How to Make a Raised Bed Garden.....

....from a spot of yard that used to be a parking lot for an apartment building and before that the foundation for a garage. Oh, and add to that a limited and unwilling budget.

First, construct the boxes. We used scrap wood from other projects, cut them into 4 ft lengths and 1x1 stakes at the corners to screw, (not nail) them together. The above photo shows the box upside down. The stake gets pounded into the ground so the end is cut at an angle to make that a bit easier. Dearest thinks it might be a good idea to use 4x4's instead, but 1x's are what we had on hand.


These are the two new boxes lined up where they will go so we can mark where the sod needs to be cut/dug out. Still upside down.


Now, here's the thing. Our yard used to be a parking lot when our house was cut up into 9 apartments. Before that there was a garage that burned down in this spot. So various parts of the yard have ft deep of gravel, concrete, or this:


Foundation stone, rebar rods, glass, and other debris. Then the clay soil has to be dug through and removed because of the lead in the soil. MUST be done. Our area has the highest rate of juvenile lead poisoning in the entire USA. We also have Lil'Bug tested regularly, just in case.



Anyway, the soil must be removed 12-18 inches. This is beneficial too, because clay soil is not ideal for vegetable gardening. We use the soil to build up around our foundation.



Haul away debris and bad soil. Then set the boxes with the long steak side down. Level them. Do your best anyway. Ours are levelish.


Then fill with compost, top soil, and cow manure. Top with deep cedar mulch. Plant plants.

We still don't do root veggies like carrots or beets or potatoes because of the lead issue. Can't be too careful with developing brains. Lil'Bug helped a lot with almost every step of the process. The handyman who did the heavy work (Dearest) is camera shy when in work mode.

Backyard Bugs May 4

More Spring!

This is the first time I've seen our pear and plum trees in blossom. Last year the late frost killed the buds and the year before the trees were victims of juvenile vandalism.

Perhaps we shall see some fruit this year? That would be awesome!

The same late frost was an issue with the magnolias last year. This year? Their beauty amazes me. I love magnolias!


This Spring has been full of life and wonder, even if the warmer temperatures and sunshine were late coming. It seems like the hurt and sadness that started last Spring has finally passed and we have found ourselves rooted in good ground. We've decided to stay put for another year, take the tasks of trying to sell the house more gently and enjoy the new baby and the summer and living in our home.....for once! We've always rushed around, frantic on some project, always doing it for an external factor. This summer we will simply enjoy. When we are ready, we will stick the sign in the yard and figure out where we are headed. It may be far, it may be near BUT hopefully the housing market won't be as scary!

First Beautiful Signs of Spring in Iowa

Daffodils!

Raspberry leaves!

Daddy and daughter working hard!

The Story of Our Garden(ing)

Almost 10 years ago our neighbors (back in our old 'hood) gave us as a wedding gift a sweet card with a handwritten note: We will teach you to garden in the Spring.

They did. Well, to be honest, they taught Dearest Husband to garden because I wanted nothing to do with it. Even the thought of gardening made me itch. The most I wanted to do ever was nag Dearest to mow when the grass got too long, but even the thought of that made me itch. I used to have to pull weeds in the wheat field as punishment growing up and I really had my fill of any chlorophyll specimen. I didn't even like eating garden fresh veggies, preferring chemical disinfected store processed muck over what could potentially have a bug or snail slime residue on it.

Anyway, the three of them (Dearest and our neighbors) actually landscaped our tiny yards together to look like one big English cottage garden, complete with an Mexican stone fountain and winding brick walkways. Vegetables were put in with the flowers and nestled back by the porch was a Koi pond. We live near Meredith and August Home magazines headquarters and the garden has since been piecemeal featured by both of them, though it has changed a bit since we moved, the idea is the same.

One of the ways I talked Dearest into moving was the lure of more garden space (I wanted a bigger house and the lure/lust of a 3 story nightmare of a renovation project had hooked me). The house I had settled on had a bigger yard sure, but it had been a gravel/asphalt parking lot for when the house had been nine apartments. Beneath that layer was hard clay (and ants, lots of ants). It also had an empty lot diagonal and across the alley that we could potentially buy (we did) and lots of big trees.

