End of Year Update

There isn't much new to report. I have officially put my plot to bed for the Winter (laid down leaves and covered with burlap. All of the remaining corn husks and debris has been removed. I am hoping to remove the monster-sized fuchsia once the vegetation dies off. The pile of dirt next to the plant will go in the hole created by its vacancy.

Stormpocalypse 2015

Seattle was slammed the other day with a major wind storm (40+ mph winds). Needless to say, my corn did not fair well. I tried to support it, but with mixed results.

Corn!

I been been steadily harvesting beans for weeks (and freezing them). The corn is now ready to harvest. Also, I made French Onion Soup and fajitas using many of the onions (still have more).

Record-Breaking Temperatures

June (and now July) set some records for hot weather in the Seattle area. For the past several weeks the daily averages have been in the mid to high 80's, hitting 90 degrees in some spots. So, lots of perspiring and consuming of Frappuccinos. Yet, also, everything is growing like crazy (see pic below). I have begun harvesting my onions. The bush green beans are coming along and about to begin flowering. Also, I bought two bell pepper plants from Fred Meyer and planted them in the SE corner of my plot.

The corn is coming along nicely, about three-feet high so far. I have amended its soil with chicken manure and bonemeal, and water everything every other day. One challenge with the corn is keeping some of the stalks from falling/tipping over. My plot gets a fair amount of wind, which tends to blow things around. So, I have been supporting some stalks with short poles or stakes, and adding more soil at their bases.

Summer Vegetables

The temperatures are getting seriously warmer (around 80 degrees F.), and they are here for the duration. So, I prepped my soil and planted some pre-sprouted corn seeds (also, covered with remay so nothing eats the seeds).

Also I planted bean seeds (pre-soaked) a couple of weeks ago, and only a handful sprouted. I replanted more beans, but this time did not pre-soak. I am hoping the warmer temps will bring better results.

As for the other veggies...picked the last of the broccoli and plan to vacate Squatter's Bluff soon, and plan to transfer some of the soil I built up there. Finally, the second batch of peas is looking great, and I'll begin harvesting this coming week. This time around I just planted the sprouts directly from the plastic containers, and didn't separate out the plants. It would seem that every time I separate nursery-bought plants it weakens the plants. Anyway, not messing with the plants when transferring from containers appears to have better results.

Spring Clean Up

An update is overdue. I haven't spent too much time in the garden (been busy looking for a paying job). But, when I have gotten out to the garden I've been keeping everything up. I started a compost pile about a month ago which I am now beginning to use. The spinach is pretty much done, and I'm now harvesting broccoli. The peas are looking pretty sad. Shelling peas just do not fair well in this area (on the other hand, snow peas seem to thrive). Also, I planted some bush-type green beans. And, I did some clean up: trimmed hellebore and tulips. I am planning to grow corn this year so making space for it.

Spring Update

It looks like my first set of peas have been chewed (leaves and stems) and aren't doing too well. So, I have planted some Dakota shelling pea starts. I tried not to mess with the roots too much, and hope to produce a better yield. Also, I planted cippolini onions that I purchased at Christianson's Nursery in the Skagit Valley last week.

Spring Color

The tulips have bloomed. Amazingly, none of them have been eaten by rodents. Also, I have shored up/corrected the bent board on the side of my plot. It involved digging out all the surrounding dirt and wedging pavers between the plots, but it looks much better than before (see comparison pic).

Spring Vegetables

I couple of weeks ago I planted peas, spinach, and broccoli. The latter two are in the extra space south of the property. Unfortunately, I received a form letter requiring me to remove all plants in this area (and stop gardening there) by the end of June. So, I hope I will be able to harvest everything by then. On another note, the tulips are just about ready to bloom.

I removed my oldest hellebore (Ivory Prince). It was diseased and needed dividing. I will replace it with a younger plant in the next month or two.

First tulip of Spring

Shelling peas (hybrid)

Late Winter Color

The hellebore are in bloom.

Early Spring

Temperatures this winter have been very mild. The last freezing day was back in early December. Anyway, most of my hellebore are in full bloom, and the 'Ivory Prince' is waiting for a few more weeks. All of the spring bulbs (tulips and hyacinth) have poked up and, fortunately, nothing has snacked on them yet. Rodents ate all of my tulip bulbs last spring.