Busy as Bees

Ever noticed the fence at the end of the garden?

 Ever wondered what is behind it?

 Some friends are hard at work.

Yep, honey bees are helping to pollinate our veggies.   Their entrance is at the bottom of the box and the honey is at the very top.  There are over 30,000 honeybees at work in that box.

One of the most frequently asked questions regarding the hive is, "Who gets the honey?"  The beekeeper, whose name is Jon.  He was at the garden on Saturday.  Unfortunately I wasn't there when he came by (or I would have taken pictures.)  My husband and son said he gave a bit of demonstration and they were overflowing with information at dinner that night.

The next time you're at our garden, sneak back there and take a peek for yourself.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

To inspire you, this is a list of what was grown in our garden last year (in no particular order):

Eggplant
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Sweet Potatoes
White Potatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers - multi colors of sweet bell
Banana peppers
Jalapeño Peppers
Anaheim Peppers
Tomatoes - all kinds!
Okra
Peas
Carrots
Onions
Green beans
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Squash
Radishes
Turnips
Lettuce
Herbs - basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, rosemary
Flowers - zinnia , marigold, sunflowers


And here's a list from the U of A that tells you what and when to plant.

Spring: A Closer Look

Here are a few more pictures from the garden.

Charlotte has many flowers on her strawberry plants.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

 Bob Baxter admires his garden with a visiting young lady (I didn't catch her name.)

 The Aults have been busy.

 And two new signs in the garden...

Work Day in the Garden

We had a great turnout of volunteers for today's work day.  The kids certainly had fun in the dirt (and I have laundry to prove it. :)

 Several new boxes were built.

And several people did some "spring cleaning." (Steve Faubel on left, Jim Ault on right)  Mulch was spread between the boxes.

Others have plants in their boxes.  This reporter was a bit distracted by a certain 3 month old so I only took 3 pictures.

The garden is transforming.  Be sure to stop by and admire all the sweat equity.

Some of you asked about the red beans and rice recipe I served at lunch.  It is super easy to make and you can make enough for a crowd.  If you have leftovers, it freezes well.

Garden Expansion

We're starting to plan for more garden boxes.  Below is the site plan (green boxes are existing, purple ones are future).  I have begun to assign new boxes.  Contact me if you're interested in gardening this year.  luvmyhub AT gmail.com

A few of us met to talk about the gardens yesterday.  Cary Cox (POA President) is on left and Randy Ripley (architect and garden designer) on right.

Jim and Margaret Ault were working on their plots yesterday.  They gave me a nice mess of spinach and lettuce.  It made a yummy addition to my dinner.
The Aults also shared spinach with the Ripleys.  Below Claudette is helping herself.

I planted seeds (spinach, onions and lettuce) last week but they've yet to germinate.  I hope they didn't wash away in last week's downpours.

The Winter Garden

Y'all, I'm getting excited for spring!  Three weeks ago I gave birth to our third child, a 10 pound 10 ounce healthy boy (details here).  I feel a million times better than I have in nine months!

Yesterday I went to the garden for the first time in months.  Oh boy - it looks different from this fall.

First of all, the garden fairies built a compost bin.  It looks great!  Who wants to take credit for it?  All we need now is more compost.  :)

Looks like Clay Paul sowed some winter wheat as soil-enriching ground cover.  And, it looks like his mint survived the cold snap.

The main reason I went to the garden was to dump our ash bucket on my plot.  My parents scatter their fireplaces ashes on their garden so I thought I'd follow suit.  You can read more about using ashes to amend the soil here.  Our next bucket will be scattered in our yard.  We've loved burning a fire this winter!

 I suppose technically I should have had a soil sample taken first.  I'll put that on my "to do" list.

 I'm getting excited for spring!  The daffodils are poking up their sleepy heads in my flower beds.

Amending the Soil: Winter Wheat

Two informative articles from Mother Earth News:

Cover Crops: Tips and Advantages
Restoring Soil Nutrients: Organic Gardening

I plan on getting to the garden soon to clean out my bed and plant some winter wheat.  From bread making, I had some soft winter wheat (that grows well in a warm winter climate like ours).  I'm sure you could buy some at Whole Foods in the bulk bins.  Or just ask me, I'll give you a cup - our beds are so small you don't need much.

Below are pictures from LAST December of the raised bed near my house...and my cute garden helpers.

 She thought the soft soil was chocolate.  And soon learned it wasn't.

At the farmers' market, I scored some rice hulls to act as compost as well as camouflage for the wheat kernels (so the birds wouldn't peck the wheat before they germinated.)

We also added wheat to flower pots that didn't have annuals.  Actually, I think I planted tulips in this pot (below the wheat) and it looked pretty for a day or so until it was too hot and my tulips wilted.

 Springtime...just before I turned the soil.