Look at all the green goodness growing in our backyard garden beds! Spring has finally sprung and it’s so nice to see boatloads {I mean raised garden beds} filled with leafy greens.
The French breakfast radishes are in tip top shape! My German neighbor Hudula has been eyeing these since she stepped foot in my backyard and I may have to check her pockets the next time she comes over to help.
I had to rip out the old broccoli starts and put the last of my homegrown ones in. I hope this set of broccoli does better than the last. If they don t’t make it we won’t be harvesting any broccoli this spring.
The cabbage is looking freakin’ awesome! Charlie Bucket’s mom would be so proud.
Cabbage and radishes. One cabbage decided not to cooperate. The only other cabbage plants I have available to stick in that spot is a red cabbage the is about a month behind. I’m not sure if I’m just going to leave the cabbage bed that way or stick the red cabbage plant in there. What do you think Martha would do?
Swiss chard. We will separate this next week and plant the extras over by the chicken coop.
Baby bok choy. Yum!
The square foot garden is looking great.
The beets are coming along. I’ll thin those once their true leaves are a couple of inches tall.
And look who decided to show up for work. The carrots! I don’t believe it. If you’ve every had to wait for carrot seeds to germinate before you know it can be total torture. But they are finally here and it’s time to celebrate.
And one last close up.
I wasn’t sure the artichokes were going to make it but they are bouncing back now that I am watering them a bit more. Sometimes it’s hard for me to find time to water all the vegetable beds so it’s kind of like survival of the fittest in the backyard garden.
I really need to get some sort of sprinkler or low drip set up going in the backyard but it seems like an awful lot of work and I’m not sure I’m up for it.
How do YOU keep your garden watered? Do you have any special tricks?
Keep Calm and Garden On!
~ Mavis
If you are looking for a pair of garden gloves, Atlas Gloves rule. I use them everyday in the garden and I especially love the textured fingers a palms. Not only are they great for gardening but also if you have prickly weeds or thorny bushes that need pulling.
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Heather says
Mavis, I TOTALLY recommend installing a drip system. Especially since you have so many beds. It would be a little bit of time and money to install them but save you SO much time in the long run (and probably money, too). I set up a drip system in my two garden beds last summer and it was awesome! I have a timer set and I don’t have to remember to do it at all. If I notice something looks too dry, I can adjust or just hand water that one extra. But I think it saved me 1/2 hour a day – 3 1/2 hours a week! That’s a LOT! It took about 8 hours total (going to the store, installing all the little drip things, getting it figured out and my hubby burying the main lead so he didn’t run it over with the lawn mower) and less than 100.00. But I’ll have it for lots of years.
PattyB says
Drip…. set it on a timer and forget it! Your garden will grow like a jungle and produce so much more.
Donna says
I agree with the drip system or soakers on a timer. I have both and they are in the ground so I don’t have to look at them. The timer is a blessing – set it and forget it 🙂
PS Your garden looks great. Here is Texas we had frost last night. Can you imagine? My garden is not so happy right now.
Danielle H says
Donna! I live in TX too – in Northeast TX. We got down to 39, but no frost. What part of TX are you in?
Donna says
North of Dallas, near Pilot Point
Erika says
I have a long raised bed garden along one wall of our back yard and we set up a watering system in it when we built it. It’s totally necessary here in AZ. I have it on a timer to go on twice a day from about May until September or October. My plants would crisp otherwise. They really perked up when I upped it to twice a day last week (it’s been dry and in the 80’s + for a few weeks). We’re into the 90’s regularly now. I’m still hoping my spring cauliflowers will finish growing their heads before it gets even hotter.
Danielle H says
I used to water my garden with a hose, but my wonderful husband just finished installing a soaker hose system that’s connected underground and to the spigot like a professional irrigation system. About time; he’s an irrigation and landscape designer, and horticulture expert. Anyway, the soaker system is connected to a timer, so it waters it under the mulch every morning before it gets bright and sunny. I’m stoked. This means the plants won’t die when I have my third baby in June!
