Papas

One of these years I'll get it right. I absolutely love growing potatoes. They are so darn easy...IF you do them right. I really wanted to grow them again this year because I loved watching Andy sneak them from our planter, boil them up and scarf them down. His face would glow with excitement and amazement that something so small could be so satisfying and delicious. 

We agreed to grow them in the large box this year. All I had to do was ask for advice, but we just went for it.  Potatoes should be planted in a sort of trench. When their leaves pop up, you bury them with soil and continue to bury them every time their leaves reach the surface. The tubers grow off that vine and the deeper you bury them the more they will produce. It will end up looking like a mound of dirt or a mini hillside of soil. Well, we scattered them in the planter and forgot all about that trench. The greens have surfaced and I continue to bury them, but I'm not sure how deep we will be able to go in our front yard. Any suggestions?  Ideas? ALL are welcome! 

Strawberries, strawberries everywhere!

The strawberry plants are still growing wild and free both in the planter boxes and in the hanging planters. They all look like they will produce wonderful fruit. We just cannot wait!  Now our only concern is our main predator....Matilde! She gobbles them up every chance she gets. We'll have to keep a watchful eye on that little strawberry sneaker. 

Planter Box #6

I came home from work to find Andy working on yet another box. It is now in its permanent place out front. It sits to the right of the tree in the photo. It is a little larger than the ones we already have.  What should we plant in it?  

Golden Delicious

When life hands you (FREE) apples, make applesauce!!

Chow Box

This beautiful box was the final welcome box that we gave to the new next door neighbors. 

It included: a curly cucumber (it grew in a circle!), lots of tomatoes, a couple potatoes, a handful of garlic, three large  green onions, two Walla Walla sweet onions, a half dozen fresh eggs, and a handmade tomato pincushion.  It was presented to them in a cute handmade veggie box from Andy with a card made by the girls. I think they enjoyed the surprise, but I think I needed to extend a hand since I've poo-poo'd the house. Like our other neighbor, Matt, I was upset with the house not the people. I needed to give the box to live my amends. 

Welcome to the neighborhood Karoline and Chris! 

That's a BIG salad!

Here are a ton of salad greens and radishes that we planted in order to use our empty space. The melons will take longer to grow, so we planted lettuces that are quick to mature in the mean time. 

Mason Bee House

This is our homemade mason bee house. Mason bees are small, non-stinging bees and are incredible pollinators! They are invited into our garden to pollinate our trees and plants any day! This cute little house is mounted on our fence post between our fruit trees. I hope they find it and make use of it soon!