Tag Archives: garden

How My Garden Grows ~ Mid June 2012 ~ Reno, Nevada

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My small garden has taken off with the warm nights and hot days we’ve been having lately here in Reno!

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Barrel full of Red Onions

Potatoes, Chives, Thyme, Oregano, Tarragon, Rosemary, and Catnip.

Beets…lots of them with garlic to the right and some more onions in front.

3 types of zucchinis on the left with a bunch of beans on the right.

Sugar Peas…there are carrots to the left.

BABY zucs!

Back right ~ japanese eggplant, Left ~ cucumbers, Front ~ pumpkins

Big box has oodles of heirloom tomatoes, two containers on the left have tomatillos.

Lots of different peppers and one basil.

Grapes…lots of grapes forming on the very old vine.

Pears are getting larger…branches are starting to droop.

Aaiiiyeee! Lookie what I found growing in the yard!

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ASPARAGUS!

I was given some transplant asparagus last fall…dug it a whole on the side of the yard next to my neighbor’s garage and promptly forgot about it.

Last night while watering the beets, peas, onions, garlic, radishes, and carrots I looked over at the overgrown weed/grass and a dried out asparagus fern. Went over to weed and found wee asparagus spears!

Do You Compost?

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We’ve moved a lot and the last composting pile I had was in Sparks when we owned our own home. I’ve been turning over the garden in our newest place and decided I wanted a compost pile.

So I made one last night…using a dog training crate that came with a botched dog adoption off of Craig’s list.

From the Back to Basics Traditional Kitchen Wisdom book (LOVE THIS BOOK!) they said to pick a site that’s level, well-drained, and sunny. So I set up the kennel out back near the old grape vine where it will have sun practically all day.

What to Compost?

Greens such as grass clippings, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, fruit & vegetable peelings, and plant cuttings, alfalfa hay, green weeds that have not seeded (except for pernicious weeds). The “greens” rot fast and will provide nitrogen.

Browns such as newspaper (non-glossy paper), leaves, cardboard egg cartons (but I save those to give to local chicken folks), straw, non-treated wood shavings. Browns provide fiber, carbon and air into the mix.

Water…make sure everything stays damp.

Air…turn over your mixture to introduce oxygen.

I’m going to throw in a container of fishing worms for good measure…they say red worms or red wrigglers are the best ones as they thrive on kitchen waste.

Items that should NOT go onto you pile are chemically treated wood products, diseased plants, human and pet waste, meat or bones, fatty food waste, milk products, and pernicious weeds (plants that are destructive to other plants in their midst are sometimes characterized as pernicious weeds).

Part of the Garden is in ~ cool crops 2012

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Over the weekend I turned over half of my garden, that sits behind the garage, with manure and blood meal. I’ve been itching to play in the dirt for a while now. :) Here in Northern Nevada we have “unsettled weather” through the end of May…so it’s only safe to plant the cool weather crops right now.

Part of the seeds!

I planted Sugar Snap peas on one side of a trellis and will plant some more this weekend on the other side. In front of the peas I planted some Easter egg radishes and Scarlet Nantes carrots.

Sugar Snap Peas, Scarlet Nantes Carrots and Easter Egg Radishes.

The left side of the garden I planted Heirloom beets, yellow onions, radishes, and two types of garlic ~ Early Italian purple artichoke and Silverskin Italian Late.

Heirloom beets, radishes, yellow onions and two type of garlic.

In two barrels that the previous owners left behind I planted red onions and Island Sunshine potatoes.

Red Onions in a barrel.

The middle part of the garden will house peppers, pole beans, dill and cucumbers, and eggplant (I’m an adult…I should give eggplant another try! LOL!). I’m going to plant the squash and pumpkins on the side of the house. I have a pallet that will be an herb garden.

I’ll probably get a barrel from Lowes (they have some from Jack Daniels)…between that and other containers that would take care of the tomatoes.

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A lot of the trees in my neighborhood have been blossoming…and then the winds blew them all away! Luckily our pear tree hasn’t come out yet…but it will soon! :)

Soon to be Pear Blossoms!

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While watering the front yard I spied something that I totally forgot I planted! Peonies from my Grandma’s yard in Nebraska (dug up before she died).

Grandma's Peonies.

Also some tulips that one of my faculty gave me from work.

