The Worm Girl News

Buy a $5 Landreth Seed Catalog and save the oldest business in the USA.

2011-09-06T10:08:00.000-05:00

Please Help Save a National Treasure

Landreth Seed is America's oldest seed company, and they could really use your help. They need to raise some money, and quickly, if they are to stay in business.

Here's what Barbara Melera says about their situation on the company's facebook page:
To All of Our Customers & Friends

All of you know the story of Landreth and most of you know me, Barb Melera. My husband, Peter, and I have been working to restore this historic American company for the past 8 years.

We set about to restore this Company because it is the most historically important American small business in existence. It is the only American company, still operating daily, that existed when this country became a nation. Its founders were honorable men who helped establish and guide the agricultural and horticultural industries of this country in the 1700s, the 1800s and the 1900s. Landreth exemplifies American business and the ethics and integrity that built this nation.

On Wednesday, August 31, 2011, the Company’s accounts were frozen by a garnishment order initiated by a Baltimore law firm. If this garnishment order is not satisfied within the next 30 days, Landreth will cease to exist and a part of America’s history will be lost forever. I need to sell 1 million 2012 catalogs to satisfy this garnishment and the cascade of other indebtedness which this order has now initiated.

If you want to help save this piece of America, if you love gardening and heirloom seeds, if you care about righting the injustices of a legal system badly in need of repair, then please help Landreth. Please purchase a Landreth catalog, and if you can afford it, purchase several for your friends. Please send this link to everyone you know, www.landrethseeds.com. One million catalogs is a big number, but with the internet it is achievable. Please help us to save Landreth.

Although Landreth seeds are not certified organic, they use organic practices and have never sold GMO seeds.

From the guarantee page on the Landreth website: LANDRETH DOES NOT SELL AND, IN 225 YEARS OF BUSINESS, HAS NOT EVER SOLD GMO SEEDS OR PLANT MATERIAL. NONE OF OUR SEEDS ARE CHEMICALLY OR BIOLOGICALLY COATED OR TREATED, IN ANY WAY. WE DO NOT USE CHEMICALS OR PESTICIDES IN OUR WAREHOUSE. CAREFUL WAREHOUSE CONTAINERIZATION AND TWO HARD WORKING CATS KEEP MOST OF THE CRITTERS UNDER CONTROL.

I've ordered a catalog and some seeds. At this time in history when the existence of independent seed companies is at risk as more and more are being bought out by the gigantic biotech industry, it's important for gardeners everywhere to support the diversity of choices available to us for our gardens from independent seed suppliers. Please help Landreth achieve their goal of one million catalogs sold this month. And while you're at their website, consider ordering some seeds. You might also like to peruse their other offerings. The holidays will be here before we know it, and Landreth has a number of beautiful offerings that would make thoughtful gifts for the gardeners on your shopping list. Together, we can help save this national treasure.

Taken from Garden Girl Blog
http://gardengirl-lintys.blogspot.com/2011/09/please-help-save-national-treasure.html

London's Gardens-Regent's Park and Hyde Park Flowers

2011-08-03T11:23:00.001-05:00

This picture collage generated with Smilebox

Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners Garden Walk 2011

2011-06-25T19:38:00.000-05:00

Picture slideshow created with Smilebox

Mission Failure

2011-05-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

For the first time in 14 years of growing my own tomatoes from seed I have failed. At first, I just thought that the tomatoes were chilly in the basement under the lights so I moved them out to the greenhouse. When that didn't help I thought maybe they had a phosphorous deficiency and sprayed them with kelp spray. They haven't grown at all in a month and I knew I had to concede defeat. In the end, I think my beloved APS units were the cause of failure. I usually transplant the tomatoes from the smaller APS units to regular plastic pots but this year since I was going on vacation for 2 weeks in May I decided to transplant them into the larger APS units. I think that the tomatoes were too wet. Luckily, I have a wonderful local garden source, The Pure Gardener. They have a great selection of heirloom tomatoes. Some of them were the same variety that I had planted. My tomato season has been saved and I'll probably have tomatoes even earlier than if I had succeeded with my own. I don't have the heart to throw away my tomatoes just yet. The two Coustralle are actually looking like they are turning the corner so I may just plant them out and see what happens.

A Walk in an Oregon Garden

2011-05-17T18:52:00.000-05:00

Create your own photo album

First Garden Harvest

2011-05-15T21:54:00.000-05:00

The first harvest from the garden this year is a bounty of rhubarb that I made into Rhubarb Jam with lime and ginger. This was my first attempt at canning jam and not just making freezer jam. I can hardly wait for some on toast in the morning! Lettuce should be coming soon as it's about thumb size right now. Hopefully this week I'll start planting out the broccoli,cauliflower and cabbage. It was too hot to plant out earlier last week as Chicago set a new record of 90 degrees on May 10th. I have to admit I wasn't ready for an instant summer but cooling down to a high of 47 degrees today was a bit silly.

Spring is Downloading, Please Wait....

2011-04-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

I think this sign should be put in my garden as a reminder that spring really hasn't sprung in Chicagoland. After an 82 degree day and basically a couple of weeks in the high 50's and low 60's I wrongly believed that spring was here. I had finished all the garden cleanup and was excited to get planting. I planted spinach,mache and lettuce by the small bed close to the house. I transplanted strawberries and some garlic. I was smart enough to cover them with garden fleece so they are doing fine. Where I think I may have gone wrong was to plant dahlias and cannas in pots outside. I did think of putting them in the greenhouse but last time I did that I had a major ant infestation. I figured we were well into the 60's so they would be fine. Then came the last blast of winter to remind us we are zone 5 not 8. Temperatures were in the 30's for a high this week and we even had hail, thunderstorms and torrential rain. Oh, I almost forgot we had a bit of snow too. It will be a miracle if the dahlias and cannas don't rot or die from hypothermia. Then again I could get lucky and have the earliest blossoms around. Time will tell but I'm hoping that spring will quit downloading and just upload immediately.

Early April Flowers

2011-04-11T18:03:00.000-05:00

This picture collage generated with Smilebox

A Plant That Really Lives Up To It's Name

2011-04-05T15:18:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be interesting to plant some seeds of this Cat Grass(Avena Sativa) and see if the neighbor cat, Stripey, who hangs out on our deck would like it.

I guess that would be a big YES!

You could even say it was lip smacking good.

Looks like Stripey will be hanging out on the deck for the rest of the Cat Grass Season.

