Welcome to our new vegetable garden! It looks like a jumbled, weedy mess right now doesn’t it? We’ll fix it as time allows. It is a big space and has the potential to get much bigger, but from this view we have boysenberries, then some sort of grapes, then rhubarb, then asparagus. Behind that tipsy fence of asparagus is a row of tomatoes and peppers we quickly planted, then another wall of asparagus then rows of flowering bulbs which I secretly shared with you a while back.
Well, before I officially declare that there is a row of rhubarb, I wanted to ask you, this is rhubarb, right? It looks just like it, however it’s so miniature, each plant is only about 18″ tall at most and the stalks are as thin as pencils. We are used to the big, giant rhubarb.
Because we had grown our tomatoes from seed and bought our peppers at a plant sale long ago, we quickly got them into the ground. As Scott was digging this stretch he felt a little resistance with his shovel at one point. Thinking he had hit a root or a rock or something he just jabbed the shovel a little harder with his foot, however when he brought the shovel up, there was the back half of a gopher snake in his shovel! Oh no! It took him a while to find the front half and when he did it still had enough life left to strike at him! This is a new kind of gardening folks! If we didn’t realize it before that was a wake up call that we’re out in the country now. We move forward hoping that no more snakes will be harmed in our gardening efforts.
I took all these photos on an evening stroll with a babe on my hip, so I’m not thrilled with the quality, but I promise more photos in the future.
This is the onion/grape/berry row. A tangled mess we’ve got on our hands, I tell ya!
Look at these fuzzy things! I’ve never seen grasses like these but don’t you want to touch them? Me too, I do it every time I walk outside. They are only growing in one spot, well actually two specific spots in the garden so I’m wondering if they were planted intentionally. Do you know what they are?
As I was strolling and taking pictures and having the left half of my hair ripped out of it’s ponytail by the wee one, Scott was high weed mowing a bit. He had gotten to about this point when we heard a yell across the yard from a neighbor, ‘quit what you’re doing, we’ll come over with the tractor tomorrow and mow for you.’ And they did, it’s all beautifully mowed now. These neighbors are something else! Those grapes that he is mowing by are a mix of Concord and Thompson Seedless. We’re anxious to taste them!
More to come!
Some of the berry vines are Boysenberries, some of them are Youngberries. The grapes are Concord grapes which my mother made into wonderful jelly. That is indeed rhubarb, a very small but hardy variety. Still makes excellent pies. One of the few varieties that survive hot summers here. I have transplanted it into my own garden in hot Cloverdale. The grape vines at the back of the garden behind the blackberries are Thompson seedless and some Red Flame. Good luck with the garden. Our mother managed it single handedly for 60 years!
Wow it looks lovely. Lucky for you, you have a neighbor with a tractor.
: D
Happy Gardening,
-Kristina K.
Yep, that’s rhubarb! (and yes, this is Michelle nextdoor
) It’s been there a long time and has always been narrow and small like that, but I will tell you that the five shovel-fulls I transplanted at home in raised beds are producing some thicker stalks. Not the inch-thick ruby-red stalks they have at the market, but I guarantee you it’s just as tart and sweet as rhubarb should be! I believe the grapevines by the berries are concords, but I’m not 100% sure. And those fluffy things are weeds, don’t know the kind but I much prefer them to the stickery ones!
It’s kind of an amazing coincidence that I’ve been following this blog for about a year or two when I was looking for a laundry soap recipe. When my aunt said the new owners were a family from Sonoma that liked to garden I thought, “wouldn’t it be neat if it was the Sonoma Garden folks!” I didn’t know for sure until you posted the pictures; the place is in great hands!
What a wonderful place you found, and sounds like you will be getting lots of help and advice from your neighbors. Welcome to the “hood”.
I totally agree, country folk are so much more helpful! I grew up in the city and now am a country bumpkin and my neighbors are so helpful and much more friendly. I was shocked at the difference.
The fuzzy grasses, we have them also and this year is the first time I’ve spotted them in our yard. The kids LOVE them and ask me to tickle them with them. They are some sort of weed, but I DO like them…..wouldn’t they look adorable in an antique bottle or an old mason jar?!
Thanks for the photos and risking hair-loss to get them. The grasses are beautiful and, yes, I want to touch. Can’t wait to see how you make your garden grow.
Beautiful and how blessed you are to have great neighbors and Susan to help you along.
Many years ago, I bought a house that had mature fruit trees and grapes growing.. It was so nice that the former owner was still close and was able to come by & help me out occasionally with the trees and the swimming pool & turbitity filters & water softener. I would have had absolutely NO CLUE what to do with some of it..
I hope you fall in love with your new place over & over.. I would!
Wow, I’m so jealous…you can see the gorgeous framework you have to work with and unlike me, I’m sure there is no sound of bulldozers, graders, excavators. And thing of all the precious plants you will uncover as the seasons go by,
It will all be worth the effort to have such a nice space to garden in . . .
What a neat place. Have you considered goats?
Goats would be cute but they eat everything with out consideration. Your new home is beautiful. Do watch out for snakes. I’m from Texas and we even have them in the city.Our neighbors have reported them in their swimming pools. So far we haven’t encountered that. But snakes like to be warm so watch where you walk especially on foot paths. You may even find them on your porch. Here they even come in your house. My mom keeps a shovel and a hoe with her broom in the broom closet. Here we kill first check what kind it is later. We have so many different kinds and many of them are deadly. Rattlers, moc’s, copperheads, corrals. You might want to look up the types in your area. Kids can dig up nest thinking they’re worms. Be careful. Teach your kids to look for them and leave them alone. Here our copperheads are agressive and will come after you even if you don’t do anything to them.
I absolutely love your garden. I think it is wonderful! Weedy mess and all! The weeds certainly aren’t bothering it too much. It looks incredibly productive. Our own garden is very weedy most of the time because we don’t have much time to garden. However I am determined to grow our own food. Imagine never planting vegies because we are too busy weeding! Have fun exploring and making your mark on your new place!
The picture of the eggs is making unforgivably hungry!