February Update: snow, snow go away!

     February 2nd greeted the ground-hog favorably....no shadow!  Hurry up Spring!   Unfortunately a few days later winter hit us with about 8 to 11 inches of snow and a harsh reminder that it's still her season.  Hopefully with February coming in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. 


    I'm thankful that all of the seedlings I started in early January are still doing very well.  I've made a note to myself to not add so many seeds to one pot the next time I try this.  I'm going to need to divide my tomatoes and peppers since so many of the seeds did germinate.  But that's a good problem to have!   

  
  
     I also learned that the seedlings grown in the plastic pots are much healthier than those in the peat pots. (The above photo shows Fennel seedlings planted at the same date/time.)  I have since transplanted everything that was in peat pots into recycled water and soda bottles.

  

     In late January I ordered more vegetable seeds and plants:  Brussels Sprouts, Eggplant, Artichokes, Red Onion sets, Shallots and two Cabernet Sauvingnon Grape vines.  I'm especially excited about the grapes since it I currently have Cabernet Franc (the parent plant to the earlier variety mentioned) and Petite Syrah.  Once all three vines begin producing I'll be able to create a very nice blended wine that should have plenty of tannins, red fruit flavors and age very nicely.  The Cab Franc and Petite Syrah will be 3 years old this year (viticulturists refer to it as their '3rd leaf') and ready to produce fruit. 

     On January 31st I received the Brussels Sprouts, Eggplant and Artichoke seeds just in time for the next round of snow that was prepared to hit us a few days later.  I started the seeds on Sunday, February 6th (a day later than the time that my trusty Farmers Almanac indicated was a favorable day) and I still experienced success!  The Sprouts and Artichokes sprouted by Wednesday, February 9th and the Eggplant (which tends to take longer than anything else) made its appearance on Saturday, February 12th.



Brussels Sprouts seedlings - 3 days old!

 

Artichoke Seedlings



     Following the Woman's perogative, I changed my mind about the garden layout.  Because our backyard has a gentle slope, I knew it would take some work to make 4x4 garden beds level.  And since we already have part of the sod removed where the existing beds are, I decided to work with those and just widen and extend them up along the fence line.

     When all is done, I should have my main vegetable bed (along the left side of the yard that will be 2-3 feet wide by 40 feet long.  That will allow for 80 - 120 square feet of planting space.  The perennial vegetable bed will be along the opposite side of the yard and will contain the Artichokes, Asparagus, Strawberries, Chives and possibly some Okra and Sage.   My plan is for it to be 2-3 feet wide and 20 feet long. 

     I do plan to add some type of raised bed edging and bring in compost to fill in and amend the soild in the beds. Plus I need to set up some type of small fencing around the garden beds to keep our dog Louis out of them.  (Now I don't have a rabbit problem...I have a dog problem!)

     In addition to all of this, we have some space on the right side of the yard where the grass has died.  (When life gives lemons - make lemonaide!)  I think this will be a perfect place to put Kelsey's small vegetable garden.  She told me the other day she wants a small garden so she can grow veggies for her new pet Turtle.  (Unless she changes her mind and gets a Frog...she is still trying to decide which to get.  Decisions, decisions!)



    Winter also decided to be nice to us over the weekend and the temperatures soared up into the 40s on Sunday.  I decided to take advantage of that and the melting snow and did some of my winter pruning of my grape vines.  I was excited to see green wood!  That means that while the vines are dormant, they are still alive.  This is especially wonderful since neither variety is supposed to be able to survive our winters.  We're in zone 5a and the Cabernet Franc is hardy to zone 6 and Petite Syrah is hardy to zone 7.  This means the extra work in late fall to prep the vines for winter is paying off!

Cabernet Franc grape vine that has been winter pruned.

Green wood on a Petite Syrah vine.  A VERY good thing!

     Next month I hope to be able to get out and start preping the veggie beds!   Spring is on her way!

How Does My Garden Grow

Well, since this blog is also my online gardening journal for 2011 it only makes sense that I should list out what I plan to plant in my garden this year.  Here goes...