First Plantings

2011-04-05T11:34:00.000-05:00

I planted peas,spinach and arugula on April 2nd. The soil in the raised beds is well drained and early to warm up with the little bit of spring sunshine that we have had. I added some compost from the compost bin and noticed lots of worms in the raised beds as I turned the soil.

First Flowers

2011-04-05T11:28:00.000-05:00

The first flowers to bloom in the garden are the crocus and scilla. April 5th seems a little late but it's been a cool early spring with temps in the 30's and 40's.

So Many Seeds, So Little Time

2011-03-29T15:59:00.007-05:00

I was procrastinating a bit on seed starting but now I have shifted myself into gear. Here's a list of the seeds I have started so far and when they have sprouted.

FLOWERS(All started on 3/20/11)
Impatiens Flavor Mix-sprouted 3/29
Gaultheria
Coleus-sprouted 4/3
Verbena Bonariensis
Celosia-sprouted 3/23
White Foxglove-sprouted 3/24
Lemon Drop Marigold
White Chrysanthemum-sprouted 4/2
Angelica
Giant Hyssop
Black Hollyhock-sprouted 3/23, transplanted inside 4/17
Cardoon-sprouted 3/29, transplanted inside 4/17
Black Snapdragon- sprouted 3/26
Flowering Cabbages-Fringed,Sunset,Peacock,Osaka-sprouted 3/23

FLOWERS started 4/13
Morning Glory Mix-sprouted 4/20
Cobaea
Moonflower-sprouted 4/17
Jack in the pulpit
Datura
Castor Bean

VEGETABLES:
BROCCOLI-Gypsy, Early Dividend-started 3/20 sprouted 3/23,transplanted inside 4/17
CAULIFLOWER-Graffiti,Violetta-started 3/20 sprouted 3/23,transplanted inside 4/17
RED CABBAGE-started 3/20, transplanted inside 4/17
PAK CHOI-started 3/20,transplanted inside 4/17

TOMATOES(started 3/27)
Mortgage Lifter-sprouted 4/2, transplanted inside 4/17
Coustralee-sprouted 4/2, transplanted inside 4/17
Pineapple-sprouted 4/2, transplanted inside 4/17
Yellow Currant-sprouted 4/2, transplanted inside 4/17
Manyel-sprouted 4/3, transplanted inside 4/17
Tigerella-sprouted 4/3, transplanted inside 4/17

EGGPLANT(started 3/27)
Pingtung Long(sprouted 4/12)
Dusky (sprouted 4/14)
Lavender Touch(sprouted 4/8)

PEPPERS(started 3/27)
Ancho-sprouted 4/17
Piemento

GLOBE ARTICHOKE(sprouted 4/16)

LETTUCE- started indoors 4/13
Tom Thumb
Rosalito Romaine-sprouted 4/16
May Queen Butterhead
Radicchio-sprouted 4/18
Microgreens-sprouted 4/16

BASIL-started 4/13 sprouted 4/17
CUMIN

I'm going to try and update the sprouting dates as that happens. I didn't buy any new seed this year so I'll see if I have delayed germination.

In Need of Inspiration

2011-03-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

Customize a photo album

Summertime Treats

2010-09-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

I love this tomato! It is a heirloom tomato called Pineapple. I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to get any ripe tomatoes from this plant but in the last 10 days it has really started to put out a bunch of gorgeous ripe tomatoes. The inside is also gold and red which makes it a real beauty in a salad. I confess that I didn't make this salad but my husband did one night for dinner. I think I've ate at least a pound of tomatoes in one form or another every day. One of my quickest dishes is to toast sourdough bread, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, add a thick slice of tomato that's lightly salted and then top with a perfectly poached egg. It's a great breakfast and very filling.

I also dug of part of my potato crop and since most of the potatoes were small I made a new twist on potato salad. I used just a few spices and mayonnaise and adapted a recipe from a cookbook. Here are the few spices that I used. I think the Adobo was the key and gave a great flavor to the salad.

I was pretty disappointed in the flowering potatoes that I planted. I only got a few small potatoes from them and they never did flower. I may have to take part of the blame because I think I may have watered them too much. I had them in a raised bed that had the water timer set to daily watering and I think that it was just too wet for them. Also I planted them with beans and I don't think that worked very well. The potatoes fell over the beans and I kind of forgot about them until the bean pod was too big. The idea of companion planting probably works great in a normal garden in the ground but in a 4X8 bed there is just too much competition for space and neither one of them came out a winner.

Harvest Cat

2010-08-02T09:58:00.000-05:00

My neighbor cat Stripey seems to like the veggies as much as I do! The eggplants have really started to come on with all the heat we've had this summer. It's been the best eggplant harvest I've had. The Lavender Touch eggplants are doing the best but Dusky is catching up. I've had about a dozen Tigerella tomatoes so far. There are lots of big green ones still waiting to ripen. Even though my Lemon cucumbers are a tiny plant they have knocked out 3 cucumbers so far. Stripey is laying on my one Diva green cucumber. The beans have done ok but I won't plant them with potatoes again. The potatoes have just taken over too much of the bed. I may get motivated to put in a few more bean seeds to get a late harvest. Last week I planted a few lettuce,carrot and beet seeds. It's hard to know with all the heat if they'll even sprout but I'll give them a few weeks before I seed some more.

Black Swallowtail In the Caterpillar Stage

2010-07-29T15:06:00.003-05:00

Today as I was watering my parsley I found this interesting caterpillar. I did a little research on the web and found out that it's a black swallowtail butterfly in the full grown caterpillar stage. There are about 5 of these caterpillars on one small parsley plant. I've never seen them on any of my parsley plants before. I don't even mind if they eat the whole parsley plant. What a gorgeous creature and it will only be more beautiful when it morphs into the black swallowtail butterfly. Here's a link to the metamorphosis of a black swallowtail. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll see the caterpillar turn into a butterfly that will look like this.

July's Flowers

2010-07-21T20:41:00.000-05:00

This free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Raspberries Galore

2010-07-07T22:41:00.000-05:00

The raspberries are here! Thankfully my neighbor called and told me that my raspberries were ripe. I don't usually have to get a voicemail to tell me when to harvest my raspberries but I had just got back from a lovely family reunion in Oregon and I still hadn't been out in the garden yet. Her timing was spot on and I immediately went out and picked some. I wish I could tell you what varieties I have but I don't remember. I do know that the ones I transplanted from my mother's garden in Washington are much better than the ones I had. Strangely enough those also seem to not be bothered as much by the dreaded Japanese beetles. Oh, they are still eating a few but at least I'm harvesting more berries than beetles. I'm eating lots of them fresh but I also am freezing some for raspberry sorbet.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

Let's Get It Started!

