Sorry for the long hiatus...

We are sorry it has been awhile since we have posted. We have been really busy with school ramping up for the end of the year and my work getting very busy preparing for our summer program and trying to get the academic year files ready. On top of that we have a fun weekend trip and have been fighting with digging up a bush (and small tree) and digging out the roots to make room for the circle garden. Perhaps, in that respect we have bite off a huge bite.

Anyway, here is a quick update in words with a future post coming that is more in depth with pics.

Good:
We have peas growing outside.
We have kale and cabbage starting to pop up outside.
Our seed starting has gone well.
Ethan's school cabbage is growing well.


Bad:
Pea tower is all but dead..... :(
We planted our cucumber and zucchini way too early and didn't realize just how quick they grow.. but they may be salvageable. We are starting the hardening off process and going to see if we can get an early set going and then plant seeds when it is a lil warmer. It will either work or not, but it is a fun experiment.

Not Sure Yet:
Wintersow hasn't popped up yet, so we plopped a few more seeds down in there- so it will either turn out that we get the ones we just put in to grow or we'll have A LOT and have to give some away. Time will tell.

 Frustrating:
How long it is taking to get the dadgum bush out. Well, it did turn into one huge bush and a bunch of smaller ones. Also whoever planted there had planted over nails and broken glass.... le sigh so it is taking forever. Dig, dig, dig- sift through dirt to remove copious amount of roots, broken bits of glass, and nails. Then shovel dirt to a pile on the side, to used later. Positive note- once all that stuff is removed the soil looks good.


What projects does everyone else have going on?

-Mom and E

Wisdom Wednseday

Sometimes, we hold wisdom and hope in our own hearts and souls. 

E's first thoughts about a Spring garden is: A bunch of flowers: Sunflowers, marigolds, daisies, you know those types of flowers.

My first thoughts about a Spring garden is: Earth, fresh veggies, freedom.


What is your first thoughts when you think Spring garden?

- Mom and E

P. S. look forward to some updates coming your way in the next few weeks- lasagna gardening and seed starting as well as a new E's Recipe!

Wisdom Wednesday

The LOVE of gardening:

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heat with nature. To nurture a garden is the feed not just on the body, but on the soul. - Alfred Austin


The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies. - Gertrude Jekyll


Hope everyone has a great Valentines Day whether you are spending it with that special loved one, family, friends or just a day of pampering yourself. Even if you are in a not so good spot love wise (such as a recent break-up) do try and find the little things in life that you enjoy and spend the day doing them.


-Mom and E

Valentines Day gifts for those who love gardening

Valentines Day Gifts for Gardeners:


As we are drawing close to Valentines Day we thought we'd put a little gift giving guide for gardeners similar to how we did at Christmas. Maybe your special one loves gardening and you are hoping to get a last minute gift or you have a family member you want to get a more personalized gift for. Here are some suggestions- hope it helps!

One of the most basic and obvious gifts for a gardener is a potted plant. It is actually the perfect time for it. Many gardeners would rather have a plant they can love and nurture that a cut flower which will ultimately wilt and die away.

I (mom) can remember one year in high school when I had a "secret admirer" who left notes all day with a riddle and at the end there was a very pretty potted tulip. It would have won my heart if the giver hadn't recently broken up with my cousin. I guess it is all about timing huh?




Listen to what kind of flowers that person is considering growing this next Spring or would like to have, but just have never "justified" buying. Try to make sure that you select a flower that is not only pretty and one they desire, but please be sure it smells good. Some flowers are beautiful but smell terrible. You don't want to evoke images of Pepe Le Pew (image from Wikipedia)





Not sure what you want, but know you'd like to get something in the garden realm? Here are a few links that might just help:


Here is a link to pottery barn, which has many options including live plants, terrariums, succulents, and outdoor garden decor. Prices, of course, vary from $20 something to high up there. There is wide selection though, and something for small, big and in between budgets:  http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/gifts/gifts-for-gardener/

What about garden stepping stones that you have personalized. You could put special dates, names of places that are meaningful to both of you or write out a sweet love poem with them. If you can't afford many of them but love the idea you could put your pet names for each other or a short love quote or line of "your" song:

http://www.personalizationmall.com/Outdoor-Gardening-c106.lp?fitemid=30421&did=286568&utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=COf_m-OCjLwCFSFo7AodKnIA1A

Know someone who likes something a little different plant wise - how about some succulents?

http://www.proflowers.com/succulents-suc

You could get a gardener who loves tea made from fresh herbs some lovely tea to drink while the winter winds down and make a cute little basket with it:

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade/plants_and_edibles?q=tea+bag&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US&search_submit=&hp_ref=primary&ref=related&page=1


Just remember that to most people it is the thought that counts and not the amount spent. Good luck with your Valentines Day shopping.

