I can’t believe how fast things are taking off! Look what importing 5 yards of organic compost, rock dust, seaweed, and other organic goodies can do!
Days have been hot & dry (high 90’s or low 100’s). I had been hand watering like crazy! I have come home to find very wilted plants. I almost feel like I can’t be gone from home very long. I am lucky enough to have a friend who is going to install drip irrigation to these beds. I’ll be taking notes 🙂
A watermelon flower
A newly polinated watermelon
Isn’t this just the cutest thing ever? Now I sound like a new mom bragging about her babies….sorry. Can’t help it. 😉
As a novice gardener I realized I have underestimated these plants. I just found out that one watermelon can take up 100 sq ft! OH NO! I planted about 14 of them. It’s gonna be a scary jungle here soon.
Raspberries are growing. I never knew when raspberries were in season. I am guessing sometime in late summer.
Butternut Squash (volunteer) OMG, I just LOVE butternut squash! It is one of my favorites. I love it as a soup, roasted, steamed, sauteed, you name it. I need to learn more raw recipes for this amazing food! If you know any post them in my comments box below.
Look what Alex discovered! I had a green preying mantis in my garden a couple months ago, but seeing this guy just threw me for a loop. I didn’t know there were different colors! However, he was hidden behind some rocks and he blended right in!
I think these guys (grasshoppers) are bad for a garden. Not sure. Anyone know? He was kickin’ it on my cherry tomato volunteers.
I have also been enjoying the abundance of bees! I would guess there are over 50 bees or so out in the morning. It feels so good, especially after Mehgan and I watched a program recently on the problem with bees. No bees = no food! Mehgan really wants to raise bees, but I am concerned since my property is rather small. I wouldn’t want neighbors to be trying to kill them. I dunno. Anyone know about this? My lot is just about 8000 sq ft.
Patty Pan on the Vine
I harvested this one. I think this was about the right size before harvesting for best flavor, etc. Again, not sure. Tasted fantastic though.
Yellow Squash (volunteer)
I ate this straight from the garden just minutes after picking. It was so sweet! I can get used to this! 😉
Zucchini My first one of the season. It’s got a weird shape to it!
A new cantaloupe
Cantaloupe (volunteer) amongst cherry tomato volunteers Almost ready! Again, I have like 14 of these plants. I am not a big fan of cantaloupe, but Mehgan is. She can easily eat 2 a day!
Lemon Cucumber I recently trained this up at trellis after it had become a big mess. It sort of shocked the plant I think, but it is doing better. Here is a young cucumber.
I think this is when it is harvesting time. I was told that if it was creamy colored and no longer green then it was ready to go. These are so good. I went to a raw food potluck where there were raw pickled cucumbers with lemon juice, dill, and salt that marinated over a period of several days. Who knew you could enjoy raw pickles? I am always amazed.
Here is a little clip of my compost! I have always had troubles doing it right. I never had crumbly dark soil. Either it would get stinky and too wet at the bottom and attract flies or it would be too dry and never break down. I think in this video it is a bit dry, however it is the best it has ever been. I bet I’ll just keep getting better from here!
I have a long way to go before I have a fully running edible landscape. However, I am thankful for what I have so far. I am not an expert at gardening, but I am learning as I go. A great book that is helping me is called Desert Gardening since I live off the coast and closer towards Palm Springs. It seems that July & August just scorches my entire garden and Jan gets frost. So, it seems in Southern California I have a few short seasons to work with although I can grow year round. I have so much to learn.
I need to be diligent with watering since missing one day can wipe out all my hard work (which has happened a few times). I did get straw to mulch and that seems to be helping. However, it blows all over the place (as seen in the video). I still have more beds to mulch now that the plants are larger.
Here is a list of what I have so far:
Trees fig (Black Mission), plum (Santa Rosa)
Bushes 2 blueberry varieties (O’neil & Misty)
Vine grape (red flame) and kiwi (about dead by the sun)
Berries blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry, strawberries (again near scorched)
Herbs oregano, basil, chamomile, aloe
All raised beds have wire to keep underground gophers from getting into the goods. My dog, Hailee has been keeping all the birds from landing and mice, possums and gophers from having a party in my yard. The compost seems to draw in the critters. Which is why it is in a trash can with holes so I can put potting soil over the clippings and put a lid on it.
Annuals corn- sweet, white, & bi color Anaheimchili’s tomato (a few varieties) watermelon cantaloupe pumpkin spaghetti squash zucchini patty pan cucumber- 2 varieties tomatillo
To do finish nylon netting for vertical growing front yard flowerbed along the wall needs to be re planted (most everything there is a volunteer and I didn’t have the heart to rip them out.) install an irrigation system finish the side area of the front yard next to the small raised beds. BTW, I double dug under all those and amended soil about 1 foot down. I don’t have wire to block gophers though. I hope it isn’t a problem in the future, but from what everyone tells me it will be an issue.
After it cools a bit I hope to plant trees in September like citrus and stone fruit. As well as putting all the plants that are still on pots in the ground. I need to be careful since the soil I have is clay and very tough to work with. I know it will be a while before I have awesome soil.
