Hello everyone,
I know it has been a while since I last posted but we have been busy.
We have completed the work on the raised beds that we intended to install this season. They are all built and filled and most have been planted.
It is official. We are now experiencing the worst drought in this area of eastern Ontario since 1948. We are desperate for rain. Naturally, since we live in the countryside, we are on a well. We are lucky that ours is a deep, drilled well at 220 feet. A lot of our neighbours have shallow dug wells, some only 20 feet deep and most or very concerned about running out of water. I am also concerned and we use the water very sparingly. The only thing that gets watered are the pots of plants and the vegetables. I hand water all of it rather than just setting up a sprinkler that would waste water on the pathways. I only water every second day but give it a very thorough soaking.
Despite all the aforementioned doom and gloom the garden is doing very well. Last spring I ordered 22 tons of pea stone and the other day I finished shovelling all of it, by hand, and spreading it on the pathways between the raised beds on top of newspaper and landscape fabric. I have in fact run out and still have an area to finish up but will get a small load in the pickup truck. A few weeds still manage to get in there but they are weak and easy to remove.
I have a few photos I took this morning of the garden.
We planted some blueberry bushes 5 years ago and finally this year we have a bit of a crop from them. They are all under netting to keep the birds from getting the berries before we do.
As you can see from these remaining photos the garden is neat and tidy and all the plants are doing well. When it comes to flower gardens I tend to favour the English cottage garden look. In a veg garden, I want it neat, clean, weed free and easy to maintain. It was a lot of work putting in this garden but now the upkeep is mere minutes a day. Well worth all the hard graft.
We have been harvesting lots of spinach, lettuce, courgettes, chard, radish, arugula, peas and kohlrabi. I have just started more seeds of the brassicas and I have saved a bed for a fall crop. There is one other bed not yet planted out and I am saving that one for a fall crop of carrots and beets. I will cover that bed with straw and a tarp and hope to be able to harvest into the winter months if I can keep the ground from freezing.
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you have a great day. If you are here in Ontario, I hope you get some rain and a break from this brutal heat and humidity. Cheers.
~ Melanie ~
I know it has been a while since I last posted but we have been busy.
We have completed the work on the raised beds that we intended to install this season. They are all built and filled and most have been planted.
It is official. We are now experiencing the worst drought in this area of eastern Ontario since 1948. We are desperate for rain. Naturally, since we live in the countryside, we are on a well. We are lucky that ours is a deep, drilled well at 220 feet. A lot of our neighbours have shallow dug wells, some only 20 feet deep and most or very concerned about running out of water. I am also concerned and we use the water very sparingly. The only thing that gets watered are the pots of plants and the vegetables. I hand water all of it rather than just setting up a sprinkler that would waste water on the pathways. I only water every second day but give it a very thorough soaking.
Despite all the aforementioned doom and gloom the garden is doing very well. Last spring I ordered 22 tons of pea stone and the other day I finished shovelling all of it, by hand, and spreading it on the pathways between the raised beds on top of newspaper and landscape fabric. I have in fact run out and still have an area to finish up but will get a small load in the pickup truck. A few weeds still manage to get in there but they are weak and easy to remove.
I have a few photos I took this morning of the garden.
We planted some blueberry bushes 5 years ago and finally this year we have a bit of a crop from them. They are all under netting to keep the birds from getting the berries before we do.
As you can see from these remaining photos the garden is neat and tidy and all the plants are doing well. When it comes to flower gardens I tend to favour the English cottage garden look. In a veg garden, I want it neat, clean, weed free and easy to maintain. It was a lot of work putting in this garden but now the upkeep is mere minutes a day. Well worth all the hard graft.
We have been harvesting lots of spinach, lettuce, courgettes, chard, radish, arugula, peas and kohlrabi. I have just started more seeds of the brassicas and I have saved a bed for a fall crop. There is one other bed not yet planted out and I am saving that one for a fall crop of carrots and beets. I will cover that bed with straw and a tarp and hope to be able to harvest into the winter months if I can keep the ground from freezing.
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you have a great day. If you are here in Ontario, I hope you get some rain and a break from this brutal heat and humidity. Cheers.
~ Melanie ~
Mel this is the most beautiful veggie garden. It really reflects the hard work that you and Frank have put into it.
ReplyDeleteJeanie