24 May 2013 No Comments

Kids and Seeds

As our school year winds to a close, the kids are dutifully preparing for next year, eager for another season in the garden. We’ve planted our seeds, watched them grow and have reaped our bounty. Now comes the question: What to do with the seeds?

Why sell them, of course! We’re forward-thinking self-sustaining gardeners with a mind for planning, and we know that if we sell some of our seeds, we’ll have enough money to purchase more nifty magnifying glasses, spray bottles, worm poop and the like!  (We can grow and harvest seeds, but we’re NOT harvesting worm poop.)

And where are we going to store our seeds?  How about these fabulous seed packets?

seed packet variety

Aren’t they divine?  The kids made them and it was so easy. First, we sat in our circle of creativity. More

by gardenfrisk in School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: , , , , , , , ,

20 May 2013 No Comments

Planting Sweet Potato Slips

Wow. It’s finally happened. My sweet potato slips have sprouted!

sweet potato slips have sprouted

Aren’t they wonderful? Now mind you, not all of them have sprouted. As with humans, you have your early bloomers and your late bloomers and so it goes with these little beauties. But don’t dismay–Mother Nature has a plan! By allowing only a few to sprout, she’s encouraging you to “stagger” your planting.

“Stagger my planting? What the heck does that mean?”

Simply put, you plant a few slips this weekend, a few next weekend and continue until all your sprouts have been planted in ground. While it’s great fun to reap a HUGE harvest at once, who’s going to eat all those sweet potatoes? Seriously, I like sweet potato pie and sweet mashed potatoes with maple, brown sugar and OJ as much as the next gal, but we must set limits.  And these gorgeous goldens will last longer in ground than in your pantry.

Trust me. The kids and I have seen this with our very own eyes. Besides, they get bigger if you leave them in ground and who doesn’t enjoy a big, fat sweet potato drenched in cinnamon butter? Mmmm. This is why we grow them. :)

To plant, place entire potato and sprouts in ground and water well. Speaking of wells, do create that “well” around your new sprouts to retain the water and keep them moist. It will ensure a strong start on their rather long growing season. Sweet potatoes take about 3 – 4 months to fully mature. Can you say fall delicacy?

planting sweet slips

You can also pluck the sprouts from the potato body and plant them alone. If you go with this method, wait until you have a well-developed root network (it will be stringy and hairy) before you plant in your garden and moisture is a must.

planting sweet slip sprouts

But only in the beginning. Once established, sweet potatoes will be fine if you forget to water a day or two. They also prefer a sandy soil versus deep, dark and moist. Another reason this Florida gardener loves them so much!

If you haven’t started your slips, it’s not too late. Check this earlier post for how-to instructions.

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , ,

16 May 2013 No Comments

If You See Poop…

It’s a telltale sign. The poop looks like this…

hornworm poop

The beast looks like this…

meet the tomato hornworm

It’s the tomato hornworm and not a good thing for your tomato plants. Look for him. He’s there, somewhere, albeit hard to find. This is a closeup shot taken so you’ll know what you’re looking for, but this fat fella blends in well–and I mean REALLY well, so be vigilant and don’t give up. If you see poop, he’s there.

An easier sign to detect the presence of tomato hornworms is the abundance of bald stems.

tomato devoured by hornworm

No leaves, just stems. (He needs something to climb on, doesn’t he?) He’s there, in the middle of the plant. Can you see how he’s the same color as the leaves? 

Yep. Trust me. This one camouflages well, so look watch for poop or stems. If you see either one, slip on your gloves and get to plucking.  Definitely dispatch this guy from your garden or say goodbye to your tomato plants.

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , ,

09 May 2013 2 Comments

April Showers, May Flowers

While many of you are currently welcoming your favorite blooms, a few are stuck in cold and snow. And I should know–just returned from a conference in Kansas City MO where it snowed. In May!

Crazy. Back in Florida, my flowers are in full bloom. From the gardenias—one of my vivid connection to my childhood…

 gardenia morning glory

 …to the jasmine, I’m treated to the decadent scents of spring.

jasmine in bloom

My Gerber daisies are blooming, but while pretty, they have no fragrance. None that I can detect merely passing them.

Clipping a gardenia, I place it by my kitchen sink (because I spend a lot of time there). Not only can I behold it with my eyes, but breathe in its sweet perfume.