Wintersow on the porch

Here is the finished winter sow project- duct tape and all- on the porch ready to get the bit of winter we have left. Fingers crossed it works since we originally intended to set these out in December. We are a little behind, but do have some winter left (pic taken 1/25/14). Perhaps we will get more than a dusting- even without much snow it has stayed COLD COLD COLD!!

It's not very beautiful, but should get the job done of making hardy little seedlings. We shall see!

We did get a lil more snow a few days later- maybe it'll be enough- I think we will have to check to see if they are dry when it warms up.

Wish us luck!

-Mom and E

Garden Plan- Side of House

Here is our plans for the 2014 garden bed on the side of the house. Like the others this one is an in ground bed. The edging we used was broken up stone we recycled from a flower bed that had been around one of our light poles. Here is how it looked last year when things were just starting to grown. We didn't think to get a pic when everyone was looking lush and full, but this will give you an idea of the size and such.

First up is the end closest to the back. We planted cucumber and though they are small here they certainly grew!! In fact, they outgrew our little red trellis and clung to the window screen (thus you notice that for 2014 they are moving to the back where we will use a much taller system).

This picture is the opposite end of the house where we planted tomatoes and marigolds (and yes, we started them with the puny cages but built better systems later in the season).

 

What you don't see is the middle part where we had peppers planted. It is a long though narrow space, but we can't really build it out because there is the driveway and PB did ask that we leave enough grass for him to drive the mower down it. So it is exactly that wide. 

Here is our plan for this coming year (once again sorry for the pic quality- they were taken on the cell phone. I know you can do it straight from the phone, but I haven't figured that out yet- eventually the quality will get better). 

 Since the picture doesn't look like much (and is probably a little confusing) here is the key:

Yellow circle- Pineapple Tomato

Dark green circle- Bell Pepper

Pink circle- Potato Leaf Type Tomato

Light green circle- Banana Pepper

Red circle- Mexibel Pepper

Purple circle- 1884 Tomato

Yellow/Orange Hexagon - Marigold

Dark Green Diagonal Stripe- Mixed Leaf Lettuce Blend

Light Green Bar- Chives (or something similar to fill in)

Maroon Diagonal Stripe- Red Lettuce

We think these will work together. The only worries we have is that last year we planted tomatoes in the end where the pineapple tomatoes are going this year. Hopefully we won't have any diseases since we had no problems last  year. We also planted bell and banana peppers where the Mexibel and banana peppers are so once again crossed fingers all went well last year so hopefully no problems this next year.

Last year we didn't have much time for fill in crops so it was mostly tomatoes (which did well), pepper plants (which also did well), cucumbers (they always do well) and marigolds with some blank spots in between. This year, as you can see, we plan to have a few things that harvest quickly and we can succession sow and will hopefully fill in the spots.We may plant some quick growing crops like radish, spinach, etc. in between the tomatoes and peppers while they grown or some sort of herb or flower here and there to make it prettier. 

What do you think of our plans? Would you recommend changing any of it up or believe anything won't grow well together?

Good luck with your own 2014 plans!

Mom and E

Updated Wintersow Pics

We know we discussed winter sowing awhile back, but we finally got the dirt to do it. Hopefully we are not too late!! The premise is easy- if you put your seeds outside to sprout it will be more akin to how things happen in nature. Your seeds and thus seedlings (plant starts) will be more hardy come the cool weather when you first put them out. We are experimenting this year and winter sowing, starting some plants indoors and planting some directly into the ground. One of the coolest things about it is that you can recycle plastic containers (such as milk jugs and pop bottles) to start them in.

We ended up planting quite a bit this way:
Tomatoes

-Snow White Cherry
-Chocolate Cherry
-1884 Purple
-Pineapple
-Potato Leaf Type (wintersown- that is all the info they gave us)

Peppers
Jalapeno
Mexibel
Bell

Other
Tomatillo's
Marigold
Nasturtiums

Here is how they look now:

All we have left to do is get our duct tape to seal them better and write the type on to tape to the bottom - then out they go. We'll do another post closer to Spring when they start coming in!


We have never winter sown, and can't wait to see the results. Either way it turns out E had a good time:

We also planted mint for inside the house (plain pot).

Tomorrow we are going to plant an indoor herb garden with basil, parsley, cilantro, and one more but not sure yet - so when they start coming in we'll post updated pics.

Do you have any gardening projects going or are you planning and waiting impatiently for Spring?


