Garden Party

Full Moon Names and Meanings

2011-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

Note: The Harvest Moon is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. It can occur in either September or October. At this time, crops such as corn, pumpkins, squash, and wild rice are ready for gathering.

Month	Name	Description
January	Full Wolf Moon	This full Moon appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages. It is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.
February	Full Snow Moon	Usually the heaviest snows fall in February. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some Native American tribes this was the Hunger Moon.
March	Full Worm Moon	At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of robins. This is also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow and the annual tapping of maple trees begins.
April	Full Pink Moon	This full Moon heralded the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.
May	Full Flower Moon	Flowers spring forth in abundance this month. Some Algonquin tribes knew this full Moon as the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.
June	Full Strawberry Moon	The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening strawberries. It is also known as the Rose Moon and the Hot Moon.
July	Full Buck Moon	Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.
August	Full Sturgeon Moon	Some Native American tribes knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this full Moon. Others called it the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.
September	Full Corn Moon	This full Moon corresponds with the time of harvesting corn. It is also called the Barley Moon, because it is the time to harvest and thresh the ripened barley. The Harvest Moon is the full Moon nearest the autumnal equinox, which can occur in September or October and is bright enough to allow finishing all the harvest chores.
October	Full Hunter's Moon	This is the month when the leaves are falling and the game is fattened. Now is the time for hunting and laying in a store of provisions for the long winter ahead. October's Moon is also known as the Travel Moon and the Dying Moon.
November	Full Beaver Moon	For both the colonists and the Algonquin tribes, this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. This full Moon was also called the Frost Moon.
December	Full Cold Moon	This is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark. This full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by some Native American tribes.

Article located on: http://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-names

Febrary Garden Starters

2011-02-03T11:27:00.001-08:00

basil

Pruning Pointers for Trees and Shrubs

2011-02-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Cut poles for peas, beans, and other climbers now. Peel off the bark and set them in a dry area until they are needed.

Late winter is a good time for pruning some trees and shrubs. Pruning deciduous plants in the winter promotes fast regrowth in the spring, as most plants are dormant during the winter. It's also easier to see the shape of deciduous plants in the winter, since their foliage is gone.

Prune on a mild, dry day. When pruning, first prune out dead and diseased branches. Then remove the overgrown and smaller branches to increase light and air at the crown of the tree. In general, your goal is to keep the branches that develop or maintain the structure of the tree. Cut branches at the node, the point at which one branch or twig attaches to another.

Pruning Pointers for Trees and Shrubs

Pruning trees and shrubs may be the most feared act in gardening. Using sharp metal objects to cut away life goes against our natural inclinations.

Remember that Nature is the Great Pruner. For example, when trees grow too close together, branches die as they compete for sunlight and airflow.

Pruning is a vital part of gardening. The key is to know why we're sharpening our shears. Consider these three reasons:

To Thin:

Remove to improve. Thinning is about cutting out all dead, diseased, and injured parts to let in more air and light. Most important, thinning prevents confusion of a plant's structural line and enhances it health.

To Reduce:

In Nature, most plants we grow are in splendid isolation, trying to spread unnaturally fast. Our job is to prevent certain shrubs and trees from outgrowing their position in a yard. Judicious reducing helps plants develop into sound structures without over-stressing their limbs. Also, maximum flowering and bountiful fruit are only possible by pruning.

To Amputate:

It sounds harsh, but severe pruning is necessary to restore older trees and shrubs to better health. Most plants are amazingly forgiving with experimentation. Think twice, cut once, and watch carefully. Your plants will tell you in their own way how to do better next season.

Pruning Pointers

Here are some pruning pointers for late winter and early spring. Plants are dormant but the coldest part of winter has passed, lowering the chance of cold damage near pruning cuts.

Prune butterfly bush severely. These plants bloom only on new shoots. Stimulate new growth by lopping the whole plant to within a few inches of the ground.
Cut to the ground some or all of the oldest stems of shrubby dogwoods. This will make way for the youngest stems that will provide next winter’s show of bright yellow or red.
On apple and other fruit trees, cut water sprouts right to their bases. These vigorous, upright shots soak up the plant’s energy and bear few or no flowers or fruits. Remove weak twigs.
For smooth hydrangea, cut all stems to the ground. For bigleaf or oakleaf hydrangea, cut stems with old flowers still attached back to fat flower buds.
For lilacs, remove all dead canes. Cut out all crossing branches, keeping the strongest or most useful ones for a graceful form. Cut back last year’s growth dramatically, though never more than one-third of the live wood.

Small Simple Garden

2011-01-31T18:06:00.001-08:00

I found this article on Sunset. Great little Starter Garden

You don't need lots of space to grow herbs and vegetables. At Sunset's headquarters, test-garden coordinator Bud Stuckey planted this organic vegetable garden in four raised beds, each 4 feet square and made of 2-by-6 composite lumber called Trex.