2010-05-31T15:22:00.003-05:00

If this isn't just a party in a box I don't know what is. These little gems are going to be flowering potatoes and they just made me smile when I opened the box. Hopefully the potatoes will be as good to eat as the packaging looks.

This is the week that as a gardener I look forward to all year. The end of May is the official last frost date in Chicagoland and all the vegetables can safely be planted out. This is actually the latest I've planted out but it was a busy month with work so although I feel off track a bit I'm really right on schedule.

I planted the flowering potatoes with three types of beans. In "Great Garden Companions" by Sally Jean Cunningham she claims that planting potatoes and bean together helps to reduces the number of Colorado potato beetles and Mexican bean beetles. We'll see, but I think the flowering potatoes will look pretty with green, purple and yellow beans.

I also got all the tomatoes planted even though they we're looking pretty leggy. I just end up digging a trench and planting the stems horizontally. This helps give the tomatoes a good root system and allegedly an earlier harvest.

My eggplants were the largest that I've ever planted out so I'm hoping for a productive and early harvest from them. I am starting to see some flea beetle holes in the leaves but I'm hoping that they're large enough to not let that damage them too much.

I put in four peppers so far with several more to add. I hope to plant more carrots ,lettuce and beets this week as well.

It's been a hot spring so far and I hope that this bodes well for the coming summer so that I'll have lots of heat loving veggies to share.

Batavia Plain Dirt Gardener's Plant Sale

2010-05-06T21:39:00.004-05:00

Don't forget that the Batavia Plain Dirt Garden Plant Sale is this Saturday May 8th from 9am-12pm at the Bethany Lutheran Church near Route 31 and Wilson Street in Batavia Illinois. There will be thousands of nursery grown and member grown plants have been dug from members gardens. They always have a great selection of native plants and because they come from local gardens they are adapted to our local climate. Proceeds go to the Wild Flower Sanctuary and fund scholarships given by the Batavia Plain Dirt Gardener Club. I'll give you fair warning that the line starts outside early around 8am and most plants are gone earlier than the noon cut off. This is a great opportunity to support the club and get great native plants for an inexpensive price.

Lettuce and Broccoli and Cauliflower, Oh My!

2010-05-02T09:53:00.004-05:00

The lettuce in my "Salad Bowl" bed is looking good despite my best efforts to impede it's growth. I have to admit I'm not very good with the hardening off stage of gardening. Yes, I did acclimate the lettuce seedlings by putting them outside for two weeks but I left them on the shaded front porch and didn't get them used to the sun a few hours at a time. All of a sudden they were getting too big for the APS pots and had to go in the ground now! I pried them apart as best I could, stuck them in the bed with lots of compost, watered gently, covered them with row covers to shade them and then left for San Francisco for three days. Thankfully they forgave me and after looking near death and tattered they have staged a surprising come back. I call this my "Salad Bowl" bed because in addition to the lettuce I just planted onion and shallot bulbs here and will plant parsley shortly. That way I can just walk off the deck and grab what I need for a salad.

I've also had the broccoli, pak choi and purple cauliflower sitting on the shady front porch and with a few days of forecasted clouds decided to get them into the ground as well without fully adapting them to the sun's strong rays. I don't really recommend this to anyone unless they use row covers or shade cloth. It's an experiment for this lazy gardener that so far seems to be working out well. I mean who really has the time to be trotting your plants in and out of the sun every few hours for a week? Certainly not me!

Batavia Green Walk Friday April 30th 5-8pm

2010-04-29T12:13:00.003-05:00

Come on out and enjoy the Batavia Green Walk this Friday April 30th from 5-8pm in downtown Batavia. Check out the link at www.downtownbatavia.com for more information. There will be plants available for sale and many local businesses will be hosting information on conservation, the new Batavia Community Garden and worm composting.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T09:57:00.002-05:00

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria B.C.

San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

2010-04-21T20:09:00.001-05:00

Personalize your own slideshow design

April Blooms Day

2010-04-15T16:30:00.002-05:00

Digital greeting created with Smilebox

Hail on April 6th

2010-04-06T13:36:00.002-05:00

Tomato Seeds Planted

2010-04-03T17:39:00.003-05:00

I've really had to sit on my hands and delay the tomato seed planting. Every year I start them in mid March and by the time I can plant them out around mid May they are a bit too leggy and I really have to bury them deep. This year I was going to show a bit more self restraint and hold off on seed planting until early April. Today, I had to deliberate over which seeds to plant and I looked back on the last 10 years of garden notes. Funny enough it seemed like each year has been challenging for tomatoes. Granted, I do like to plant mostly heirlooms so maybe that's my issue. I figure why plant a tomato that has no diseases if it means it has no taste. I compromised by planting one F1 hybrid Polfast just in case we have another "challenging" summer for tomatoes.

I really like tomatoes with different colors so I think that turned out to be this year's tomato theme. I planted Golden Queen tomato which is an heirloom with golden orange color. I last planted this 2 years ago and had a bumper crop. They're not the prettiest in shape because they tend to split into twins but the taste is excellent and they have huge fruits. Tigerella was my favorite tomato last year because of it's red and yellow-orange stripped fruits. It was prolific last year and even though they're only about 3 inches around they are great for salads. A fun yellow tomato is Manyel. I like to alternate this one with orange tomatoes in a Caprese salad. Beautiful! I'm going to give Pineapple another chance because the few that I got last year were big beefsteak type tomatoes that were blemish free with orange and yellow stripes. I guess I really prefer the taste of orange tomatoes to the almost too sweet red ones. I am going to try one large red heirloom, Coustralle. It is supposed to have 3 lb fruits with great flavor however last year it succumbed to the late blight first so I never got to see if this variety lives up to its great ratings. I'm hoping for a relatively hot summer with no late blight and maybe I'll get the chance to try this variety which is the latest to ripen at 85 days from transplanting.

The seeds are in and I'll keep you posted on their progress.

Scilla Blooming

2010-04-02T18:58:00.003-05:00

I wish this was my woods but this is the scilla blooming at the Fabayan Gardens in Batavia IL. They have obviously colonized for many years. I am going to dig up some of my neighbors scilla(with her permission of course) and try and get my woods to look like this in a few years. I love that it looks like water is flowing between the trees.