Mom and E

Wisdom Wednesdays

Since our blog posts seem to be a little erratic as opposed to a schedule of sorts we thought picking one day a week that has a set topic would be a good idea. After considering each day and something that:


1. We would enjoy and stick with
2. You might like to read
3.  Had a catchy phrase

This is what we came up with:

Wisdom Wednesdays

This would include words of wisdom, interesting quotes, old sayings and such. They could have content about gardening, being close to the earth, parenting or other similar things.

What do you all think about our little idea?

Also we are going to try to do a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday post schedule. Hopefully, we will be able to keep up with it.



Mommy and E

Garden plan- back of house

Here is a pic of the back of the house last yr.:

It was the first time we had planted it as we expanded last year. We have new plans for this year!

 Obviously the grape plant has to stay (purple area). If we find another just like it we will probably get it. I'd like to have three there when it's all said and done. What is the black dot you ask? A chocolate cherry tomato which we will have in a hanging container.

We will have the cucumbers growing along the edge near the porch. The reason for this is that we are going to try and make a trellis and it will be easier to attach some of the string to the porch railing- that way we only need one or two side supports to make the trellis from. We may buy a trellis net instead and just secure it well to the porch railing. Our cucumbers grew well vertically last year but the metal fence deal we had last year was no where near tall enough so we'll see if this works.

We plan to have sunflowers where we planted onions last year (nearer the house to the stairs). I hope they don't block sunlight for others but since they will be in the back it should be ok. (Sunflowers are the yellow dots).


In the shady area under the porch we will be planting kale and Chinese cabbage since they need the shade (brown rectangle). We may plant other leafy type veggies as well.

We will also be planting some basil to help things out (see our companion planting post). (Green circle with outline).

Last, but not least we will be growing black eyed Susans. I love them (mom) as they remind me of childhood. It seems most of my family had these somewhere and we girls treated them as you would daisy's constantly playing he loves me he loves me not game. Plus my great aunt had them by her porch and it will remind us of her.

Any ideas of what we could add in that area or anything you think won't work?

We hope you are making some great gardening plans as you wait for winter to end!

Mommy and E

Oh Winter!

     In the winter I get a little case of the blahs, as does PB, as does E. I think I may be one of those people who needs sunshine and outdoor evening in the warm air. E doesn't get outside as much and it just drags us all down a little. So, today instead of complaining about it we thought we'd find some sayings, books quotes, etc that talk about winter in a more favorable light. The first one is great because while we are sitting here eager to start our new garden plans (we'll post more about what we are planting in the existing beds soon) and impatient with winter we should remember how important winter is for nature.

Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart. She withers the plant down to the root that she may grow it up again fairer and stronger. She calls her family together within her inmost home to prepare them for being scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. ~Hugh Macmillan, "Rejuvenescence," The Ministry of Nature, 1871

 "Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle ... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream." -  Barbara Winkler

 "In a way Winter is the real Spring - the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature." -  Edna O'Brien 


 This is so true:
 
Winter is a time of promise because there is so little to do — or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. ~Stanley Crawford, A Garlic Testament: Seasons on a Small New Mexico Farm, 1992


I had to smile a little at this one as it is definitely seed catalog time:

"There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter.  One is the January thaw.  The other is the seed catalogues."-  Hal Borland 


 Perhaps all we need is a  little perspective:

What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. ~Author Unknown

 "Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. "-  John Boswell



Finally we leave you with this little nugget-

In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. ~William Blake

So sit back and enjoy a little home time with a hot cup of cocoa (or coffee or tea), put your feet up and above all stay warm and cozy!

Companion Planting

     E has been reading up on companion planting. He has been trying to find the best "friends" for the garden so that they'll all get along this year. :) His favorite one is basil as it is termed "friend of the garden" since it gets a long with many plants and provides other benefits such as repelling harmful insects and encouraging beneficial ones.
     Companion planting has been going on for a long time. One great example is the three sister's garden. Corn is planted with beans growing up the stalk and squash (or another vine plant) around the bottom. The beans draw nutrients that the corn needs from their leaves and put in the ground, the corn provides something for the beans to climb on, and the vine plants give shade cover to roots and also act sort of like a mulch holding in water.
     We have done a little companion planting in previous years such as planting marigolds near the veggies - especially tomatoes. I'm on the fence as to how effective this is. I don't see many hornworms, but I do get a few of them each year. Perhaps it would be worse without the marigolds?
I can't say this with certainty since I don't have enough room to experiment. E has gotten into companion planting so I suppose we shall be doing more of this in 2014.
     What are our companion plans you ask? Well the three sisters of course, which is a new one. Also our other garden plans (yes we planned it all out- though knowing us we will change it a little) have been made with us making sure no foes are planted near each other. We will be combining more herbs in the garden. We have grown some herbs in the past, but kept them in their own herb garden. However, some go well with tomatoes and peppers, so we will be incorporating them in where there is blank spaces. (When we post plans later you will see that we don't have many herbs listed, but will instead fill in places with them). Below we list some companion plantings pertaining to some of the things we will be planting. There are certainly more companion plantings.

