The Toy Box (the return)

High five BlackRose!


It is just a cherry tomato (Oregon Cherry) and it is probably a stress tomato, but it is STILL a tomato.

you have a green baby...ah...

hugs
rose who cant wait to find a green baby

Those who claim to know are saying the PNW will have two more days of drizzly wet weather before the sun smiles on us again. Sun is wonderful but the amazing part is that it will come to visit us on the weekend. Usually it shines through office and school windows only to hide behind the clouds on weekends.

Don't I grow lush .....grass. It has just been too wet to mow, but come Sunday, that stuff is going DOWN.

The tiny little broccoli in box 5 will become lunch today. I am not confident that it is going to get much larger before it starts to get loose. This is Nutri-bud Broccoli which I grew last year. Already the main head is much larger than what I got in 2010. The reason I am growing it again this year (besides having left-over seed) is because both this and Umpqua Broccoli redeemed themselves with abundant side shoots. Really, this otherwise small head is quite large for Nutri-bud. (this is the broccoli that I grew under the cloche).

To the right of the broccoli is a Purple Peacock Broccoli-kale. I put some of her in the salad I made yesterday. To the far right and to the left are more broccoli, one is Umpqua and one is Thompsons Broccoli. The row to the far left is Little Ball Cabbage that has suddenly taken off. Do I need to say that those are different onions in the middle?

The 4 squares of mystery carrots. Some are doing better than others. I wonder what they are?

Box 3. The only peas to survive the cold wet battle of the slug are the Golden Sweet Snow Peas. I kid you not, I just looked at Garden pictures from 2010 for June 1 (The orginal Toy Box Thread) and I was picking the first Golden Sweets for salad and stir-fry. Everything is a month behind this year. I have pictures of my Lilac blooming on a rainy May Day in 2010. It just came into full bloom a couple of days ago.

To the far right in the picture are the Fava Beans. Like the cabbage they have shot up and out in the last week. The poor lettuce is mowed down. Most of last night's salad came from this box.

Debs .....celebrating the last day of school!
Poppies! Bright orange coming soon. Trying to collect as much rain water as I can before the heat comes to grace my edge of the universe. 58/48 with low pressure making unsettled weather. I get so bored when steady rain settles in. The sun breaks of an unsettled system makes a nice day for me.

The last day of school means summer vacation for you! Congratulations on making it thru another school year.

I am so looking forward to this week-end, Even though we are partly sunny today, we are all in need of some real sun.
I must be really desparate, I keep thinking this is better than last year, but last year I did not plant anything until June.

Zucchini-Costata Romanesco.

The sun may even be here just a little early. After a hard rain last night everything is sparkling this morning.

Beets (Bullsblood and Golden) with Shallots in the background.

Golden Snow Peas and Fava Beans. By the way, that is the encouraging sky that greeted me early this AM.

Deborah....too bad there is so much to do.
Peak moment; High pressure is cutting though the low troughs with a promise of serious spring weather for the weekend. Today should be comfortable but perhaps humid as the wet of the weeks of unsettled weather dries up. A nice breeze should keep us happy. Somewhere between 65 and 73 for a high. Did you know, the new moon, the one you might even see tonight, is the Strawberry Moon? In Hebrew it is Siven, the time when both Torah was given on Sinai and the Spirit of God at Zion. A month for making progress instead of just passing or "killing" time. (Blueberry blossoms)

Deb, I love the blossom on the Golden Snow Pea, the color is beautiful.

I have 3 varieties of eggplant (Big Dragon, Long Purple and Millionaire) to try this year, Unfortunately, they are still not outside, but have started blossoming indoors. This week, they must go out, after being hardened off on the semi enclosed porch. I will be trying a partial covered hoop to keep the temps up a bit.

It was lovely, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, yesterday was cooler and cloudy but no rain. Come on sun, we need you.

Deb your garden looks so good!.....i have hope now that my peas will bloom too!

how are the nuggets?

I planted my first egg plant couple of days ago....we dont like egg plant...but i love the way they look when they grow....they are so pretty.....my hubby thought i was crazy for wanting to plant one....LOL...i called my mom and she loves egg plant....so our sfg has veggies growing for gramma too!!... we just sowed some beet seeds as well for momma!

hugs
rose

awww they are sooo cute!

poor Bertha.....maybe you can turn over a rock or log and find her some nice grubs for a treat...... i watched this really cute youtube video with chickens and their owner.....the chickens would be on the other side of the yard....and the min the owner lifted up a rock....they came running....it was so cute

hugs
rose.....who is still pondering on getting a few nuggets

Deb - the golden snow peas look gorgeous and yummy! My sugar snaps have just begun to bloom even thought it has been on the 90s this week!

And what a great shot of the girls - they seem to love to have their picture taken! =)

The Bok Choi SHOULD be ready, and it is big enough to pick but there will be some picking over involved. More than in stir-fry, I love it in Chicken Soup (where I would normally use spinach....which is also ready)

I'm wishing I had put in about 5 of these nutri-bud broccoli. But that would only work if I had about 5 cloches. The side-shoots are really coming on, but if there were more I would be more impressed. The Umpqua and Thompson's are a long way from first pick.

I have been plucking leaves off of the Purple Peacock Broccoli-Kale, but I don't think that is why it seems so slow to grow. By the way, the leaves are quite tasty and not nearly as tough as the Red Russian Kale that this plant looks a lot like. Not hot, just good....tastes like a cross between broccoli and kale....oddly enough.

