Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year Everyone

Happy New Year Everyone!

I spent some time in the greenhouse today planting some carrot, onion, pak choy, bok choy, chamomile, stevia and dill seeds.

Sweet Husband sneaking a photo of me in the greenhouse

Seed starting trays

Below is a photo of the January garden from the roof. In just a few months these beds will be full of color.

View from the roof
If you have been following my blog for the past two years you know I always come up with some kind of a big project for the season. When the new fence was installed over the summer we had to take down the shades. We are not planning on putting them back up because we don't think the new fence can handle it. So I will need to come up with something to shade the beds when the summer temps get too hot for the garden. I know what you are thinking as you look at the photo above... just put shade cloth over the hoops. Yes I could do that but I'm not going to. I think I have a better idea that will make it easier for me to get into the beds without having to remove the shade cloth every time I need to harvest.

10 comments:

  1. I love the view of your garden from the roof. I also have a small garden. It's amazing how much one can grow in a small space. Like you, I grow a lot of crops verically while other crops are growing in the beds.

    Granny over at Annie's Kitchen Garden used a piece of supported lattice last year to shade her lettuce. It worked well, the garden got water without removing cloth.

    I can't wait to see what you have in mind

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  2. Hi Robin - I love taking photos from the roof throughout the year. You can really see the changes in the garden. I only have 118 sq ft to grow in but it's enough to feed me and my husband.. and my son when he comes home to visit from school.

    I've been checking out Granny's lattice work and it works really well. I may use it for one or two of my smaller beds. For my bigger beds my idea is a little different and I will use materials I already have on hand. Once I install and test it out I will post photos.

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  3. I'm holding my breath for the photos of the "new idea"! Better hurry, Granny's turning blue ;-)

    I really need to get some Remay or Agribon to cover my greens and beets this year. The leaf miners are taking too much of a toll on those crops. The row covers could easily be used on the beds where I had the lattice panels.

    I love your views from the roof, too. I wish I were brave enough to climb up on mine!

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  4. Breathe Granny breathe!

    It will be a few weeks before I can start on my project. I will keep the hoops in place for the bird netting to keep the squirrels out. The netting seems to be working well on the 2"x3" bed with the newly transplanted strawberries. I have not seen one paw print or hole dug so far.

    I would not recommend you getting up on your roof. My roof is nice and flat so it's a little safer to climb on to. How about putting a ladder in the middle of your yard and taking photos from up top? Have Mr Granny holding the ladder of course :-)

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  5. I'm considering removing the fiberglass panels from our back patio, and having a solid roof with shingles, like on the house. If we did that, there's not much pitch to the roof, and I could install a permanent ladder for me to climb up there. I could use the ladder for holding potted plants, with just enough room for me to step up on....it's a thought! Nah, I'd probably kill myself.

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  6. wow, look at you go! inspiring!

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  7. Granny - Yea maybe you should stay on the ground.

    Kelli - Thanks! It's nice to get my hands dirty again :-)

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  8. Hi Liisa,

    Nice meeting you at Haven.

    Thanks for sending me the link to your blog. Awesome! Athough, now I feel the need to hurry and get my seeds sowed!

    Regards, Sam

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  9. Hi Sam! I was thinking about you today. I'm going to be sending an email to the Haven staff.. I want to setup a meeting to start planning the garden.

    I always start my seed way to early.. well maybe not for the spring crops. I'll be starting some for Haven too.

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  10. One of these days I'm going to crawl up on my roof and take a picture of the garden - love it!

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