8 years later most of the trees are gone. Our neighbor's spendthrift pruning of the branches hanging over her driveway killed the two Maples, lightening hit the Locust, and my husband fought the Walnut in a Don Quiote style battle and won. Not to disparage my love in anyway though. The tree vs. man battle also involved other male family members and really was a physical manifestation of the post winter stress we endured after spending 4 very cold and expensive months in a house with indoor snowdrifts and wild animals. That's another story though.

We've replanted trees and retained two Oaks, but it is a whole lot less shady now. We've removed a good deal of the debris and gravel and old concrete, etc. BUT our garden beds are raised for a reason. The clay and the gravel are formidable enemies of gardening. We also have lead in the soil, trace, but still there. We (as in Dearest with me watching sympathetically) dug down 12 inches and then built the frames, filled with imported clean dirt and compost, topped with heavy mulch. Even so, we don't do certain root vegetables and we wash thoroughly any harvest before munching. Sometimes that means bring a bucket of clean water out with us when grazing. :) We may live amid the fertile loam of Iowa, but our urban and river areas are not quite the soil of legend.

Oh, and how did I finally get involved in this messy, itchy pastime? Pumpkins. The poet/writer in me couldn't resist the faint murmurings of fairytales and I got talked into helping choose some pumpkin seeds; I picked a packet of smiling jack o' lantern pumpkins. Somehow the magic of those growing, glowing orange babies enchanted me into garden life. The ironic and unfortunate thing is that every year since we have had MASSIVE squash beetle infestations and we maybe get two stunted pumpkins out of our harvest before the little buggers decimate the vines into scorched piles of ashen vine. Does that stop me from trying?

Oh no, never. Perhaps it bugs Dearest that I got involved (re: bossy and domineering) in his hobby but picking up the spade and shovel has changed me in ways that are harder to describe. :)

First Planting!

Princess Lil'Bug in the Garden......

Pulling weeds......

Raking the compost smooth......

Finished bed, planted with spinach, spicy greens mix, and romaine lettuce.

Ah, and all I had to do was enjoy the sunshine!

Score!

Thank you so much to Needleroozer for help in identifying our weird coccoon! After some early morning research, I have confirmed as best as I could, that it is in fact a PRAYING MANTIS EGG CASE! It is 3 feet from the ground, about the size of a quarter, right color and texture......

Totally awesome.

Longest Monday Ever

I woke up to a regular Monday. Fed Lil'Bug breakfast, saw Dearest off to work, blogged a bit.....then, well, then I passed a blood clot.

Yeah.

I calmed myself down enough to call Dearest at work and tell him. He headed home. I called the Dr.s office, but no call back. I called our Doula. She said, "Go, go now." Really, there is no good reason for blood. So we went. Pawpaw came to the hospital to get Lil'Bug who was scared and worried too. I'm only almost 33 weeks.

They monitored, they prodded and poked (which hurt a lot! to the point of embarassment). The ultra sound showed June Bug a perfectly happy and active baby girl, placenta intact, mucus plug intact, cervix tight. My stats were good too. What they didn't find was the fibroid. No confirmation, but the going guess is that it broke, dissolved, and that is what passed. My gut tells me that is what happened. I am relieved, but the scare was a bit much for me and I ended up sleeping for a good deal of the afternoon. And, yes, lots of tears.

Dearest took me out to lunch and then home (after picking up Lil'Bug) and we puttered around for a bit in the garden. Here are some more progress pictures:


And a weird cocoon type thing. Any ideas? It is on a Lilac.

I really need a macro lens. I thought I would end up needing a zoom lens more, but a macro seems like it would fit better with all the close ups I've been doing. Oh, yeah, and the MAGNOLIAS are budding!

Lil'Bug loves mud bugs. Dearest and Lil'Bug also caught a nasty bug, or what they thought might be one. We took a break to look up Emerald Tree Borer. What they caught was NOT one. Whew. We don't have Ash trees in our yard, but still, nasty bug!

Then I went inside and slept. So much for getting laundry done!

Also, as a side note: EVERY THURSDAY SINCE THE WARM UP, IT HAS RAINED OR SNOWED OR BEEN AWFUL OUT. It's not fair. That is our park day! It means we go swimming instead, but still, park days are coveted. I just looked at the week's weather forcast and lo and behold, Thursday 70 percent chance of THUNDERSTORMS but sunny all the rest of the week. Gah. It could be worse; we turned the boiler off for the season so worse would be snowing and frigid.

