World of YardCraft

First seed catalogue of the season!

2009-12-31T22:00:25Z

It's here! The first seed catalogue of the season received a few days before the holidays! Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds! With all the holiday stuff going on I haven't had much of a chance to look at the catalogue yet but rest assured that will change soon! Waiting for more garden porn to drop through my mailbox soon!

I am alive I swear!

2009-12-15T23:16:18Z

Wow I disappeared off the face of the blog world there for a while huh? Nearly 5 months with no posts, sheesh! Well the bad news is that my war with critters went on for a while and I lost :( The squrrels have taken over a large part of the garden. They ate almost all the Summer crops! I did manage to get some tomatoes though, but the eggplant, melon and cucumber plants got eaten before they could even flower, they never stood a chance! Ah well. From what I hear lots of people had a bad growing season so chalk it up to experience and move on.

September I got flu pretty bad and was laid up for about 2 weeks, then a few weeks recovery after that! Yeah it kinda threw me for a loop for sure.

October I got busy with work projects and other stuff, especially so fitness as I requalified as a personal trainer and fitness instructor so I was working on my own fitness levels and getting myself in peak physical condition.

November we went for our first boondocking experience in our RV over thanksgiving! Fun times! I think the thrill of the RV researching, looking, and buying went on throughout Sept & October too so we were busy with the whole "research" phase then

And so to December! I've missed the start of the winter growing season, so no long term crops. I do have about 4 months though until I need to think about growing Summer crops again so I figure I have time for lettuce and peas for winter crops, plus some all round crops like beets, onions etc. I am making a commitment to update this blog at least 3x a week in the New Year and I plan on getting back out in the garden very soon! Wish me luck that the squirrels and other critters move out over the winter and find some other garden to snack on!

Tomato thieves

2009-07-30T20:13:04Z

Last year was my first year growing vegggies in the garden and everything was trial and error, this year I am having issues with thieves in the garden. I have tomatoes growing in my beds and I had lots of green tomatoes, different sizes, different shapes and different varieties. However it's getting to be that each time I go outside I see less and less tomatoes :( This morning I found a half eaten one in the Lemon Tree container! Not that the squirrels are limiting themselves to just the tomatoes, no! They are eating the cucumber plants (yep WHOLE plants), melon plants, eggplant leaves and the lemon tree branches. Seriously WTH? I've tried everything... Just waiting for next month when I hope to be out in the garden more often and hopefully that'll deter them a bit. I know the hole they are coming up through so I may try filling that in which rocks. The dogs are proving to be good squirrel hunters but have yet to catch one. I promised them I'd be happy if they got one, but as yet nothing... It's gotten so bad that I've actually considered giving up growing veggies, but I do love homegrown veggies so much dangit!

Tomatoes

2009-07-13T18:44:00Z

One of the things I LOVE about gardening and keeps me sane is homegrown tomatoes! Everyone will attest that there is NOTHING like homegrown tomatoes! Nothing! Fresh off the vine and onto your plate, mmmmmm.

Mine are coming along nicely! I have these Amish Paste, and noticed lots more on the other plants! These ripened up nicely since I took the pic and I ate one on Saturday - delish!

Container gardening

2009-07-10T18:37:43Z

I have a couple of containers I've started using for growing vegetables in. They aren't BIG containers so I don't harvest much, but I make the most of what I have for sure! One of the containers is just outside the kitchen window and currently has Scarlet Beans in it.

They are a bush bean variety and so the trellis was unnessessary but you live and learn eh? I planted some pole beans in there, which are growing right now :) Good job too as the bush beans gave me their last harvest I think:

Also in a container out in the side yard off the dining room is this 1/2 wine barrel. I blogged about it before but here are the plants growing in there. Only 1/2 the barrel is planted, bush beans on left, and mesclun on right. I have tomatoes to transplant in the back once they get to a decent transplanting size and I get something to train them up against :)

I love container gardening, so much easier than regular gardening, less watering and less bugs! I just need to get ontop of the succession planting and I'll be set :)

Garden & Life Update

2009-07-08T18:21:15Z

Well sorry for being awol but as always life happens, stuff gets in the way and I forget I have a garden let alone a gardening blog! Anyway just a quick update on the happenings here at WOY. Firstly I made a life changing decision in June, I am headed back into a career in fitness!!! I used to be a fitness instructor and personal trainer, but when we moved to the US I couldn't work, my certificates expired etc, but now I have my greencard and have had a long think about what I want to achieve I've decided to go back into fitness. I did my CPR certification in June and will retake my fitness exams this month, so needless to say I've been busy! I haven't been out in the garden much but after finally finding my cable to charge my camera battery I got out in the garden and started snapping some photo's. First up some flowers. I think this is Agapanthus.

Then a pic of some seedlings! After the critter attacks I got busy replanting despite feeling like throwing in the towel and calling it a day with growing anything at all! 2 trays of seedlings including" tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, chard and nasturtiums...

Hopefully I'll be updating more often once I get into a proper schedule again! Happy Gardening!

I found it!

2009-06-22T04:43:45Z

My camera battery charger that is! The battery is charging as I type. Which is good cos I need to catch up on this months gardeners in bloom (aloe vera is blooming as are agapanthus) plus my veggies are growing despite my being annoyed at the squirrels more and more each day. They took my largest tomato and the ONE peach I had growing. Darn critters! My 1/2 wine barrel got planted and my mesclun and beans are growing, plus almost all my latest batch of seedlings are growing like weeds. So much I need to catch up on! ...normal schedule will return shortly!

