Urban Farm {June & July}

Hello Hi Hey bloggy land!

Boy! Just when I feel like I can catch up and become decent at blogging regularly, life just rears its head and says, "Ah hell naw!" So I apologize, but here I am with an update on the ol Urban Farm!

Our last update, May, showed the little sprouts / seedlings of our soon to be flourishing garden! These photos were taken in late June.

We are stoked. Things are filling in nicely, although the top bed, which was planted about 4 weeks later than the bottom one, is having a slow start on carrots and beets. I admit that I left the tiny sprouts for one too many days with no water, but I am redeeming myself now! I'm hoping for a September/ October bumper crop utilizing the covers I sewed earlier in the year.

Anyhow, lets catch up to this week!

 

As you can see, we had out first harvest! The garden is rocking right now! We harvested Curly Kale, Spinach, Sugar Peas, and Heirloom Carrots and made ourselves a salad!

My goodness it was fantastic! We had such a good time in the garden together choosing our veggies as well! Hubs kept getting confused about what veggies were what, since planting and tending to the garden has been largely my job!

It is so nice to finally be able to reap some rewards for my hard work, and it feels great knowing we are eating as local and organic as possible! Hubs even commented how cool it was that the scraps from the veggies went right into our compost, which will be used for next years garden! Circle of life friends! It's worth the hard work and time!

On another garden note, I'm having a bit of trouble with my tomatoes. (Shocking, I'm sure). They are flowering like crazy but not fruiting! So frustrating! Upon further investigation, I've come to realize that there aren't very many bees in our backyard to help with pollination. I purchased some lovely butterfly and bee attracting plants, and I'm hoping that will help! Otherwise I may have to resort to pollinating by hand with a teeny tiny paint brush! It is not below me! I need the tomatoes! So if you have any advice and tips about tomatoes, please spill!

And, lastly, please stop back by tomorrow!! Big big news on the ol Urban Farm... a garden isn't the only thing we've  been growing!!! Are you dying of suspense?! See you tomorrow!!

Urban Farm {May}

Hello friends!!

Life is moving right along here at our Urban Oasis! Our last farm update brought you the birth of our two raised bed gardens.

Since then, we have fully planted one of the beds, and the other is about half planted. Since we divided the beds into square foot increments, we are able to fit many veggies in in an organized manner.

 

We labeled each section with a rock with the plant name written on it, as you can see here with the peas. 

 

Did you know peas are a cool weather crop, and can be started outdoors as early as March?! They are considered snap peas if you harvest earlier, and sugar peas if its a later crop. Peas are easy to grow and heavy producers, and you can freeze your harvest! Holla for filling the freezer with home grown goodness! 

Here is a look at Bed #1, fully planted and labeled for your viewing pleasure. 

 

 We will likely be doubling up some of these veggies in the other bed, carrots for sure, since we will go through a lot of those. 

I'm sure you've noticed and are wondering about the PVC hoops on the beds. If you follow me on Instagram (@lololalala), then you've seen the progress on what are now hoop houses. We installed these hoops, and sewed plastic covers for the beds to extend our growing season and protect our crop from both the unpredictable weather here in Bend, and our fruit bat pit-mix puppy, Cash. So far so good as well! As you can see from the photo above,  if you squint, all of our starts have sprouted!! 

In the other bed, we have planted two types of heirloom tomatoes, which we bought at a local garden store, Zucchini, Tuscan Kale, and more peas. I will definitely be putting in more carrots, and maybe some broccoli and arugula. 

I am loving the gardens so far, and spend at least 30 minutes a day tending to them, and our herb garden in the front yard. You may remember our successes of years past with this built in planter box. Last year we decided to take all the plants out of it and put in an herb garden! Best idea ever!! It worked fabulously and is easily accessible when cooking! Herbs are very easy to grow and quite expensive at the grocery store, so I highly recommend growing your own! 