Also, through some strange act of fate, I reconnected with a friend from high school who is also due in June. Amazing. We had lots in common then, more now. Different things now. :) So that's a happy ending to a very, very long day.

Raspberry Jam

Sunshine. These raspberries are made from pure sunshine and they taste like it too. This is warmth. In the late summer (our Spring crop was killed by an end of May frost) Lil'Bug and I would head out in the morning and eat breakfast right off the canes. Mmmmmm. Through the harvest season, I gathered about 1 cup every 4-5 days. I froze them as I went, hoping to accumulate enough to make jam eventually. I got about 7 cups total.

When we make it into jam it is like bubbling, boiling lava. I leave it with the seeds. Since we didn't get as much this last summer, we are canning most of it in smaller jars.

It is dangerous for Lil'Bug to help with the boiling and canning, but she helps with the prep work and labeling and keeps me company while watching the hot process. She gathered the tools, mashed the berries, and nibbled.

It is a 1/1 ratio of berry to sugar, boiled until the right consistency. Then hot poured into prepared glass jars. This year we actually have a pressure canner (didn't use it), but last year we just stored in the fridge and they kept as long as they lasted (about 6 months). One thing I learned last year was that the pot to boil the berries should be much larger than you think you need because the berries double in volume once they start boiling and then the sugar gets added. I also learned to stir constantly or the bottom will scorch. Luckily there is nothing more heavenly and warming than standing over a pot of boiling raspberry jam. Mmmmmm.

We are finally getting this done today because I need jam for the cupcakes! Um, yes, for FIL's birthday that was two weeks ago? We'll get it done. Better late than never.

I do wish there had been enough to put some away for the State Fair. My jam is truly awesome. I know I'd win! :) So much for modestly, I'm still a buzz from all the spoon licking goodness.
*edited to add: It is my Dearest Husband who first suggested this..... though I can't take much credit for the product- it really is the berries that do the work.

When we finished up, we had 12 little jars and 2 big ones (2 cup jars). I toasted a whole wheat ciabatta roll and slathered it with local dairy fresh cream butter THEN I scraped all the jam I could from the pot, the scoop, and the spoons and piled it on. Crazy delicious.

Yup. I took a bite BEFORE I got the camera. It was too good not to. When I put Lil'Bug in jammies I found she had jam behind her ears. I have no idea how it got there.

Ice Ice Baby.......

A Day with Daddy

The title makes it sound like I wasn't around, but I was! I am just in the midst of a grading crunch so my dear Dearest Husband took the call whenever Lil'Bug had "an idea," and I took the pictures!


Here they are planting a baby pumpkin that she's had around for the last couple months (but it was starting to goo.) I told her throw it away or go plant it. She got on her boots and coat and out they went to "her garden"......


Then she wanted to make cripsy chocolate chip cookies....."DADDY!" They make quite the culinary team.


"Ta Da!" and "Yum....." These are by far the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten.

UPDATE - it's now november of 2008. that pumpkin came up in august and we couldn't figure out where it came from. HA!

How we Harvest and Freeze our Peppers

It's simple really. That said, note that we didn't know how easy it was and it took us a bit to perfect what is common sense to most people.

Wash them. This seems like a pain, fresh from the garden BUT where we live there is high lead content in the soil. While the soil we grow our vegetables in is imported and amended, our neighbors soil isn't and the dust that blows and settles from that can be really dangerous. So we rinse with water before we eat anything. It is kind of a letdown that we can't pick and eat and graze through the garden......but not as big of a deal as getting lead poisoning.


Cut off the top, then cut the pepper long ways. To de-seed we use a spoon and scrape them hollow. We learned that if the seed flap isn't removed, it turns black in the freezer. It's still ok to eat, but looks icky.


Then we pack in freezer bags, suck the air out, and seal. We try to store in quantities that we will use, but peppers can be used a bit of a time out of the bag. I also discovered that the pepper will shatter when they are frozen. Pounding the bag is much more fun than chopping!

Now, it is also important to note: wear gloves when prepping hot peppers. The oil is really hard to get off and if you wipe your eyes of eat a cracker (stick your fingers in your mouth) or change a baby's diaper....all are in for a not so nice surprise. We have wiped an eye on more than one occasion. Wearing gloves solves this post pepper (unless you continue wearing the gloves the rest of the day and that is just weird...).

