Update on Three Sisters Garden

Well ... this was meant to be an experiment and, like many experiments, I don't expect to achieve full success the first time around.

I planted a small Three Sisters Garden this year ... my first with this concept (planting corns, beans and squash together as companion plants) and also my first time growing corn.  Things are really slow.  I intentionally planted it away from the rest of my vegetable garden to keep the critters away from the other goodies:

But I also didn't want it right behind my house, so it is off to the side in a not-super-sunny location.  It gets sun, just probably not the 8-14 hours the rest of my yard gets. 

I planted the corn (Golden Bantam) at the very end of May.  I would expect it to have been bigger than this??  Does it even look healthy as I have no idea!?

The bean plants are supposed to be able to grow up and around the corn stalks and the beans plants are almost as tall as the corn!! I originally planted Scarlet Runner beans.  But the crows got many of the seeds and I replenished with some Tarbais beans.  The only actual beans I have so far are the Tarbais (1st photo), but at least I am seeing some (though very few) of the pretty red flowers from the Scarlet Runners!

And the Red Kuri squash shown here below is not quite at the same stage as the other winter squash plants I have on the go ... I already have spaghetti squash that are 10 inches long and full size acorn squash.  I don't even have a possibility of a kuri squash here this year ... much less the long, windy vines that are supposed to cover the soil to hold in moisture and protect the other plants. In fact, these look a lot like the stunted summer squash plants I have - flowering but so tiny there is no way anything will form on it.

But there is still time, and with time comes hope (or so I keep saying to myself).  And I will try this again next year, so I will focus on what has gone wrong and make some improvements next time!

Harvest Monday: August 11, 2014

I am getting lots of baby potatoes still, but some are quite large.  It's too early for me to start storing potatoes and I've already dug up at least 10 pounds so I am giving lots away - who doesn't love potatoes fresh from the garden!?  I don't think I've pulled up any yukon gold yet, and I'm saving the fingerlings for last (my favourite).  So this is a mix of red chieftain, russian blue and kennebec.

Same with the carrots - I'm surprised at the size they are ... the loose soil in the raised garden is great for root veggies (including the beets above and red onions below grown from sets).

I also have bags of lettuce and swiss chard.  Some swiss chard went to a friend and I used to the rest to make mushroom and chard manicotti.

In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the greenhouse to be finished - contractor said he'd be back this past weekend, but no sign of him.  And so I keep waiting!

At least he has the frame up and it gives me some time to get the patio stones inside for the floor.

Check out Daphne's Dandelions to see what other gardeners are harvesting this week!

The New Shed

Following the collapse of my original greenhouse over the winter, I have been slowly rebuilding the pieces I need.

Both the new shed and greenhouse have been under construction over the past few weeks - well, off and on but mostly off.  The greenhouse contractor seems to only work one day a week!   But more on the greenhouse later.

This is just to show off my new shed (although still not quite completed).  My friend Dan offered to build me a shed ... he has never actually built a shed on his own before but had experience framing houses and such.  So what the heck, huh? 

It's pretty neat!  He got a great deal on some "older" wood so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb.  Good price and looks good.  So much better than an aluminum shed from Crappy Tire!

It has a slope for the snow to come off - away from the new greenhouse.  Shingles still to be done.

And I took care of the patio stone floor ... I'm a bit totally lazy so didn't do the best job.  But whatever ... it's a shed! 

I still have a few more stones to be laid ... maybe tomorrow.  Or not.

 And some stones that were in the old greenhouse are being used for a pathway between the shed and greenhouse - I'll center them better once the greenhouse is finished.

And now I can start bringing back all that junk that is stored in my garage!!!!