Radishes, Parsnips, Carrots, Dill, Mache, Borage, Arugula--I can't wait

I am so happy--I got everything planted that I wanted to get planted today.  (I'm not going to have time for the next week or so.)  Last spring, I was traveling and missed the early spring.  This year, I'm really hoping to make a delicious salad for Easter. 

Not only that, but I harvested a wheelbarrow full of beautiful compost that I really needed to spread on half of one of my beds.  And there's still more compost to use. 

Today, I planted these seeds:

Radishes:  How I love radishes.   I went insane and planted a whole bunch of them.  I put three varieties in:  plain round red ones, a multi-colored mix, and a long white variety.  I love all kinds.  Radishes and dip are ever so much tastier than chips and dip.  Radishes give a salad spice.  They have to be harvested while they are relatively small and before the weather gets hot in order to taste good. 

Parsnips:  I've never grown these before, so I decided I would try them this year.  I planted them in with my radishes.  I was expecting parsnip seeds to look more like carrot seeds, so I was shocked to open the packet and discover how big and strange-looking they are.  I'm supposed to harvest them after frost.  I'm not sure how that will work out with such a long growing season here, but hopefully they will be tasty cooked in butter. 

Carrots:  I also planted these with radishes to mark where I planted.  I put in a lovely rainbow mix.  Carrots are fun, but I don't love them as much as radishes because they take longer, and I don't like the way they taste as much.  But I think my kids will really enjoy harvesting them and eating them. 

Dill:  I planted a variety of dill that will grow extra tall.  Dill is so important for attracting painted lady caterpillars.  In fact, I mostly grow it for the beautiful caterpillars and butterflies, but we do use it some for cooking.  It is also a tasty snack  for my boys when they are out in the backyard. 

Mache:  Another experiment for me.  Mache is a type of cool-season salad green.  I'm worried that it was a little late in the season to plant it, but hopefully it will come up.  I actually tried to plant it before but never found the seedlings.  Either it didn't come up, or I thought it was a weed and pulled it.  (Note to self: mache in approximately the center of far right garden bed). 

Borage:  This herb produces cucumber tasting leaves and flowers.  I put it in the corners of the bed I will plant tomatoes in this year.  Supposedly, borage is good for tomatoes somehow.  I don't know if that's true, but I'm sure it attracts pollinators.  It's fun for my kids to eat the flowers.  And I love eating the flowers too. 

Arugula:  I already put in some arugula plants, but I sowed some seeds today too, as you can't really have too much arugula.  I discovered the secret to making the plants last--just pick the leaves mercilessly.  The sturdy, weedy plant does fine with just a few.  But arugula inevitably will bolt, and then the leaves don't taste good, but the peppery flowers are delicious.  Arugula is a funny plant, so expensive in stores but so easy to grow in cool weather.  It is a million times better when picked fresh out of the garden, like all salad greens, but more so. 

And my pea seeds were sown on Monday.  I am so excited about snacking on what we call "pea candy" in late May and early June.  (That makes my kids sound kind of deprived.  I'm not one of those moms who doesn't let her kids eat real candies or sweets--they really do love the garden peas like candy though.)  

To top off such a great gardening day, we're getting a gentle rain on the already moist soil tonight.  With sandy soil and raised beds, I never have to worry about getting too much water.  I love it when my planting works out to be in sync with the weather. 

Grow, tasty little plants, grow. 

Early Spring Planting

On  Friday, I went to the local garden center and bought spinach and, yes, my favorite, arugula.  I also bought some beets on a whim.  I've grown beets from seed before in the fall.  It warms up here so fast, I thought they might do better if I got plants, so that they could mature before it got too hot.

Time to get the garden started after a winter that was colder and wetter than usual.  We don't get much snow here, and it's really not pleasant to be outdoors in a cold, muddy swamp, so I am thrilled that spring is slowly creeping in.

My garlic grew beautifully over the winter, and I expect to be able to harvest it in June.  I won't make the same mistake I made a couple of years ago, when I planted tomatoes amongst the garlic.  The tomatoes grew so fast that I never found most of my garlic!  Of course, I managed to kill one of my garlic plants while I was weeding, but those things happen.  I have many garlic plants, so I did not grieve too much.  

