Nice weather finally

 We still closed up for a couple of hours in the afternoon but it's comfortable and cool now after dark. Night have to get long pants out soon and see what fits. Not much going in the garden. I actually went out in the evening to water and check on things.

Watered the dirt as well just to start kicking the microbes back into action. The bed with the trowel in it I scraped the mulch away and dug around a bit. Not a lot of coverage for the mulch there so the dirt was rather dry. I even watered down the logs a bit and broke up the branch I have laying in the fence bed.

I realized looking at it that it still had seed balls on it. Oops, do not want trees starting to grow up through the bed when it gets in there. Too late I suspect but it takes a while for them to grow and if anything I'll put some plastic over it with some mulch to kill them before they sprout. Hopefully.

The weather shows signs of cooling down on a longer trend which means getting out and doing more in the garden should be happening. If I want to plant anything in the ground that is. I still don't have the money for the soil I need. 

I just realized that my brother usually sends me or gets me a gift card to wherever I have a need. If he asks this year I'll tell him Walmart. Not just for food but I can get some cheap soil there as well. IF I don't need anything for us first that is but if he asks I'll tell him what's going on.

My birthday is in 9 days money comes in that week so we will see what happens. I would really love to get going on that garden for the fall and winter. Give me more outside time and better progress updates.

Fall is coming!

Another hot one but it's okay

 We closed up before noon, did a run to the store and had some lunch. I didn't get out to the garden until almost dark but that was a good thing. I was walking Rocky and the other lady, 'Layla' asked me sort of? Turns out she's Persian) about my garden plants. I told her nothing can grow because of the gophers. She agreed that they got her plants too and I told her about the raised garden bed I have planned, and how I'll put some metal wire down. We parted company and I finished the walk with Rocky, making a point to look at the trees.

Not a lot of color showing but I did see a beautiful coral pink cloud as the sun was setting. The mushroom I took a picture of the other day either got run over by the lawnmower or the snails. Didn't get a picture of it and judging from the damage I'd say snails ran over it first.

Since the pepper was already changing color, or getting sunburned, I picked it. I opened it up and not a seed in it, tasted like a pepper but had a very slight ghost of a zing to it. Natural flavoring for sure, not a bee that I could tell in the area had visited it. The smaller one isn't going to get much bigger either. I moved the mulch aside and the soil was warm but very damp so didn't need water. Thin bucket walls are keeping the soil too warm I suspect.

I was going to show some pictures of the holes in the garden area but thought talking about the Camellia is more interesting. I noticed on my evening walk the camellia bush on the patio had some coloration on the leaves. The one that got cut back really hard.

 

The markings are a type of virus that is typically non fatal. It shows up in a variety of plants, roses are another one and it has a remarkable effect on the plant without killing or maiming it. The flowers develop stripes or spots as variegation. I'm anxious to see if that happens with this Camellia because if it does I need to stick with it for another ten years to produce it from cuttings.

Seriously. I discovered a Tiffany rose that was striped due to the virus and had no way of proving it or getting a cutting. It was dug up a few years later due to the owner passing away and I was so bummed!

I remember mentioning it was likely a Debutante which is a ruffled pink if it shows signs of the virus in variegation it could have stripes of darker pink or white. Kind of exciting really, just hope they don't cut this one down. Then again it could just affect the leaves and nothing else happens or it could be a bad virus or disease. Variegated leaf varieties exist as well with uninteresting flowers.

Koshio no Fubuki

 This is an example of a bush that has 'year round interest'. Normally camellias are just green bushes but this lovely lady is incredible with the variegated leaves all year and the red flowers showing up likely around December. The name being Japanese translates from Google as 'Blizzard of Neap Tide'. I guess you have to know the meaning but given the amount of variegation blizzard is a good description.

There you have it, a little about variegation which is usually caused either by genetics or disease. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Talking about farming and weather

 Not necessarily in that order.

