http://communitygarden.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/no-dig-brochure.pdf 3 days ago

This year I finally discovered the world of gardening. Better late than never, huh? It’s a very exciting subject to explore…

So far, there’s cilantro, basil, chives, strawberries, and spinach that Tim and I started from seed—the cilantro seems to be growing the fastest of the bunch.

We also have a meyer lemon tree, purple cayenne pepper plant, and sampaquita flower/plant that we bought as ‘starter plants.’

Lastly, I have also been experimenting with regrowing plants from ‘kitchen scraps’ (green onions seem to have a very high success rate… updates on regrowing garlic and kale coming soon…) 4 days ago

My fiancé and I got him at the Durham Farmer’s Market in North Carolina. The farmer/vendor told us that it can grow 4’ – 6’ tall—holy moly, that’s a whole lot of heat! 4 days ago

This is a little ‘welcome home’ gift from my fiancé that I love so much!!! 1 week ago

Here are the vegetables I would most like to try to grow (perhaps this upcoming spring/summer):

• cherry tomatoes
• cucumbers
• carrots
• peppers
• beets
• onions 3 months ago

I will be editing this entry as I make my decisions. I start most of my vegetables indoors weeks before they need to be transplanted. I am reconsidering this this year.

Here’s a great way of working out what vegetables to plant and when:
http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2006/03/31/the-lazy-gardeners-seed-starting-chart/
You just put in your own last frost date and then the table will update for you. However, I pull it back about two weeks from that usually and cover my vegetables on any nights that frost is possible.

Other notes:
Peppers – start in July. 3 months ago

Things to do:
I have a new raised garden bed to build. Now is a good time of year to work on that. I am going to buy lumber to do it this time – possibly buy some leftover stuff from my neighbors, but also buying more if I need to. I am conscious my old beds of cinder blocks were a bit unattractive. I believe a garden bed should also be attractive. Hmmmm, how could I make those cinder blocks more attractive – I can make them attractive by filling them with plants, but I also want them attractive when they are empty in winter. I could paint them, but they are already dirty and I’m worried the paint won’t stick or will wear off fast. I can also save the cinder blocks for a garden that less people see and buy new materials for this particular garden.

Anyhow first I have to move the xeriscaping from that area and dig in some leaf matter into the clay soil. This is something I can start now. A little manure to help it along. Layer some cardboard on top to rot down over this year. Move the topsoil from my current beds, digging in more rotted leaves, compost and manure into it as I go, and filtering the soil from the one bed that has had weeds.

TIMETABLE:
I have quite a few other things on my To-Do list at the moment. This job would be much more easy with a wheelbarrow: I plan to get one from craigslist for around $20 next weekend if it is still available.

First priority: get the indoor door painting done. Sort out the garden shed. Do these this week – the weather looks great for at least the next ten days. Okay, off to do some painting now. 3 months ago