Life is busy. I’m busy. Growing flowers gives me pause. Unlike my vegetables where I reap the reward of food, flowers are simply aesthetic, grown for their beauty alone. But indulging in their glory is a reward in and of itself. It reminds me of the little things in life, the sweet moments, the calm between storms.

Flowers remind me to breathe. Slow down, and just breathe.

No mad dash to pull weeds, no heated job of harvest, just be. I don’t know about you, but it’s a concept I need reminding now and again.

 

by gardenfrisk in Savory vignettes - tidbits of life discovered along the way Tags: , , , , , , ,

07 May 2013 No Comments

Don’t Forget to Pinch!

No, I’m not talking fannies. St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone so you’ve missed your opportunity there, but you still have your tomatoes to look forward to pinching. As the weather warms up and the rains fall (the sprinklers shower), they’ll need it. And it’s simple. While you’re strolling through your garden admiring your handiwork (give Mother Nature a little credit, else she dish out a storm of trouble), check your tomatoes for these little suckers. I’m talking about that sprout of a growth emerging between in the “Y” of the branches.

 pinch it

Once you start looking, you’ll notice them everywhere. When you see them, pinch them off. Yep, remove those suckers so that your tomato plant will funnel its growing energy into the main stalks of the plant. No sense wasting time growing a bunch of scraggly branches when you want nice full tomatoes that come from a strong plant. A heavy limbed plant that doesn’t need any more weight than the weight of those ruby-red gems you plan for your next salad–or sauce.

You’ll also want to think about pruning. When your plant reaches a height of say 3 feet, consider pruning further growth by clipping it back. Again, the goal here is to keep it strong and robust for healthy tomato production.

meet the tomato hornworm

While you’re out there, check for signs of this beast. The last thing you want is to invest your time and energy into growing beautiful tomatoes only to have this guy devour your plant in the space of an afternoon. It’s the tomato hornworm and trust me, he will, given the chance. But he camouflages well, so be diligent and check under your leaves, around your stalk. And if you see large droppings of poop on your leaves, don’t give up. It means Mr. Hornworm has paid you a visit and is likely still munching and crunching.

Then sit back, fix that glass of Rosemary Lemonade and enjoy your garden. Because really, other than eating, this is the joy of life. :)

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening

30 Apr 2013 2 Comments

Planting Peanuts

These delightful little nuts are a joy to grow.  Not only do they mature through the summer season, they take their time doing so–while YOU go on vacation!  Yep, plant these puppies in April/May and check back in July/August to reap your bounty!

peanut roots

Okay, just kidding.  You don’t want to leave anything alone that long–except maybe your bathroom scale–because who knows what could pay your garden a visit in the meantime?  Not that peanuts are prone to insects or disease, they aren’t really.  Pretty tolerant from what I can see and living with me–plants need to be tough.  I vacation!  I write!  I have other things to do!  (Don’t we all?)

That said, optimum practice is to “visit” your garden on a daily basis.  Not “work” or “weed” or “water” but simply visit.  Say it with me:  “Ah…it’s so lovely out here among the beds of lush green fruits and veggies.”  More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening, School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: , , , , , , , ,

24 Apr 2013 3 Comments

Stake and Tomatoes

Take it from me—trial and error gal—don’t learn this the hard way.  Your tomatoes want big stakes, firm stakes.  Sturdy, semi-permanent. They want to know there’s support for them when the wind blows, that they won’t lose their ruby-red jewels dripping from their vines.

triangle cage

Trust me when I say, “think strong” (as in men, too.;)). Next time you’re shopping for tomato cages and you see this packaged structure, walk on. Don’t stop. Don’t waste your time.

Admittedly, I thought this three-walled triangle style cage would be the secret to success. It was–for a while. But when the tomato plant grew and the tomatoes hung heavy, it fell over like a twig.

And this round, loopy one? More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , ,

22 Apr 2013 No Comments

How to Make Sweet Potato Slips

Summer is fast approaching (in Florida, anyway) which means it’s time to get your slips in the ground and growing.  They require a long growing season and they require warmth.  But they don’t grow from seed potatoes, rather the “slips” created from your sweet potatoes.  How does one create a sweet potato slip? 

The technique is easy.  You simply cut your sweet potato in half, perch it upon the mouth of a jar or glass (suspended by toothpicks works well) submerging the bottom half in water.  Voila!  

creating slips

Place in a sunny location and keep the water level high enough so that the bottom half remains wet and then watch your potato sprout. 

