Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Weekly Update - August 16, 2011


Here is the overall picture of most of the garden.  The Asian greens that I planted are ready to pick.  The greens are a mix of tatsoi, mizuna, endive, and more stuff that I can't remember the name of.  I am making this recipe for Wilted Asian Greens tonight along with chicken and jasmine rice.



I picked our first cucumbers this morning.  These two beauties probably won't survive past lunchtime at our house.  Next summer I plan to grow my cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers inside the greenhouse.  They love warmth and sun and we just haven't had a ton of either this summer.



The greenhouse construction is moving along well.  Our back-ordered greenhouse film is supposed to ship this week.  Then we will have a roof!  We found a screen door and a gallon of green colored wood stain at the Habitat for Humanity Store




 The gallon of stain was $8 and the screen door was $15 - great prices!  The stain is a dark green - perfect for a greenhouse!  I like the screen door because it has character.  The raised panel design on the front is unique.  Maybe someday the boys and I will stencil designs on it too.




 I like how the colors of stain look together.  The brown stain was free from the Waste to Energy Plant.  The green came from the Habitat Store for $8.  So, we have colors that look great together and they weren't selected from endless choices.



 
There are only 4 more windows to go in, a roof, and some siding.  So exciting!  Stay tuned for the final project pictures.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Weekly Update - August 1, 2011


Summer is finally here - and hot!  High temperatures have been in the upper 80's for a few days now.  The pole beans are starting to climb up the teepee we made.  Tomatoes are beginning to turn closer to yellow - on their way to red.  Corn is just starting to tassel out.  Raspberries and strawberries have really slowed down production - just a handful here and there.

I really am still watering the potatoes.  This is what they look like when they start to die back.  Once over half of the plant is yellow/brown, I stop watering it.  I'll dig the potatoes once the plants are completely dead.  We planted some blue potatoes, red (though the whole potato) potatoes, and some "normal" potatoes.





The greenhouse is coming along.  Jayme does a great job with the recycled materials he finds.  The windows are recycled (with help from craigslist and a friend) and the redwood trim came from an old deck that was no longer wanted.  I love the look of the redwood.  Once he put the old boards through the planer, they look new again!