gardening

one of the reasons we bought a house with a decent yard is gardening.

my inner hippie wants to grow his own food and lower the carbon footprint of our household.

so this year i built three 4x12 raised beds on the south end of our yard.  here's what they looked like this morning:

the bottom one has tomatoes and broccolli that are doing really well.  peppers and eggplant that haven't loved the wet weather. 

the middle has chard, cauliflower (which has been fantastic!  almost a peppery taste) carrots, beans and peas that have overwhelmed the trellis at the end.

the top one has been success and failure.  tried watermelon, cantaloupe and squashes that all died in the cold wet june we had.  the brussell sprouts and zucchini have thrived though.  the pumpkin is starting to take off.  the cucumbers on the left side have been uber slow to grow anything.  so i filled in the empty spaces with lettuce, spinach, beets and radishes.

the tomatoes are ridiculuously huge with tons of flowers on them:

this isn't the only food we are trying to grow in our yard, either.  we planted 2 apple trees and 2 plum trees.  a strawberry patch that is doing quite well.  carla was mad i wouldn't let any strawberries grow this year, but we want the plants to grow strong the first season so next year it's berries galore!  trying blueberries, but i don't think i have the right soil for them.  raspberries and blackberries along the fence line as well.

next wife convincing project:  our own bee hive.