Onions are in, onions are in! And not a moment too soon – yahoo! This is big excitement for me, cause I have tried to sprout my sweet onion seeds – repeatedly -- but to no avail. Zip. Nada. Nothing. The nice fellow at my local feed and seed said, “Might be too early.” I nodded, declining to inform him that my seed plant date data sheet clearly states I could start “trying” in August. But okay. I’ll go with it. A simple case of “operator error.” It isn’t the first time for me and ... continue reading...
Got Pumpkins?
Make pumpkin pie! And yes, I'm talking about those pumpkins from your front porch step. In our effort to become less "environmentally wasteful," the kids and I carved out our pumpkins, tossed the stringy mess into the compost pile, saved the seeds for roasting and/or next year's crop and commenced to cookin! We found this great recipe online from www.pickyourown.org and it worked like a charm. And it's a heck of a lot easier than I would have imagined! Once you completely carve the ... continue reading...
Superwoman lands in the garden!
The other day, my daughter and I were working a row of weeds. Actually several rows, but since I promised her we’d only tackle one row a day -- the trick to securing her continued return -- I was doing the bulk of the weeding. Which I don’t mind. Surrounded by sprouts and vegetables in varying stages of growth, I feel productive. And all the better: I’m not folding clothes. So life is good! It was a warm, but beautiful day when she rose from her aisle of hay and exclaimed, “All ... continue reading...
Don’t let this happen to you
It's called lack of planning. Well, not lack of planning because let me tell you, my garden was planned. I've got it laid out on an excel spreadsheet, color-coded, special needs listed, including next season's layout accounting for crop rotations! So planning is NOT the issue. Poor planning is the issue and as much as it pains me to admit that, it's true. Despite my earnest at the keyboard with The Vegetable Gardener's Bible and my regional seeding and planting data at my fingertips, I ... continue reading...
Lookee who I found in the compost pile!
My neighbor warned this might happen. I've been so busy tossing everything into my compost pile, planning for my next growing season, I didn't pay attention to what was growing in it this season. A tomato plant! I knew right away what it was, because there's one thing about tomato plants and that is - they are aromatic. I'm no "olfactologist," but I can tell a tomato plant when I smell one - it's a distinct fragrance. And I'm excited! Another experiment in the making - woohoo! But due ... continue reading...