So here it is! The hole for the grape vine!

After planting, and proud daddy.

Here's the opposite angle

Now for some backyard news: We decided to keep the Russets as they seemed to tolerate that nasty frost-kill much better and look how they've recoverd! I'm planning on planting another row of Russets and it'll be ready a bit later than these.

Mom cut half of the Feijoa Guava tree, since it's always blocking one of the beds and it's not a great fruiter. Or that the fruit will not be very tasty. It can produce as a compact bush, so we shall see this year.

The Guava tree is the same size as the fence now, on the ground you can see the cut branches

The bed closest to us is now a little more sunny. The middle front bed is growing Garlic and some Carrot seedlings. I just planted some lettuces as well. The far left front bed is growing Bulb Onions and Carrots. The back left bed has Spinach, Beets and Chard, although the latter 2 are still very small seedlings. The middle back bed has Bulb Onions that we started last year and some Lettuces. The right back bed has Daikon Radishes, one Chard plant that survived all torture, and Spanish Black Radish seedlings in pots waiting to be planted (not shown)

Lori found something in the orange tree, and was curious enough to climb a rock to take a closer look. Maybe it's a butterfly... I couldn't see it from the angle I was in, from the inside the house.  I thought it was interesting that the shadow on her face looks like a swallowtail butterfly with an extra long tail.

Indoor plants. These are the plants in our dining room window sill. The far left plant (it has a tiny 2" pot) is a Vanilla Orchid climbing on top of the flowering Christmas Cactus. I really have to repot that thing, but I've heard that orchids flower better under stress. Do you know anything about orchids? Next to the Cactus is a white Phalaenopsis.

We've decided to try the lazy way of preserving heat loving plants, taking the cuttings and keeping in them water, indoors.  The Blue Basil responded wonderfully with tons of new roots and is blossoming(it had small buds when I picked them)! The Sweet Potato was just started this week, so we'll see if they'll root. The far much has a leek and chinese celery bought from the store. I'm trying to see if they'll root so I can grow them and harvest seeds. These are the lazy ways of acquiring seeds or starting new plants. It WORKS! Raising Basil this way is by far the easiest. Instead of fiddling with tiny seeds that have a low germination rate, rooting the cuttings is almost a sure fire way. Plus, it's pretty in the window. :-)  These are sitting on the ledge of our front window. Lazy farming is the way to go when you have so many other chores to do around the house!

New Year's Plans, Goals & Dreams

Tim was able to dig and plant the Kyohou Grape vine in the front garden this weekend! (pics to come) Yaaaaay!!! This has been a long awaited event and I'm so glad he did so this weekend as the weather has been EXTREMELY HOT this past week, and I'm afraid if this keeps up, the trees will break dormancy. Now we can breath a short sigh of relief as this grape can grow to it's potential this year and hopefully produce a decent crop. (And maybe we can make grape juice or.....even wine!  Wine-making...sheesh...another project in itself!)

I've been pondering about what I want to accomplish this year in 2012.
In keeping with the self-reliance train of thought, I've always wanted to learn more about solar panels.
So, this year, I'd like to do just that: Learn how solar panels work and even make some.
They may be crude, but if it works, I can make them for a LOT less than if I were to purchase them from a vendor.
It'll also make for an excellent Science Project for my son's on-going homeschooling.
Plus, it's just RAD(ha! who uses that word anymore, right?) to know you have the "power", yes...cheesy pun intended.
So, hopefully by the end of the year, we'll figure out how to convert Photons into Electrons with charge!

Another goal I'd like to pursue, is to learn the ropes on selling some excess fruits from our garden at our local Farmer's Market.  I've never been business oriented, but we have plenty of fruit and if it helps our income, that would be AWESOME!

We're also planning on raising rabbits. You may be wondering, what for? As pets?
Well...we're trying to figure that one too. We are all city-slickers. We've never been raised on a farm (including my mom). So raising animals for meat does make us somewhat queasy.  So, we're going to raise them initially, then decide if we have the "guts" (oh no, another pun) to do the dirty work.
Meanwhile, they do make excellent manures that can be used almost immediately in the gardens, since they are not as "hot" as poultry or cow manures. If we feed them to the worms, it would make the richest soil EVER as well.

If push comes to shove on food becoming scarce, we have a backup plan for a protein source.

Front Yard Grape Trellis

Here's the Trellis! Well, it still needs staining on the top. But it's up!

 Here's the view of it from the other side

Closeup on the detail

The detail is supposed to match our house's old fashioned decor. (Window Trim)

I think it turned out nice!

Exciting Things

Well, I don't have a picture of either, but the first exciting thing is that it rained some last night!  Come Autumn rains! We need you so badly!  It was just a spit in the bucket, but better than nothing.

The second exciting thing is that Tim finally finished the Grape Vine Trellis in the front garden! He finished tonight, and it was a bit too dark for me to take a pic of.  So, first thing tomorrow, I'll snap a shot or two to show it off. :-)

Now, the next step would be to start digging to prep the soil for the Kyohou grape vine.  Also, we'll need to strip the lawn under the trellis and place the cobble stones in! Then, we'll need to re-upholster the yard-sale purchased table set. Oh, I love it when projects start coming together!

Garden Updates Front Yard Grape Trellis

So, the posts are going up! Here's 2

Now there's 4!

Another angle...Can't wait for the top to be put in!  The grape vine is starting to grow it's buds, so I hope the guys hurry!

Garden Updates-Front Yard Trellis

We've been waiting, and my brother finally had some time to work on the foundations for the grape trellis that will go up in the front yard.  Here, he and Tim are measuring to level the posts since our property has a gentle slope downwards towards the street. The bucket and the bag have gravel we sifted out from the dirt we hauled in from San Dimas.

Here they are using some tools to levy the heavy concrete foundation post.

Here they go, into the hole!

Trying out the wooden post, temporarily to see how it looks.

Now this is exciting!