Planting day March 18 2015

Finally getting to my planting day post. Between leaving my ipad at my parents and life in general , Im a bit late.
Im starting with the hummingbird garden as it has really come into its own this year. I planted the vine on the wall 3 years ago. FINALLY it blooms. 

As my husband now works full time at home I have plenty of help. He is also bringing his own form of creativity to the yard !!  we have added 2 more teepees and moved them closer to the grapes. Hopefully I can train the grapes over the trellis.  We are growing cucumbers , egg gourds and green beans on the teepees.   So far so good .

For the last 2 years I have had mulch on the trees.  This spring it was evident more was needed. As it was heavy and hard to work with I decided to try straw and cardboard.  Works well but I did like the mulch better .The straw while being cheaper is kind of slippery. My trees are doing good. I should have a real harvest of apples and apricots this year.  Its been 3 years so they are on track. Not quite sure about peaches and plums as they are later varieties.

My avocados have tons of blooms . We are crossing our fingers. The citrus is also finally starting to take off. I have started pruning them like trees so Im not so sure how much we will get this year. We live in a very heavy citrus area however so its not a problem. I am growing zucchini, melons and giant pumpkins here this year .Hopefully.  Also I have doubled my canning tomatoes and they are along the fence.

my poor burned out original garden is getting the onion , corn and popcorn rotation this year. I have a special new place for the peppers !  I planted the onions in October and planted new ones behind in march. Potatoes will be along the back.

 

And here it is the "PEPPER PALACE"  !!!  If it looks like my old chicken coop you are right!!!! They weren't using it so I took it back. I have tomatillos on the side and have blocks of the following peppers , Anaheim, poblano, jalapeno, yellow banana, habanero , and yellow, red and green bell peppers. Plus a heirloom tomato experiment. I can tell already they are much happier here. Years of chicken shit!!!!

Six week update....

   All in all I would say I'm pleased with the garden progress this year. The tree bark and straw mulching coupled with the drip irrigation has saved me hours of back breaking weeding. Plus I am watering an additional 5 new trees ,100 foot of fence planting and the roses while saving $ 30 dollars a month on my water bill.  Can't beat that.   
    The Teepees are coming along great. I originally planted with "The Babies" started in January. The beans did great but I was not so pleased with the cucumbers as they were started way too early and were too leggy and weak. I did replace them with store bought cucumbers. Next year I will probably just start them outside in the ground. 

    Here's another view of the mini orchard I have 2 more tree spots. I may just throw caution to the wind and try a Mango. I was waiting to see how the trees would do this year .Looks like I'm good to go with 2 more. I want to keep them smallish as there are only two of us and I'm not a fan of tree trimming or rotten fruit clean up. 

 At the request of my husband I'm trying corn this year. About 20 years ago I planted a section that grew great guns. I was so excited. when it came time to harvest I found Corn Worms had ruined it all. Well I will try it again. this crop has taken the best to drip irrigation. I planted 3 sections  about 2 weeks apart. The plants are a foot apart and I will thin to one plant once they have all germinated. Anyone with a plan to keep them safe of ear worms is appreciated. As you can see my wall of berries is also doing well .

   It's year two for the grapes and raspberries. As you can see they are doing well. I'm sure it is the increased water with the drip system coupled with the fact they are older. I have tons of baby grapes. It will hurt to pinch  some of the fruit but I know it needs to be done. I think Grape Girl needs to be rescued and given a Grape Boy.

 In the main garden I deemed the plants big enough to put down the straw mulch. Last year was my first year of mulching with straw. I put down newspaper and with about 2 to 3 inches of straw. For  $8 and about 2 hours of work I saved many hours of weeding. It overwintered great. According to Mother Earth News you should not till the next year. Just let the microbes and other earth bugs do their stuff. Well less work for me sounds great. I did  not till just planted.  We shall see how the earth helpers do.
   I did alright with "The Babies". Both the Roma And Beefsteak tomatoes are growing well. My squash did ok. I kind of jumped the gun and bought 3 zucchini plants but I don't think I needed too. 
   The peppers did not fair so well. My jalapenos died. Rotted actually as the drip was just too much for them. And the colored bells are limping along. I am also having problems with my store bought Anaheim's. I think they need more heat or they just don't like the drip. We shall see as I have grown them for years and have a mind of their own.
   

 My asparagus is growing. Not sure if it is doing well or not as I have never grown it but it is alive. Also not sure if I should straw mulch it or not. Maybe someone out there in cyberspace knows. My artichokes are doing great. Time to mulch these too . I will be putting some earwig traps next to these as the are the Earwigs favorite place to live.

Just another view!!

  I lost my orange tree and the lime is limping along. Just too small to make it through the frosts. I did get another lime. Lemons and limes are an important part of my cooking .The onion are doing great. Kind of freaked my husband out that I planted so many. Hopefully I will have some to store.

  And yes, NO white flies yet. I know they are in the yard as they are on the roses. All vegetable gardeners should get roses. They are great pest barometers.  

  On a final note. I'm not so sure starting early works. Its fun to try  but Mother Nature knows when to let things grow. I don't think I'm  any further ahead as it seems I was at this same level of growth last year.