It is 11:45 and 93 degrees outside. We are already buttoned up and keeping things cool inside. It's going to peak in about two hours and will hit 95 supposedly. By the weekend it will be down to a manageable low 80's for the following two weeks. ::don't jinx it:: Fall weather may be coming soon, it drops down about twenty degrees at night which means it will be in the 60's when it's in the 80's. Yay!

Last night I was sitting at my desk, watching it get darker, thought 'okay will go out in about five minutes to check on the garden and get my walking done'. Next thing I know it's pitch dark outside. It's getting darker earlier for sure. Went out around 7 the other evening to take care of laundry and the sun was setting already. Calendar and earth says the slow decline of the sun has started. 

This also has been noted in the garden as the south bed is in more shade now. If I could manage to grow something there I would be putting in lettuce and peas for the winter, maybe cilantro and parsley. I just don't trust those damn gophers not getting in there. Whatever got that cucumber hit it from above the soil, chewed the stem off with no sign of a hole. That may well have been a rat or mouse but just not going to chance anything in the ground at this point.

Apparently I haven't been paying attention to the rose when I walk by because this was already done today. I am convinced it is a Tiffany and smelled it again to be sure, can't pass a rose without smelling it. Another sign of fall, fungus. There's more than enough rotting roots under that lawn for the mushrooms to start showing. This is over by the gazebo and the norfolk pine area and I saw others that had either been mowed over or kicked/stepped on. 

Ya know, given enough money I would have a house with a special mushroom growing basement area. Or a place in the woods that was 'seeded' with edible mushrooms to harvest. Having my own growing area would be better and would have them all year round. I actually saw a house for sale in Humboldt County that had a special 'growing room' with beds and everything for that special 'tomato' crop. It was even on it's own well and had solar. Totally off grid but also off the beaten path so other staples would require a long trip to 'town'. Not enough room for growing actual vegetables or have ducks or chickens though.

My friend's small farm (ranch) up in Washington is the real deal and she has all the things for sustaining herself all the animals pay for themselves now. The sheep, llama and alpaca she gets wool off to process herself for using and for selling the yarn if there's enough. She gets 'meatie' chickens two or three times a year and has a plucking machine to do it herself (and showed a picture of one that she charged $32 for all organic free range). If she gets a lot of lambs in a season she will take them to the local farmer to get butchered, she has rabbits for food, pelts and for pets. The goats are for milk and as foragers, chickens and ducks for eggs that she sells and at least once a year she gets in turkey chicks that get processed when they're big enough for the holidays. She has a rottweiler that gets special treats when there is a culling and he also protects the farm from the local coyotes. 

She isn't totally off the grid though, she has a propane tank for cooking and is connected to the island electric grid but has a back up generator because the power goes out a few times during the winter due to wind storms. Her heating though is mostly done with her wood stove called The Little Red Dragon. It has a catalytic flue that puts heat back into the room rather than going out the roof and having experienced it first hand it is incredibly efficient even for a two story home!

She has an incredibly healthy and thriving vegetable and flower garden mostly in raised beds now due to septic tank issue. I told her I wished I had that kind of soil and she said 'it's the magic sheep poo!' It certainly is! Of the foraging animals, I can't remember which but one type only poos in one spot, the others just go anywhere. She has them all fenced off of course but has to have the area shoveled regularly. It all gets put in a compost pile and she uses that along with the rabbit poo and some scraps from the kitchen. Most of the kitchen scraps go right back out to the yard to feed the critters. It's the whole recycling deal. She cans up some of her harvest, makes her own broth and herbal salves as well as other foods. It is what I wanted to do when I got to be an adult. Right down to the two story farm house with a full wrap around porch. I really wanted to move in with her years ago but she wasn't ready, I wasn't ready and now her mom lives with her. It's a lot of work but very satisfying for sure.
 

She still works full time at her self made business, she has to in order to pay the bills. The animals may pay their way but not for all of it. I envy her life and accomplishments but am also proud to have known her for almost twelve years.

Had to water and that's it.

 I went out for my evening walk around the complex and since it was almost dark didn't take any pictures but noticed the pepper was not perky. Time to water and check on things this morning. I'm trying to do more stretching, walking/running in place and a good brisk walk around the complex to get my exercise regimen going. Sitting too long at the computer all day. 