On Saturday, I had a swim meet and meant to at least water my seedlings but didn't.  Today (Sunday) I planted them.  Four of the arugula plants looked a little wilted, and so did a couple of the beets.  I am so mad that I didn't water them yesterday.  But I watered them as they went in.  I'm pretty sure the arugula will recover.  And I planted while it was drizzling.  Hopefully, we'll get plenty of rain this week so those roots can grow.

This week, I'd like to plant these seeds:

• garden pea
• radishes
• parsnips

And if I get to them

• carrots
• more radishes
• arugula
• lettuce

But the first ones are my priority.  I always plant radishes with carrots, and I think I'll do the same thing with the parsnips.

I love early spring crops.  I wasn't looking forward to planting today, as the temperature was in the 40's, and the sky was overcast, but it was a humid nice kind of cool outside, a lovely day.  

Picking up the pieces after a gardening hiatus

Well, I have not blogged in some time because I have not been gardening for some time.  But I got started back again last weekend. 

One thing I had to admit is that with homeschooling and all of my other activities, I didn't have time for as large of a garden as I had.  I also wanted my beds pushed together, so that there weren't spaces between them to worry about.  I had eight 4' by 8' beds.  When I tried to move them, I realized many of them (the non-cedar ones) were rotton.  I had to get my superhusband to help me, and now I have three 4' by 8' beds all in a row, no spaces in between, and superhusband can mow around all of them.  (Before, I had put mulch around them to keep the grass weeds out, but this proved to be a lot of trouble and expense to keep up.  I'd rather just pull the bermuda grass out.  Or at least we're going to try it.) 

I've used my cardboard weed barrier technique to plant 2 of my remaining beds, and one is ready to be planted.  I also want my superhusband to help me put in one additional bed. 

That will give me half the space I had last year, and I don't think it will affect my harvest.  Last year was a disaster, with me not having time to water or weed, and a lot of my garden died in mid-summer.  I'm going to take care of the space that I have, choose my plants very carefully, and try not to go overboard. 

Plant addiction is no joke. 

Didn't Water

So, I got busy with summer, planning our homeschool year and taking the kids to camps and the pool, and I just  didn't water my garden.  Now my tomatoes are dead.  I feel like an idiot. 

I still have hope for my peppers and tomatillos, and I've harvested tons of basil that has made delicious pesto and herb rubs.  My other herbs aren't doing so well since my sweet husband accidentally mowed my herb garden down.  I think I'm going plant an herb garden in one of my beds.  I've decided that I really have too many beds(!) for my level of interest right now.  And to think that at one point I wanted to double my beds! 

The problem is that my motivation for things changes, and I can only concentrate on so many hobbies at a time.  Right now, I've been focusing on weight loss, learning Spanish, and getting ready for the upcoming homeschool year.  I vow to do better next year. 


I have five 2-cup containers of pesto stored away for the winter, which is pretty good.  If I get about 12, then I'll have enough to use 2 containers every month for six months.  I've also decided to repurpose small glass jars for my pesto and herb rubs, rather than freezing them in plastic containers. 

I have nothing against plastic containers; it's just that the glass ones are free, and the plastic ones wear out eventually.  I'd rather use them for putting snacks for my kids when we go out, than freezing food in them.  Also, it's more difficult to clean the oily sauces from the plastic. 

I'm going to start my fall crops!  Lettuce and spinach.  I'll also be starting some tomato seeds for container varieties, as I'm going to experiment with growing them in the cold months.  They'll be in pots, so they can be outside when the weather is nice and indoors in front of a sunny window when it's not. 

Garden Update: May 2012

Well, it's been a good month.  Not a whole lot to harvest.  It got too hot for the radishes to taste good, but we still had tons of tasty salad greens.  Mostly, just waiting on vegetables to mature.  I did get many tomatoes off our little cherry plants that I kept in an Earthbox.  They were good, but not as good as the indeterminate varieties I grow in my beds.  Unfortunately, the plants are dying.  I only hope that the millions of tiny green tomatoes I have in my tomato bed start to ripen soon! 

I was able to harvest herbs (mostly parsley and basil) for sauces and herb rubs.  Yum!   We had enough green beans from my bush bean plants for a side dish for one meal. 

And the peas were wonderful.  I didn't use them all and don't really have a need for more split peas.  Next year, I think I will plant 2 beds of peas and be organized about picking them in time and freezing them for beef stew.  This was the first year, I've ever had enough peas to actually make a dish out of them!  In the past, we've just enjoyed eating them in garden. 