I have so many ideas and visions of things I’d like to make happen. One of the things that helps me tremendously is having a role model to follow as a guide to get me started.
One of my goals is to create an edible landscape. I want to grow foods that can’t be found in the mainstream markets. I want to grow gourmet foods that are fresh picked and organic. Not only is the food highly nutritious and beaming with enzymes, but it’s pretty fun to watch your little “babies” grow.
I always knew I wanted to grow a few fruit trees and have a little veggie garden, but in 2007 I decided I wanted to grow an edible landscape. I was turned on to two people who have given me lots of inspiration.
The first is the Dervae Family who are here in So Cal. I have actually had the pleasure of seeing their home, meeting them and learning from them. Their home is similar to mine. I have a small lot that I am working with so I find them a great role model for me to use as a source of inspiration in creating my edible landscape. They have a great website called “Path to Freedom” with daily journal entries of life in their world. I love it! I also love their social networking site of Freedom Gardeners!
Check out this quick clip on what they have going on!
Another huge source of inspiration was the book Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy. She took the basic landscaping tools and created homes that had just as much beauty in the design, but with edibles. The book is pretty old, but she is actually coming out with a newer version in Spring of 2010! I can’t wait to check it out. I am a sucker for books! Here is her latest project:
This is a typical So Cal home that shows me how I can get high density fruit trees planted in my small yard! I have no experience in espaliering, but it looks pretty simple.
So, I have been weeding, composting, building raised beds, vertical frames, digging up part of my front yard and mulching seedlings. Trust me, you don’t want to see my manicure or my farmers tan! I realize it is a lot of work and it takes lots of time. Soil is the biggie and I have bulldozed clay soil. It’s like concrete. I am working with raised beds until I can improve the soil. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and like it’s going to take a lifetime to get things into place, but I keep hearing that song in my head…you know….. this one…”inch by inch, row by row….” Bring on The Muppet Days! 🙂
Ok, it’s kinda cheesy, but I swear, that song sticks in my head when I am overwhelmed and I know…little by little…I’ll get there! 😉 Soon I’ll be posting photos and videos of what I have been working on. 🙂
If you have a garden I wanna know about it. Post your links below or in the comments!
My dream has been to open a wellness center for over 7 years now. As I evolve and continue to learn I have decided I want to establsih a tropical, sustained Eco-Village/ Retreat. There are many places that offer similiar features that I would like to model my place after.
Focus Sustainable living Health- raw food nutrition, physical fitness (yoga & outdoor recreation) Spirituality & Self Expression/ Self Love/ Self Discovery/ Self Realization Nature- connection to the land through food & living environment
Features Off the Grid- solar power, passive cooling/heating, rain water collection & filtration, grey water system, composting system for toilets & garden clippings. Sustainable food with Permaculture/Organic Edible landscaping (surplus sold: co-op, farmers market, organic produce delivery)
Accomodations Tree house bungalows w/private outdoor garden showers Communal Area: kitchen, dining, media library, gathering room, yoga/massage deck, indoor shower/bathroom, laundry
Daily Services Raw meals provided Yoga Morning meditation/beach walks Massage Classes and Adventure Activites Sunset fireside luau celebration w/ live musical talent
Classes, Workshops, Training courses live food nutrition/purification & natural hygiene yoga teacher training spirituality / self empowerment Homegrown food self reliance workshops Feature guest speakers/ talent from around the world
Adventure Activities Nature Hikes (medicinals, edibles, tropical fruit/botany, wildlife) Surf, snorkle, kayak, swim Bike rides Zip line, paintball , skydive, parasail, rock climb Horseback riding
The first steps are: Intern at an established location to clarify vision and gain experience Establish a non-profit team & obtain grant writers Attract interested parties
If you are running through life feeling overwhelmed and not really making the impact you know you want, or wishing you felt alive and filled with passion then you are going to LOVE me!
July 7th 
July 28th
A watermelon flower
A newly polinated watermelon
Isn’t this just the cutest thing ever? Now I sound like a new mom bragging about her babies….sorry. Can’t help it. 😉 
Raspberries are growing. I never knew when raspberries were in season. I am guessing sometime in late summer. 
Butternut Squash (volunteer)
Look what Alex discovered! I had a green preying mantis in my garden a couple months ago, but seeing this guy just threw me for a loop. I didn’t know there were different colors! However, he was hidden behind some rocks and he blended right in!
I think these guys (grasshoppers) are bad for a garden. Not sure. Anyone know? He was kickin’ it on my cherry tomato volunteers.
Patty Pan on the Vine
I harvested this one. I think this was about the right size before harvesting for best flavor, etc. Again, not sure. Tasted fantastic though.
Yellow Squash (volunteer) 
Zucchini
A new cantaloupe 
Cantaloupe (volunteer) amongst cherry tomato volunteers
Lemon Cucumber
I think this is when it is harvesting time. I was told that if it was creamy colored and no longer green then it was ready to go. These are so good. I went to a raw food potluck where there were raw pickled cucumbers with lemon juice, dill, and salt that marinated over a period of several days. Who knew you could enjoy raw pickles? I am always amazed.