 Very sad pepper but you can see the larger fruit here and there's a smaller one upper right of it. That one pepper though.... ummmmm. 

Anyway birds and butterflies are flitting around, hardly a breeze today but will be just as hot as yesterday. I saw a small bird fly up onto a wall next to a light. Onto the vertical wall  not the top of a wall. I was walking Rocky so couldn't get a picture. I think  it was a Nuthatch? Small body but longish tail, too far away for color ID but it was cool to see it just jumping around and I know it was likely either getting some bugs/spiders or spider webs. It's the time of year for bugs and webs and birds and all that.

You know, it didn't occur to me until I was an adult that the reason why spider webs, specifically orb webs were part of Halloween decorations, same with spiders and crows. It took me until I was an adult and working outside 99 percent of the time to connect the natural cycle of bugs and animals to symbols for a made up holiday. Orb Weavers (and other spiders) build their webs in the fall for the coming egg clutch, crows migrate and also build nests in the fall for spring nesting season (this is just my own thoughts on it and haven't done any questioning to find out for sure).

The reason this came up is, when I went to go water there was a spider web on the hose and lemon bush. Which, by the way, has not ripened any lemons yet, not since last year. It needs food desperately and regularly but it's not my bush, not going to bother it. Anyway, the spider web triggered the 'it's fall' in my nature brain. Orange leaves don't cut it for me in SoCal. I didn't think to look up at the trees when I went to the garden but will do that next time.

So with the cooler nights comes the slow natural cycle of things that tells animals that the change is coming and be prepared.

Another 'fall' day.

 For the next week it will be in the 90's starting around noon, the only saving of this run is it drops about twenty degrees at night. Once again we are closed up and staying cool while it is fusty winds and 92 outside.

No pictures today of my own. Might get out in the evening to check on the plant and get pictures then. I don't even know if the liquidambers are changing color yet.

 So many pictures out there of acres of yellow, orange and red leaf trees, all very picturesque and comfy looking. I would rather have a few here and there dotted or in clumps with the evergreen of firs creating the background. Because after the fall color is gone, a bleak and desolate looking landscape of barren trees and snow follows.

 Some people may like that. For those of us in an area where we don't get that much color the first picture is very romantic, the second picture is more like what we get here and, depending on the area, even less color.

This is all leading up to the term 'year round interest' on plant labels. One lady thought it meant that it had leaves and flowers all year round. Um no. When it was explained to her she adamantly said she didn't want anything that dropped leaves but she wanted colorful leaves all the time.

'Year Round Interest' means it changes with the seasons so something is going on every season and that means leafing out in spring, flowers and leave in the summer then the leaves either change color or just drop in the winter so you have structural branches in the winter. People who come from tropical or evergreen areas sometimes can't compute with leaves dropping in winter. That's fine, just don't expect that sort of thing when you live where trees actually change.

Anyway, I am looking out the window now and it is very windy and no clouds in my view though there are some coming from the south east. Wind means weather change is coming. Will see what happens.

Was busy yesterday

 Had an errand or two to run early in the day then came home, fixed lunch and by that time it was too late to go out as it was getting hot. Hotter earlier today as it is now 90 and not even noon yet. Clear, light wind and still summer here.

Welcome fall. Right.

Well it's still growing and healthy at least. That pepper is going to be odd looking for sure but it's about doubled in size in about a week. If that fertilizer does the job I am hoping to have a usable pepper in a week or so. 

I don't know what I would be doing if  I didn't have something to grow. I usually busy myself with other hobbies but my biggest hobby investment is in beads which I don't have the room for. I think barring two places I've lived there has been opportunity to grow plants somewhere somehow. I've always been interested and surrounded by nature and I don't think that's going to stop any time soon.

I know I've mentioned butterflies before and how to attract them but seeing a few different varieties in the past two days flitting around made me want to talk about timing again. Also an ad for growing more 'pollinator' friendly plants got my attention and mild ire. They only mentioned butterflies.