The cucumbers and squashes are  flowering.  The peppers are flowering and growing tiny peppers.  It looks like it was rainy enough this spring that I actually have some carrots to harvest soon!  The tomatillos and eggplants are coming along, although I think it'll be a while before I get anything of off those. 

It's the tomatoes, oh the delicious tomatoes, that I can't wait for! 

April Garden Update

I can't believe how long it has been since I updated my blog! I'm still gardening, loving it more than ever.

I am very proud that I have tomatoes ripening in my earthboxes! I'll write more about them tomorrow.

I've also got tomatoes flowering out in my beds. I'm so excited. It's been a very warm spring, so I also have some peppers and eggplants already planted. I have tons of beautiful lettuce, and a few radishes, although it really got too warm for the radishes. The peas are almost ready, and they are tall and beautiful. My garlics are growing, which is good, because I am nearly out of the garlic I grew last year for cooking. I've got my herbs growing too, and enough parsley that I really need to make some chimmichurri sauce as soon as possible, and save it up. I'm also wanting to plant lots of flowers in my beds this year, mainly zinnias.

I'm still battling the bermuda grass in my front garden, but have planted some very tough perinneals and annual seeds. I'll be using paper/cardboard as a weed barrier.

a mid spring summary

So much has happened (gardening-wise). I love, love, love my garden. It is full of plants and lush and beautiful (to me). I'm going to try and summarize by plant what's been going on since the spring.

Asparagus: I talked about that in my last entry. It's growing much taller than last year and hiding my compost bins well. A gorgeous plant.

Kale and collards: Long gone now, the four of each I bought at the garden center were delicous. I can't wait to grow them this cool season and learn to experiment with them.

Mustard: Started this in the fall; overwintered. Delicous. Plan to grow several varieties this fall.

Arugula: Didn't turn out nearly as nice as last year. I think the weather had something to do with it. I didn't plant it as early (cuz the ground was frozen), and I didn't get around to it as soon as I should. Anyway, it was cold for longer and then got really warm.

Radishes: Tasty as ever. I grew a lot more of them. However, we've had these hot spells, and the ones that are coming up now are rather bitter. I'd like to try sauteeing them.

Spinach: Most of these I bought at the garden center, but I managed to grow a few plants from seed! All are delicous. We've had creamed spinach once, and my husband made a couple batches (Emeril's recipe) to freeze last night. Great in salads too. I see why people love it. The tasty greens just keep coming, and we haven't had to buy grocery store greens in weeks!

Lettuce: The speckled lettuce and the buttercrunch I bought at the garden center have thrived! (After I nearly killed them from neglect/lack of water.) I have too much of them. The ones I grew from seed and have going in the self-watering containers (Earth boxes) are delicious as well (and more interesting). I am also growing some iceburg (a first) because I'd like to use it as wraps. I am moving all of my lettuce containers to the back porch, where they will get less afternoon sunlight.

Peas: I grew Maestro and Mr. Big, all mixed together. I was going to grow Mr. Big, but couldn't find it, so I started Maestro from seed, and then when I planted them out and some died (lack o' water), I put in some Mr. Big seeds. Both are garden peas, and they are so delicous. Like candy. The children and I just eat them out in the backyard fresh.

Beans: A few bush beans have been started, and I plan to start my pole beans soon. I'm having to plan around some summer travel.

Cabbages: The red ones from the fall are still not ready to be harvested. Waiting on the white ones I planted this spring too.

Broccoli: First harvest last night! The Packman I bought at the store (same kind I grew from seed last year). I made a broc-cheese soup out of it and froze it. (Emeril's recipe). Hope to get some side shoots.

Squash: Have planted crookneck squash seeds that are coming up now. Got tons of mystery squashes growing throughout the garden. Be interesting to see what they are. (Probably all fall gourds). Going to plant more as the cabbages and spinaches come out.

Melons: Haven't planted any yet!

Cucumbers: Son has some early bush ones planted in his little bed. I plan to plant more to make pickles. (I got a canner!)

