Saturday was the very best sunny day! I have had it with this non-stop rain. Of course it is going to rain again for several days....  I had a plan for how to use this nice day, with plenty of sunscreen on my face. Getting some starts into the raised beds was at the top of my list. This raised bed is just planted with Brociflower, we love it and I freeze all the extra for later. 

This raised bed is newly planted with Snow Crown Cauliflower. They grow very well in this bed that gets a little shade and is a little cooler for them.

This garlic was planted last October and is doing well. I have been working on a variety that grows well here. Now that I have screen under this area...the gophers cannot eat it all. Note the rhubarb growing in the top right in the pic, it is coming up, and I am hoping for a good crop. The grass and weeds are growing very well.

I worked hard all day. This winter has made me soft with all the lazy days indoors. My feet were killing me! 

I did many other outdoor things as well......

Fall Garden Cleanup

I know that all of you that seriously garden understand the importance of good fall cleanup.  I am doing just that, removing all the old plants from the garden, and putting them on a compost pile. I used to use my garden cart...just like this photo...hard work when there is a big garden to take care of. These days we own a Branson farm tractor with a bucket on the front. I loaded and took 5 large loads of material to the compost pile. I probably have another 4 loads to do next week. Then early next year the pruning of berries, grapes, and trees. It sure adds up over the long term. In the spring we put out into the garden small seeds and plants....and in the fall, we remove very large plants...sometimes I am amazed how a sunflower seed can grow into a huge plant.

Mrs Wages Pasta Sauce....Yummy!

I just finished canning up two batches of Mrs. Wages Pasta Sauce, making 6 pints.  I have used this mix for several years, to make homemade sauce with my home grown Roma Tomatoes. It is pretty easy to use this mix, and I am very happy with the results. A great tasting sauce that can be made even better at the time of use. I follow the directions precisely, and add other things when I use it. I recommend this mix to anyone who has many Roma's to use up.

Broccoflower!?

I decided to try this vegetable in the early garden this spring. It is a cross between Broccoli and Cauliflower. The picture shows a Romanesco Broccoli. It is sometimes called a Broccoflower. It is delicious! I harvested the first head yesterday and had it with dinner. It is milder, more tender, and slightly sweeter than the other plants. It is a pretty light lime green color, and is so good. I don't know if any stores carry it, maybe you can find it at a farm stand. I just have 6 plants, and wish that I have more. I will grow it again next spring. Here is a link that describes the vegetable Farmers Alamanac.

Handmade Garden Ornaments

These handmade glass sculptures are very popular in this area. There are so many ways to make flowers, teacup/saucer bird feeders, and totems. I think that this one is lovely. The site Flea Market Gardening has many ideas. They say to use exterior window silicone to glue the parts together...and another secret for this project is to start the base with a heavy glass round microwave tray on the bottom. Ah...that answers a question of mine, I wondered how to keep one from falling over and breaking. I think that the best source is of course the thrift store.

Early Planting in the Garden

This week I found some vegetable starts, the cabbage family, some garlic, onions and strawberries. I purchased two 6-packs, one Packman Broccoli, and one Brociflower. It is very early for here in western Oregon, and the temps have been low at night...about 24F, however the daytime's are sunny and warm 62F.  So...this is a trial, or experiment for me.  I planted them directly into a prepared raised bed. I used floating row cover right over them for extra cold protection, and topped the bed with these portable cold frames. I am interested in learning how these will grow and produce. Season extending methods are something I have been reading about. The weather forecast is for a chance of a little snow over the weekend, maybe an inch. That should be no problem with this set-up.

Where have I been? Working in the Garden!

The West Coast has been having a warm, dry winter. The spring bulbs are beginning to bloom, and the flowering plum. The lilac bushes are leafing out. I put out the hummingbird feeder today. I am hard at work...cleaning out the garden, trellising the Marion berries, cutting back plants, and today- cleaning out all the birdhouses. I am anticipating an early spring...all the plants seem to be about 6 weeks early. To me this means that the fruit trees will bloom very early...there may not be any bees to pollinate them...then there will be a hard frost, killing any possible baby fruit. I need to do much more, and am taking it one day at a time, one project at a time.  I expect the migratory birds to be back soon, hence the hummingbird food. I heard the wild Turkey's gobbling today, they must think that it will be time to start laying eggs. Friends who have hens say that they a laying really well. The newborn calves are running around together and playing in the green grass pastures. I am hoping that weather will turn to normal, and we will receive the normal wet spring.

My condolences to all of you having a long cold snowy winter. It has been terrible from what I see in the national news.