My Best Garden Investment

2010-03-28T15:42:00.005-05:00

Four years ago I made the best garden investment ever! I installed drip irrigation in my raised beds and all the flower beds. It has been not only a garden life saver but also a huge time saver for me. I had been spending about 6 hours a week hand watering the gardens and it was becoming a real chore. I travel quite a bit as a flight attendant and I couldn't always be home to water the garden or expect my husband or neighbor to do it either when I was out of town. I had been debating installing drip irrigation for a while and being neither handy or good with instructions I didn't think I could do it. It was a real surprise how easy installation was. Believe me that if I can do it anyone can do it! I used several starter kits from DIG Corp Drip Irrigation
and over a weekend my husband and I installed them in four different gardens and all twelve of my raised vegetable beds. We also installed water timers on the main spigots.
Each timer waters a different zone in the garden depending on what I have it set for. For the flower beds I have them automatically set to water 2-3 times a week in the morning. In the raised beds I have the timers running daily for about 20 minutes. I use micro sprinklers in the flower beds and drip soaker hose in the raised beds.
As the plants grow larger and when mulch is added the main hose is not really noticeable and the sprayers are not very obvious. The only problem I have is that there is no longer a local distributor for the DIG products and you'll have to order online. Home Depot does carry them on the West Coast but not in the Midwest. WalMart has it's own line of drip irrigation products and it's adequate but I prefer the sprayers from DIG.

I have become enamored of drip irrigation and I've installed it on all my patio pots as well as the hanging baskets on the front porch. I think once you try it you'll be a convert too. You may even find that you have time to spend relaxing in the garden. Now I just need to buy a bench!

For a quick guide to drip irrigation here's a link: DIG Corp Drip Irrigation Easy Guide

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-24T10:55:00.002-05:00

The Joy of Seeds

2010-03-21T15:24:00.005-05:00

I've finally done some of my early seed starting and I'm having some success. I've learned the value of "fresh"aka new seeds. I started these new lettuce seeds inside in the APS growing system and 2 days later they had sprouted. I normally don't start lettuce inside but this year I'm wanting to plant them out in a pattern alternating some of the green and red lettuces in the raised beds. In one of the rows I planted Ruby lettuce seed from a few seasons ago and it has yet to sprout. Under optimum conditions lettuce seed viability could be about 5 years but since I keep mine in a cupboard in the basement and not in a fridge I'm not expecting them to last that long. Besides, when you compare the cost of buying a bag of the fancy lettuce with a few packets of seeds that will provide lettuce in the garden for 3 months it's a bargain to start with new seeds each year. Below is a list of the seeds that I have started so far.

Lettuce started inside on 3/10( all Pinetree Garden Seeds). Sprouted 3/12
New Red Fire
Tom Thumb
May Queen
Jericho
Red Grendbloise
Ruby(not Pinetree Garden Seeds)

Broccoli seeds started 3/10. Sprouted 3/13
Gypsy
Small Miracle
Early Dividend

Cauliflower started 3/10. Sprouted 3/13
Violetta
Graffiti

Eggplant started 3/14.
Lavender Touch-sprouted 3/20
Dusky
Pingtung Long

Pepper started 3/14
Ancho Hot Pepper

Flowers started 3/14
Impatiens Accent Star Mix
Begonia Bronze Leaf Mix
Dahlia Red Skin Mix
Marigold Lemon Star
White Chrysanthemum Paludosum
Hollyhock Black
Hollyhock Queeny Purple
Rehmannia Chinese Foxglove
Aster Perser Mix
Datura Black Currant
Coleus Black Dragon
Streptocarpus Weismoor Formula

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T14:44:00.002-06:00

Time For A Trim

2010-03-08T18:24:00.005-06:00

Here is my favorite Jackmanii Clematis in the garden in June/July.
It's not so lovely in March but if you want it to live up to its gorgeous potential you have to make some drastic cuts now. There are 3 different groups of clematis that are defined by when they bloom and each type needs a different approach when it comes to pruning. The Jackmanii is in Group 3(also called C) which means it blooms on new wood. Therefore it needs to be pruned to about 12-14 inches in the spring. I know it sounds drastic and the first time I pruned it this low after about 2 years I wanted to cry. I thought I had killed it. It made a spectacular return that year and grew about 8 feet. So get out your pruners and enforce some tough love on your clematis if it's the type that grows on new wood. You'll be thrilled with the results come July even if it's a bit hard to look at now.

A Fine Mess

2010-03-08T17:54:00.004-06:00

I usually try and clean most of the garden debris up in the fall but I admit I didn't quite finish up in time before the snow started falling this year so I'm left with a fine mess.

Saturday, March 6th, the snow had finally melted enough on the south garden that I could start cleaning up. I still have the north, east and west gardens that need to be cleaned but this at least is a start. It's beginning to feel a bit like spring. Yippee!! I did notice that a few daffodils were beginning to sprout. There is also the small bits of sedum and mum that are always early in poking their green heads out of the ground. I had a good amount of snow covering the garden for most of the winter so I'm hoping that it did it's job as an insulator and I won't lose too many plants. It's always a bit of a surprise to me that as soon as the snow melts there is new growth happening in the garden. I've left some of the leaves on the garden for protection as March and April in the Chicago area can be a bit tricky and we still can see lots of snow. However, I did get the garden in a bit better shape.

Year of the Tiger

2010-02-13T16:22:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Inspiration

2009-12-21T11:49:00.002-06:00

I can only hope that there is some gardening DNA in my genes. My aunt and uncle have created an amazing garden that gives me great inspiration. I wanted to share it so you could all be equally inspired. All photos are courtesy of Ernie Olson.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009 Garden in Review-The Other Veggies

2009-12-17T15:41:00.011-06:00

Provider Beans(50 Days)

I don't know if it was the cool, wet weather in 2009 but it was the best bean year I've ever had. My deep freeze has about 25 bags of frozen beans in it and we probably had beans every night for dinner from July until October. Not only was Provider an outstanding provider of beans it also had fantastic disease resistance. Even when the plant was going on 3 months old it just kept tossing of great new beans. I planted a second batch in mid July but I probably would not have needed to because the old plants just kept chugging along. The basket of beans pictured was the average harvest every day from maybe 20 plants. Needless to say my friends and neighbors had a bounty of beans coming from the garden.

Early Dividend SG Broccoli (F1 hybrid, 43 days)

Again, I think the weather had more to do with my broccoli success than anything I contributed. These plants were almost unstoppable. Many times I had forgot to cut a head off and it went to flower but once I cut the flowering head off it gave lots of large side shoots and even smaller heads. They were in the garden the longest of any plant from early April until late October.