Tomatoes: Oh, the tomatoes. The ones I started in the kozy coats (well, 2 of the 3--one died right away) are thriving! They are giant! I need to take pictures. I took the coats off today because it's been so hot. I've got lots of green tomatoes already. It appears that the Early Girl bit the dust, and that I'll soon have delicous Ladybug Hybrid and Jenny tomatoes to eat. I have many other plants, both cherry and beefsteak set out. One of these days I'll do a post just listing the varieties of plants I'm growing. (So that I'll remember!) I haven't set them all out yet, the colors of cherry I'm growing include red grape, red cherry, orange, purple, white, and green!

Sweet Peppers: I ended up putting one (Carmen) in the kozy coat for the Early Girl that died, and it is already growing at least one pepper! Has several more flowers too. Plan to grow many colors of pepper! I didn't buy a mix--bought individual packages. I don't know why...

Hot Peppers: I let my seedlings (Ancho 101 and Anaheim) get too cold, and they are really coming along slowly. Right now I have 3 seedlings of one (not sure which--probably Ancho) and none of the other. I even started some more. Couldn't find any poblano or anaheim peppers at the store. Bought a jalapeno and a super chili (don't know what this is), and a friend gave me 2 haberneros. I loved my Ancho 101's, and still have a couple frozen that I am so sad to use up. Hope to store up a lot for the winter and give some away if I have too many.

Huckleberries: Trying to grow these! Looks like one has germinated.

Alpine strawberries: Trying to grow these as well.

Annual herbs: Got dill, cilantro, stevia, parsley, basil, nasturtium, borage all growing.

Perinneal herbs: In my little herb garden: Sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme all doing well. In pots, chives are doing fine. In the front garden, mint is trying to fight off the bermuda grass, joined by it's ally echinacea white swan.

Flowers: Got celosia started. Cannas planted.

Things I've learned:

• If I plant seeds, and it doesn't rain, and I don't water, they won't come up. (I know this should be obvious).
• New transplants need to be watered every day at first, even in cool weather.
• Things that are gross in the grocery store (kale) are often delicous in the garden.
• Garden peas taste like candy.
• I really need an irrigation system. Got spoiled to all the rain we had last season.
• It's okay to buy plants at the garden center instead of starting everything from seed.
• I will not start perinneal flowers from seed again unless they are really, really easy.
• I have to stock up in a major way on my Park's Starts refills. I HATE it when I run out of these. Not all seeds do well in these, but so far, they are my favorite way to start seeds.

Spring spring spring

I haven't been writing in this blog much, but I have been gardening a lot. I have 2 new 8' x 4' beds up and running, and my 3 new Earth Boxes just came today! I know have eight 8' x 4' beds and 4 Earth Boxes total.

Outside, we I have growing: asparagus, 2 tomato plants and 1 pepper plant (in Wall O Waters), radishes, arugula, kale, collards, mustard greens, red cabbage, white cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, and spinach.

Indoors, I have started seeds for prarie sunflowers, bachelor's button, cockscomb, peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplants, more lettuces, plus three butterfly bushes.

We had our first little asparagus harvest tonight, and it was heavenly. Really. Like you imagine vegetables would taste in heaven. The asparagus tasted unbelievable. It was so tender. We all had a piece fresh, and then my husband steamed the rest. We only got a little each, but it was wonderful. My 6-year-old was sad there wasn't more. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks or so, we'll get a few more side dishes out of our asparagus bed. And next year, six weeks of delicious asparagus!

Both children are obsessed with eating kale. I have 4 kale plants that I planted in the fall, and they love to munch on it. Next year, I'm going to plant a whole lot more of them! They wintered over beautifully. I planted them so late that they hardly grew at all since I planted them. Fresh kale from the garden is delicious.

One big difference this year is that I don't have a problem with buying plants at the garden center (the locally owned one) and plugging them into my garden, although I have been starting quite a few seeds. Not so interested in starting cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower from seed anymore!

Tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce, however, are easy and fun to start from seed. And, of course, there really isn't any other way to grow radishes or carrots. And, then, beans, cucumbers, melons, and squash will all be started from seeds.

Another big difference is that I'm much more product oriented. I expect that the garden this year will provide most of our produce, and I have plans to preserve it, by freezing and canning. (Although I'm a little afraid of canning, and will do only pickling and high acid foods.) I'm very glad that we have a chest freezer--we make good use of it anyway, and I hope to make even better use of it this year in the garden.

