Garden check-in

The green beans I sowed last weekend are up...

 and the crookneck squash are too...

 Pansies in their pots help fill in a flower bed before the perennials start blooming...

And my tiny "wild" strawberries produce the most delectable morsels!  I started these from seed about 4 years ago.  To my happy surprise they have survived!

Baby Toms Up!

Those who know me well, know that one of 

my ultimate gardening pleasures is seeing seeds germinate.

 

I never get tired of seeing the tiny threads of green raise their heads from the soil in search of light.  And it's so amazing to me to know that these tiny tomato babies will be standing as tall as myself in a few months, bearing fresh, juicy gems from my summer garden!

 

I've cut waaaayyyy back on the number of varieties I'm starting indoors this year.  I've got too many other irons in the fire to take care of more than I really need.  So my tomatoes this year, will of course be, my favorites: Green Zebra, Kellogg's Breakfast, and a cherry tomato I purchased at a plant sale - saved seed because we love this but don't have a clue what variety it is.  Oh, and one newbie - German Red Strawberry, from seed my sister saved and shared.

 

I hope to sow a few sweet peppers this week and that's it for my indoor seed starting this year.  Just can't give it up completely though - seeing these babies pop out of the soil is just too good a reminder of all the miracles that take place

around us every single day.

Happy gardening!

Chamomile, Marjoram, Thyme and More

Last weekend I wintersowed and within only 2-3 days the Cosmos were sprouted! That was fun - until the temps went from 70's to 20's in a day's time. And all the little Cosmos that had sprouted, turned brown and wilted. Good news is not all the seeds had germinated, and more are coming up even today. Plus I have more Cosmos seed and plan to direct-sow some in May. Other wintersown seedlings popped up this week too - Marjoram, Thyme and Chamomile survived the cold snap quite nicely.

The 4 plots of greens I sowed in the tubs-under-glass are coming along nicely - Kale, Arugula, Komatsuna, Endive and Spinach - and I'm guesstimating our first salad of the season may be in the works within another 2 weeks. I sowed Pak Choi last weekend and am seeing good germination there too. This is my first go at Pak Choi and I can hardly wait to taste it!

I had some help in my garden rounds yesterday....Roxy (aka Roxzilla), the 4 1/2 month old Pomapoo, joined me for a bit of serious sniffing and inspecting. I think she approved. Isn't she too cute?!

Sprouting Success

My cold frames (or hot tubs?) worked like a charm! I sowed seed last Sunday (see previous post). We had unseasonably warm temperatures most of the week that gave this process a big boost, so by Wednesday the Arugula had begun to sprout and the Kale and Komatsuna weren't far behind. This morning we awoke to a dusting of snow and 20-something temps, but the sprouts should fare just fine in their glass-covered tubs.

I sowed 3 tubs - but only had 2 glass panes so the 3rd was covered with plastic sheeting. That made a difference - no sprouts. So, I finished cannibalizing the 2 old aluminum storm doors that I had "borrowed" the 2 glass panes from. Hubby cut the aluminum frames so that I now have 2 more glass panes, and he has a plan for the leftover pieces, so nothing will go to waste.

So, now the 3rd tub also has a glass lid and has begun sprouting. In typical fashion for us, we used inexpensive and easy means to secure the glass from blowing off if the winds gust - baler twine and bungee cords! And they're easy for me to remove when I water or just want to get a closer look at what is going on inside.

I love seeing new green growth, especially since spring is still 5 long weeks away! Now...where is that spinach seed so I can sow another tub?

Spaghetti Squash & Burgundy Okra

Fingers are crossed that this spaghetti squash will make it to maturity! I've had a horrible time with the squash bugs this year - so far they've killed 2 lemon squash and 2 crooknecks - all were big and beautiful and at peak production. I don't know if the little varmints have as devastating an impact on winter types as they do summer types. I saved the seed for these from one I purchased at the grocery - so I was pretty pleased that they grew to start with. I sure hope we get to eat a few. This one is about the size of my 2 fists right now.

The burgundy okra has been a repeat topic on this blog - but it still has me in awe! This plant is around 7 ft. tall now. That is pretty impressive! If it continues growing until frost, I'll have to get a ladder to pick the okra!

