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vegetable garden

Garden Progress and Tips for a Successful Vegetable Garden

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Since we are midway through the summer and I gave a sneak peak yesterday, I thought it was time for a garden update.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that while the vegetable garden was making wonderful progress, the bunnies in my yard thought it was delicious too. I got several suggestions to keep them at bay, but there was one thing I did that worked perfect.

Nothing!

I think the bunnies have lost interest. Also, some of the plant are getting so large, and some of them are a bit prickly. I don’t think the bunnies are too fond of either of those things. Also, the plants that got munched on are starting to return.

 

While, the garden isn’t quite ready for harvest yet, I am so happy to report all my plants are doing phenomenally.

Would you believe I started this garden from seed?

I cannot wait to make zucchini bread!

If you would like to read more about Gardening, DIY, Cooking, Baking and all other things domestic you can check me out on Facebook or become a follower of Home Everyday here. 

You Better Bring It: Bunny Control

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Picture yourself, waking up late on a Saturday morning with
no alarms. There is just the faintest sound of little pitter pats running into
your room and little kids yelling, “Can we have Chocolate Milk?!” Then, you let
the little ones climb into your bed and as they are looking out the window,
they say, “Mommy, Daddy, BUNNIES!”
They giggle and watch the bunnies, we all look out and see a
little teeny gray bunny hopping around the yard stopping once in awhile to
nibble on some grass. The kids giggling and shouting words like, CUTE, SNUGGLY, and FLUFFY!
Those images are cute, right? Bunnies are cute. They are fun
to look at with their little cotton like tails and fluffiness. That’s why there
are hundreds of children’s stories surrounding bunnies, rabbits, and hares.
They are lovable. I mean who doesn’t love a bunny?
ME! That’s who! Not anymore anyway.
The weeks I spent planning, and the care taken to buy just
the right amount of mushroom compost, and have the kids help me water, and
fertilize. The strategic placement of broccoli, carrots, lettuce, peas,
zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon was all working out
wonderfully. The weekly weeding that caused my sunburned neck. Every morning I walk out to water the garden, I’m amazed that after years of killing houseplants, I can actually grow food.
The cute, sweet, and innocent little bunnies no longer seem
so sweet and are definitely no longer so innocent! They are ruining my garden!
They are like GOATS! They would probably eat tin cans if I tried to plant them.Check out these before and afters:

 

 

 

 

There is no way to sugar coat this, I’m angry. I’m going to bring it! Well, as much as I can bring it without hurting the bunnies.

 

I’ve done a little research, and have read about marigolds,
and cayenne pepper, and fences, but before I did anything that might ruin what
I have left, and before my neighbors start calling me Farmer McGregor, I thought I would ask a wonderful resource that I have right at my fingertips: You! My readers.
How do I get these bunnies out of my garden? (Yesterday, I
walked out to water, and there was a bunny sitting in the RAISED BED staring me
down as he ate my lettuce. I did the only thing I could think of and turned the
hose on the little buggar, and he scampered away, probably glad for the shower
on a hot morning.)
Also, will my vegetables come back? I am worried that I might have to replant some of these things. Is that true?
So, to all the seasoned gardeners out there,what should this novice do about the bunnies?

Vegetable Garden 2013

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Over the weekend, Brian and his Dad were able to get a lot of yard work done, and even helped to till the vegetable garden and add a few bags of mushroom compost to the beds. This was a wonderful help as then all the kids and I had to do was plant the seeds.

On Friday, I mentioned that we were going to plant a great deal less this year to help avoid crowding. So, with the help of the kids, we planted broccoli, carrots, lettuce, peas, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and watermelon.

 

I know most people start with small plants, or they start their seeds indoors, and then plant outdoors. Last summer, I started from seeds outdoors, and everything grew very well.
The plants that do not grow as high I kept close to each other to help avoid any chance of bigger plants blocking out any sun. Here is what everything looks like now. Hopefully, in about a week, we will start seeing some sprouts.
Now that the veggies are planted, it is time to get some herbs and flowers going!
If you would like to week to week progress on the vegetable garden, follow me on Facebook here!

Garden Planning 2013

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This weekend at our house is known as planting weekend! Last year, when we were first planning our vegetable garden I did a TON of research and talked to a lot of seasoned gardeners about when the best time to plant would be. The consensus for our area is the weekend after Mother’s Day. Our garden last year (you can check out posts here and here), was pretty successful, so I am sticking with that plan.

There were a few mistakes with last year’s garden, that hopefully I will not make this year to ensure we get a bigger crop of veggies.

The biggest mistake last year was overcrowding. This year, I am really limiting what we are planting to what we will really use a lot of. For example, last year the peas and lettuce were the biggest hit, and we wish we would have had more off those, and less of the radishes.

Here is what we have planned for this year:

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me this weekend.

It won’t be long though before I will be enjoying some zucchini bread, a caprese salad or sandwich, or a veggie frittata right from our garden.

What do you have planned for this weekend?