Life in Tee Harbor, Alaska

Updated Garden Pictures

It has been raining the past few days, but I was able to get out Monday and work in the garden.  I planted green beans - Contender bush beans and a couple Kentucky Blue pole beans.  I filled in a couple raised beds with soil/sand/fertilizer in preparation for the 10 raspberries bushes I ordered from Raintree Nursery - they are "Ann" and are a yellow raspberry.  Should be a nice change from our red raspberries and should make pretty jelly.  I worked on two of the five potato bins - added perlite to the bottoms to improve drainage and added sand to the soil.  Then I planted the Norkota Russets - worked out to 16 potatoes per bin (2' x 2').  Like the other potatoes, I planted these whole and left about 3 eyes per potato.

I now have covers over the other two raised beds - one for the Kennebec potatoes and the other is for the tomatoes.  I brought them home from work this weekend.  They spent the first night in my truck as it was late and I didn't want to pack all 8 flats into the house.  They seemed fine the next morning, so I just decided to leave them out.  They went under their visqueen cover which keeps them 10 to 15 degrees warmer and they seem very happy.  I watered them well and used the fish fertilizer again.  This week when I water them, I will switch to a different formula - the one for blossoms.  I think they are ready to go in the ground...have to decide how many I will be keeping.  I will put the 10 indeterminate Stupice in the greenhouse (which we need to finish first).  Then I think I can fit 32 of the Roma, Siberia and Siletz.  The Red Cherry I will plant in planters by the house - probably keep 12 of them.

I spread wood ashes over the onion bed - supposed to eliminate the onion maggots I have.  I also have some light spun polyester cloth to put over them - just need to figure out when it should go on - after they emerge, but before they lay???  I also installed a soaker hose in there so I can water just the roots, not the leaves.  We will see how that works.  I need to get a fertilizer attachment so I can add some when I water.

I also worked a little in the strawberry bed.  I know I need to thin it out so I get more and bigger berries, but it is so painful to pull out all those extra plants!!  The skinny bed on the left is the green beans.  I layed some hardware cloth over it so the birds won't pick at them once they start sprouting.

Just three more potato bins to plant and some lettuce and everything will be in.  Then comes the fun part - weeding!!

Untitled Comment

3:32 AM, Thursday, May 31, 2007 .. Posted by gokings13

YOU are and amazing young lady!!
I need a nap after looking at your gardens!!
They look wonderful!!
Laura

very nice...

11:52 AM, Thursday, May 31, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

I love your raised beds! You do a wonderful job. I'd be the same way about the strawberries! I hate pulling plants... maybe you can transplant or give some to a friend... they might like that...then you won't be "killing" them. LOL.

Warmly, Melissa