Amaranth and Cantaloupe

Among other new things I tried growing this year were amaranth and cantaloupe. The ropes of the 'Love-lies-bleeding' amaranth are an artful addition to the garden. I notice no scent, but understand the seed can be cooked and eaten like a grain. The leaves are riddled with insect holes, but the plants still seem to be doing well. I had another variety, 'Golden Biscuit', that didn't survive til I could transplant it. I tried starting some with the wintersown method, which worked fine, but it was too long til I could transplant them. This one I started right in the garden from sown seed.

And see the baby cantaloupe hidden beneath the leaves?
I got these out later than I thought I should, but have high hopes at any rate. It's about 6 weeks til frost - will it reach maturity??? I think this one surely will, but it is far larger than any others I've found, so it may be the only one!

So this is Okra

I've never grown okra before, though I do remember when I was a kid and Dad sent me out to weed the garden, and I pulled out the okra seedlings thinking they were weeds! I thought the whole row was supposed to be green beans....oops! Daddy wasn't mad - pretty frustrated - but not mad.

I love both pickled and fried okra, so I got seed for both Burgundy Okra and Perkins Long Pod Okra. It's obvious which is the burgundy...and the Perkins is HUGE. I had hoped to have at least 3 of each - having no idea how much is needed to feed the three of us. As it turned out 2 of the Perkins and 1 Burgundy survived, so we'll see how that works this year and I can adjust next year.














Sunset this evening from the southeast corner of my garden. I love the peaceful time just before the sun goes down out in the gardens.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It has been a good weekend!

Got an early start Saturday morning with my 2 daughters and 2 grandaughters for a morning of yard-sale shopping. One daughter found the bed frame and dust ruffle she had hoped for, the other found an ornate iron bookstand/art stand to hold cookbooks or her latest painting. The grand-girls, ages 7 and 3, tried to purchase something at every stop, and came home with many toys, stuffed animals, fun keychains and hair accessories. I happily dragged home a wonderful old wooden stepstool I'll use to display planters on; some rusty cast iron goodies - stars, keys, butterflies and coat hook; some brown drip pottery to feed that obsession; and a variety of colorful bowls, cups and plates that will hopefully go into my mosaic designs sometime this year. Oh, and an old portable typewriter that I can make jewelry from the keys, or sell the keys or complete typewriter on Ebay.

In the afternoon I got out in the garden and transplanted hyssop, and sowed more cilantro, nasturtiums, marigolds and basil. And enjoyed those wonderful Wisteria blooms that have been such a grand surprise this spring. Sunday turned out cold, drizzly and gray, so I spent most of today indoors cleaning house, which was a very good thing. I started at 5:45 am and only quit because I was too darned tired to do anymore! Plus one of the boys and his son came out for the day and stayed for supper, and I fixed the Morel mushrooms we had found earlier in the week - yum!

Greening up - Inside and out

This is what I've been longing for - new sprouts! Some of the peppers I planted inside last Sunday sprouted today, and a couple days ago I discovered some more of my wintersown seeds had sprung up. What a genuine delight to see the beautiful, fragile babies lift their heads up from the soil in search of the sun.

I planted 10 varieties of pepper seeds last weekend - all sweet but one. Today the lone hot pepper seedlings, named Tam Jalapeno, a mildly hot pepper, peeked out of the soil. They were soon joined by a sweet pepper named simply Orange Bell. I wasn't expecting to see any sprouts for a couple mored days at least, based on last year, but then, I've changed some of my technique this year and added new varieties. So I was running around installing fluorescent lights on the wood shelving and making up a batch of tonic to prevent damping-off disease.

Outdoors the cauliflower and broccoli are still doing well - and it STILL amazes me that they are surviving and actually have even grown a little, albeit slowly. I don't know that it helps, but I cover their containers nightly with old flannel sheets since the temps still go down as low as 15 degrees sometimes. I first became aware my wintersown Poppies had sprouted on Thursday, and today there are twice as many and those that were already up have doubled in size. This wintersowing is amazing! This method is going to allow me to raise dozens more seedlings than I could have done indoors, and save me a big chunk of change at the nursery.

Pepper seeds are in the dirt

Finally – Pepper seed planting time! I have been looking forward to this day since New Year’s, planning it for the last month, and preparing for it all week.