I have very much enjoyed the peppers (variety Ancho from Park Seed) that I grew last year. I froze a whole lot of them at the end of the season, just whole, and continue to use them in any recipe that calls for hot pepper seasoning. I put one in a chili that I made on Sunday, and I was very pleased. I've also used them in quesadillas, scrambled eggs, and my pumpkin soup.

Last year, I was all about trying a greater variety of plants. This year, I am probably growing less variety and sticking to the things that will be more useful.

My goals for this season:

• grow most of our produce
• preserve hot peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers for winter in various forms
• by fall, construct some sort of cold frame to keep spinach and arugula growing longer
• plant more kale, collards, cabbage in late fall to winter over

Update

I haven't updated because I've been busy... gardening.

So, here are a few important things that have happened in the last month or so, especially related to HARVEST...

• Green beans! I still love the festina, not crazy so far about the mon petit cheri.
• Lots of tomatoes! Unfortunately, my green zebra tomatoes are not... I'm not sure if the error is on my end or on the seed company's end! They are red. We've had tasty fried green tomatoes, got early girls, brandywines, the non-green-zebras, and red, yellow, and white cherries. The only problem is that I'm definitely allergic to fresh tomatoes. I get a terrible oral allergy and had to go on prednisone the pain was so bad. So, I'm still trying cooked tomatoes and hoping I can continue to tolerate them!
• We had 3 red cabbages. They were great.
• We did get some broccoli!
  
• Had some sweet peppers, but only green ones so far. We keep needing to eat them before they turn red! Well, we did get a couple of little orange ones.
• Cucumbers, tons of cucumbers. I have really enjoyed these.
• I have a few little melons developing, and I'm very happy about that. Not sure how long it will be before we can eat them.
• Winter squashes and pumpkins are all planted and sprouted.
• I'm starting to think more about fall now--already. I have plans to put in more beds.
  

Update

Here's an update:

Tomatoes: Huge, fruiting like mad. Pulled Glory out because it looked sickly. Have been pruning suckers constantly. Can't wait to eat them!
Borage: blooming!
Cilantro: tasty, letting one flower so I can save seeds
Arugula: trying to figure out how to save seeds from my one huge flowering plant that I have left.
Sweet potatoes: planted
Basil: Thriving
Cucumbers: Growing, starting to get big.
Peppers: Some starting to flower
Green beans: flowering like crazy, at least the first batch
Lettuce: Delicious, delicious
Broccoli: Tasty, but the worms are annoying to pick off
Malabar spinach: Still small
Melons: all varieties planted, with Amy and both watermelons sprouted. Minnesota Midget never grew. Crane, Hale's Best, and Banana seeds just planted a couple of days ago.
Squash: Scallop and spaghetti planted and sprouted.
Cabbages: Huge, forming heads.
Carrots: also tasty, harvested all but the tiny ones, getting too hot. I can't believe I finally grew some carrots!

All trees and bushes planted are going strong, including that raspberry bush I was worried about. I am happy Oliver didn't kill them by pulling them up.

I love eating fresh salad greens. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

I am really anticipating my tomatoes and peppers and can't wait to taste them.

plant overload

More and more thing have been planted. My sweet potato sets came, at about the right time for my area, and they are in the ground. I planted cumin and parlsley seeds.

I started indoors anaheim peppers, mild jalapenos, okra, and more basil. Right now, pretty much all of my beds are completely taken up, which is as it should be. I hope I'll have a patch free up in a week or so, so that I can plant some more bush beans.

But everything seems to be mostly going well. My tomato plants have begun to flower. I'm wondering if I should now start some more tomato seeds, so that we'll have some fresh plants for late in the season?

One of my raspberry bushes has not come out of dormancy, which concerns me. I hope it does. The other 2 are fine, and my 3 blackberry bushes are looking good.

I put mulch mats around my persimmon tree, which is leafing and looking beautiful, as well as my crape myrtles and forsythia. I now only have one forsythia because Tim ran over the other one with the lawn mower! That's okay. It was hard to see.

I planted shasta daisies around one of my Rose of Sharons. I wanted to plant them around both bushes, but I didn't have nearly enough. I will plant white cosmos around the other one this season.

Still enjoying lettuce and arugula, although my last batch of arugula is probably not going to hold of from flowering for long. I will look forward to it again this fall.