Caddyshack...remember Bill Murray

Do you remember this movie, Caddyshack?  The epic battle against gophers... 
What am I talking about?  My hubby is now staging his own epic battle against the gopher(s) that are burrowing around in our garden. The evil little rodent is busy eating the plants by the root and then pulling the plant down his hole to eat the entire thing. The leeks and garlic are nearly all gone, and other plants have also been attacked. What has hubby done to get rid of the gophers?  His main method is to trap, however, it has been several days, and the gopher is still eating new things daily. He had to pull out the arsenal of other stuff that some people use instead of traps....poison bait placed in the underground tunnels. This is the last resort............if only we had a gopher snake to put down the holes.

The Big Garden Project for 2014

2013 brought the garden project of keeping honey bees, and it is successful for us. We are hoping for more honey this year! 2014 is the year of 2 new raised garden beds. The area that is getting the new beds has had 3 narrow soil beds. I have wanted to change to wood raised beds for quite awhile. We found good lumber, waiting for us, perfect for the project. 12" by 2" by 10' long. The beds will be 15' long by 3.5' wide, and 12" high.

We cut boards outside, near the garden gate. The lumber is heavy...so less moving of the wood project is better.

This photo show that the lumber had to be spliced together to get the 15 foot length. One 10' board and one 5' board. The ends are 3.5 ft.

This is the first raised bed, built over a soil bed. The garden has had compost added every year, and the result is great soil. The soil mound on the left side is one of the soil beds remaining from last summer. That wonderful soil is going into the wood framework. 

Here are the 2 wood raised garden beds put together. There is about 4 feet between them for getting the wheelbarrow in there, and mowing with a lawnmower at times. On the lower right of the photo is a pile of weeds taken out of the area. There is soil between the beds that will be shoveled into the beds.

Yikes, after hours of labor, and shoveling about 20 wheelbarrow loads of soil and very well compost cow manure....the finished raised beds! Looking Good!! I am showing you my small tiller, perfect for this work. It is a Stihl brand, (because that is how I got hubby to get one...he loves Stihl products). It is easy for me to handle, and so much better than the manual way that we had used!!!!!

This is going to be such a big improvement. I like this style of gardening, the soil stays so nice...I add compost each year for the soil improvement and organic fertilizer.  My neighbors complain about the heavy clay soil here, and I just say come over and see my raised beds.

Dog Tired Today, From Garden Work

We spent the last 2 days working in the garden. The weather is pleasant 64 F, with a light breeze. Perfect day to be outdoors, and using this time to ready the garden area. There is much left to do, however, it is great to have completed a large project.

This photo shows my small garlic patch. I think that the freeze over the winter killed most of the bulbs. I inter planted with some left over garlic cloves about 2 weeks ago. I don't know what will happen when planted in the spring...I will let you know. I am guessing that the harvest will be a couple of weeks later than normal.

This shows the broccoli and cauliflower that I planted 3 weeks ago. I like these versatile cold frames. I move them around the garden to cover plantings as the season progresses.

These potatoes are the remainder from last years harvest. I dislike the wasted produce....but we usually have some.

The tractor bucket shows the extra produce that we are putting on a compost pile. That is a problem when gardening, growing the right amount of food. It is better to have extra for the winter...purchasing the food at the grocery store is pretty expensive. My produce is organic to boot.

The artichoke's plants were killed by the freezing nights, that is something that often happens up here. I haven't decided about getting new plants...

Spring in Western Oregon

This is what early spring is doing in western Oregon. The grass is green and growing quickly, The daffodil's are finishing, and the tulips are starting. This is a Stellar Jay, native to the area. We are going to spray the fruit trees as soon as possible, early in the morning...before our bees come out in the warmth of the sun. The wild Turkeys are gobbling and are fun to see. The Hummingbirds are busy at my feeder. The Oregon Sugar Pod peas are ready to plant.

Captivator Gooseberry for the Home Garden

I am introducing Gooseberry plants to my garden. The Blueberry plants have not done well here, for 16 years I have tried so hard, and there are a few empty spots in the row. So....I recently decided to try growing Gooseberry Plants. The new March 2014 issue of Hobby Farms Home shows Currants and Gooseberry plants, and that enticed me to research this idea to see what I think about growing them here.

My research found that there are really good varieties available in the USA. They are very cold hardy. There are nearly thornless varieties, and dessert quality fruit. There are plants that are nice for the home gardener, they don't do well for commercial growers. The fruit is great fresh, but not good for stores. 

Ribes uva-crispa 'Captivator' 

Here is what the research found...The fruits of this species have a delicious flavor, so they are perfect for eating fresh, they are not available at the grocers. Great for home cultivation! Especially when you know that this particular variety has nearly thornless branches. The fruits are purple-red and comes highly recommended. Mildew resistant.

I purchased three 1 gallon plants today, for $8 each. I think that is a reasonable price. I will have to wait for fruit...they will not produce until 2015. Why? The fruit is on 1 year branches...so I will be raising these for size and health this summer. Oh well, blueberry plants are about the same.

