Harvest Monday 3/18/13

I have a mini harvest to report this week.  I pulled a carrot that looked large from the top, but turns out is was really short and stout.  Oh well, it was still sweet and tasty.  I also harvested some mini side shoots from the broccoli.

Then there is the ole standby, Swiss chard.  It seems no matter the season, Swiss chard keeps on growing.

Carrot 1.9 oz
Broccoli 0.5 oz
Swiss chard 2.3 oz

Weekly total: 4.7 oz

That's all the harvests coming from my garden this week, to see what others are harvesting check out Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.

Harvest Monday 3/11/13

After falling off the gardening blog bandwagon, I'm trying to get back into the habit.  I've missed Harvest Mondays. They are a great motivator for harvesting and using what I have in the garden.  This winter has brought actual winter weather.  Last winter was the first time I attempted to grow veggies and it was so mild I had plenty to harvest.  This winter has been much colder and I was not very diligent about covering my crops, so I don't have much to report. 

This is a mix of turnips and kohlrabi ready to be roasted:

My other harvest this week is swiss chard:

Turnip 6.7 oz
Kohlrabi 7.4 oz
Swiss chard 1.7 oz

Weekly total:  15.8 oz


That's all the harvests coming from my garden this week, to see what others are harvesting check out Harvest Monday at Daphne's Dandelions.

Project: Watering Can Fountain

I made a watering can fountain back in September.  It was a simple DIY project that added a nice, calming sound to the garden.  Here's how I did it:

I wanted to add a water feature to my garden, but I didn't want to deal with having to plug in a fountain.  The nearest electrical outlet would require the cord to either go over or under a sidewalk.  Going under sounds difficult and going over wouldn't be pretty.  Instead I decided to get a solar water pump. 

The affordable solar pumps don't have as much power as the electrical ones, but I didn't need a lot of power.

The only other things I needed was a watering can and a metal tub.  I also got a couple of paving squares and leveled them to place the tub on.

I then used a combination of drilling (which was not too effective) and hammering a large nail into the bottom of the watering can to run the tubing through.

I ran the tubing to the watering can spout.

This is what the inside of the watering can looked like:

I nailed the handle of the watering can to the fence, added rocks and water to the tub along with a decorative frog.  I put the solar panel on the top of the fence, facing south.  Then I just had to wait for the solar panel to charge and I had a lovely little fountain. 

Most days the pump runs all day and continues for a couple of hours after the sun sets.  I had to adjust the position of the tub because the pump was more powerful during the midday and the water was shooting out past the tub.

It was a simple project that adds a relaxing addition to the garden.

Fell Off the Blogging Bandwagon!

Life has gotten in the way of my garden and my blog.

There are big changes coming to my garden, but it was all so uncertain for so many months that I didn't want to write about what might happen and then have to retract my excitement.  However, the changes are definitely going to happen and very soon!

But before I get ahead of myself there's some things to catch up on in the garden...

1. I harvested my first ever leek!  I've always been too impatient for leeks, but my garden neglect allowed them to actually grow to a decent size.
2. Harvest total for 2012 was 241.5 lbs.  I may have missed a few pounds here and there.  My goal was 300 lbs, so I didn't quiet make it, but I was impressed with myself for keeping track of my harvests.
3. Garden goals accomplished for 2012:



Watering can and metal tub fountain

1. Chalkboard plant labels
2. Bee mason house
3. Add flowers and shrubs to the front flower bed
4. Grow sweet potatoes
5. Plant asparagus
6. Plant grapes
7. Make garden fountain
8. Make rain gauge
9. Plant bed of raspberries
10. Plant blueberry bushes
11. Make bed in front of potting shed
12. Set up seed starting center
13. Finish potting shed

My DIY rain gauge

Domino hanging out in the potting shed

2012 was a good year in the garden and 2013 is going to bring lots of changes, lots of projects, and lots of veggies (hopefully!).  Last year my goal was to weigh my harvests; this year my goal is to not fall off the blogging bandwagon (again)!