May - The 2016 Progress

I'm SO BEHIND on this blog it's not even funny, so in the interest of catching up, I'm just going to do a massive image and video dump, then I'll aim for more frequent updates to stay current.

So...with that said....BOOM!

This video was filmed a while back and never uploaded. You can see how huge all the veggies have gotten since!



Ladybugs purchased for aphid removal. All their hard work paid off!

 

 

Then there was this mess. A weed whacking trimmer was purchased and it was AMAZING.

Before and after....

The lettuce exploded. A rain/sun combo made the garden thrive.

Then....a little bit later...boom! LETTUCE! 

The new garden box was built and planted up with tomatoes and peas.

And the girls, of course....

Our friendly cat neighbor visits frequently! :)

The Fairy Section was started, but fizzled. We're jumping back in soon.

Round one of the fairy house. It's cool because it lights up, but it needs a LOT of detail and tuning work! A LOT.

And, we have a huge ant colony under the bricks in back. They came pouring out one hot day. Maybe a Spring Fling? :)

 

Strawberries in front...

Apple tree was pruned.  I cut all the dead wood off. It seems much happier!

Clivia in front bloomed, but we lost our lilies.

And lastly, the carrot that hung around since last summer. I thought it was going to be huge based on the leaves, but it was another tiny guy. Sadly, it was left in too long and was more like a root than a carrot. We all spit it out - so gross! hehehehe

The upsides are that the kids LOVE eating out of the garden. They run back to harvest lettuce and kale and eat it up enthusiastically for the most part. Especially with Shana's sweet salad dressing on it! hehehe I love that they get to see the whole process - from planting to eating - right there in our garden.
Last year they liked to watch the tomatoes grow and found the potatoes to be delicious, but they are not big tomato eaters and the potatoes only gave us a few meals worth of food. But we've had many lettuce salads and it's still going strong. That's been our most lucrative crop, really. Shana has not purchased lettuce in weeks.

Looking forward to more progress and relaxation in the garden!

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The Oasis is Alive and Kicking

A random dump of images in the middle of birthday parties, first days of school and hellish one day commutes. :)

One of the things I realized is that there's more than just growing the veggies - there's eating them as well! The lettuce is easy. Pick and eat. Some of the other items are requiring a little more research. I tried roasting the peppers we have, but it's not the same as roasting a red pepper or something like that. Shana thinks they will be good for tomato sauce.  Stay tuned.

INSTANT SALAD! :)  So good!

Hard to see, but the cucumbers start out tiny with little flowers on them....

...then grow to crazy sizes. Delicious, but we need to cut the skin off because it's too bitter, but the inside is so good!

These peppers. Not a good roaster, but may be good in sauce.

The squash is another cute one. Starts out small and fuzzy with a flower....

 

Then it balloons right up! 

 

The flowers are edible. We had some stuffed with cheeses and fried at a local spot and it was really delicious.  

 

 The vine is on the loose! 

Far side tomato - going strong.

Shed side tomatoes - going strong as well. Salad with one of them last night and the black krims are still super yummy!

The main garden spot is in full swing. The corn is acting a bit funny. I need to research it to see if it's just it's natural cycle or if it needs more or less of something. We'll see.

Spicy pepper. Need to sort this one out.

Water is another tricky thing here in California. We need to be smart with when we water, where we water and how often. Seems to be working out. We do things like collecting bath water and the water that runs when you're waiting for the hot water to start flowing and dumping it on the plants when we can.

Cucumber. :)

Beans!  Another fun one for the kids. They love 'em right off the vine!

The kids love helping out when they can as well. They are part of the process!

And scruffy ol me loves the garden for sure! :)