     We have learned a few interesting things (according to the companion planting school of thought).

• Basil grows well with oregano, peppers, and tomatoes.
• Beans do not grow well with: chives, garlic, leeks, onions, peppers or marigolds. 
• Beans grow well with: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, peas, rosemary, strawberries, Swiss chard and tomatoes.
• Carrots do not grow well with: dill and if planted with tomatoes they will have good flavor but stunted roots.
• Carrots grow well with: beans, broccoli, cauliflower, chives, cucumbers, dill, garlic, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, peppers, rosemary, sage.
• Chives do not grow well with: beans or peas. 
• Chives grow well with: broccoli, carrots, parsley and tomatoes.
• Corn does not grow well with tomatoes.
• Corn grows well with: beans, cucumbers, dill, melons, parsley, peas, squash, and sunflowers.
• Cucumbers do not grow well with:sage.
• Cucumbers grow well with: beans, broccoli, cauliflower, corns, dill, onions, peas, peppers and tomatoes.
• Lettuce grows well with: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, dill, garlic, onions, spinach, squash and tomatoes.
• Onions do not grow well with: beans or peas.
• Onions grow well with: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, dill, leeks, lettuce, parsley, squash, Swiss chard, and tomatoes.
• Peppers do not grow well with: beans, broccoli, or chives.
• Peppers do grow well with: basil, carrots, dill, oregano, parsley, peas, rosemary,squash, Swiss chard and tomatoes. 
• Spinach grows well with: carrots, chives, leeks, lettuce, peas and strawberries.
• Strawberries do not grow well with: broccoli and cauliflower.
• Strawberries do grow well with: beans, garlic, lettuce, peas, spinach and thyme.
• Sunflowers grow well with: corn.
• Tomatoes do not grow well with: bean, carrots (see above), cauliflower, corn or dill.
• Tomatoes grow well with: basil, beans, cilantro, cucumbers, leeks, lettuce, onions, oregano, parsley, and peppers.

Co - Plantings that help with bug control:

• broccoli and oregano
• cauliflower and oregano
• cilantro and spinach
• marigolds and squash
• nasturtiums and squash
• oregano and broccoli
• oregano and chives

Plants that are generally good and beneficial to the garden:

• Basil
• Sage
• Thyme

 So, if you don't plant any herbs, maybe you should consider some of the above just to put here and there and help out your plants. We will be researching more about planting flowers amongst plants and will share what we find. Thus far, we haven't delved much into the world of flowers as I haven't had much luck growing them in the past. To be fair though, I haven't tried much aside from a potted one here and there and the marigold since I've had E- maybe he will be the good luck charm. This year we have many areas planned that will include flowers so we shall see if we have any better luck than before.

E's Awesome Garden Plan

    E has came up with an awesome garden plan! He has been wanting to do a three sister's garden (corn with beans growing up the stalks and squash growing around shielding the roots of the others) for awhile. We just haven't got the room- you know what this means- expansion. We have a bush we have  been wanting to get rid of- it was out of control when we moved in (2006) and I haven't been successful at getting and keeping it back in control. PB always complains about mowing around it and getting hit in the face. So, if we find the time we are considering getting rid of it and putting a circle planting area in. If not we'll find another spot for our circle.
     Why a circle you ask? Well, E has plans for a circle garden. He wants the three sister's in the middle, with a path around and then potted flowers around that, a path and then root crops. To give you a better idea here is a pic:

 

Hopefully this helps- I know it's not the best quality-I had to take it on my phone, email it to myself and save it.

 Here is the key:

Brown/khaki color is the path ways.

Center green circle (lighter green with dark green border) is the three sisters planting

Small green dots with red border are potted flowers

Yellow Ovals are Cherokee bush beans

Outer green outline is root crops: carrots, parsley, purple carrots, and turnips 

I think it is pretty cool- what do you think?

P.S. Way to go E - wonderful garden design!!!