First; know what you have room for. People think they need a huge yard to be able to attract butterflies and other pollinators, and yes there are more than butterflies and bees out there that can act as pollinators. If you only have a patio garden, make sure it's mostly in the sun. Butterflies prefer not to get in the shade and the colors on flowers won't pop in the shade to their UV tuned eyes.

 I actually had a UV light pen and tested it out one time and it's true! Bees and butterflies see a target where to find nectar.

Planning for a garden and plants you have to consider what will be blooming and when. An example, 'I want to plant milkweed for the monarchs' That's all well and good but it's late winter and the plants aren't available for another month. Monarchs in my area don't show up until around June. So many people come in the wrong time of year to attract butterflies most likely because they just saw an article about it being critical. ::facepalm::

Not in flipping JANUARY! Do your research, find o ut what local butterflies and moths that are out there, when they are most likely to be migrating or emerging and mating then make a list! Some people are crushed to find out that the Gulf Fritillary butterfly lays eggs for caterpillars on passion flower vines. 'But I don't want them to eat my vines!'. ::facepalm:: I actually had a lady want flowers to attract butterflies but not caterpillars. But she wanted to attract Monarchs.

Sigh. Know what plants are nectar for the adults and food for caterpillars. Try to allow for both but if not, nectar plants will do. Right now I have seen a swallowtail, a sulphur butterfly and yesterday a monarch. This is the time of year for them to lay eggs because this is the time of year those host plants are growing and in flower. That's the way they work, almost in symbiosis over millions of years timing their life cycle to the plants they need.

So plan your flowers and plants according to the time of year when prospective insects are going to be about. Bees start earlier than butterflies, but they are out almost year round where I am. Plan for blue, white, red and pink flowers for the bees. Any color for butterflies as long as it has a center they can land on. Moths are difficult but imagine if they have the same eyes as the other two, open flat flowers for them as well. 

I would love to grow lavender (will go into the different varieties another time) but if you have rosemary that's a good substitute. Don't want to grow that? Oregano, sage, thyme are all good as well but only as long as you allow them to flower.

Okay enough for today, long text few pictures. Staying cool inside for the next few days, might try to get out in the evening to check the pepper.

Caring for the one remaining plant.

Grabbed my fertilzer this morning and got out to the garden to water and feed. It's going to be in the 90's for a week so needed to get it done. Poor thing really needed that water.

Should have watered yesterday or last night but oh well. Technically not supposed to feed a dry plant but since I flooded it and I'm  using organic fertilizer I just mixed the pellets in with the water before it completely drained.

And because I propped it up on pieces of bark the drainage holes are functioning.  I got the trowel and dug around the soil in the bucket and there was a lot of loose soil around the edges which means I will likely give it another soaking tonight before dark. It will be perked up by then of course but will likely still need the water.

 Oh yes and First day of Fall folks!

Fall always confused me when I was in grade school living in SoCal. We didn't get fall color but yet all the decorations had orange and yellow leaves and signs saying 'it's fall!'. Pumpkins and gourds and all that, it was what you did in the fall and it never occurred to me that it actually happened somewhere. I thought it was just what you did. It wasn't until I was able to go to Massachusetts in October that I got to see actual Fall color and it clicked. When I was a full grown adult. I realized it of course before then but it's nothing like having it right there in front of you. I actually brought two small maple leaves back with me and had them in a floating frame for a few years. That was a trip to see my first grandchild also so it had some meaning.

I do want to live somewhere before too long that when it's the first day of fall, it feels like it. Right now it's going to be 90 and we just turned on the AC and closed up. Of course the weather doesn't follow the calendar any longer. The earth tilts but the weather patterns are shifting as well to the point where it's warmer longer and colder later. At least where I am.

99% of all fall greetings and images are orange and are based on only half (maybe 2/3) of the country's landscape and ecology. The closest thing I have is the Sycamore and Liquidamber trees, which luckily do change color but it's not the same because it could be 85 or 90 and the nights get cool enough to trigger the color change in only some of the trees. There weren't any of those trees where I lived growing up. It was oak trees, eucalyptus and scrub brush that never changed color. 

