pretty patio (my sister is a genius?)

peek-a-boo ;)

So far, I have killed every beautiful plant that has ever lived on my deck save one: the hibiscus.  The good news is that now I have a beautifully sunny deck that I hope will be a cozy home for a few beautiful things.

Yesterday I brought home a lovely red carnation with visions of fresh cut flower bouquets straight from the patio.  Knowing that keeping these little darlings well watered is my biggest challenge with a potted plant outside in the North Carolina heat, I had to make this a self-watering container.

I was racking my brain to come up with a small container or bucket to use as a reservoir to make the same setup I have in my veggie buckets.  I couldn't come up with anything on hand when my sis had the brainstorm of the season: Pina Coladas!

if you like pina coladas...

So here's the setup... I drilled a ton of holes throughout the plastic container and buried it in the middle of the planter with the neck sticking out as a watering spout.  I planted the flowers all around the bottle and filled it up.  I expect the spout to be fully camouflaged as the plant fills in.  The first time I filled the container, it mostly spilled right out but I'm hoping it will be a better reservoir over time as the soil fills in the empty spaces, etc.

Here's to keeping the carnations well watered!

a labor of love

Last year's container garden experiment yielded lots of data on what I can do better.  I think "limited success" would be too generous a description of the results.  This year, I have a few changes in mind.

The first experiment is structural.  One of my major problems seemed to be the weight of the soil on the flimsy plastic dividers.  My first idea (really Matthew's) was to add rocks in the bottom to help hold up the platform.  But, I was worried about not taking away too much room for water in the reservoir.  While we were at Lowe's scoping out river rocks, my eyes landed on the perfect solution... lava rocks! 

hot lava!

Well, I hope it's the perfect solution anyway.  I don't think it was as much of an issue in the two-bin setup I have with the potato buckets but I'm trying it anyway.  Maybe it will actually help keep the potatoes from getting soggy this year. 

The other change this year is taking my time.  Last year, I didn't give the silicone enough time to dry before filling the buckets.  I ran out of time to prep a good potting mix anyway so the two buckets I worked on today will have some time to cure before going under the weight of soil. 

Last year I dumped all of the potting mix into a big pile to save for spring.  I'll add fresh organic potting soil, compost, and peat/perlite/vermiculite as needed.  I haven't decided exactly what to put in the containers yet (other than the potaoes). 

The round whisky barrels are going to need a little more TLC.  One of the plastic platforms cracked over the winter so it needs replacing.  I drilled the drainage holes after assembly so I need to check the placement and fix any problems there.  I don't know if the lava rocks alone will add enough structure so I may end up with another reinforcement method once I start putting them together.  We'll see.  In any case, I doubt I'll make much progress on those before we leave for Alabama next week, so they may be destined for hot weather or fall crops anyway.

ready for taters :)





surprise harvest

surprise onions!

When Carson and I went out to add new soil to the garden today, we found a few volunteer onions growing in the back.  We didn't know what they were at first because I had never planted onions in that section of the garden  before.  Some creatures or the wind must have swept these little guys into fertile ground where they took off on their own. 

spring has sprung!

It seems like somehow every year I get to the first part of April and realize I am already late getting the garden started.  Even after 5 years in the south, I still haven't adjusted to the early and mild spring weather.  On top of that the last two springs have been downright hot!  Well turns out this year we dodged a bullet. 

two inches of hail on my back deck!

Last night we had a hail storm like I've never seen before.  My hibiscus took quite a beating but luckily my veggies were still safe under cover waiting for me to finish prepping their bed. 

expanded raised bed, prepped and ready!

This year we want to use the irrigation system in the back yard for the lawn.  Since it's piped to grey water, we don't want it for watering vegetables.  So, Matthew helped me consolidate the two round raised beds into a single oval in the back.  I'm actually really happy with the change.  It could probably use even more soil than we packed into it today but I think we'll be happy we left room for mulch when the summer gets hot!

Carson was the mvp of the day, helping me carry all those bags of soil and compost around the house and filling in the bed.  He also learned an important lesson about handling sharp garden tools and the importance of wearing gloves.  After a short break for a quick band-aid, we got right back to work!

