A bit more gardening

Still puttering around the yard. My slow progress would probably frustrate an observer. Part of the process is that the more I wait the more I tend to find cheaper solutions. For example, I've decided I'd like to grow chives to replace my consumption of scallions. Turns out Sara's stepmother was just given a bunch of chives and she has no real desire for them...score! I've also been trying to think about a source of vegetation besides vegetables and lo and behold one of my neighbors invites me to come over and take some of his! A trip to the greenhouse could easily run up to a hundred dollars, the less I can spend on all of this the better.

So while I wait and read I putter. I enlarged the little planting area next to the stairs today:



This plot contains mostly Sara's stuff right now. There are some bulb plants, rose bushes, and I've put in a tomato plant. I'm going to put in a pepper plant as well (maybe two) and then some onions.

I'm also trying out containers (for example the potatoes) and I've planted a tomato plant in a use cat litter bucket.



I didn't use potting soil, I wanted to experiment with a mix of garden soil and composted manure. We shall see. I'm certain that its possible to get by without buying potting soil, which isn't to say that I know how to do this. But its insane that an interior or container garden be the slave of soil companies. I suspect well composted material is the key to creating oxygenated soil and soil with good water retention and high in plant food. We shall see.

Speaking of pots I've planted a container of basil (lower left) and a larger planter of basil/dill/rosemary/thyme.

The goal is to get the hang of containers while the weather is amazing before working entirely indoors during the winter. This winter I'd like to grow an indoor herb garden along with our vegetable greens. I think I'd need to have staggered plantings. Ideally I'd be harvesting spinach each week during the winter and supplementing that with sprouts for the 'leafy green' portion of our diet. But I'm not sure how many planters I'd need to accomplish that. Window space is tricky too as I plan on covering up a number of them with styrofoam insulation (to reduce heat loss) and the remaining ones tend to be cold. So I'll have to find a couple of sunny spots that Sara's cats won't mess with.