Thanks for reading- Mom and E

Heirloom seeds

      Heirloom seeds are seeds that have been passed down (usually in a family) and grown year after year. This is often because it grows well in a certain area, has great flavor or texture, or some other characteristic that has made it valuable to the family. While the term open pollinated is often used interchangeably with heirloom and while it is true that all heirloom seeds are open pollinated not all open pollinated seeds are heirloom. Open pollinated mean just what it's name suggests- the seed can be saved and replanted the next year and will grow the same as the plant before. Most heirlooms are at least 100 years old or more meaning they have stood the test of time as far as being desirable to plant. Although, some people have different criteria for heirloom- 1920's and up, 1950's and up - before GMO's- you get the drift. Either way it needs to have been around for some time.

Pros:
Heirlooms are usually more flavorful than hybrids
Heirloom seeds can be saved, thus eliminating the need for purchasing seeds every year
When they are saved they grow "true to type" each year giving you consistent results
When you use heirloom seeds you are preserving strains that have remained for many years
They don't produce at the same time allowing some time between ripe veggies or fruit

Pro's of Hybrids:
Hybrids do allow for more disease resistance
They have a higher more uniform yield (if you are wanting a lot to ripen at the same time for canning and such it can give it to you)
They are more marketable as they don't bruise as easy and stay fresh longer (one of the main reasons they were created).

In the end you have to decide which to plant or maybe do a combination of both and see which you prefer. We are not exclusive either way, but try to do a little of each. I love the thoughts of planting something that was used a long time ago... call it sentimental but there you go.  I also like a tasty tomato with lots of flavor.

I really don't have much experience as I have only been gardening a short time and only use a few heirlooms. This year I will be using more heirlooms so we shall see. I could end up being a heirloom girl - I like the idea of it. I will just have to see how well I do at growing and if I am any good at saving seeds.

If you are interested in heirloom seeds here are some websites to help you find some:

www.rareseeds.com
www.heirloomseeds.com
www.landrethseeds.com
www.victoryseeds.com
www.mariannasheirloomseeds.com
www.sustainableseedco.com
www.highmowingseeds.com
www.territorialseeds.com

Seed-Exchange websites:
www.southerexposure.com
www.seedsavers.org


Anyone have experience with heirloom vs. other seeds? Any advice or extra information- I'm sure many of you are more knowledgeable about it all. Would love to hear from you! :) Happy garden planning and seed picking everyone!

Mom and E

New Yr.

NEW FEET WITHIN MY GARDEN GO
by: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

EW feet within my garden go,

New fingers stir the sod;

A troubadour upon the elm

Betrays the solitude.

 

New children play upon the green,

New weary sleep below;

And still the pensive spring returns,

And still the punctual snow! 

 

 

 

 

 

May we all have a fantastic 2014 full of love, peace and lots of blooms!

- Mommy and E

 

Wintersown Update- Tomato Seeds

   



   Winter Sown Seed Update- Tomato Seeds








     As promised- here is the update on the tomato seeds we received from www.wintersown.org. The brochure that comes with this one instructs you on how to save your tomato seeds (hopefully we can do it- well hope I can do it- E is not so big on these types of gardening things). The instructions are copywrited so I will not tell you them word for word- I think the instructions may be on their website or I guess you can order some to get exact details, but I will give you the gist of it. The actual pamphlet has nice pics with it though to help you out.


     Essentially you cut the tomato in half and get the seeds out, clean them, and do a lot of rinsing and letting them sit so that all the hollow seeds will go to the top of the water. Then tap them out on a dry surface and spread them in a single layer and let them dry about a week. Here is a link that has a method fermenting the tomato seeds: http://www.mastergardeners.org/pdf/import/SGM/files/Saving_Tomato_Seeds.pdf. It is a PDF from the Agricultural and Natural Resources Coop Extension in Santa Clara County. It discusses a fermentation process, which is different than the cleaning method in the Wintersown pamphlet. I suggest looking at several processes and picking the one that suits you best.


     Since there are several cycles of clean, rinse, let seeds sit and repeat it seems like a long process to me. Honestly it makes me nervous, but I suppose it is doable (we'll find out next fall I guess lol). We may try more than one method and see what works best for us.

     The thing I like about their tomato seeds is that you can pick which you want and if they have them in stock you will get them. We chose off the wall varieties so that we can have our colorful and off beat garden this year, but for grandma's we are going to pick seeds she is more familiar with.


On to the seeds:


1884 Purple- Darker brick-tone variety of 1884 tomato, very delicious beef steak can weigh over half a pound. Since this one is more rare there are only about 7 seeds in the package, but since the most we have grown in one year are 5 it's not biggie to me. Though mom or grandma might want a big beefsteak to try. Plus further down I have Black Tomato Blend so we'll see who wants what.




