Sunday, May 23, 2010

How does my garden grow?

Are you a morning person? Does the crack of dawn thrill you? Are you perky and ready to go, even without that first cup of coffee? Do you count yourself in that mass of happiness? I hate you people. I am not a morning person and because I'm not a morning person you generally won't see me at the farmer's market when it opens at sunrise before the hungry hordes descend upon it. So I decided to turn my backyard into my own farmer's market. It sure beats mowing the lawn.

This plan could go terribly wrong. I'm not exactly sure if I've got the gardening green thumb. It's not because I don't have the genetic background, growing up as a kid we had backyard gardens where ever we lived. Huge gardens full of tomatoes, green beans and greens.


So I sent away for a raised garden kit and started building my own lasagna garden. A lasagna garden is a no till, no dig method of gardening. This definitely appealed to be since 1) I got no rototiller and 2) who knows how good or bad my lawn soil is and 3) it's much easier to weed and water. This way I can build a good soil base for my veggies, full of compost and nutrients.

So after a ton of spring rains, I finally got my plants in their bed. What plants did I plant?

greenbeans

Green Beans

tomato blossom 2

tomato blossom

tomato

Tomatoes

collards

Collards

eggplant

Eggplant

Not to mention my containers full of herbs and lettuce.

old faithful

old faithful 2

Old Faithful kicked winter's ass and comes back strong for another season.

lettuce

shiso

Can't forget the flowers

iris1

iris2

little friend

Me and my little friend here will be back every so often with a full Garden Report and hopefully dishes made from the results.

18 comments:

the dogs' mother said...

Looks good enough to eat!

After youngest son and friend 'planted' my raised beds with birdseed... I've been gardening on the deck in pots.

Big Shamu said...

Well....at least the birds won't go hungry.

Sharon Rudd said...

Looks lovely, Shamy! Just learned about lasagna beds recently from a friend. Seriously, are you going to be able to keep this a dog-free zone? Look forward to your updates through the season!

P.S. My word verification is "hotapig" - hehehehe.

Making Space said...

Oh that's so beautiful it took my breath away. Veggies, herbs, flowers, and butterflies? OMG garden heaven. It's gorgeous.

Buzz Kill said...

I'm really impressed with how your lawn came back in the time-lapse pitures of the backyard. You have beans and green tomatoes already? We thought we got a good jump on our community garden this year but we're nowhere close to you. Nice pics.

Big Shamu said...

I don't know what you mean about the grass Buzz? I have one bean. Let's hope it's the first of many. The tomatoes are on my back-up container tomato plant.....just in case the ones in the garden are a complete failure.

Dani said...

This is beautiful Shamy!! Here's to a wonderful growing season with lots of yummy fresh veggies. *cheers*

Dani said...

And the pictures are ROCKIN'!!!! Love the Red Admiral.

Aunty Belle said...

simssply gorgeous, Shamy--what kind of camera are you using?

Big Shamu said...

Dani, you know I've got you on speed dial for all gardening questions.

Aunty, I use my trusty old Nikon D-100, my first digital camera. Someday I'll upgrade. I love my Nikon.

Dani said...

Your grass looks so soft compared to our Florida grass.
Ollie would be in doggie bliss rollin' around in your backyard.

Buzz Kill said...

In the pre-garden picture, the grass is clumpy and there are a lot of bare spots. In the final picture, the grass looks like it filled in nicely.

My lawn is the bane of my existance, so I tend to pay attention to lawns I see in pictures.

Word verification: crabgrass (nah, I'm kidding)

Jenny said...

woo-hoo! Garden pictures. Beautiful start. I love the herb picture and flowers, the most and look forward to updates.

Coco would love that soft smelly dirt. dig/dig/dig.

LaDivaCucina said...

Lasagne gardening? Who the heck came up with that term? I thought that meant you are going to grow tomatoes and herbs for lasanga! The method is called permaculture and has been around for yonks. Sounds perfect for you, Sham, and it's a very green way to garden.

And you should think about getting a goat to eat your grass. Come winter, eat him! haha!

Love the photos as always and it looks like you've got a green thumb to me!

Syd said...

Tomatoes already? Damn!

And I covet your camera lens.

Susan said...

cool ! I've been planting a few vegetable seeds as well here at the jungle (like-property). So far ... pole beans, tomatoes, a lettuce mix and arugula - we don't really have as much sun as I'd like but then the cowboy hasn't kick started his chain saw yet. Tee hee ! xo S & les Gang

Big Shamu said...

LaDiva I don't care what it's called as long as I get some lovely veggies. This is just the first bed. There will be more.

Hey Syd, welcome. Just little tiny green ones right now. We'll see if they make it to large and red. As for the lens, Nikkor 105 mm Micro. I LOVE this lens, lets me do so much. If you want to do food photography or nature photography, get a good micro lens and go crazy. Can't really waste digital film.

Now Syd, does that first iris picture qualify for a certain type of photo you run on your blog??? BWHhahahahhaha.

Big Shamu said...

Susan I need that cowboy and his chain saw. I gots me a maple tree that needs some serious pruning. Road trip?