Debs.....Who has a Copper River Salmon to eat with whatever I can find back there
Last night and this morning it has been cool and drizzly but the high pressure moving in from off the Oregon coast is holing a promise (or is that a tease) of sunshine this afternoon. 66/52 doesn't seem very optimistic. Green Stella Cherries!

Blossoms of Fava Beans and Snow Peas

Logan Berry

Corn Flowers in the mint bed

Early in the morning I went to have a look-see and let the nuggets out for the day. There were bees attached to the open end of the blueberry blossoms. My guess is that they work so hard that they fall asleep on the job. That used to happen in my kindergarten class too.

Deborah....dragging through a slow day
Dull, gray, cloudy day that leaks drizzle now and then. Highs only into the lower 60's but low's in the mid 50's. The tomatoes will like that.

We had a hard rain last night. It knocked the blossoms right off of the Golden Sweet Snow Peas.

Evidence that everything grows slower in the PNW or just testimony to a chilly, wet spring? It is up to the jury to decide. Either way, it has been 45 days since I put in this new lettuce. My notes have "R di T lettuce" so I know it is the new one with the French name. She is supposed to take 45 days. It has been 45 cool, wet days. Last time I was out snipping lettuce I realized that I have every lettuce color except green. To correct that oversight I picked up a package of Tennis Ball Lettuce. I'll put it in the Tomato tent after the tent comes down.

The early green beans (not white seeded) are showing signs of promise. These pretty little babies are "Royal Burgundy" from TSC. So far I only have 4 squares of beans. All of them bush, all of them early types. One of them is a shelly bean, a local heirloom called Rockwell. The other one (two squares) is Provider Bush Snap, which was my favorite last year. I'm going to need more boxes just for broccoli and beans!

The first of the sandwich tomatoes (at least I hope it is only the first). Actually there are two of them, one on a different plant. This is a Siltz.

Ray's cherry tomatoes are abundant. There are so many different kinds. This one is a Gold Nugget. Just so you get an idea of how small they are, they have been hanging here for at least a week or more. In the upper right you can see some green blueberries. There are also Zebra Cherry, Oregon Spring (red) and Chocolate Cherry. It looks like I planned for Ray to have any color he wants (so long as it is green). By the way, my Siltz baby was born bigger than most of these.

Looking like it is time to put on those silk stockings! Or at least some cut up old panty hose. These are the tomatoes in the tent. They are supposed to grow up the stakes but overnight they got ahead of me.

An overview of the 8 plants in the tent. Humm, looks like the tent is starting to sag. I want to keep it for another couple of weeks. I should probably do something about that.

Deborah....who would be sick of eating grass if I had to eat local.
The nuggets still enjoy eating local. No shadows today. It MIGHT get all the way up to 61 degrees today (tonights low is below 50). Happy peas, sad peppers. There is a leaky cloud cover. Drizzle most of the day. The dogs want me to go out and give the lawn a little hair dryer action so they don't get their feet wet.

Ray got some garden chores done today. He wants to be able to take of for camping and fishing trips. No grand adventures planned but we will get out of town.

He tells me that he just guaranteed that it will stay dry for a while. The rain barrel is now connected to the gutter system on both sides of the house. He also has the rainbird water system going. Seems to put more water into the aisles between the boxes than it puts into the boxes. Gotta work on that.

It isn't doll house cute but it does the job. This is the next 4x8 garden with a chicken tractor that fits into it. We cannot afford any more MM this season so we are using this as a portable base until spring (at least I think that is the plan. The girls are starting to say bock bock instead of just peep peep.

After Ray finished all of those chores (he also rewired the trailer and truck, straightened up the garage and took me shopping for the spare ribs he wants on Sunday) he came and took over turning the big compost (the one that has to be done with a shovel instead of just turning the bin over)

Debs....got me a keeper (hope he thinks the same)

The day started out cold and yucky but ended up hot. I like that!

Hope that camping trip is this weekend. Have a great time. I will be up in Sequim for a few days, the grandson's first birthday party. (Need a baby fix)

Hope we both have lovely weather.

Your garden looks just fantastic. The "Nuggets" are looking good also. Our chicken tractors appear to have similar dimensions and just to let you know, I painted mine purple last year and it greatly improved the look of it (at least to me).
You have tomatoes (a little jealous over here), congrats! I am looking forward to more pictures. Take care.

I so want nuggets of my own . Darn the St.Augustine Beach commision and their $300 chicken variance fee :!:

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Please be gentle, I've never had a cam-corder before. This was just for practice
Deb

Wow Debs, your garden looks fantastic and you did quite a good job on the video. Keep up the good work & be sure to share.

Of note, I have actually had 3 lavender plants survive so far this hot humid summer. I left plenty of space around them and they are still hanging in there.

Debs,

Your tomatoes are looking so good, there is hope for us yet this year.

Nice video of your garden, it won't take long for you to be an expert. Please keep sharing.

Congrats on the anniversary and on the sunny day!

The video is wonderful - just like watching one of Donna's. Keep them coming!

love, love, love the video!!

everything looks great!!
i want to hug on the nuggest!

hugs
rose

That's how you get eggs, right?

@Dixie; WooT !! I ended up only loosing one to the squishie wet yard. Yea!

@FBmom; I'm trying to stay kewl about it but the tommies are impressing me too. Now if I could just have a sandwich.

@Nancy; You could not give me a higher complement. I watch her videos all the time.

@Rose; did you see how Stella waved at me when I told her "good morning?"

@Shannon; giggle! Maybe I should try that.

Debs.....thanks so much for the feed-back!