Graffiti Cauliflower(F1 hybrid,75 days)

Here's the winner for most beautiful vegetable in my garden. The weather certainly is responsible for her. There are some years when I just cannot get her to grow. I think the cool weather again was just to her liking as I had about 8 of these beauties in the garden. Unfortunately, she started to look her best when I was on vacation in September so I didn't get to see her until I came home and my neighbor has placed all 8 of her heads in my fridge. This is a great vegetable for a crudite plate and will take your breath away paired with carrots.

Sombrero Cabbage(Hybrid)

I confess that I love to grow this plant because it's so pretty but I hardly eat any of them except for a few in coleslaw. It's got great disease resistance and holds in the garden for a very long time. I think there are actually some frozen ones out there right now.

Gonzales Mini Cabbage(Hybrid)

A great small cabbage that makes a perfect large bowl of coleslaw from one head. My only complaint is that it seems to be a magnet for cabbage moths. I end up leaving it in the garden too long and it gets full of holes from them. Still, I prefer this size cabbage to huge ones.

Dusky Eggplant(F1 Hybrid, 63 days)

This is a good smaller eggplant. The lack of heat this year made it only grow to about 6 inches but it was still great for grilling. The leaves get lots of flea beetles but it doesn't seem to affect the fruits too much.

Pinetree Lettuce Mix

I like this lettuce mix because it's all leaf and sweet lettuce with no bitter or spicy varieties in it. Also you can start cutting it at about 40 days. It does get bitter when the weather starts to heat up. I made additional sowings in July and August but for some reason they didn't sprout. Next year I'll start some seeds inside in early June and plant out as starts for a summer harvest. I usually sow directly in early May and have lots of lettuce in mid to late June.

2009 Garden in Review- The Tomatoes

2009-12-17T14:38:00.012-06:00

The 2010 Pinetree Garden Seed catalog has arrived and I hope to get my seeds ordered before the end of the year. Before I do that I want to review last year's garden successes and failures. By the way, all of last years seeds were ordered from Pinetree Garden Seeds 2009 catalog.

TOMATOES:

Ultimate Opener(F1 Hybrid, 57 days)
This was the first tomato of the season but it was only about a week earlier than Tigerella. It had average flavor and good disease resistance.

Tigerella(English Heirloom, 55-65 days)
This was my favorite tomato this year. It was quite pretty with it's subtle stripes and had great flavor. The fruits were small at 2 inches but were great for quartering for a salad or pasta. It was very prolific. Now that I see that it was an English heirloom I know why it did well in our strangely cool summer. Tigerella was also the last of the tomatoes to succumb to early blight and by mid September even they died.

Manyel(heirloom)
This was a great tomato to layer in a Caprese Salad along with Tigerella. So beautiful! Surprisingly tart and not weak flavored at all. Probably the most prolific of all the tomatoes until it was struck down by late blight in early September. It grows in clusters of 5 and had a good mid-size fruit.

Yellow Currant
If you want TONS of tiny thumbnail size tomatoes this is the plant for you. I literally could not pick all of these. They are prone to cracking especially after heavy rain. They are quite vining and took over a whole 6 foot concrete reinforcing wire cage from top to bottom and up the other cage. I actually prefer the taste of Sun Gold or Yellow Pear when it comes to small tomatoes.

Cuostralee(French Heirloom)
I wish I actually could show you a picture of the fruits but just as they were starting to ripen within 3 days the entire plant succumbed to late blight disease. They would have been my largest tomatoes because they were about 2-3 pounds each.

It was a very challenging year for tomatoes. Most of July was cool in the mid to low 70's. Perfect for me but the tomatoes were slow to ripen. The first one ripened around the 3rd week in July. At the end of August we had cold, wet rains which I think helped lead to late blight. By the middle of September I had to pull up all the tomatoes because they were rotten from the late blight. Also, most of the tomatoes I planted this year were heirlooms and I don't think they had much disease resistance. I'll try most of them again though because they were all great tasting and I think they would do fine with regular summer heat.

La Vie En Paris

2009-11-22T15:51:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox collage

New Yorker Garden Cartoons

2009-10-26T12:22:00.003-05:00

My husband cut these out of The New Yorker magazine. I guess I'm guilty of neglecting him while I'm in the garden for a few months out of the year.

First Fall Freeze

2009-10-11T11:46:00.010-05:00

This is not my plants dressing up for Halloween as ghosts. Last night( October 10) we had our first freeze of the fall season. I was attempting to eek out a few more days with the annuals on the deck but I think I'll concede defeat and let nature take it's course. Some of the most tender annuals such as the begonias are already looking much worse for wear. I did manage to get in all the tender plants that I'll try and overwinter as houseplants. The whole south side of the house is floor to ceiling windows so I get a lot of light. I may even get a bit too much sunshine as sometimes the plants tend to burn and scorch. I'm going to make a valiant attempt to keep the bugs off the houseplants this year. I've sprayed them once with Organocide and watered them with a mixture of water with a few drops of dish soap. If anyone has advice on overwintering annuals as houseplants I'd appreciate it.

The dining room gets a tropical look when I bring in the plants. I had some trouble last year with scale on the orange tree but I still managed to get 3 oranges from it.

I really hope I can manage to keep this 3 foot tall Angel Wing Begonia from losing all it's beautiful large leaves. My mom bought it for me because the nursery was going to throw it out soon(too pot bound) and we couldn't bear to see such a beauty destroyed.

Also thank you to My Chicago Garden for the heads up last week about the coming frost. I appreciate the early warning so I could get my plants in the house before the frost/freeze.

Flowers in the High Desert of Central Oregon

2009-10-03T11:34:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Before and After in the Garden

2009-09-11T08:45:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

My Gardenia Now

2009-09-04T19:22:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Tale of Gardenia

2009-09-04T18:52:00.002-05:00

I'd like to tell you about the tale of Gardenia. First, let's go back to about 1978 in a hot Chrysler Chevrolet with the windows rolled down. It was 100 degrees and we were on the flat plains of Northwestern Minnesota coming home from our 2 week family vacation at Grandma's house. I don't know why we were told this tale of Gardenia. Maybe my parents were tired of us asking, "Are we there yet." All I know is that my dad told us that if we were good(meaning no fighting and stay silent for the next 3 days)we would go to Gardenia when we got back to our home in Washington State. Oh boy, Gardenia! My parents wouldn't tell us where it was and I remember us kids guessing the whole way home. Maybe it's in California! Maybe it's an amusement park! We were so excited that after spending 2 weeks visiting with old relatives on farms we were finally going to go somewhere cool. We were perfect the rest of the drive home so we could make sure that we could go to Gardenia. The sad end to this story is that we were TRICKED!! When we got back home the truth of Gardenia's location was told. Gardenia, the place of our dreams, was really a trip to the garden to pull weeds. From that moment on I vowed never to have a garden. Gardens were stupid! They were lots of work and meant no fun all summer till I weeded the corn or whatever crop needed weeding that week. I would never willingly look at a garden again!