Veggies to plant in the 2011 Garden  (All started, or to be started, from seed)

• Alliums: Evergreen Long White bunching onions and American Flag Leeks (direct seed) and Red Onions (sets)
• Artichoke: Imperial Star variety (ordered and will start seedlings on 2/5/2011)Broccoli: Di Ciccio variety (seedlings started 1/8/2011)
• *Brussells Sprouts:  Bailey variety (ordered and will start seedlings on 2/5/2011)
• Carrots: Danvers Half Long and Kaleidoscope Mix (ie: red, purple, orange, yellow and white) varieties (direct seed)
• Cauliflower: Early Snowball A (need to start seedlings on 2/5/2011)
• Cucumber: Straight 8 (because I found the seeds in some of my mother’s old stuff), Poinsett 76 and Sumter varieties (direct seed)
• Egg Plant: Black Beauty variety (seedlings started 1/8/2011 - seeds are old and taking a while to germinate - but they’re getting there!) and Twlight (a hybrid I just ordered and will start seedlings on 2/5/11)
• Fennel: Zefo Fino variety (seedlings started 1/8/2011)
• Green Beans (Bush): Heavyweight & Royalty Purple varieties (direct seed)
• Greens: A Mix of: Red Salad Bowl Lettuce, Green Salad Bowl Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Tendergreen Mustard, Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach, Bull's Blood Beet, Grand Rapids Lettuce, Oakleaf Lettuce, Prizeleaf Lettuce, and most importantly - Arugula because the bunnies hate it & it keeps them out of the lettuce & spinach! (direct seed)
• Melon: Heirloom Cantaloupe (variety unknown) (direct seed)
• Okra: saved seeds - variety unknown (direct seed)
• Parsnips:  Hollow Crown variety (direct seed)
• Peppers: California Wonder Bell, Jalapaneo and Sweet Banana (seedlings started 1/8/2011 - seeds are old and taking a while to germinate - but they’re getting there!)
• Radish: Sparkler, Champion, d’Avignon, Pink Beauty, Purple Plum, and Snowball varieties (direct seed)
• Shallots: standard yellow variety (sets)
• Summer Squash: Zucchini (Black Beauty) & Yellow (Early Prolific Straightneck) (direct seed)
• Swiss Chard: Bright Lights (direct seed)
• Tomatoes: Sweetie Cherry, Red Brandywine, Pink Brandywine, Black Krim, and Red Plum varieties (seedlings started 1/8/2011)
• Turnip: Purple Top White Globe (direct seed)
• Winter Squash: Acorn, Butternut, Carnival, Turks Turban, Rumbo (Cinderella type pumpkin), and Mini pumpkins (if I have room!) (direct seed)

I still need to buy:

• Herbs: Basil, Sage, Parsley, Cilantro, Chamomile (will probably buy the plants)

Other Perennial Plants already in the ground:

• Cabernet Franc and Petite Syrah grapes 
• Asparagus
• Strawberry
• Blueberry 
• Raspberry 
• Chives
• Dill (it might re-seed itself - if not I have seeds saved from last year)
• Garlic  
• Greek Oregano
• Peppermint (however, I think I might have killed it last year if that’s possible - they don’t like being behind Hot Tubs!)
• Thyme
• Beebalm and Echinacea (I plant them for their flowers but technically they are medicinal herbs)

Next on my list to post is a diagram outlining how I plan to actually make this all work since I’m going to use 4 to 6 4x4 raised beds.  My mother-in-law and her significant other have promised to make a drive up to our place to see my garden - assuming I can actually make it work in such a small space.  So there's my challenge!

Thank God I have a great husband who humors my idiosyncrasies!  His only two requests are to make it ‘look good’ and make it easy to mow around!

More to come...

My First Post

Every year at this time my green thumb starts itching and my spare time is spent sifting through Seed Catalogs, Gardening magazines & websites and I start planning my plantings for the year. Ironic that this occurs during the harshest and most bitterly cold time of year.

One of my New Years Resolutions is to grow a better garden this year. I've always judged my gardening success based upon how well my tomatoes perform and the past two years have been less than stellar. Several years ago I bought a Farmers Almanac, followed it faithfully, started my veggies from seed entirely too early (in January) and had the biggest and best crop ever. And unfortunately I've not been able to repeat that success. My hope is that this year will be different.

Earlier this month I bought a Farmers Almanac, organic seed starting mix and fumed at the difficulty of trying to find peat pots in January. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention and realizing that the lower half of waterbottles is almost the same size as peat pots, plus they retain moisture better and are recyclable, I decided to give them a try. From the before and after seedling photos, I believe necessity succeeded!

Per the almanac, the 8th and 9th were good days for starting seeds, and they must have been right because on the 12th the seedlings appeared. Ah, the promise of spring!

For now I'm watching the tomato, pepper, broccoli and fennel seedlings grow and sketching ideas for new planter boxes. I'm intrigued by the concept of the square foot garden and need to find a new method for keeping the dog out of the garden. (I've already learned how to deal with the rabbits...arugala and hardware cloth...but that's another post.)