First 2011 Seedlings

Today I finally planted my first seeds of 2011...I actually meant to plant them last week but hey, life gets in the way sometimes! The honor went to kale for being the first of the year. I also bought probably the only pack of seeds I plan on buying this year and they were fava beans from OSC. Last fall I bought a seed keeper book from Lee Valley (love it!) and after organizing my seeds in it during the winter I realized I'm actually well stocked. I'll be buying more transplants this year, specifically tomatoes and herbs, just to make sure I have enough room for the other seedlings.

Kale seeds from OSC

2011 Garden List

So I've finally narrowed down my list of things to grow this year, some I'll be starting from seed and some from transplants:

- green beans (bush)

- scarlet runner beans

- fava beans

- carrots

- tomatoes (4)

- cayenne peppers (2)

- jalapeño peppers (2)

- mini bell peppers (2)

- basil

- parsley

- thyme

- chives

- beets

- zucchini (1)

- cucumber (4)

- lettuce

- potatoes

- rosemary

- winter squash (bush) (1)

- kale (2)

- peas

- spinach

- swiss chard

Seeing it all listed out makes it look more than when I have them placed in my raised bed planting plans. I plan on growing the herbs (except for basil and rosemary) in hanging baskets off our deck, this worked out great the past 2 years. I plant on buying transplants for the herbs and tomatoes, besides that I'll be starting everything by seed. This weekend I'll be planting some kale, although I'm only going to have 2 or 3 plants which I plan on planting in my actual garden, not in the raised beds. I found the 2 plants I had last year lasted me well into the fall and were pretty the whole time!

My 2011 Lee Valley catalogue came in the mail yesterday and I've already found a few things I'd purchase, maybe for my birthday if I'm lucky. I did however find a good deal on a six pack of gardening gloves from Costco so that was my first official garden purchase of 2011. I shouldn't have to purchase too many seeds this year, I've got quite a good collection going already and some friends ready to seed swap. I can already tell that the days are getting longer!!!

June 2010 Garden

Fast forward to a month later at the end of June and here are some updates on the backyard garden, things were finally starting to get growing!!!

This is my potato experiment where I planted 3 of my purple seed potatoes in this flexible tote with holes drilled in the bottom. As the plants grew I just added more soil to the tote.
After they flowered I actually ended up getting these tomato looking like fruits which I found out later are poisonous to eat and usually don't appear, they need just the right conditions to form. These fruits actually have the lots of tiny potato seeds.

This was another one of my patio experiments, I planted 2 small sugar pumpkins in this large pot and added a small trellis for them to climb. I actually was able to grow 2 small cantaloupe sized pumpkins! I plan on growing these again this year but in the garden.

Here's the 4x4 bed after the broccoli was done, the kale ended up going all the way into fall which was awesome! The peas were amazing! This was the first year I grew them and will definitely grow them again this year but in the 8x4 bed so I get more of them. I actually had some garlic and onions in the cells to the left which were alright but this year I'm going to make a conscious effort to grow a full bed of garlic.

Pea close up shot, these are the Homesteader (Lincoln) midseason peas.

Here's the 8x4 raised bed which was in full tilt. The zucchini and mystery squash, which ended up being a calabash or bottle gourd. I didn't attempt to eat them but they are edible. There are some green bush beans in here too which I plan on planting again this year along with some free marigold seeds I grew that I got at the Canada Blooms convention in Toronto.

Close up of the mini bell peppers, I had a few that turned orange but we ate most of them green.

The perennial garden was getting full too, the raspberries were sending up lots of new shoots and I planted some runner beans on poles in the back.

Finally, this was a new garden addition that I put in the summer, this is my hosta garden. I wasn't sure how well things would grow back here since I thought it would be too shady for most things, hence the hosta garden, but to my surprise things thrived back here! This where I'm going to just let the pumpkins run wild and see what they do.

May 2010 Garden

Last year was a year of weddings for us so blogging about my backyard garden took a backseat on the priorities list. I did however continue to take some photos when I could, below are a few to show the progress in May 2010.

This was the garden in the front of my house when the tulips were up.

I found some iris bulbs in the back of the empty lot next to us last year so I planted them to see what would come up and they grew into these lovely large purple blooms!

