Garden Update with Pictures! 6/27

My Garden in June.

The entire thing, taken from standing on a stool.

my oregano is doing beautifully

cayenne pepper

My garden extension, 4 kale plants and a tomato

Basil. I have 24 basil plants

watermelon flowers, I do have a small watermelon started

New endive since the first ones are going to seed

Cucumbers are growing

an areal shot of the sage 

The replanted thyme. It's coming back quite well and I presently have cuttings of thyme
sage, and rosemary all in glasses, hoping they take.

tomatoes!

My chard is doing very well

Dinosaur kale, which I always confuse and call dragon kale.

Regular kale. I see why it's more popular, it's not as
tough

broccoli, hasn't made a head but the leaves are pretty good. I learned last week
that the broccoli of a friend down the road has only made one head
and most of his plants are MUCH smaller than mine.

More tomatoes!

I know I planted a Mexican zucchini and something; I think it's pumpkin...

Wonderful lettuce among the Russian kale

Zucchinis!

Gardens and Tetanus Shots

Yes, you read that right.

I got to go in for my tetanus booster (actually, the t-dap) today.
Why, might you ask?
Because I was trimming back the bushes with a rusty box cutter, and managed to accidentally fillet my knuckle. And, the last time I remember getting a tetanus shot was, oh, 11 years ago.

So, now I have some gauze and a bandage on my finger, and a bandage on my arm and I'm no worse for wear. I also have record of getting the shot. Since recorders are what I didn't have and thus had to rely on memory.

As per the advice of the nurses, I have thrown out the box cutter.

Please forgive the mess, that's my gardening table. 

That being said, my garden is coming along swimmingly. Soon nothing will be covered anymore and I've already begun harvesting. I love it! I will do a more in depth and serious garden update later.

Garden update 5/19

Well, my garden is coming along quite nicely.
And, I finally pulled out my overpriced Fuji camera, stuck 4 batteries in it, and took some pictures!
Some of the spinach is ready to be picked

And the peas are doing well.

The tomatoes are growing slowly but surely

The kale is getting mature enough to come out from under its protective covers

As is some of the chard (this is an "aerial view")

The lettuce is growing quite nicely and about ready to be taken out of their containers.

Oh, and then there are the herbs,

Sage

the baby basil

and the new thyme

And so is the zucchini. I've also planted cucumber, watermelon, some beans, Mexican zucchini, and
summer squash.

The few carrots that survived the first planting are doing well, and the ones from the second planting are just beginning to spout. I expect there will be a third planting some time in June.

The broccoli never took off. I'm tempted to say it's the batch. I never should have bought seeds from wal-mart. :-p Lazy lazy.

The war with the slugs is going on just as strong as it ever was.

Also, I've seen both a rabbit and a groundhog looking around in my compost heap today. I'm just going to leave it uncovered in the hopes they will go after table scraps rather than gardens.

That's all!

5/12 Garden Update

My garden is doing quite well.
Yesterday I weeded the entire thing. It took me about six hours but it really was alright. There were quite a few clouds so I didn't get sunburned but it was cool and it didn't rain. It wasn't heavy labor that might trigger an itching episode from the last of the venom in my system but it was physical and relaxing. I can't imagine many other ways I would have enjoyed more than spending my day like I did.

Here is my garden. I don't know if you can see but a little over half the plants are starting to outgrow their containers. I intend to switch to 2 liter bottles when they get larger and begin to harden them off as they reach the tops of the 2 liters before removing them completely and moving the container to a different plant that has outgrown is smaller container. I also transplanted some of the last of my broccoli. I know, so very late, too late, but we'll see. The broccoli that's in my garden seems very stunted, and those are the ones that survived at all. I may not get any broccoli this year, but at least I gave it my best. I also put out a couple more kale and (re)planted carrots. This time I will make sure to cover them before pests can get to them (I have four out of about 20 growing from my last attempt). Other than that, reading the growing instructions on bell peppers was daunting. I think I will hoe out an area near the fence around the end of may and see if they'll grow there.

I picked two pea pods and ate them yesterday. They were quite tasty. and my pea plants seem to be doing pretty well, even if they are kind of short, and some of the ground planted ones seem to have had more trouble with bugs (don't know why, it's just a few).

Here is my sage plant, which seems to be turning into a bush. I'm very happy with the results of wintering it.

