Tomatoes and Calendulas

Here is one of our raised beds planted with tomatoes. The calendulas (far right) showed up voluntarily from last year's seed/plants. It is said that tomatoes and calendulas are great companion plants, calendulas repelling tomato horn worms. Don't they look pretty?

Worm Bin/Vermiposting

Okay, this post is dedicated to all of you hardcore gardeners out there :) Below is a worm bin that we've had going for a number of months. Except for the handfuls of volunteer seedlings that showed up in one raised bed, this bin has been left alone. Opened it up tonight, and this is what I found: black gold! Look at all of the compost worms!

This is our simple set up: a simple storage bin, with holes drilled in the bottom. We put moistened coir in the bottom, add worms, then kitchen scraps, weeds from the garden, etc.

I like to place it INSIDE of my raised beds, though, so that the "worm tea" actually drains into the garden soil.

Cabbage and Kale Seed

Pulled these bolted cabbage and kale plants. I'll let them dry thoroughly. Hope we get some wonderful seed for this fall's plantings!

Today's Harvest

Harvested these veggies today from the front garden. This bed gets full southern exposure, so it was VERY dry. We got the last of the cabbages, as well as some garlic, blue potatoes, and a lone carrot :)

Trellis for Blackberries

We've finally made a trellis for the blackberries. These bushes are about 3 years old and are loaded with fruit and blossoms. So, it was time to make a trellis for them. I would love to make a couple more for grapevines.

Why we love raised beds...

We love raised beds. You can amend the soil (compost, compost, compost) and plant such a beautiful variety of plants without a lot of weeding. In this bed, you can find sage, chives, a volunteer potato plant, broccoli, oregano, cabbage, purple basil, and even a few onions from last year. This is one of the oldest and most productive beds that we have AND it's near the back door :)

Broccoli!

Here is our first head of broccoli of the season!