Fifth year of establishing a productive outside organic vegetable and fruit garden on a cliff 200 feet above the sea. It continues to be a very rewarding past time.
2014 was the year of the Tomato at our place. While I grew the usual staples, I focused my main energy on trying many different Tomato varieties to finally find out what the heck would work well here. By that I mean what Indeterminate Great tasting varieties would produce well in this environment and the best methods to use to grow them. Yay for tomato Heaven. No more tasteless Determinate early Varieties, though we will still grow some tasty Determinates like Extreme Bush from Victory Gardens.
Before we moved here, we lived on an old homestead for 28 years in the Rogue Valley. Gardening over there was like gardening on a different planet compared to the coast. These pictures represent the last few year's efforts.
I also keep Honey Bees, primarily because we do not have any on Windy Ocean Headlands, so that is one of the first things that you need to do after you build your garden fence here. The beekeeping is as challenging as growing Tomatoes in this windy environment. My little workers are part Russian ......Russian Bees and Russian Tomatoes.
I grow all of our onions, potatoes, beans, broccoli, cucumbers, garlic, lettuce, spinach, peas, peppers, squash, herbs, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Peaches, cherries and apples. I can and freeze and eat.
I have developed my little yearly gardening routine and have vastly improved our sandy soil, by composting and vermiculture, so it becomes a little easier every year.