seed & spade

Sunday was very busy as far as weekends go. First, I did not get to water my poor plants until 9 PM at night. We drove over to Fayette county to visit with my parents, eat a quick lunch, grab some plants, and then head over to Lee county for a visit with the pastor (#2) before we get married in August. Then we proceeded the other way through Lee county (toward College Station) to see my future sister-in-law and her boyfriend at their house, and also fiance’s parents. We all ended up driving out to the other farm (future SIL’s boyfriend’s grandmother’s farm). Future MIL and I talked wedding for a little bit on a picnic table and then we just sat and relaxed.

After all that, we started home around 8:30 PM and arrived around 9. My poor plants were a little wilted at that point but I doused them really well. I am not sure about the content of the soil I had delivered. Supposedly it is a “garden mix” which is suitable for creating gardens with. My tomatoes are happy in it, but a lot of my other plants are quickly wilting. I don’t know if this is due to the high sand content of this soil or the crazy heat. Either way I am going to try and remedy it by picking up a few bags of potting soil from Lowes that are rich in organic matter.

Today, Monday, I was able to meet fiance for dinner at our favorite restaurant in town (Boneheads — Fish/Shrimp/Chicken) and then we worked outside from 6:15 until about 8:15 or so. I got a lot done! First off, my poor plants were wilted from the June Texas heat, so I soaked them really well and then got off to shoveling dirt into my flower bed. After building up a sufficient layer of new soil, I mixed it in (which I hadn’t done anywhere else just yet) and planted two basil and a tomato that my mother gave me on Sunday. I watered the holes and then the plants REALLY well after transplanting to their new homes so these guys should fare a lot better during the day. I may replant everything else that I planted this next weekend.

Here’s some photos from tonight. Sorry for the low light — it was pretty much dusk.

A lovely Basil from my mother.

Sage from Martha’s Bloomers in Navasota, Texas

The garden all watered in. Bricks are an in progress project.

Tomatoes, Marigolds, and Blackberries

One of the cedar planters that my roommate made me.

Lookin’ good tomatoes, peppers, bean plant. Second planter needs a trim.

I love the color green. Water droplets on anything adds a fresh touch.

Rosemary from Martha’s Bloomers.

Hello all! I am a 29 year old soon to be newlywed living in College Station, Texas. I love to garden around our home (mostly in the backyard). I work full-time so I am pressed for time during the week — the front yard is also in desperate need of some love! I love to grow vegetables — mostly tomatoes, and also love all varieties of peppers. I also love Zinnia flowers and Mammoth Sunflowers. I get my seeds through Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. and try to organically garden as much as possible. This year, I had to let a few bean plants go because tiny little brown bugs decided to eat them up, and I would not dare spray. I see it as a small price to pay for everything else to remain organic.

I grew up on a farm about 1.5 hours away from College Station, near La Grange. I still visit quite often and love seeing my parents. They are also big organic gardeners and where I developed my love for being outside in the dirt. On the farm are chickens, goats, and one happy dog.

Here are a few photos from the last week or two:

Green beans from our garden that I grew:

Grated zucchini for bread that I made for work:

My big pile of gardening dirt that arrived on Friday (3 yards of dirt). Peach trees on the right, broken fence on the left, and our Brittany hunting dog in the middle. German Shorthaired Pointer was hiding in the dog-loo.

Here is a section of our garden (I say our, but I do 99% of the work — sometimes fiance will mow for me) where I started moving dirt and getting ready to add plants that so desperately want to be in the ground!

Here is the same spot after I added tomatoes, Zinnia flowers, some very late beets (they were an experiment…)

I also love to crochet. Here is a current WIP (work in progress) that is a corner-to-corner stitch. It is for my future sister in law. I love these blankets so much!