We start the tour at the end of our stone patio looking to our eastern neighbors. (Please ignore all the junk around. When it is this hot, nothing is going to be hauled around.)
The chimnea was left by the previous owners and we have only used it a few times. I thought it might be fun to fill it with soil and grow something.
From the top is a Zinfandel grape. An old baby gate was cut apart for the grid in the front hole. I intended it to be filled with parsley, but it grows so slow! Instead, a cherry tomato is filling in until all the parsley decides it was to live there.
In the background is some of the cedar I got cheap for a raised bed. We will get around it when the weather cools again (hopefully soon!)
We now see the artichoke bed and the corner from hell. That table is something our neighbors' (whose house you see here) rummaged it from the road. They decided they didn't want it and gave it to us. It is great for the outdoor work and junk. That poor corner is the current throw-all. It is piled with some twigs that I want to weave into a fence-like structure to help with privacy. The heat makes it all too difficult to do anything. I can't wait for the cool weather so I can go outside and stay for more than 15 minutes. I am going to make a potato tower that will stand next to the table. Wish me luck with potatoes! Let my Irish come through!
There is the back of our house and the first of 2 raised 4x4 foot beds. They are filled with "Mel's Mix" which was a pretty penny! I won't complain; the stuff grew great! I am adding compost for the second plantings now. This bed has a Roma tomato, broccoli, and our herbs (purple sage, rosemary, Greek oregano, Hot oregano, and Sweet Genovese basil) A Brussels sprouts will soon be added along with an attempt at a Musque de Provence pumpkin.
Here is the second 4x4 foot bed growing peppers, edamame, and one-eyed peas. The 2 hanging baskets have a shasta daisy from seed (it is so small and taking forever-stinkin' heat!) and a borage. The borage is very cool and the leaves do have a cucumber taste! They aren't to die for, but interesting. The flowers are super cute and tasty. These peppers look almost dead, but there over 40 peppers on the one banana pepper plant. This bed is in the perfect spot for the harsh summer. On the far right you can see the salad table.
The salad table is on the right. 3 boxes that are 15"x22" sit on the top. They are 3" deep. The far left has some lettuce planted 1 month ago. (Outredgeous and Tom Thumb)The middle is currently my roll over for the tomato plants I started inside. These tomatoes are going to be awesome! They are currant vareties and are not some weird genetic thing. MicroTOM is a hybrid, but the other 2 varieties are heirloom seeds. There is also a San Marzano tomato for paste. That one is supposed to be super low acidity. Can't wait for those to show me if I am a tomato gardener of if I have to get it right next year.
The right box has 6 kinds of lettuce and is home to a green anole. All the varieties I planted in this one were very bitter with the summer heat. Tom Thumb is the best so far and that is what I replanted in the first box. As for the bitter lettuce, even soaking them in ice water and putting them in the fridge did nothing to bring out the sugars. One of the romaines has shot up a flower and I hope to collect the seeds.
The front terra cotta pot is Phoebe's. She dead heads the dianthus and moss roses often. There was a lavender, but it didn't last. I took 3 cuttings from it and rooted them. Those are on the bottom shelf of the old grill salad table. There are also 3 rosemary cuttings and one from the bay. Wish me luck on the bay! I really hope it will take off as I would love to give those as gifts in 3 years.
Behind the trunk of the tree is the bay laurel (the bay leaves are awesome!) and the grapefruit we planted last year from one that sprouted in the fridge. Beware! Citrus from seed has some of the most awesome thorns!
The plastic shelves have my 2x2" soil maker plugs with a slew of stuff for transplant (celery, Brussels sprouts, and a melon. Mostly, I am going to annuals and some perennials as I don't want to pay garden center prices.) I am loving that soil block method I learned from Eliot Coleman. I got mine from Jason at www.pottingblocks.com. I don't know Jason, but he was very nice through email and he signed his name. So there you go, Jason-the soil block guru.
Now we are looking to the west. The porch railing can be seen on the right. Again, ignore the stuff just piled. They need to be recycled, but I haven't gotten out the sharp knife to break them down. The old yellow pool served us well for the kids and a garden as I planted it in the spring as my first "raised" bed.When we purchased the house, a huge agave grew here. There were also large rocks around it. It basically rotted because the rocks held in the moisture and those years weren't drought years. We moved the rocks to the back area for a run-off. Mike dug this out 12" and I sifted all the rocks. We then framed the outer edges in cedar and filled it with a compost/garden soil mix. On the right side is a trellis made from electrical conduit (from Square Foot Gardening book). Hanging from it is nylon twine to attach clips to support the tomato, zucchini, and cuke (once they really get going). That clip system is what greenhouses use and I find it to be a cool idea. Another Eliot Coleman idea introduction. So, I got some of the clips. The other things hanging around are my mister system to keep me cool.
There is the grand tour as it stands now. Let me know what you are growing and how it goes!
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