Raised Beds and More Garden Updates for 2014

Driveway garden

It has been so long since I updated my blog with photos from our home garden, so this post will be for that.  Our new garden plot is keeping me busy, running back and forth every few days to water.  It was nice to be able to stay home this morning and take a few photos, walk around the yard with coffee cup in hand enjoying all that is blooming and growing. The weather is fantastic today, nice and warm.
This first photo shows the garden we always have along the driveway.  I planted 5 tomatoes here and still have room for more once I pull out the kale and swiss chard. It is just now beginning to bolt so I will harvest what I can and then remove it today.  We have the full moon and I want to plant the rest of the tomatoes this evening before it begins to wane. Remember: don't plant anything on April 20-21. Planting by the Moon

Ponderosa

Green Zebra

San Marzano

Cherokee Purple

Black Krim

Lacinato Kale

Giant Mustard

Lacinato Kale, Swiss Chard Onions and more Swiss Ruby Chard

Raised bed in citrus grove with Kale, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Beets, and 4 newly planted tomatoes.  1 of each of Bi-Color Cherry, Brown Cherry, Sun Drop and Green Grape.

This shows our new "L" shaped raised beds.  The left side is planted with Eversweet strawberries, an everbearing plant that is supposed to grow and produce fruit from summer through the fall months.  This is Tony's new project, hopefully the birds will let him have a few. He also planted our strawberry pot with a dozen plants!

The new tomato cages will support 1 of each of Southern Night, Chocolate Stripe, Flame or Hillbilly, Gold Medal, and Goliath. 

Eversweet Strawberries

Loquat fruit

 The loquat grows towards the end of the driveway and is loaded with fruit this year. These should be ready to pick in a couple more weeks; usually in early May.

This is the rose at the end of the driveway.  I bought a seedling of this rose from an old German man about 3-4 years ago. NO kidding this rose was just a foot tall when I planted it and has grown this big in just 4 years.  He couldn't remember the name but told me it was an old variety that he always took cuttings of and grew to sell.  I am so glad that he did!

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.
- Emma Goldman

Garden Update 2014

We are officially members of our local senior garden community.  They have 26, 16x16 plots.

We started working the soil and amending with compost and organic fertilizers on March 7th.  I planted my first seeds and plants on March 9th.  The photos  below were taken on March 26th.

We have 8 tomato plants, 1 Poha, 2 eggplants, 4 summer squash areas, carrots, lettuces, beets, beans, peas, 6 basil, 6 plus tatsoi plants, 1 found spinach plant and marigolds. 

We recycled some wood from our tomato cages and built smaller ones for this garden.  They have a 6 foot height limit and I hope that is high enough for the tomato plants.  I know they will go at least two feet over that but I planted them next to another so they can, hopefully support each other.

In the far left corner is Dr. Wyche and Ponderosa.  In the right corner, back is Southern Night and San Marzano.  In the center is German Queen and in the red cage is the Poha I seeded. The four 'round' sections in the center are the seeded summer squash.  I planted Ronde de Nice  a French heirloom round zucchini that will be wonderful for stuffing.  Also planted Cocozelle Squash, an Italian heirloom striped green zucchini.  It was called Cocozella de Napoli in the 19th century. Next we have an early yellow heirloom Crookneck Squash and then the final one on the right front is  Scallop or Patty Pan Squash another heirloom blend that will give me three colors; a light green, a white and a pale yellow. I love to stuff these too.  Click HERE for a photo of my frozen stuffed patty pan from 2012 (you will need to scroll down past the frozen tomatoes).  I have lots of recipe ideas on my cooking BLOG so feel free to check them out.

 This is Tatsoi

In the back is the Basil plants.  There are many clumped together, I didn't feel like separating all of them so the plants will be thick and bushy.  This is what happens when you see plugs with more seeds then you think will germinate!  I think every one came up.  In the center of the Tatsoi plants is one Anaheim Chili Pepper. The left corner cages have Cherokee Purple and Chocolate Stripe tomatoes.

 This is a few of the lettuce plants, Speckled and a couple of red Romaine along with some marigold plants.

 Carnival carrots in the box, which is a blend of red, purple, white, yellow and orange carrots.  Along side the box I seeded a wonderful French heirloom carrot called Paris Market, they are small, short and round. I grew these in the winter last year in my raised bed at the house and they did very well.  They are a perfect carrot to grow if you don't have a lot of space or planting depth since they are so short.

In this area I planted a Japanese Soyu Cucumber, a long, straight, sweet cucumber with ridges.  It will get 18 inches long on the trellis we provided.  Hopefully!

 In the back is more lettuce, two eggplants in the center, one Rosa Bianca an heirloom round, light pink lavender color with a bit of white.The other one I planted is Japanese millionaire, this is a hybrid that is very popular so I thought I would give it a try. It doesn't have very many seeds so it should be great on the grill.

 Romaine lettuce, Rouge D'Hiver an organic French heirloom.

Looking at San Marzano

Rouge D'Hiver

Looking at Ponderosa

The back, left corner cages is another San Marzano tomato.  Center beds are also seeded with beans, lettuces, radish, beets, spinach, summer squash as noted, also mixed in the the lettuce plants along the fences are some snow peas, and beans and cucumbers.

My list of tomatoes plants in this garden is: 
(these I grew from seeds started in January)
2 San Marzano
1 Cherokee Purple
1 Chocolate Stripe
1 German Queen
1 Dr.Wyche
1 Ponderosa
1 Southern Night

Plants of:
1 Anaheim chili pepper (El Plantio Nursery)
12 lettuce plants (varieties noted above) El Plantio Nursery
Italian Basil (seeds I started in February)
Tatsoi (El Plantio Nursery)
6 multi-colored Bell peppers
1 Poblano pepper
1 Japanese eggplant
1 round eggplant

The rest of the garden is seeded with:
Poha (in the red cage) these are seeds I saved from last year
4 type summer squash (varieties noted above)
several colors and varieties of carrots
Japanese soyu cucumber
Straight 8 cucumber (1 plant came in)
Gold Rush beans
French Fillet beans
Blue Lake beans
Royal Burgundy beans
Sugar Snap peas
French Breakfast radishes (seeded)
Easter blend radishes (seeded)
Farmer's Market blend lettuces (seeded)
Bull's Blood beets
Chioggia beets
Gourmet blend beets

I will post another update later with what I have planted in my beds at home.  I will not have as many beds since I have the senior plot now, but I will be growing more tomatoes.  I have 4 planted right now along my driveway bed.

That's it for now from a Tomato Addict Gardener!