$400 Pergola Project

Wow! Three years since I last posted! Shame on me. I thought I would post about this Pergola we just built, because even though it's not gardening per se, it is an outdoor space, and it's a small space Pergola.

 We needed a solution to block the hot afternoon sun from our patio table area, but it’s such a small space, we couldn’t find anything we liked that would fit.

I didn’t want a cheap looking unfolding popup shade (and even those were too big). Anything that was the right size was ugly, or too expensive. As I researched I came across vinyl Pergola kits and really liked how they looked, but couldn’t find one small enough for our space. Our roof edge is only 7.5 feet high and the stretch to the pool is only 7.5 feet.

So we came up with this idea to build our own out of the materials for vinyl fencing supplies, available at Lowes or Home Depot. The curtain rods are from Target, and the curtains are 80x84 panels from Walmart.

 Materials used:
$75 (3) 8 foot vinyl fence post
$72 (6) 8 foot vinyl fence rails
$14 (4) vinyl post caps
$36 (6) rail attachment bracket sets
$74 (3) curtain rods and (3) packs of rod rings
$36 (2) sets of 80x84 curtains
$40 (2) ceramic pots
$39 decorative stone to fill the pots
$14 eight inch screws 

Cheap blue curtains from Walmart.
I love the resort-like ambiance they create.

 These ceramic pots were a steal at under $20 each. I had to search 3 HDs to find two in stock.

I read a lot of online reviews about canopies weaving in the wind, and because the wind comes up in the afternoons, I wanted my pergola as securely fixed to the ground as I could get without cutting or drilling into my cement. I got the idea to put them in pots filled with stone, and I love the way it turned out. These pots are absolutely gorgeous, and won’t leave any permanent damage to the patio.

Spring update 2013

These photos are from April 24, 2013.

We planted an avocado tree. This is a zoomed in photo of the first buds of avocados (tree shown below). I can't wait to eat them.

Avocado tree

 Basil, grown wild from dropped seeds. They come back on their own every year.

 Blueberries. 

This morning we harvested a pound and a half just from these potted plants.

 Onions and a head of lettuce
The wire covers are because we have a Goblin who likes to dig.

Climbing Clematis

 

Cat grass

The Back 40

The back forty is coming along nicely. Those are pumpkins, raspberry bushes, green beans (on the climbing grates) corn, and butternut squash.

Spring is in the air!

This March we uncovered our raised beds and planted some infant veggies

 Goblin proof lettuce.

 Goblin buries treasure. Thanks Goblin!

Strawberries and onions from the previous year.
The strawberries are now three years old.

 Estee loves the garden too. 

She convinced us she wants to be an outside cat by sneaking out.

This is broccoli gone to seed. It attracts gigantic black bumble bees. 

 Working the back '40

Going to grow zucchini again. Don't you just love vegetables mislabeled by the nursery? The vegetables forming on these are not dradle shaped.

 This year will be an experiment in blueberries. The plants are already heavy with fruit.

And last but not least, the compost bin. Due to the bugs inside, I will no longer be contributing eco-waste to it. It's now exclusively the DH's job.

Zucchini success and Zucchini fail

One of my Zucchini plants is really struggling along, but the other two are doing quite well. The plant shown below, that was origiannly a mystery, has turned out to be a Silver leaf Patio Heirloom Zucchini and has produced several vegetables. From my research, I've found this plant is specifically bred to fit into a small space.

First of the batch and so delicious!

Giant Onions

Zucchini leaf fungus

I had some white leaf fungus earlier this spring, but I treated it with a milk/baking soda mixture, and after only two treatments my fungus is gone! I used about 1/4 cup of milk and a tablespoon of baking soda with about a cup of water in a small spray bottle. 

It was important for me to treat this without chemicals, so I'm very happy this solution worked.

No more leaf fungus!

Zucchini fail :(

I eat my words...

Okay, so they are red peppers after all. Apparently we cut the first ones off before they were ready. I noticed them turning color on the counter.

The peppers on the plant are turning red. Yay! Love red peppers :)

Two of my Zucchini plants are showing signs of white leaf mildew.

This Zucchini plant is getting more sun, and I believe the silver coloring is natural to the plant. Time will tell!

These are not yellow peppers

Nor are they red peppers. Thank you, Home Depot garden center, for carefully labeling your plants. That iceburg lettuce last year wasn't iceburg lettuce, either.

Good thing I hate green peppers! At least they are are beautiful, healthy vegetables.

Fun With Squash

I went to Summerwinds Nursery yesterday. What a gorgeous nursery! The first thing that caught my eye was a table of the most gorgeous yellow Begonias and I'm kicking myself for not buying one for my new teacup pot. Ah well, I was shopping on a budget and I'd really just gone there for squash.

Mystery squash. I think it's a zucchini variety.

I was pleasantly surprised by the assortment of vegetables and herbs. They had both summer and winter squash. I bought a Bennings Green Tint summer squash, a Sweet Dumpling winter squash, and a squash without a tag in it that I think I got from the zucchini squash flat.

Left: Sweet Dumpling squash. Right: Bennings Green Tint.

Our bush beans aren't doing so well, but it's our fault. We tortured them before we transplanted them. I planted the mystery squash in with them. That's it added in to this bed in the back.

Bush beans and the mystery squash.

 The Roma tomatoes are surviving their early summer transplant and doing well.

Roma tomatoes

Roma and San Marzano tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes

The cherry tomatoes are also doing well.

Our daily strawberry haul.These are two different varieties, and we don't remember the name of the smaller strawberries. We're going to find out, because they have ten times the flavor of the larger ones.