My borage is growing. Both Isaac & I tried the leaves, which supposedly tastes like cucumbers. They do... Like fuzzy, weird cucumbers. I don't plan on using it in salads! The taste is fine, but the texture is just weird. Maybe the flowers will taste better.

We also planted white scallop squash today and watermelons (everglade hybrid and malali) the other day. As far as the other melons, still waiting on Minnesota Midget to make an appearance, but Amy hybrid seems to be doing good.

garden update

Well, over the past several days I've planted basil seedlings (including the ones Isaac & planted together in his bed), more lettuce, cilantro, bush beans. My malabar spinach is coming up. I planted cucumbers. 4/31 we planted 2 varieties of melon, Minnesota Midget and Amy Hybrid.

I found out (from my Heirloom Gardener magazine) that tomatillos have to be planted near one of their own kind in order to set fruit. So, it seems that last year the problem wasn't so much that I was late getting started, just that I grew only one. It pained me to do so, but I pulled up the tomatillo I had planted and started seeds for two more, which I will plant together.

Really enjoying our lettuce and arugula salads. They are so fresh. It's great not to have to eat the greens out of the bag. I got Tim to whip up the oil and vinegar dressing we used to enjoy in California (where we had an awesome grocery store, Jimbo's). The dressings we had been using mask the taste of the greens too much. I need dressings that you can taste the greens through now!

I don't know how some of my vegetables have handled the three days of 90-degree heat we got. My tomatoes seem very happy, as do my peppers, but the broccoli and cabbage seemed to like it much less. I also think my lettuce and arugula turned a tad bitter but still better than grocery store stuff.

Oh yeah, and I planted my persimmon tree and my blackberry and raspberry bushes (3 of each). And Oliver pulled out one of my blackberry bushes twice, another one once. Let's hope they survive. Ah, the hazards of a 16-month-old boy running around the yard!

Right now, I am feeling very positive about providing the majority of our family's produce in the coming months. Next year, I'll be able to do much better, as I understand more about what can grow in our climate and when to plant it.

garden update

A brief update:

• Lettuce, arugula, & radishes harvested yesterday. Isaac had so much fun cutting the leaves of the letture and arugula. Very tasty.
• Coneflower white swan bed prepped and planted with my precious little seedlings started all the way back in February. I am hoping for a very low-maintenance, cheerful little bed there. Read the description from Park.
  
• The arugula is growing so fast that I anticipate another harvest tomorrow, along with the lettuce on the front porch that has VERY quickly grown back! And some radishes too.
• I wonder if I'm picking my radishes a tad on the early side? They are very small but very tasty.
  
• I planted another small lettuce planting today (Burpee heatwave looseleaf type). I guess I will make one more small planting this spring, and after that, I think it will be too hot for even heat-resistent lettuce.
  
• I'm reading The New Victory Garden by Bob Thomson and am getting all kinds of good ideas from him. It's a very thorough book.
  
• I'll be planting melons and cucumbers soon. Starting gourds. Planting squash and pumpkins. And planting tons of low-maintenance annual flowers in the backyard.
  

It's very cool to look out the window and see so many plants out in my garden. I can't believe that this is real. It's been a dream of mine for so long.

spring, spring, spring

The maple tree I planted in the front yard a few weeks ago is coming out of dormancy, as are the crabapple and dogwood in the back. I'm still waiting to see about the crape myrtles, but I did see some green on my blue rose of sharon bushes. I am so excited about those. I am going to plant shasta daisies around them, and I think they will look so beautiful in the summertime.

When my other saplings came a few weeks ago, I received 2 free forsythias from the Arbor Day Foundation. I wasn't sure I wanted them though and didn't get around to planting them. However, the forsythias around town have been so lovely this week that I regretted that. I had shoved them in the pantry, and I went to look at them, and they were coming out of dormancy. Any shrub that hardy deserves a place in my yard. So, I planted them. Hopefully, they'll be all right and produce beautiful yellow flowers next spring.

No frost forecast yet, but it is supposed to get down to 35 on Tuesday night. I'm going to investigate my options for protecting my tomatoes. This article has a lot of good ideas: Protecting Plants from Frost. I'm hoping the forecast changes by then. If it doesn't, I will try covering them with newspaper. My tomato seedlings are very small.

Speaking of that, I saw at Lowe's many large, lovely plants for planting in the garden, including large specimens of Early Girl, which I have growing. They were cheap. It made me wonder why I bothered starting my own seeds... Except that I enjoy it.

