More Soil for the Raised Bed

The bright sunshine that I awoke too soon disappeared as the rain clouds slowly rolled in. It is supposed to start raining again early this evening. Although I am supposed to be working on new stock for my art booth, I decided to take a little time to go back to the Depot and pick up six more bags of garden soil. I poured them into my bed and then did a quick clean up. All my tools, the hand truck that I use to transport the bags and the trash is out of the yard before it gets wet out there again. The soil level is still not quite where I want it to be, but the cost of new soil is getting to be high and I still have a second bed to prep for tomatoes and peas. I have close to 8" of soil in the raised bed and I think that might be enough for the peppers this year.

I did a quick check of my new pepper plants. They were getting a bit bug chewed where I was storing them before so I moved them to the pepper bed to wait in their pots. They don't seem to be more bug chewed this morning so I will leave them there to get used to the location before I plant them into the bed. One disappointment I had this morning was that I discovered that instead of picking up a red and a yellow corno de toro, I have two red ones! So right now, I have no sweet yellow peppers. I should have read the labels more carefully at the arboretum sale. I will have to swing by the Potting Shed in Fullerton and see if they have any of the yellow toros left, otherwise I'll have to find another sweet yellow to substitute. I still need a few more moderate heat chiles as well, so I will be searching the nurseries as usual this spring. More fun! :)

Rebuilding the Garden Space

There is something satisfying about being outside and working with your hands on your own land. I've been impatient to begin my raised bed project and get my chile plants in the earth, but with all the rain we've been experiencing...and more rain predicted next week, I was starting to wonder if I'd ever get the task done. I started early on my garden project and didn't wrap up until the sunlight had shifted into that golden hue we call magic hour. The weather was sunny and warm with just the hint of a breeze. Songbirds flittered in the trees and one of those little brown lizards kept scampering across my patio. I don't think that he knew where to find a safe place to hide for the day. It was the perfect day to do some gardening.

My first task was to use a shovel to clear away the gravel from the far end of the yard where the new garden space was to be. I decided to move 3 feet worth of garden space instead of the mere two that I originally had planned. Once the gravel was clear, I moved the cinders from the closer end of the bed to the cleared space at the other end. Then I used the shovel to move the rich soil that was left behind into the new raised bed area.

It was strange seeing the galvanized mesh that I had put down years ago to prevent moles from coming up in my garden. When I had first planned my garden, my neighbor from across the street had told me many stories of moles dying in her swimming pool and eating all her vegetables, to the point where I wasn't going to risk dealing with the little critters. I have never seen a mole in my garden and I had started to wonder if I had been silly to worry about the little rodents, yet when I looked closely at the soil under the mesh, sure enough, there were large tunnels leading up to where my garden would have been! I'll be darn....there be moles here! My mesh idea had worked!

Once the single row of cinderblocks were placed in the new location, I went ahead and put on the second layer of bricks. I am not very strong and had to move one brick at a time, but the task was simple and it went quickly. Fortunately, I thought to wear leather gloves to protected my hands. Those cinderblocks are very dry and scratchy. When I had put all 26 cinderblocks on, I discovered that I had miscounted the number of bricks needed and was six bricks short. So I made a quick run to the local hardware store for 6 more bricks and two bags of pea gravel to cover over the exposed end of the bed. The rest of the level went on quickly and I was able to get the gravel down to create the new path area.

I decided to return to the hardware store and I picked up a few bags of garden soil, peat moss and steer manure to start filling my raised bed. I managed to fill the bed just passed the first cinderblock level, so I know that I'll need more soil. Unfortunately, I'm out of time for the day and with more rain coming, I wonder if I will get those chiles planted this week after all?

After that, I did a bit of cleanup. Old pots that had been lying around for the past year found their way to the trash. The plastic bags that the gravel and soil came in were thrown away. I moved my little greenhouse into the newly cleared space where it now will serve as a tool and pot holder. My watering can seems to fit in there too. What is good about using the greenhouse is that the plastic cover will keep my tools and pots more protected from the weather and from all the pine needles that fall in that area. My side yard is looking neat again, the new bed has all the major work completed on it and I finally have that little shelving unit in a useful place.

Rain Delays

It has been raining on and off for the past few days and the temperature has been cold. Sometimes it is a hard rain, sometimes it is just a sprinkling. All of it is too wet for me to go out and get to work on my garden. I put on sweaters to keep warm, make hot green tea, create stews and bean soups in my crockpot and look outside at the raindrops as forlorn as a little kid. I'm glad that I did go out and feed the roses and citrus tree during a break in the weather. With all this rain to active the granuals of the plant food, they are going to get a big boost this early April.

