Miss American Pie

Well I had to do a follow up on the apple orchard. Here's what me and Daphne did with the apples. Ahh fall is here. Apple pie.

Picking Apples

I discovered a free apple orchard in Redding and we've gone twice already-the historical Camden House at Whiskeytown Park. Here's Daphne at the entrance to the house.
Behind the house are several old apple trees. Some varieties are 150 years old. And they are free for the picking!
You can also go on a hike while you're there. Behind Daphne is a barn. We also saw the old grave yard and tenant workhouse.
Here's Holly picking some blackberries on the hike. Yum!
If you live in the area, I highly recommend this place. The kids will love it, and you'll walk away with a bag full of apples ready to be baked, boiled and bobbed for. But go soon... the apples are falling fast. Don't let the bears get them before you do!

Sunflower

Our sunflower has finally bloomed!

Can you believe this came from one tiny seed?

Kids' Garden Mobile

Daphne and I are really into crafts this month. Here is the latest and greatest: an outdoor mobile for the garden area.

This was so fun to make with all of the random buttons and beads that I've collected over the years.
1. Cut shapes out of cardboard and glue on tissue paper (kids can help rip and glue paper)
2. Punch holes into cardboard shapes.
3. Use fishing line or beading line to string shapes, buttons, beads and jewels (Daphne liked selecting the beads/buttons to use).
4: Find a stick to tie them to, and then a perfect spot to hang... wherever the wind blows, really.

The perfectionist in me wanted to do more shapes and beads to fill it out, but I was working with a 2yr. old, and her attention span is not that long...and it IS for the child...I guess. ;)

Garden Art

I love garden nicknacks. Love them. Little frog rocks and butterfly stakes. But they're so darn expensive. So Daphne and I decided to make our own.

Step 1: Cut cardboard into desired shape.


Step 2: Paste tissue paper onto shape.


Step 3: Attach to fence.


Instant charm. I love how kid art looks good in the garden.


On a related note, we're also working on a miniature garden mural. Even Tim painted something.

Summer Garden, Take 2

We're finally in our new place. Built new garden beds and planted all of my transplants. They're doing OK. Not used to this super hot weather I think... that and being transplanted twice.

No Plant Left Behind

We're moving...right when my vegetable garden is poppin. But, in honor of my husband's new teaching job, I'm instilling the No Plant Left Behind Act. I've dug up over a dozen of my smaller plants and am throwing them in the U-haul on Friday. Hopefully I'll be able to get them into the ground within a few days. I'm taking strawberries, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, zucchini, hops, blackberries, red onions, grapes, pumpkins, winter squash and a sunflower.



It makes me less sad to leave all my hard work behind. Goodbye beautiful garden.

July Harvest

So much to harvest, so little time... Tim and I will be moving back to Redding in a few weeks. I'm really excited, but sad to leave my garden! So, I'm harvesting everything I can this month. Ready or not, here I come. I take that back- almost everything... I'm going to attempt to transplant a few things like the winter squash and pumpkin that were just started... but much of the garden will be left behind. Boo.

So here's what I got this week: Potatoes and carrots. My poor little carrots fought against the rocky soil here in Covelo- that's why they're all deformed.


Two types of lettuce, chard, basil, flowers and tomatoes.

Zucchini and radishes (along with more lettuce and chard.)


Dill weed, parsley, spinach and peas. The temperatures are now too hot for the spinach, so it's gone to seed. The bottom leaves still seem good, but does anyone know if you can eat the tops once they've bolted?

When the Gardener's Away the Veggies will Play

I was out of town for three weeks-end of June to mid July. I was a little apprehensive about my garden and the watering system I hooked up. Apparently it did OK! I used simple seeping hoses from Walmart. Easy to set up, and they get the job done. Too bad they don't pull the weeds and prop up overgrown plants!

My Little Sweet Pea

Peas are coming in. We all snacked on some today...

Popeye's Plate

"I'm strong to the finish when I eats me spinach" -Popeye the sailor man (toot toot) Time to start harvesting some spinach!


I made a salad from stuff entirely from the garden. Spinach, lettuce, green onions and radishes. This makes me happy.

Mini-harvest

My first harvest of the year!

Green onions and radishes.

Sowing and Growing: May Garden

I'm getting a little crazy. I now have five garden beds, four potted plants and others planted directly into the native soil... I just can't get enough! So here's what the garden did in May.

Bed #1
This is my original plot. I planted many of these things in April when my in-laws were visiting. They survived the low temperatures and deer invasions of a pre-fenced-off yard. My peas plants are doing amazing. I'm even starting to see some flowers on them.
My lettuce is growing!
The lone sunflower. I can't figure out what kind of plant that is at the base of it. I have alot of those too.
Corn.
Carrots. I'm not sure when I should pick them. Don't see any carrot at the top of the soil yet... maybe I should dig a little to see what I can see?
Bed #2
I made this bed on my own. Dug out the native dirt, built the frame, laid wire underneath, filled it in with good soil and planted seeds. I did a lot of spinach and lettuce here.
Bed #3
This bed was already built when we moved in. I just had to screw on a side that fell off. My radishes look like they might be done soon!
I also have zucchini and more lettuce in here, along with onions and other things that I can't remember at the moment.
Bed #4
I gave up on making more raised beds and just started digging directly into the dirt. I still had to replace the soil and put down wire. I planted a whole bunch of small plants that I got from a friend with a greenhouse. Dill-weed, cilantro and tomatoes.
Bed #5
This one is brand new. I just planted seeds a few days ago.
Direct Planting
And then there are the sunflowers and corn. I just put these directly into the ground to see what they will do. The soil is really rocky here, so I'm hoping they are sturdy plants.
And then a tomato plant that I got from my friend with a greenhouse. Already producing!