Monday, February 18, 2019
February 18, 2019 at 09:21AM
The bed in front of the house is full of Siberian iris every June, I take the same pictures every year! They badly need digging and dividing this year, though. . . #siberianiris #Gardenersofinstagram #frommygarden #organicgarden #urbangardening #gardenideas #flowergarden #instagardening #organicgardener #urbangardens #flowergardens #gardeningislife #amateurgardener #gardenhomestead #organicgardens #urbangardeners #flowergardening #gardening4pleasure #suburbangardener #everyonecangrowtheirown
Saturday, February 16, 2019
February 16, 2019 at 07:27PM
A few years ago I organized a “Homestead Skills” weekend, and one of the classes was this dry stone retaining wall session, taught by a local stonemason and built at the host homestead. It was a great day, and several students have built their own wall since. . . #drystonewall #stonemason #homesteadskills #gardenwall #gardenideas #gardenhomestead #gardeningisfun #homesteadinglife #homesteadersofinstagram #offgridhomestead #lostskills #primitiveskills
February 16, 2019 at 08:46AM
I really like the shape of these beds, built with recycled brick too! Reposted from @suburban.existence . . #growyourown #growsomethinggreen #growyourownfood #gardendesign #vegetablegarden #veggiegarden #greenthumb #eatyourgreens #raisedbeds #gardenersofinstagram #organicgarden #urbangardening #gardenideas #instagardening #organicgardener #vegetablegardening #urbangardens #gardeningislife #gardenhomestead #organicgardens #urbangardeners #vegetablegardens #gardening4pleasure #suburbangardener
Friday, February 15, 2019
February 15, 2019 at 02:10PM
#microgreens get harvested today for Saturday’s market. Radish, pea, broccoli raab and brassica mix grown under lights in my basement. The soil and roots left over get sheet mulched onto my veg garden beds... once the snow clears, that is! . . #gardenersofinstagram #frommygarden #organicgarden #urbangardening #gardenideas #vegetable garden #compost #instagardening #organicgardener #vegetablegardening #composting #urbangardens #gardeningislife #igwp #gardenhomestead #containergardens #organicgardens #urbangardeners #vegetablegardens #gardening4pleasure #suburbangardener
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Peas are ready
The first peas are coming from the hoophouse batches now. "Meteor" was planted March 19th so that's about 70 days - very fast for peas here in the Pacific Northwest. Green Arrow, planted about a week later, has lots of pods but they are all flat still, not ready to pick. Sugar Ann snap peas have a few ready to eat, and many more on the way.
I love peas!
I love peas!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
What's growing in the garden now?
It's the end of May, and after a warm early spring we've had a cold wet late spring. Right now, in the hoophouse we have strawberries fruiting (about a month earlier than in the open garden), shelling peas and snap peas are almost ready, and the radishes are finished. Space is ready for peppers and basil once the weather warms up a little more.
Outside, the soup peas are about a foot up the fence, summer squash have just poked their noses out of the ground, another batch of shelling peas is on the way, raspberries and blueberries are flowering and covered in bees, and seedling brassicas, radishes, chard, chickpeas, onions, sunflowers and amaranth are growing well. The potatoes are up too, especially the blue-fleshed ones which have very dark foliage.
How about your garden?
Outside, the soup peas are about a foot up the fence, summer squash have just poked their noses out of the ground, another batch of shelling peas is on the way, raspberries and blueberries are flowering and covered in bees, and seedling brassicas, radishes, chard, chickpeas, onions, sunflowers and amaranth are growing well. The potatoes are up too, especially the blue-fleshed ones which have very dark foliage.
How about your garden?
Monday, May 24, 2010
How do Raised Beds Make Gardening Easier?
Raised beds make gardening easier in many ways. They help you solve difficult issues with your soil, they aid in controlling pests, they improve the amount of produce you can harvest in an area, they’re great at reducing weeds, and they help conserve water.
Any plants that love well-drained soil can benefit from being grown in raised beds. You don’t have to raise just vegetables. You can also easily grow herbs, fruits, and flowers in raised beds and make your job easier.
