Waring Seasons

As is not too unusual for this area, we've been getting the occasional sweep of snow coming through between days of 50 and 60 degree weather!  Spring and winter are fighting for control and while I know that spring will eventually win out, it makes any outdoor gardening a bit dicey.  Between the snowy days, I've been working to harden of some of the hardier plants that should be going out soon.  The rest of the seedlings are thriving and I'm starting to run out of room in the window, so getting some of the plants moved out will help a lot.

In spite of the snow, some of the more long term garden plants are just trucking along like it's business as usual.  The garlic I got from the Farmers Market and planted last fall has pushed it's way to the surface.  Go little guys!

The raspberry buds are already starting to open.  At this rate, they probably be the first of our bushes and trees to have full leaves on.

The marigolds, tomatoes, eggplants and bell peppers have been transplanted into larger containers.  The Marigolds have had to move to the back window!

That's it for today, folks.  Happy gardening!

Salad in the making

Planting Reminders:

Planted my first two rows of spinach seed in one of the beds today!  I will plant more this weekend, weather permitting, and funds permitting, I'll start setting up a new planting bed for the onions and carrots.  Rather than have all the spinach be ready for harvest at once, I'll be planting rows over time.  This is called succession planting! Spinach actually likes the cold and tends to go to seed (bolt) in the heat of summer.  If that happens, it will turn bitter so it's best grown as a spring and fall crop.

Mmmm, spinach! This is what the little seeds will hopefully look like in a couple of months!

Also this week, I'll be taking the wild strawberries that were  stratifying in the fridge for the last month and sowing them in recycled flats (A.K.A egg carton saved from the trash)!

That's all for today, happy gardening!

The window's getting crowded...

Here's those pics of the sprouts I promised earlier this week!

On the left we have broccoli and the right is calendula.  In the far back are tiny chamomile sprouts.

And here's the Sparks Earliana.  I pricked them out and re-potted them in some plastic bottles with the bottoms cut off.  Here they'll stay until they're ready to move to their permanent location after it's warmed up a bit.

That's all for today, happy gardening!

Thars Gold in Those Thar Yards!

It's too cold to work in the garden today (what with little flurries of snow still dancing through the air every few hours or so) but we did manage to do some related prep work- we went and got a few bags of lovely Alpaca manure to fertilize the garden with.  Alpaca (a type of fluffy llama raised for it's wool) poo is great fertilizer! Their digestive system is very efficient, and while it doesn't contain as much organic matter as horse or cow, you can add it straight to your garden bed without composting it.  This makes it a "cold" fertilizer, much like goat and rabbit droppings.  Other manures are richer in nutrients and organic matter, but adding it directly to a planting bed with out letting them have a period of type to break down (compost) will overwhelm and kill your plants. 

Gardening 101:

So, since I brought it up, let's dive into composting!  Composting has tons of benefits for both you and your garden.  You can help eliminate noxious kitchen odors from your trashcan and save space in our ever filling dumps and land fills while conditioning and feeding your soil and the plants that grow in it!  And you don't need a ton of space or expensive equipment to do it.  My compost pile sits on an old wooden pallet in one corner of the garden.  

Google compost and you will get a lot of information!  To make things worse, a lot of it's conflicting.  Some say to turn your pile often, others say don't turn it at all.  Some preach a strict ratio of green nitrogen rich components to brown carbon rich components and others just toss in what ever they have on hand, willy-nilly.  For someone just trying to get started this can be a lot of stuff to absorb and sift through.  The truth is, every living thing will eventually break down and return to the earth after it's death.  The thing we want to accomplish is to make sure it happens in a way and at a time frame that's convenient to us.  For your common everyday home compost pile, you won't necessarily need everything perfect.  In fact the easiest form of composting you can do is referred to as cold composting.  Simply pile organic material -kitchen scraps, lawn clipping, leaves, etc.- where you want your pile to be and let nature take it's course.  The down sides of this are that it's not a very fast way to get compost as it can takes months to a year or more to get usable soil.  You'll also want to avoid any weeds that have gone to seed as the temps in the pile will not get high enough to kill their seeds.

I tend to take a haphazard middle ground which works for my purposes.  I don't keep track of green to brown stuffs, mostly because I can't control how much I accumulate of each or when.  I just throw all of my stuff that I get on the pile when ever I get it.  I do turn my pile and during the main gardening season when I'm in there everyday I'm probably going to be turning the pile every day as part of my routine, but if I forget a day or two it's not a big deal and it almost goes with out saying that it doesn't get turned at all in winter.  The one thing I do tend to religiously is making sure the pile stays moist.  After all this, it still takes a couple of months rather than weeks, but I don't need anything more than that, really.

There are tings you should never put it your compost pile though:

• Meat or dairy, these will stink, and attract scavengers.

• Cat and dog waste, these pets are carnivorous by nature and  have organism in their digestive tracts that can be harmful to people.