Viola Love

My life goes on while my brother is in the trauma unit at OHSU in Portland. Spring bulbs are growing and beginning to bloom here in Western Oregon. I have a particular love of the small Pansies, Viola's. There are many colors and varieties to choose your favorite. I really like the blue colors. This photo is not my flowers.............mine are still in the little trays from the store. I will be planting them over the weekend.  I will probably put the tiny plants in the pots into the greenhouse for a week or two...just to get them growing well, then I have to place them outside in a spot away from the deer. They will bloom for a long time, and if I keep them deadheaded.....they look full and compact in planters. It is time for you to give them a try, and they are so much better than primroses.

Bee Keeping!

Note the hollow logs in this vintage photo of Uncle Dan.

Aunt Fanny uses hollow logs, up in her holler.

I am joining the ranks of bee keeping next month. Hubby and I have been thinking about this for several years, however, we have not committed to the activity. He talked with a friend of his that has a hive in a small town backyard, and was convinced that it is a good thing to do. We have a problem with getting our garden pollinated, because there are not many native bees around early for the apples and pear trees. Now is the time to get the hive set up and ready for the bees...coming in April.

Pruning Apple Trees

This is just the prettiest watercolor of an apple tree during pruning. Guess what I did today, yes, I had the loppers and the ladder out in the garden. The golden delicious apple needed a good trimming. Last summer the limbs were too long and the fruit too heavy. The result was almost broken limbs on the tree and a problem. I hope that now I will have short limbs that I will be able to remove the extra fruit by thinning. Next, I will do a dormant spray because I have scab and worms to get rid of.  I want to have large, nice apples next fall.

Taming the Marionberry Row Today

This is a photo of my Marionberry Row about June 1. Marionberry is a highbred berry, from three different berries. It is a product of Oregon State University in the 1950's. The fruit is excellent. The rows require work. One of the original berries used in the highbred is the native cascade blackberry. Thus, these canes need yearly work to keep them from overtaking a garden. All of these year old lush fruit bearing canes die during the winter, then they must be pruned out and the new canes (that are all over the place) must be put onto the trellis that I have here. The canes have very sharp thorns, and I use heavy leather gloves. Ouch! Even with leather gloves I always get some thorns thru them. Today, I wrestled, and pruned, and trellised the new canes. I usually do this work early after the snow is gone, on a nice day. I feel that a big job is accomplished when finished. YAY! 

Working......in the Garden!!

Harvest of 33 Butternut Squash and 42 Spaghetti Squash

Work, work, work...I spent a day harvesting everything left in the garden. Composting all the old, sad, plants...and removing the mulch film. Now the raised beds are exposed to the fall rain, and ready for a fresh topping of compost. I am happy to get the work completed before it rains, working in rain and mud is not pleasant. There still is more to do, after a killing frost on the flowers. I am very satisfied with the winter squash harvest. There are plenty to eat, with many to give to friends and family.

Glamour Farmgirl from Yesteryear

I just love this vintage 1937 cover. Deep during the Depression she makes growing her own food look so great...check out her shoes! Meanwhile in 2012, I am wearing a big hat, sunglasses, long sleeves, sunscreen, practical footwear, and gloves. I have a large bottle of my own well water with me, a pocket knife, trowel, harvest basket, and phone. I am thinking that many of today's gardening gals are the same. How's your garden doing?

Growing Basil

Long ago I purchased basil starts, not knowing that growing basil from seed is very easy. On Sunday, I transplanted my tiny basil starts into larger places to grow. I sow the seed in a 4" pot, there were around 100 starts. When the plants have two sets of leaves, I transplant about 10 plants into their own 4" pots. I cut out the smaller starts, and leave the stronger, larger plants. I have a small greenhouse to grow my starts in, but a sunny window will work well. I let the plants grow to about 6" tall and transplant again...into the garden or large patio pots. I have found that a second planting later will provide nice basil for most of the summer months. I love fresh basil, and it dries very nicely in the microwave for the rest of the year. As Martha would say, It is a good thing!

African Daisy - A Deer Resistant Flower

I highly recommend African Daisy for a beautiful flower that deer do not eat. I have lived with ravenous deer for 14 summers...and have found that they will eat almost anything except herbs. I tried these on my patio...that is frequented by hungry deer, and I found that they might eat a small bite, and find the taste terrible...and leave them alone. I purchased some smallish plants yesterday, and will be growing them once again. They grow well into 12" plants, and will soon fill a container. There are many colors of flowers available.


I plant them into containers on the patio. I feed Miracle-Grow to keep them growing well with many, many, blooms. It is important to keep the flowers deadheaded. I understand that they will reseed in the SW...maybe become a problem for some growers. They are too tender to make it through an Oregon winter.