More seeds

This morning, I planted more sweet pea, romaine lettuce, spinach and crisphead lettuce seeds to fill in the gaps of the earlier seeds that didn't grow or got smashed by the neighborhood cats.

Looking forward to seeing more growth. Pictures to come soon!

Flowers

Today, I decided to plant some flowers in a garden bed that I am not planning on using for my fall vegetable garden. My grandma shared some of her seeds from her Utah gardening, so I planted many of those and also 9 sunflower seeds (12-foot kind). I am excited to see how these flowers do and to add some beauty to my garden in the next months.

Enjoying new Beauty

This past week I planted 3 hibiscus bushes (1 gal size) on the side of our house. I am really excited to see them bloom soon and hope that they will enjoy their new ground. This location gets sun in the late morning and shade from the wall and our house at most other times of the day. Eventually, I would like to have some landscaping rock on the side yard on both sides of the sidewalk. The large petrified wood rocks here have been in my family for a while and have moved all over with us. I still have one surviving (barely) mint plant growing on the side yard as well as 2 Aloe Vera plants that are very happy. 

I also planted some pink and white Vincas and Mexican Heather (small purple flowers) in pots to make the front porch more beautiful. Flowers bring me happiness. I have had success with both of these species of flowers in the past and I love Heather. 

And in the vegetable garden...

Zucchini plants (seeds planted 2 weeks ago):

The start of a Sweet Pea vine:

I am grateful for green!

More Seeds & the 1st GREEN!

Yesterday, I planted these after tilling in some purchased garden soil. ($5 a bag at Walmart)

This morning, I planted these, also in that new soil. 

And I was so excited to see the first bit of green popping up from the yellow squash hill!

Preparing the Soil & Planting

Today, I did some long-awaited work in my garden. Because I'm pregnant and it got too hot, I didn't finish it. But here's what I accomplished. 

I tilled the soil and added some fertilizer granules and mulch.

I soaked the soil and tilled it again to allow the moisture to seep down deeper. 

And I planted these:

Zucchini

Yellow Squash

Spinach

Iceberg Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

I'm not quite sure about my soil. I think it is too sticky rather than nice and loose. I thought the sandy loam that I purchased last season would be better, but so far I am not too impressed by it. I hope that with added mulch, this soil can produce well. 

Fall 2011 Season Plans

I went through my blog archives to help me remember when I planted seeds for the Fall Season last year.

Of the many things I planted, here's what I want to plant again this year.

Last year, I planted:

Lettuce on Sept 24^th and Nov 23^rd

Snap Peas on Sept 24^th

Cilantro on Oct 8^th

Spinach on Oct 8^th

^{Also, this year, I want to plant some cherry tomato plants and try again with zucchini. I plan to plant my first seeds mid-late August depending on the weather. 
I have high hopes for a successful season in my garden.} 

Cabbage Harvest

My cabbage harvest included 3 small heads of cabbage. I haven't been feeling well lately, so it took me a while to harvest them and because of that, they had a stronger flavor than store bought. I am happy that we got something from that long time of growing and watering.

I finally dedicated a morning to clearing out the old plants in my garden that either were not producing, had died or began to seed themselves (cilantro and lettuce). It was a lot of work and filled half the trash can with roots and plants. All that is left now are three Roma tomato plants and they seem to be happily producing fruit for us.

I accidentally picked one of the most red ones while touching it to look at it. We haven't tried it yet, but I hope it is delicious and full of homegrown tomato flavor!