Plans for Our 2011 Garden and My New Flower Garden!

Yes, it's that time of year again! Planting and planning, sowing and growing. We're planing to sell most of the vegetables to a local farm stand this year. Our greenhouse was re-built with new plastic this spring, as the plastic tore off in a wind storm last year.
Also, God has blessed us with another greenhouse for free! It's a small 6'x8' aluminum framed greenhouse and very sturdy. Though it came in June, I'm putting it to work by using it for my extra tomato plants. This Fall I hope to grow some vegetables through part of the winter in it as well.   

Here is our list of vegetables and new herbs for this year:

Shin Kuroda Carrot
Sterling Onion
Alisa Craig Onion
Lancelot Leeks
Golden Zucchini
Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce
Dragon Carrots
Jericho Lettuce
True Lemon Cucumber
Healthy Sweet Pepper
Yugoslavian Red Butter head Lettuce
Danvers Carrots
Amish Snap Peas
Longfellow Cucumber
Blondkopfchen Cherry Tomatoes
Red Iceberg Lettuce
Moon Glow Tomato
Winter Luxury Pumpkin
All of these vegetables are heirloom vegetables and most are organic. We've bought from two seed companies in the past few years and have had great success with them. One is Seed Savers Exchange and the other is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I've gotten all my herbs from them as well.

We have many more herbs, but these are the "new" ones for this years' garden...
German Thyme
Sweet Genovese Basil
Epazote
Fern leaf Dill
Garlic Chives and Onion Chives
Sweet Marjoram 
My new project of the year and one I hope will bring in a bit of capital is my cut flower garden. I have been working on making little garden plots all over our farm. Not an easy task, but I have been able to create 3 spots with the help of my dad. I now have a triangular bed next to the house. My "lily" bed about 8'x 3'. A long raised bed 12'x2'. And lastly a 56'' x 3'/6' bed which was not really planned. My dad took apart a rock wall which was rather crooked and not very pretty and cut it back by about 2-3' and lengthened it by about 30'....
Then with my brother's help rebuilt the rock wall and making it a total of 60' long!
Dad went and bought some decorative wood edging and I created the bed. We found a wonderful deal on compost so we tiled it in and it was ready to go!

Well, not quite... I found that it is not very easy to use every square inch to the best advantage when you're dealing with a 60' long bed! So my solution... string and popstickle sticks. That right! You take a yard stick and measure each foot out with a popstickle stick. Then taking the string you tie one end to popstickle stick and the other to the one opposite. Needless to say it took me awhile to finish that project!

Here is what I hope will grow this year:

Pygmy Torch Amaranthus Hypochondriacus
Twinkle Blue Blush Lithianthus 
Peacock Orchid Gladiolus
White Gladiolus 
Autumn Beauty Helianthus Annuus
Baby's Breath Elegans Alba Grandiflora
Bunny Tail Grass Lagurus Ovatus
Green Tails Amaranthus Caudatus
Teddy Bear Helianthus Annuus
Velvet Queen Helianthus Annuus
Valentine Helianthus Annuus
Grandiflora Mixture Sweet Peas Lathyrus Odoratus
Bells of Ireland Moluccella Laevis
Color Mixture Pincushion Scabiosa Atropurpurea
Butterfly Weed Asclepias Tuberosa
Black-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia Hirta
Italian White Helianthus Debilis
Cosmic Red Cosmos Sulphureus
Rainbow Mix Coleus Hybridus
White Oriental Lily
Blue Hydrangea
Shasta Daisy
Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranthus Caudatus
White Musk Mallow Malva Moschata
(a native of England)
Pink Musk Mallow Malva Moschata
(a native of England)
Grapette Oriental Day Lily 
Oriental Poppy Mix Papaver Orientale
Red Pygmy Border Dahlia
Brenda Jordan's Heirloom  Cockscomb
Stella de Oro Oriental Border Lily
Scarlet Flax
I bought the dahlia, white glad, and peacock orchid at Holland Bulb Farms. Many of the other plants where from Seeds & More. While I splurged a bit and bought some a couple from England, Shaggy and the Oriental Poppy mix from a place called Plant World Seeds

Here is what I found out since putting together this post....
1. Chickens do not help your garden grow. Instead they enjoy tilling newly planted vegetables and flowers and tearing what's left to shreds.
2. Slugs have an obsession when it comes to eating. They do not just nibble they demolish. Nothing up here in the Pacific Northwest of Washington seems to stop them. Two choices are left; go hunting for them on and around the plants in late evening and early morning. Or get hot pepper wax spray. I did both.
3. However far apart the seed packet tells you to plant something, plant it closer. I found that out with my flower gardens. Most of these plants I've never seen first hand before, let alone grown. Making it difficult to calculate the distance between the plants.       

The plants have yet to notice that it is July and they need to start producing flowers and fruit. We harvested some peas and were able to sell over a two dozen heads of lettuce, as well as some dill,  basil, marjoram, and thyme so far. But like most things, when you want it to hurry up it always seems to take forever. I think they know this quote from Winnie-the-Pooh,  "Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there some day."

Seeing these plants grow and marveling at the complexities and diversities between them, I think of Psalm 19:1-4a: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."  

  The Spacious Firmament on High
By Joseph Addison

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.

Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's pow'r display;
And publishes to ev'ry land
The work of an Almighty hand.

Soon as the ev'ning shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And, nightly to the list'ning earth,
Repeats the story of her birth;

While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though in solemn silence all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice, nor sound,
Amidst their radiant orbs be found?

In Reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing, as they shine:
'The hand that made us is divine.'
From the nature we see around us...
 To the awesome power of storms...
 We can see God's boundless mercy, as well as His infinite might!   

9 comments:

  1. Sheesh, I know what you mean about the plants not knowing what season they're in! Great job with the garden plans (I love the flowers)! May God see your garden fruitful! :)

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  2. Thank you for the post.
    I love all of your pictures.
    You are very talented.
    Love,
    Maria

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  3. Patrick7/30/2011

    Wow, Leanne... great work!

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  4. Thank you for leaving comments everyone! I love hearing feedback! If there is any subject or issue you would like me to do an article on, please let me know! I love new ideas.

    Just a side note to that last photo. I couldn't find out who took the picture, but I did find out that it was taken back in 2008 and was during the Chaiten volcano erupting at night. You can read more at: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-563975/Amazing-pictures-The-lighting-storm-engulfed-erupting-volcano.html

    Another post coming soon! (Lord willing.) :)

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  5. How fun!

    I really like those "Dragon Carrots"! =)

    I don't believe I've ever heard of Epazote! What does it taste like?

    Btw, I love the font you have on your blog! It fits nicely with your blog background. :-)

    Blessings,
    Ana

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  6. It all looks and sounds wonderful! It was so good to see you again at the Bradrick's and I wish we could have spent more time together. My mom bought Bocce ball while I was gone and every time we play I think of you. :)
    Lots of love,
    ~Jacqueline

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  7. What fun! :) I would enjoy seeing pictures of your garden sometime!

    Blessings!
    ~Amy

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  8. Thank you Ana. That herb that you mentioned is meant (or so I'm told) to be used in Mexican dishes. I haven't tried it yet because everyone is a bit leery of it at our house. It has a very pungent odor.

    Hello Jacqueline! I wish we had more time to talk as well! That's funny that you got Bocce balls afterward! That's sweet of you! I hope you can come up to visit again soon and we can go out for coffee or something.
    Love you too!
    Leanne

    Hey Amy,
    Yes, I will post those soon! Matt just got a new camera lens so I can take some pictures!

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  9. Oh good! :)
    I am looking forward to seeing them! :)
    ~Amy

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