Some people make an exception to the meat rule for fish parts.  Fish is an excellent source of nitrogen and other nutrients for your plants, but you'll need to decide for your self if you want to deal with the smell and the possibility of it attracting animals.  To minimize both if you do add fishy bits, try to bury them in the middle of the pile.

And that's it for today.  Happy gardening, everyone!

My Own March Madness

It's been a typical March weekend for the inland north west.  Which is to say, all over the damn place.  Friday was gorgeous and sunny with our high temps actually hitting the low 60s before all was said and done!  Spent all day raking the back yard, clearing the area of old debris, pine needles and dog poop that had collected over the winter deep freeze. Saturday peaked at about ten degrees cooler and was overcast but not too unpleasant and I was able to get more yard work done before a light drizzle moved in in the afternoon.  Sunday...

Well, Sunday it seemed, couldn't make up it's mind.  It went through over cast to dark and pouring rain to even darker and hailing and cleared up around sun set to be bright and orange and beautiful for the last few minutes of light.  And today, it's been snowing off and on.

Hooray for schizophrenic weather!

Sprout Report:

Completely headless of the weather outside, the broccoli, calendula and chamomile I planted last week have sprouted have taken off marvelously.  Pictures will be posted later (Jordan took the phone to work!) 


The Sparks Earliana is getting big, putting on good sets of second (true) leaves.  They will soon have to be transferred to their second home.  The marigolds are also doing fantastically, with a second set of true leaves starting to emerge!  I got these Harlequin Marigolds because I just loved the name and their fantastic vibrant color when I spotted them in my Baker's Creek seed catalog, but as it turns out, Marigolds are a fantastic companion plants in your veggie garden!  They have been shown to both repel pest insects and attract beneficials!  I'd recommend growing some for your own garden!

Is That Spring in the Air?

Gardening 101:  Nature's Natural Helpers

Spring temps are here this weekend! I was doing some general maintenance and clean up all around the garden and house yesterday, when I spotted a parasitic wasp sunning herself on the lid of my trash can! Wish I had my camera because it's the first time I've actually seen one of these lovelies out side of more than books and internet websites. I sat and watched her for the whole few minutes she sat there sunned. She was obviously enjoying the warm weather as much as I was.  I hope to try some companion planting this year to attract more of them! 

Parasitic wasps are wonderful beneficials in your garden.  As the name implies, they use the peskier insects in the garden, such as tomato horn worms or aphids to complete their life cycle.  Females lay their eggs on- or in- other bugs or their eggs and the young hatch, feed on and often pupate in the host bug.  Adults emerge, mate and go off to find even more pests to pester!  There are usually multiple generations laid and hatched in just one season, and just a few of these lovelies can do more to rid your garden of offending fiends that any amount of bug spray.  So instead of breaking out the chemicals at the first sign of spring insect activity, try planting some flowering perennials to attract some of Mother Nature's helpers and provide habitat in which they can over winter to get a early start for the next year, and before you reach to swat that bug, stop and take a closer look- it might be friendly!

Make My Garden Grow!

Planting Reminders: 


Time to get you six week seeds started!  We're  planting broccoli and seed potatoes here as well as Chamomile and Calendula.  Normally the potatoes would go straight to the garden but after the winter storms that rolled through here last week it's still a bit cold  so we're going to holds off for an other week.  Next week we'll see if the weather will be cooperative enough to direct sow some spinach seeds into the garden.  If not, I might cover how to make your own cold frame!


Sprout Report:


The Earliana tomatoes are really living up to their name!  They're already taller than the Amaranth sprouts!

Here's a picture of all the babies together.  And there's still more to come!

That's it for today.  Happy gardening everyone!

All is Quiet Under the Snow

Not much news or updates to share this week.  We've got a nice late season dump of snow and it's cold as the dickens!  I can't wait for the spring thaw in a another 8 weeks or so.  Sprouts are growing fast and the Sparks Earliana tomatoes are living up to their name.  Their almost as big as the Amaranth already!

For those still hunting for that particular plant variety, Mother Earth News introduced this Seed Finder this week.  Check it out!

A Garden Rainbow!

Growth Report:

More and more plant babies are coming up every day!  The snapdragon sprouts are growing fast, and they’ll need to be thinned out before they start over crowding.

The first of the Amaranth is growing quickly, which is pretty typical of this fast growing annual.

And right next to them, our soon to be blooming Marigolds are coming up to greet the world in full force!

Spotlight Plant: Amaranth!