Fast forward 31 years later and gardening is one of the great joys in my life. I guess it was in my genes,although pretty regressive. I didn't have any interest in gardening until I was almost 30. My parents were visiting my home in Illinois and somehow we ended up planting a very tiny garden in the backyard. Those 3 tomato plants and 2 peppers didn't do all that well as I recall but it did get me started on this obsession. Now, when I look back on Gardenia, I'm grateful that it wasn't an amusement park after all but a life long lesson in nurturing, patience and the joy of gardening.

Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington

2009-08-25T23:18:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Kamikaze Attack

2009-08-06T18:08:00.003-05:00

This is what all my rose buds look like right now. Seriously! The kamikaze attack by the Japanese Beetle is in full swing. I actually lowered my organic gardening standards and I've sprayed twice with Sevin and they still come back in hordes. I do go out and shake them into a bucket of soapy water twice a day but it looks like I won't have any roses until September when they diminish. I think they are in full reproductive mode and hopefully will slow down soon. I've applied Milky Spore Disease for the past 3 years but I think they just keep flying in. I read somewhere that they fly in from 5 miles away so unless everyone in your neighborhood is battling them you're bound to have some in your garden if you live east of the Mississippi River. In my experience they love roses, raspberries, hibiscus, dahlias, grapes and morning glories. In the no good deed goes unpunished category they were imported in the early 20th century to eat aphids. I have to admit I don't have an aphid problem so maybe that's the bright side.

Vampire Protection

2009-08-03T22:17:00.006-05:00

The garlic has been harvested on August 2nd so it's safe to say that no vampires have been seen in the garden. I planted it last October so it definitely is a crop you have to have patience with. It had great big heads this year and a huge crop so I think we'll be eating garlic until next year's harvest. I have it drying in the shed on racks and will hang it in the basement later. I let the soil dry on them for a few days then just brush it off before I store them. I think it helps them last longer that way rather than hosing all the dirt off when you dig them up. That's the other pointer is to make sure you dig them up not pull them up because the stem will break off and you'll end up leaving your garlic in the ground.

Dinner's On

2009-07-28T21:24:00.003-05:00

I had the first tomatoes of the season today on July 28th. I had one medium sized Wayahead which kind of lived up to it's name. The stripped Tigerella tomatoes are also starting to ripen but are smaller than I expected. I'm getting a few tiny Yellow Currant tomatoes as well. All in all I'm just glad to get a few tomatoes before August. I have seen on other blogs that their tomatoes are late in ripening too.

I harvested 2 Japanese climbing cucumbers that I have climbing up a twine trellis as well as one small Bush cucumber. I'm really impressed with the bush beans which just keep on coming and have looked better than they ever have with no blemishes. I've been picking them daily and have frozen about 8 small bags already. The pattypan squash got a little big when I was out of town for 2 days but I sliced it up and threw it into pasta primervera.

Garden of Eatin' (not Eden)

2009-07-16T16:37:00.005-05:00

The harvest season is finally starting in the garden. This week I've cut and ate most of the broccoli. I made a big cold salad with it using red onions, bacon, mayo, sunflower seeds and raisins. Yummy! This is what the broccoli looked like in the garden.
I also dug up the first red potatoes of the season and added them to my tuna nicoise salad along with a few fresh green beans from the garden.

2009-07-15T12:31:00.004-05:00

Garden Daze

2009-07-06T08:28:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how fast the garden changed in the last 6 weeks since I posted a blog. I really haven't been able to keep up with it all. Sometimes I'd like to freeze a moment in the garden like when it was all flowering in shades of purple then it's on to the next season of flowers.
Now, I'm in the heart of the Lily season and then that becomes my favorite garden of the moment.
I guess that the changes in the garden are a metaphor for life. You're at a certain spot where you think you want to stay forever but around the next corner you find that life is different but perhaps better than that moment that came before.

Late June and Early July Flowers

2009-07-06T08:22:00.001-05:00

July Veggies

2009-07-06T07:51:00.002-05:00

2009-05-20T16:13:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the garden. Most of the mulch has been spread onto the raised vegetable beds and flower beds. I did talk my husband into building 2 more raised beds. We saw a great one from Sunset Magazine that I had him copy. I like it so much that when the rest of the beds need to be remade in a few years we'll definitely follow Sunset's example. Here's a picture of how ours turned out.
I'm running out of full sun areas in the garden due to a neighbor's maple tree that started out as a weed seedling along the fence line and now has matured into a 30 foot behemoth. I squeezed this bed into a previously unused area behind my rhubarb plants. It gets about 6 hours of sun a day so hopefully the Coustralle tomatoes that I planted there will be able to grow and fruit.

I was able to get all the tomatoes planted just a day after we had a late frost(May17th). I ended up planting 14 tomato plants. Cuostralee is a large red French heirloom that supposedly grows 3 pound fruits. Manyel is a yellow heirloom that has a citrus flavor. Tigerella is an early English heirloom with orange and red stripes. Pineapple is a heirloom beefsteak tomato with yellow and oranges stripes on the inside and out. I'm also growing Yellow Currant tomatoes which are tiny and obviously yellow. I have some Ultimate Opener tomatoes that I still haven't decided whether to plant or just give away. The plants look a bit wimpy and yellow so they may just end up in the compost pile. Here's how it all looks.

Spring Flowers

2009-05-10T11:20:00.001-05:00

2009-05-09T20:22:00.004-05:00

I planted my six hanging baskets all with seeds I had sown earlier this spring. They have white begonias, black dragon coleus, butterfly mix impatiens, blue lobelia and a pink caladium in the center. They're small now but will fill out quickly. The best part though is knowing that instead of spending $40 for each basket at a nursery I probably spent $1 literally on each one. Here's a closer look.
I also moved the rest of the plants to the shady north side of the house for a few days of acclimating themselves to the outdoors. Then they'll spend a few days on the south side getting some sunshine before I move them into the garden.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-06T16:33:00.002-05:00

Help Wanted

2009-05-06T15:55:00.005-05:00

I have this sign posted on my garden shed door but so far I haven't received any inquiries for employment. This time of year I could really do with a few extra hands helping me out. Why does it seem like I wait and wait for spring and then all at once things are growing out of control, weeds need to be pulled, compost needs to be spread. I really thought I was on top of things this year but again the beginning of May comes and EVERYTHING HAS TO BE DONE NOW!!!! At least that seems like what the garden is saying. I probably feel this way because this was dumped in the driveway yesterday.

