We got a good bit of work done today. The asparagus was starting to come up, so I put on the final layer of compost over that.
It looks less and less asparagus-like as it grows into more of a fern, but it was fun to think that in a couple of years we could be eating these!I took all the surviving seedlings (turns out that only the spinach and lettuce survived the top being blown off our hooped bed the night it got down to 22 degrees!), and planted those in the front yard. Here you can see how many seedlings ended up not surviving. These were nearly all full before the fateful night.
I moved a bunch of compost into the flower bed by the front driveway.
Then I weeded, fertilized, watered, mucked around, and fed the chickens a huge, fat earthworm. Very satisfying.
In the front yard (the north side) the herb spiral had many things that did well all winter. We had...
parsley
tarragon, thyme, and rosemary
mustard in right foregroundgarlic, onions, shallots, and lettuce in left top background
mustard - isn't it pretty?The snow peas and sugar snap peas are coming up very nicely! They're planted in the onion/shallots/garlic bed.
The collards have been good.
The cabbage has been growing very slowly. Our soil is not all that rich (yet!). It take a pretty penny to import really good soil, so we're building it very slowly. I think next year will be better after the wood chips are completely decomposed (they're in the bottom of the bed), the pH on the soil is lowered, and we can get a good load of manure mixed in.
Happy arugula! This has always been one of my favorite greens. Such a nice, peppery flavor. Great on pizza.
I picked this broccoli a couple of weeks ago, then a couple of new shoots came in. It flowered before we ate it, but it's so beautiful I think I'm leaving it!
The loquat on the east side of the house has lots of nice fruit on it. Last year I made loquat jam, and it was heavenly on meatballs. The fruit will turn a beautiful yellow when it is ripe. It tastes a little bit like a plum.
DH took three-fourths of a day off today to dig holes to plant some of our trees. We're experimenting with a technique of planting four trees in one hole, with the trees spaced about 18–24" apart. We hope to keep all the trees on the smaller side for easier picking and a nicely manageable amount of fruit. The greater number of trees that we were able to plant (16 fruit trees + 6 kiwi vines + a fig tree that will go in the back yard) gives us a wide variety of fruit with each fruit ripening at different times. No special preparation was done for the holes. The most important thing is to give the trees the right amount of water - about 5 gallons per week per tree in every week for which we have less than an inch of rain. He put down a three-inch layer of mulch (wood chips) to hold the water in the ground and keep it warm.
Here is where the kiwis will go. Up and over the arbor, we hope! This was a driveway that cut the corner of our property from one street to the street around the corner. We plopped this outdoor living room (to the right) right on top of the driveway with the arbor extending out over the front yard. I had no idea I would be spending so much time in here. It's truly been like an addition to the house! No more drive-through driveway, but we don't miss it. The end we don't drive on any more is a perfect dumping spot for compost and manure deliveries.
And now the backyard...
a partially-built bed in the backyard
four of the beds
the long bed with chickens
building materials - cucumber trellis, bed materials, berry trellis
the water tank for collecting rain water
The back yard. The pool will be moved to the side yard
and used for tilapia. We want a bigger pool for the kids. We have some hopes
for this part of the yard - a club house (with a zip line to the pool?), a swing, and a ?
Aren't these girls characters? I can't get enough of them! No eggs yet, but any day now.
The collards have been good.
The cabbage has been growing very slowly. Our soil is not all that rich (yet!). It take a pretty penny to import really good soil, so we're building it very slowly. I think next year will be better after the wood chips are completely decomposed (they're in the bottom of the bed), the pH on the soil is lowered, and we can get a good load of manure mixed in.
Happy arugula! This has always been one of my favorite greens. Such a nice, peppery flavor. Great on pizza.
I picked this broccoli a couple of weeks ago, then a couple of new shoots came in. It flowered before we ate it, but it's so beautiful I think I'm leaving it!
The loquat on the east side of the house has lots of nice fruit on it. Last year I made loquat jam, and it was heavenly on meatballs. The fruit will turn a beautiful yellow when it is ripe. It tastes a little bit like a plum.
DH took three-fourths of a day off today to dig holes to plant some of our trees. We're experimenting with a technique of planting four trees in one hole, with the trees spaced about 18–24" apart. We hope to keep all the trees on the smaller side for easier picking and a nicely manageable amount of fruit. The greater number of trees that we were able to plant (16 fruit trees + 6 kiwi vines + a fig tree that will go in the back yard) gives us a wide variety of fruit with each fruit ripening at different times. No special preparation was done for the holes. The most important thing is to give the trees the right amount of water - about 5 gallons per week per tree in every week for which we have less than an inch of rain. He put down a three-inch layer of mulch (wood chips) to hold the water in the ground and keep it warm.
Here is where the kiwis will go. Up and over the arbor, we hope! This was a driveway that cut the corner of our property from one street to the street around the corner. We plopped this outdoor living room (to the right) right on top of the driveway with the arbor extending out over the front yard. I had no idea I would be spending so much time in here. It's truly been like an addition to the house! No more drive-through driveway, but we don't miss it. The end we don't drive on any more is a perfect dumping spot for compost and manure deliveries.
And now the backyard...
a partially-built bed in the backyard
four of the beds
the long bed with chickens
building materials - cucumber trellis, bed materials, berry trellis
the water tank for collecting rain water
The back yard. The pool will be moved to the side yard
and used for tilapia. We want a bigger pool for the kids. We have some hopes
for this part of the yard - a club house (with a zip line to the pool?), a swing, and a ?
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