My tomato towers finally came, and I have them installed. I had bought bamboo stakes since I was convinced the towers wouldn't be here in time, so I'll have to find another use for them (shouldn't be hard).

I feel like my asparagus should be here by now. I will have to check on it.

One of my houseplants, my "aluminum plant" got very "leggy" and ugly in the low light situation that my parlor palm and spider plant do not mind. It also prefers its soil to stay moist, whereas they prefer a wet-dry cycle. I moved it upstairs to the office, where it could get more light, and I could water it more, but it is just ugly. So, I am going to root a cutting of it and then compost the poor thing. I think the dry winter air upset it. This will be my first attempt at rooting a cutting.

So much waiting! Waiting for asparagus crowns, waiting for spring vegetables to grow, waiting for the weather to warm to put in later plantings. I'm already planning for fall, winter, and spring as well. Thinking of naturalizing daffodils in the front lawn since my crocuses croaked/bulbs were likely eaten by squirrels. (Here's a link I liked on Naturalizing Daffodils.)

watching my plants grow

Every day, I check my little plants. The lettuce in the Earth Box is looking pretty tasty. I imagine we'll have some great harvests of that in about a month.

My tomato seedlings aren't looking the greatest. I think I am overwatering so will watch that. Next year, I will not start them until about March 15th.

Peppers continue to look nice.

My broccoli seems happy planted out in a bed.

Very excited about the arugula. I keep eating the thinnings, and they are so damn tasty.

My mints on the porch and my garlic chives look wonderful. I got pots today for my St. John's Wort and my regular chives. Soon they will join the other herbs on the porch. My herb pots look cool from the street, or so I think.

I also got today a couple of hanging baskets to grow nasturtiums. I have high hopes that they will look quite striking.

My crab apple tree is coming out of dormancy, as is my sugar maple.

My little dwarf blueberry bush is leafing out like crazy. I love it.

I am getting a little antsy waiting for April 15th. I think it will be very safe to plant out everything by then, particularly with global warming.

I turned my compost today, both piles from last year, combining them. I was going to use more of the older one, but I really didn't think it looked quite finished enough, so I just used a few shovelfulls. It looks pretty good though, and I think after the hot summer, with a few turnings, it will be beautiful, finished compost that I can probably work into the soil late this fall. I am very proud of it. I even liked the way it smelled, a nice earthy smell. Interestingly, I saw absolutely no unpleasant creatures in it, just worms. I only seem to see gross bugs in the very fresh stuff.

Our yard is so pretty with blooming weeds, purple, white, and blue, and the yellow dandilions. I read that clover draws nitrogen from the air into the soil. We have plenty of that--free fertilizer for our lawn!

I am devouring gardening/farming books.

Garden update

Well, things are going well. The six new beds are in, along with all the soil. The surrounding area was mulched by my wonderful husband this weekend, including a large area in front of the beds to be used for melons, winter squash, and pumpkins. We had the mulch delivered in a truck, just like our soil, much cheaper than buying by the bag, and we were glad we could support a small local business.

I am beyond excited.

My carrot seedlings are finally making a mass appearance. I am doing my best to stay on top of watering, unlike last year.

I am confused about what is growing in one bed. Of the two cabbage seedlings I planted, one perished, and the other seems to be doing okay. Radishes have sprouted. I think arugula has sprouted. Broccoli may have. I was suprised that the watercress I planted didn't come up at all. Weird.

We lost one seedling of tomato pineapple to my toddler.

My seedlings that I'm growing indoors are doing great. My cockscomb is sprouting in its pea pots, and I can't wait to see how that looks in our front yard this year. I should have blooms by early summer!

There are a few things I can do, but so much of it is just waiting until late April/early May to really get stuff planted. I have some supplies ordered that have not been shipped yet, which is making me nervous.

My lettuce continues to grow in the front. Herbs doing well.

Need to plant some more spring vegetables this week, more carrots, radishes, and arugula.

I'm wondering when my asparagus will be shipped? I'm ready for it.

All the pine tree saplings I planted died. I plan to try container saplings this fall instead of bare root.

The compost that I turned has sunk several inches. I love decay.

I've got big plans for incoorporating (easy) flowers in and around my vegetable garden, as well as all along the back fence. I'll just plant as I have time.

update

The new beds are in. 6 cubic yards of soil dumped on our driveway and hauled to the backyard by my husband! (Not all of it was for the garden beds.)