Pineapple- Red and yellow tomatoes that can weigh up to two pounds. I knew E would like the name and they make huge tomatoes. It comes with about 15ish seeds so me, mom and grandma can all get a few to try out if we want.





Orange Queen-  Orange globes are plentiful, all purpose tomato- nice for sauce, slice, or salad. I got it b/c it is more of a medium size, but pretty color.


 

Snow White Cherry- Cream-colored cherry tomatoes are sweet, fruity and prolific, big plants too. Since there are almost 20 seeds I figure we can all try a couple. I just know E is going to like the white tomatoes since they will look so difference from what he is use to. I can hear his giggle now.






Kellogg's Breakfast- yellow- wildcard seeds ( I asked for a wild card to see what we'd get)- thin skinned, meaty tomato with a sweet, tangy flavor. Pretty good for a wild card.






Mixes: I ordered two mixes just to have fun with. I actually wouldn't mind if mom and grandma wanted to have the others (except for a couple each of snow white cherries and pineapple since I know E will want to plant a few of those).




Black Tomato Blend- Mix of sizes - all brick brown- It'd be cool to see what comes of these. If I end up winter sowing I may give some away to friends for them to grow- who knows.






Mixed Seeds- various mix from their stocks. I'd also love to see what we get with these.






Random seeds- in the last batch they gave a random flower mix as their "surprise", in this lot we got:

Mexibel Pepper- small bell peppers with a touch of heat- productive. Just shy of 20 seeds means I can share these are well. PB likes hot peppers so if it has a little heat I know he'll want us to grow a few.



Review- I got what I ordered - remember you don't have to order mixes and not all the varieties are off the wall in color or name- that is just what we wanted to order. I'm hoping to wintersow some so that we can know which germinated and give the rest to mom and grandma. We may not order tomato seeds for grandma if she wants to use these slightly off the wall ones. I'm not sure how many she is planning on planting either. My mom is sort of willy nilly like me and tries different stuff every year, but grandma is a hardcore planter. She is more of a beefsteak kind of gal- so if she thinks there is enough in the beefsteak ones for her we may not. Then again she may want a black tomato in there somewhere ;). Of course, she could seriously surprise me- she's known to do that. My grandpa on my father's side gardens as well, but is also a hardcore planter and he seems to love looking through seed catalogs finding his seeds. I'm sure I'll have some we don't plant and will ask if there are any he is interested in as well. Then again, he could get a huge kick out of talking seeds with me. All in all a pretty decent site, I can't wait to give seeds back to it.

Wintersown Seeds Update- General Seeds

   The seeds have arrived!!! I am not going to lie- it was like a lil Christmas present for me. I didn't expect them to arrive until after the holidays so when we checked the mail (Christmas Eve)- nestled among a few bills, some Christmas cards, and junk mail were my two envelopes.

 


   I am going to do the general seeds envelope first and the tomato one in another post. The biggest item in the envelope was a small brochure explaining how to wintersow seeds. I only took a front picture of it b/c it is copyrighted and I don't want to reproduce it. It doesn't seem too difficult. There is a lot of info on the internet about it, and once I get my supplies together and wintersow I will post how we did it. In a nutshell you get a container that is either see through or has a see through lid and sow your seeds. Then you sit them out to grow over winter. Apparently this makes hardy seedlings that you don't have to harden off, and saves you time in the Spring. It mimics what happens already in nature- seed drops and hardens over winter then when the weather is nice it germinates. Easy peasy I guess... at least I hope ours will be successful.

On to the seeds:

     They say on the website that the general one has a variety of seeds sent depending on what is available at the time. This makes sense as they are supported by donated seeds and money. So if you have extra seeds you want to give over feel free to donate to them (I sure plan on doing it later). There is information on how to donate seeds on their website. Since I ordered some for my mom at the same time (she received hers yesterday) we got mostly the same seed with the exception of two (I don't remember which ones now). We ended up with 9 different types of seeds, which is pretty nice and generous I think. It was a variety of flowers (mostly), veggies and one herb. Remember though it varies depending on what they have at the time so you never know- which is part of the fun of it I think.


 Ok, I promise I am getting to the seeds here they are:


Flowers:


Tickseed- (I have never heard of this)- It is a yellow wildflower with summer blooms. I think it is neat that they give directions for the wintersowing depth, when it germinates, when to transplant, what type of conditions it prefers to grow in and if it reseeds.





Black Eyed Susan- A lot of people have these around here in TN, but for those of you who don't know it looks kind of like a yellow daisy (at least that's what I called them when I was young- we even played he loves me he loves me not with them as a child).






