Wednesday, April 29, 2009

field of wishes


our bumper crop of dandelions has gone to seed. to the kids it is a field of wishes. we encourage this belief.

kassi especially appreciates anything that has anything to do with flowers.

toly makes his wish too.

henry is on duty. it is amazing how safe he makes me feel. not for myself but i know he'd protect my family to his end if i were not there.

i had to cut toly's hair. while spray foaming the insulation into the crack of the front door toly managed to get a huge clump into his hair. that stuff is evil and the only thing to be done was to cut his hair. i know, it is kinda rough but i challenge anyone to do a better job on such a feisty boy.

kassi is such a princess. the humidity is causing her hair to curl a little. i think it is really cute.


we managed to get more garden work done today. we are trying, for a limited run, a new method of managing tomato plants. i came-by a roll of six by six cement reinforcing mesh and fashioned it tomato cages. here we are trying them out on the tomatillos.

they were fairly easy to make and i am encouraged by them.

we have avoided tomato cages in the past since they were expensive and we always wondered where we would store them during the off-season. here are a few examples on tomato plants.

if this system works we might incorporate them to a much greater extent next year. the wire mesh is a standard surplus item at most construction sites. usually if you haul it off you can have it.

this is the new area of tomatoes adjacent to the old garden.

this is them from another view.

these are omar lebanese plants. they are large pink tomatoes and are wonderful salsa and slicing tomatoes.

these onions are the embodiment of hope for us. they are showing such promise.


feral shiso, it might be more invasive than bamboo?


toly has taken to standing on the swing almost immediately after he is pushed. it is scary to watch but i encourage this activity none-the-less.

dangeroo....

rome loves the trampoline.

we can park him there for several minutes at a time. this is especially useful for tabitha while i'm not here to distract him and she needs to garden.

the black-raspberry plants are blooming. we should have a bumper crop this year.


the potatoes are doing really well. there are a few blooms there too.


toly's hair from the front..

12 comments:

Ron said...

Your garden is looking great! Congrats, hopefully the weather will be kind to us this year. Kids look like they are enjoying the warm weather... sure is nice to be outside all day.

I've been avoiding tomato cages too... for the quantities we want to grow, tying is labor-intensive and cages are spendy. I 'came across' a car load of 1"x2" lumber though, so I'll probably fashion some from those this year. :)

Kiddo and I enjoyed your update!

Ron

Ed said...

Your garden shows the huge amount of effort that both of you have put into it. Thanks for your continued posts on the subject.

warren said...

I am jealous of your weather...you're a bit ahead of us! Anyhow, it looks great...I surely understand the hope you get from seeing stuff come up...it really make my spring and summer!

Regarding spray foam...holy cow I know your pain! It's awesome stuff, but can be disaster too!

Anonymous said...

The garden and the children are just so amazing!

amy said...

I am jealous as well.
We try to accomplish what we can when the rain gives us a break.

Your gardens are looking truly scrumptious.

Perhaps I should learn from you and encourage the kids more and freak out with anxiety attacks less.
I've got a 10 year old tree climber.....my knees are shaking just thinking about it.

Wendy said...

I encourage my chidren to spread the dandelion seed as far and wide, especially in our tiny yard, as they can get it, and still, there's never enough. The rabbits love it, but I find myself actually have to search for the leaves after a week or two. I'm lovin' your "bumper crop" :).

Unknown said...

Read the kids the story BARNEY BIPPLE AND THE MAGIC DANDELIONS by Chapman. It is a delightful cautionary tale about what kind of things to wish for......I'm a librarian and have used the story for story hours many times with a dandelion seed head as a prop, then ask what the kids would wish for....always surprising.....

Unknown said...

Read the kids the story BARNEY BIPPLE AND THE MAGIC DANDELIONS by Chapman. It is a delightful cautionary tale about what kind of things to wish for......I'm a librarian and have used the story for story hours many times with a dandelion seed head as a prop, then ask what the kids would wish for....always surprising.....

motherofblessings said...

Looks great. I have a lot to learn! Couple of questions: When did you plant your onions and potatoes? What are you mulching with?

Omelay said...

ron, i'm glad your family is back. staking tomatoes is still a mysterious thing.

ed abbey, thanks yes it is a huge effort but gratifying nonetheless.

warren, spring and hope are synonymous around here. yes spray foam is amazing and crazy.

kathy, thanks we like them too.

amy, good luck with that... we freak out quite frequently too. i just don't blog about that..

wendy, yes dandelions are magical.

marilyn, thanks for the tip.

motherofblessings, potatoes were put in around st. patrick's day. onions were put in just before that...

Michelle, Queen Behind the Lens! said...

Your onions look amazing-- were they put in as sets or bulbs? What variety? My grandparents always grew enough onions to make it through a whole year of cooking-- I'm still learning.

Omelay said...

michelle, this year we just bought the onion bulbs from the local grocery store. we have tried pricey special order sets and find that it makes no difference. we either dehydrate or use them in canned spaghetti sauce. long term storage onions are not really an option for us. our summer days don't get long enough to grow storage onions well. further north from us can grow storage onions well.

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