Oh yeah and the other 'autumn color' is from the Chinese Flame Tree, aka Golden Rain Tree aka Koelreuteria bipinnata (may it's seeds wither and die). The large clusters of yellow flowers, almost unnoticed, to large clusters of yellow then orange and salmon papery balloons.

The leaves turn yellow and drop as well but most people only notice this tree when it's in fall seed color. The seeds are VERY fertile and come up everywhere they drop. It's a pest tree in my mind and some cities won't plant them any longer because of that.

So anyway, it's fall/autumn for what it's worth. Not time to plant yet, nor do I have the money for the soil.

So mostly fallow soil in the ground and one pepper still plugging along.

 

 (oddly enough the branch that's pictured seems to be an Australian tree, go figure.)

Better late than never.

 I didn't bother checking things in the  morning so swung by there when I took the trash out in the afternoon. Sadly I have given up on the bean, it seems to have been attacked by something and I am not going to waste more energy on it.

Barely any roots, looks like the same bugs that got on the cucumber got on this one. Possibly mites as well but so far the pepper seems to be doing okay. The last hold out it seems.

Fruit is definitely bigger but I noticed some odd leaves and blank stems. Weather related I'm sure so I'll give it a good soaking again tomorrow and maybe some food as well. 

If not for the gophers I would have more seeds in the ground by now but major planting will have to wait gosh darn varmints! So for my garden it's basically done for the summer. I actually saw some video from the midwest or elsewhere on 'summering' your garden, in other words for after harvest in summer to prep it for winter. Hahahahaha! I think in my area at least we have a lull in the middle of summer and plant the rest of the season for summer harvest.

As I've said every area is different and it may take a year or two to find out how your garden and weather work.

Didn't get this posted until late so that's it for  now.

Took pictures but no post

 I checked on things in the garden, the weather continues to be wonderful but there are more horrid hot days coming next week and the week after. Spring/Fall are very similar in having erratic daytime temperatures in the 80's and 90's with night time dipping into the low 60's now.

The little pepper but is growing yay! Other flowers if you can tell are curling under which is a good sign that they are pollinated and growing fruit.  So fall crop of bell peppers is coming, should probably give it some more food.

So that branch up there had falling/broken a week ago and I've left it sitting near the tree because..clean up is not my job. Then realized I could use it in the bottom of the raised bed coming soon. I then took a good look at the branches and logs already cut up. Given the size of my frame I won't need very much at all. I can hear one of the guys mowing the grass outside but am not dressed so can't tell him to dump the grass over in the garden for me to use.

These holes seem to be new and clean, or maybe they were just rained on and cleaned out a bit. Typically not a gopher hole but also not a lizard hole either.  Wish I could set up a trail cam or something and find out what is making them but still betting on gophers.

One reason for doubling the chicken wire is to make the  holes smaller so in case of mice and other vermin they won't come through the bottom either. Oh, after reading about the hugelkultur method one of the benefits is 'warming the soil' from the breakdown of the materials so the soil stays warmer for a longer growing season. I don't need that. So I may just load up on branches and maybe some leaves then use the remainder of the chicken wire doubled and put that on top of the logs to reduce soil erosion.

If it ever happens. With most things I overplan and under produce.

Wow, long time no post!

 Last post was on Sept 12 and it's been 5 days? I thought I posted a few days ago...I guess 'a few' is five? Not much happening so that's okay. I have been checking on things but nothing has been growing or moving so not much to report. I did water though yesterday and got some pictures. The weather has cooled considerably after the stormy weather 'almost' long pants temperatures but not quite.

 Cute little butt crack pepper there, is my pepper twerking at me? The rest of the flowers seem to be forming fruit as well so it seems that late spring/early fall is a better time to grow even the summer type fruit. Zucchini was late and so were the peas and that lone bean plant... might have to give it some fertilizer and see what happens. I only watered around it and not the whole bed because what's the point? I know that it needs to stay moist to keep the biomes going but not even sure what I might grow in that now and might even try and plant some bulbs. 