I tried homemade newspaper pots last year, but wasn't too thrilled with them. So this year I found some vintage cups to plant in – mostly old wax coated paper cups, with holes punched in the bottom and sides for drainage and air flow. I filled them with pre-dampened Miracle-Gro potting soil, then placed them in water-tight flats. I plan to water by pouring into the flats, so it soaks up into the cups from the bottom. Until the seeds germinate I've got them covered in plastic wrap. Then as they germinate I'll move the cups to other flats with overhead lighting.

For markers I cut off several of the plastic blades from a broken vinyl mini-blind and trimmed them into 3-5 inch lengths with a pointed end to slide into the potting mix. I marked the variety and date planted on them with a black felt tip pen.

To prepare the pepper seeds, I made up some of Jerry Baker’s seed starting tonic (weak tea, Epsom salts and baby shampoo). I used little plastic bottles from baby fruit juices that my daughter saved for me – cleaned thoroughly, poured in a couple tablespoons of the tonic, added the seeds and marked the bottle with a sticky note to identify the variety. These soaked overnight outdoors since the temps were between 35-50, but could be put in fridge for up to 24 hours.

To give the pepper seeds the warmth needed to germinate, I put one flat on an old waterbed heating pad that has a thermostat controller. The other flat sits one shelf above a food dehydrator I put on the bottom shelf to provide some heat. All of this is located on a free-standing wooden shelving unit I bought for $5 at a yard sale last summer. I placed it in front of a west-facing window, and placed heavy-duty foil on the shelves to help reflect light - all in preparation for when the new seedlings will need lots of light. I will also attach fluorescent under-cabinet style lights to the bottom-sides of the wooden shelves with chains so they can be lowered/raised to the correct distance from the baby plants. I have a timer, so I'll use that too for turning on and off the lights instead of relying on my memory!

While the blustery winds blew and drizzling rain spat, I stayed dry, warm and ever-so happy, planting and dreaming of sunny garden days ahead. :)

Seed Love

I won't let the frigid temps keep ME from digging in the dirt! I stumbled across the fabulous wintersown web site on Thursday - on Friday I purchased some seed-starting medium - on Saturday I assembled my containers and planted Poppies, Lupine, Black-eyed Susans, Hollyhocks, Broccoli and Cauliflower. I want to do some Chard, Leeks, Onions, Chives, Larkspur and more, but need to gather more containers first. I think I must be in the same boat with all the other first-time wintersowers out there - proceeding with a mix of excited anticipation and fear of failure.

Look at my beautiful seed packets! I've added all 40-some varieties that I've purchased from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds to my 2008 garden list today, along with listing a nice-sized stash of seeds I either bought from one place or another last year, or saved from my own garden. I'm a list-maker by nature, so this helps me feel like I've got my ducks lined up and ready to go!

I'll still be starting some seed under lights indoors. Mid-February I will start my peppers, followed by tomatoes in early March, and I'll probably experiment with wintersowing for a few tomato seeds just to see what happens. The more I can start outdoors, the better! If you have experience wintersowing - or are trying it for the first time like me, leave me a comment so we can compare notes! FYI, I'm in zone 6.

Spring in January

Well it seems I skipped over a month before returning to blog-world, but now that Christmas holidays and the New Year have been duly celebrated, I'm ready to continue. And no, those easter lily buds aren't here yet - those were snapped last spring....but, we have had an incredibly warm weekend for January here in the Ozarks - in the 60's yesterday and topping out at 70 today! So in spite of the gusting winds that brought us this warm air, I spent a glorious amount of time in the garden. I pulled up the gnarled, dead, dry tomato plants and heaped them in a pile to be burned on a less windy day. I gathered a few more seeds from the last lemon basil plant and then pulled it and other remainders, like the last of the marigolds, and piled in another heap that will likely be chopped and used for mulch. I started piling on some mulched leaves, only to find that the wind devils were having far too much fun with them, so I stopped after 3 bags full, covered those with the grass mulch we had accumulated at the edge of the garden, and called it good for now. Now that everything has been cleaned out, it won't be a big job, even on a cooler day, to finish the leaf & grass mulch to rebuild the beds.

