Peas Please!

Despite having a cold, I was able to get a bit of gardening done this weekend. President's Day is traditionally when I trim our rose bushes, and do a bit of other garden clean up. This year, in addition to those tasks we put in two small raised beds in our parking strip.

We have a long history of trying to get anything other than grass to grow in this area, with poor success, so I'm hoping that this time we've come up with a system that will work.

The beds are 2"x2"and there is enough room around them that they shouldn't cause trouble for anyone using the sidewalk or the street.

I'm hoping we won't have any problems with dogs using them as a restroom - we saw a cute sign in town on someone's parking strip raised beds which read; "Please don't let your dogs pee on our food." So maybe we'll put up something like that if it becomes a problem.

In one bed I planted snow peas, and in the other bed I planted sugar snap peas. Each bed has a little support we put together from bamboo - although I read mixed information about whether or not these kinds of peas require support.

I planted two seeds at the base of each support and three in the middle. I also used an innoculant on the seeds.

It rained a bit shortly after I was done planting, so hopefully that didn't make the seeds too soggy.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some sprouts peaking up from these beds!

Spinach, Salad, and Peas, oh my.

Today was sunny almost all day, the perfect day for playing in the garden.

We started the day by heading to Portland Nursery and picking up a few things. I got a four packets of seed; spinach, salad green, snap peas, and snow peas. I'm especially eager to try the snow peas - every garden book and blog about the Pacific NW talks about Oregon Sugar Pod II, so I'm looking forward to see if they do well for me.

I also picked up some pea inoculant, a soil thermometer, organic fertilizer, garden soil and compost. Sadly our new composter won't be producing usable compost for at least a few weeks, but the way it's going, it might even take a few months.

When I got home I used the thermometer right away and it told me that the soil in our yard was 50 degrees! Much warmer than I expected, and also just about what all the seeds I purchased require.

I filled the raised bed in the back yard with one bag of the garden soil and mixed in some fertilizer. As I was working on this, I began to think that that bed might be better used for the spinach and salad greens, and the gardening book I've been using - growing vegetables west of the cascades - recommends starting spinach and salad greens under cover in February.

We had some plastic left over from winterizing the chickens, so I ran over to Home Depot for a few lengths of pvc, and soon after we had a cloche! Hopefully I can plant some seeds tomorrow.

My husband made me two 2x2 beds for our parking strip, and I think that's where I'll plant the peas. I may make cloches for them as well. The peas should be done producing by the time I can plant summer squash, so that rotation should work out perfectly.

Locating the garden beds.

I wish I had paid more attention to which parts of our yard were in full sun last summer - it's hard to tell in the dead of winter what the best locations for the raised beds will be.

I had been considering the front yard, on either side of our walkway, for two 4X4 beds each, but now I wonder if those spots will be shaded by the house for too much of the day.

The area alongside our house might be promising as well, but again, I'm not sure how much of the day it will be in full sun. I also wonder if being so close to the neighbor's fence is a good idea.
She's a gardener too, but from what I've read on some local gardening sites, some neighborhoods don't seem too keen on front yard vegetable gardens.

I'd also like to put a couple of 2x2 beds in the front parking strip. I've tried several times to do something interesting with that space, but so far nothing has lasted.

There has also been some local drama to do with raised beds in the parking strip, but as best as I can tell, it's allowed as long as you aren't creating an obstruction.

Someone down the street from us has a couple of small beds in their parking strip that they use for summer squash every year, and I think it always looks lovely.

The backyard is a more neighbor friendly option - but any beds in the back yard will need something around them to keep the chickens out.

This weekend I plan to finish getting this spot set up - I've decided this is where I'll put my first planting of peas. I'll probably start with Oregon Sugar Pod II. I plan on going to a couple of garden stores this weekend to see what seeds are in stock. We're having such a mild winter so far, the peas can probably go in sometime in the next few weeks - easily by President's day.

The last spot in the backyard is where the chicken coop used to be.
I'm sure the soil in this area is very fertile, but I'm not sure how much shade there will be from the fence and the Wisteria. However, since the grass is already dead there, I think I'll put in a bed and give it a try.