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!

Rookie Gardener

So let's just start by saying that the only things that I've ever gardened are the basic "survivors" that can't really be killed in the death of summer... Cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini. No matter the amount of ignorance and neglect, these troupers always seem to survive.

But being somewhat of a rookie gardener, I have a lot to learn. So, if you happen to read this blog and realize that I'm doing it all wrong... please share. It's just not right to be a knowledge hoarder.

Since we've moved to Covelo, a remote town in Mendocino County California (known for its pot gardens), I've decided to expand my horizons. I'm trying a little bit of everything... excluding the marijuana. :)

OK. So, here's what I have growing so far- through no merit of my own. They just came with the property and the rain did all the work.

A ginormous lilac bush. The flowers smell soooo good.
Some viney looking flowers (that's the official name, I'm sure of it.)
A rosemary bush (this picture doesn't do the flowers justice, but my cute little child was in it. So that trumps a good picture.)

Some good 'ol California poppies.
And quite a few trees. These are just the ones in bloom. I'm thinking that at least one of these is some kind of a fruit tree? I want to say that the white flower is apple, but I could be wrong.
And last but not least, an overwhelming amount of hops plants. The guy that lived here used to grow and sell it. I'm not sure if I want to invest all my time in the 20+ plants that I see popping up everywhere, but I'll probably give it a try on a few. If you hear of Elaine the brew-master in a few years, you'll know how I did. The guy even had this cool rope/vine system going on. My hose doesn't reach all the way out to where the majority of hops plant are, so we'll see.
So here's the stuff that I've planted. (Warning: Plants in picture may appear sad, but have only sustained a minimal amount of neglect and abuse.) My little indoor greenhouse was doing so well.... And then I realized that I planted everything WAY to early. Note to self: Just a few weeks before the last frost is when to do it... NOT 2 months. I was getting cabin fever though, can you blame me?

So these are the little guys that actually made it to the garden and survived my early planing. Green onions (probably shouldn't tell you that I took this out of my compost pile.) Peas. (A hops transplant is in the middle. Not looking so happy.)
Zucchini.
Possibly a sunflower. As things died, I just kept replanting like a mad-man, so I really don't know where I put anything anymore. Time will tell. I also have an assortment of lettuce sprouts coming up I think.

Now for your infinite wisdom, oh internet readers. These are some plants that have popped up around the property and I feel like they could be edibles. Tim tells me that I say this about all the weeds... What do you think, weed or eat? Don't be wrong, I could die.

And finally, the battle of wits. How to outsmart insects and animals (I'm not too proud to say that I'm loosing so far.) In creating my new plot, I'm planning on burying chicken wire under the garden. Then I'm going to put up a fence around both beds. We have some pesky groundhogs around here. Also, I found these roaming the premises. Time for some organic slug/snail bait? I think so.