Before planting, he double-dug all beds, turning the soil to a depth of about 22 inches, then amended it with compost. Here's what we grew and liked.

QUADRANT 1: 'Blue Lake' bush beans, lettuce (dark red leaf, 'Red Grand Rapids', and dark 'Lollo Rosso' ― located in the shade of the beans' obelisk to prevent bolting), 'Bolero Nantes' carrots (between the lettuce plants), and peppers ('Golden Summer', 'Ariane', and 'Purple Beauty').

QUADRANT 2: 'Celebrity' and 'Early Girl' tomatoes, 'Dark Opal' basil, 'Long Red Cayenne' peppers, 'Sun Gold' cherry tomato, and sweet basil.

QUADRANT 3: 'Ambassador' zucchini, Japanese eggplant, 'Orange Bell' peppers, and sweet basil.

QUADRANT 4: Mostly herbs. Chives, English thyme, golden lemon thyme, parsley (triple curled and Italian), nonbolting rau ram (Vietnamese cilantro), savory, and a few 'Inferno' peppers. 'Blue Horizon' ageratum and white sweet alyssum surround the bed.

Seeds and seedlings

You can buy seedlings of many vegetables at nurseries. Or order seeds by mail; the following companies sell seeds of healthful fruit and vegetable varieties.

A Beginner's Vegetable Garden

2011-01-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

If you're a beginner vegetable gardener, remember this: It's better to be proud of a small garden than to be frustrated by a big one!

One of the common errors for beginners is planting too much too soon and way more than anybody could eat or want. Unless you want to have zucchini taking up residence in your attic, plan carefully. Start small.

The Very Basics

Here are some very basic concepts on topics you'll want to explore further as you become a vegetable gardener extraordinaire:

Vegetables love the sun. They require six hours (continuous, if possible) of sunlight each day, at least.
Vegetables must have good, loamy, well-drained soil. Most backyard soil is not perfect and needs a helping hand. Check with your local nursery or county extension office about soil testing, soil types, and soil enrichment.
Placement is everything. Like humans, vegetables need proper nutrition. A vegetable garden too near a tree will lose its nutrients to the tree's greedy root system. On the other hand, a garden close to the house will help to discourage wild animals from nibbling away your potential harvest.
Vegetables need lots of water, at least one inch of water a week. In the early spring, walk around your property to see where the snow melts first, when the sun catches in warm pockets. This will make a difference in how well your vegetables grow.
Study those seed catalogs and order early.

Deciding How Big

A good-size beginner vegetable garden is 10x16 feet and features crops that are easy to grow. A plot this size, planted as suggested below, can feed a family of four for one summer, with a little extra for canning and freezing (or giving away).

Vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season are beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips. For the plan below, your rows should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun.

Make your garden 11 rows of 10 feet each of the following veggies:

Tomatoes — 5 plants staked
Zucchini squash — 4 plants
Peppers — 6 plants
Cabbage
Bush beans
Lettuce, leaf and/or Bibb
Beets
Carrots
Chard
Radish
Marigolds to discourage rabbits!

Leave 2 feet between bush beans, 1/2 foot between bush beans and lettuce, and 1 foot between all of the rest.

(Note: If this garden is too large for your needs, you do not have to plant all 11 rows, and you can also make the rows shorter. You can choose the veggies that you'd like to grow!)

If you're interested in planting potatoes, just remember that tomatoes and potatoes are not ideal companions and need "distance."

http://www.almanac.com/content/beginners-vegetable-garden

2011 Garden Prep

2011-01-30T11:58:00.000-08:00

2011 is here. February is close and that means Garden Cleanup - Prep - Bareroot plants and early starts!

November Garden

2010-11-21T12:34:00.001-08:00

Growing Garden

2010-06-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

2010-06-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

Seed Planting and Garden Prep

2010-06-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

2010-06-10T00:44:00.000-07:00

2010 Garden

2010-06-10T00:07:00.000-07:00

I have moved over to Gilbridecreative.com for my garden posts! Here it is in full swing for June 9th 2010.

End of the 2009 Garden.

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2009-11-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

2009-11-12T10:12:00.001-08:00

2009-11-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Garden Season 2009 at a glance

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2009-10-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

2009-08-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

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2009-08-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Growing Garden

2009-07-21T12:19:00.001-07:00

Corn, Upside down Tomatoe, Duck Pool, Marigold
Sunflowers in front of window
Yellow Squash
The first Morning Glory

2009-07-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

2009-07-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Garden Shots Today July 7th

2009-07-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

Wow - How my garden has grown!

2009-07-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have not posted pictures for a while and it is amazing how much it has grown since this last picture! I will get to that soon. Everything is doing so well.