Tulips.

Signs of Spring in Northern Nevada

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Northern Nevada’s weather is just plain crazy! You’d think after living here for 32 years I’d get use to it…but we went from 69F on Monday to a 36F snowy and windy Tuesday! One day and a 33 degree temp change…can we say SINUS KILLER?!

On a good note ~

Hello my sweet new lilac growth! I can’t wait for you to be full of green leaves and pretty flowers! I’m sure the bees are dreaming sweet thoughts of you in their cozy wee homes.

Hello Mr. Daffy! You still look a bit sleepy, I can’t wait to see your happy, sunny face!

My basil has grown enough to be divided….

I transplanted them up to their first real leaves. Will have to remember to start pinching off the tops to induce bushy plant growth.

2010 Garden Is FINALLY In! :)

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I had to hold off on planting my garden this year due to a very cold and wet May…we were still having snow. Sheesh.

Today was 88F and very humid…29% humidity! You all in the south, just hush your mouth! That’s humid for us!

From the looks of it…most of my garden will make great Italian sauces! :)

In the first box I planted:

Brandywine Tomato
Black Prince – a Russian Heirloom
two types of garlic (planted last month)
Greek Oregano
Orange Bell Pepper
Sweet Basil
Flatleaf Italian Parsley

Second Box I planted:

2 Roma Tomatoes
Red Bell Pepper
German Thyme
Cayenne Pepper
Beebalm
Italian Flatleaf Parsley
2 Sweet Basils
Yellow Sweet Onions (planted 1 week ago)

In the Third Box I planted:

7 Yukon Potatoes (planted 2 weeks ago)
5 Purple Potatoes (planted 2 weeks ago)
Flatleaf Italian Parsley
2 Straightneck Squash (planted 1 week ago)

You can see the Rosemary I planted in a pot that I found in the trash the other day.

Here’s a closeup of the potatoes….

I still want to get two tomatillos, two cucumbers, one dill , and one green chile…those will go into containers.

How Grows Your Garden? May 2010 ~ Northern Nevada

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Well…if you’re here in Northern Nevada…probably not very well at the moment!

Snow! The ski resorts are even REOPENING for Memorial Day weekend. Big sigh.

New snow on Mt. Rose and Slide Mountain

All that is growing in my garden is garlic and potatoes. And they be very very sad looking. :(

UNCE Washoe County Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale 2010

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Just wanted to remind everyone that the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale is coming up!

22 MAY 2010 ~ Saturday!
7 am – 11:30 am

“From our garden to yours, at great savings! Wide variety of annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, grasses, shrubs, grapes and more. 4 in. and 1 gal. plants.”

5305 Mill Street, Reno, NV…just east of the old Excel building where The Friends of the Library hold their week-long book sales ~ on Mill Street between Edison Way and Corporate Blvd…north side.

Get there early! There are some pushy people that go to this, so be ready! They hand out maps of where all the plants are at…scope out what you REALLY REALLY REALLY want, and get there first. :)

The plants that I got last year ~

2009plants1

2009plants2

Garden Seed Rambles ~ And Kitties

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Am very happy…I came home to all but one of the heirloom tomatoes sprouting!

I planted the following maters ~ Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, Caspian Pink, and Red Beefsteak (not sure if that one was an heirloom or not).

Tomato Sprouts on St. Patrick's Day

Here’s a picture of the Ruby corn and the Pickling cucs…you may be able to see a leek and onion in there too. :) Me thinks my corn might be more than knee high by the Fourth of July!

cucs and corn on St. Patrick's Day

I need to start the tomatillo seeds and for flowers…I want some oriental poppies. A coworker gave me some Renee’s Garden poppy seeds, Hungarian Breadseed, that will produce baking seeds. They are sooooo pretty!

I plan on stopping by the Garden Shop Nursery, that moved to the old Caughlin Ranch House on Mayberry & McCarran (the house that I’ve loved for about 30 years now), at lunch today to look at more seeds.

I love how Catherine at Quilt Obsession shares photos of her kitties every day…so here are my two critters (although I share lots of pictures of them).

Lcuy at the back sliding glass door


Lucy is our back door sentry…she guards that sliding glass door like her life depends on it. The fact that there are a whole backyard full of birds might have something to do with that. :)

Leo watching the bird feeder.