Well, I meant to get to this post a week ago...but things just got out of hand this week. And now that Michelle Obama has announced her spectacular vegetable garden, I feel as though I have to rise to the challenge. Let's start with a quick update of what's happening (or happened) in the outside garden.
Here you see a picture of my neighbor Liz, working away, while I stand by taking pictures of everything. This is usually how I work...:)
Anyway, we spent the day weeding the front 4 beds, plus a bed on the other side of the garden and sowed peas, lettuce, carrots, red mustard, chard and beets. I couldn't believe how much we got accomplished in just a few hours...it really is amazing how an extra pair of hands helps!
The tree behind her is an old apple that apparently has a type of borer attacking it. This nasty little bug eats a ring around the branch, eventually killing it. So, Liz's husband is going to remove it with a chainsaw...I plan on being there to take pictures. :)
In our spring clean up, we decided to test two rakes sent to me by Radius. The green one is the Garden Shark and the orange is the Groundhog. (Note Liz is still working and I am still taking pictures.)
The Garden Shark rake is for spreading mulch and de-thatching lawns and the Groundhog rake is for leaves, branches, and other garden debris. **
So here's the scoop on these two lovelies. Let me start by saying I have always hated traditional rakes...I have to stoop over and work too hard to get a minimal amount accomplished. These rakes have an extra long handle and are ergonomically designed to work for you, not the other way 'round. Both Liz and I agreed that these two rakes are by far our favorites.
I am big on finding tools for the garden that are more friendly to my body. Conserving energy and effort means I can stay in the garden longer...which is exactly what we did. We worked ourselves tired (four hours later) but felt completely satisfied...and much like expectant mothers, we have gone outside every day since to check on our babies...no sprouting yet.
And not to be outdone by the Obama's, Liz and I are sharing our own Organic Vegetable Garden Plans.
This is a complete list of all that we have planted (in the greenhouse and outside) with various growing information. You can also see what varieties and seed producers we are using. And somewhere, Liz has used her fancy software to layout our garden, indicating what is planted where...I will get that posted soon.
Hope you are enjoying your spring (yea!) garden as much as we are!
**both of these rakes are available now in our OpenSky Store!