Autumn Beauty Sunflower-  As you can see the packet doesn't have a pic, but I think we all know what a sunflower looks like. It does say it is a fast growing plant with huge blooms. I am excited since E is all about sunflowers.





Wildflower blend for full sun- Yeah a surprise!! I like surprises and think it will be fun to see what comes of the blend.








Pansy- (Burpee)- I love pansies and don't have any planted so I am excited about it. I think this is one my mother and I got different seeds for - if I am thinking correctly she got peonies. I simply can't remember the other one that was different.







Vegetables:


Leaf Lettuce Blend- we always plant some leaf lettuce since it germinates quickly and E likes results. Having a blend will be nice for salads.






Detroit Dark Red Beets- I love beets, but already have some to plant (in fact I probably have more than I need). I don't plant too many b/c I am the only one who likes them besides my grandma. I may ask her if she wants mine and my moms since she usually cans some beets every couple of years and I don't think she did this year. While there is not a ton it might help out a little.



Potato Leaf Type Tomato- I didn't know there was a tomato that has potato like leaves, but it said it grows sweet, pink fruits that can weigh over a pound. Since I got a wide range of tomatoes I don't know if I will plant these or not. I think mom, grandma and I are going to get together once grandma gets hers (I haven't sent hers yet, but think I will get her tomatoes so we can all swap and trade them for what each wants) and decide who will plant what tomato.



Herbs:

Parsley- I should have said herb singular I guess. I have had good luck with parsley every year.  In fact I left the parsley plant in the ground this fall and here it is Christmas time and it is still alive. We'd had plenty of freezing days and one or two very light snows, and I thought for sure it would die out by now but it just keeps coming back.




My conclusion on wintersown so far is that they are exactly what they say they are. They send a small amount of seeds, but enough for a small home garden to get started. If you are going to have a huge garden not so much. I like that they give ample instructions for trying to germinate over winter, as well as planting instructions for each plant.


Now all that is left is to save up milk containers (I had some but E planted his mini winter garden in it- more on that in the future-I'm waiting till they grow a lil more to snap some pics). So, I've got to save up some more, and get some planting soil.

P.S. I know I've used I instead of we a lot this post, but E is at his dad's and didn't really get to look through the seeds- that will have to wait until he comes back from winter break daddy time. :)


THANKS WINTERSOWN!!!!! Hopefully I can learn to save seeds and send some back- if I flop at it I plan to send a $$ donation - we'll just have to see. We'll update when we get our supplies saved up and sow the seeds.Wish us luck!

Cucumbers - our best grower

     I think that cucumbers are some of our easiest growing veggies- every year. Maybe we live in a good place to grow them. My grandparents always had them in their gardens as did their grandparents so maybe it is the area. All I know is that even when very little else grow our cucumber plants produce and produce well! Even the first little front flowerbed veggie garden we grew (which really only had some success and was very small) produced lots of cucumbers. I know I mentioned this in a previous post, but found the pics to show you- my son named the first cucumber we grew Roy E. Boy and wouldn't eat it. He carried that poor thing everywhere until he rotted. Here are some photos are proof:



This is right after he named Roy E. Boy:

He brought him everywhere- in the car

 He literally loved ole Roy:

     One of the best things about cucumbers is that you don't really need that many plants to get a decent amount of cucumbers (unless you plan on pickling them or something). We love to eat them and three plants are enough for us.

      We did do something new this year, which was to grow our cucumbers up a trellis (nothing fancy just a metal one you can buy at the store), and I think that is the way to go if you can. You could also use some wooden stakes and twine which would be cheaper. It helped keep them from getting too wet and rotting and we had no trouble with any weird diseases (though we don't generally). It was easier to find the cucumbers meaning we were able to pick smaller ones (though on occasion I grow a few big ones for E- he thinks that is pretty cool).

     
     Make sure you pick a sunny spot as they love this. It isn't a bad idea to mix some compost in for nutrients. Then you can either plant the seed directly into the ground or you can start transplants indoors about 3 weeks before the last frost. We have done it both ways and it has worked alright each time. We did have better success last year, but I don't know if that is because of the transplants or the trellis (probably both).

     If your plants bloom but don't produce then you probably have low pollination - one tip to increase this is to spray some sugar water on the leaves to attract the bees. Also, once they start producing make sure you keep picking them or they will stop producing.

If you are interested in growing cucumbers please check out the almanac website- they have a lot of information. http://www.almanac.com/plant/cucumbers   They also have information about common problems with cucumbers.

Happy Growing!