By the end of the day I had shoveled maybe 1/4 of it(about 1 cubic yard) into my raised beds. This is mushroom compost, one of the best things you can add to your garden. Even though I make my own garden compost it seems like there is never enough to add to all the beds so I get some local mushroom compost. One of the best things about it is it's weed free and has been through a pasteurization process that kills pests and diseases. All this and it's a great low dose fertilizer too.

After all my hard work I had to get a little pleasure so I planted my broccoli, cabbage and pak choi in the amended beds. I had been hardening them off outside for the past week. Honestly, they probably could have used a bit more time getting used to the sun but I figured since clouds and rain were in the forecast I should get them out while I could. I'm doing a little experiment and have put a cold frame(open on the sides) over some of the broccoli and cabbage and left the others exposed. I'm going to see if the ones in the cold frame grow any quicker.

Transplanting Tomatoes

2009-04-28T17:18:00.004-05:00

I just transplanted my tomatoes into the large APS system and bigger pots. They'll be ready to go outside in the ground hopefully around May 20th. Tomatoes like to be transplanted at least once before they go in the garden. This helps them develop larger and stronger roots. So far, the tomatoes are looking great- much healthier than ones you buy.

I'm also hardening off the caladium, artichokes, pansies, broccoli, cabbage and pak choi on the front porch on the north side of the house. It's nice and shady there and protected from the spring winds that have been blowing. Next week I'll introduce them to the sun slowly. By May 8th I'll try and get them in the raised beds. I still need to buy some composted manure and add to the beds. I also need to get a batch of worm compost tea brewing as that helps the new transplants adapt to the outdoors.

Garden Magic

2009-04-24T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how the garden seems to pop open all at once. We had our first thunderstorm of the spring last night with lightning and thunder. It really jump starts the garden as everything responds to the nitrogen in the atmosphere after a thunderstorm. In a way this time of spring is like grabbing onto the end of a kite in a wind storm as it seems like all the garden chores pile up in a hurry. The seedlings in the basement have become plants and they want to go out NOW! The garden beds need a layer of mushroom compost and cow manure before I start to plant. Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower have to be hardened off before I set them into the garden. The tomatoes need to be re potted once more before setting out. It will all get done before long but I'm feeling the pressure of getting the garden season truly underway.

Spring's Sprung

2009-04-24T07:58:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Slideshow of my spring seedlings

2009-04-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

Earliest Spring Blooms

2009-04-09T16:55:00.004-05:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Winter is Hanging On

2009-04-06T09:23:00.002-05:00

This is not a picture from January but a photo from April 6th. Winter is not wanting to leave us just yet. Hopefully this is the last blast. With any luck I will be showing you pictures of daffodils blooming soon.

(Almost)Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-01T10:01:00.004-05:00

The Butchart Gardens, Victoria B.C. May 2008

Spring Surprise!

2009-03-29T15:48:00.005-05:00

Snow is not what I really what I want to see in the garden by the end of March. I guess when the weather man said Chicago is 90% done with snow by the first day of spring I should have keyed into the 10% chance of snow part. At least it's mostly melted in the sunny spots by the end of the day. I wondered if there are lots of minerals in snow because I swear when I went out to check the garden the plants actually looked greener and larger. I was curious about this and thanks to the internet I see that my observation is right about the plants looking greener. Apparently snow has nitrogen in it and is considered the poor man's fertilizer. I guess I should pay mother nature for my first spring dose of organic fertilizer.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-25T10:56:00.002-05:00

Seedlings in Progress

2009-03-24T13:32:00.012-05:00

My growing space is just about filled to capacity with seedlings. I really need some warmer weather so I can move some out to the unheated green house.

I planted my Tomato seeds on March 19 and I have my first few seedling sprouting on March 24. The tomatoes that I planted are Manyel, Pineapple, Coustrelle, Tigerella,Yellow Currant, Wayahead and Ultimate.

Here are some new photos of a few of my seedlings.

Broccoli, Cabage and Pak Choi

Artichokes
Strawberries

The Rose Queen

2009-03-19T22:34:00.005-05:00

Last spring I visited my Aunt Doris in Marin County California. She is a very inspiring gardener to say the least. The roses were not in bloom when I visited but I wanted to show you a little before and after.
I think I can admit that I have rose envy. I can expect a small spring bloom on my roses before they are devoured by the evil doing Japanese Beetles in early July.

The lesson that I take from my lovely aunt is perseverance. This garden did not become this beautiful overnight but took many long years of effort and lots of pain. I try and remember that when I'm doing my spring cleaning in the garden. Thank you Aunt Doris for giving me a gardening dream to aspire to.

First Signs of Spring

2009-03-09T14:07:00.008-05:00

Pussy Willows are beginning to bud out.

Helleborus is starting to grow.

Daffodils are up an inch.

Strawberries are starting to grow.

How the vegetable garden looks on March 9, 2009

Flowers in San Juan Puerto Rico

2009-02-26T18:18:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Seedling Surprise

2009-02-26T16:49:00.000-06:00

I must confess that I've been holding out on you and I have started many of my early spring veggies. I just didn't want you looking at plain old soil for weeks so I waited until I had a few seedlings to show you.

Artichoke -Imperial Star-Started 2/10 and 1st true leaves on 2/26
Strawberry- Ruegen and Yellow Wonder -Started 2/12 and sprouted 2/26

Broccoli-Early Dividend, Small Miracle and Di Cicco-Started 2/21 -Sprouted 2/26

Cabbage- Gonzales, Sombrero, Pak Choi- Started 2/21-sprouted 2/26
Eggplant-Lavender Touch, Dusky, Pingtung Long-Started 2/21-not yet sprouted
Pepper-Jalepeno M, Dulce, Red Marconi, Chile Anaheim- Started 2/21- not yet sprouted
Pansy- Swiss Giant- started 2/10-on 2/26 only a few have sprouted
Begonia-white-started 2/21- not yet sprouted
Cardoon-started 2/10-1st true leaves 2/19
Angelica- started 2/12- not yet sprouted

So the planting season has begun and I'm always surprised at how quickly the broccoli and cabbage sprout and how long it takes others like Pansies to sprout. There is always a learning curve to my gardening. This year I want to plant less seeds but plant them more often to have a continual harvest. It seems I end up with too much of a good thing all at once and too much of it goes to waste or in my case the compost pile. This year I really want to just put out a few plants like cabbage and broccoli in the spring since they tend to bolt quickly in the Midwest heat and humidity. However, I want to plant out a mid and late crop of each to extend my harvest into the fall. Gardening is after all hoping in the future so this year I want to plan a little better and eat a little longer.