I have purchased the 26 cinderblocks that I need to complete the raised bed project and they are stacked up near my garden area. More rain is predicted for this weekend and on through Tuesday. So for now, my cinderblocks will remain in their stack in the backyard.

I have not purchased the additional soil and compost that I will need for the two raised vegetable beds, but this is gardening. Things will happen in their own good time. Meanwhile, my little pepper plants remain in the small pots that they were purchased in and they seem to be doing just fine. If there is a good break in the weather, I will have to check out the local nursery and search for a few of my favorite fresno chiles. I miss having them in my morning omelettes.

Preparations for Spring Begins

There was a massive thunder and lightning storm that lasted most of the night. This means that the soil in my gardens will get a good long soak and be easier to work with in the next week or two. More rain is promised later in the week. Its been a very warm and dry winter, so cool rain is most welcome.

Since there was a break in the rain this morning, I decided to start work on getting my pepper bed prepared for the spring planting. Many vines and weeds had sprouted up in my raised bed, but as usual, they all came out easily from both the bed and the gravel pathway. The four peppers that I had overwintered got a bit of a pruning. They are still producing pods, but not as well as they could be. I am considering pulling them all out and starting over with fresh plants. It will mean another trip to a nursery, but what gardener doesn't enjoy that???

As you can see, I still am sporting a single layer of cinderblocks around my raised bed. In order to give my peppers more root space and perhaps allow them to be more sturdy, I am considering buying a second layer of cinderblocks for the bed. I will need 26 bricks to complete the project. The cinders are very inexpensive, maybe 20 cents each. Upgrading my garden space should not be too difficult, except for finding the time to get the work done.

New Pepper Plants!!!!

Another wintery storm is blowing through our area. The rain was pounding on my windshield as I made my way to the Fullerton Arboretum and the Annual Chile Pepper Sale. Amazingly, the outdoor lot where the sale was being held was packed with people despite all the rain. Since it was Friday, the first day of the sale and in the morning, I was able to get good healthy plants of the peppers I wanted. They cost a little more than what I would pay at the Home Depot or my local nursery, but the selection was incredible...and I'm very tempted to return tomorrow and pick up a few more plants...but I'm going to try and be good to my pocketbook.

I bought blushing beauty, ariane, corno de toro (red and yellow), fatali, a gypsy, long thick cayenne and a fish pepper. In total, I bought ten plants. This might not sound like alot to many growers, but I have a very small garden plot that I can fill and I need to be selective of what I put in. There are a few more chiles that I want to grow, but I should be able to find them at the regular nursery. I'm glad that I decided to grow more bells and medium heat chiles this year. I feel that I will get more value from them in my kitchen this year.

Monster Tomato and Pepper Sale is Coming

The dates that I've been waiting for! The Fullerton Arboretum Monster Tomato and Pepper sale will be taking place in the Garden Shed March 16th - March 19th! I missed my chance to buy pepper seedlings locally last year due to not watching the Fullerton Arboretum website and deeply regretted it.

This year I have my eye on Fatalli, Chilepins, and Cayennes along with Blushing Beauty Belles, Corno de Toro Reds or Yellows, Gypsy Hybrid and hopefully an Ariane. I want to grow a few more bells to cook with and more medium hot chiles...but I will always include a few hotties to dry into powder. I probably won't buy all my peppers at this event, but a good portion of them certainly will find a home in my little salsa garden this spring.

http://arboretum.fullerton.edu/BulletinsDetail.asp?BB=37

Winter Harvests

At this time of year, I normally do not have peppers in my garden. The earth is fallow, allowing all the winter rains and sun to aid it in its rest. Due to the atypical warm temperatures this year, I still have peppers ripening in my plot. I harvested two red bells that I will use in our meals this coming week. The plant itself is not looking that great so I am considering on pulling it later this week when I do my general weeding and maintenance of the bed.

I am wondering if I'll have the time to put in that second layer of bricks in my raised bed this spring as I had planned. I was hoping to give my peppers a bit more root space and to allow for more sturdy plant supports. Now that our rains have arrived, I have less time to spend in my gardens. Demands of work are keeping me inside my art studio as well.

I also harvested a lemon from my citrus tree in the backyard. Our little eureka lemon is putting out many flowers and new green lemons and several of the larger fruits have started to ripen. This one will go on top of our salmon fillet tonight.