Here's what we have growing so far. The Tarragon, Thyme and Rosemary all survived the winter and returned for 2013, and the Cilantro, Parsley and Mint are new additions as of a few weeks ago. We will be putting some Basil in soon as well, but for now we have a thriving basil plant (for 3.99 from Trader Joe's, get one, best purchase ever) indoors so we aren't missing out in the basil department. 

We will close this post with some hilarious pics of our pets, my constant garden companions. 

 

Here is our cat Zeke defying gravity by running DOWN the fence... 

 And here is our fruit bat Cash, investigating the plastic cover of one of the hoop houses. He is quite the trouble maker, but overall a fantastic dog. 

So that's where we stand so far on the Urban Farm. Its still early, but I am feeling confident that we will get a decent crop this year! Any tips or garden advice, especially on growing tomatoes? That is the one plant I am most intimidated by. 

Speak up in the comments!

The birth of our Urban Farm

Last week, we completed construction on our two raised beds so we can build on our successes of last year and grow our own veggies this summer!

(Prepare yourself for the most un-interesting photos of all time)

We chose to do two 4'x4' beds, for a couple of reasons. 

1. Our soil (as you can see from these glorious photos), is very sandy and rocky. Our house is built over an ancient lava flow, so there aren't too many flat, rock free places in our yard. The small size of these allowed us to place them near each other, but avoid any immoveable lava rocks. 

2. We are using the square foot planting method in these beds, so the smaller size will allow us to easily reach any area of the bed without stepping in the soil. Compacted soil from foot traffic = bad for little veggies. 

I am working on a 'plant map' for the beds, so I can make sure I place the veggies in their ideal growing conditions. Most everything we are sowing is full sun, but there are a couple part shade plants that will  need specific locations within the beds. Since this is our first year attempting a full blown garden, I am going to attempt every vegetable we enjoy, so we can learn from our successes and failures for the next few years. Our neighbor two doors down has a beautiful veggie garden every year, so I am going to pick her brain for any tips about growing in our area.

 

My shadow looks eerily like an alien

We used untreated ceder for our walls, as it is very durable in varied weather conditions. We are going to fill the beds with Black Gold organic soil, and mix in some of our compost from home as well. 

The biggest issue we will be facing I think is protecting our plants from a certain herbivore that shares our home. 

I'm sure you all remember our sweet 'puppy' Cash? He is now almost two (in August), and he is part fruit bat! I'm not kidding when I say the dog would choose a banana over a steak. He is crazy. So we will be building some removable panels made of chicken wire and wood to protect our crops. Hopefully he will learn quickly that they are to be left alone. 

So our veggie starts are growing away (inside), and we are patiently awaiting the rise of overnight temperatures. (Last night it was 22, tonight is supposed to be 26) 

But things are moving along and I am so excited to try my hand at raising organic vegetables to enjoy and share with friends all summer long! 

Whats your experience with growing your own food at home? Sage (no pun intended) advice? Please share in the comments! 

A snowball in July

Not really hehehe, but I got your attention didn't I??!!!

Hub (he has stated I can call him by his real name, so hub is hereafter referred to as James) , James is a handy feller who doesn't always show it. When he does, I so appreciate it. Thanks booboo ; )

Our deck has had several weak boards since we purchased our home in March of 2010. The problem has been amplified due to heavy traffic from us, and the doggers.

Top of step, left side next to the railing was the danger zone. And a cute booty ; )

Plants in the ground...

Pants on the ground, pants on the ground... that song was stuck in my head alllll morning as I got to work in the garden. Cuz these poor plants have been living on the ground, not IN the ground where they belong, for the last week or so.
A girlfriend so kindly dropped them off for me last week after she decided she didn't need them.
Sweet.

The first to make their way into a new home was a half flat of Lobelia. We have a cool built-in planter on our front stoop, and I decided this would be a perfect place for the spreading habits of this plant. The box had some hens and chicks and ice plant already residing there, along with an ornamental grass we planted earlier this year.
Here is what it looked like before...