Even with the hail last night, I feel like it's late for cool season crops but we went for it anyway.  New this year is the addition of brussels sprouts.  I'm really excited to see if we can get a good harvest out of the garden.  Matthew and I recently discovered that we really like them roasted so I hope I can put a good bounty on the table later this year.  I went with seedlings on the lettuce this year.  I had such a hard time getting the seeds to sprout last year that I wanted to at least have a few sure bets.  We went with Romaine and Buttercrunch.  I'm giving broccoli another shot this year.  So far I've had dismal results but I'm hoping with a better location and the raised beds we'll do better this time.  Finally, I added some onions, cucumbers, and bush beans -- same varieties as last year.

spring planting, almost finished

I'm leaving room for some peppers when it gets warmer.  I also have some garlic to get in at some point.  I'm also counting on adding Nasturtium, dill, and marigolds to aid in pest control.  My biggest struggle in keeping this garden organic is in pest control.  I'm still trying to find anything that will actually work.

Keep an eye out for the container update... I'm working on some improvements for this year.

man down!

I did not solve the moisture problem in the potato buckets fast enough to save the inhabitants :(

We managed to get a tiny handful of baby sized red potatoes from the first bucket before it died completely.  Matthew and I enjoyed them with our hamburgers for dinner last night :).

The white potatoes in the other bucket (below) haven't died as quickly because I got them dried out a little faster, but still not fast enough to save them.  As they wilt and die, I hope we'll get some young potatoes anyway.

the remnants of the potato experiment

Next year, I know what to do... keep the potatoes dry!!!

a work in progress

A snapshot of my back garden, look at the beautiful strawberries!  The strawberries have thrown out runners all around the base of the pot and we've decided to let them go as they will.  It's funny to see the little plants popping up through the mulch at random with a strawberry or two that seem to be coming out of nowhere.

I started adding mulch all around the pots and planted areas.  It's really helped cut down on the weeding and tracking dirt all around.  Dirt was splashing up onto the buckets and they just looked terrible.  Also, I have a confession to make: I have applied visual management (as in, LEAN principles) to my garden.  For you non-LEAN followers, that means I am the biggest dork you know.  Anyway, I color-coded the mulch to distinguish between walk-ways and garden beds.  Seriously, it has actually helped by keeping the boys from running through the garden at full-tilt and squashing my poor little seedlings.  I plan to just keep adding a few bags here and there over time until the whole area is finished.

The first bucket is home to the carrots.  This is the one that always seems dry.  Once the seedlings are a bit bigger and I've thinned them out, I will add some black mulch on top to help lock in the moisture and keep the weeds at bay.

Next you can see the two squash buckets.  One houses the summer squash, zucchini in the other.  Last year, I lost all of my squash to squash bugs.  I really, REALLY, don't want to use chemicals in my garden.  Therefore, I am trying out a few natural methods of control.  The first is the buckets... supposedly the bugs have a hard time finding the plants if you have them up off the ground.  I've also moved the location across the yard from last year's site.  Finally, I've planted Nasturtium near by and I will plant some Dill right in the container with the squash.  Wish me luck!

The large raised bed is where I've got the beans and cucs.  Amazingly, every single seed I have put in this bed has sprouted.  Unfortunately, it's also where the fire ants decided to make their home this year.  I hear that you can kill fire ants with Sweet&Low so I'm trying that method and hoping for the best.  I am growing all bush varieties so I don't need to trellis any of them.  I'm also planting at intervals to extend the harvest.

Behind the raised bed, you can barely see the trellis... Carson's kidney bean and a vine-variety of cucs will live there.

Way in the back - that's the onion/garlic/shallot bucket.  I'm excited about cooking with some fresh onions and garlic!

Off to the side live the peppers and broccoli.  Last year, my broccoli bolted.  This year, I direct-sowed seeds instead of transplanting seedlings.  I don't know if it will be better, but I'm happy so far.  I replaced the dead bell pepper with a random new variety from Lowe's.  It's called 'Gypsy' and it should be a sweet pepper.  I am worried that the peppers may not be getting enough sun.  I'm also worried the ants may be eating the leaves.

my herb garden



rosemary, summerlong basil, sweet marjoram, greek oregano, thyme, sage, and nasturtium

 I finally received the herbs I ordered from Burpee's so many months ago!  I searched high and low to find a suitable strawberry pot to put them in.  I'm very happy with this pretty green one I found at Fairview garden center in Cary.  Next, I want to get a nice plant stand to set it up off the ground and next to the back door.

I cut back a few of the spindly looking plants.  I need to do a little more reasearch on the correct way to snip each type of herb so I can keep them productive and healthy.  I actually think I need to be more aggressive in harvesting my herbs.

In the background, you can see part of Matthew's flower bed.  Next to the pot is our potted mum.