I LOVE this Lasagna-garden method, as described in the book by Patricia Lanza. My daughter brought this book to my attention a couple of years ago, then bought me a copy as a gift. I've been using it as my guide ever since - and enjoying gardening immensely for the first time in my life. I went from a couple of tubs of dirt with a couple of leggy, and often-thirsty cherry tomatoes stuck in them, to a small but productive garden in 2006 - then to a garden 2x bigger with some 30+ tomato plants, plus peppers, basil, mint, onions, cucumbers, dill, catnip, spinach, mustard, lettuce, rosemary, eggplant, edamame, broccoli, squash and more in 2007. Next year I expect to double the size AGAIN - and add at least 10 new veggies/herbs to the mix. I have found satisfaction and therapy in gardening - and if you knew me, you would know that seemed very unlikely. Not that I didn't WANT to be able to grow things - every spring, along with the rest of the world, I would be bit by the gardening bug. I'd buy a few flowers and tomatoes from the nursery, they were lucky if they survived to the end of June...I just didn't have the desire to dig and weed and water for more than a few weeks. (Too much of it as a kid I suppose, when I spent many summer mornings hoeing, weeding, picking, and even canning from my parent's bountiful garden. I hated it then, and hadn't really ever considered it likely to be "fun" as an adult.) But here I am, digging, watering and fertilizing - watching for fungus, aphids, and other enemies - and loving it. For one thing though, I really don't have much weeding or digging to do - thanks to the mulching methods of lasagna-gardening - I spend more time chopping and gathering grass and leaves to mulch with . After the first year, I figured out that investing in some soaker hoses and multi-outlet hose connections saves a lot of time when it comes to watering. Now I spend more time enjoying watching everything grow, the wonderful aromas, and naturally the feast of delicious, healthy foods that I grow.

I faxed my seed order ($80 thanks to a thoughtful anniversary gift from hubby!) to Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company on Friday and am like a kid waiting for Christmas now! I know I won't even be able to start the peppers indoors for a few weeks, but that won't stop me from planning. There will be decisions to make on where to plant the rhubarb and the fennel, the tomatillos and amaranth - all new to me! But I can hardly wait for the chance to open a fresh bag of potting mix and start my 2008 adventure.

Now, where am I going to fit in all my other projects? Like the mosaic birdhouse, stepping stones and flower pots I want to do...or the re-purposing of an old bed into a porch bench, or an old window into a shelf to hang in our bedroom? I really must figure out how to retire early....:)

The wonder of compost

Who knew I would one day get all warm and fuzzy over grass clippings, chopped leaves and old cow manure? I filled up a compost bin this weekend and it just feels GOOD! A feeling kin to that of watching seedlings sprout and flowers bloom...something good is happening right before our eyes, though we can't see the changes at the moment. I can hardly wait to spread the beautiful, black, crumbly stuff, worth its weight in gold come next spring. This bin is a box made of five wooden pallets and situated right at the back edge of my vegetable garden. Another is a constant work in progress, where the eggshells and kitchen waste are tossed. It is simply close-woven wire rounded into an egg shape, located out of sight, behind our old cellar. I don't go to any great pains with it - simply toss stuff in regardless if it is crumbled egg shells or a whole pumpkin! I stir it from time to time and will use some of the best composted stuff on the bottom come spring.

I'm trying to hold off thinking much about next year's garden until after Christmas. Other than the things I need to get done now, like mulching to protect the perennials and fillin in the beds with more mulch so they will be ready with only a little prep next spring. The best part - poring over seed catalogs and planning what will return to my garden and what new varieties I want to try - that must be saved for those frosty, boring days in January. Like saving dessert for last...

The very last of our home-grown, raw tomatoes found their way into our salad yesterday. Yes, really - AFTER Thanksgiving! In spite of the fact that my 30+ plants didn't produce the bumper crop I had anticipated, there were a whole lot of the little green fruits when the first frost hit, which fortunately was pretty late for us this year. So I gathered up anything bigger than a marble and brought them in. Granted, they certainly weren't as good as those summer beauties that ripened right on the vine, but still better than anything I could have bought at the supermarket. We have enjoyed them sliced, in salads, and in stir-fry dishes for the last 4 weeks. Only 8 months to go 'til I get to enjoy my own, homegrown beauties again :(

Stroll through the garden

Hard to believe how quickly the growing season passed this year.

Bits and pieces - a bee on a huge sunflower, a gorgeous miniature rose and the dill before the seed heads matured. Couldn't resist brushing my hand over the dill nearly every time I passed by to release the scent.

Below are the Blue Lobelia my grandson gave me for Mother's day, the Coleus I started from seed I saved in 2006, and the "Tequila Sunrise" hanging basket I couldn't resist buying on one of my nursery visits.