This is the 4x4 raised bed in the backyard in May, the kale and broccoli were loving life and the peas were up.

This is the 8x4 raised bed where I had just planted the tomatoes in the back, peppers in front of them, then the mystery squash and zucchini, and finally beets, mesclun mix, and carrots in the front.

Finally the perennial bed with the raspberries on the sides, red currant bush in the back, rhubarb in the front, and some strawberries mixed in that I grew in pots the previous year.

Long awaited update!

So sorry for the long pause between posts, past few weeks have been yet again busy with work and family! All is well though, been going strong with the garden. I spent a lot of time over the weekend clearing out weeds from both the front and back yards and started moving some perennials around. Some excitement during the week included receiving my Top Hat blueberry plants, I potted them up right away and they are currently in quarantine outside on my deck. I don't really plan on bringing them inside but just in case it gets cold I might have to. Below are some shots of the backyard raised beds. I finally got around to building my pea trellis and they appear to be doing well.

Top Hat Blueberries

Rainbow Lights Swiss Chard

The 4x4 raised bed with broccoli (2), kale (2), two rows of peas (early & mid season), pak choi, onions, and garlic

From the other side, the onions have really started to take off! No sign of the garlic though.

Perennial bed: Boyne and Heritage raspberries, red currant bush, rhubarb, and strawberries

Unknown squash seeds given to me by a friend.

My potato experiment with some russian blue potatoes, I'm planting these in big tubs that I will use to "hill" up the spuds.

Here they are chitting away.

Here are some of the tomatoes and the borage which is getting big!

Recently transplanted basil and flowers

The tomato shelf!

The first harvest of the season, a fist full of kale!

The result went well with some leftover chicken and brown rice, yum!

Early Birthday Present

So I finally set up my early birthday present...I'm so spoiled...I love my new potting room and my new seedling rack!!! It's from Costco, steel with 6 shelves and came with casters. Maybe a little much for right now but lots of room to add more lights...hehe...maybe next year. I transplanted some of my tomatoes, almost all of them came up which is nice since most of the seeds were purchased last year.

The new potting room...all mine. I'm adding a white board and calendar...oh and a stereo.

The new seed rack....yeah!!!

Long Time No Blog

I have definitely been overdue for a blog entry, I blame my basement which has turned into a time and money pit this past month. We have progressed leaps and bounds so I can't say I'm not more than thrilled. My seeds have not been ignored though, I have been planting and transplanting here and there. With the new basement, my husband was so kind to give me a potting room, well half a room more like it (the other half is his bike storage). I moved my light setup down there and I now have an old desk which now houses my potting bin, garden books, and all my seed starting supplies. The room is unfinished with a concrete floor which is nice so I can make a bit of a mess and not have to worry too much about it. Now on to the seedlings:

Borage seedlings - a lot bigger than I thought they would be!

Orange bell peppers and mini bell peppers (started in vermiculite)

Summer savory...I'm interested to see what this tastes like.

Bright lights swiss chard (red, yellow, and pink).

Thyme are doing well, starting to bush out nicely.

Cilantro and tumbler tomatoes, I will transplant these tonight.

Seeds started in vermiculite, I need to transplant these now.

Thyme for Thinning...hehe

The past week I've been occupied by our basement, it's coming along nicely and it's finally time to paint...now that all the drywall dust is gone. As for my plants, all appears to be well. I finally reached the point where I had to thin the thyme. I thought I did a good job at only sowing a few seeds per peat pellet, apparently I overestimated my accuracy, but now they have some more room. I thinned to 2 to 3 per peat pellet which should give me more than enough thyme for fresh eating and drying.


My sweet peas have taken off, now I see how they like to vine out...I'm going to have to transplant them soon and give them something to climb. Hopefully the spring like weather sticks around for good so I can get an early start to outdoor planting. The broccoli and kale are doing well, some good growth going and they are staying nice and stocky. This weekend I will be planting some parsley, rosemary, and purple coneflower.


The bulbs are doing great, three daffodils have bloomed and the grape hyacinth is still going. Some of the tulips are starting to come up too which is exciting!!!