Seedy Saturday - Garden 'Making' Update

And the garden continues to grow!

I have two long rows where I had placed the containers of tomatoes primarily last year. One is about 4x28 and the other about 4x32 feet. So a lot of area covered. 

This past week I started on the area right behind the house. I wanted to put in rows which would run North-South (the other beds run East-West). I had some cardboard down (somewhat). After a couple of days marking out the rows and clearing, I now have two more rows planted. These two rows are about 4x16 feet. 

The cardboard which was covering the area I moved onto the walkways which are two feet wide. There is still one bed left to set up which will be done in the coming week (hopefully).

This means I have three 'patches' of green beans, field peas and bi-color corn planted between the tomatoes. One row has pumpkins in the center. I plan on trimming the pumpkins back and not letting them go completely crazy. 

The last row in the garden will be for miscellaneous items - okra, amaranth (for red dye), wax beans (have never grown them before), carrots (I have some fairly loose soil) and other things. 

So I am nearing the end of actually creating the beds. Which means close to 150 tomato plants are in the ground! But never fear, I have an outlet for the extra tomatoes which will benefit others.

Once the last row is made, then I have to finish putting stakes in the garden for the tomatoes to be tied to for support. I also want to remove suckers on the tomatoes so there is more air flow in and around the tomatoes. It will mean slightly less in terms of tomatoes, but I think with the volume I have it's ok. 

To help hold down the regrowth of grass and weeds in the garden, clippings from mowing will be placed around the plants. Not only will this add compost to the garden, it will help retain moisture and suppress weeds. 

In other areas in the yard, this beauty is blooming in one of the front flower beds.

This is my China Family Heirloom Poppy. I have several buds ready to open and I can't wait until next year when these self-seed and I have a bed full of poppies. There is also another poppy getting ready to bloom and not sure which one it is until it actually blooms.

Today will be dedicated to mowing and distributing clippings in the veggie patch. Depending on how hot it is and how I feel after work, mowing may take 2 days. But that's ok, it will get done.