A Garden....and a City!

While working in the garden earlier today we realized that there is indeed ANOTHER nest INSIDE the wall!!  It is nestled very cozily up inside one of the holes left over from last year.  Mr. Rawls stuck his hand inside and said he felt eggs!  How fun to have more than one bird find our Vertical Garden as a nice home.  I enlisted my little brother to help me get this picture and as we turned back the flaps the bird flew out!!! It scared me half to death and I think we both jumped about a foot!!   We will be leaving the nest there, at least until the eggs are gone and we don't see any sign of the bird.  Who knows!  Maybe the birds will tell all of their friends and next spring we will have a little city living in our wall! :-)

A Garden and A Home

This past week I have been spending a lot of time in front of The Wall planting this season's designs.  So exciting!!  It's really coming together nicely and I can't wait to see it all filled out and blooming.  As I was working on one section of the wall I observed that last year's Parsley has finally decided to go to seed.  It was rather large and drooped a good bit on top of another plant.  It took some maneuvering to remove it, but as I pulled it out I found a bird's nest nestled underneath where the parsley had been!!  How interesting!  I don't know what kind of bird it was for, but I am pleased to know that The Wall can be used for more than just growing flowers and vegetables. :-)

First planting of 2010!

Yesterday was my first planting in the Wall in 2010!  It was a very exciting occasion.  I planted Bacopa, Lobelia, Calibrachoa in alternating patterns.  Then today I planted three different varieties of lettuce (Italienischer, Flashy Trout's Back and Dazzle) in a slanted pattern.  It will be great when it really fills out!  As of right now they are rather small.

There has been a lot of progress at the farm recently and it keeps us all on our toes.  The new garden this year is the Rose Garden.  It is going to spectacular!  There will be over 50 different varieties of roses to look forward to.  As of right now there are a little stressed.  They were just transplanted from a spot that they've been happily growing for several years.  They are still adjusting. :-)  It was not the ideal time to transplant but due to circumstances we didn't have much of a choice.  We'll just have to see how they do!  They won't bloom soon but maybe by July we'll see some of those beautiful flowers.  The garden is still in construction so I'll keep you posted with pictures as it comes along.

The Parterre is almost completely planted. YAY!  It is nice to have that garden "under my belt" and to be able to focus on other things.  There is a lot going on but it is really exciting!  I still never get over the thrill of watching things grow and bloom into beautiful flowers and veggies!

This is the Lobelia that I planted yesterday.  It's already growing upward!

My favorite tools: Sturdy gloves, pruners, trowel, Sharp wire cutters, razor knife, and a pencil to edit my plans. :-)

I know it's not the BEST quality of picture but I just loved this little Viola that volunteered itself in the pathway.  It's so tiny and so cute!

New plants....Bacopa, Calibrachoa, and Lobelia.  (This was before I planted the lettuce.  More pictures of that later)

For Sale....

Transplanting is on the brain right now as we move everything from their cell trays into 4" pots.  Thousands of plants have been transplanted, and there is more to go!  Most, if not all, of the vegetables we have planted we are selling.  This is our second year building up the nursery and it has truly been a success!  Earlier this spring we had many people ask when our vegetable starts would be available.  They raved about the quality of our plants and couldn't wait to get more this year.  It just thrilled me to hear that!  So far we have Lettuce, Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, Chinese Cabbage, Mustard, and more.  We carry many varieties of each of these.  Although our plants were healthy last year, I think they have improved this year!  We have taken extra care to transplant them before they are stunted from being in a pot that is too small.  It's a lot of work, but definitely worth it.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves...

Color Bowls with Violas and tulips

Spinach, Regal Hybrid

Various Lettuce Plants....we have a lot!

Cabbage, many varieties.

Go here to check out our new spring website! 

Starting the Seeds.

The past few weeks have been filled with planting seeds for the coming year.  It is certainly fun to imagine the marvelous flowers and veggies these miniscule seeds will produce in the future.  Oh, how I look forward to that time!  I have not counted, but we have planted approximately 100 trays (each tray holds 50-75 seeds), and have MANY more to plant. A lot of them are the old time favorites: Lettuce, Cabbage, Broccoli, etc.  But we've planted many flowers as well. 

One of my favorite parts of gardening is watching the little plants pop their heads out of the soil for the first time!  It seems like every time I check I discover a new little friend saying "hello" to the world.  It's so fun!

