Today was a productive day and we believe the kitchen garden is rabbit proof. Guess we’ll know in the morning. The bunnies were out in full force before we came in for the evening. Besides going to the Post Office and Wal-Mart this morning, then to two farm type stores, a garden center in Fort Scott, KS and the Fort Scott Wal-Mart (can you tell Vince was off today?), I have planted the following in the kitchen garden:
- 5 basil
- 4 lavender
- 2 rosemary
- 18 lettuce
- 4 cherry/grape tomatoes
- 2 oregano
- 4 parsley
- 2 cilantro
- 1 serrano pepper (love to add a bit of this to gravy!)
- 1 million Georgia sweet onions (maybe it wasn’t quite 1 million but there were so many in that bundle)
- 1 package of carrots
- 1 package of radishes
- 1 package of leeks
Maybe there was more but that’s all I can remember. I’ve had 4 showers today! Every time I got dirty and sweaty, Vince said “Can you go with me to . . wherever?” and I said . . as soon as I take a shower!
We even walked across a small part of a 240 acre tract that’s for sale. It’s a beautiful piece of land! Wish it was one-third the amount of land for one-third the price. It has at least two good sized ponds on it. I’m just hoping we’re not covered in chiggers and ticks.
The kitchen garden looks kinda sparse right now but things will get larger and spread out and I’ve planted radishes and carrots in a lot of the blank spaces. The upper section is full but the lower section has plenty of planting room left.
The far right section has onions left from last year as well as the new onions. I’ll plant fennel in that corner if I can find some.
Vince got another section of dirt tilled up:
And this section:
Without a fence up, I think I’m going to just plant grass! These are shady areas and not good for veggies. The only thing I can think of now that are really shade loving plants are also plants deer love. Any suggestions?
Tomorrow, I think I’ll sew. I have a feeling every muscle in my body is going to ache!
Ila Kool says
I wish you luck with the rabbits. Today, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Peter were chasing each other in rings around the trees in the back yard! Dang things!
Judy W says
Here’s a site that might help with “deer resistant” planting. Not sure as we don’t seem to have any deer around here, but it may help.
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/default.asp
Helen in Switzerland says
Wow Judy! You are one productive lady! I hope you enjoy your garden as much as I enjoy mine! I don’t have deer and rabbits eating everything but I have triffid-like weeds who do their darndest to take over. But the work is worth it for the joy of eating your own produce! Enjoy your sewing day, you’ve earned it!!
Pat says
What an exciting garden you will have this year!!! I’m not familiar with that kind of pepper you mentioned….serrano? Is it a spicy pepper???
Kathy McC says
I’m so glad that you are going to get your garden this year. So what happened with the bees? Are you going to become a beekeeper too? Curious minds would love to know.
Judy L. says
We are going to get bees. A local beekeeper is going to set us up with the hives and everything we need. He is often called to come get hives that have established themselves where they aren’t welcome and he will set us all up with the next hive he gets.
CJ says
Looks like you’re off to a great start! You’ll get all your veggie gardens and landscape gardens in and suddenly, you won’t want to leave it all behind!
Sandy Gail (Sandra Neel Hutchins) says
I love my little garden but I don’t love keeping it hoed. Weeds seem to sprout up overnight in it. Perhaps Vince will like keeping your garden weed free for you as you cook all those yummy vegges. Happy gardening!
katieQ says
Our property is off the edge of the Norwalk reservoir. There is a ton of wildlife that lives there and they all make their way up to our house to snack. The only shade loving ground covers on our property that the deer don’t touch are pachysandra, vinca (which gets lovely purple flowers), and lily of the valley.
We use sprays and fencing to protect our lilies, hosta, and azaleas but they usually manage to munch on them anyway.
Karen Langseth says
Your garden looks wonderful, and hopefully you will get to enjoy as much of it as the wildlife does. The tract of land sounds great….Two ponds wow….take and build that new house in the center and no one will ever bother you…..no traffic, no neighbors, sounds like paradise to me!!!
Liz says
That Rutgers site looks good as a starting place.
I would start with test plants as well as perennials. That way, you will know what will survive and what won’t in the amount of shade and critters. Don’t forget that some plants which are labeled as sun loving, do ok in a semi-shady spot, especially if the area gets hot in the summer. I have a low-growing oregano that goes nuts in the sunnier spots and behaves as a nice border plant in the the shadier spots.
When you do find your dream space, you’ll be able to either move some of the plants with you or know what to start with.
Are those “leftover onions”, the walking onions I sent you last year? They are perennials and will keep spreading!
bingo~bonnie says
Oh Judy, I’m so happy for you and your gardens!! I know you’ve been waiting a long time for this 😉
You’re gonna have so much fun!
Love from Texas! ~bonnie
quiltbea says
You did a great job of getting your gardens started. I commend you on a job well done and Vince, of course, for all the heavy labor required.
It might be easier if you made some kind of pathway among your garden crops so you can reach them without stepping on others.
Maybe some gravel laid down between every two rows or paving/stepping stones or along the little terrace wall.
When those start growing, they’ll be hard to reach without stepping among your other growing veggies.
Keep up the good work.
quiltbea
Carol says
Nice garden.