Starting seeds over

2009-06-17T20:09:16Z

Started some more seeds which are growing and growing, love little seedlings so cute! I am disappointed some tomato seeds I planted never came up. Keep checking though and hoping, guess I'll give them another week and then call em done. I planted some mesclun and beans in the wine barrel container and they've all come through so hopefully harvesting more beans and lettuces soon. Fingers crossed the mesclun doesn't bolt as soon as it starts growing as the weather is warming up here for sure! I had hoped to be sharing some photo's of flowers and garden progress but alas my camera battery is dead and I dunno where the charger is. Guess that's a goal for today, find the charger and get some juice in the battery! I have a spare battery too somewhere but I can't find that either! lol! Rest assured the garden is blooming, veggies are growing and I am getting motivated to get garden blogging again after a little hiatus.

Beans means Di's...

2009-06-10T22:51:54Z

Lol, sorry for the pun. I bet only a few of you realize my name is Di anyway so probably lost on most of you, lol. Anyway here is a pic of my scarlet bean harvest Monday :)

Just 3oz but lots more on the plants and I planted some more at the weekend :) At em with some scrambled tofu Monday night. Definitely Yummy!

May Harvest

2009-06-08T16:01:28Z

Harvest figures for May are as follows:

4oz Chard @ $3.99 lb = 99c
10 ozBeets @ 89c lb = 55c
7 oz Carrots @ 60c lb = 26c
25 oz Kohl Rabi @ 75c lb = $1.17
12 oz Orange (Navel) @ 59c lb = 44c
17oz Orange (Valencia) @ 59c lb = 62c
2oz Peas @ $4 lb = 50c
2 1/2oz Spring Onion @ 99c lb = 15c

Total Harvest for May = 4lb 15 1/2oz

Some harvest pics:

The harvest would have been more had I not lost the majority of my beets to the damn squirrels! So add a potential few more lbs there! Dang squirrels!

Read the seed packets!

2009-06-01T16:45:53Z

I got lots of seeds earlier this year from the dollarstore when they were 9 packets for 99c. Ok I'll be honest I went kinda crazy! lol. Anyway one of the varieties of bean was Royal Burgundy

Silly me didn't read the packet correctly so I bought bamboo poles, some twine and made and elaborate teepee in a container in the front garden for them, only to find out they are BUSH beans! Doh! Clearly states this on the back of the packet, if I had actually read it properly. Thankfully I have some pole beans so the teepee won't go to waste but yikes! Three of the beans planted in the container grew well, and are producing beans :)

They really are a beautiful deep burgundy color! Almost ready for harvesting I think don't you? Will keep you posted on the flavor!

Onions seeding

2009-05-29T16:42:55Z

Last year I planted some Studdgartner (sp?) onions that I got as sets from the dollarstore. I planted them in the clay soil and like most things I direct sowed in the crappy soil they didn't do much. So when I got the raised beds I transplanted them. They got bigger, and right now I left it too long I think as they are flowering

Aren't the flowers pretty? This bloom is around 4" across! Really stunning! Certainly worth growing onions just for the blooms I think!!!

1 yr of gardening

2009-05-28T21:24:55Z

This month I am celebrating 1 year of vegetable gardening! 1 year ago today I decided to take back my garden, and grow my own food. We'd never had an ornamental garden persay so it's not like a lot of change was required, just a lot of hard work and time! Ironically this month is also one I have spent the least amount of time in the garden I think (aside from when we had the rains).

The reason is I've been pretty fed up with the squirrels eating the rewards of my hard work :( I've been slowly getting back out in the garden and have noticed not one, not two but three squirrels in the garden. They are small but wreaking havoc! I had my little rant about them already but when you see a sight like this greeting you when you check your plants it's pretty disheartening.

Those were beets :( Seriously this is no joke anymore so I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and instead of being defeatist I am being proactive. I've been out in the garden this recently and sown more plants (which I promptly killed - more on that later), moved some things around, done some maintenance, and generally tidied up. I cleaned down the patio table and chairs and hope to get outside more in the hopes of scaring the damn squirrels to death. I plan on eating breakfast, lunch and dinner outside on the patio now when possible and letting the dogs out with me more.

So speaking of the seeds I planted recently, well they shot up in 3 days, then when I went out to clean up the table and chairs I placed the tray ontop of the wheelie bin, in full sun, and promptly forgot about them. Left them there all day and needless to say the young seedlings fried! Time to get replanting I think!!!

I haven't forgotten!

2009-05-20T22:45:35Z

I swear I haven't forgotten this blog, I've just been pretty down at the squirrel attacks on the garden lately. More destruction ensued after the carrot napping. I've noticed damage to tomato, beets, and melon plants so I'm researching how to stop the little critters eating more of my garden! Unfortunately I can't let the dogs out unattended due to next doors dogs being insistent on terrorizing my two :( so that doggy deterent only works when I'm out there with them. I've also been switching my routine up a bit due to the warmer weather, exercising earlier (cooler) which is leading to working (from home) earlier and then I get carried away and forget to 'save' time later in the afternoon for gardening. So needless to say a little off schedule here right now. Hopefully normal service will resume shortly!

Garden bloggers bloom - May

2009-05-15T23:04:12Z

Today is garden bloggers bloom day, where all the garden bloggers post pretty pics of what's flowering in their gardens. As I don't have many ornamentals and I'm sure if you see another tomato flower pic you'll puke here are some pics of my Iris plants blooming in the front yard.

These are my ideal plant, they require little in the way of care and attention, and honestly I hardly ever water them either. They seem to thrive on neglect which suits me just fine :) And now for your close up Iris :)

They add a nice burst of color in the front garden, I just wish they were located better. I may have to move some of them soon as they are taking over. Guess I'm doing something right, or not doing anything lol, as they seem to be reproducing just fine without any help from me :)