Potager & making old weed patches useful again

Here is a little corner of the potager with zucchini, potatoes, asparagus, beans & peas growing.  The large flowering plant in the back is celery from last year that has gone to seed - I'm going to try collecting and saving them even though they may be sterile.  They were from nursery starts last spring.  Even if they don't grow it was lovely to enjoy their seedheads in the garden while they lasted. I also have carrot seeds to save this year from last years remaining carrots - those will be good as they were from heirloom seeds to begin with.
Out of all my hobbies, potager gardening is by far my favorite!  I love the process of creating a beautiful garden that produces fresh delicious and nutritious produce to feed our family & friends.  It's so incredibly rewarding to eat what we have grown - even though I know I cannot take full credit.  It's up to the sun and the rain and the cycle of life that our creator so graciously lavishes upon the earth to sustain us and it! 
I also just planted a corn, bean & pumpkin patch in another garden area down by the pasture.  The corn was from starts (we got a late start) as we just finished preparing the ground - it used to be a weed patch after years of going to seed.  In order to make it useful again we cut the weeds down, layered old newspapers over the top, next I layered used chicken bedding and covered with black plastic.  We left the garden this way for about 3-4 months and then covered it with new top soil mixed with compost.  I have one more garden area that I am starting this same treatment on so that in the fall I can plant a cover crop and have it ready next spring hopefully. 
One of my goals with gardening is not spending much money on it.  We have chickens who provide fertilizer and straw to amend garden beds.  We also have lots of ashes from our wood stove, fireplace, barbecue & fire pit.  Another free amendment is used coffee grounds and tea leaves (I supplement by taking bags from Starbucks of their used coffee grounds since ours isn't enough).  Some of the neighbors save their newspapers for me too.  I'm learning to save seeds and I usually start most of the plants from seed directly into the garden.  It just doesn't make much sense to me to spend a lot of money on the garden since it doesn't take long before you could have bought all that produce much more cheaply!
My absolute favorite time of day is in the evening when the sun is starting to go down.  I wander down to the chicken coop to gather eggs, take food scraps & fill waters.  Then I make my way back up watering the gardens and checking to see how they grow.  It's quiet and peaceful and I feel alive and present in the moment.  I know, some garden experts say to water in the morning and sometimes I do but it's such a good way to wind down the day I can't stop myself! 
How does your garden grow?
Blessings,
Olivia

Garden Pests & other notables

These two flew the coop and proceeded to bed down in my newly planted lettuce patch.  Alas, the entire fall planting of lettuce seeds is no more.  We came home from a lovely time at the beach to a sad state of affairs in this garden bed.

On another note, the artichokes are coming along nicely! 

And my herb garden was happily put to bed just before we left for our little trip.  I added in some treatments from around the farm!  Some ashes from the barbeque, some coffee grounds from the kitchen, some old chicken bedding & manure from the coops (at least they are good for that!) and finally some leaves from the leaf pile my children already started!

To answer a few questions from the last garden post:

~ Biennial means carrots have a two year growing cycle.  The first year you can eat them!  Then if some are left in the ground for a second year they are not for eating they produce seeds and you can collect the seeds!

~  Yes, I do can & freeze and this year I'm also dehydrating.  We have a catering business and many times we have so much produce left we can't possibly eat, can, or freeze it all in time.  We have one of our biggest events ever this weekend so I bought a deydrator in time to make sure nothing goes to waste!

~ I didn't grow sweet potatoes this year but we grilled some from our local farmers market and I found out how delicious and also nutritious they are.  Sweet Potatoes are a must for my 2012 garden plans!  I am also going to add in garlic, shallots & green beans! 

Please do comment about your gardens!  I love to hear tips and ideas and successes!

Blessings,

Olivia

Harvest & Fall Planting

We just put in 5 raised beds in the spring I cannot believe I already feel like I need more room next year!  Since there really isn't room to put in another bed I will have to use every inch wisely!  I'm also trying to plan for more year round gardening.  I harvested some of my carrots this morning and we've been eating them. But I'm going to leave some in to go to seed for next year since they are biennial.

Here are the potatoes we harvested the other night, and some out drying as seed potatoes - my first try at this.

I also moved the strawberries into the berry patch so I can use the half barrels for sweet potatoes & fingerling potatoes next planting season.  In the meantime I am going to plant more cabbage in them for winter harvest and see how it goes.

Please feel free to comment and give ideas on seed saving, I'm new so I will need lots of help.  I put some books on hold at the library - that's always my introduction to new subjects & then I dive in and try them for myself! How is your harvesting coming along?

Blessings,

Olivia

How does your garden grow?

Late in the spring I posted about the beginnings of this gardens first season.  And now, here is my lovely potager, in full bloom!

The past few weeks have been so pleasantly full with warm and bright mornings as we open our eyes.  I've really enjoyed the quiet moments puttering in the garden morning and evening, watering and looking for abundant offerings.  It's really been so easy with these raised beds with out weeds!

In my "garden bed" you can find artichokes, cabbages, walla walla onions, corn and even baby pumpkins.

In another bed we enjoyed the peas (none of which actually made it into the kitchen) and then the beets, carrots, lettuce, turnips and zucchini started to abound. 

There is also an herb bed with an espaliered pear tree and strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in there own patches (these don't make it inside either!).  The last bed on the end holds the beans, potatoes, asparagus & cucumbers.    (after putting in the potatoes I found out they don't make good bedfellows with the cuc's but that will have to be remedied next season using the companion planting method) 
Not to be forgotten on the deck we also have a cherry tomato & she just finally offered up her first fruits! 
I'm loving these last peaceful summer days, I mean really deeply wholeheartedly loving them!  This summer feels like the end of a season for us.  The children are growing up, this is our last year with grade school aged children only (next year we'll have a middle schooler).  Some of the family fun we've had seems to have held it's luster but I just have this sense "it wont be like this for long."
Blessings to you as you wrap up your summer fun!
Olivia

My Dream Potager, Practical & Pretty

One lovely day I was reading a favorite magazine (several years ago so I can't even remember which one) and I found a good story about a kitchen garden right out the back door!  What a romantic idea to walk right out in the midst of cooking dinner to grab a handful of chives, some sage, a fresh tomato or two...and thus my dream garden was alive in my imagination. 

Currently we have two 16 x 16 ft gardens way down by the pasture on our property, one for roses & herbs (this one will stay) the other for veggies & berries (this one is going for more parking).  We also have a funny little plateau that you walk out onto off our back deck.  We are waiting for a friend to level the plateau so it is nice and even.  The 5 raised beds are already built (5x8 feet each) according to my garden plan (above).  Many of the seeds have arrived from Seed Savers Heirloom seeds.  I am just dying to get started.

(picutre above from The Violet Fern)

I'm dreaming of something like this.  It will have some formal lines, even some boxwood at the inside edge to bring a little english flair.  We will set our patio table and chairs in the nook next to the deck.  I have also included a border of white hydrangeas (I love them but also because of shade in that area) to add some flowers and fragrence.  I love the idea of the garden being beautiful and useful even in the winter months.  And so, the potager! Wish me luck at getting the men motivated on the structural work so I can get to planting and preparing!
Blessings,
Olivia