After a while—times vary, but you can expect to wait days, even weeks in some cases—shoots (leaves) will form on the top of your potato.  You can gently remove these and place them in water, again half-submersed, and a tangle of roots will develop.   More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , ,

21 Apr 2013 No Comments

Ladd Springs

Ladd Springs_Book1-LGLADD SPRINGS

“Ladd Springs was one of those books that I couldn’t put down – at first because it drew me in with a ton of questions to be answered about the pasts of the characters, and a great story. Second because of how heart pounding it gets towards the ending!” ~~ Debbie Jean’s Blog

A deathbed promise and a mysterious find in the Tennessee forest bring Delaney Wilkins and Nick Harris together in a dramatic fight for the rights to Ladd Springs.

Delaney Wilkins finds herself at odds with hotel developer Nick Harris over a deathbed promise and a mysterious find in the forest.  Both are after title to Ladd Springs, a mecca of natural springs, streams and trails in the eastern Tennessee mountains, a tract of land worth millions.  But Ernie Ladd, current owner of the property and uncle to Delaney, is adamantly opposed to them both.

Felicity Wilkins, Delaney’s daughter, deserves to inherit her family’s legacy, but neighbor Clem Sweeney is working against her, ingratiating himself with Ernie Ladd.  Clem is also harboring a secret that will make him a very wealthy man—unless the others stop him before he can bring it to fruition.

Complicating matters is Annie Owens.  Ex-girlfriend to Jeremiah Ladd, Ernie’s estranged son living in Atlanta, she declares her daughter Casey is Jeremiah’s, making Casey every bit as entitled to the property as Felicity—only Annie hasn’t proven this claim.  Yet.

All are fighting to get the property, but only one will walk away with the gold.  Which will it be?  Find out in the first installment of Ladd Springs…

pan-frying cornbread

While reading this novel, don’t be surprised if you get a hankering for some good old-fashioned southern cooking.  Take my cornbread, for instance.  Delaney Wilkins makes some of the best and her hero agrees.  Try it and see what YOU think! ;)   Check out my recipe section for full details!

***This is book #1 in a series of 5

Visit my website for a complete listing of my books.

by gardenfrisk in Romantic Fiction - dig into my fertile plots and romance novels Tags: , , , , , , , ,

16 Apr 2013 No Comments

It’s Blueberry Season!

We learn by doing.   It’s an age-old saying for a reason.  We read books, study the almanac, listen to the experts, but sometimes there’s no substitute for experience.   The tried and true kind.  Shall we say, true blue?

Blue, as in blueberry patch.   My pride and joy, my dream come true… strolling amidst the morning chirps and peeps, plucking fresh blueberries for my yogurt and bran flakes.  Well, you understand.  This little patch of heaven has come to mean a lot to you.  You work hard for these sweet, luscious, high in anti-oxidant fruits and you don’t want to lose them to the natural elements.  Wind, pests, birds.

bird netting for berries

 Blueberries are fairly easy to grow.  Lots of sun, lots of water, a good acidic soil (think pine bark/needle mulch), a well-balanced organic fertilizer and you’ll have yourself a blueberry patch in no time.  However, once you set out on this project, understand that birds are a definite problem when it comes to berries.   Like you, they enjoy a plump serving of berries with their breakfast.  But they’re hungry varmints and will eat you out of house and home—and garden, if you let them.  But me, I count myself as smarter than the average bear (no pun intended to my friend and also fan of blueberries).  I figure I can outwit these flying friends with a simple bird net.   Says so right on the package:  bird nest for fruit and shrubs. 

Wonderful.  Problem solved.  All I have to do is cover my plants—all twelve of them—and I’m off and running in the blueberry race.  It’s not pretty, but it is practical.

First recommendation:  don’t choose a windy day to start your net project.  Blueberry blossoms are extremely sensitive to the slightest tactile cling and snare easily.  Translated: touch them and they pop off the vine.   Bad.  Very bad.   No blossoms means no berries.

With a little practice, though, I became quite good at throwing and securing my net without touching my delicate blueberry blossoms and only lost a few to the endeavor.   Can you really miss what you never had to start?  If you’ve noticed, philosophy seems to be on overdrive in my garden.

But abstract distractions aside, I finished my task an hour later, rising with a nice deep yoga stretch for my back before I secured my last stake in the ground. 

Second recommendation: don’t attempt this after several hours of weeding and tilling in the garden.   Me?  I’m more doer than planner.  “Oh look, I still have two hours before I need to pick up the kids!   What else can I slip in before my time runs out?”

That’s when I heard it. More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , ,

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