What if you forget to wear gloves? We have experimented with several remedies. We have tried baking soda, toothpaste, dish soap, flour, milk, ice water.....The most effective has been to take a big handfull of baking soda, use water to make it into a paste, then vigourously rub that all over your hands, or to wash hands with baby oil. Either way, once your done wash hands with regular soap. The one time I got it in my eyes I just rinsed and rinsed with cold water. Any other suggestions are welcome!

How We Process Tomatoes, Raspberries, and Pumpkin

We cut the tops and the ugly bits off, place in a stock pot (NOT aluminum, the acid in tomatoes will eat through aluminum), mash a bit with a potato masher, and then bring to a boil. Boil at a low flame setting until the tomatoes go all mushy and soft, let cool a bit, but into freezer containers and let cool some more. We then put the containers in the refrigerator when cooled, the freezer. Simple. Note* This is only safe for freezing.

Raspberry jam: 1/1 ratio of fresh raspberries to sugar. Boil down a bit, until jam consistency. Pour into jars. Done. I don't add pectin since the berries have it naturally. It is wicked good and a little scary when boiling- it looks like bubbling, gurgling hot lava. We then refrigerate, but you can pressure can them at this point too.

This year's harvest was affected by the late Spring frost. We didn't get any berries in the Spring and Fall berries are sparse. I am collecting a handful each day, rinsing, and adding to a container in the freezer. I hope by the end of October to have enough to make enough jam for us over the winter, but it is unlikely.

Pumpkin: I used to skin and boil chunks but this year I decided to halve the small sugars, de-seed, and bake. Baking retains more flavor and mineral/vitamin content. When they are soft, I let cool and then scrape out the good goo. I measure out 2 cups per bag, push the air out, seal, and freeze.

I buy my pumpkins for the most part. Despite actively vacuuming off the squash beetles with my shop vac every day, I lost the war. I won't use chemicals so I am dreaming of the summer at the farm when I will use chickens to de-bug my precious pumpkin plants. Pumpkin is my favourite vegetable ever. Pumpkin curry bisque is my favourite food. With crusty sour dough....yum. Pumpkin pie smell is my favourite smell ever and I am currently working on trying to convince through blog comments my favourite soap maker to make her Chai soap (smells the same) into a shea butter body creme, a linen spray, and a super fat soap.

Good days seem hard to come by

Good days. It's all a perspective right? Today was tough in the middle. Mommy/daughter/cat clashes. We went swimming but the tension continued(s). After a delicious burrito dinner I threw kid into the back yard and proceeded to pull/cut/destroy weeds. Then I tied up my raspberry bushes finally. Let me tell you what, that is an itchy and painful affair. Not very pretty either, but we might harvest enough for jam this fruiting. Not enough for Christmas gifts, but enough for ourselves and that is the point of much of our gardening. Oh, and while I did this Lil'Bug managed to unwind all my twine and capture herself, "In the name of the hundred acre woods!" Man she's a funny funny little Pooh Bear fan.

I am trying to get the yard cleaned up by Saturday when we finally stick the FOR SALE.....SOON sign up in the yard for the benefit of the 30 people that go on our neighborhood house tour that are typically diverted around our block. Chad intends to work on the front landscaping and smile at those who do stop and gawk. I am really sad about the house sale process actually getting underway...but happy too.

The picture is this week's harvest. We are finally ripening the volunteer little orange tomatoes. They are sweet and tart. Before I had a chance to replant the lettuce bed with beans, they sprouted up and took over the entire bed. Crazy.

Today's Harvest Picture

Check it out! 2 pumpkins! Whoo Hoo! AND those bell peppers? The size of my small child's head. They are awesome.

Mystery Melon?

Can anyone tell me if this is a pumpkin or a melon?

I know that we'll figure it out soon enough, but I am excited about having pumpkins and melons at all. You see, WE DIDN'T PLANT ANY! We have the worst time with squash beetle that I had just given up. These melons came out of the ground where the compost bin was last summer. So, any one who guesses right I will share some pumpkin soup with in the fall. :)

Saturday Harvest

Bell Pepper, Anahiem Pepper, Banana Pepper, Blue Lake Green Beans (not in photo, but just past the bottom of the photo), AND.......one little red tomato. Yum.

The red tomato is our first of the season to ripen and Lil'Bug found it, picked it, coveted it, carried it around the yard, refused to share it, reluctantly allowed me to photograph it and wash it, and then ate it. Fun stuff.