I planted more carrots (scarlet nantes, purple haze) and radishes (saxa 2) today, 2 cabbage seedlings (cairo), cabbage, califlower (amazing), and brocolli (packman) seeds, dill (fernleaf), arugula, and watercress.

So far, in the bed I planted earlier, only the radishes have poked up, but I dug up a pea seed last week that had sprouted. I still have hope for the carrots, and I'm doing my best to keep it watered.

My tomato seedlings are doing beautifully! I have most of them in peat pots and my hybrid determinite in its pot. My pepper seedlings are also doing well. Got a tomatillo seedling too. I had trouble germinating those last year.

I planted my self-watering earth box with lettuce, and I am very pleased. It's on the front porch.

I also put three pots with 3 basil plants each out. I can move them in if it gets very cold.

I moved my sage to the backyard where it will get some shade and morning sun but no afternoon sun. I think it will be happier there.

Reflections on 2008

Well, I stopped updating, but I thought I would just write a little bit about everything that I grew last year, so that I'll remember!

Warm-Season Vegetables:

• Beans: I grew bush beans, Bean Festina, purchased at Park's Seed. They were so easy to grow and delicious. I plan to grow lots of them again this year and hopefully save some seeds too.
• Tomatoes: I tried growing Tomato Container Choice and Tomato Glory Hydrid. I failed. I did not understand how to harden off seedlings, and I started them way too late.
• Peppers: I grew two Pepper Golden Summer Hybrid plants. (Was available from PS.) They survived my inexperienced hands, and produced four peppers. They would have produced more, but we had a frost. They were tasty, but not that much different from bells in the store.
• Tomatillios: (Toma Verde from PS) My beautiful tomatillo plant was killed in a frost. I started it too late in the season for it to fruit in time.
• Squash: I grew Early Butternut Hybrids from PS. They produced 2 squashes, which were delicious. Again, they needed to start earlier and needed more water and mulch.
• Pumpkins: I grew Little Pumpkaroon (PS) and Howden (PS). I got one or two Pumpkaroons. The Howden didn't fruit--too late and not enough water.
• Gourds: Grew several types. Harvested one small gourd. Gardener error.
  

Cold Season Vegetables:

• Califlower: Califlower Amazing (PS): failed due to gardener error.
• Cabbage: Cabbage Cairo (PS): failed due to gardener error.
• Carrot: Scarlet Nantes (PS): failed due to gardener error.
• Lettuce: Various from PS. We had one really awesome salad from a red type. The bunnies appeared to eat the rest, sadly.
• Radishes: Organic Radish Sparkler (PS). A few of these did quite well.
• Onions: The onion sets I got from PS did not grow. I think maybe they were planted too deep or didn't have enough fertilizer. OR WATER.
  

These herbs did pretty well in containers. All from PS.

• Basil Large Leaf Italian (also grew in garden for son to munch on)
• Garlic Chives
• Sage
• Peppermint
• Spearmint

These herbs didn't work out, I need to try again:

• Fernleaf Dill (Burpee)
• Lavendar Sancho Panza

Update

Oh, my. I was hoping I had blogged when I had planted my radishes and carrots, but I guess I forgot. Anyway, I planted one round of those, and the radishes are getting big.

I planted a second round a couple of days ago.

Yellow onion sets went in yesterday.

My lettuces are growing beautifully. Sowed some more seed the other day. I'm hoping to keep us in greens for most of the winter.

Peppers almost ready to harvest! They are gorgeous!

Planted 2 crape myrtles, which I hope will make a nice hedge someday from the neighbor's porch. If they don't die. They came in containers, and I waited a week or 2? to plant them.

Front garden looks pretty except for some bare patches. Well, the one side. The other side looks awful.

Pansies and snapdragons are hard to start from seeds, but of the 2, the pansies are easier.

Started some ornamental cacti from seed.

Growing some ornamental kale for front garden too.

I think I have one califlower plant and one cabbage plant growing, but it might be 2 califlowers or 2 cabbages. I have no idea. Will try again on those in the spring! I am really excited about putting in some additional beds.

Tomatillo plant is HUGE, sprawling, and starting to smell wonderful. We are going to have TONS of tomatillos, I think!