Oh, and this is actually a picture of my largest spinach from last week (obviously, as the garden is filled with weeds and maple seeds). It's larger now, and I think in another week I will start clipping off leaves to use.

Finally, I wanted to give you an up-close of one of my lettuces. This was actually taken while I was thinning them. I made a nice salad out of what I thinned and each "container" (what's the word for it?) has only one plant now. I'm very happy with them thus far.

Finally, I planted zania seeds in the front yard near the tree and near the rocks in our "flower bed." Hopefully those will grow. If they do I have every intention of pesticiding them. I would like people who are not just my next-door-neighbor to know I take care of my home, and it would be a nice sort of pretty-but-silent farewell to the neighborhood before I move.

Compost Pile and the Groundhog

I have a groundhog in my yard, if the giant wholes and my neighbor's sightings are anything to go by, which I think they are.

Additionally, I found some mighty big paw prints in my compost heap the last time I covered it in grass clippings (I'll take a picture next time, so you can see).

That being said; firstly, I don't know what I would do if I trapped it, I mean, really. Second, I can't very well fill in all the wholes as my neighbor says there's at least one in his shed. And, thirdly, another groundhog is likely to  move in. So far it hasn't gone after my garden, and I had only a little garden trouble last year, and that was only when the pumpkin vine crept outside the fence.

He seems to have left my neighbor's garden in peace so far, even after a week without a fence.

Now, my compost heap. It really is a heap. A heap of biodegrading stuff at the back of my big back yard. I pile on grass clippings when I mow to keep the smell down as I learned last summer that it could be quite pungent.

Fast forward, I have a trashcan that is very old, and the bottom is mostly rotted out. I have a small hand saw and can saw off the rest of the bottom and could effectively turn my compost heap into a compost bin.

But, if the groundhog is satisfying himself (and his family?) by absconding with my rotted apples and leafless stalks of kale, is it a good idea to then "bin" his food source? Will he leave, or will he look elsewhere nearby for food? Say, the garden with the flimsy bird net fencing? or the neighbor's garden with no fencing at all?

If anyone does, in fact, read my blog, I'd love your input.

Real Update on Garden and Healthy Life

Right.

So, first things first; my garden! It seems to actually be coming along now.

Yes, it still looks mostly like a garden of bottles, but things are growing under the bottles. See.
And, I actually have 3 broccoli plants that may live. Yay!

And my spinach is doing quite well.

I also have my first flower on a pea plant!

I now have kale, chard, lettuce, endive, peas, watermelon, cucumber, squash, broccoli, tomato, spinach, carrots, basil, and (maybe) stevia growing. I need to weed again and replant the pepper seeds. I also have several seedlings indoors. I'm waiting to let them get a little bigger and a little tougher before I figure out where to put them outside. I still have some spots where things could go, particularly in the partly shaded part of the garden things are more sparse, and I could add a few plants. I also need to plant a couple more basil, or actually give in and get some of the other herbs I've been considering. I've transplanted the thyme and the oregano into bigger pots as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Healthy/healthy eating.

Still doing to no sweeteners thing, still loving it. Apparently I also lost 8 pounds last month, rather than the usual 5 that had been happening. I don't know how I feel about that. Part of me is very pleasantly surprised. Another part of me feels very obsessively greedy about this weight loss and wants it to continue at this pace for the rest of the summer and wants to count and recount the possible pounds I could lose (dysfunctional much? yeesh). The third part of me, seeing the second part, thinks that maybe anything other than minimal weight loss would be a bad thing and that I shouldn't step on a scale again for a few months.

I have also had the pleasure of being introduced to a local egg seller who sells a dozen eggs cheaper than the local grocery, even though her eggs are truly free range and humanely raised. Haha, and now I'm wondering where I'm going to find anything so awesome in DC.

Ate quite a few things that had sugar in them yesterday and felt quite sick for most of the day. Wasn't very hungry for most of today, but found myself positively starving at the end of the day. I've just resigned myself to go to bed with a growling stomach because it's not reasonable to eat more. I had a cup of milk, sauteed red potatoes, whole wheat noodles, several cups of steamed kale, a fruit leather, an orange, and beef. My stomach stopped making noises for all of two minutes before it started up again.

I'm a little concerned about my skin/muscle tone if I loose weight very quickly. I'm also afraid I'm going to stop losing, which is why I didn't want to even think about weight loss when I started.

I think I'm going to have to spend this week getting my goals strait again.

