Mid-summer plantings

The front perennial beds and the raised beds with herbs and vegetables are looking great.  It's so nice to have the front of the house softened by green, a welcome change from its previous mulched condition (see below).

early July, 2011

Here's a photo of our new gardening assistant looking out the door!

when there was just mulch (not to mention the gravel driveway, now covered with mulch and raised beds)

Raised beds

The raised beds in front (of our house in the mountains) are looking good.

The last sugar snap peas are giving way to tomatoes and pole beans (greasy cut beans - an Southern Appalachian heirloom bean and yard-long beans - the Asian version (twining) of our southern cowpea -- but much better in my opinion.

I harvested bunches of beets, carrots, and onions from the raised beds this afternoon -- they'll be tasty roasted for tomorrow's dinner.  (And I'm thinking I need to head down to our Piedmont vegetable garden to harvest the rest of the garlic, maybe most of the onions, and check the potatoes.)

A new red potato popped up when I was checking some "leftover" plants that I'd stuck in a corner here in the mountains. What fun!

More peas and greens

It was a beautiful sunny (and warm) day in the mountains. 

A quick trip to the local farmer's supply yielded 5 bags each of mushroom compost and composted cow manure.  The commercial compost in the raised beds has settled and shrunk since their initial filling last year, so needs more 'soil' additions and a nutrient boost before spring planting.

The mid-summer beds were lush, so plenty of nutrients were taken up and harvested.

raised beds in late July 2010

The mushroom compost was the best I've seen - it looked like the 'real thing' - light, fluffy. amended with sand, and without the sticks and debris of other bags I've purchased labeled 'mushroom compost.'  The cow manure was also a bit close to the real thing, being a bit aromatic of cow manure!

After topping off the beds and turning over the soil a bit, I hopefully sowed a round of sugar snap peas and snow peas in one of the front beds, along with broccoli raab, mustard greens, and spinach.  I tucked in some broccoli, parsley and red cabbage transplants from one of the big box stores and am crossing my fingers for a moderate late winter and early spring.

Raised bed gardening

One of the first gardening activities I did back 'at work' today was helping plant and get ready to plant two raised beds at the Clemson Child Development Center. One is for the 2 and 3-yr olds; the other is for the 4 and 5-yr olds.

This is a grant-funded activity, but supported by volunteers.  I'm there in my 'official' capacity, but am donating all the plants and seeds personally.

It was such fun to get the potting mix ready, mixed with sustained release organic fertilizer and mushroom compost.  Then we helped the kids dig small holes, as I showed them how to plant the collards, broccoli, and lettuce transplants, and sow radishes and carrots.

A great afternoon.

Growing plants

I find growing plants to be a wonderfully satisfying endeavor -- from vegetables to natives. It makes a difference for me, to feel like I'm restoring habitat and growing food.

I was reminded looking at some past photos, about the growth we've had in our raised beds here in the mountains.

I guess the raised beds are really 'mine', but we both built the beds, and both of us filled them with compost! Not an insignificant thing.

Everything is growing well, and I (ruthlessly) pruned the very robust tomatoes, and hopefully trained them up through the tomato cages or supports with ties, in some sort of proper manner this afternoon.

Hmm, I've not trained (or pruned) tomatoes before, but I know it's a good practice.

Check out some of the videos online (Fine Gardening and Johnny's Seeds) have nice ones.

Lettuce abundance

My raised beds in the mountains are producing prolific lettuce; undoubtedly the rich soil and cooler temperatures are favorable to excellent leaf growth.

I've had nice mesclun mix in flats for many years, and good lettuce in my main vegetable garden in the Piedmont, but these lettuces reflect how lots of nutrients (from the compost in the beds) and plenty of water produce succulent leaves.

Yum.

Leeks, beets, chard, lettuce, and herbs

After I finished two more stone beds this morning (below our small mountain house), my gardening companion filled them with soil.

They're yet to be planted, but I worked on the previous four beds this afternoon.

Planting new beds is fun.

An afternoon trip to a local nursery snagged herbs, a couple of Cherokee Purple tomato plants, a Sweet Million cherry tomato, and seedling leeks.

Added to the flat of lettuces that I'd brought up from Clemson, and along with radish, beet, and chard seeds, among others, I'm set for now.

And waiting for the weather to warm up!