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!!!!

Planting Day !!!! March 17

 Oh how I love planting day!!  This year I was a week early. With the false spring we had, actually it was just damn early, I felt like I was late.
  Everything in my garden has broken a full month earlier .My apricot , plum and pomegranate trees all have fruit starting. I have also added 2 more trees, an Anna apple and a local nectarine variety. 
  One of this years projects is making homemade solar dryers for the fruit. I plan on using  some old kitchen cabinet drawers found at a yard sale. I'm sure it will be posted later in the year. 
   On the road side of the trees I have seeded some corn and soybeans. I plan to keep corn in the flood plain but will rotate it with soybeans. I am staggering blocks of corn planting them 2 weeks apart. The first seedlings have broken ground and next week I will plant the second block. No sign of any soybeans yet. 

The grapes are growing like a weed and already have tons of fruit. This year I will plan on trying some white grape jelly . I was overwhelmed last year with grapes and not prepared. Looks like Garden Girl needs a new face!

 The main garden is getting an overhaul. Due to intense planting the last 5 years I am seriously rotating my crops. I have moved the jalapeño and yellow peppers to the far side and added an extra row of potatoes. I did enjoy growing them last year . No more crazy straw planting or big potato bins. Hilling  with dirt is fine. I have plenty of garden space and they grow well that way. 
  I have planted pea seeds in the former pepper rows. It will be interesting to see how they grow and hopefully they will renourish that area. My kale is still growing great and I see no need to pull it up as I just keep cutting the tops off. 
   I am also growing zucchini, only 2 plants as it is more than enough for us , and I have increased the spaghetti squash to 6 plants. That was an enjoyable vege for us last year. 
  The eggplants were reduced to 2 as I'm the only one who eats them and In its place I have increased the asparagus plot. They are doing well and maybe we will get enough for a dinner or 2 this year. 
  The tomatillos have been moved  to the outside of the pen along with the Roma and San Remo Italian cooking tomatoes . This will increase my growing space  and I can use the pen sides as support. Last years planting of onions between the plants was a great success. I will definitely do that again.

 

My citrus looks like it has finally bounced back . Even the tangerine has blossoms. Hopefully we will have some citrus and they will start to grow. I wanted dwarf plants but geesh this is ridiculous .      The onions are growing like weeds . I let them go to seed last year and am  thinning them as I use them. My Bell peppers and Anaheims will be next to the onions as well as a slow  bolting form of lettuce I found at the nursery.

The most exciting thing of all is that my Hass avocado is blooming. Crossing our fingers for Avocados this year !!!