Beans in the Garden get a dose of Rabbit Poo!

Gardening is in full bloom in my vegtable garden. So many things to do in the past couple of weeks and so much more in the weeks to come. Here in Cali we have had weather that has been acting like a 2 year old, very unpredictable! I have been dreaming of all the veggies that will soon be on my plate!

Beans of many kinds are one of them!

I have planted many types!

Cow Peas (Black Eyed Peas)

Kentucky Wonder ( Green Beans)

Lim Beans (Butter Beans)

Pole Beans (yellow, purple & green)

Asparugas Beans (Long Beans)

Dragon Tounge (New to me, I have never grown)

That should get us through the summer and some winter months!

Here is how I start my beans. I did start almost all of them indoors under grow lights!

I give my plants a good dose of  Rabbit Poo!

I keep all my Rabbit Poo in a container and as I need it, I shovel a bowl full! I use the same bowl and spoon for my Rabbit Poo!

I dig my trenches for the Bean starts and the add some Poo all along the trench!

I then lay some Organic Compost in the trench and add the Bean starts! All my beans are in a row!

I sectioned my beans along my homemade twig fence. In hopes the beans will be using the fence as thier trellis. I also marked all my Beans with Tounge Depressors so I would know what Beans, were going where.

In a couple weeks I will direct sow more beans to have a continous crop!

Happy Gardening!!!

Fresh onions from your garden.....Delicious and Easy!

There are so many differnt Onions! From Bunching to Scallions to Big huge baseball size onions! No matter what you like, there is an onion for everyone. Onions are a great addition to any garden and the foods you eat.

There are many ways to start Onions. Most places sell them in seed form, bulb form or even as early seedlings. I like to do mine from seed or small bulbs. I have always had great success with onions. This year I plan on planting 3 times more then I did last year. This way I can freeze some and dry them to use them in the winter months for soups and sauces.

Green Onions are very easy to start from seed and one of the first things your garden will offer. I start my seeds in a large container. I put about 5 inches of seed starter soil with some Rabbit droppings in the container. Then I try to drop the seeds about 3 inches apart. Then I cover with a thin layer of soil. I usually spray the top of the soil with a water bottle and keep moist. Sprouts usually start making an appearance about 5-6 days later.  When they look strong enough, I pull them carefully and bunch them together for transplanting in other parts of my garden. I usually wrap the tops with some sort of tie and put the roots in a half inch of water, till I can transplant. Once I transplant, I cut the tops down to about 2-3 inches. This way I have a stronger root base. I usually plant 100 seeds at a time, then repeat the process about every 6 weeks spring through fall. Sometimes I use bulbs. This is a method I am going to use this year as well. I will plant each bulb 4 inches apart, in wide rows. With about 50 onions per row.

Onions are also good companion crop. Toss them in with your Tomatos, Lettuces, Root veggies and Herb Gardens. You may also try picking your onions in differnt stages. For Scallions pick them before they develop bulbs. I do most of my onions in square foot gardening method. So I harvest every other one as a Scallion and let the rest grow as full onions. This way I still get scallions,and  free up room for the remaining onions to get larger. This helps me to ensure a good ratio of Scallions and Onions.

Onion seeds are one of the easier seeds to harvest! Let some of your onions  flower. You only need to set aside a few. I harvested about 10 flowering onions after the growing season, and got a few hundred seeds in return.

Are you planting Onions in your garden? If not you should! You will never buy a store bought Onion again. What kind of Onions will you be growing?

These are some of the onions I will be growing this year!

Walla Walla Onion

Red Onion

Scallions

Chipollini Onions

Red Torpedo Onions

Granex Hybrid

Chives

Vidalia Sweet Georgia Onions

Happy Gardening My Friends!