Mommy and E

Unusual Veggies

     E has decided that for our next garden he wants some unusual veggies to plant. He wants normal veggies in interesting colors or  different shapes. We are going to plant "chocolate" tomatoes, cosmic purple carrots, red lettuce, kale (a first for us- can't wait), tomatillo (can anyone say green sauce?) and Cherokee wax beans (since they are a yellow color). We are also going to plant that weird looking broccoli/cauliflower Romansescu (though I've only tried regular broccoli once or twice and had no luck). Currently we are search around trying to find interesting veggies we might enjoy growing and eating.

     We found this website for those of you who like heirloom veggies:
http://store.underwoodgardens.com/Unusual_Curiosity/products/10/

It includes a handful of different seeds- I haven't even heard of all of them. May try the cucamelon?

     The Gardenweb forum seems to always be a good place to find information out and it did not let me down this time either- lots of gardeners talking about what they like to grow that's unusual:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0923420527392.html

     Here is a lens with various types of veggies that look neat- especially the sea man tomato and the Jerusalem pickle plant.

http://www.squidoo.com/Unique-Vegetable-Plants

      For Asian inspired veggies check out the Kitazawa Seed Company  http://www.kitazawaseed.com
It includes some veggies I have never hear of such as Molokeyhia, which was used in soups for kings and is considered quite nutritious, as well as numerous other varieties. 

      What about pineberries- strawberries that taste like pineapple? It looks like you have to buy the plant and not the seed as they are a hybrid, but it is something I think would go well at my house as my husband doesn't care for strawberries but loves pineapple.

     The only problem we have is that there are so many cool veggies, but we only have so much planting space... perhaps I should expand again? If not I going to have to incorporate more pots and such. If you have any unusual suggestions we'd love to hear them!


Our challenge to you- grow something unusual this year- and let us know how it goes :)

Mom and E

Lasagna Gardening... sort of

I meant to post again earlier this week, but I have been super sick, and am just now feeling better (translates- I was able to eat something other than soup) so I thought I'd post something I had been working on earlier this week. 

    I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the method of gardening known as lasagna gardening. The premise is that instead of digging (tilling) the soil every year and disturbing the soil, you amend it organically. The way that this is done is by layering (which is where it gets the name lasagna gardening- it looks like layers of lasagna) greens and browns.

      Most people start with either layers of newspaper (several - at least three though five is recommended) or cardboard overlaid to form a weed barrier. Then layer greens and browns. Greens encompass stuff you would put in a compost pile such as vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea leaves, garden waste, grass clippings etc. Browns encompass such things as shredded leaves, peat, shredded paper, cardboard etc.  Usually the brown layers are twice as thick as the green, and many people top it off with some manure. Then you can either put enough top layer of compost deep enough to plant immediately or (like us) you can start it in the fall and let it break down over winter.

     Well, since we didn't have enough of everything we sort of did a lasagna gardenish (can that be a word?) deal. The section that had the most weeds last year is where I put the cardboard (the back under the steps). I put a lot of shredded newspaper in the front and a little on the side (it doesn't really get many weeds). We did put a bunch of leaves and quite a bit of green under them. I have also been slowly but surely putting my kitchen waste on top of that. We will put compost with manure on closer to Spring. We are not sure how our little "experiment" will work. We know the weeds will show up (since we didn't put thick layers of newspaper and/or cardboard everywhere) but are hoping our soil is more nutrient rich.

     We did this awhile back, and it has broken down some- it was much higher. We keep adding kitchen scraps on top. It doesn't really look pretty, but I know that later when we add the manure compost it will look nicer. We're hoping that the leaves break down enough, but figure if not we'll just add more top layer to plant in. It shouldn't be a problem for the most part either- at least according to other articles and blog posts I have read.
  
Do any of you have an experience using this method? Suggestions (other than we need more cardboard next year and top layer compost/manure)?

Favorite Thing To Grow?

So E posed an interesting question the other night.....

Mommy what is your favorite thing to grow?

Sounds simple right? Not for me... I kept listing veg after veg... well I love strawberries, but ours doesn't grow that well (in fact we've been letting it be our sacrifice for the bunnies that roam around)... then again I can eat tomatoes till the cows come home... but carrot tops are so pretty when they are growing... then again our cucumbers always produce.. and so on and so forth.

In the end he gave up.. lol

However, later I found E is the same - he loves growing it all so he doesn't have a favorite either lol

Here is a very early harvest from last yr. -it was small but yummy and had my favorite to eat- beets. We ended up with much bigger crops but I didn't get pics- (except for there weren't all that many potatoes)

So, fellow lovers of gardening I ask you

What is your favorite thing to grow?