The next phase...

Here's my Winter Garden bed before having another 24" inches of depth added to it making it 30" deep, 10' wide and 18' long. Once that's complete it will be double dug and filled with a premium organic compost mix and then augmented with the "holy trinity" of animal crap being bat, worm and steer. The dog run is obviously adjacent but that's fine because I will be creating a small path with stepping stones in between which will run the length of the box in order to save the actual planting area from compaction. We will attempt to grow grape vines along the deer fence that makes up the run - we'll see how that goes.

The next picture down is of the run itself down to the red fence at the bottom which is now opened up to add another area which is hidden from sight but runs the entire length of our house.

Another shot of the enclosure at the top of the run which surrounds and is shaded by the mulberry tree.

The next picture is taken standing at the top tier looking down on to the second and patio. Although it is not shown in the picture, I am standing under the massive plum tree at the top right corner of our property.

Lastly, a picture taken standing at the bottom, on the patio looking up to the second tier. The crew is really making great progress so hopefully this project will wrap up by next weekend and I can start the fun of planting and filling in with other landscape components.

Here are some before pictures of the back yard...

Notice the mini-bobcat in the upper left corner... yes,this is a large project. It will probably span the next few weeks. I'll keep y'all posted on the progress.

As part of this project,we are having two good sized retaining walls built which will span the width of the back yard. The space itself is about 3,000 sq. ft. in total. including the patio. Our back yard and property in general is much bigger than the backyard and lot at our last house by about 1,000 sq. ft. but we've found less of it to be usable because of the slope, albeit gentle.

We are basically creating three distinct levels one being the patio and the other two being tiers above. The dog run (off to the left out of the picture) will keep the dogs out of the majority of the yard. They will still have the entire length of our property being over 100 ft. and a large fenced area under the shade of the Mulberry tree in the above right corner. My large, raised Winter garden bed is getting a foot of depth added to it which will make it easier for me to access and better for the plants that will go in there. The upper tier will contain tan bark and a large play structure with an enclosed fort, slide, monkey bars and swings. The structure will be placed under the shade of the massive plum tree which shades the left half of that tier. The middle tier will have a sitting area under another impressive shade tree which is also on the left side of the yard. We will put some nice landscaping around the sitting area and make it semi-private and difficult to see from the lower patio area. There will be some furniture in this area such as benches and a small bistro table and chairs. Needless to say it will take me some time to fill up these tiers with plants and objects d' art but it will be a fun to create the space from scratch and we'll finally have a totally usable, kid friendly and dog proofed space.

Happy First Day of Spring!!!

Happy happy, joy joy! Many blessings upon your garden. May your zucchini grow GINORMOUS, may your tomato plants bend with fruit, may your eggplant be sweet and your peppers spicy.

Here: Maia, you can read about the lass that makes it all happen - "Fauna" or "Maia" the goddess of Spring.

Humble Beginnings...

Here's a "Candy Stripe" tulip about to make it's grand entrance in to Spring. I've dozens more beginning to poke their heads up or unfurl their elegant petals. My tomato plants have been in the ground for a couple of weeks now. They've more than doubled in size since I planted them and are thriving nicely in the worm, steer and bat poo-poo mixture that I amend my soil with. This is a "carmello" heirloom tomato that I grew from seeds given to me by the "Tomato Man", Gary Ibsen of Carmel Tomato Festival.

I love this variety! They have amazing flavor, and yield abundant
crops of fist sized, peach, rose and yellow striped tomatoes.

Composter Picture

Mary, as per your request here is a picture of my composter. It's nothing fancy and it has seen better days, especially before the kids began using it as a jungle gym, but it continues to serve its' purpose well. Less than two months ago it was full to the brim with fresh grass trimmings, shredded newspaper, dead leaves and kitchen scraps. As I've added layers, it has also simultaneously shrunk and turned in to the black, loamy, rich soil that is pictured a couple of posts below.

I actually offer to rake the neighbors lawns to obtain their brown, dry leaves as they make some of the best dry compost material ever. When composting, there is a delicate balance that needs to be maintained between dry and green material and how it is layered, how moist it's kept and how and when it is turned. Almost anything degradable will compost over time if left to the elements but that can take months. Based on the system I use, I can turn trash & trimmings to compost in approximately a month and a half.

Little League & T-Ball Opening Day!

This is their first season playing. They are so excited and truly enjoying the experience so far. Games actually begin next weekend - It is so cute to see the little 4 and 5 year year olds on Jason's T-Ball team hit the ball and run the bases - precious!

Michael's division is just slightly competitive although no body really takes it too seriously at this level. It's more about picking grass and messing around than anything.

Pictures From The Composter

Here's some broccoli which has been nourished by compost from the pile. It's ready to be picked and steamed. We've become exceedingly spoiled by the produce we grow. There is nothing like picking something from the garden and preparing it for consumption, literally minutes later. The freshness is translated in to the final dish and the results are beyond compare. This is my personal stash of black gold and the amount of worms that have set up camp in my compost is simply magical. I've been making and using compost for years now but I am always surprised, inspired and grateful when I gaze upon its' soft dark mounds with worms curled throughout. This is going in to a couple of beds that I've been pampering.
I turned the bin this afternoon and found droves of happy red wrigglers.

Tonight for dinner...

(Yes, I am already thinking about dinner at 9:00 a.m.) When it comes to food, I am a planner. I have to be with two young boys, a full time career and all of the other obligations that go along. We abhor eating crap which constitutes just about anything we can order on the phone, heat up after being frozen in a store cooler or drive through and buy. Tonight I will make curried golden lentil soup studded with delicately spiced miniature lamb meatballs. There will be greens in the lentil soup so this is a fully rounded, healthy meal. I will bake some fresh onion naan (traditional Indian flat bread) to round it out. I will also make a moderately spicy cilantro chutney for dipping the naan in. Cool refreshing mango lassi's, a traditional Indian beverage of yogurt blended with honey and fresh fruit (think milk shake) will also be served.

The greens (swiss chard and spinach) will come from my organic Winter garden which is still in full swing and loving this little bout of rain and cool, gray skies.

The lamb shoulder is from Prather Ranch.

The golden lentils, organic fruit and lentils hale from Monterey Market.

The kids have swim practice tonight and will be ravenous when they come home. Hubby is always ravenous :) .