Ah, also, speaking of health, on the social health front; my friend R was lovely yesterday. I never leave hanging out with her except that I'm in awe of how great she is. Among other things she was very encouraging about my interest in doing Krav Maga when I get to DC and also in my change in health. She too, has gotten a little healthier lately and I think she looks quite nice. Her life situation has also gotten drastically less stressful recently and I think you can see that in her face and demeanor.

I also hung out with M. She is quite small; a size 0, if I'm not mistaken, and my comparison of us always triggers my stereotype threat. It's not her fault, it's mine. I'm very sensitive to size differences. I'm getting better about not being triggered around her, or other people, but it's still quite embarrassing that I feel it's there so I tend to bring it up. The elephant in my own room. I end up talking about weight virtually every time I'm with her. When I first met her it was horrible, I couldn't get myself to shut up.

Yesterday, in response to something I said, she said "I've always seen you as beautiful," which is very kind and such a vicious slap in the face to the (ugly, dysfunctional, wrong) voice in my head telling me she's only my friend because she pities the "fat girl" that I'm not entirely sure I didn't flinch when she said it. Then I said something self-effacing, which was neither right nor constructive. *sigh* Sometimes you have good days, sometimes bad days. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder why she puts up with me.

Update on Garden and Gatherings

Two things.

First, my garden is coming along. Things seem to be growing now, and most of the spots where I planted have living plants. I spent a good portion of Sunday weeding and I have more beer. I will post a picture as soon as I either A. get around to putting batteries in my big clunky digital POS camera, or B. clean my room enough that I can find my phone's memory card and put it back in the phone.

Second, I have been to two more social outings with bread and products with sugar in them. Both times it resulted in stomach cramping and not being hungry the next day. I'm beginning to contemplate whether I should just stop eating those things all together, or whether allowing it sometimes is what is going to allow me to keep up the no sweeteners thing at all other times.

Had a spot of weight/beauty obsession the last couple days. Hopefully it's done with now.

I'm serious people, and this is something I have to tell myself as well, there is no such thing as a "standard of beauty." All things can be beautiful. And there is no such thing as a "healthy weight" if you're truly healthy, your weight is healthy.

Be happy.

What is this?

It's growing in my row of kale, but it doesn't look like any of the other kale. I had it under a bottle so at some point it must have looked like the others.
I tried looking it up and the closest I came to a similar kale plant is red russian kale. Interestingly, I didn't buy any packages of red russian kale. So, did a red russian seed get mixed amongst the others or is this a mimic week?

Is it Russian Kale,or an imposter?

Garden Slugs and Garden Plants

I have pictures! Please forgive the poor quality, my cell phone's camera sucks and I lost my Photoshop when my old computer crashed. Wait, there's an online program for that.. Heh, the next ones will probably be better then!

First, I set out the beer traps last night and this is what I found this morning.

Lots of them in the saucers. They appear to prefer Bud Lite to Guinness (thank God).
Scooped them out and left them to dry in the sun.
These ones were mostly between an inch and an inch and a half though
in some of the other containers there were two inch ones. Ick



More slugs in beer filled saucers

Still more slugs in a beer filled saucer. I have six of these out, plus two
beer bottles with the dregs left in. I hope these slimy frat boys drown in
their own vomit (as opposed to real frat boys, who I hope outgrow drinking).

 This is my sage from last year that I planted near the house. It seems to be doing quite well and has started to put out little leaves, you can see them as the bright green ones and I'm very hopeful that it will grow quite well. I'm considering whether or not I should buy some other herbs, such as lavender or rosemary,or just stick with my oregano, thyme, basil, cilantro, and mint. 

This is a shot of my garden. It still looks leafy and brown in this (terrible) picture but I assure you things *are* growing. Fro some reason when the sun is up my camera completely washes out the color . That being said, if you look in the bottom center of the picture you can see my peas growing.

 

This is actually one of my small spinach plants. See! things are growing. I feel as though they're growing very slowly though. Speaking of growing, I read up on broccoli and I think I may have put mine out while they were too small. That might explain why they were gobbled up. I'm still trying. Hopefully it's not too late for them.

 My yard. I know, it needs mowing, but it's all purple and white with the pretty little flowers! Awwww!

 And Finally, my cat, sitting outside in the flowers with me, and enjoying the company. He loves to wander around and distract me while I'm in the garden. He thinks it's wonderful.