Eager for Spring

2009-02-12T16:27:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Get Ready, Get Set, Grow!

2009-02-11T11:19:00.000-06:00

So, I finally quit procrastinating and started planting my earliest seeds. I think the 60 degree weather helped kick me into gear. Although there will still be snow to fall it's really time to get the seeds started.

I bet you're wondering how I know when to start my seeds as seed packages don't come with a message saying when exactly to plant them. I use lots of different resources from books to the internet. I like using Organic Gardening Magazine's seed starting guide. I also recently found a new seed starting guide at The Savvy Gardener that is also good. Seed starting does take a bit of forethought and planning so take a look at the charts to see what you need to do now.

You'll need to have all your seed starting supplies together before you get started. This basically means something to plant your seeds in and a seed starting medium. As I've pointed out in an earlier post I start my seeds in the APS systems from Gardener's Supply Company. Feel free to start your seeds in anything you like from peat pots, yogurt containers or plastic pots. Just remember that you are going to need to keep a special eye on them when it comes to watering. Now you need a seed starting potting mix to plant them in. Again I turn to the germinating mix from Gardener's Supply Company. I actually was going to use a potting mix from a local store this year, thinking it would be cheaper, but the germinating mix from GSC was about half the price and it's worked really well for me. Please save yourself the heartache of using regular garden soil to start your seeds. It doesn't do well for seed starting as the soil crusts over and makes it hard for the seed to germinate. Remember we want success for our little seeds! Okay, now assuming you've already purchased your seeds you're ready to plant. By the way, I get most of my seeds from Pinetree Garden Seeds. I like their inexpensive prices, quality of seed and an incredible variety of international seeds. In the fall, I've also been known to scour the end of season sales at garden centers for cheap seeds. As a rule of thumb you'll want fresh seeds but I figure it never hurts to try and see what a little bargain will bring.

Yes, Virginia, Worms Eat My Garbage!

2009-02-02T17:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is a warning to all of you are are easily grossed out by worms. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND DON'T LOOK HERE. If you really want to see something that is pretty cool take a peek. I'd like to introduce you to the worlds most helpful pet-eisenia fetida aka the common redworm.

Now you may be asking why I have worms in my house eating my garbage. Well, unlike you lucky people who don't have 2 feet of snow to walk through to get to your compost pile, my indoor Worm Factory allows me to compost year round. I can just walk into the basement with my kitchen scraps and put them in the worm bin. It's a great method for reducing your garbage bill and recycling waste into a great fertilizer for plants. Besides as a pet they virtually take care of themselves and make no demands for walks or petting.

Setting up your own worm bin is simple. I really went the easy route and just ordered a three tiered Worm Factory . Then, like you would for any guest, you need to make a bed for the worms in their new home. I just use coir bricks that have been soaked in water. Invite your new employees, the redworms , to set up shop. Then it's just a matter of giving them your kitchen scraps and covering it with either shredded paper or my favorite, fallen brown leaves from the yard. Covering the scraps helps to keep uninvited guest like fruit flies away. By the way your worms are vegetarian so the kitchen scraps should only be non-meat items like fruit peelings, old veggies from cleaning out the fridge, coffee grounds and so on. There should be no smell from your worm compost bin and if there is you're probably over feeding the worms so cut back on their dinner.

I recommend that you initially use only two tiers on the bin. Then you can put a third bin on later and the worms will climb out of the older bins into the new one. They will have left behind all of the composted scraps plus their poop and this is an excellent soil amendment for your indoor and outdoor plants. You can also put a container under the spout on the Worm Factory and collect the liquid waste or "worm tea" that also can be used as a fertilizer for your plants.

For more complete information on vermicomposting check out Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof.

The Evolution Of My Seed Starting

2009-01-29T16:56:00.000-06:00

I came across an old photo of my very first seed starting system(circa 1998) and I wanted to share it with you to show you that a seed starting system does not have to be one of those $700 specialty grow racks advertised in the fancy gardening magazines. You can see from the above photo that a simple shop light on a table or bench will do the trick just fine. I really am not even sure what I grew that year although I do see some tomatoes and I think I also grew some stock. No, not the kind that tumbles on Wall Street but a nice spicy scented flower. I also see that this must have been when I discovered Gardener's Supply Company because of the white APS . The APS ( Accelerated Propagation System) is my favorite way to start seeds. Here's what the system looks like close up. I really like it because you can see it has individual cells for each plant so the roots are separated from each other. This makes it very easy to "pop" the plant out without tearing it roots and it gets the plant off to a healthier start when you put it in the garden or larger pot. The biggest selling point of this system though is the capillary mat that the seedling roots rest on at the bottom of the cells. This mat wicks water up from the bottom reservoir to keep your plants moist at all times. Presto, no more dried up wilted plants because you forgot to water them every day. It's even better for us frequent travelers who happen to be out of town a lot and can't afford a plant babysitter. This system makes your plants virtually self sufficient. Unfortunately, it is not available to raise your pets or children.
Over the years I have adapted and changed my simple "lights over a table" growing system into something a bit more sophisticated. I admit what started as a simple request for a utility sink in an unfinished basement led to a complete basement remodeling. I ended up with great cabinetry to hold all my seed starting supplies and nice metal shelves to hold the shop lights. Ok, I went over the top but now I have a really great spot of my own to plant my dreams.

Gardening in the Snow?

2009-01-26T19:41:00.000-06:00

I know it seems a bit early to be thinking about gardening but I actually started thinking about the coming garden season back before Christmas. That's when it looked like this near my home. It's really is much worse now as I'm looking at the thermometer say 13 degrees. Anyhow, I ordered my seeds from Pinetree Garden Seeds the day after Christmas. I think of it as a gift to myself. I started planting my own seeds pretty much as soon as I started gardening and saw how expensive plants at the nursery were. Don't get me wrong, I like wandering around a plant nursery as much as the next plantaholic but my checkbook sputters when I get near the cash register. I like to call myself a frugal gardener. That sounds so much better than cheapskate. Besides why would I buy 20 pansies for $27 when I could grow at least 50 for $1.99. Ok, I rest my point. That leads me to where I am now. In a few days I'll be starting my earliest seeds and I'd like you, dear reader, to come along for the journey from seed to bloom. I'll be posting my success and failures along the way and showing you how easy it is to get started planting your own seeds. I hope that I can inspire new gardeners and old alike.