Kim H says
Do you have any problems with animals eating and disturbing your plants? (Other than the puppy!) I came home yesterday only to find that something has dug up or eaten half my strawberry plants, all my cilantro, basil and bean plants. I’m so discouraged.
The only thing they didn’t destroy was the tomato plants. Maybe because nightshades are poisonous?
With so little growing time, I may just have to let it go….
Madam Chow says
I live in suburbia, and my house borders a field that is next to a creek. So, unfortunately, RATS that nest there sneak into my yard at night and will eat my tomatoes. This year, I am trying grow bags for the first time, and we will see how that goes. And the birds eat my blueberries!
Patty says
Martha would plant the red cabbage……soaker hose sounds like a good idea!
Zoe Dawn says
Martha probably has an “extra” garden out behind her property in which she grows back-up plants if one in the main garden dies. Just an idea 🙂
I would plant the red cabbage. No use letting that space go to waste!
The Prudent Homemaker says
I have a drip system and it is AWESOME! Totally easy to install, too. (Avoid the soaker hoses; they water too much in one spot). My drip line has holes every 6 inches, so I know EXACTLY how to space my plants. It’s super easy. Plus I live in Las Vegas and there is NO WAY I will be out there at 5 am when it’s 104º to water my plants (let alone at 8 am when it’s 110º, or even 113º at 8 pm). Everything is drip on a timer, or I’d never have a garden, because it rains only 2 inches a YEAR in my part of town (downtown they get 4 inches a year; we can smell it when they get it but we just get clouds here. Clouds are exciting since they’re more rare here; our forecast is SUNNY, sunny, sunny, with a chance of 35 mph winds as the variation.
I’m installing drip in the front yard and will be doing a blog post on it. It’s easy!
Birgit says
Umm, is your German neighbor’s name maybe “Gudula” by any chance? Can’t get over the Hudula (and I am German too 🙂 I would not worry about the radishes until she comes over armed with a saltshaker and a hunk of real rye bread and butter. That’s how we would eat them anyway… My container grown radishes were beautiful but then all eaten by the clever javelinas. It’s like a wild pig in Southern Arizona (though strictly, it’s not a pig, just looks like it), and now it’s too hot here already.
Mavis says
Thanks Birgit, I will keep an eye out for the salt shaker and rye bread. 😉
Marie says
Hey Mavis! I’m attempting to talk my HH into letting me lease out our basement but am up against a brick wall. I would love to have a handy, dandy helper for our garden so I’m not filling our after work evenings/weekends with chores in the gardens. This picture of “free time” and of course extra rent $ for travel falls on deaf ears. HELP!! How did you make this work at your house?
Brandy @ The Prudent Homemaker says
Marie,
A wise old man I know told me, “Don’t have a bigger yard than your wife can take care of.” His wife also rode the riding lawnmower, so she did it all 🙂
My husband does the hardscaping (which really is hard! I watched him yield a sledgehammer today to bust up concrete for new stuff and I must say, I am glad that he was doing the sledgehammer part and not me!), but after that, the garden is all my responsibility. In fact, I just gave myself a whole bunch MORE responsibility for the front yard–like I need something more on my plate, HAH! But, it will be beautiful, and I can stop hating the front yard and start loving it. I just consider all work in the garden as exercise for myself 🙂
Alicia says
Would totally plant the red cabbage. The empty spot would bug me more than the different color. And I am STILL waiting on my stupid carrots. It’s the worst wait. Every other day I think I should replant because I must have done something wrong, but then I try to remind myself how I thought the same thing last year and ended up with a bajillion carrots. Why do they have to take FOREVER? 🙂
Mavis says
Carrots are the worst! 🙂
Teckla says
Hi, Mavis
I’m curious . . . what is your neighbor’s real name? You’ve called her Hudla, Hulda and Hudula. Teckla wants to know! LOL!
Mavis says
Hudla! 🙂 Sometimes I type to fast. 🙂
Sheryl says
Martha would plant a marigold instead of the red cabbage, to keep away mosquitos and other evil bugs!