A year ago almost exactly I was harvesting a few zucchini and some tomatoes,  in October I had some bean plants come up. So it's just really not an exact thing in my garden for what to grow at certain times.

I really miss seeing the changes of flowers at the nursery every season. Pansy, Stock and Snapdragons in spring then for summer it was Dahlias, Sweet Alyssum, daisies, Angelonia (Summer Snapdragon but not related), Begonias.... tomatoes, peppers, herbs, squashes and all that for veggies then fall rolls around and the veggies change out for cole crops, leafy things like lettuces... sigh.

Then the roses, bare root veggies, trees and vines for winter. I had so many dreams of having my own small yard to plant the things I love. To be able to grow something that gives you something in return whether it's fruit or flowers is one of the many joys of gardening. It's not all smiling and walking slowly through the garden with a basket for harvesting as we know. There's weeding and watering and digging, what pest is that and how do I not fail this year.

I want to write about the type of raised bed I am going to tray to do following the 'hugelkultur' method. I double checked and discovered that the Sweetgum (aka Liquidamber) that I have is perfect for using in the bottom of the bed. It's considered a hardwood which means it will not decompose quickly. As my pictures of the logs have shown, they haven't broken down at all and I don't know how long they've been there. The only thing I'm concerned about is termites but since the walls of my bed are metal, it's not that concerning. My only issue is gathering leaves and grass clippings to go on top of those. Lord knows I'll have plenty of leaves pretty soon and I might just start to gather them up now and put them in bags. Then there's the mulch I have.

What's interesting is I've been recommending this sort of thing for deep pots for years. Well not specifically but more as a filler so you don't use the entire pot for soil. Same thing with raised beds, I had no clue it was an actual planting practice. But this also saves a lot of money on actual soil I will need. I was going to need about eight bags of 2 cf soil, with this method I only need three maybe two. The graphic I found said 45% is wood/logs that's almost half with 5% cardboard under that so that's half of the depth right there. Wow. 12-15 inches of filler right there with 20% layer of  smaller leaves/twigs/mulch  on top of that then the remainder is soil.

Might be able to pull this off after all. As long as I can get it built.

Warming up more and not happy

 I wasn't going to do anything in the garden so delayed going down there. As it turns out, nothing really happening as expected. Although there is a pepper developing so here's hoping it thinks it's spring. So there's that and then pictures from other areas that I have observed.

 

Those are the only plants left right now, the pepper and the bean and even the bean is showing buds as well but the others did and nothing came of it.

Hard to see but they're right in the middle so will see what happens. So with nothing else to do in the garden I looked for other things to point out. 

I don't know if that dirt pile is recent or not. Looks pretty dry but also looks kind of recent, and is along the trail of the gopher following the wall to the garden.  Another thing I noticed was an opportunistic seed that dropped in the succulent bowl. Little broad trident leaves of liquidamber. Yeah that's not going to work out very well but it shows that given any opportunity, nature will find a way to land where it can continue.

Speaking of landing:

 Not an eagle, but the hawks are coming back to the nest. I was walking Rocky this morning and heard as well as saw one circling nearby, trying to get altitude and knew it was heading for the nest up there. It finally circled wide enough and came back again to land at the nest. They will likely spruce it up, rebuild it or add to it for use in the spring. I wish I had a good camera with a macro lens to get pictures. The parrots have pretty much dwindled out right now. There were some last night when I went to take out the trash, not just in the trees but on the power lines as well. I haven't been hearing or seeing them much since I only have a small window to look out and the window has been closed the last week with fans going. I can hear them a bit if they perch on the trees over the fence. Given their migration track, once it cools down I'll be able to have the window open again and hear them.

So it's windy again, high lacy clouds but no rain just oppressive heat and humidity. Garden is stalled out, so now is the time that most people will start their fall seedlings...except I don't have the soil, container or room to do that.

Sigh.

And then there was none.