Winter Chill

Gardening 101:

Today we’ll discus something that may be a critical factor in your success or failure of getting those little seeds you’ve planted to germinate: Stratification!  What the heck is stratification?  Well, basically it’s making a faux winter for your seeds so that they will “wake up” and grow when planted in the spring.   Now, I have to admit, I had never heard of this until a couple of years ago when I cracked open a book on starting one’s own medicinal herb garden.  The reason would probably be that most commercially sold seeds are hybrids; they are designed to just pop up and start growing as soon as you give them some soil and water.  If you buy your seeds from big box stores, chances are you will probably never have to worry or bother about this particular gardening technique.  But, if you ever want to start planting native or woody  plants, you may soon find a need to know.  And even if you don’t, I personally feel this is a technique that should be learned and passed on to the next generations.  Gardening secrets should never be lost! 
If you’re worried about whether or not your seeds will need to be stratified, the easiest way to find out will be to check the back of the seed pack.  Even if the seeds would normally need treatment, sometime the company you’ve ordered your seeds from will have done the work and stratified the seeds for you before shipping them, but if you decide to save the seeds from those plants for next year, you’ll need to remember which ones need to be winterized!

There are quite a few techniques you can use to stratify your seeds.  One simple method is to sow your seeds where you want them to grow in the fall and let nature do the work.  This has it’s disadvantages, though.  Seeds can be eaten by birds, blown by the wind to land in places you don’t want them growing or be killed by weather rather than helped.  Many gardeners will instead use the more controlled conditions of their own refrigerators or freezers.  Put the seeds into moist (not wet) peat or vermiculite and into a container that will go into your fridge or freezer for for 4 to 6 weeks before you want to start your seeds indoors.  And that’s it!

A Touch of Green!

Planting Reminders: 

For those in our hardiness zone, now’s the time to start your 8 week plants!  For our garden, that includes Tomato, Eggplant, Pepper, two different kinds of Amaranth, Marigolds, Bee Balm and Canterbury bells.  Wow, all that on just one week!





Growth Report:

The Garden Darling

Gardening 101:

So, before we get started making those big beautiful gardens full of yummy things to eat, we should start exploring some gardening terminology.  Since it was mentioned in the previous post and will be again in later logs (and quite frequently at that) today we’ll cover soil pH!

Simply put, the pH of your soil is a measure of how acidic or alkaline it is.  It should go with out saying that too much of one or the other is a bad thing!  But even small variables can have a big effect on your plants.  The acidity or basicity of the soil a plant is grown in will affect the chemical forms of the nutrients present in the ground and in turn affect how the plants can absorb them. So, how do you tell how acidic your soil is?  Well, first you’ll probably need to get a soil test done.  You can get testing kits from your local university extension office or home improvements store.  Make sure to read and follow the instructions exactly: failure to do so can result in false or inaccurate results!  The pH of your soil is usually expressed as a number.  The higher the number the more alkaline the soil, and the lower, the more acid respectively.

Once you know how acidic (or not) your dirt is, you can plan on how to plant your garden space or make amendments to the soil. Many different plants have different preferences for how they like their soil but they also have a wide range of tolerances. For a vegetable garden, a good place to aim for is a pH of 6.5- that’s slightly acidic.  Don’t worry too much about being exact right away.  It takes time for amendments added to the soil to actually fully integrate.  Instead, focus on placing your seedling transplants in which ever areas are better suited for them and work towards establishing healthy, balanced soil as you go.  another option is to create raised planting beds and add good organic soil from a garden center.  It will take a lot less time and effort starting with soil has been prepared for you, but be careful of your sources and make sure that it’s all coming from an organic source!


Spotlight Plant: Tomato!

Don't Make Me Cry...

Planting reminders!

There's still time to start some of your early plants indoors but you need to get on it if you want them to get the best head start before your transplant date, which is usually the last frost date for your hardiness zone.  For our area, which is zone 6b, that's around April 15th.  Onions and chives are the plants that need to get the earliest start for the season, so if you didn't sow them into your desired garden spot last fall, start them indoors now!  Another plant that needs an early start in this cold climate is Lavender.  Sow it at the same time as your onions and make sure hey get plenty of light as they need it to germinate.


Spotlight Plant: Onion!

Digging Our Fist Day!

Founding Father and Avid Gardener.

Thomas Jefferson once said, "Though an old man I am but a young gardener." 

Actually, he had a lot to say about the subject of gardening, but we'll get to that later.  

It is on this subject that I too want to gain, and hopefully contribute, my own wisdom.  Ever since becoming a mother, I've been hyper-aware of my surroundings.  What is it that I'm giving my child?  How am I nurturing her, both physically and mentally for the future?  This was the train of thought that led me to desire- crave really- to cultivate my own little garden;  I wanted a place where I could grow food for my family and know exactly what has gone into it and a place where I can pass down traditions and secrets both old and new to the generation I've brought into this world.

I'm only a beginner, and though an adult, I'm a very young gardener, and pruning and feeding a few already well established rose bushes is a far cry from the toil and sweat that goes into growing a flower and vegetable garden from scratch.  So, I've decided to record my trials, tribulations and triumphs here for amusement as well as education (both yours and mine)!  I will give compiled growing information for all on the fruits, veggies and flowers I attempt this year, spot light some of my favorite varieties and give general tips for organic gardening as I pick them up.

Even if it's a complete failure, as long as we're all having a good time I'll consider it a roaring success!