2009-06-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

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2009-06-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

2009-05-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Raised beds completed!

2009-05-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Veggies in the green house.

2009-05-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Corn, Tomatoes, Marigolds from seed, Peppers

It's not all veggies. I love flowers too!

2009-05-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Garden Progress and Plants Outside

2009-05-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

These are the newest changes in my garden. A few things have been in the ground for a while, while the lettuce has recently been planted out.
On the side raised bed I have Basil, Oregon Sugar Pod Pea, Parsley, Chive Onion, Lettuce, and Mint.
On the front side I have one Artichoke, Strawberries, Brussels Sprouts and Bright Lights Chard.

2009-05-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Oregon Sugar Pod Pea, Lettuce - Paris Islan Cos, Strawberries, Basil, Lavender, Chive, Onion, Raised Beds, Organic, Hay, Compost, Brussels Sprout, Swiss Chard.

2009-05-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

House, Garden, Tulip, Rock Garden, Fountain, Brussels Sprouts, Green House, Herbs, Petunia

2009-04-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Chickens, Side Raised bed, Garden, House.

2009-04-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sadie & Venus

Sadie - 4-14-09. 7 Days old today.
Venus - 4-11-09. 11 Days old today.

The kids are in our yard now. Today I moved them into the garden to play and adjust for a few hours. They had a lot of fun sleeping and playing!

2009-04-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

Sadie and Venus (Cali and Pricilla's Babies)

2009-04-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Raising the beds! Front and side yard.

2009-04-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Morning Glory, Raised bed, Push Mower, Main Garden

2009-04-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Day Lilly, Asparagus Root, Rhubarb, Tulip

2009-04-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Full Pink Moon

2009-04-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Full Pink Moon
Full Moon7:55 A.M.
This full Moon heralded the appearance of the grass pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

The best time to plant flowers and vegetables that bear crops above ground is during the light of the Moon; that is, from the day the Moon is new to the day it is full. Flowering bulbs and vegetables that bear crops below ground should be planted during the dark of the Moon; that is, from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again.
See the Moon Phase Calendar for the exact days of the new and full Moons.

2009-04-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

2009-03-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

2009-03-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Sheet mulching

2009-03-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sheet mulching is a gardening and landscaping method that allows planting into or on top of the ground and is a form of no-dig gardening: the process of covering any base or unwanted plant material including weeds, old lawn or open ground with a layers of materials known as the barrier, compost and mulch.

Benefits

The effect reduces maintenance costs, increases water storage, prevents erosion and improves soil. It also makes it possible to create garden areas without hard digging first where environmental or physical restrictions apply.

“

There [are] no hard and fast rules about what to use for your layers, just so long as it's organic and doesn't contain any protein (fat, meat, or bone).

”

The basics

"Don't remove the sod or do any extra work, like removing weeds or rocks.
Mark the area for your garden using a water hose or a long rope to select the desired shape.
Cover the marked area with wet newspapers, cardboard or other paper-based product, overlapping the edges using at least five sheets.
Cover the paper with one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm) of peat moss, peat moss substitute or other moisture holding organic material.
Layer several inches of organic material such as straw, leaves, grass clippings, or garden waste on top of the peat moss.
Continue to alternate layers of peat moss and organic material, until desired depth is reached.
Water until the garden is the consistency of a damp sponge.
regularly increase soil level by introducing large amounts of mulch and compost to your garden and sheet mulched area.

Source

Bay Friendly Landscape Guidelines published by Stopwaste.org - 777 Davis Street San Leandro CA 94577

2009-02-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

New garden layout

2009-02-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Expanding my garden

2009-02-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

snow

2008-12-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

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2008-09-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

2008-08-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

2 happy tomatoes!! Getting bigger every day

2008-08-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Our first Artichoke!

2008-08-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

2008-08-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

2008-08-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes getting ready to ripen.

2008-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

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2008-07-26T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes

2008-07-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

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2008-03-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Baby Banty and and the Rooster

2008-03-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Three of our pretty little Red Hens!

Mulched Beds

2008-03-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here we are - almost Spring!

These are the blueberries adn mulched beds in the front.
It will soon be time to plant!

Spring is almost here!

2008-03-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

16 days until spring! Looking at my mulched beds in the yard. Time to start the early veggies.

2008-02-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

2008-02-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

2008-02-20T18:14:00.001-08:00

2008-02-20T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is the front yard with leaf mulch around the trees.

2008-02-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

Covered bed in back, lined with plastic to help heat the soil.

2008-02-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

Other beds and yard

2008-02-19T20:07:00.001-08:00

Raised Beds

2008-02-19T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here is the beginning of my raised beds. We had a beautiful weekend here and I was able to accomplish much around the yard.