We see this guy every day a couple of times. So far, he just eats the clover in the grass. He's not too afraid of us. I put a live trap after I first saw him because I was worried about the garden, but he is wily. Did catch a possum. 
Blueberries
The pomegranate is blooming in the the foreground.
There has been a bit of an issue with catepillars, but there's still a ton of salad. Dez found some organic stuff that seems to be doing the trick.
Onions and carrots, and collards in the far bed.
Sugar snap peas.
At long last, the garden is finished. At least, the beds are complete. Merry Christmas Dez. My thanks to Tellepsen Landscaping, and Marc, for the original plan and the many answers to endless questions. Also thanks to Jen and Dad for pitching in on muscle work, and to Birgitta and Tommy for babysitting from time to time so I could work on it. It has been a fun project, and we will enjoy the rewards of it for a long time. I hope to put in other elements of the original design at some point in the near future, but first I need to catch up on grading and the rest of the yard work.
Dad came over Sunday and helped put in the edging. The weather was great, and Dad was a trooper. We finished it off without too many goof-ups or lost fingers. I opted for a product called trex, as it should last forever and it is made from recycled products. It was a little pricey, but probably worth it.
And . . . then it rained Tuesday, so the water needs to dry up before the gravel can be shoveled in and compacted. I have a ton of grading to do this coming weekend, so it's all for the best. Desiree has most of the bed planted with assorted greens, onions, beans and carrots. Beets and peppers are sprouting in milk jugs on our breakfast table, and should be ready for transplanting soon. So, the structure is almost complete, and then it's on to other outdoor fun.
Dez lines up rows of kale, lettuce and chard. I still don't have the gravel path between and around the rows. We have had frequent rains ever since I built the beds, and it's too soggy to compact the granite.
Here is the new home for our blackberries. Marc came up with the idea of using a trough. It should keep the blackberries from getting out of control. In the summer, the metal may heat up the soil, so we'll have to keep it moist. I punched a bunch of holes in the bottom, put in a couple of inches of gravel on bottom, and raised the trough up to facilitate drainage.
Jameson gaurds the loot while I go get the pickup truck. We bought a cloud pomegranate, a pong koa mandarin, and a bundle of kiowa blackberries. It was chilly. We got to the sale a half an hour early, and there were about a hundred people ahead of us in line. Once they let us all in, it was complete chaos. They ran out of wagons about five people ahead of us. We got what we came for though.
Check out those great hats. Dez brings back a keeper from childhood.
Blackberries. They had to go in the ground right away because the roots were exposed. We got jipped. There were only nine stalks when there were supposed to be ten.
Here is a link to pruning and training trailing blackberry brambles after the first year of growth. I didn't have a chance to read up on how to plant them before I stuck them in the ground. It turns out that stalks should be 10 feet apart (instead of 8 inches), and rows should be 12 feet apart. Oops. I guess I will be replanting them soon. We have limited and sporadic space, so they'll be scattered around.
