Veggie Garden Round 2

I bought the seeds for the fall garden today. I'm going to try my luck with rainbow chard, "little finger" carrots which I hear are very sweet, scallions, giant snow peas, kale, snap bush beans, soybeans and broccoli. I also have some cabbage seeds left over from last year so I'll give them a chance to see if anything grows. I'm getting some veggies out of the ground this year!

I had wanted to start building the new raised boxes today but it wasn't in the cards. My drill isn't holding a charge and the girls were going nuts.

I'm working on big plans for the rest of the yard. I've got enough projects lined up for the next 5 years at least. The first up are creating walking paths from the driveway to the front door and the back gate.

Depending on the cost I'm going to fence the front yard with a small 3' or 4' high wood framed wire mesh fence to keep the girls from running out into the road. There will be a gate with Asian style arbor at the top of the stairs to prevent the kiddos from falling down the stairs that lead to the mailbox and the street.

For the spring I'm going to build some raised beds for a cut flower garden. I'll also be working on the planter beds in the front and the back, adding river rock to create a dry creek bed under the eaves of the roof.

The chinaberry trees have got to go. Not only are they invasive, but are the berries poisonous, and the fallen leaves and berries toxify (is that a word?) the ground so other plants can't grow. So at some point, to the unhappiness of Skip and Zoe, the chinaberry trees are coming down along with the holly bushes in the front.

I've also got plans for adding some bird- and butterfly-loving plants in the backyard, a seating area with fire pit, and more, more, more.

Teething. Arg.

I need sleep to make things work.

Austin: Home of Intellectual Livestock

I didn't realize that cattle were that philosophical, generous, and well organized too.

OK. I officially choose the WRONG spot for the garden. Duly noted. The veggies that haven't died aren't getting any bigger or producing.

Moving on... I'll be building some boxes in the side yard for the fall garden. Live and learn.

Garden Update

I've been so busy lately with my new job that it seems that I never find time to update the blog :(

Here's what's been happening with the garden:

- The squash vine borers killed all the pumpkins save 2 vines. I planted more seeds and kept them under row cover. Last week we got a ton for rain and the vines got mildew. I removed the row cover a couple of days ago and the squash vine borers are back. Basters! They've hit all the vines except for 1. I want pumpkins for Halloween! This vine better make it.

- My one pepper was picked and eaten by a raccoon. A new bud pooped up a couple of days ago.

- I harvested my soybeans - all 5 of them.

- The spinach is healthy but not growing. They are still all about 3" tall.

- The watermelon seem to be doing well. They vines are about 2 feet and have gown through a few flower cycles.

I've decided that there's not enough direct sunlight on the veggies and that's why the spinach isn't growing, the soybeans stopped producing and the peppers are producing slowly. There are 2 chinaberry trees close to the garden boxes that are blocking the afternoon sun. I'm going to chop them down. All I need is a chainsaw. Anyone want to help? Sounds fun, yeah?

Blast and Bugger

Something has been cutting down my pumpkin vines! I'm glad that I over planted.

I took one of my damaged vines to Natural Gardener and they identified the pest - squash vine borers.

The larvae eat the inside of the stem. Little buggers! I've covered what's left of the pumpkin vines (about 3 made it) and planted some more pumpkin seeds which should be ready to harvest mid-October just in time for Halloween. Zoe found the seeds that grow the biggest pumpkins, up to 100lbs each according to the package. We'll see if we can get a couple of 50 pounders.

There has been an unusually high amount of rain this year in Austin. We had thunderstorms come through last week. The veggie garden needed it. The pepper plant also lost most of it's lower leaves from the heat. Got to love 95 degrees with 99% humidity. ULK!

The first pepper has appeared.

This weekend we'll be installing a new playscape in the backyard. I'll be busy leveling the ground for the next few days. I'm a bit worried about space. I just found out that a playground needs a 6' "safe area" around all sides. Zoe and Paige just might be sliding down into the watermelon vines. Tomorrow I'm going to measure and stake out the area, so we'll see.

There has been an unusually high amount of rain this year in Austin. We had thunderstorms come through last night and last most of the day. The veggie garden needed it.

Yesterday I lost 2 of the pumpkins but luckily I hadn't thinned them out so we'll still have lots! The pepper plant also lost most of it's lower leaves from the heat. Got to love 95 degrees with 99% humidity. ULK! This morning I did see the very tiny beginning of a pepper.