 Rain all gone, only a few puffy clouds and clear skies making for hot weather without the humidity from now until who knows when. We're locked up for the day and don't expect to go out again until sunset. The title also refers to pulling the cucumber finally.

 

That's all folks! Still have the bean and pepper though and I thoroughly flooded the pepper because it was wilting. I noticed it wasn't draining well so I dug at the dirt with the trowel then moved it to a pile of bark pieces to drain better. Worked like a charm.

But that's basically it for the season. I might throw a little fertilizer on the bean but honestly there's no point, it should be twice the size it is. Combination of soil and weather I think has stunted it and all the other plants as well. Tomatoes are about the only thing that will grow in that dirt so might do that later. The neighbor beds are also empty except for weeds so I'm not the only one in the summer garden doldrums.

I just had a brain storm idea for a combination of pots/raised bed situation then realized it doesn't make sense but hear me out.  Take a bucket like that or even a wood tub, maybe just a wood box of some sort. Lay down either weed barrier or wire netting or both, cut the bottom off the container you're using and put it on top of that. Fill with soil and voila, all you need do at the end of the season is pull up the sides and let the soil fall out. Move that soil aside (this is where having weed barrier on top of wire mesh is helpful) clean off the inside of the container, mix old soil with new soil and fill it up again.

Now, why do that when you can just get a container with a bottom? Ever try and lift a 5 or 7 gallon bucket of dirt and tip it over? Now if you don't have a gopher or mole or whatever digging animal problem then just the weed barrier is good. Also have you ever dug out the soil from a half barrel? Another hard job right there. So it's not so easy to do that sort of thing with the bed frame that I was gifted but you could still do it. Just dig down to the bolts and unbolt them then pull it apart. Or get two or three strong people to lift it up. Yeah, I know.

But let's talk about possible things I want to grow in that small but useful raised bed. It will be winter first so onions, garlic, lettuce, carrots, potatoes. All the leaf and root crops possible. Radishes are good but I don't eat them much. Given good soil I can have a better crop and use them more. 

For summer there's a 'salsa' garden. I mentioned that before and the only problem is the cilantro is cool season. I guess you can grow that in a shady spot while the peppers, tomatoes and (green) onions grow in the rest of the bed. It's a rather ambitious selection and the one quick picture I saw she was planting two types of tomatoes. Okay hon, tomatoes get huge. A good tomato will get at least 2 feet across in all directions, if not more. I would suggest one of the 'patio' type tomatoes that are dwarf but have good size fruit. That's all. You've got a jalapeno pepper to put in there, that's another foot or two wide, then there's the onions and cilantro. The plan below is what's called 'intensive French Gardening' or 'Square Foot Gardening' and wayyy too much for that space to thrive.

First, they think tomatoes will stay confined to a 1x1 space, (scuse me while I fall of my chair laughing). Second, what kind of salsa are they making that needs parsley and basil? Where's the oregano? Basil does well in that kind of soil but not oregano. Cilantro will bolt before the hot peppers have started same with the tomatoes and sweet pepper. I have seen some salsa recipes have sweet pepper as well as hot but they don't specify which type of peppers.

Most of the plans on that page (Gardener's Supply Company) are not realistic for that small a space, nor the timing of the vegetables (in my area). I'm sure in places where spring is longer and summers are milder everything can be copacetic. I'm not in the midwest nor northwest... my friend in Washington was posting pictures of columbine in June at her place. By June they are withered and done in my area.

Here's how I would plant that: A/E: 1 tomato. B/C, leave as is, D/H: Oregano, F/G: leave as is but fewer plants by half. You saw how big my cilantro got, that stuff will reseed easily by summer. 

For a winter garden: A: Cool season tomato, B/C: Peas, D: Carrots, H: Radishes, F/G: Lettuces. Other crops that are usually suggested are things like kale, cabbage, broccoli, all that cole crops which I don't eat that much nor have room for, oh yes and beets which I dislike with a passion.

So ideas on ideas for an ideal planting. Not the one pictured above (still laughing about the two tomatoes confined in a 1x1 area).