Start Me Up

I have been saving and saving my old plastic containers and FINALLY have amassed enough to get one crop started for spring...this is going to have to speed up A LOT!!!

Anyhow, I decided to start my peas tonight for a couple of reasons:

1. Peas like cooler weather and can easily get burned when the sun gets intense. I know that they will do well in the early spring, but I have been assured by people who live here that summer gets quite hot and dry.
2. Peas take a while to get going, and I want them to be significant plants before I transplant them. I am worrying about small animals that might want to snack on tender pea shoots (I don't blame them), so I want to have some solid plants before I put them out into the wilds of the backyard.
3. Starting my peas now means that I have to get my butt in gear and build a place for them to climb.
4. I happened to have my peas saved from last year, and have yet to purchase a lot of the seeds I am planting this year.

I am going to have two different kinds of peas this year - sugar snap peas, and Oregon Trail shell peas (not planned, but funny in a cheesy way nonetheless). Both varieties come from peas I saved from past plantings. Originally both were seeds I purchased through Seeds of Change. This year my goal is to have lots of peas to eat fresh, but I doubt I have enough space to grow peas to put up - we shall see how it goes.


I filled my containers with soil that we got from a local gardening center. Because we are planting into the sheet mulch that is currently composting in the raised beds, I want to make sure that the area around the roots of each plant is nutrient-rich soil so as to mitigate any issues with our little mulch experiment.


I planted two peas per container, 7 containers per pea type. In the end I should have enough plants to run along the full length of one of the raised beds in the back.

Now, here's something very cool that was a total accident. We had a tupperware bin sitting out in front of the house that no one bothered to put away. As the rains came down last week I slid it under a place where our gutter leaks a bit to catch water. I can't say that I have the know-how to fix the gutter at this point, so I figure why not try and turn a problem into a solution? The result is a nice reservoir of rainwater out front that I am using for watering the starts as well as the house plants.


A tupperware bin we never put away becomes a great cachment out front by the rosebush.

Inspiration

We are starting plans for our backyard garden...raised beds and containers to combat the fact that it becomes a puddle back there when it rains (and you know it NEVER rains in Oregon).

Beyond a wishlist of all of the things we want to grow, we started checking out info on building raised beds and are trying to determine the best way to procure materials. I spent some time looking online at pictures to get inspiration...

Herbs!

Rockin' the pavers

I love that these people can sit and eat their produce while looking at their garden growing

This one is in Brooklyn and really does an amazing job of utilizing space

This one is my favorite - I want lettuce sprouting off the walls of my house!