The majority of the trays have sprouted and I look forward to seeing what else has come up tomorrow.  However, being plants, they grow and need further attention; that is what my focus will be over the next few weeks, and really the rest of the season.  I look foward to sharing all that we have planned for this summer. It should be a wonderful year! I plan to write a lot more about the other gardens this year. There is just so much to share and we have so many beautiful gardens at the farm. Here's just a glimpse of what's been going on with the seeds....

Welcome, Spring?

Well, I have been silent for some time but it hasn't been without reason. There just simply hasn't been anything to write about. Winter is winter, and things die. It is unfortunate but true. However, it seems as if Whidbey Island has decided to make an early jump to spring. The temperatures have been in the 50's and many of the plants are already coming back! In my mind, it's almost spring. Granted, things could change and we could get a sudden freeze, but it's hard to imagine when I am outside without even a sweater. :-)

Inspired by this warm weather, I have taken to cleaning the gardens, the Wall included. It now has a fresh face lift. I am VERY pleased with how the perennials have come back! I wasn't sure how they would survive the winter in the odd conditions of the Vertical Garden, but they have proven to be very hardy. Some of the perennials starting to show new growth are : Marjarom, Thyme, Oregano, Pansies, Mimulus, Pentunias, and more!

I made a list of seeds to order for The Vertical Garden 2010. We will take our knowledge gained from last year's experiment and apply it to this year. It should make quite a difference. I can't wait to see how the Wall is transformed this year!

Frequently Asked Questions

I apologize for my delay in posting. Things at the farm have been quite busy with the hustle and bustle of the annual Whidbey Island Farm Tour. But I now have time to sit down and write. :-)

So many people have asked me questions about the wall. I thought it might be useful to post these questions. Perhaps they would answer some questions YOU may have. Feel free to leave any comments or questions you have that were not answered.

Q: What is the wall built of?
A: The structure of the wall is built of three things: posts to support the wall, wire (hogwire and chicken wire), and Typar. The posts were cemented several feet into the ground to support the large structure. On each side of the posts, a foot apart, the sides of the wall were erected. After the sides were thoroughly wired to the posts and to each other, the wall was filled dirt.

Q: How do you plant in the wall?
A: It is very simple to plant in the wall. You need three basic tools: a razor knife, a shovel, and wire cutters. I would recommend wearing gardening gloves because the wires can be rough on the hands. Simply cut the wires and bend them back making ample room for whatever you are planting. Then slit the Typar the appropriate size. Shovel out the dirt and gently place your plant inside. Within a few days your plant will begin to grow skyward. It is very exciting to see watch it grow up!

Q: How long did it take to plant the wall?
A: There are two walls at the farm, each is planted on both sides. It took me approximately 8 hours to plant each side. Keep in mind there were probably hundreds of plants for each side. Because there are more steps than normal gardening it does take longer. But it is well worth the effort when you see your final result!

Q: Is it possible to make a smaller version of your Vertical Garden?
A: Yes! It is very feasible to make a small Vertical Garden for those who don't have enough space or time. You could even build a small cube with the primary goal of growing salad greens. The possibilities are endless!

Q: What kind of things grow well on the Vertical Garden?
A: I found SO many things that grow well, particularly salad greens. Any sort of mustard, lettuce, kale, pac choi, etc. does exceedingly well. I have grown many herbs (Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley) and flowers. Petunias are perhaps the best flowers to plant in the wall. They do a great job of covering and flowing. Any climbing vines or flowers are fabulous! I haven't experimented AS much with vegetables, but tomatoes have done great, as well as Chard.

Q: How do you fertilize?
A: I have found it easiest to use liquid fertilizer (MiracleGro) and to pour small amounts into each hole using a watering can.

Q: How do you water?
A: We have placed a soaker hose at the top of the wall. Actually, I have found that the wall very rarely dries out. Because it is shaded it stays very wet. The top foot or so dries out but the soaker hose does a good job at watering that. As I plant I water them in to keep them from going into too much shock.

I think that covers the questions I am asked most often. Like I said, please ask any questions you may have. This IS experimental so I cannot garantee that I can answer everything. :-) We are also at the end of the season so there won't be a lot to post about between now and spring. But I am eagerly anticipating the planning for next year's Vertical Garden!

I was able to harvest some salad greens from the wall this past week. What fun!