In raised bed gardening, the soil is generally enriched with compost, and mounded up above the level of the surrounding soil. Some raised beds are framed with wood or other material, but others are just left mounded, like the ones I use for my vegetables.
The plants in raised bed gardening can be planted much closer together than the plants in a traditional row garden, because the soil is never compacted, it's enriched, it's deeper, and usually irrigated. This allows the plants to make a continuous leafy cover over the bed, which reduces moisture loss from the soil by evaporation and also helps shade out weeds.
Raised beds can be used to extend the growing season, making it easier to start seeds outdoors earlier, and grow later in the season. This is a great way to get even more produce out of the area in a season.
If you have soil problems in your garden (including clay, rocks, or contamination of certain kinds), you can build raised beds on top and just bypass your own soil completely. If you start with completely fresh soil, it doesn’t matter what type of soil you had in your garden to begin with.
Another great benefit of raised bed gardening is the fact that the gardener doesn’t walk on the soil in which the plants are growing. This helps prevent the soil from being packed down, so the roots can grow through the soil more readily.
You don’t need to till the soil under a raised bed if you don’t want to. This is very beneficial for people who can’t afford a tiller, or who aren’t physically capable of handling a piece of machinery like this.
You may not have to water raised beds as often as you would a traditional garden. The soil in raised beds is designed specifically to hold on to water, so you can water less often and in smaller quantities. This is great for conserving water and saving money. However, raised beds are also designed to drain well, to keep plant roots aerated, and the often expose their sides to sunlight, and these can mean that you need to water more often. In hot, dry climates raised beds are often not the best choice: sunken beds which hold water can be used instead.
Raised beds can be raised up to any height. Frames can be built on top of perforated plywood bases (to allow drainage), and then raised to any height. This allows handicapped and elderly people to easily reach their plants to tend to them. For people in wheelchairs, this could be one of the only ways they can garden well.
And pests are easier to control, because plants are in a more confined area. This makes it much easier to spot potential problems, and it also makes it easier to get rid of potential problems before they take over your entire garden.
Any plants that love well-drained soil can benefit from being grown in raised beds. You don’t have to raise just vegetables. You can also easily grow herbs, fruits, and flowers in raised beds and make your job easier.
In raised bed gardening, the soil is generally enriched with compost, and mounded up above the level of the surrounding soil. Some raised beds are framed with wood or other material, but others are just left mounded, like the ones I use for my vegetables.
The plants in raised bed gardening can be planted much closer together than the plants in a traditional row garden, because the soil is never compacted, it's enriched, it's deeper, and usually irrigated. This allows the plants to make a continuous leafy cover over the bed, which reduces moisture loss from the soil by evaporation and also helps shade out weeds.
Raised beds can be used to extend the growing season, making it easier to start seeds outdoors earlier, and grow later in the season. This is a great way to get even more produce out of the area in a season.
If you have soil problems in your garden (including clay, rocks, or contamination of certain kinds), you can build raised beds on top and just bypass your own soil completely. If you start with completely fresh soil, it doesn’t matter what type of soil you had in your garden to begin with.
Another great benefit of raised bed gardening is the fact that the gardener doesn’t walk on the soil in which the plants are growing. This helps prevent the soil from being packed down, so the roots can grow through the soil more readily.
You don’t need to till the soil under a raised bed if you don’t want to. This is very beneficial for people who can’t afford a tiller, or who aren’t physically capable of handling a piece of machinery like this.
You may not have to water raised beds as often as you would a traditional garden. The soil in raised beds is designed specifically to hold on to water, so you can water less often and in smaller quantities. This is great for conserving water and saving money. However, raised beds are also designed to drain well, to keep plant roots aerated, and the often expose their sides to sunlight, and these can mean that you need to water more often. In hot, dry climates raised beds are often not the best choice: sunken beds which hold water can be used instead.
Raised beds can be raised up to any height. Frames can be built on top of perforated plywood bases (to allow drainage), and then raised to any height. This allows handicapped and elderly people to easily reach their plants to tend to them. For people in wheelchairs, this could be one of the only ways they can garden well.
And pests are easier to control, because plants are in a more confined area. This makes it much easier to spot potential problems, and it also makes it easier to get rid of potential problems before they take over your entire garden.
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